Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Embracing Dreams ❯ Chapter 22

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Warnings: violence, dialogue, shounen ai,

Part 22

It was lonely in Sasuke's room. Naruto had been in the room plenty of times, but now it was Sasuke's room. He'd thought it would look different, lived in, and it didn't. It was empty, bare walls, and the bed was made when he came in, as straight and wrinkle-free as if Iruka himself had done it. Naruto's first thought was that no teenager should make a bed like that. His second was that Sasuke needed some posters for those walls and he was gonna get some even if Naruto had to lend some of his own and put them up himself.

He put Sasuke on the bed and only spent a moment hesitating over whether or not to make him more comfortable. Putting him to bed was one thing. Undressing him, even if it was just taking off his shoes, was too much. He'd have told Kyuubi the same thing. No groping him while he was asleep. And, yeah, touching his ankles to take off his sandals counted as groping. He did stare for a while, but he was proud of himself for resisting the temptation to touch.

The desk contained the only visible objects in the room. A stack of those textbooks he'd gotten from Iruka's office earlier and a small notebook. Naruto sat down and flipped through the notebook. He'd been surprised when he realized Sasuke was reading textbooks on subjects he'd known when he was still in the hospital. Kiddie stuff. At least six levels beneath him and he was still a little behind for his age, according to Iruka. For some reason he'd assumed Sasuke was smarter than that. Maybe because Sasuke acted like he knew everything.

It only took him a glance to realize the notebook wasn't what he'd assumed. Page after page was filled with tiny, almost robotic text, numbers, odd bits that might have been equations, and no breaks whatsoever. Naruto shot a bewildered look at Sasuke, who was as dead to the world as ever, and then squinted at the book again. A diary? Maybe. It did have dates. What kind of guy kept a diary? And how did he even read it without a magnifying glass? He fanned the pages, almost hypnotized by the writing. Every page looked the same. He wasn't going to read it, but if a few lines just happened to jump off the page at him, well...

He'd barely reached the first blank page in the back of the book when the door opened. Naruto jumped and dropped the book guiltily. Then he realized that Kakashi had just opened Sasuke's bedroom door. Kakashi The Pervert. And he walked into the room as if it were his own. Into Sasuke's room. While Sasuke was sleeping. Indignation flared in his throat and promptly curdled there. Kakashi stopped beside him, picked up the notebook he'd been snooping through, and put it away in the top drawer of the desk. He blushed furiously, and when Kakashi took him by the arm and walked him out of the room as if he were Iruka instead of The Visiting Pervert, Naruto went along in guilty embarrassed silence. It wasn't until they were in the hall, and Kakashi had shut the door after them, that he remembered Kakashi was 'The Pervert' and not 'The Adult' who'd just caught him doing something bad. Naruto bristled and opened his mouth to rail at him.

"Let's talk outside," said Kakashi. "You're loud," he explained patiently, using his grip on the brat's arm to pull him down the hall, "and if you wake him up, I might decide to break this so the two of you match. Oh, I know," he shook his head when Naruto's mouth opened again, "your fox heals fast. But judging by your current energy, you couldn't heal a paper cut at the moment. Am I wrong?"

Naruto closed his mouth again. He didn't know what was going on. Kakashi sounded...angry. What right did he have to be mad when he was the bad guy? Yeah, the pervert had caught him looking through Sasuke's book, but that was nothing compared to almost killing him. And hitting on him and trying to get him naked when he was already bleeding to death. And just walking into his room like he owned the place. And-

'I'm hungry,' Kyuubi muttered sullenly. 'Want me to eat him for you?'

'Kyuubi!' Naruto grimaced. 'Don't talk about eating people! That's-' He blinked and stumbled over the bottom step, Kakashi still pulling him along. 'Kyuubi,' he said quickly, 'the pervert cut Sasuke up. He almost bled to death and he passed out, and I carried him back to his room and then the pervert came in like he owned the place and-'

'And he caught you snooping through the brat's journal,' Kyuubi finished, in a bored tone. He let out a toothy yawn. 'I already know. It's quicker to look at your memories than to have you repeat it all. Now you expect me to mutilate him for it.'

'Well, yeah,' Naruto frowned. 'Right?'

'Do you know why he's mad at you?' Kyuubi drawled.

Naruto sent a resentful glare at the back of Kakashi's head. The pervert wasn't even looking at him and he was dragging him behind him as if he didn't think he'd try and pull free. 'No!' Naruto blurted. 'Unless he's mad cause I stopped him from trying to get Sasuke naked when he was all bleeding to death and vulnerable. He even had the nerve to say he wasn't hitting on him. And they were sparring!' He straightened indignantly as he remembered that. 'Sasuke spars with him! Willingly!'

'Why wouldn't he?' asked Kyuubi, in a sly tone that said he knew exactly who he was mimicking. Naruto must have missed the reference because his response was the same.

'Because he's a pervert!'

Kyuubi gave a condescending sniff. 'So he shouldn't spar with his guardian because he's a pervert. But he should spar with you because, what, you're a young pervert instead of an old one? Give it up. You already thought it yourself, he'd have to be skilled to have messed the brat up so much. That makes him a much better sparring partner than you. As for being perverted, I can hold my own with that old man any day. Just think how many opportunities he must have had to jump the brat over the years and he couldn't even get his shirt off when he was weak from blood loss. We've known him a matter of days and we've already gotten into his pants.'

'That was you,' Naruto railed quickly. 'You, not me! I wasn't even paying attention when you did that.'

'You should have been,' Kyuubi smirked. 'He's better endowed than you fantasized the other night. And that just from kissing. As sensitive as he is, I barely had to squeeze and-'

Naruto squeaked. Kakashi, who'd been dragging the boy across the backyard, turned a sharp look on him. He promptly arched an eyebrow. Naruto's eyes were full blue moons amid his dark red face. He looked as if he'd just seen ghost. A naked sexy ghost, if the blush said anything. Kakashi had to stamp down his curiosity. Knowing his luck, the brat was having perverted thoughts about Sasuke. He didn't want him to share that.

"I suppose here is as good as anywhere," said Kakashi. He released Naruto's arm and frowned when he just stood there with that stunned blush. "Oi. I'm talking to you, brat."

"Ung?" Naruto blinked intelligently.

