Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Hot Sand ❯ The Exams ( Chapter 17 )

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Hot Sand

by thatreevesgirl

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Chapter 16: The Exams

 

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Sakura and Kankuro stood at the gates, bags packed and prepared for the months to come. The two were ready to take on the world by storm, leaving for their mission directly from the Chunin exams. The plan was to speak with some of the leaders who were present at the tests, hoping to sway at least a few of them in Naruto's direction. This mission had become something both of them deeply believed in. Good relations with the other countries would help to reduce unnecessary wars, so in their minds it was crucial that Naruto's peace-keeping campaign work.

 

“Tired?” Kankuro asked his lover, knowing they had stayed too long at the party and then spent quite a bit of time making love into the wee hours of the night. Actually, the answer was glaringly obvious since they hadn't really slept the previous day, and that by itself spoke volumes in response to Kankuro's question.

 

“Exhausted, but I can handle a little sleep deprivation until we arrive in Rock Country. Trust me, it was worth it.” The devious grin which snuck onto Sakura's lips clearly explained to her lover that she appreciated their time with each other more than her disdain for exhaustion. Being with Kankuro was something which easily won out over her own desires for a comfortable bed and a good night's rest.

 

The two ninja watched as Kakashi strode up to the gates, looking a bit disheveled, but nearly fifteen minutes earlier than the departure time. Sakura nearly went into shock at the site of the silver-haired man, gasping at his early arrival.

 

“Oh my…gasp…Kakashi is early for a mission! The world is going to end, surely the apocalypse is near!” Sakura joked with much sarcasm laced in her voice.

 

“Har, har, I'm never late for missions,” the copy-nin grumbled.

 

“But you are never early either. Could it have something to do with a secret Tsunade told me about? The one that described you humping our little Uchiha friend into a depressed funk, and now he's avoiding you. Funny…Sasuke always arrives early for missions. You must miss him pretty badly to drag your sorry ass out of bed any earlier than six.”

 

The death glare which enveloped the kunoichi had little effect on Sakura as her prattle and teasing continued. Kakashi willed her to shut her yap, praying to the powers that be that she would before Sasuke showed up. It wasn't long before that familiar chakra could be felt as it approached them.

 

“Please don't say anything to him,” Kakashi begged in all seriousness. Sakura nodded, actually allowing a perfectly good chance at payback slip by as Sasuke joined the group. Sakura decided to turn to Kankuro instead and flaunt her new relationship in her sensei's face, make him jealous that she had a partner or some such nonsense.

 

Sasuke grumbled at the sight of Kakashi, wishing that he wasn't part of this damned mission. Of course Naruto and Gaara were running late, but their chakra signatures, as well as Sai's, could be felt coming from the west. Sasuke shuffled around, attempting to keep his back to the copy-nin, but ever few minutes the Uchiha would find Kakashi had weaseled his way into Sasuke's line of sight. The worst thing were the fleeting glances which Kakashi gave him, tiny moments where their eyes would catch. Kakashi's eyes seemed to be asking something, but Sasuke didn't know what it was, nor did he really want to.

 

It wasn't a horribly long trip to the location of the Chunin exams, but it was snowy. Traversing the mountains in such weather was dangerous and difficult, even in the late fall. The group's travel time would most likely double as a result, making the normal two to three hour trip take up to six. Not only that, but it would be grueling trying to move through the snow. Tree branches would be slick, but the foot of powder on the ground would make it hard to go below the trees as well. The group's best bet would be to use chakra to skim across the top of the snow, but that would mean using their reserves up, which could leave the group vulnerable to attack. Seeing Naruto and Gaara had possible threats upon their lives, it wasn't wise to use up too much chakra during the journey. Because of this it was decided they would go slowly by foot, trudging through the drifts on snowshoes.

 

“Good morning!” Naruto shouted to the rest of the group. They all waved to the Hokage as he approached. Sai was chatting with Gaara, talking about (of all things) the mechanics of homosexual intercourse.

