Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Embracing Dreams ❯ Chapter 23

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

Notes: Long chapter. Heh. And a quick one, too. This is what happens when you get to some honest to god legitimate smut after 22 chapters of foreplay. Quick, lengthy update. :P The smut's not as heavy as I'd have liked, but we'll get there. This was a really big first step. I'm sure some people were expecting more. All I can say is, can you really imagine these two having full out sex three or four days after they first meet? Kyuubi, maybe, but Sasuke? Yeah.

Warnings: fluff, shounen ai, smut, NaruSasu

Part 23

Naruto didn't make it very far before the quivering got the best of him. Halfway back to the house, his muscles gave one final stubborn flex and then he collapsed in a warm puddle of goo. He sat stunned, almost bemused. It hurt. Not the way being cut or hit would hurt, just a heated ache, queasy, uncomfortable, tired, and it wouldn't go away even when he stopped moving. He'd never felt anything like it. His entire life, at least what he remembered of it, pain had been a fleeting sensation immediately followed by an itchy healing and then he was raring to go. He'd had minor accidents, and there'd been needles and tests before Kyuubi woke up, but those were fleeting, too, and they'd never really hurt. Not like this. The closest comparison he could make was waking up in the middle of the night, back when he'd lived in the hospitals, and knowing he wouldn't get fed till morning. Some of those nights, particularly after Kyuubi had woken up, had been incredibly long, minutes creeping by while his stomach twisted and tried to eat itself.

He bent over his legs, huffed a soundless laugh, and promised himself never to take Kyuubi's healing for granted. If this was what it felt like to really use his talents against a mutant, he'd have to get used to it. There was something satisfying about knowing that the ache was proof he'd gone all out. He'd certainly never gotten that from sparring with Hiko.

He didn't know how long he sat there, picking idly at the grass and marveling at the variety of aches he felt. Kyuubi had passed out mid rage, not even making it back to his nest. Naruto thought it was only fair that he stay where he'd dropped, too. It would get dark before long and then he'd try getting up again. Or he'd just wait till Kakashi finished his nap and headed back. He kept thinking about what Kyuubi had said about pulled muscles being like stretched ropes. If it ached from being stretched, how much would it hurt if it actually started tearing? Another good reason to wait a few minutes before he got up and tried again.

He was half asleep, still leaning over his folded legs, when a hand touched his back. He sat up in surprise. Sasuke. Crouching beside him, frowning at him with narrow red eyes. Naruto came fully awake with a wincing, "Oh!" He was supposed to meet him at the house. "Hey," he mumbled, dropping the bit of grass he'd been playing with. "I was just-" He cut himself off, frowning suddenly. Did he need to make an excuse? He didn't think so.

Sasuke gave him a sweeping look with the sharingan. Then he sighed and leaned down to pull Naruto's right arm over his shoulders. "You should take your own advice," he said, in a bland tone. Naruto wobbled when he got him to his feet, confused eyes blurring at him. "Don't fight someone when you're already injured."

"I wasn't injured," Naruto protested. He was momentarily surprised that Sasuke was helping him, but he dismissed it quickly. He'd done the same thing for Sasuke when he'd caught him bleeding to death. And they were boyfriends, so it was only right. He still didn't like the lecturing tone Sasuke was using on him. "He started it, anyway."

"Which is why he'll be sleeping it off right where he fell," said Sasuke.

Naruto snorted, a weak grin spreading over his face. A few steps forward and the grin faltered. He wasn't walking very straight. His feet kept turning wrong, like his ankles couldn't hold him up properly. He shot a quick look at Sasuke, "Aren't I heavy?"

"Not as much as you were earlier," Sasuke muttered. "He took the cheap way out, using that talent on you. You should have waited a day before sparring with him. It's pointless fighting him when he's at half strength. He'll incapacitate you the first chance he gets."

"That was him at half strength?" Naruto asked, his face scrunching up. Kyuubi was not going to like that. Not one bit. "What's he like at full strength, then?"

"Annoying."

"That figures," Naruto muttered. He snuck another look at Sasuke. Even though it was fair for Sasuke to help him this time, it felt weird. Embarrassing, even. Yeah, he was tired and he hurt, but he wasn't actually injured. Sasuke was. And Sasuke seemed more as if he were doing a chore, taking out the trash, than helping him because he wanted to. Sasuke wasn't the friendly type, Naruto reminded himself, and he wasn't really looking at him at all. Not to mention he'd specifically told Sasuke to rest - because Sasuke was the one who needed looking after, not him. How was he supposed to watch out for Sasuke if he couldn't even walk back to the house without Sasuke's help? He tried to stand up straight and stumbled, almost taking them both down.

Sasuke let out a hiss as his arm was jarred, a tense frown flashing over his face, "Don't pull like that. If you want to walk on your own, say so."

One glance at Sasuke's red eyes, and Naruto grimaced. "Sorry," he mumbled, scowling off to the side. He absolutely wouldn't be taking Kyuubi for granted in the future. "Kyuubi passed out and it took the pervert forever to take the weight off."

"And you have next to no energy left," Sasuke finished. He shifted his grip on Naruto's arm and started forward again. "I can see that much. You'll burn yourself out at this rate."

Naruto frowned. Kakashi had said the same thing. "What does that mean? Burn yourself out?"

"Sleep, usually," said Sasuke. "A coma, if it's bad enough. The body shuts down till you recover enough energy to function. If it can't recover on its own, you either don't wake up or you die."

"Die?" Naruto demanded. "You can die from using too much energy?"

"So I've been told," Sasuke said quietly. "I've never seen it happen." Kakashi claimed to have seen it happen. And he knew Itachi's first 'experiments' had died in part because they'd lacked the energy to sustain the sharingan. He'd been put into enough comas himself to know how dangerous it was to be as low on energy as Naruto was right now. "If your fox wakes up before your energy comes back, don't let him heal you."

"How long should I wait?" asked Naruto. He was proud of how casual his voice came out. The thought of being stuck this weak and aching made his stomach clench. Yeah, he'd have to get used to being low on energy and feeling pain now and then, but not all at once. He couldn't even stand up on his own! It was humiliating. There was no way he'd be able to stay like this. He'd go crazy. "Like, a few hours?"

Sasuke's head snapped around. "Hours?" No one recovered that quickly. "Do you monitor how much energy you use when you heal yourself?"

"Not really," Naruto frowned. "Kyuubi usually does that. I've never had to heal myself while he was sleeping."

"You use too much," Sasuke said sharply. "When you fought me, you used too much. When he healed himself after I threw him off the roof, he used even more. You have more energy than most people, so you probably never noticed how much you waste on healing. If you had better control, you might have enough energy to heal in a few hours. Haven't you ever talked to Iruka about healing? His control is perfect."

Naruto blinked in surprise. It was funny how Sasuke's tone shifted from biting to respectful the second he mentioned Iruka. "You know Iruka-sensei can only heal small stuff, right? And he can heal other people - I only heal myself."