Kakashi resisted the urge to hit him upside the head. "Save the mental masturbation for later, if you don't mind." When Naruto flinched and gurgled, he gave an exasperated sigh. "Pervert."

"Wha-" Naruto bristled. His face was still red, but Kakashi's accusation distracted him from the lurid memories and descriptions Kyuubi was filling his head with. Yes, the old pervert had nothing on his fox. He'd admit that freely now. Nothing at all. Kakashi was an amateur compared to Kyuubi. "You're the pervert," he muttered at Kakashi. 'So are you,' he muttered at Kyuubi.

'Hypocrite,' Kyuubi sniffed.

'Teenager,' Naruto shot back. 'We're supposed to be hormonal. Iruka-sensei said so.'

"Look," Kakashi interrupted, tipped off by the slight glaze to Naruto's eyes. He waited till those eyes unglazed enough to focus on him. "I've decided Sasuke likes you." Naruto looked surprised. He gave a begrudging nod. "Likes, or at least tolerates more than most. Considering how long he's gone without sex and the fact that you're the only one his age in the house, his choices are rather limited. Far be it from me to take away his best chance at getting laid sometime this century. So instead of assigning the ruin of your life as my next pet project, I'm just going to lay out some ground rules."

Naruto frowned suddenly. "Wait, hold it, who said you get to make rules? It's my house - if anyone's gonna-"

"Shut up," Kakashi smiled pleasantly, "I'm talking."

"What!"

Kakashi continued while the brat was busy sputtering his way to an explosion. "First rule, you break it, you buy it."

"What does that even mean!" Naruto scowled. "And I didn't say you could make rules! I'm not gonna follow your rules." He didn't even follow Iruka's rules unless he absolutely had to. He glared at the pervert and sent a sullen, 'On second thought, go ahead and eat him. Just knock me out or something till it's over.'

'Maybe later,' Kyuubi hummed, 'this is interesting.'

'How?' demanded Naruto. A painful tug on his left ear brought his attention back to the smiling pervert. He gaped and pointed a shocked finger at Kakashi. 'He touched me! Kill him!'

Kyuubi snickered quietly.

"Try to pay attention for longer than twenty seconds," said Kakashi. "The first rule applies to sparring. The cut was mine. I did it, I take care of it. The broken arm is yours. You did it, you haven't taken care of it. I was going to take care of the cut when you so rudely interrupted with your unfounded accusations. You made it your responsibility when you dragged him off. That means if it gets infected or ripped open the first time he wakes up too quickly, I'm going to blame you. I'll enjoy making you regret it. In the meantime, do something about that arm. And," he raised his voice when Naruto blanched and started to protest, "don't say it was an accident. I know exactly how much damage it takes to break one of the brat's bones. I've been beating on him a lot longer than you have, after all."

"It was an accident!" Naruto blurted. "And what do you mean, fix it? I tried taking him to a hospital and he hid on the roof! What was I supposed to do? And I already know you beat on him. He told me all about you guys 'sparring' together. There's not gonna be any more of that. He's grounded and I got your number now."

Kakashi's eye ticked at the way the brat turned the word 'sparring' into something slimy. Was this really Iruka's kid? They were nothing alike. "That's between me and the brat. You get no say in it."

"Yes I do! Someone's gotta take care of him. He's too stubborn to do it himself."

"What do you think I've been doing for the last two years?" asked Kakashi.

'Turning him into a skittish twitchy mess,' sniffed Kyuubi. Naruto repeated that faithfully and earned another eye-twitch from Kakashi.

"I'll have you know he was twitchy long before he met me," Kakashi glowered. "Try learning more about the brat before you start making his decisions for him. Since you're very stupid, I'll even give you a tip. Ask him about his brother."

Naruto swallowed his retaliatory insult. He felt as if he'd run right smack into a brick wall. Sasuke had family? He'd assumed he was an orphan like him. Why else would he be traveling around with an abusive bossy old pervert like Kakashi?

"You see?" Kakashi smiled, pleased with Naruto's stunned expression. "Very stupid. As for fixing it, well, you'll have to take that up with your fox. His residual energy managed to heal the scratches he made quite nicely, earlier. Can I assume he's paying attention as well? The second rule is for him."

Kyuubi lashed his tails, eyes narrowed in a sly, amused smile. 'Tell him I'm all ears.'

"He's all ears," Naruto muttered. He hated being a go-between for Kyuubi. The last time anyone had addressed the fox instead of him was back in the hospital. It was uncomfortable.

'I could always come forward and talk for myself now,' Kyuubi offered. He sniffed when Naruto shot that idea down flat.

"Good," said Kakashi. "Second rule, you rape him, I kill you."

Naruto blanched. His hands curled into furious fists and he stared at Kakashi in disbelief. He would never. That anyone could even accuse him of it - and Kakashi was smiling so pleasantly he'd never seen that coming - and why did that smile send shivers down his back when he knew it was an empty threat anyway because he would never-

'That was for me,' Kyuubi reminded him. His tails lashed again, an amused rumble stuttering up to go with his sly smile. 'A good rule. Tell him the same thing applies for Iruka. Only instead of killing him, I'll make him wish I had.'

Naruto diligently repeated the threat. Somehow it didn't sound as convincing in his own voice as it did in Kyuubi's amused purring tone. Then he took a mental step back. Something had gone wrong here. He should have been beating the daylights out of the pervert by now, or at least watching as Kyuubi mutilated him beyond recognition. He didn't understand why they were having this talk. Oh, he could get the Kyuubi thing - the fox openly admitted he'd love to rape Sasuke first chance he got, without feeling the slightest bit guilty about it. But that just one of the fox's perverted fantasies. It was never going to happen because Naruto wouldn't let it, and he could have told the pervert that and stopped the talk the second it started. Now he was so confused he wasn't even sure if Kakashi was still the bad guy. Kyuubi didn't seem mad at him. Kyuubi should have been even more furious than he was. They'd always been protective and possessive of their people. Well, okay, their people was usually limited to Iruka alone, but still. Naruto was sure Sasuke fell under that heading. Didn't Kyuubi think so, too?