 

Sasuke grimaced…why did his idiot teammate have to be speaking about such things with the Kazekage? Or the ex-Kazekage, which everyone was referring to him as.

 

Termari was Kazekage, and Gaara was moving to Konoha to start a life with Naruto. A life which should have been Sasuke's, but the Uchiha had been too stubborn and too pigheaded to let himself try. Now the only thing which remotely compared to what he felt for Naruto was a broken attempt at a relationship with Kakashi, something which had been so short-lived Sasuke wasn't sure it actually happened.

 

Kakashi was a bastard, and Sasuke wanted to throttle the copy-nin. If it hadn't been for the older jonin Sasuke would have allowed himself to live in blissful ignorance, never knowing he was actually gay (and not a straight guy who once experimented with a friend). Sasuke would have never admitted he was in love with Naruto, not would he have tried to escape that hopeless love in a stupid passionate moment with Kakashi. It would be so much easier if he could still believe he was straight.

 

No…he was definitely gay. Gay and very confused.

 

There was no going back after the time he spent with Kakashi, because Sasuke didn't desire empty sex with no true attraction. He wanted Naruto…or Kakashi…one of them. At this point even Sai was starting to look good, and if the Uchiha's heart hadn't been aching so much he might have propositioned his artistic teammate in hopes of a quick, emotionally empty romp in the sack once they got to Rock. Sasuke didn't even know if Sai was like that…dammit.

 

Damn Kakashi.

 

The horrible confusion afflicting Sasuke was tearing him asunder. Was he allowed to be in love with Naruto if he didn't act upon it? Was what happened between him and Kakashi just some fling gone wrong? Kami, it was horrible having your entire world thrown upside-down by one stupid realization.

 

“Let's get going,” the copy-nin motioned to his team. None of them were in ANBU garb, no, this was an undercover mission. There would be times when they would change into their masks and ANBU uniforms while at Rock, but not while they traveled there. At the exams the ANBU operatives would use shadow clones to replace themselves while they patrolled as the deadly anonymous ninja, only identified as hunters from Konoha. They would be ready to take out any rogue element in a moment's notice.

 

Beginning their journey, the Konohan representatives took to a leisurely pace (at least for the elite ninja they were). Sasuke covered the group's left flank, and Kakashi the right. Sai happily (because it meant he could continue his educational conversation with Gaara) was assigned to protecting the envoy of Konohans itself. Sasuke was glad that he could put a hundred meters between himself and Naruto, and even happier to know it was double that distance to where his idiot team leader was.

 

The Uchiha now understood exactly how Sakura felt three months ago. Sasuke remembered he had been quite rude to her in the wake of the breakup between her and Kakashi. Part of Sasuke wanted to go find the kunoichi and just spill everything to her, to try and find out how in the hell you get over someone like Kakashi…or Naruto.

 

~~x~~

 

“So you really stick it in there?” Sai queried, making the rest of the group groan as Gaara went right into another explanation. Kankuro was quite sure there was nothing worse than listening to your little brother talk about how he liked to stick parts of his anatomy up another man's ass. And Gaara didn't stop at the obvious, no, he spoke of fingers and tongues and anything which seemed to make Kankuro queasy.

 

“Oh for the love of Kami, shut up!” Kankuro ordered both his little brother and Sai. “I don't want to know about what you do to your damn Hokage fiancé, and you…read a book. It'll tell you the same crap and I won't have to hear it.”

 

Sakura was giggling profusely at her puppet-nin's reaction to Gaara's descriptions of various sexcapades.

 

“You're just insecure in your manhood,” Gaara hissed. “If Sakura stuck her tongue there, you'd like it.”

 

Sakura's eyes bugged out of her head. She'd never thought about doing that before…if Kankuro reacted anything like Gaara said Naruto did, she might have to give it a go.

 

“I can't take this anymore,” Kankuro grumbled, “No more. Do you hear me, Gaara? None…shush…speaking is not allowed.”

 

Gaara glared at his brother, he never liked being told what to do, especially not from his own siblings. “Grow up Kankuro. I've always had to endure your disgusting sexual conquest stories, so you can take a few of mine.”

