Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ I'll Fight For You ❯ You Want To Go Home, Don’t You? ( Chapter 12 )

I don't own anything but my ideas.

 

“If you don't like yaoi, something is wrong with you,” ~Anonymous

 

You Want To Go Home, Don't You?

 

That was easier than expected. I must admit—though it makes me sound like a mortal idiot—I thought the kit and the Uchiha were over.

 

The kit left the Uchiha after the snake man attacked them, for which I had to give the kit back his chakra control unless I wanted him killed and so I can't pretend that it isn't very good because of him anymore, and the Uchiha was taken back to the leaf village.

 

It surprises me that the old bat running that fool of a place still won't get that she needs to lock the Uchiha up using all of the chakra sealing objects as well as people and have him guarded by half the Jounin and all of the ANBU without a break for a minimum of twenty four years. And yet, even though he was supposedly sealed in the hospital, he still managed to break away again.

 

Useless old witch, if it had been up to me, I would have torn the Uchiha limb from limb. But because of the Uchiha's clever comment about my visits to the outside world during his sleep, the kit hasn't slept since and I haven't had the means to communicate with the outside after that.

 

The kit's pregnancy symptoms have been kept to a minimum as of late because of my containment in the body we are now merged in, meaning that my chakra has no other use at the moment besides caring for the kit and trying to keep him from any pain or discomfort during this, however, there are things that come along with pregnancy that I can not control. I can reduce the symptoms for as long as I can, but even the strongest dams must break after holding back too much water.

 

As I have said before, when the symptoms hit the kit, they will hit him hard and fast, and after a while, the build up of times that I have held back natural things must break through. As a child, and even now, it was easy to shield the kit from illness and disease, as well as most injuries because they are inflicted from outside of the body and are—for lack of a better description—foreign.

 

Pregnancy symptoms however, which come along naturally with pregnancy—another naturally occurring thing if the body has a womb (which the kit now has)—are not foreign to the body because the body is designed to deal with these to be able to hold and nurture the child. And due to the fact that they are created inside the body, I am unable to block them out like an illness, the most I can do is try and hinder them as long as possible before they break through the dam.

 

If it was a human child with a regular womb, which would be possible if the kit was a girl and I wouldn't have had to build a womb for him out of my chakra, then I would be able to hold back the symptoms and release them slowly so they came neither fast nor slow, but over time and most likely during sleep so as to not hurt the carrier, but it is the combination of my chakra creating the womb and the fact that the infant will have two biological fathers that are equally strong that creates the issue. Because of how strong my chakra is already, mixed with the kit's and the Uchiha's, which makes up the force of the pregnancy and the symptoms, it would be physically impossible for me to hold it back and release them slowly over time unless I wanted the kit to explode with the physical pressure of the chakra buildup so they will come and hit him hard when they do, regardless of how I try to hold them back.

 

At first, when the kit was leaving the Uchiha in the burning clearing with the people of the leaf, I considered forcibly breaking free and marching him right back, but after I was able to finally make sense of his rage and distress overridden thoughts, I was able to pick out of the need to kill and the need of the Uchiha and the need to be alone that he was going to see the old Shukaku carrier.

 

Originally I would have put my foot down there, the carrier is far too unstable and Shukaku is much more unstable than the human, making them both equally dangerous to be around for anyone, let alone the child the kit is carrying. However, after the sand child had died and been brought back to life due to the removal of the lumbering oaf some have the gall to call a demon, it was easier for me to let the kit go to him. Also, due to the fact that the sand had not severed its ties with the sand carrier even without the presence of the Shukaku, further strengthening both the chakra of the human and the bond with the sand and making him one of the strongest ninja in all of Suna. Even without the Uchiha it was obvious that the kit would be protected and kept safe—even from himself.

 

Then, the Uchiha again hunts down the kit's sorry ass and again they take each other back. Sooner or later, one of them is going to be sick enough of the other to not want to pity the other and take him back, but until then, it seems that the child will have two fathers, a demon half father, and possibly a deranged uncle just recovering from a serious insomniac disorder. I have no doubt in my mind that between the four of us, if not at least three, we will be able to keep the child the kit is carrying alive until it is old enough to be on its own.

 

It is unfortunate that the struggle for the child will be the hardest for the kit. The pregnancy symptoms aren't the worst part; he and the Uchiha will be up against the world to keep this child.