"It's the same talent," said Sasuke. "All healers have the same basic type of energy," which he knew for a fact because it was one of those types he couldn't copy with the sharingan. "Yours is complicated because you have other talents in addition to healing. The amount of energy needed is still the same. It depends on the wound, not the person doing the healing."

"Oh." Naruto puzzled over that for a while. He was all for experimenting. Learning to control his energy had to be the first step to figuring out those tricks he and Kyuubi were aiming for. He wrinkled his nose, "But wouldn't that mean I'd have to hurt myself and then practice healing it?"

"Of course."

"I can't do that," Naruto blurted. "Iruka-sensei would kill me if he caught me doing that! He'd think I was a cutter!"

Sasuke jumped, caught off guard by Naruto's loud voice. He glared reproachfully and tilted his head further to his right. "Don't scream in my ear," he muttered.

"Sorry," Naruto said, quieter this time. "But I'm serious. Iruka-sensei would throw a fit if he thought I was a cutter."

"What's a cutter?"

"You know," Naruto sighed. He waggled his left hand, fingers pinched over an imaginary razor. "A cutter. Emo kids."

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched at the suggestive gesture. Naruto couldn't be referring to what it looked like. Not when he had an arm around the idiot. He'd kill him. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He glanced at Naruto's wrist and his eyebrow twitched again. "Stop doing that."

Naruto frowned from his hand to Sasuke, and back to his hand. He made one more cutting motion. Then his face turned bright red. "I didn't mean it like that!" If it had been anyone else, he'd have called him a pervert. From what little he'd seen, Sasuke was more prude than perve. "I meant cutting. You know, cutting yourself. Like cutting up your arms with a razor blade."

"Small cuts with a razor would be good to practice healing," Sasuke frowned. "It would be better to cut the back of your left hand, though. You could do that with your claws."

Naruto was shaking his head, grinning helplessly at how serious Sasuke sounded. "You've gotta be kidding. Iruka-sensei would never let me hurt myself. Even if I was doing it to practice, he still wouldn't like it. And I'm not the kinda guy who'd cut himself, anyway." Sasuke continued to frown at him, and his smile faltered. He sent a quick look to his left, at the arm wrapped around his waist. There weren't any scars on the back of Sasuke's hand, but there was one that curved along the webbing of his thumb. Naruto's face twisted into a dangerous scowl. "Sasuke," he said sharply. "You better not be a cutter. I know you got the whole pale skin black clothes emo look going, but cutting is dangerous! And it's stupid, too!"

Sasuke's eye twitched. He recognized that tone of voice. It was the one Iruka had used when he'd ordered them outside after getting mud on his floor. He sent a scathing look at Naruto, "I don't cut myself, if that's what you're implying. I have no healing talents. I can't copy talents like that. Why would I hurt myself if I can't heal it?"

"Don't ask me," Naruto sighed, smiling in relief. He waved his left hand, "I saw a show about it and they interviewed a lot of cutters. Emo kids. They wear these wristbands - or stuff like those arm cuffs you had, only they wear them all the time to hide the scars. I don't think any of them cut the back of their hands, though. That's a really obvious place and, you know, that sort of thing will get you sent to a mental hospital real fast."

"I've never heard of that," said Sasuke. Kakashi had teased him about being a masochist, but it wasn't true. He ignored pain during a fight, he didn't enjoy it.

"I thought everyone knew about it," Naruto frowned. "Where have you been living? Iruka-sensei said you guys were traveling a lot. Didn't you have television in the hotels?"

Sasuke's face darkened. "I never watched television." Pay per view porn. That was the only thing Kakashi had ever turned on when they'd stayed in a hotel with a television. He'd come to prefer the poor hotels without tv sets in the rooms. There was nothing worse than having to sleep in the bathroom to escape the moans. At least the written porn was silent.

"That sucks," Naruto grimaced. "I can't imagine going without television. What did you do in your free time, read?" He went for walks when Iruka ran him away from the tv set. Sasuke seemed more the indoor, sit in a corner with a nice book, type.

"No."

Naruto waited for a few minutes before he realized Sasuke wasn't going to say anything else. He frowned, staring at Sasuke's profile, trying to think of something to talk about before the sudden silence got too heavy. Sasuke's eyes were still red. That reminded him of how angry Kyuubi had been earlier, because his eyes were black. Red meant he was using his talents and he hadn't been using them when he'd met Kyuubi's pounce. Naruto blinked. "Hey, why didn't you use your talents when Kyuubi jumped you, earlier?"

"I wasn't there to fight, and I would have reacted the same way if you had interfered with my fight," Sasuke admitted. "I didn't intend to interfere. Kakashi went too far. You surprised him and he reacted on instinct." His eyes narrowed. He knew that wouldn't happen again, but it shouldn't have happened in the first place. "He would have killed you. He might have survived it, but you wouldn't have, not with your energy as low as it was. You'd never have had enough left to heal yourself from an injury that serious."

"Oh," Naruto murmured. He wondered if that would make a difference to Kyuubi. He'd never seen Kyuubi so angry before. "You should be more careful."

Sasuke arched an eyebrow, "Me?"

"Yeah, you," Naruto scowled. "He shouldn't have jumped you, not since you were helping, but you shouldn't have taunted him like that. It's not fair."

"Fair."

Naruto nodded stubbornly. "Right. Because he can't get back at you. He's really set on beating you up. I'm not gonna let him fight without me, but riling him up just makes it harder for me to hold him back. And it's not fair, like poking a stick at a caged animal. If he gets out, it'll be my fault, yeah, but if he's trying to get out so much because you taunted him, then it'll be your fault, too." He frowned at Sasuke's profile. It didn't even look like he was listening. "I want you guys to get along."

Sasuke looked over, his eyes glinting with amusement. "That isn't going to happen."

"Why not?" Naruto scowled in frustration. "You can at least try. He's not that bad once you get to know him." That eyebrow arched again, and Naruto had to look away. "Okay," he muttered, "he's pretty bad. But that doesn't mean you have to make it worse by poking a stick at him when he can't bite back."

Naruto sighed. He just knew Sasuke's parting taunt was going to keep Kyuubi riled. He wished he hadn't said that. But he couldn't really blame Sasuke for it, not with Kyuubi's 'make you scream' threat having egged him on. And he knew Kyuubi had meant that. He didn't know what to do. He wasn't used to playing the role of pacifist. Usually it was Iruka keeping him and Kyuubi from venting on whoever had riled them up. Maybe if he could keep Kyuubi distracted till Iruka came home, it would be okay. He was half afraid he might go to sleep and wake up to find out Kyuubi had snuck out and done something horrible to Sasuke. He couldn't control the fox all the time. Not any more. And a persistent thought kept bouncing into the front of his head when he imagined an angry Kyuubi fighting Sasuke - the last time he and Kyuubi had seriously disagreed about something, he'd ended up with Iruka's on his face. If Kyuubi did anything, it would be with his body. So he wouldn't just have guilt on his conscience for not preventing it, he'd have blood on his hands, too.

"Don't worry so much," Sasuke muttered.

Naruto shook his head. The problem was that Sasuke didn't worry enough.

.-.