 

“No, really I can't! You're a bigger pervert than I will ever be. I bow down to you, so just shut up!”

 

Gaara smirked, completely ignoring Kankuro, and returned to his conversation with Sai.

 

~~x~~

 

By the time the group arrived at the location of the exams Kankuro had a splitting headache. The puppet-nin had heard things which disturbed him to his very core, especially when Gaara started describing all places in the Suna mansion where he and Naruto had sex. Kankuro swore he would buy a few hundred gallons of bleach to douse the entirety of his home in.

 

Kakashi and Sasuke returned from their flank positions, one clearly not happy with the newfound propinquity of a certain copy-nin and Hokage. The group entered the small town which was beside the fighting arena. A young woman from Suna, wearing a Sand forehead protector, greeted them.”

 

“Welcome, Hokage-sama, Kazekage-sama,” the brunette woman said with a smile. Gaara didn't correct her, it would be too long and too confusing to explain right now. “Our quarters are this way, please follow me.”

 

Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sai left to set up a perimeter and check out the surrounding area for any signs of foul play instead of going with the rest of the group. The woman leading the remaining representative members of Sand and Leaf was the sensei of a Sand team which had made it all the way to the semi-final round of the exam. Her name was Kyoko and she was about Kakashi's age. She had been one of the people who helped Kankuro master some of his puppet skills, so it was no surprise when she and Kankuro started speaking warmly toward one another.

 

“Kyoko, this is my girlfriend, Sakura,” Kankuro told the older woman as he introduced the pink-haired kunoichi.

 

“Kankuro of the Sand has a girlfriend now? What has the world come to? I never thought you would be the type to settle down,” Kyoko told her former student with a cheery smile.

 

Kankuro turned to Sakura and grinned, “Kyoko was one of my teachers at the academy. She helped me build Karasu by hand, and her classes were always my favorite.”

 

Kyoko beamed with pride at the compliment from her former student, which overshadowed the faint crimson blush spreading quickly over her cheeks, and then continued to lead Naruto, Gaara, Sakura, and Kankuro to their temporary dwelling.

 

The village itself couldn't support the hundreds of visitors which came to the exam, so tents (most of them highly elaborate and comfortable) were erected on the edge of the town for the dignitaries to stay in. The one which the group stopped at was specifically for the Sand participants and Gaara.

 

“Your tent is two over, Hokage-sama,” Kyoko told Naruto, pointing at a pale-green tent with the leaf symbol on its doorflap.

 

“Thank you,” the blond replied, walking over to see how Konoha's groups were doing. Naruto pushed through the doorway and waved hello at the six youngsters who were sitting on cots and the floor beside both their sensei as two Konohan jonin gave the group a pep talk.

 

“Naruto!” came the excited cry from one of the jonin.

 

Large bushy eyebrows (and a more sensible haircut than the ugly bowl shape of his youth) framed Lee's joyful expression as he stood to greet the Hokage. Lee, still boisterous and filled with the passion of youthfulness (at the age of twenty-four nonetheless), pulled Naruto into hug, slapping him on the back a few times.

 

“We heard, congratulations!” Lee exclaimed. He and the other genin team's sensei were unable to make it back to the party, but apparently they had received the news of Naruto's engagement.

 

“Yes, congratulations,” came the calm and stoic sounding voice of Lee's teammate, Neji, who happened to share the responsibility of representing Konoha with their two teams of genin.

 

Naruto nodded, beaming proudly at the fact his friends were happy for him. “I take it TenTen told you?”

 

Lee nodded. TenTen had been present at the party the night before, leaving in the middle of the night for Rock in order to be back in the morning so she could help set up the arena. The Konohan kunoichi was currently in a meeting with some other representatives, determining orders and pairings of the fighters since the exams were to start very soon.