 

XXX

 

Sasuke ran his hand across Naruto's forehead again, trying to soothe the boy, but mostly checking to make sure his temperature hadn't gone up anymore. Heat probably wasn't that dangerous with the Kyuubi's element, but Naruto was still human, whether or not the Kyuubi was a demon of fire.

 

Naruto moaned, flopping over on his side in a futile struggle to find a comfortable position. He was stripped to his boxers, and giant holes had been punched in the walls of sand for cross breeze, but Naruto's core body heat seemed to rise by the second.

 

Sasuke dunked his hand in the water again and ran it over Naruto's head and through his blonde hair, trying to ignore the way the water evaporated off of Naruto's body. Salt was dried on his peeling skin from the sweat that had evaporated and flaking off every time he moved, and Naruto had already soaked four sets of sheets with sweat and was quickly working through his fifth.

 

Naruto looked pale, and weak. Frail was something Naruto never looked until now, and Sasuke was still fuming at the fact that Naruto refused under all circumstances to let him into his mind to see the Kyuubi again.

 

Gaara walked into the room like his feet were on fire, a terrified but promising looking medical ninja trailing behind him, cowering at the condensed volume of chakra in the confined space.

 

The doctor's eyes traced up and down Naruto's blistering body and they way he was a little too close to being delirious with the heat before reaching into his medical pouch and approaching Naruto. Sasuke forced the protectiveness in him to a low boil and let the doctor check Naruto's heart beat and breathing with the stethoscope before pulling out a few vials of medicine. The doctor's hand, enveloped in a swirling green chakra, ran over the length of Naruto's body and Sasuke again forced a territorial snarl back down his throat.

 

“Uchiha.”

 

Sasuke turned to Gaara's voice, his hand lingering on Naruto's waist a second longer before he rose to follow the Kazekage out of the room.

 

“Well?” he demanded in a clipped tone, his hands in tight fists by his side.

 

Gaara remained silent, staring back into the room and watching Naruto panting and moaning in his sleep. Sasuke was going to hit something. If he didn't get some answers right fucking now—

 

“I think it has something to do with the Kyuubi.” Gaara cut off his train of thought, speaking without warning. “And that he doesn't want you in his mind because if his outer body temperature is well over 115 degrees, then the area near the Kyuubi must be as hot as the sun.”

 

“But why is he sick in the first place?” Sasuke snarled through clenched teeth, his fists starting too shake.

 

“…I can't say. Something has changed for the fox to not be able to heal him. Sleeping? Lazy? I don't know, I didn't have the Kyuubi in my mind, I had a demon that refused to rest for a second, therefore I have never experienced this.”

 

The Sharingan whirled, trying to unconsciously burn off some of Sasuke's anger without taking it out on Gaara.

 

Stop. Talking. In. Fucking. Riddles.

 

Sasuke's head whipped back to the door at the sound of Naruto throwing up again into the bucket by the side of his bed and he was instantly numb instead of angry. He couldn't place the feeling. What the hell was it?! It sure as hell wasn't anger… what was it?!

 

“Sir?”

 

Sasuke and Gaara looked back to the doctor, poking his head through the door and sporting a very large and new bruise below his left eye.

 

“I, um…” he began slowly, “he needs some Calcium, as well as Folic Acid and Iron, but due to his condition oral dosage is impossible. I tried with the syringe, but”—the doctor gestured to his eye—“his reflexes are still strong.”

 

Gaara nodded slowly before turning back to Sasuke, seeming to evaluate him.

 

“Does Naruto recognize you, or will he hurt you like this?”

 

“He might try, but he hasn't beaten me yet.” Sasuke stalked back into the room, eyeing the large needle in the doctor's hand warily.

 

He sat down at the edge of Naruto's bed and pushed Naruto's hair back again, dipping his hand in the water by the bed and trying again to cool down Naruto's head.

 

“…S…Sasuke…?” Naruto ground out, his hand trying weakly to lift and reach Sasuke's pale one. Sasuke met him halfway, taking his blistering hand in one of his and placing his other on the back of Naruto's neck.

 

“Keep it there.” Naruto gasped, desperately out of breath. “Feels… good… cool…”

 

“Naruto, the doctor needs to give you a shot, don't attack him, alright?”