'Not yet,' Kyuubi shrugged. 'He may be later. For now he's convenient and I want him. If you want to keep him afterward, I'll support you, but that's up to you. As long as the pervert doesn't try to sample him first, I don't care if they spar. He didn't kill him. If anything, he made it easier for me now that the brat's weakened and vulnerable. I'd sooner thank him than attack him for doing that.'

'I thought you liked him!' Naruto cried. 'You said so! Hell, you liked him before I did!'

'I wanted him before you did,' Kyuubi corrected. 'I liked him about the same time you started to. I also like tuna. The difference is the brat will provide more of a challenge before I can partake. And you, with your bleeding heart and teenage hormones will make it both easier and more difficult for me to get what I want. I like a challenge. Don't romanticize this. What you're feeling, you're feeling for yourself. It has nothing to do with me. Nor should it.'

'But you were the same,' Naruto countered, 'with the dog! And with the pervert! Because they touched him, you got all protective just like we do with Iruka, so-'

Kyuubi's tone darkened dangerously at the reminder. He'd always been one to hold a grudge. 'He shouldn't have touched him in front of me.'

'Then-'

'I'm the same way with my food,' Kyuubi sniffed. 'All it means is that I don't like to share until I've had my fill. That's it. We're through discussing this.'

Naruto glowered at the stubborn, almost snooty tone. He didn't buy it. Not one bit. Kyuubi pulled the same denial when Naruto pressed him about Iruka. He'd go on about how Iruka was useful, necessary to their continued existence, a source of comfort for his weak emotional side - aka, Naruto - and that because he knew them so well he was essentially irreplaceable and worth protecting and keeping at all costs. Never would the fox admit he cared about him as a person. It was always in terms of what Kyuubi got out of the relationship. Naruto knew Kyuubi cared at least a little about Sasuke, just from the way he'd reacted to those pictures the stalker had left. He was the one who'd suggested he hide them so Sasuke wouldn't get worried and paranoid over something he couldn't change. And he'd actually been jealous that Sasuke was paying attention to him, without even noticing Kyuubi - that didn't go along with his story very well. Kyuubi was definitely in denial. And Naruto should have been used to it by now. Kyuubi didn't relate to emotions well, took pride in that fact, and dismissed anything that couldn't be explained away through selfish motivations. That was just the way the fox was, territorial, jealous, greedy, and quick to deny any emotions that were too openly 'human' for his taste. He was Kyuubi. He thought in terms of food, shelter, and sex. Only Kyuubi would compare a person to food. Tuna, even! He could at least compare him to ramen.

'I don't like ramen,' Kyuubi reminded him. He'd never understand Naruto's penchant to live off a meatless noodle-based diet.

More proof that the fox was insane, Naruto sighed. It was a wonder he even bothered having conversations with him. When they disagreed there was nothing to do except air their differences and walk away. Figuratively speaking since they were stuck in the same body together.

"Your energy's much better now," Kakashi remarked. Naruto blinked dazedly for a second before focusing on him. He gave a pleased smile when the kid's eyes widened at the sight of his sharingan. "Gift from Sasuke. Almost makes us family, you know. Now that I've got your attention back, let's finish this, shall we? Third rule, learn it before you use it." He explained before Naruto could do more than screw his face up into a squinty scowl. "Your energy is all over the place. Your fox's energy, your combined energy, all of it. That makes you dangerous and essentially useless as a sparring partner. With Sasuke as your partner, that means you'll either kill him or be killed by him. While I wouldn't mind the latter, I suspect Iruka might resent it happening on my watch. So you're going to learn the basics. Since you're very stupid, this could take a while. We should start immediately."

Naruto choked and blurted, "Stop calling me stupid! Do it again and, I swear, I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"You're very stupid," Kakashi beamed. "Now let's get on with the attempted ass kicking. And while you're making a fool of yourself, have your fox focus on defense. You've too much energy to have such a pathetic lack of defense. It's no wonder your fox had to slink into the house after Sasuke took him out, earlier. Instant healing at the expense of all of your energy? Even with a quick recovery time, that's hardly worth it."

Anger flared in the back of Naruto's throat, almost as if his stomach were boiling. Kyuubi was pissed. Why? Because the pervert was insulting their use of energy?

'He was watching,' Kyuubi growled. 'Watching me. Us. And I didn't even sense him...'

'When!' Naruto demanded, staring at the beaming pervert in question. A furious blush suddenly erupted on his face. 'You mean on the roof? When we were - I was - with Sasuke-' Kyuubi just growled, his fur bunching around his neck, and Naruto let out a horrified cry. "You pervert!" he yelped at Kakashi. "You were watching us!"

"Yes, I was," said Kakashi. "And, sadly, I was not the least bit impressed. You're very stupid, after all. You should have known better than to bite a paranoid wannabe psychopath on the neck without expecting a violent reaction. All that advice I gave you in the drugstore and you couldn't even make it through the foreplay unscathed. Rather pathetic, really."

Kakashi took a casual step back, sliding the band back over the sharingan. He'd seen enough to know the brat was appropriately riled now. The fox as well, if the roiling energy was any evidence. Assuming he could keep them angry and working together, this would be a short and potentially interesting exercise. He didn't have the energy for more at the moment, and as depleted as Naruto's energy still was from the fox's encounter with Sasuke, the kid would be wiped out quickly, too. All it would take was a semi-deadly injury and he already knew the fox - or Naruto, whoever controlled the healing - would waste the last of his reserves without a moment's hesitation. That was another basic lesson the brat had obviously never learned. Kakashi didn't fancy himself much of a teacher, but he'd gotten rather fond of tormenting young mutant brats who thought they were better at fighting than they actually were. If Naruto was even half as entertaining as Sasuke, it would be well worth his time.

"Come on, stupid," Kakashi smiled, beckoning the growling blonde to follow him to through the trees and into the field. "My ass is waiting for your foot. Unless you'd rather we stay and discuss your lacking foreplay technique some more." He was pleased to note that Naruto's voice was half as deep as the fox's had been in the kitchen that time. So he had them both. Perfect.

"I'm going to mutilate you," Naruto promised. He didn't know if it was him talking or Kyuubi, and he didn't care.

Kakashi just smiled wider, "You're going to try."

.-.