 

Naruto was still talking to Lee when the rookie group of genin (Lee's team) stood to join their sensei. Lee had been graced with a very talented and experimental group, seeing as all three of the members of the young team (deemed “team four”) were female, and all of them were completely infatuated with the Hokage who had taken time to help them prepare and train. There had been an unusually large amount of kunoichi in the last graduating class of genin, so the elders asked Lee if he minded taking on three girls in a trial of sorts. Apparently it had been quite successful, seeing as the three young women were the only rookies to appear on this year's exam roster.

 

“Welcome, Naruto-sensei.”

 

A young girl with a large pack dog beside her greeted the Hokage. Her name was Hana. The thirteen year old was Kiba's little sister and a very talented young dog-nin. Hana's teammates were a taijutsu user (no surprise since Lee mirrored Gai's teaching strategies) named Kiori, and a genjutsu expert named Kari. Neither of the other two girls were members of the more powerful clans in Konoha, but they held a lot of promise. Naruto hoped someday Kiori and Kari would bring their own clans to the ranks of the Akimichis, Inuzukas, Hyuugas, Uchihas, Aburames, Yamanakas, or any of the other well-known and respected clans of Konoha.

 

Neji's team was compromised of two teen boys and one girl. They were all fifteen (two years out of the academy), a more common age to see genin testing for the chunin rank. This was the second chunin test Neji's students had participated in. The first time the team didn't make it through the first round, but this year they flew through it easily.

 

The obvious leader of the teens greeted the Hokage as well, “Hello Naruto-sensei.”

 

Naruto had told the groups long ago his preference to be called Naruto-sensei instead of Naruto-sama or Hokage-sama. Being referred to as a lord was never really the fox-man's style. He preferred respect in small, more informal packages.

 

“Hello, Yuki, ready for the matches?”

 

The young man with a large axe sitting at his side nodded his head. Yuki was a weapon's specialist with an already diagnosed earth affinity. Though the young man could do little with his elemental powers as of yet, he was already being praised for being the best ninja of his particular generation. Neji had taught his student well, and Yuki was one of the genin predicted to make it into the finals of the exam.

 

Neji's other two students consisted of a young Hyuuga boy, Hari, who didn't have use of the Byakugan, and a sly looking girl who had about seventeen dark, spiky ponytails sprouting from her head. The female member of the team was the daughter of Iruka's cousin, so Naruto knew the girl fairly well. She was a mischievous little prankster, who was just as tricky when it came to ninja tactics. Iruka had warned both Neji and Naruto of Liel's affinity for practical jokes, which was probably good since Neji wouldn't have handled such childish things from a student well without forewarning.

 

“I just wanted to wish each of you luck,” Naruto told the youngsters, making the groups smile at him. They loved their Hokage, and each of the young ninja had pledged their lives (and reasserted that fact on many occasions) to keep Naruto and Konoha safe from any harm. Naruto thought it was cute that the inexperienced ninja were so loyal, and he was fiercely proud of the groups. The exam would go well, Naruto was sure of it.

 

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Lee was bandaging Kari's right forearm, trying to console the girl who had lost her match. Lee was very proud of his student despite her loosing, because the older ninja knew the next exam would bring her closer to the goal of becoming chunin. Hana had won her match quite easily, but she was the only one of Lee's students to receive a spot in the finals since Kiori had also lost her battle against one of the Sand participants.

 

Neji's team faired a bit better, having both Yuki and Liel make it to the finals, which were to be held in a month's time at another location. Only Hari was eliminated from the older group of Konoha ninja. Naruto smiled as he noticed Yuki and Liel were sitting next to one another excitedly discussing the next portion of the exams. Team romance, it was definitely not something new. The two teens were very close as teammates (and Hari as well), but with Yuki and Liel there was something more, Naruto was sure of it. He would have to bring that up with Neji, seeing that a budding romance was something which might hurt the two's chances if they didn't focus exclusively on training for the finals during the next month.

 

The group was planning on sleeping in Rock Country and would leave in the morning. Naruto was glad nothing bad had happened during the tests. It seemed the unconfirmed reports of an assassination attempt were just rumor. The blond man was still lost in thought when Gaara strode into the Konoha tent, a sour look painted on his face.

 

“Kankuro wants to have a brother's night out,” the sand leader complained.