It was pitch black when Iruka felt his cot move, dipping near his hip as if someone had placed a hand there and leaned slowly. He'd always been a light sleeper before he started drugging himself to zombie levels. The old habit had enabled him to wake up to his quiet alarm clock despite his doped up state. Now, drug free for two days running, he was wide awake in seconds. His eyes snapped open to black, silence, and after a tense moment, the faintly humid sound of people breathing in the nearby cots. If someone was standing by his bed, he couldn't see them. There were a few windows in the building, two on the main office out front, and two more in the old break room upstairs that had a rickety staircase to the back lot. None of the light reached where he was. He knew that. And still his first thought was that he hadn't woken up at all, that he'd drifted off despite Bunchu knocking him out for the night, and was currently in some nowhere state between dreaming and sleepwalking into other people's dreams.

He felt himself panic. Completely irrational. He was in a room crowded with nearly a dozen other people. But he couldn't see them. His throat narrowed until his sharp breaths should have whistled audibly. But he couldn't hear anything. He scrambled backwards on the bed until the wall stopped him and he was flattened against it. But he couldn't feel it. He was in an empty black void and in a moment he wouldn't remember where he was, where he was going, or where he'd come from.

He felt the mattress dip again, and his breath caught in a sharp little whine. That snapped him out of the blank panic he'd slipped into. Sensations returned, the breathing nearby, his own whistling breaths seemed especially loud, and touch, there was something sharp and awkward on the wall behind him and he'd pressed hard enough against it to leave a painful dent right between his shoulder blades. His blanket had also been knocked aside so his barefeet felt what had been causing the mattress to dip. Not a hand, but a furry small something that scrambled closer when he jerked his legs away.

"Shh, easy, there, I'm not gonna bite you..."

Iruka's temper flared as his now vividly awake mind registered both the voice and the fur and came back with a single conclusion. Talking dog. Soon to be battered whimpering dog. He curled his legs to the side and leaned down where he thought the dog was sitting. "What the hell are you doing?" he hissed. Anger tended to tighten his throat nearly as much as panic, resulting in a viciously sharp voice when he wasn't booming fit to rattle windows.

"Waking you up," Pakkun whispered, in a friendly unconcerned tone. "Up you go. Quiet, now," and he scrambled to the floor. "Come on. I'll tug your pants leg to tell you where to go. Just walk slow."

A dozen questions sprang to mind as Iruka scooted to the edge of the cot. What was to stop him from kicking the dog? He wouldn't have the pleasure of watching how far it flew before smacking the floor, and he'd miss out on counting the subsequent bounces. He might hurt his toes if his kick landed on the tailbone or the skull rather than that sunken midsection, but he could deal with pain for such a good cause. How was Pakkun seeing any more than him? As far as he knew, dogs couldn't see in the dark any better than humans. He wasn't a cat, after all. Why the hell hadn't Bunchu come to wake him? Bunchu had to be the reason he'd been woken in the middle of the night. No one else would dare go against his 'complete bedrest till those hands are healed' orders. Why the secrecy? He would have gone quietly simply out of respect for the children still sleeping. A flashlight or candle wouldn't have woken them up, and anyone who was already awake wouldn't think much of him getting up to talk with Bunchu, no matter what the hour. Why hadn't Akamaru reacted to Pakkun sneaking by and climbing into his bed? Kiba had bunked down in the cot next to his, so the dog should have noticed another dog coming so close.

Being led by a tiny dog he couldn't see was awkward. He took a few steps and then fur brushed his bare feet as Pakkun scooted over to tug him into a turn. Then a couple more steps and another furry brushing tug. Despite the apparent attempt at secrecy, Pakkun was making quite a bit of noise, in Iruka's opinion. He could hear every brush of the dog's padded feet, and even the occasional click and scritch of his claws as he darted over for a tug. By the time they reached the back door that led into the wide warehouse - which Iruka had been told by a grimacing Tenka was an unloading dock and too stinky and greasy for people - Iruka was tapping his fingers on his hips. He might have been absolutely blind, but he knew his way around well enough to have found the door himself if Pakkun had just told him where they were going. There had better be a very good reason for this. He didn't appreciate being frightened and frustrated the moment he woke.

Iruka walked through the door, took two more steps, and heard it close quietly behind him. He turned into a red tinted flashlight beam. Red because the light was shining dimly through the cracks of someone's fingers. Iruka stepped closer and made out a grinning Kiba. A downward glance answered his last question. Akamaru hadn't reacted because he hadn't been in the cot next to him. Iruka's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"What's going on?" he asked. He was immediately hushed by Kiba and Pakkun, and given a quietly reproachful chuff from Akamaru. So they were all in on it. He'd remember that later.

"Come on," Kiba whispered. He took Iruka's arm and led him through the smelly maze of old boxes and tarped lumps that were probably loaders and such. He used the muted flashlight beam until they were separated from the door by a few rows of junk. Then he uncovered it and sent more than just the shadows skittering away.

Iruka grimaced. He was barefoot, for God's sake. If one of those things crawled over his bare feet he was going to shriek and the canine conspirators would have a heck of a time sneaking after that. His toes curled, his heels inched off the ground, and he minced his way along as quickly as possible without stepping on something sharp or squishy. One piggy dogsized rat lurched close to his right foot and his breath hitched, but Pakkun snapped a look at it and the thing skuttered in the opposite direction. Iruka held that breath till Kiba prodded him through a doorway into a well lit room. When he let the breath out, it was a frustrated sigh.

There was a table in the room, dusty but rat free. And people. Familiar people. People who would no longer be on his list of friends if explanations were not given very quickly. Ino, Sakura, Tenka, who was going to get a pop in the mouth if he didn't wipe that grin off his face, and the boy who'd picked him up at his house. He still hadn't gotten the boy's name since he'd been sleeping every time Iruka checked in on him. Kiba closed the door and waved him at one of the chairs. Iruka took it as calmly as possible. He would not yell unless their explanation left him unsatisfied.

"What's going on?" asked Iruka.

"Told you he'd be pissed," Tenka smirked at Pakkun, who'd hopped from a chair to the table. "Did you lick him?"

"Of course not," Pakkun sniffed. He sent a quick look at Iruka and maintained his indignant doggy expression, as if he'd had no intention of licking him awake if he didn't get up right away.

Iruka was not amused. "Ten-chan," he said sweetly, bearing his teeth in a bright smile.

Tenka shuddered and grimaced, "Egh, don't make that face. It's creepy as hell."

"Explain," Iruka said, his smile widening. "Now."

"Sure," Tenka winced. "Look, it's like this, Bunchu had to take off to pick that kid up at the hospital. You heard about Pakkun's friend helping us get out, right? Fay?"

"Yes," Iruka nodded. He'd heard about him. He hadn't seen him because the man hadn't come back since he'd arrived. "What about him?"