Iruka didn't realize how popular he'd become until word got out that he'd suffered a mishap and was now confined to a cot of his own. Even the antisocial few who'd watched him warily, resentfully turning away the second he finished healing them, now made grudging passes to look in on him. Although they were no more inclined to speak now than they'd been when they were the ones confined to a cot, he appreciated the gesture. They reminded him of himself at that age. Jaded, distant, unwilling to trust and unable to express even simple emotions like gratitude without it feeling wrong.

His regular visitors were the ones he'd talked to the most, also the ones who'd spent the least amount of time in captivity. They couldn't relate to the silent ones. They were still friendly, lonely, and young enough to eagerly latch on to someone they saw as a reliable - but not condescending - parental figure. Kiba in particular found the silent passes amusing. He'd tried talking to a few of those kids and had come away convinced they were stranger and potentially more dangerous than any of their jailers had been. He kept up a running commentary on each one, as much for his own amusement as for Iruka's.

"She bites her fingernails," he said, after a dark-haired girl had stopped by, stared at Iruka for a moment, and then left without so much as a nod. "Till they bleed. Then she writes stuff with the blood all over her arms. No idea what it means, but the smell drove me nuts. I had to move to the other side of the room just to breathe."

"She seems nice enough to me," Iruka said firmly. The girl had been a wreck when he'd first arrived and Bunchu directed him to heal her. She'd had metal tubes implanted in her arms, the purpose of which he'd asked Bunchu not to share with him. He didn't want to know. It had taken hours to remove them without her bleeding to death or lashing out with her talent. Kiba had no idea. That was just as well. Iruka suspected she'd be slipping away sometime tonight, taking her secrets along with her.

"Maybe," Kiba shrugged. He went quiet as another kid passed within a few feet of them, sending a long look at Iruka before cringing at the sight of Akamaru, who was napping at Kiba's feet. Kiba wrinkled his nose at him. "That one's sick. He started screaming when that Bunchu guy looked at him with that eye of his. Freaked everyone out. Liked to never got him to shut up. Go anywhere near him and he jumps, but if you even look at him from a distance he glares like he knows exactly what you're thinking. His brother's not bad, only you can't talk to him without the freak throwing a hissy fit. Funny they're so different."

"They keep to themselves," said Iruka. He'd healed the brother. Twins, identical except for talents. Disturbing talents and the sort of relationship that made him glad they wanted nothing more to do with him. As much as he'd have liked to be able to help every child he met, he knew when to leave well enough alone. The fact that the skittish brother was interested enough to look at him made him glad he had Kiba keeping him company. Even Bunchu was reluctant to go near those two.

Kiba sent one more queasy look after the boy and shivered. "I think they're screwing each other," he muttered. "They smell like it."

"I'd rather not know," Iruka said quickly. "Change the subject, please."

"Sorry," Kiba winced. Akamaru lifted his head and chuffed at him. He leaned down to scratch behind his ears. When he spoke, it was in a more tentative voice. "You serious about taking us with you? I can get along on my own, you know. I was roughing it years before those guys picked me up. Not like I'd let that happen again."

Iruka nodded, "You're welcome to come with me."

"Akamaru, too?" Kiba prodded. Iruka nodded again, and he grinned, "I can tell you're skittish of him. He likes you, you know, for healing his nose. Dogs don't forget stuff like that. Might seem like a little injury, but something like that can really screw with his smell. That's like being half blind and deaf, with your fingers cut off. He's got himself convinced you're part of the pack now. Little brother, eh? I told him you'd be the alpha if we went with you, he just doesn't think like that. Might take a while before he gets used to the idea of someone other than me being the boss of him."

"I wouldn't try to boss him around," said Iruka. "As long as he doesn't make a mess of the house, he'd be your responsibility." Kyuubi wasn't going to like it at all. He'd worry about that later. Naruto would probably like Kiba enough to convince Kyuubi to put up with the dog. It wasn't as if he could expect Kiba to separate with Akamaru now. From what little he'd told him, the two of them had been traveling together since Akamaru was a puppy. They were more like brothers than owner and pet. "He's very well behaved."

Kiba nodded, smiling proudly at Akamaru, who whoofed quietly in agreement. "That's because he understands what's expected of him." He met Akamaru's eye and gave him a playful image of a big house with Iruka as the lead dog and him and Akamaru as the pack runners. Akamaru answered with a lolling grin of amusement, sending his own image of a little floppy-eared Iruka scampering after two dogs twice his size with the power of his bark alone. Kiba laughed. "He still doesn't think you'll make an alpha. Ain't got the teeth for it."

"I'll have to work on that," Iruka murmured. "You do know I've already agreed to take the girls with me?"

"Yeah," Kiba sighed, grimacing. "Wish you'd think that over. That Ino's a pain in the ass. And the other one's about as bossy as they come. Put the two together and, egh, never a moment of peace."

Iruka smiled. He'd been surprised to learn that Kiba hadn't been helping for the girls' sake when he'd sent Akamaru to find them. He'd assumed it was because they'd gotten along before he'd arrived. Now he knew it was because of him. Akamaru hadn't wanted him wandering around the basement by himself, part of that 'little brother' image he seemed to have, and Kiba'd wanted to help in gratitude for the healing he'd done on the two of them. Particularly on Akamaru. Ino wasn't the only one who had a problem with the boy's habit of treating his dog better than people. It turned out quite a few of the kids looked askance at the two of them. Kiba and his dog. As far as Iruka was concerned, Kiba's relationship with his puppy was no stranger than Naruto and Kyuubi.

"I'm sure they'll get along eventually," said Iruka. "And Sakura's not really bossy, just concerned."

"If you say so," Kiba grimaced. "You're sure fast to forgive her. There's a couple round here who think she should have gotten something for messing you up after you helped her and all." He waved a hand before Iruka could protest. "I'm not one of them. I know it was an accident. I'm just saying she's not real popular around here now. Even the silent ones look at her funny. It's a good thing you're taking her with you. I get the feeling a few of them wouldn't mind tracking her down later if she went off on her own. Whether that's cause they like you, or they're just looking for a good target, I don't know. Doesn't help that Bunchu's had her fixing up the worst of them. You ask me, some of them woulda been better left in that place. Just cause they're all mutants doesn't mean they're good guys, you know? Some of them are fucking nuts."