 

“…Did I…?” Naruto looked confused. He didn't even remember hitting the poor doctor.

 

“Don't talk, you need to save your energy.” The doctor stepped up to the bed, laying out eight more needles of different sizes across the bedside table, making nine in total. Sasuke felt his blood run cold; this man could all too easily poison Naruto like this, and if the Kyuubi couldn't even heal Naruto when he was just sick, how was he going to get rid of poisons in Naruto's system?

 

“S…Sorry.” Naruto ground out, leaning into Sasuke's cool hand.

 

“Don't worry, one of my last delirious patients thought I was their dead arch enemy and ended up breaking my leg.” The doctor smiled lightly, not helping with Sasuke's distrust in the slightest. He was just a little too happy for dealing with a jinchuuriki.

 

The doctor reached for the alcohol swabs but ended up putting them back, muttering something about alcohol being flammable and just picked up a vial labeled `folic acid'. He stuck the needle through the top and tipped the bottle upside down, filling the syringe half full.

 

“Isn't that a lot?” Sasuke snapped.

 

“This is accounting for the amount his body will burn off because of his temperature.” The doctor explained, lifting Naruto's arm gently. Sasuke forced himself not to attack as the needle slid into Naruto's flesh, but Naruto seemed so out of it, Sasuke doubt he even felt it.

 

The next liquids the doctor gave Naruto were labeled calcium, iron, riboflavin, niacin, a mixture of vitamins A through E, pyridoxine, proteins and zinc. Now it was getting weird. Naruto was sick… so he needed vitamins?

 

The doctor backed away from the bed with all of his things, warily watching Sasuke, who seemed even more dangerous than Naruto's unstable chakra when he got protective.

 

“Well?” Gaara asked quietly, making sure they were out of earshot of Sasuke.

 

“Well, physically, it just seems like he has the flu.”

 

“The flu?” Gaara half snapped, looking over at Naruto again. No, people with the flu were not drenching sheets in sweat like this or this delirious. Naruto looked like he had one foot and three toes in the grave, he did not just have the flu.

 

“Along with a combination of other things.” The doctor compensated quickly. “Because of his… condition,” the doctor's voice dipped sharply, making Gaara strain for what the man said as they talked about the pregnancy, “his body has been using up its nutrients for the… for the… child. He's extremely low on iron especially, which can account for how weak he is as well as being delusional. My guess is that because of the demon, his low iron levels—which would normally just result in dizziness—are taken to the next level because his body temperature is burning it off so much quicker than normal. Iron is also used in vein and blood development for the fetus, so not only is his body burning it off, but from the already low iron that he has, some of it is being used for the growth of the fetus.”

 

Gaara stayed silent, and the man took it as his cue to continue.

 

“I don't know how long until he recovers, but he should be taking regular doses of the nutrients he and the child will need for at least the nine months. My guess is that after the birth and the chakra womb is no longer in use, his body temperatures will drop back to normal, but he'll want to take doses for a few months after to be sure anyway. Naruto is healthy other than that.”

 

“And the…?”

 

“Yes, we should do an ultrasound as well, I tried to do one over at the bed, but there's something blocking it from view, and I can't see anything.”

 

“The fox.” Gaara said flatly, no emotion present in his voice.

 

“Yes, but… the Uchiha…”

 

“The Uchiha is too protective to leave Naruto alone long enough to give him a full run over, we wont do that. Do not speak of this to anyone.” Gaara ordered, walking back over to the bedside. The doctor nodded quickly and vanished on the spot, not wanting to hang around when Gaara was already on edge because of how sick Naruto was.

 

Sasuke placed both of his hands on either side of Naruto's neck, doing his best to cool the blonde down. Naruto groaned and squirmed on the bed. His eyes shot open suddenly and he threw his head over the side of the bed, emptying his stomach again into the bucket. Sasuke helped him back up, laying him gently on the pillow that was quickly becoming as wet with Naruto's sweat as if someone had thrown it in the river.

 

“I'm… not going to die… am I?” Naruto laughed weakly.

 

“It's nothing that life threatening.” Gaara crossed his arms, standing over them. “It's the flu, the doctor thinks you're reacting this badly because you've never had the flu before.”

 

Naruto easily understood the silent message from Gaara. “We can't talk about it with the Uchiha here.”