"Turns out that guy of his has a talent for picking up psychos or something, and we got a big one in our midst. They had to take off before the kid caught a glimpse of Fay - some history there, figured he'd recognize him on sight or something. Bunchu's been keeping an eye on the nut, but like I said, he had to get that kid out of the hospital. He's getting released and Bunchu's the only one who can sneak him out now that Fay's gone. That leaves me, and you know, while I fancy myself pretty strong, I'd rather not mess with this one. Kiba here tells me he was eyeballing you earlier-"

"The twin," Kiba nodded, favoring Iruka with a look that was both 'I told you so' and 'I'm so glad I don't know the kid's name cause he grosses me out'.

Iruka straightened in his chair. "He hasn't done anything. So what if he looked at me. A lot of kids looked at me today, that doesn't-"

"He asked about you, too," came a vague mutter.

Iruka glanced over at the boy leaning against the wall to the side of Ino. He was one of the few kids who was still sporting bandages. Bunchu had warned him off healing him, saying his talent was spotty when it came to foreign energy, even the healing type. The boy was currently rubbing an eye with his fist, so he missed the look.

"Yeah," said Tenka, with a frown at Iruka. "Lucky for you, he asked Shikamaru. Anyone else could have at least given him your name. From what Bunchu told me about those twins' talents, they could have forced it out even if someone didn't want to give it."

Iruka's stomach churned at the thought. He had serious issues with people who invaded other people's privacy. A talent that allowed one to invade someone's body at the cellular level was even worse. He sent a worried look at the dark-haired boy. "Did he do anything to you? Either of them?" he added, because while the older twin had been quieter, his talent was the deadlier of the two.

"No," Shikamaru muttered. He looked at Iruka for a moment and then went back to rubbing his eyes.

"That's another reason we got lucky," said Tenka. He shot a impressed grin at Shikamaru, a grin that went unseen thanks to the eye rubbing. "No one can touch him in a dark room. They had a little confrontation and the nut took off, or nuts, if you count them separately."

"They left?" asked Iruka. He sent a slow look over the teens in the room, pausing on Sakura, who looked half asleep. She'd been healing all day. She shouldn't have been woken up for this, no matter how paranoid Tenka was. "If they're gone, why did you want me in here? What's the big deal?"

"Let me finish," Tenka sniffed. "They left, yeah. As far as we know, they left. Shika here saw them leave."

Shikamaru dropped his fist long enough to frown at Tenka, "Don't call me that." Then he went back to rubbing.

Tenka grinned and took up where he'd left off. "Shika here saw them leave," he repeated. "Walked right out the door. Only no one was watching the door to see if they came back in. And with their talents, the older one could be inside any of those kids out there and we'd never know it till Bunchu got back. See the freakout? We got our own little invasion of the body snatchers going on here, and the only person we know is being targeted is you. So here you are, in a bright room with all the trusted allies to keep you safe."

"The girls and Tenka were with that Bunchu guy all day," Kiba put in. "And I was with you. I'm not sure about him," and he sent a suspicious look at Shikamaru, who was still rubbing away and yawning occasionally. "But Akamaru says he smells normal enough. I figure if those freaks mix physically, actual bodies and all, he'd smell it."

"Okay," Iruka said slowly. He sighed and sent a tired look over the kids. "So we're going to stay together until Bunchu gets back?"

"That's the first bit of the plan," said Tenka. He was grinning again. "Second step is, we wake Shika here up enough to do his stuff, and he starts popping you guys over to your place. You were planning to take them with you, anyway. This'll save you a couple plane tickets."

Iruka tensed and shot a very studious look at Shikamaru. The boy was leaning against the wall as if his feet wouldn't hold him up, he was yawning consecutively, his eyes were watery and red when he wasn't rubbing away at them, and despite the fresh bandages, there was a blooming pink spot on his temple. The boy had used so much energy fetching him that he'd been sleeping for days, he hadn't been healed because none of them, not even Sakura, could transfer energy without hurting him, and now they were supposed to use whatever energy he'd recovered to save money on plane tickets? All for a threat that was more paranoid delusion than substantiated fact? Iruka's eyes narrowed in a reproachful glare at Tenka's enthusiasm. "Forget it."

"You worry wart," Tenka scoffed. He sighed and waved a hand. "It's not up for debate, anyway. It was Bunchu's idea."

"No."

"And it's not like Shika's against it," Tenka went on. "He needs a place to crash till he can skip the bandages, kinda eyecatching, you know, and you've got a nice big house just rarin to be filled with homeless kids. Just give him a dark corner to nap in and call it even. Shika's not picky."

Iruka's mouth shot open, and Tenka's right arm crooked and jerked down so his elbow rattled the table. Sakura flinched back in her chair, blinking wide-eyed for the first time since Iruka had come in. Tenka let out a choked yipe and launched into a series of silent grimaces. Iruka's eyes widened in surprise.

"Stop calling me that," Shikamaru muttered. He blinked blearily for a moment before resuming his eye rubs.

Tenka also rubbed his eye for a few seconds. Then he clutched his abused elbow and snapped around with a dirty glare for the boy. "That was low," he grumbled. "See if I argue your case again, ungrateful runt. I thought you couldn't do shit in a bright lit room, anyway." He caught Iruka's confused look and shrugged. "Shadows," he muttered. "That's how he kept the twins off him, stepped in a shadow and couldn't move for a while. It's real dark out there, you know. Anyway, Shika-" and he clutched his elbow and added a quick, "-maru here agreed with Bunchu's plan. It's not like you'd turn away a kid, and we'll rest a lot easier with the ones left if we don't have to worry about one of them trying to do something to you the second our backs are turned."

"You still haven't explained why the twins were interested in me," said Iruka. He wasn't agreeing with the plan. He fully intended to talk Bunchu out of it when he arrived. But he was clearly going to be kept here till then, so he might as well get some answers while he waited. "I didn't have very much contact with them."

"He said you looked familiar," Shikamaru muttered around his hand. "The one with the real body, not the head sticking out of his back." He was oblivious to the weird looks he got for that statement. "He wanted to know your name and where I picked you up at." He yawned for nearly twenty seconds and then muttered, "Offered to make it worth my time if I dropped him off over there."

"See?" Tenka nodded, flicking a thumb at Shikamaru. "Pretty creepy, right? Not paranoid delusion or whatever you're wanting to pass it off as. Just think, if Shika-" a blink "-maru here had been a freak, too, you'd have had a nasty surprise waiting when you got back home. I doubt that kid of yours coulda fended them off."

"Sasuke could," said Pakkun. "Kakashi, too, if he didn't try copying them first."

"Maybe," Tenka frowned, with a look that said he and the dog had already argued this point at length. "Anyway," he frowned at Iruka, "it would have been bad. Safest thing to do is get you out of here before you give any of the possible pod-people out there enough info to track you home. All we have to do is hold the fort till Bunchu gets back."