Iruka couldn't argue with that. Bunchu had kept him clear of the most dangerous ones, partly because they were injured too seriously for him to help, partly because they were psychotic enough to try attacking even with Bunchu there to restrain them. He didn't like the idea of Sakura being used to heal them. Yes, with her talent she was the only one capable of healing serious injuries, and Bunchu would know which were injured badly enough to benefit from her sudden excess energy. That didn't change what the kids were. Not all of the kids who'd been rescued were victims. The idea of Sakura going anywhere near them was disturbing.

Iruka shifted uneasily on his cot. He was under strict orders not to walk around until he'd recovered enough energy to heal his hands. And Bunchu had refused to tell him which ones he was taking Sakura to heal. She'd jumped at the chance to vent some of her guilt, to see her talents heal instead of hurt. They were taking advantage of her eagerness to help, endangering her, and now that Iruka was reminded of it, he couldn't sit still.

"Would you mind checking on them?" he asked Kiba. He gave a weak smile. "I haven't seen them in a while."

"What," Kiba sniffed, "and leave you here alone when you can't even get up? Didn't I just say some of them are nuts? You even got that twin eyeballing you now that you're laid up." Akamaru cocked his head, looking at Iruka with concern. Kiba nodded at him. "Akamaru'll go check on the girls, if you want. I'm not trying to insult you or anything, but you're like a kitten right now. No telling what they'd try now that most of them are healed enough to move around."

"All right," Iruka sighed. He nodded at Akamaru, "I'd appreciate it. Just a peek to make sure they're fine?" The puppy lolled an open mouthed grin and trotted off. He shook his head at Kiba once the dog was out of sight. "A kitten?"

"Well," Kiba hedged, "I don't mean it as an insult. Cats got claws and teeth, and they're fast and wily, you know. I've met a few who were damn smart for being cats." He grimaced a little. He kept trying to watch his language around Iruka, but so far he wasn't having much luck. It had been way too long since he'd tried to be polite. Too much time talking to animals, maybe. With them it was all about the image, the idea, not the words. On the other hand, animals never lied, so they were easier to talk to than people. "All I meant is you've been declawed. You're too young to compare you to a toothless dog, after all. I didn't mean anything by it."

"You could have said I'd been muzzled," Iruka commented. He was teasing. It amused him that Kiba, who'd already shown a penchant for comparing people to animals, would dub him cat rather than dog. "I'll have you know I've been referred to as a shark more than once for my bite."

"Yeah?" Kiba blinked. He shifted uncomfortably. "I can't relate to fish. Birds, reptiles, none of that. It's mostly dogs, a few cats - just the ones that been around people a lot. I did catch a bear once, but he didn't make much sense. Not many wild animals around these days aside from squirrels and the like." He snorted softly. "Try getting sense out of a squirrel. Curious but jittery, or scared to the point where they take off as soon as they catch my scent. Take that Ino, she's definitely squirrel, for all she fancies herself a sleek cat. Sakura, now, she's so sure she's an alpha dog she don't even know she's a bitch."

"Kiba!"

"Oh!" Kiba grimaced, blushing faintly. "I didn't mean it like that!" He squirmed and scowled at his lap. He'd definitely spent too much time in the company of animals. "I meant female," he mumbled. "Sorry."

"Even referring to her as a female dog would be considered insulting," Iruka sighed. "I know you didn't mean it that way." He hadn't meant to snap at him. It was just hearing Kiba call her the same thing Tenka had, when neither of them had any idea of the things she'd gone through, or why she acted the way she did. It wasn't fair. "Don't beat yourself up," he said quickly, flashing a smile at the boy. "I'm sure you'll get along with the girls fine once you get to know each other."

"Yeah," Kiba muttered. "Maybe. I don't know much about girls, is all."

"Neither do I," Iruka admitted. "But I've learned that stereotypes fit no one. Especially women. So if you've been thinking of girls as sweet innocent flowers, or sly cats that play hard to get when they're in heat, you should stop as soon as possible." Kiba flashed him a worried look, telling him he'd guessed exactly right. Iruka grinned. "That sort of thinking will get you in a world of trouble. Don't think of them as girls. Just approach them as people until you get used to their quirks. And try to keep the animal comparisons to a minimum."

"Right," said Kiba. He sent a considering look at Iruka. Then he shook his head. "You kinda remind me of a wolf I met once. Only you're not old enough." And that oldtimer hadn't had any respect for people, while Iruka seemed to like them as a whole. "If you pick em as well as you talk, you'll make a good leader."

"A den mother?" Iruka asked playfully.

Kiba snorted. "Yeah, except you're not a bitch - a female," he corrected, grimacing.

Iruka laughed, "I'll take that as a compliment, then."

"That's how I meant it."

.-.

Sasuke woke to the sound of someone knocking on the door. He wouldn't have gotten up if he hadn't suspected the knocks had been going on for a while. The sound brought a strange tightness in the back of his throat. How many years had it been since he'd heard that? Kakashi never knocked when they'd stayed in hotels. Attackers didn't bother knocking. They'd never had any other visitors during their travels. Even when he'd been a child, he'd never answered the door when a person knocked. His mother or, if he were home, his father would answer. The old familiar sound brought a rush of almost childish curiosity to go with the nostalgia. Sasuke crushed it mercilessly. Good memories were the same as bad ones; useless.

He paused long enough to change his ruined shirt, scowling as he pulled on one of the new ones they'd gotten during their shopping trip. Kakashi must have unpacked them while he was away in the fields. His closet was now filled with more clothing than he'd ever need. A waste of money. Charity. As if it weren't enough that Iruka was giving him food and place to stay. The shirt was too loose on him, almost covering his shorts with sleeves that reached past his elbow. That would be impractical in a fight, but it was useful now. It hid the binding he'd wrapped around his arm.

He ran a hand through his hair on the way downstairs. It was getting long again. He'd never understood why his hair grew so quickly when the rest of him didn't. Maybe all that time in the hospital as a child had stunted his growth. There was no telling what effect suddenly becoming a mutant could have had on his metabolism. Then again, Itachi had hit his growth spurt late, and his hair had always been long. All the more reason to chop it off.