 

“…Tired…” Naruto whimpered, rolling over on the bed again flinging his arm over his eyes. “…Bright…”

 

Sand instantly swirled up and closed over the windows, blocking out all light and outside sound going into the room.

 

“…Sasuke… I want to… talk to Gaara…” Naruto breathed, uncovering his eyes to look at Sasuke, who nodded after a moment and stepped out of the room, keeping extremely close to the door just incase. It was some feeling… what the hell was it?!?! This was going to drive him crazy!

 

Gaara watched the door for another moment before turning back to Naruto. “You do have the flu, but your nutrients are low. Your body's burning them off and the baby's using them, leaving you with too little. You have to take doses of them for the next nine months.”

 

“…Shots? …How are we going to tell the doctors…?”

 

“You can take pills, you just couldn't today because you're falling in and out of being delirious.”

 

Naruto nodded slowly, his eyes trained on the door. He couldn't sense Sasuke listening, just waiting, but it was better to be safe. Sasuke couldn't know about this yet.

 

“…What's… with Sasuke? He's really… edgy…”

 

Gaara sniffed in distaste. “He cares about you. He'll try to hide it, either that or he's to much of a social retard to even notice it in himself, but it's obvious anyway.”

 

Naruto smiled weakly, rolling over to the cool side of the bed.

 

“The Kyuubi is blocking us from getting a full ultrasound, but we can't do it here because it takes a few people to run the machinery, and it can't be known that you're here. Everyone that has seen you has been sworn to secrecy.”

 

Naruto nodded again, wiping the sweat off of his brow and trying to get a lung full of oxygen through his hyperventilating. “Damn fox…” he ground out.

 

Gaara smirked for the first time that day. “Be happy that he gave you this… miracle or whatever you want to call it, or the Uchiha would be leaving you for some girl to repopulate his clan the second you weren't sick.”

 

Naruto stiffened visibly and Gaara laughed.

 

Two Days Later

 

Sasuke stepped silently through the pitch-black room at the pace of a snail so as not to alert Naruto's hyper senses. It had taken two days, but his fever had finally gone down and he had been able to fall asleep, and Sasuke was going to die before waking him up.

 

“Sasuke?”

 

Fuck. I woke him.

 

“I'm here.” He whispered, laying down against Naruto's back.

 

Naruto sighed and nuzzled backwards into Sasuke, wrapping the blanket firmer around him. After his fever had dipped, the heat in his body had instantly turned to freezing temperatures and now Naruto couldn't get warm.

 

“Naruto.”

 

“…Yeah?”

 

“…I'm taking you back to Konoha.”

 

Sasuke could practically hear Naruto's head fitting all the pieces together.

 

“What?!” Naruto shrieked, trying to shoot up, but Sasuke—having had expected this—was prepared to tighten his grip around Naruto's waist, immobilizing him, but that didn't stop Naruto from struggling.

 

“No way in hell, bastard!” Naruto roared, fighting like a wild animal against Sasuke's hold and the now tangled blankets around him. “You think you can just dump me in the hospital there and I'll stay?! I broke out once already! Like hell you're just leaving me there!”

 

“Naru—”

 

“You promised!” Naruto twisted around (though Sasuke had no idea how he did it) and grabbed Sasuke's front with his hands, shaking Sasuke viciously.

 

“Naruto!” Sasuke snapped, grabbing Naruto's wrists and forcing him back against the bed. “Just shut up and let me finish! I'm taking you back to Konoha—”

 

“No you're not!”

 

“—And I'm staying there with you!”

 

Naruto blinked.

 

“…What?”

 

He looked as if he were going to break out in bliss filled song, but his expression suddenly switched to skeptical and accusing.

 

“You're going to bring me back and pretend to stay, and then disappear after Tsunade's got the whole ANBU team watching me, aren't you?” he snapped.

 

“I'm not—”

 

“Well forget it!” Naruto barked, thrashing against his hold again. “I'm not that stupid Teme! You think I'm still as gullible as when we were in team seven, but you haven't known me for years and I'm—”

 

“I'm not lying! Idiot—”

 

Naruto's head suddenly snapped up and smashed against Sasuke's forehead. Sasuke flipped back off the bed, gripping his head and trying to get his vision straight. Naruto could give a hell of a headbutt.

