I HAVE AGED ALL MAIN CHARACTERS WHO ARE UNDERAGE UP TO THE AGE OF 16 (random children in the story are still children)

ALSO NOTE: I have had this chapter re-proof read, so errors may be less now.

….

Naruto lay on the floor, blood seeping from his torso. He clenched a hand around some fabric and ripped it off to stuff over the wound.

"Oh Naru-chan…" Came the sickly sweet voice, and Naruto flinched, abandoning his attempt at staunching the blood, and scrambled forwards, only to topple back down to the floor. "Little Naru-chan, don't run from me…" The voice sang, coming nearer. Naruto found his legs failing; he couldn't stand up. He reached about for something - anything - to defend himself with, but found his kunai holder empty, and a gap where his shuriken should have been. Rolling over, he tried to wriggle away into the shadows, but two hands appeared, reaching out to him, making him scream out in fear, thrashing around and kicking at the claw-like limbs as they stretched closer and closer...inches away from his flesh...his screaming echoing in the empty darkness…

"Naruto, Naruto wake up!" The blonde opened his eyes, Sasuke's familiar face swimming into view, tears blurring Naruto's vision.

"Sasuke…" He reached out and clutched his boyfriend's shirt, and was scooped up into a hug, the last echoes of that terrifying voice fading as he grew accustomed to the warm orange glow in the room coming from the bedside table lamp.

"Hey, it's okay. You're alright." Sasuke said, stroking the blonde locks, his voice slightly shaky despite his attempt at staying calm.

"Did I scream again?" Naruto asked, burying his head in Sasuke's shoulder.

"Yeah."

"...sorry." Naruto mumbled, but the raven pulled him back slightly so that he was forced to meet his eyes.

"Don't. I don't care how many times you wake me up - sure the screaming is scary, but...I don't care, I'm going to make sure you're okay, no matter what." Naruto looked at Sasuke, eyes shining with gratitude as he leant into the raven's hand as it wiped away tears he hadn't known were staining his cheeks.

"I feel like they're getting less frequent." Naruto said hopefully.

"Maybe, but I still think you should try that tea Tsunade made for you." Naruto made a face, and Sasuke glared at him. "She said it would reduce the nightmares."

"It tastes like sweaty old socks." The blonde mumbled grumpily.

"Oh no, how terrible. Sweaty old socks that keep away the nightmares." Sasuke said in a monotone, making Naruto smirk.

"Fine, if you want to make it, go ahead." He said, lying back down as Sasuke got up.

"Thank you. I'll just be a few minutes."

Naruto watched his boyfriend go, and sighed. It had been over five months since the end of that whole incident, and at first he had been so happy about being with Sasuke that nothing had been able to touch him. But then a couple of months after that monster of a man had been locked up, the nightmares had started. They weren't always the same - sometimes they were scarier, other times less clear - but periodically that man would haunt his dreams, giving him no rest. They weren't getting less frequent, Naruto knew that. He was only saying that to try and calm Sasuke. He knew if the other boy found out he sometimes didn't wake up when Naruto managed to free himself from the terror, and lay there in the bed silently crying, that the raven would be devastated. Tsunade had advised the tea as it would give him dreamless sleep, but the taste wasn't the only thing that put him off it. The day after taking it he always felt tired, as if he'd been active all night, and the world was muffled and difficult. More than once, in this frustrating state, he had made Sasuke concerned, either because he was acting strange, or because in training he didn't react to pain normally, and wouldn't notice injuries. But if he drank the tea, at least Sasuke would get some uninterrupted sleep.

"Hey dobe." Sasuke said, coming back into the room and setting a steaming, murky drink on the table next to Naruto's side of the bed.

"Ugh, I can smell it from here." The blonde said, wrinkling his nose in a way that Sasuke always found adorable.

"I'll give you a kiss if you drink it." Sasuke bribed, and Naruto eyed him suspiciously.

"You'll give me a kiss anyway." He argued.

"Oh really?" Sasuke climbed back into bed and rolled over so that he was facing away from Naruto. "Because I think I'm going to sleep."

"Hey! What happened to all the concern?" Naruto asked, pouting.

"It's waiting for you to drink your medicine." He replied bluntly. Sasuke heard shuffling noises and muttering from under Naruto's breath, and then sipping noises, followed by an "ugh", before the sound of Naruto gulping it all down in one go.

"You better make it one hell of a kiss." Naruto grumbled, and Sasuke rolled over to see the blonde with a grumpy expression on his face.

"Come here." Sasuke smiled, and pulled Naruto into his arms, cuddling him close to his chest, before kissing him first gently on the lips, then deeper, pulling the small of Naruto's back into him, and twining their legs together. Naruto sighed happily, and let Sasuke release his lips, still holding on.