Several things occurred to him when he reached the front hall. He didn't remember getting into bed. The last thing he remembered was standing up after Naruto unlocked the bathroom door. Had he passed out? It wouldn't be the first time. He hoped he'd waited till Naruto left the room. It was bad enough having Kakashi tease him over something like that. He'd never hear the end of it if the moron had put him to bed. On the heels of that thought was the realization that he was answering the door of someone else's home. Meaning he was the only one in the house. He immediately thought of a dozen reasons for Kakashi and Naruto to both be absent just now. He didn't like any of them. The last thing to occur to him was the least important. That squeaky step on the stairway hadn't made a sound when he'd stepped on it. Kakashi must have done something. It was just like him to eliminate anything that kept him from sneaking around however he pleased.

There was a woman and a girl on the doorstep when he opened the door. The woman was tall with curly black hair reaching past her shoulders and dark eyes that were more red than brown. She blinked, looking over his head for a moment, and then smirked when she caught sight of him. Sasuke was suddenly glad he'd mastered his politely blank mask. The way she smirked made him want to sneer.

"Oh," she exclaimed, with a light laugh, "aren't you a looker. No wonder the gossips have been going on about Iruka having a teen model living with him. You do look the part."

Sasuke stared at her for a moment and then looked at the girl standing beside and a tad behind her. She was around his age, black hair like the woman's except it was cropped short, and pale eyes that were locked on her fidgeting hands. He glanced up again, "Can I help you?"

"Kurenai," she smiled. "And this is Hinata. I work with Iruka at the school. Is he home?"

"No," said Sasuke. "He won't be back till this weekend."

The woman frowned at that. "I didn't know he was going on a trip. I told him I'd have an answer by today, and he never said anything about being gone."

"It was unexpected."

"Clearly," Kurenai frowned. She sighed and sent a look from Sasuke to the hall beyond him. "Well, I guess it can wait. In the meantime, let me be the first to welcome you to town." She smirked again, not the least bit fooled by Sasuke's expressionless face. "You really have caused quite a stir. We don't get many Asians around here. Hinata and I are among the few. Iruka and Naruto don't look the part, especially Naruto."

"Is Naruto-kun here?" the girl asked suddenly.

Sasuke looked over, meeting her pale gaze for just a second before she dropped her eyes and skitted back a step. As if she expected him to hit her for speaking. He frowned. He'd never had a stranger be afraid at first sight of him. He didn't know what to make of it. "He must have gone out somewhere," he said. Probably out in the fields being tortured by Kakashi, if Sasuke's guess was accurate. The girl flicked a peek at him and flinched, looking away and chewing her lip. She looked a few seconds shy of bolting. Sasuke's frown deepened.

"That's too bad," said Kurenai. She put a hand on the girl's head and smiled at Sasuke. "I was going to invite Iruka and his guests to dinner this Friday. Since Iruka's gone, that's even more reason to invite you all. Naruto should have the number, just tell him to call if you're coming. And if we could get your name before we go?"

Sasuke winced. Etiquette. He knew better than that. "Sasuke."

"Well, then," smiled Kurenai. "It was nice meeting you, Sasuke."

"Nice meeting you," Hinata echoed, her whisper directed at her feet and so quiet it was barely audible.

Sasuke nodded and waited till they'd turned away before shutting the door. Then he went down the hall, through the dining room, and out the back door. Kakashi would be cutting his torture session short, today. He needed to have a few words with Naruto.

.-.

"And what have we learned from this?" asked Kakashi. He paused expectantly and nodded when a strenuous growl answered him. "That's right, brute strength and raw energy gets you absolutely nowhere. Good boy! You're coming along wonderfully!"

"...kill you..." Naruto ground out, his bared teeth inches above the ground.

Kakashi nodded encouragingly. "If you can get to your feet you just might. In about eight years. Of course, if you'd listened to me earlier, you wouldn't be in this position. I admit I was wrong, you know. You aren't stupid so much as stubborn. Stubborn personified, which is much worse. At this rate you'll burn yourself out long before you get a handle on that energy."

Naruto didn't hear him. Kyuubi might have, except he wasn't paying attention, either. They were entirely united under one cycling thought. Kill him. Get up and kill him. He was only one foot away. Thinking that, knowing that, didn't help. He couldn't get up. He could barely keep from slamming into the ground. All it had taken was one touch. They'd chased him all over the place, Kyuubi had even started up that fire-like energy of his and set that after him, and the cowardly bastard just kept dodging. Carelessly, playfully, as if it were easiest thing ever. And then, just when Kakashi had finally stopped his ridiculous dancing around, the bastard had touched them. One touch and it felt as if every piece of him, all the way down to his hair, weighed a ton. Kyuubi was blazing. Naruto could see the energy himself, that burning reddish flame singing away at the grass without actually lighting anything on fire. He knew Kakashi felt it too, because he'd stepped back after Naruto dropped and hadn't edged closer until the energy started to falter. That was Naruto's plan. He'd always been better at thinking in a pinch than Kyuubi.

Kakashi was close enough now that he could reach out and grab him. All it would take was one hit. But to get that he'd had to sacrifice some of his energy, let it drop until Kakashi felt it safe enough to edge closer. And with that drop, he didn't have enough strength to get up. Forget lunging if he couldn't get up.

Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated on his knees. 'There, Kyuubi,' he said quickly, raising his mental voice to be heard over the fox's infuriated growls. 'The invisible kind. The kind he can't see without Sasuke's eye. He's not using it, so he won't see anything but the red stuff.'

'We don't know that,' Kyuubi snapped.

'You said it earlier,' Naruto reminded him. 'He only talked about our energy after he used the eye, up until we started with the visible red stuff. You said so.'

'I could be wrong.'

'You're not,' said Naruto. 'He wouldn't be so close if he could see what we have left.'

'Not much,' Kyuubi reminded him sullenly. He resented this. He could have attacked minutes ago with what energy he had left. Every second he waited was that much more of his reserves burned away. And all because Naruto had to go and think up one of his bizarre strategies at the last second. He was tempted to fight him. His own plan of simply blasting the bastard with everything he had left might not work, but there was no guarantee that Naruto's plan would work, either. But his plan would mean less suffering. The longer they waited the more it ate at his pride. Much more and he would snap and not even Naruto would be able to stop him.