 

Naruto tackled him, cracking his head against the floor as they rolled around.

 

“Listen to me Dobe!” Sasuke yelled before Naruto's knee planted itself firmly into his gut.

 

“So you can tell me more crap?! I'm sick and you telling me the worst things I've heard in my life—”

 

“I'm telling you the fucking truth!” Sasuke managed to flip them again, pinning Naruto to the ground as he tried to get out what he hadn't been able to.

 

“Dobe! I'm taking you back to Konoha, and you're going to the goddamn hospital there where they can actually treat you without having to hide you and them I'm moving back into my goddamn house! You've wanted this since I left, why the hell are you so against it now?!”

 

Naruto stopped struggling and looked up at Sasuke, staring deeply into his eyes.

 

He's reading my eyes for the lie. Dobe, it isn't a lie.

 

“…You're serious?” Naruto said finally.

 

“One thousand percent Usuratonkachi.”

 

“You're really, truly, honestly telling the truth?” Naruto asked, not daring to believe it.

 

“Yes Usuratonkachi!” Sasuke roared, cut off as he was thrown back suddenly into the wall, Naruto strangling him in a vice grip hug.

 

“You're coming back with me?” Naruto breathed into his chest. “You're going to move back into your home? You're going to stay?” he squeaked.

 

“Yeah.” Sasuke sighed. “You're going to end up hurting yourself again if you stay away… it's not just been the Kyuubi that's been keeping you from the village, is it?”

 

“…What?”

 

“It's been me too.” It wasn't a question. It was a statement. And Naruto wasn't denying it.

 

“Tell Gaara Dobe, and I'll try and find a shirt that isn't black so I don't have a heat stroke while we're walking there.”

 

“Ok!” Naruto yelled happily, bounding to the window and leaping gracefully out, though it made Sasuke wince to see it. Even Naruto's movements were becoming more fox-like.

 

Sasuke peeled off his armor, which was only making him hotter, and stuffed it in the bag he'd managed to convince Naruto to get so they wouldn't have to carry everything. With the navy cloak, navy shirt, black pants and black sandals he was already hotter than the sand in the desert during summer, he didn't need the black chest plate and forearm protectors bogging him down too.

 

But at the store, as he was looking through all of the lighter colored clothing at the store, his eyes kept drifting back to the navy clothing. It was to be expected almost, he'd worn navy clothing all his life because of the Uchiha colors.

 

Sasuke sighed, stepping over to the darker color clothing rack. Naruto had picked out a long sleeved shirt for him already, so in an effort to stay moderately cooler, he picked out two of the more usual ANBU clothing: a high-neck sleeveless shirt, one navy and one black, and then he picked out one pair of black and one pair of navy gloves, the ones that were worn under the arm guards. Naruto had forgotten to get those, and when Sasuke wore the armguards he always pushed his sleeves up to the elbows for better mobility, and the metal heated up in the sun so by the end of the day, his skin was literally blistering from the heat.

 

He handed the girl the money, pointedly ignoring the flirtatious looks she gave him and stalked out of the store, halfway pissed off at himself for not getting something more suitable for the hot Suna weather.

 

“Navy and black gloves and a navy and black shirt? I never knew you were so picky about matching you clothing.”

 

Sasuke's head snapped up to the voice. Naruto was perched on the top of the building, his ANBU mask pushed off to the side and up a little, showing his face. Sasuke still couldn't believe that the Dobe had actually made it to ANBU, but what he couldn't believe more was the fact that the ANBU leader had approved Naruto's choice for his ANBU mask.

 

It was obvious Naruto had picked a fox, but Sasuke couldn't believe that the instructor would allow something that resembled the Kyuubi so much. The ears were much longer than a usual animal mask and were tipped back so they hugged a little closer to Naruto's head than any other masks with the insides of the ears painted red. Red swirls that looked suspiciously like fire twisted up the left side of the mask and wrapped around the eye hole, and three lines almost exactly like Naruto's scars were on the right cheek and ran all the way to the right edge of the mask. The eyes were outlined in black and were longer and slit in at the corners, making Naruto look like a fox wearing a mask when you couldn't see his face.

 

“Would you be scared if an ANBU wearing pink polka dots and orange pants approached you?” Sasuke shot back.