Iruka gave a numb nod. He'd frozen on the idea of those twins going anywhere near Naruto. If the dogs could smell something strange about them, Kyuubi would, too. And knowing Kyuubi, he'd incite Naruto to confront them. He refused to consider the possible results of that encounter. It hadn't happened. It wouldn't happen. He shivered and shoved the thoughts out of his mind. It hadn't happened and it wasn't going to, so there was no point worrying over it. He straightened and sent a sweeping look over the kids. Sakura had her head down and appeared to be dozing. He again wished she'd been able to get the sleep she deserved, but he wasn't about to suggest she retire to a cot. Not now. Kiba was squatting near the door, petting Akamaru's ear and looking at the dog in an endearing way that meant they were talking to each other. Ino was frowning grouchily in the seat next to Sakura, picking at her fingernails and shooting distasteful looks at Shikamaru. Iruka wondered at that till he glanced over and spotted Shikamaru cleaning an ear out with his pinky while giving another uncovered open-mouthed yawn. Boys.

"Would you like to sit down?" Iruka asked the boy. "You can have my seat."

"No," Shikamaru muttered. He slumped bonelessly down the wall, his head tilted back in an uncomfortable looking position till he was half sprawled on the floor. He yawned noisily and muttered, "I'm good." Then, from all appearances, he went to sleep.

Ino sniffed in disgust, muttering something under her breath. Iruka smiled weakly and did his best not to stare.

"We got coffee," Tenka offered. He waved dismissively when Iruka shot him a look, "You don't have to whisper. He sleeps like the dead. How do you think he managed to stay out the last few days? Only time I saw him awake was when he picked you up."

Iruka considered reminding Tenka that it was a matter of politeness, not necessity. He settled for coffee, instead. Arguing etiquette with Tenka was pointless, and if he was going home ahead of schedule, he'd have to get used to relying on caffeine again.

.-.

Kakashi was startled to find Sasuke waiting for him when he finally drug himself back to the house. He hid his surprise, and the accompanying dose of wariness, as well as he could. The brat was blank-faced and rigid. Rigid was normal for Sasuke, but the blank face made those little hairs on the back of his neck stand up. It was never good when Sasuke started resembling the mannequin. Kakashi held his tongue and gave a slight nod before passing him in the hall. He continued upstairs to his room, highly aware that he was being followed by an expressionless Sasuke. He resisted the urge to look over his shoulder. He already knew the brat's eyes were red, and that they were drilling into the back of his head. He could feel it. Those poor hairs on his neck were jiggling to keep from being singed by that stare. He'd never give Sasuke the satisfaction of showing how creepy it was to have the brat follow him.

It wasn't until he reached his room, and Sasuke moved into the open doorway before he could close it behind him, that he relented. He turned and gave his most bored expression, complete with raised eyebrow. "Did you want something?"

"Yes," said Sasuke.

Kakashi fought back a wince. The brat's voice was as blank as his face. Either he was absolutely furious, or he was hiding something much worse. He let his eye roam over that perfectly empty face. And his nose twitched. He immediately shifted from pretending to be calm and feeling wary to pretending to be exasperated and feeling angry. "I told you it needed stitches," he sighed, as if he didn't particularly care. "Come in," and his eye narrowed when Sasuke didn't hesitate or look at him. It had to be bad if Sasuke was willing to swallow his pride. Asking him for help? That was a whole lot of bitter pride to gulp down. He'd wiped the frown away by the time he'd shut the door after him. He pointed at the chair, "Sit." And he blocked another frown when Sasuke did as he was told. Seeing him complacent was disturbing.

"Are you going to make a fuss about stripping in front of me?" Kakashi taunted. He was rewarded by a tight twitch on the left side of Sasuke's face. His satisfaction was immediately marred when the brat jerked his head away and removed his shirt without a word. Not just disturbing. This was wrong. Kakashi sighed and let go of any pretense. The bandage on Sasuke's side was dark. He was obviously reinforcing it so the blood didn't seep into his clothing, but it was a close thing. Kakashi crouched and picked at it, "Did you change the bandages when you got back to the house?"

"Yes," Sasuke said quietly. His blank face couldn't hid the humiliation in his voice. "It won't stop."

"So you've been reinforcing it the entire time?" Kakashi asked, even though he knew the answer. He received a sharp nod. "Stop." And the brat's eyes faded to black. He turned the to desk, unsurprised to find the kit open and ready for use. If he'd known the brat was waiting for him, he'd have come back sooner. Of course, it was just like him to wait instead of coming out to get him. Hard enough for him to ask for help at all. "You know," Kakashi said, as he set about removing the bandages, "Naruto could probably heal this. I've already mentioned it to him. Seeing what happened with the scratches unintentionally, with more focus-"

"No."

Kakashi's lips twitched. That had gotten a reaction. A glance found vicious black eyes glaring down at him. Stubborn, angry, promising a slow painful death if he persisted. There was his brat. "Why not?" he prodded. "He already has to take care of that arm, since he broke it. The wound wouldn't have ripped so badly if he hadn't jumped you for saving his life, weighing a few tons and you not even using your talents. You're messing around with him, anyway, so you'll have to get used to him touching a lot more than your side before long."

Sasuke tensed more with each word, his lips curling back to bare his teeth. "Sew it up or I'll cauterize it myself. Don't screw with me. I could kill you without trying."

"Now, now," Kakashi winced, playfully, because he was glad to have gotten such a vehement reaction. There was no sign of that blank-faced humiliated quiet pseudo-Sasuke now. "I hate the smell of singed flesh. And you don't want to get into the habit of sealing cuts up like that. It'd make one nasty scar." He moved over to fetch the needle and added, "Besides, I still have enough energy to put you on the floor till you bleed to death. No point killing me if you go too, remember?"

"Hn." Sasuke glowered at him for a long moment before dropping his eyes. He reached into his pocket and tossed his spool at Kakashi's head. "Use that."

Kakashi caught it reflexively, glowering right back at the ungrateful brat. He settled on the floor again and gave an exasperated sniff at the thread. "You've been reusing this stuff for years. I'll have to dip it in peroxide or you can count on an infection."

"So do it," said Sasuke.

"Brat," Kakashi sniffed. He set to work, using the cap of the bottle as his 'soaking' pool for what thread he thought he'd need. In the meantime he set to needling his cat in the nicest way possible. "You do realize that even using this thread, you won't be able to reinforce it the way you do as a defense. Right? It'll still tear if someone hits you when you don't have the sharingan activated. Healing the actual wound is the only way to avoid that."

"I said no."

"I don't get it," Kakashi murmured, threading the needle with a quiet hum. "You hate having me patch you up. Normally you'd sooner bleed to death than ask for my help. And you obviously like the brat, or you wouldn't be letting him stick body parts in your mouth." A grating choking sound answered that. Kakashi's lips twitched. "Despite that, you'd rather have me patch you up than let him try to heal you. It doesn't make sense. I'm sure there's an explanation that makes sense in your twisted mind, but, for the life of me, I can't figure out what it is."

"It wasn't my fight," Sasuke said tightly. He flinched when Kakashi started sewing the wound, his sharingan activating to block the worst of the pain. "I interfered. It was my decision. This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't."

"He would be dead if you hadn't," Kakashi reminded him. He decided not to mention that he might have ended up just as dead. Sasuke wasn't up to the whole 'you saved my life, you're so cute...!' teasing right now. He'd save that for later. "He should be thanking you."

Sasuke's lip curled in disgust, "I wouldn't thank him. If he'd interfered with my fight, I'd have killed him."