'So stop bitching and cooperate,' Naruto growled. Kyuubi was so annoying when he was frustrated and cranky. 'If I can get my knees up, I can put weight on my toes and we'll be all set to lunge. Let go now and we'll lose seconds getting up enough to ready a lunge.'

'Take it, then,' Kyuubi huffed. 'There's not much. You can control it as easily as I can. It's your plan. Better work, or I'll never let you live it down.'

'It'll work,' said Naruto. He pulled at his energy, a strange sensation considering how seldom he'd been left in full control of their reserves. He wondered if this were what Sasuke had done when he'd reinforced that bandage. Even if his eyes had been open, he wouldn't have been able to see it, but he could feel it. It burned. His muscles hurt from holding him off the ground, his entire body felt like it was quivering, but that energy burned as it moved. 'Is it healing at the same time? I'm not really injured.'

'Strained muscles,' Kyuubi muttered. 'Think of a rope pulled thin to the point of fraying. Doesn't matter.'

'Yeah, okay.' Naruto forced his eyes open. That visible red fire stuff burned to look at. He let out a low groan for Kakashi's benefit, noting smugly that the bastard had edged even closer in the last minute. He'd barely have to move to catch his ankle. 'Here we go, asshole.'

Kyuubi gave a warning growl, 'Was that for me or him?'

'Both,' Naruto snickered.

A dark grin pulled at his mouth, his face still aimed at the ground. He inched up, coiled, gathered, and lunged. It happened too quickly to think. He was up, exhilarated to be off the ground, airborne, even. The weight was still there, but he didn't feel it. That red energy he'd been using for show was pulling tight now, making up for the effort, easing the stress, Kyuubi's instincts to heal taking over without any direction on his part. Kakashi flinched back, his eye widening, right arm lifting to block the clawed hand aiming for his neck. Naruto was disappointed by his immediate reaction. Surprise, but not a hint of fear. His hand closed over Kakashi's raised arm and the strength of his lunge pushed him back. He was going down and Naruto was going to keep him there, pinned, stationary, no more of that taunting dancing around and treating him like a bumbling idiot who'd never fought in his life.

His left hand curled on the way down, aiming to catch hold of Kakashi's throat, his left hand still closed tight over that raised arm. There was a strange chirping sound in his ear. His head jerked slightly to his right. He caught sight of something silvery and glinting, curling all over Kakashi's left arm. And then a whistle, high and piercing enough that Kyuubi cringed despite his distraction. The next thing Naruto knew he was being thrown back, light blazing behind his eyes, his left hand numb and tingling as if he'd just stuck it into a bucket of icy razor blades. He hit the ground hard and rolled twice before Kyuubi shot forward to push them to their knees. Naruto couldn't see anything at first, but Kyuubi could. What he saw made him even angrier than being humiliated and tormented had.

Naruto blinked groggily at Kakashi. The man was sitting on the ground, looking flustered and surprised. That silvery light was still curling around his left arm. Only now there was something shielding him. A bubble almost, translucent, ivory and lavender and swirly like the inside of a seashell. Naruto stared at it in confusion. Kyuubi snapped his head to the left, a livid glare taking over their face. Sasuke was standing on the hill a few yards away, glaring every bit as angrily as Kyuubi. Except he was glaring at Kakashi. Naruto took control long enough to look at Kakashi. He was climbing to his feet now, still enclosed in that pretty bubble.

"I though we agreed never to use that on each other," Kakashi called, a frown making its way over his face.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "We did. And you told me you'd never use the chidori on anyone else."

Kakashi glanced at Naruto. Then he sighed and scratched at the back of his neck. "Instinct," he admitted. "I wasn't planning on it."

"You still did it," said Sasuke.

"Yeah..." He shot a quick look in Naruto's direction and dropped his eyes. "Sorry about that."

'What happened?' Naruto blurted. He felt heady, from the impact with that bubble, and the shattered anticipation of having his attack cut off right at the best part. No, not just heady, he felt cheated. And he didn't even know what had gone wrong. 'What happened?' he demanded. 'Kyuubi?'

A low growl sounded in response, quiet at first, then louder, rumbling up until it almost hurt his ears and he could feel it down to his fingertips. Then they were up and moving again, faster than that final lunge at Kakashi. Naruto didn't realize what was happening until he heard Sasuke grunt from the impact. He was down in a second, one clawed hand closed over his left wrist, the other digging dangerously into his bandaged side. Naruto panicked.

'Kyuubi! Stop it!' Naruto yelled. 'What are you doing? Stop it! It's Sasuke! Are you nuts! He's injured!'

'I know that,' Kyuubi hissed. He leaned closer, glaring into narrow black eyes. Black, because Sasuke wasn't even bothering to use his talents to fend him off. His left hand shifted under Sasuke's shirt so there was nothing but thin bandages separating his claws and that injury. One flex was all it would take. And still those eyes were black.

"You interfered," Kyuubi growled. "Why?"

"He went too far," said Sasuke. His tone was absolutely calm. He couldn't hide how tense he was, but he wasn't intimidated. Not at all.

"So you protected him," Kyuubi snapped.

'Kyuubi,' Naruto said quietly. 'Kyuubi, come on. It was just a fight. Don't be mad. He's injured and you're gonna hurt him.' Only that wasn't what bothered him most. Kyuubi didn't want to hurt him. He wanted to terrify him. The thought of Sasuke being afraid of him, even if it was just Kyuubi, was too much. Naruto eased forward. Their claws were too close to Sasuke for him to wrestle Kyuubi for control. One twitch and they'd cut right into him. 'I swear, if you scare him, I'll never forgive you.'

'Does he look scared to you?' Kyuubi rounded, in a blistering tone. 'Pay attention! How many times does he have to almost kill us before you realize how dangerous he is?'

Naruto flinched back in surprise. It wasn't until he eased forward again that he felt the pain at his neck. He couldn't help but smile. As fast as Kyuubi had tackled him, Sasuke had still managed to react in time to make it a stand off. One flex of their claws and he'd be gutted, yes. And one push of Sasuke's wrist and their neck would be slit. 'Cool,' Naruto murmured. He promptly winced when Kyuubi went off on him. Mentally, since the fox was as motionless as ever. 'Come on,' he wheedled, 'it's cool. That's his broken arm, after all. And he's not even using his talents.'

Kyuubi ignored him and hissed again, "Why!"