 

“Brotherly bonding? Well, that's unusual,” came the amused reply from the Hokage. “I bet it's because he's going to miss you while he's away with Sakura. Do you have a minute before you leave for family-fun time?”

 

Gaara nodded. Naruto might have pulled him into an embrace right there, had there not been young, impressionable ninja present (who didn't need any more ideas being planted in their hormone-ridden, little heads). Naruto took Gaara's hand and led his lover outside of the tent, hoping to sneak off for a moment alone with his fiancé.

 

Kakashi was seated at the tent's entrance, reading the latest of Jiraiya's perverted novels. When Naruto started wandering off with Gaara (hoping to find a secluded area of forest for their rendezvous, not caring that it was cold and snowy out), the copy-nin stood and followed.

 

“Uh, Kakashi? I kind of want to be alone,” Naruto told his old sensei.

 

Kakashi didn't even look up from the page, he only responded with a single word, “No.”

 

Naruto was slightly annoyed, “We'll be fine, really, nothing's going to happen.”

 

“Nope,” the copy-nin retorted, flipping a page and smirking at the story he was reading.

 

“Dammit, Kakashi,” Naruto sighed, and realized that there was no arguing with the older jonin. Naruto resigned himself to only giving Gaara a small kiss (with a single annoying, silver-haired onlooker) instead of the passionate romp in the snow he had planned. Naruto had wanted to at least give Gaara some good head before the sand-nin was forced to spend the night hanging out with Kankuro, but he accepted the fact that they were probably still in danger of attack. The Hokage trusted Kakashi, even if it was detrimental to the blond's love-life.

 

“I guess we'll just have to wait until we get back to Konoha,” Naruto whispered, his breathy words dripping with unquenched desire as he pulled away from Gaara's lips.

 

The redhead nodded, and walked back to his tent where Sai and Kankuro were inside waiting for him. Sai was assigned to protecting the Kazekage, which was probably good since the two men got along well, and Sai did enjoy the education which Gaara imparted on him. After a moment the three men exited the Sand tent and headed for a nearby bar. Kakashi was left with a slightly miffed Naruto.

 

Naruto looked around, obviously searching for something. “Where's Sasuke?” he asked.

”Sleeping, his shift starts in about fifteen minutes, then I get some shut-eye,” Kakashi murmured while still reading his novel. Naruto nodded and headed back inside the Leaf's tent.

 

~~*~~

 

Sakura was sleeping on Kankuro's cot, completely worn out after the past couple of days. The next stop which she and Kankuro were making was a town about two hours away if they traveled quickly. The kunoichi had decided she would get some sleep while she could, secretly thanking herself for giving Kankuro the idea to spend some quality family time with his brother. Sakura knew how much Kankuro would miss Gaara. The two men were extremely close, though neither of them would ever admit to it. Sakura took advantage of her lover being gone, because she wasn't sure if she would ever be able to get an adequate amount of sleep again. Kankuro was exhausting.

 

Sakura was almost asleep. It was so quiet, a completely relaxing and peaceful environment, perfect for a sound slumber…and then, something was poking her. A sharp finger needled her side, Sakura grumbled and was met with a familiar brooding face.

 

“Sasuke?”

 

“Hey, I need you to do me a favor,” Sasuke started, “Can you guard Naruto for a couple of hours? I need to clear my head.”

 

Sasuke had woken from his nap about thirty minutes prior to his shift, knowing full well he was going to be in charge of guarding Naruto for the rest of the night. It wasn't something he was looking forward to, especially since Naruto probably wouldn't go to sleep for at least another couple of hours. If Sasuke could just avoid his old teammate while the Hokage was awake, he could handle guarding him as he slept, so that was why Sasuke was asking Sakura for help.

 

“Um, yeah, if you need me to. I guess I can do that,” Sakura replied, secretly pissed that she was going to miss out of a couple hours of good rest, but the look in Sasuke's eyes told her this was a favor he really needed her to do.