"Best kiss." Naruto said, yawning, his eyelids drooping. "Imma sleep now." He mumbled, relaxing, his breathing slowing to a gentle rhythm. Sasuke watched his boyfriend silently, and reached out to turn off the light. He caught his reflection in the wardrobe mirror, and saw the circles under his eyes. It really wasn't getting less. Naruto sometimes didn't even remember it the next day, which was often a relief. This one hadn't been too bad, but Sasuke was determined that Naruto would get some sleep tonight. They had a mission tomorrow, and they both needed to be well rested.

…...

Naruto followed Sasuke to the training grounds, feeling just as floaty as he always did after the medication Tsunade had prescribed him. The world felt like it was smothered in a thick blanket, and although afterwards he always felt like it was awful to feel this way, during it he felt generally fine. Sure his senses were a bit dulled, but it was oddly comfortable.

"Hey, baka." Came a voice, and Naruto turned to look at Sasuke, and saw the raven frowning.

"Hm?" Naruto queried.

"I asked if you slept alright, but I guess that answers my question."

"Hey, you know I'm dozy after the tea. But I did sleep well. I think." Naruto frowned. "I can't remember, honestly." He put his hands behind his head and smiled up at the soft blue sky. "But that's probably a good thing, right?" Sasuke sighed, and put his hands in his pockets.

"Well you didn't wake up again…"

"SASUKE! NARUTO!" Came a call from up ahead, and Sakura appeared on the brow of the hill bobbing up and down.

"Great." Sasuke muttered, earning a glare from Naruto.

"Hey, she's got better since the incident." Naruto scolded.

"Only a bit, she still tries it on, even though we're dating. And how she treats you hasn't exactly improved by much."

"Sure it has!" Naruto said, waving at the pink haired girl. "SAKURA! HEY!" The girl came trotting up to them smiling. "How was your evening?"

"None of your business." She chided, giving him a withering glance. "Though by the looks of it you kept Sasuke up again, he needs his sleep you know, even if you seem to be able to make do without." The raven gave Naruto a 'told you so' look, but the blonde shrugged it off. "Besides, I've been told our mission. Sasuke kun-" she reached out as if to take his arm, then faltered, remembering Sasuke's relationship status. "I mean...ah...follow me. Kakashi is waiting up ahead, I've got to start now though, it's a missing child." She paused, looking conflicted, before hurrying past them both into the village.

"See." Sasuke said, watching her go.

"Hey, she's still getting used to 'us' being a thing. I just wish she and Ino would get over their pride and stop pretending they're just friends." Naruto turned to look at Sasuke, who was smirking. "...what?"

"Nothing, I just like it when you call it 'us'." Naruto stuck his tongue out at the raven, and made his way up the rest of the hill.

As they came up to the viewpoint that looked over the village, they saw Kakashi standing with a woman, one who looked upset, and was handling a small scarf.

"Kakashi sensei?" Sasuke said questioningly, and their teacher turned to look at them.

"Sasuke, Naruto, this is Mrs Itashawa, her daughter Renge has gone missing. She's about four years old, and was last seen near the grocery store on the market square." The pair of boys looked at each other and nodded. After a brief summary of the girl in question's habits, they headed back to the town, following in Sakura's footsteps.

"You know, Sakura could have waited for us." Sasuke said distractedly, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, but...you know that…'this'..." Naruto replied, awkwardly motioning to himself and the raven, "...kind of bothers her."

"It shouldn't, she and Ino-"

"Oh come on Sasuke," Naruto replied in frustration. His head was still foggy, and forcing himself to explain things felt like swimming upstream. "Sakura and Ino got closer after the fight...but she's still in denial. And clearly still obsessed with you. It's not like someone can just move on from an infatuation that strong."

"And that doesn't bother you?" Sasuke snapped. "Because it bothers the fuck out of me." Naruto rubbed his temples. They always argued about Sakura, it felt like she kept pulling them backwards in their relationship.

"Of course it bothers me." He replied, massaging his head. "It always bothers me when she...she…" Sasuke pulled Naruto to a stop and took the blonde's hands in his, holding the side of his head.

"Your head hurts again doesn't it?" Naruto looked up into those deep onyx eyes. "Naruto, why don't you tell me when you've still got side effects from your medication?"

"Baka." Naruto muttered, looking sideways. "If I did, I'd spend half the day telling you." Sasuke frowned.

"They last that long?"

"Not always…" Naruto said, avoiding the answer.

"Do you want to go home? I can explain to Kakash-"

"No! No, I can do this. Just...I'll be alright in a bit." Sasuke looked unconvinced, but released Naruto.

"Alright, but if you get worse I'm taking you home." The blonde smiled and nodded.

"Deal."

They soon found themselves in the market square, and saw Sakura asking a stall owner some questions.

"Come on." Sasuke said, and headed over to another stall holder. Naruto made his way to the grocery store in the corner, and looked around, quickly finding some sweet wrappers and a footprint. Silently he motioned to Sasuke and Sakura, who came over to him, and the group looked down the alley, seeing it split.

"I'll take the east path." Sakura offered.

"I'll take North then." Sasuke agreed.