"I was protecting you," Sasuke said, in a condescending tone. "Kakashi doesn't need me to protect him. He knows how to defend himself. You don't."

Kyuubi seethed, so tempted to ignore that blade and bite him, scratch him, anything but lean back and concede. It wasn't in him to concede. He leaned closer, feeling the skin split as that razor sharp knife dug deeper into his neck. If only they hadn't wasted so much energy on Kakashi, he'd have been able to heal the injury no matter how deeply the brat cut them. "The next time you see me, I'm going to make you scream."

A smirk pulled at Sasuke's face. He'd heard far worse threats from men in far better condition to deliver them. If Naruto's fox thought that worried him, it had a lot to learn. "You're welcome to try," he murmured. "Any time."

"Okay," Kakashi called, "that's enough, you two. How about you guys do your threatening foreplay somewhere else? Not that I don't appreciate seeing how well you're getting along. I'd just rather not be trapped where I have to listen to it."

Kyuubi let out a howl of pure frustration and darted past Naruto, intent on tearing up as many things as he could imagine until he passed out from the second energy drain in one day. Naruto wavered when he suddenly found himself in control. He should have known Sasuke would kick him off the second he loosened his grip. He landed hard on his back again and stayed there while he caught his breath. What a hectic five minutes...

Sasuke glared at Kakashi as he climbed to his feet. Kakashi had the nerve to smirk at him. Not worth the effort. He sniffed in annoyance and went over to Naruto. The blonde was blue-eyed again, looking as if he'd just run a few dozen laps around the fields, followed by an all out power match with a playful pervert. That sounded about right, given Kakashi's penchant for tormenting people. "Meet me at the house," Sasuke muttered. "We have to talk."

"Eh?" Naruto blinked tiredly. "You're not mad at me? For Kyuubi being all-"

"No," Sasuke said. He turned one last glare on Kakashi and walked away. He made it as far as the hill before Kakashi realized he wasn't going to undo the energy barrier.

"Hey," Kakashi blurted. "Sasuke? Hey, buddy boy, aren't you forgetting something?" Something about the way Sasuke walked away told him the brat was smirking again. Kakashi glowered sullenly. "It wasn't like I did it on purpose!" he hollered. Then he huffed and set down to busting the barrier the only way he knew how. So much for not using chidori a second time today. At least the blonde brat looked as tired as he did. "You did pretty good," he called at Naruto. "I never saw that last move coming."

"I know," Naruto smirked. He rolled onto his side so he could see the pervert better. "I'm really good at thinking up stuff like that."

"Ah," Kakashi nodded. "But it won't work a second time. Next time I'll be ready for you."

"Like there's gonna be a next time," scoffed Naruto. He was sure there would be, if only so Kyuubi could salvage his bruised ego. He wasn't ready to admit they might have learned something from Kakashi's torture session. No way. He stretched, wincing at the soreness all over him. "How long's this heavy stuff gonna last, anyway?" he muttered.

Kakashi lifted his head in surprise. A sheepish expression broke out on his face again. "Oops. I completely forgot about that. The way you pounced the brat, it didn't even occur to me that you were still triple your weight. I'm surprised you didn't crush him. I'll take it off as soon as I get out of this bubble."

"What's with the bubble?" Naruto asked. He didn't have the energy to stand up, not weighing so much and having Kyuubi venting everything they had left on imaginary destruction. He had to suffice with rolling onto his stomach and frowning at the pervert in the bubble. "How did he do that?"

"The whistle," Kakashi sighed. "It works from a distance. It's supposed to be an energy barrier to protect people from attacks, but it works pretty well as a trap for those who don't have a way to get out. I picked it up from a mutant we met. The brat being who he is, he copied it the first time I used it. We ended up agreeing not to use it when we spar since it takes a lot more to break it than it does to set it in place. No sense getting exhausted in a fight and then being trapped in a bubble once it's over."

"It's girly looking," Naruto said, wrinkling his nose. "Like a seashell."

"Yeah," Kakashi admitted, "it really is. Do yourself a favor and get him to promise he won't use it on you. It's not the kind of shield you can break by pushing, so your talent wouldn't do much good. You have to cut it or pop it. And as far as we can tell, that only works from the inside."

"So it's a good shield for protecting people?"

"The best," said Kakashi. And he smirked at that. "I'm just surprised he put it on me instead of you, since you're the one he was protecting. He must have known you wouldn't be able to get out on your own." Except that wasn't precisely true. Sasuke could have removed the shield as easily as he'd set in place. No, despite what the brat had said, he'd been protecting them both. Naruto would have taken a nasty hit from his chidori, but he'd have taken just as bad a hit if those claws had made it to his throat. Cute. He'd never pictured Sasuke protecting anyone, let alone him.

"Are you gonna pop that bubble any time soon?" Naruto groaned. "Even my fingers are heavy."

"Right," Kakashi said quickly. He gripped his left wrist and focused the remainder of his energy on his arm. It only took a moment to focus, considering how little energy he had left. Just enough to pop that shield. Then he yawned and flopped onto his back two feet from Naruto. "Okay, brat," he muttered. "You want me to lift that weight, roll over here. I'm not moving for at least an hour."

Naruto gaped. "You lazy bum!"

Kakashi just sniffed. "Your choice. If you'd rather stay like that till I wake up, it's fine with me."

"Bum," Naruto muttered. He grumbled and started the long roll over to the pervert. "Lazy perverted bum."

"Yeah," Kakashi drawled, "keep it up. I won't take the weight off at all."

"Then I'll roll on top of you and crush you," Naruto snapped. "Three times my weight? You'll be flattened in no time!"

Kakashi tilted onto his side so he could see the brat better. "You're too young to be on top of me. Go climb on someone your own age, you little pervert."

Naruto sputtered and gaped, and Kakashi rolled onto his back again, a satisfied smile spreading over his face. A little dangerous toward the end, maybe, but almost as fun as picking on Sasuke. He could get used to this.

.-.
TBC

-notes-
Sorry for the wait. This chapter went through a lot of rewrites and got worse each time. I should have known better. I write best when I stick with my first draft. It's all downhill from there. Hopefully this part's long enough to make up for the wait. If not, I expect some smut in the next chapter. That's something to look forward to.