 

Naruto smirked and hopped gracefully onto the ground; Sasuke was just glad he didn't land on all fours like a fox too.

 

“Lookee what I got you.” Naruto beamed, reaching behind his cloak and pulling out a small package.

 

“Should I be afraid Dobe?” Sasuke joked, taking the package from Naruto. It was interesting, just wrapped in paper, and he could feel that it was hard and sturdy, but also very light weight.

 

“Just open it.” Naruto crossed his arms accusingly. Sasuke obliged and folded back the paper, holding up an ANBU mask, with the face of a crow. The beak was hooked, and the dark blue swirls wrapped over the mask starting at the right near the jawbone and ending at the left near the temple. The swirls also looked like blue fire, or in the right light, blue lightning.

 

“I asked Gaara.” Naruto shrugged as Sasuke flipped the mask over and over, his eyes tracing the navy blue lines near the eyes of the mask. Wow, Naruto really knew him.

 

“Let's go Dobe.” Sasuke said, tying the mask behind his head.

 

“Huh?”

 

“You want to go home, don't you?”

 

Naruto blinked and then smiled, nodding happily. He fixed his mask to hide his face and disappeared with Sasuke into thin air.

 

XXX

 

Tsunade sighed at the unfinished pile of paperwork cluttering up her desk and reached for the flask hidden in her robes.

 

“No you don't!” Shizune snatched it out of her hands the second it was in plain sight. “You have to get this done today!”

 

Tsunade sighed and reached for the first paper and her pen, sneaking out the second flask in her robes and sipping it the second Shizune wasn't looking.

 

“Hokage-sama! Hokage-sama!” a guard from the gates of Konoha yelled, leaping through her window and skidding to a halt in front of her desk.

 

“WHAT IS IT WITH YOU NINJAS AND YOUR NEED TO COME THROUGH THE WINDOW OR WALK THROUGH MY DOOR WITHOUT KNOCKING?!”

 

“Hokage! Two ANBU broke in!”

 

“When?” Tsunade was instantly serious.

 

“Not two minutes ago,” the guard breathed, “we're lucky we noticed them, they were moving so fast.”

 

Tsunade stood and snapped her fingers, and the entire ANBU team materialized out of thin air, startling the poor guard out of his skin.

 

“What did they look like?”

 

“Uh,” the guard breathed, “well, one of them was wearing the usual ANBU attire, light grey armor and dark clothing, and a black cloak with no sleeves, he had his head down, we couldn't see his mask. But the other one… well, he had on black and navy clothes, black armor and a black cloak. I've never seen ANBU clothing like that before, and his mask was in the shape of a bird, with dark blue paint.”

 

“And their chakra?” the ANBU leader asked.

 

The chunin shook his head. “Masked too well.”

 

“Hitai-ate?”

 

“We didn't see any, so we don't know what village they're from.”

 

Tsunade nodded and turned to the ANBU. “Find them, only call an alert if you haven't located them in seven minutes.”

 

The ANBU nodded and disappeared.

 

Meanwhile

 

Sasuke looked up at the remains of where Naruto's apartment building had been. Halfway burned to the ground and far too dangerous to have anyone in, they had long since torn it down, and just an empty lot was the reminder that it had once even been there.

 

“You alright?”

 

Naruto nodded stiffly, bending down and picking up a charred splinter of wood, flipping it over and over in his hand.

 

“Damned to hell fox.” He muttered softly.

 

“No one was killed, right?”

 

“Does it make a difference?”

 

“It would have if they'd been killed. But they weren't. It's just a building Naruto, and it was so trashy anyway they probably would have had to tear it down anyway in a few years.”

 

Naruto didn't look convinced.

 

“The council probably put them into better homes by now too.”

 

Sasuke rolled his eyes and crouched down by Naruto. “Usuratonkachi.”

 

“What?” Naruto all but snapped.

 

“You can come stay at the Uchiha compound, it's too big for just me.”

 

Naruto snorted and chucked the piece of wood. “You mean if they don't lock me up. They might think we'll use your house as our hide out for us being partners in crime again or something, like the Joker in Batman.”

 

“The who in what?”

 

The sudden movement behind them cut off Sasuke's retort. He stood slowly and turned, looking directly into the eyes of the entire ANBU team. Naruto turned around too, not standing up from his crouch.