 

“Thanks Sakura.” Sasuke put a hand on her head and mussed the kunoichi's hair just a bit. He was an asshole most of the time, but Sakura was one of his closest friends in the entire world. Sasuke trusted her, and therefore let down the mask which he wore everywhere else whenever he was alone with her.

 

“No problem, but not too long. I'm pretty tired,” Sakura mumbled as she sat and stretched, attempting to yawn the tired away.

 

~~*~~

 

Naruto spent awhile in the Leaf tent talking and joking with the genin as well as Neji, Lee, and TenTen. It felt good to spend time with his old friends, because sometimes Naruto's world went too fast to have moments with those who were important to him. Speaking of those people who held a special place in the Hokage's heart, Naruto wondered how Sasuke was doing, and decided to peak outside the tent and say hi to his old teammate.

 

Naruto was not met by the brooding young man he was seeking, but instead Sakura was sitting and writing in a journal as she guarded and watched the area surrounding the tent. The kunoichi looked tired, and Naruto was confused to why she was there.

 

“Sakura? Where's Sasuke?”

 

Sakura glanced up at Naruto, attempting to blink the tiredness out of her eyes. “He said he needed to clear his mind. I saw him wander off that way,” she pointed in the direction of the dense forest to the west of them, “I can sense his chakra still, he's only about half of a mile away. He said he'd be back in a couple of hours.”

 

“Oh,” was the disappointed Hokage's response. He had been looking forward to spending some time with his other friend, seeing as they hadn't hung out in months.

 

“Want some company?” he asked Sakura, but she shook her head at the blond.

 

“I've got to finish this before we meet with the next town tomorrow. You are too distracting, and I'm too tired to get sidetracked by the likes of you.”

 

Naruto was a bit hurt, “I won't get to see you for awhile though. You'll be away with your new boytoy, and I'll be stuck in Konoha.”

 

“Oh whatever, you'll be too busy humping Gaara to notice I'm gone. But really Naruto, I can barely stay awake as it is, so I have to get this done.”

 

The blond man nodded and started to return inside when he had a devious thought. Sakura worked too hard, and it was obvious she was absolutely fatigued. A flurry of hand-seals worked over Naruto's friend, and before Sakura knew what had hit her, she was slumped forward and lightly snoring.

 

“Silly girl,” Naruto laughed quietly and leaned down to scoop up the sleeping kunoichi. Taking her back to the Sand tent where she was staying, the Hokage laid her in an empty cot, kissed her forehead lightly, and then went to find the jerk who had ditched his shift. Kakashi wouldn't be able to argue too much, since Naruto was technically going to find his guard.

 

Stupid Sasuke, he was always so selfish.

 

~~*~~

 

A snowy cliff, which overlooked the long mountainside waterfall, was where Sasuke had decided to hide himself. The Uchiha was glad to be far away from everything, especially Naruto and Kakashi. It wasn't that he was only avoiding those two people, Sasuke really did need to clear his mind. There were too many thoughts and feelings he'd never allowed himself currently plaguing his mind.

 

It hurt…completely and utterly ached. Sasuke never thought getting your heart broken was something you could physically feel, but it was. There was a heaviness in his chest, and breathing felt insurmountably more difficult than normal. He wasn't supposed to love Naruto, but he did. Thankfully, Sasuke didn't think he'd allowed his feelings to grow quite that strong for Kakashi. No, not yet. Damn copy-nin.

 

A swell of familiar chakra rushed toward Sasuke, and the young man froze. No…he wouldn't, that idiot didn't follow me here, did he?

 

“Hiya Sasuke!”

 

Sasuke was being greeted by his worst nightmare, because he had been in the middle of a forest feeling completely vulnerable, and now, he was in the middle of a forest feeling completely vulnerable while he was alone with Naruto.

 

No words could be forced from Sasuke's lips.

 

“I was just checking to make sure you were okay. Sakura said you had something on your mind, is there something bothering you? Want to talk about it?”

 

No.

 

Sasuke didn't move or speak.

 

“I'll take that as a no, but really teme, you shouldn't be wandering off like that. I'm surprised Kakashi didn't ream your ass for sending Sakura in your place.”