"Ah," Kakashi nodded, "I see. So you figure if you take your punches now, he's less likely to interfere if he catches you fighting later. I suppose that does make sense in that twisted head of yours. But, you know," and he beamed at the tense brat, "I get the feeling Naruto's the overprotective type. You're going to have a hard time when he finds out you have psychopaths attacking you at random. You may have to put him in the bubble when your visitors start showing up. I don't think he'll like that."

Sasuke looked away, his eyes glinting. Kakashi smirked. The brat had already thought of that. He should have known. Sasuke did like to plan ahead. And so long as Naruto had no way of popping the bubble, he'd be protected and restrained from interfering at the same time. Convenient.

"The fox isn't going to appreciate that," Kakashi commented. A shitty little Sasuke smirk flashed over the brat's face. He shook his head at that expression of dark amusement.

"I know," Sasuke drawled.

Something about the way he said it brought those hairs on Kakashi's neck to standing again. He'd never really noticed how seductive the brat's voice was when he was making sly promises of unholy violence. It was very disturbing. Kakashi blinked worriedly and focused on the wound he was sewing up. He'd engage the brat in conversation later. He was obviously suffering from exhaustion. This was Sasuke he was thinking about. The kid. The brat. His little skittish violence-prone asexual cat. Any connection with Sasuke and seductive was inherently wrong. He fought back a shiver. He was definitely imagining things. It was that joke he'd made earlier about threatening foreplay. He'd been kidding when he'd said it. He shouldn't be taking his own jokes so seriously.

"All in my head," Kakashi muttered to himself.

"What?" Sasuke snapped, with a confused frown.

"Nothing," Kakashi said quickly. "I'm getting old, is all," he sighed. "Everything will be fine after a little nap. Yeah, just fine. It's all in my head..."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. He watched more closely as Kakashi finished his work. As soon as he was done, he nodded, dressed, and went to the door. He didn't bother with gratitude, but he did give Kakashi the same advice he'd given Naruto, earlier. "Sleep it off."

"Good idea," Kakashi sighed, more to himself than to Sasuke. "Definitely need a nap. Dreaming of nice healthy adult porn. Yeah, that's just the thing. Mm..."

.-.

Sasuke went to his room to follow his own advice as soon as he finished with Kakashi. He'd made it back to the house earlier, before he'd realized how badly his side was torn. He'd postponed it as long as possible, hoping it the bleeding would stop on its own. Finally he'd been forced to act. His choices were fairly limited. He could use his left arm and his knife to cauterize the cut. That would stop the bleeding, make him sick to his stomach, and leave a very nasty scar. He could use the sharingan to block the pain and sew it up himself with his right arm. His arm was starting to worry him and he didn't fancy jarring it again today. He had an idea the simple closed fracture was teetering on becoming a compound one too nasty to leave unchecked. He'd have to go to a hospital if he complicated that. The alternative was to get Kakashi and let him do what he'd offered to. Patch him up. Humiliating, but he would remember it later and that memory would keep him from making the same mistake again.

That was how he'd met Naruto. Between interfering with Naruto's fight and realizing his wound was torn to hell, he'd completely forgotten about Naruto having been so low on energy. He'd been sickeningly guilty when he'd spotted the boy sitting there in the fields. Any thought of passing him by and going on to fetch Kakashi was pushed aside. One glance was enough to tell him Naruto's energy was dangerously low. Having Naruto help him in the bathroom had been embarrassing, but looking back it was preferable to passing out and possibly bleeding to death on the floor. The least he could do was return the favor. Naruto didn't make a fuss about it, and he didn't really mind postponing his humiliation a while longer. He'd known asking Kakashi for help would hurt. He wouldn't forget that lesson for a long time. No getting himself into a corner where he couldn't take care of himself.

So he collapsed the second he hit his bed, frowning resentfully at his inability to curl more comfortably on his side and burrow under the covers. Then he fell asleep. And he dreamt that he hadn't reached Kakashi and Naruto in time to interfere with their fight. He reached them afterward and stood on the hill looking down at them. He could vividly see the way Kakashi's neck was splurting, having slit a number of throats in his own time. Kakashi was holding the injury with one hand, and pressing Naruto's gaping wound with the other. He was doing something, a talent Sasuke didn't recognize. And it wasn't working. The chidori had burrowed deep into Naruto's side, obliterating organs and biting into his spine. If he wasn't dead already, he was certainly paralyzed for life. Sasuke watched the scene, feeling oddly detached as he noted the way their energies merged where their blood was pooling together, a strange swirl of silver and red. He hadn't thought they'd have had that much energy left after those final attacks. If they hadn't been dying, he'd have made a note not to underestimate them in the future.

He woke up to the sound of his bedroom door opening. That feeling of detachment remained strong as he turned to watch Naruto enter the room. He would be disturbed by the dream later. Maybe. Assuming he was awake now. If he were still sleeping, he'd likely forget it by the time he slipped into a third dream, and it would be long gone when he finally wake up. Naruto crossed to his desk, pulled the chair back, and crouched on it. Like he had on the roof. Animalistic and oddly comfortable looking in such an awkward pose. Sasuke looked him over. The rest had done him good, assuming this wasn't a dream. The way Naruto had hung on him during the walk back to the house, he'd estimated every muscle in his body had been hurting. Now he looked as limber and bright-eyed as ever. Bright red eyes, Sasuke noted. So it was the fox instead of Naruto?

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked quietly. If he was awake, he might as well speed this along so he could go back to sleep. If he was dreaming, he was curious why his subconscious had picked Naruto's fox to entertain him with.

"You."

The voice was deep, so he supposed that meant it was the fox, after all. He sighed and turned his eyes to the ceiling. "I'm not interested in you that way," he said honestly. Naruto was different, there was some sort of attraction there, likely because Naruto was so unthreatening he felt safe even when he was doing things that made him uncomfortable. The fox, though... "You're a horrible kisser."

A bristling growl answered that. Sasuke snorted softly. "You are," he muttered. "Even that werewolf kissed better than you, and I was asleep when he tried to stick his tongue down my throat." The memory of that incident brought a faint grimace to his face, dispelling some of that airy detachment. He'd woken up to the sensation of something slimy choking him. It was a wonder he'd enjoyed kissing Naruto so much. Really, he didn't understand why it was so different with him.

"There are better things to do than kiss."

Sasuke flicked a look to the side, frowning when he saw Naruto, or rather the fox, standing so close to his bed. "Don't touch me," he muttered. "I'm recuperating. I don't want to fight." He couldn't risk complicating his injuries any more than they already were, even if it was just in his dreams. Only now that the detachment was weakening, he was starting to think this might be real. His eyes narrowed slowly. "I'm serious."

"Ah," and the fox was crouching beside his bed, claws pressing lightly on the edge of the mattress, those red eyes even with his own. "You smell of blood." A sniff, and a quiet growl, "And the pervert."

"You've a lot of nerve calling him that," Sasuke said, raising an eyebrow. He was faintly surprised when a snicker and a grin answered him.