 

He looks like a fox. Sasuke's brow furrowed. It was probably easier for Naruto to attack from a crouch if his movements were becoming so animalistic. Sasuke hated that, who was to say that Naruto wouldn't become the Kyuubi someday?

 

No. That won't happen. Naruto's too strong.

 

The ANBU were standing with all of their stances relaxed, but Sasuke could sense the tenseness in the air.

 

“State your names and where you come from.” One of the ANBU said. Sasuke and Naruto stayed silent, knowing it was too dangerous to say who they were until they got Tsunade on their side.

 

“What is your purpose here?” another asked.

 

“We need to see the Hokage.” Naruto spoke up, and the ANBU placed their hands on their swords. Naruto slunk forward, putting his fingertips on the ground, readying to fight. Sasuke just slid his feet apart into a fighting stance as the restlessness in the air doubled. He reached for his sword, glancing over to Naruto in confusion as Naruto didn't draw any weapons. His eyes widened sharply when he saw Naruto's claws needing the ground with anticipation.

 

So you can use the claws now without transforming? It wasn't really a question, the proof was right in front of him, Sasuke couldn't sense any of the Kyuubi's chakra, and yet, Naruto had the claws. His eyes were probably red and his scars darker too. It was a good thing they were wearing masks.

 

Nothing moved, and then all at once, the ANBU and Sasuke drew their swords and Naruto arched his back, and they charged.

 

XXX

 

“The entire team?” Tsunade ground out, her hands clenched in tight fists on her desk.

 

“Yes ma'am.” The chunin bowed in apology. The rest of the chunin behind him nodded.

 

“We were watching, and the two strangers took down the entire team. Pretty quickly too.” One spoke up.

 

“Tsunade?” Shizune asked as Tsunade stepped towards the door.

 

“I'm going after them. Any casualties?”

 

“No.” another chunin said. “The strangers only knocked them out.”

 

“Shouldn't we send the Jounin first?” Shizune asked.

 

“If they took out all of the ANBU, we can't risk…” Tsunade paused, her brow furrowing in confusion.

 

“Hokage-sama?” the rest of the chunin turned to her.

 

Tsunade looked around the doorway to her office for a second before determining the source of the presence, and turned back to her desk. The chunin gasped as they followed her gaze, some of the leaping back before arming themselves, some of them just whipping out their weapons on the spot despite being so close to the desk.

 

The two ANBU stood not three feet behind some of them, one of the two strangers perched in a crouch on her desk, while the other just stood behind it.

 

“How did they get in here?” one chunin asked.

 

Tsunade stayed motionless, her eyes fixed on the mask of the ANBU on her desk. It looked… a little too much… like the fox…

 

“Brat?” she asked suddenly, all of the chunins' eyes snapped to him in shock.

 

“Seems you haven't gotten too old, you noticed us pretty quickly.” Naruto laughed, pushing his mask up to the top of his head and smiling widely at her. The chunin could only stand like statues in shock. It was the Kyuubi carrier. He'd actually come back.

 

“And Uchiha?” Tsunade turned to the other. This time, when Sasuke nodded, one of the chunin almost fainted in fear. It wasn't unknown of Sasuke's powers and the damage he could inflict with a single attack.

 

“Did you miss me?” Naruto asked.

 

“Like a blister.” Tsunade snapped, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Uchiha,” and a nod was her only greeting to Sasuke, but then, his wasn't much more. He just nodded in response.

 

Tsunade sighed, running her hand through her bangs. “You know I'll have to consult the council.”

 

Naruto nodded.

 

“You know you'll probably be locked up.”

 

Naruto nodded again. “They can't do anything to me, I haven't killed anyone from the village, but… I they try to do anything to Teme, I can't promise my track record will stay clean.”

 

Tsunade shot Sasuke a glare as if it was his fault, but Sasuke was too busy staring at Naruto. The idiot was actually threatening to hurt someone if anything happened to him.

 

“Dobe.” He muttered.

 

“Take that back Teme!” Naruto roared, leaping down from the desk and jabbing a finger in Sasuke's face. Sasuke smirked behind the mask, Naruto's claws were gone.

 

 

 

 

RR&R

 

Read, Rate and Review!

 

Thanks for reading! On a scale of one through ten my little patawans, what did you think?

 

Remember, for guests, you don't have to be a member to review.