 

Kakashi would have, but he's been letting me get away with all kinds of crap since…

 

“Go away, dobe.”

 

Naruto didn't listen, instead he plopped down right next to Sasuke, on a small square of waterproof fabric. Sasuke had laid it on top of the snow so he wouldn't get cold and wet as he sat on the ground, and having Naruto share that small portion of space…it was definitely too close for Sasuke.

 

“Really, leave. I'm trying to think”

 

I can't have you here…I can't.

 

“You are such a jerk sometimes, you know? Really, I come out here to see if you need some help and all you can do is be an asshole. Why am I not surprised?”

 

Do you really think I'm an asshole?

 

“Naruto…just…please?”

 

“No, something's wrong, and you are going to tell me or I'm not leaving.”

 

Sasuke wanted to die. It would have been better for him to leap off of the cliff into the rocky, watery depths below, dying of a broken neck or hypothermia. It was a better choice than telling Naruto what was wrong, but something inside of him wouldn't let that happen.

 

Sasuke had to tell Naruto the truth.

 

“I slept with Kakashi.”

 

Naruto's shock wouldn't have been any more pronounced if Sasuke would have told him he'd slept with a leprechaun or a purple bear or an alien from another galaxy. Sasuke didn't have sex with men. No. Sasuke wasn't gay, hell, he wasn't even bisexual. Sasuke had refused Naruto, so why…WHY was it that Sasuke had sex with Kakashi?

 

“You slept, as in slept, with Kakashi?”

 

“Yeah, I did.”

 

Sasuke's eyes were locked on the ground, completely unable to even glance at his friend, at the man he loved.

 

“And I'm gay.”

 

Naruto couldn't take it. For a moment he actually forgot all of the things which had happened between that night so long ago (when Sasuke had turned him away) and the moment they were in right now. There was no Gaara, no Kakashi, nothing…it was empty.

 

“You can't be…you aren't. You refused me.”

 

“I was stupid,” was the very quiet response from Sasuke, “Because I loved you, but I didn't let myself. I still love you. I'm sorry Naruto. I wish I would have told you sooner. Before Gaara…but I didn't know.”

 

The silence between the two men was absolutely deafening. Sasuke blinked. There was nothing in him but the emptiness of knowing he would never have Naruto. He had just told Naruto everything, but doing that didn't solve anything. It didn't fix what was broken, in fact, it only made the situation worse. Kakashi had been right, if he had really cared about Naruto, Sasuke would have kept that secret to himself.

 

Naruto didn't know what to say. There had been a time when he loved Sasuke, a love which consumed him and egged him to do stupid things (like chasing after the bastard or getting Sasuke blindingly drunk in hopes of something happening between them). Sasuke could say he hadn't known he was in love with Naruto, but the Hokage knew that was just a bunch of crap. You know when you love someone, and Naruto had loved Sasuke. But it was gone…faded…replaced.

 

Naruto loved Gaara.

 

“I'm sorry,” was the only thing that Naruto could say. There was no, `I love you, too,' or `We can make it work,' or anything which gave a glimmer of hope to the broken man sitting beside the blond.

 

“I know. Me too.”

 

Naruto didn't touch or comfort Sasuke at all, only stood and started walking back to the town. “Come on, we have to get back. Kakashi will be mad if I don't have a guard, and Sakura is out like a light.”

 

Sasuke didn't move.

 

“That's an order, Uchiha.”

 

A single tear fell down Sasuke's cheek as he complied.

 

 

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END OF CHAPTER

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End of Chapter A/N's: I'm not usually keen on making up original characters, and can't believe that I had SEVEN in this chapter, but they were a necessary evil. The students aren't really that important to the plot of this story, and probably won't come back for too many more chapters (unless you weirdos actually like hearing about them, I don't know why you would). However, they will probably show up in the sequel that I'm planning for Hot Sand…yes, I'm already plotting out the sequel of this fun little fic…it will never end. Bwah-ha-ha-ha! O.o