"True. He's an amateur compared to me."

"Right," Sasuke frowned tiredly. He wanted to look away, but that wakening part of him was fairly convinced this was no dream and wouldn't let him break eye contact. "I'm not interested in you. Get out of my room."

"Why should I?" came the taunting response.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "Because Naruto doesn't want me poking a stick at you." He sneered faintly. "He seems to think it's unfair of me to counter your threats with taunts."

"That's because he thinks they're empty threats," Kyuubi drawled, in equal amusement. "He's young."

"And you're not?" asked Sasuke.

The fox grinned, "I'm not."

Sasuke snorted. "I'm still not interested in you."

"You will be," the fox murmured. He took a deep breath through his nose, as if breathing him in. Then he rocked back on his heels, "You're interested in Naruto. Would you like me to wake him?"

"I'm tired," Sasuked muttered. He wanted to say, 'I think I'm dreaming,' but if this were real that would be admitting a weakness. He couldn't do that.

"He won't let you wear yourself out," Kyuubi grinned. "He worries too much."

Sasuke wondered how the fox had heard that. Kyuubi had been sleeping when he'd said that to Naruto in the field, earlier. Then that whiskered face was looming over him, too close, too fast, and his eyes widened. He was awake. He should have cauterized the wound earlier, no matter how much he'd hated doing it. Using the sharingan so long must have worn him out more than he realized and that was why he'd woken so groggily. Even now, the sharingan spun once and then died when he tried to activate it. His left arm rose on command, but sluggishly, with no power behind it. That mouth closed on his own and he tensed, waiting for the fox's pathetic excuse for a kiss.

What came was tentative and soft, immediately sending a warm flush over him. Sasuke blinked and hesitated, his left arm curling lightly around Naruto's neck, his knife limp in his hand. Those eyes had been red. That was the fox, right? But the kiss was Naruto. He pulled back, and glinting eyes fluttered open, not red or blue, but purple, some rose madder shade in between. He frowned and started, "Naruto? What-"

"Sasuke," Naruto murmured, in a husky voice that was still much lighter than the fox's rusty growl.

Naruto kissed him again, and Sasuke squirmed. He was definitely awake now. So he should stop this. He knew he should. A part of him didn't want to. He enjoyed the way Naruto kissed him. He'd already admitted that to himself. It was uncomfortable having him lean over him in his own bed, but they were just kissing. This was simply a continuation of what the fox had so rudely interrupted on the roof, earlier. His hand tightened on his knife, a reminder of responsibilities and doubts and all the reasons he'd decided getting involved with Naruto was a mistake. A certain skittish girl with a sickeningly obvious crush immediately popped into mind. Then Naruto hummed into his mouth and he closed his eyes, dropping his arm, and tucking the knife under his pillow. He'd deal with that issue later.

Naruto seemed to take his lowered arm as an invitation to shift the kisses to his neck. Sasuke tensed at the first nuzzling brush. Again, his immediate response was an irritated one. This wasn't part of the deal. Putting his teeth right over a main artery? He might as well have gone the fox's route and dug claws into his wounded side. He gnashed his teeth and let out a warning, "Naruto."

"I'm not gonna bite," Naruto murmured, seconds before belying his words with a soft nip. "It's foreplay," and he nipped again, his tongue flicking out to soothe the spot, "...doesn't hurt..."

Sasuke flinched at each feel of those teeth, his left hand curling tight in Naruto's hair. He could pull him free at any time. His stomach was clenching fitfully, alternating between uncomfortable and aroused. He kept thinking about Kakashi's word for it, necking, and the idea that this was normal, after all. It didn't feel normal. It felt threatening and disturbing. And had Naruto sounded like this on the roof? He sounded so confident it made him want to wait and see. He winced at another nip of those dangerously sharp teeth. Then Naruto moved to lap at the hollow of his throat. Sasuke's eyes snapped open and he choked.

That was worth the wait. He took a shaky breath and held it, and Naruto pressed his tongue into the spot again. He shivered in reaction. No teeth, no threat, and it felt really good. A grimace of embarrassment twisted his face when Naruto let out a breathy laugh at his expense.

"Sensitive," Naruto murmured in apparent approval.

Sasuke huffed at the teasing tone, "Idiot," he muttered, reflexively because Naruto was sucking on that spot, toying till it burned, and his shifted restlessly on the bed. He didn't want him to stop, but he didn't want to be still, either. His hand slid over Naruto's back, fingers kneeding through his shirt. A quiet growl sounded at that, and he found himself shivering again as the hot breath hit his damp skin. He closed his eyes tight and tilted his head back, feeling horribly exposed and gratified when Naruto reacted by doubling his efforts. This was foreplay, he thought feverishly. If this was just the preliminary, he couldn't imagine what actually-

He didn't finish the thought. Warm hands slipped under his shirt and he welcomed the distraction. He wasn't ready to follow that thought to its natural conclusion. His muscles flinched as Naruto's hands ghosted over the bandages, frown lines breaking on his brow. Naruto lifted his head, those steamy eyes making him want to look away or squirm or distract him. He opened his mouth instead, leaning up to kiss him. He lapped at Naruto's tongue, coaxing it into his mouth and guiding him down until his head was pressing the pillow again. Naruto squirmed in response. One of those hands pushed up until his thumb was rubbing roughly over the hollow of his neck, irritating the damp skin in a way that made Sasuke want to arch into the touch, make it rougher still. He suddenly wished he hadn't fussed over Naruto's 'nipping' so much. He didn't think he'd mind to feel teeth right there.

Naruto's other hand was tickling his collarbone, shying away from his broken arm, palm rubbing over his chest. Fingernails that were a tad too sharp flicked his nipple, and Sasuke choked and froze. Naruto had rocked his hips forward at the same moment and the sudden shock was too intimate, too immediate. He could feel him through the blanket and their clothes and his first instinct was to push away. He might have if Naruto hadn't taken over the kiss. Sweet and warm, arousing and reassuring, and if Naruto wasn't overreacting he shouldn't, either. He tilted his head into the kiss, his hand sliding into the back of Naruto's shirt to feel the warm skin. Naruto's fingers were rolling his nipple now, subtle, almost, tingling and warm, and not so much as a ghost of those sharp nails. Their hips were flush against each other, but neither of them was moving now and that was fine. They were supposed to be aroused, knowing Naruto was, too, made it nicer.

A heady shiver tugged through him, and Sasuke almost laughed into Naruto's mouth. He'd forgotten to breathe again. He pulled him back, taking a few deep shaky breaths through his mouth. Naruto watched him with heated eyes as if he were doing something besides catching his breath. He turned his head, avoiding another kiss, and pulled Naruto down so he could nuzzle his neck instead. He was curious if Naruto had a spot like he did. He nipped lightly, playfully, and was startled by the strangled gasp Naruto made against his own neck. He promptly did it again, soothing the spot with his tongue just like Naruto had. And he flinched when Naruto's teeth latched onto a small pinch of his skin, right at the junction of his neck and shoulder. He was just holding it, not breaking skin, but the feel of those too sharp teeth send a thousand alarms ringing in Sasuke's ears. He leaned back carefully, his hand curving to Naruto's shoulder.

"Don't," Sasuke said quietly. Those teeth eased up, enough for him to breathe again, not enough for him to relax. Naruto lifted his head, lips trailing his cheek before sliding free. He was slightly reassured that Naruto's eyes were more blue than red, but the mood was wrong. He was on edge now and he didn't think any amount of tentative kissing would make it better. He sighed and looked away. "That's enough."

"What?" Naruto murmured, blinking in hazy surprise. He pouted and kissed the edge of Sasuke's mouth. "Don't say that," he teased softly, "you're not supposed to say that."

Those hands slid free of his shirt, one rising to brush the hair away from his face. Sasuke shifted uncomfortably at Naruto's expression as much as the touch. He didn't want to be the one ruining the mood. Naruto was obviously still in the mood, but he wasn't. There was nothing for it. "It's no good," Sasuke frowned.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto frowned, some petulant frustration breaking through the lust in his eyes. "You're still hard."

Those hips shifted to prove his point, and Sasuke went absolutely rigid. His teeth clenched tightly, and he glared dangerously. "Get off me and get out."

Naruto gaped for a second before glaring right back. He looked outraged, confused, and maybe even hurt in a faint surprised way. Sasuke didn't like that look, but he was in no mood to make allowances. Naruto's mouth closed in a stubborn frown and he leaned down on him. Sasuke reacted by twisting sharply and tossing him off the bed.

Naruto yiped when he hit the floor, landing hard on his side. He lay there as if stunned, and Sasuke shoved himself up to scowl down at him. He was still scowling when Naruto suddenly flinched, lurched up, and scrambled backwards halfway across the room from him. Sasuke blinked in surprise. Naruto's face had gone ash white and he was staring at him in what appeared to be horror.

"What?" Sasuke snapped. He was angry. He didn't want to be concerned for the idiot when he was angry with him.

"S-Sasuke...?" Naruto asked, in a high wavering voice. "That-" And he gulped, what little color left in his face draining way. "I didn't - I thought..."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as what little anger was left in him faded into grudging worry. Naruto looked as if he were about to cry. Just the thought of it made him grimace. His voice was still sharp, but not as biting, "What? What's wrong?"

Naruto was shaking his head furiously. He'd backed up until his back was tight against the wall, and still his feet pushed as if to scoot him further away. "I'm so sorry," he blurted, his voice catching. He sniffed, worrying his bottom lip and swallowing roughly. "I didn't know," he mumbled. "I'd never have pushed you if I thought - I didn't even-" and he flinched suddenly, sending a wild look around the room. "How did I even get in here? I was sleeping! I thought it was - I didn't - I was sleeping!"

Sasuke blinked. Anger, frustration, and amusement twisted in his stomach, edging out the worry and bringing a sneer to his face. He pushed off the bed and went over to crouch in front of Naruto. His lips twitched when Naruto flinched and waited for whatever blow he thought was coming. "Your fox came in here," Sasuke explained, his tone sickly amused. "I thought I was dreaming at first. I turned him down and he offered to wake you up. He woke you up."

Naruto swallowed again, with effort, his shoulders shaking as if the lump were huge and choke-worthy. "So all of it was..."

"Real," Sasuke smirked. "Yes."

"I'm so sorry," Naruto whispered, his face twisting again.

Sasuke shrugged. "I'm not. Up until the bite, and the refusal to quit, I didn't mind. Though next time tell him to make sure you know you're awake. I don't appreciate being played with."

"Next time...?"

There was a world of hopeful disbelief on Naruto's face, culminating in his extremely wide eyes. Sasuke found himself smirking again. He tried to get rid of the smile and failed.

"Maybe," Sasuke qualified. "Who is Hinata?"

Naruto blinked, squinted for a moment, and then tilted his head. "How do you know Hinata?"

Suddenly it was very easy for Sasuke to get rid of that pesky smile. His eyes narrowed. "Kurenai came to the house, earlier. She invited us to dinner on Friday. Hinata was with her. What is she to you?"

"She goes to school with me," Naruto shrugged, still looking confused. "She's really shy, so she doesn't have a lot of friends. She was nice to me right from the start, so we're good friends now."

"She has a crush on you."

Naruto blushed suddenly, a weak grin pulling at his face, "You picked that up just from meeting her once? Heh, kinda obvious, I guess. Yeah, she's had it since we met. She's really sweet."

Sasuke's eye twitched. He'd expected a swift denial or a guilty admission, not some embarrassed and please dismissal of the issue. He scowled dangerously. "Are the feelings mutual?"

"Well, sure," Naruto shrugged. "I told you, she's really sweet. I don't see how anyone could not like Hinata. She's just-" He cut himself off suddenly, his face getting that distant 'I'm talking to my fox' look. Then he blinked and leaned forward to squint at Sasuke. "You thought I had a thing for Hinata?"

"I didn't think that," Sasuke frowned, "I'm asking if you do. If you don't, fine. If you do, leave me the hell alone and stop messing around with other people while she's quivering pathetically on your doorstep."

"Don't talk about her like that," Naruto scowled. A beat passed and he sniffed, leaning back with a smirk. "You're cute when you're jealous."

"Do you want to die?"

Naruto laughed, "No, thanks. And, no, it's not mutual." He sobered quietly, "Hinata's really sweet, but Kyuubi hates her because she's been treated really bad and it shows. He says she's broken. I don't know about that, myself, since she stands up for other people. It's only herself she won't stand up for. Anyway, as much as I like her, I'm not attracted to her. I just never was. And even if I had been, it wouldn't work. I'd never be able to trust Kyuubi around her." He scowled at his lap, silent for a moment in what was obviously a quick exchange with the fox in question. Then he huffed. "Is that what you wanted to talk to me about, earlier?" he asked Sasuke. "When you said to meet you at the house?"

"Yes," said Sasuke. "I can't relate to people like that, but I refuse to take part in breaking them further. I don't interfere with other people." He'd gone a good fifteen years without worrying about sexual experimentation. He'd sooner go another fifteen than to find out he'd messed around with someone who was already taken, by a pathetically needy girl, no less. He left that sort of thing to Kakashi. "She's not a mutant."

It wasn't a question, but Naruto answered, anyway. "No, she's not. But she's really nice about the mutant thing. She's one of the only kids in my class who didn't make fun of me when they found out about Kyuubi."

Sasuke nodded. Then he stood up and waved at the door. "Get out, now."

"Eh?" Naruto blinked. He jumped up, suddenly looking wary again. "I thought you weren't mad about-"

"I'm tired," Sasuke said, "I want to go back to sleep."

"Oh." Naruto went over to the door. He stopped without opening it, shuffled for a second and then turned around. "I'm really sorry for pushing you. I would have stopped if I knew it was real."

Sasuke snorted at that. "If I let you get away with that in your dreams, stop dreaming about me. It'll get you in trouble in real life."

"Right," Naruto nodded seriously. "I'll remember that."

"Good," said Sasuke. "Now get out."

"Right..."

.-.
TBC