"I'll scout the rooftops." Naruto added, and the three split up again.

Naruto darted up the buildings, and looked down the pathways, following one for a while, then darting back to another. Occasionally he called down information to either Sakura or Sasuke, but eventually he found himself having to cover more and more distance, so he told Sasuke he would help Sakura more, and follower her route. He had a feeling it was the correct path, and his instincts were proven right when he spotted a small girl loitering at a dead end ahead of Sakura, seemingly looking for something.

"Sakura, I think she's up ahead." Naruto said, and the girl nodded, following him along until he jumped down to stand at the dead end with her. The girl turned and looked at them, a frown on her face.

"Hi there, Renge?" Sakura asked, and the girl nodded. "We were sent to look for you by your mum, Mrs Itashawa?" The girl's face lit up and she ran over to Sakura, hugging the girl.

"I got lost! I want my mummy!" The girl said, starting to cry.

"It's alright." Naruto said, crouching down beside her as the girl turned to look tearfully at him. "We're going to take you home now, see?" He grinned at her, and she smiled at him through her tears. But then she frowned again, and looked back at the wooden fence that made the dead end.

"But what about Mr Sunday?"

"Who?" Naruto asked confused.

"Mr Sunday!" The girl said insistently. "The man said he needed to play with him, but then he took him where I couldn't reach." Naruto looked up at Sakura who was frowning.

"Sweetie, I think I should take you home." The pink haired girl said, exchanging a worried glance with Naruto.

"But I can't leave Mr Sunday alone…" The girl said, looking on the verge of tears again.

"That's alright." Naruto said, grinning at her again. "He won't be alone, I'm going to find him and bring him home to you, just like Sakura has found you and is taking you home to your mum." The girl looked between him and Sakura, before slowly nodding.

"Mkay." She said, and let Sakura lead her away. Naruto watched them turn the corner, then looked back at the wooden fence. Something wasn't right. He crossed over to the slats, and examined them. The panels looked normal at a first glance, but through the gaps he could see someone moving. Pushing chakra into his legs, he ran up the side of the wall and looked back down on the other side of the fence, seeing bin bags and some dark cloth, before twisting so that he was flying down in the middle of the area, landing in the middle of the ground.

But the ground wasn't solid, it fell away beneath him, fabric tearing and dirt clouds rising around him until he found himself at the bottom of a hole. Usually this would have caused his stomach to flip in panic, but adrenaline and his still clouded head meant that he crouched on the floor he had landed on, before flipping himself up and out, catching the edge of the hole and spinning around in time to dodge a sharp kunai that was flung past his head, a small cut slicing open on his cheek. He locked eyes with someone cloaked in dark fabric, swathes rippling around them as they stood, two eyes all that was visible of their face, staring Naruto down. The blonde quickly reached down to his own belt, and pulled out a shuriken, darting at the figure. As he got closer, skidding around the edge of the hole, he realised the shape wasn't going to dodge, and quickly realised why. His running was unsteady, and a subtle glance down revealed to him that his senses were so dulled that he hadn't noticed a gash on his leg. That was going to slow him down. Cursing, he leapt to one side, landing on a bin bag, and threw the shuriken at the person, who dodged it, but missed the second one that was hidden behind the first. An old trick, but a good one. It pinned his cloak to the fence, dragging it off his face, and revealing he had no headband, and a distinctive scar across one side of his lips. He snarled, and threw himself at Naruto, who tried to jump away, but ended up falling into a pile of rubbish bags, getting caught in the ties. The man stood over him, pinning him down, before grabbing Naruto's top and lifting it up.

Panic shot through Naruto's body, the dregs of drowsiness from the medication leaving him in a flood, and memories of not that long ago boosting him with adrenaline he thought he'd used up, making him yelp and kick the man away forcefully, but not before the man had ripped away some of his shirt, revealing the tattoo beneath. The man smirked at Naruto, and pulled out a knife, closing in on the struggling boy. Naruto cried out, curling around his belly, remembering vividly those stabs, those painful intrusions, and scrambled away, falling down beside the bags only for an ankle to be grabbed and for him to be dragged back...and then something hit the stranger hard in the head, knocking him sideways. Sasuke slid in between Naruto and the man, panting heavily, and holding a second brick. The man cursed, and in a flourish of fabric was speeding up the wall and behind a rooftop.

"Sa...Sas…" Naruto called out, shaking, and the raven scooped him up into a tight hug, pulling him close.

"It's okay, it's alright, nothing happened, I'm right here." He said, trying to soothe the boy, but unable to stop himself from shaking slightly. "He didn't…" He asked, anxiously checking.

"No...he just...he just ripped my shirt." Naruto said, angry at himself for how weak and pathetic he felt. "Damnit…" He cursed, clutching Sasuke's arms.

"Don't worry. We'll get through this." The raven said quietly, looking back at where the other man had disappeared. "Let's get back." Naruto nodded, before spotting a small toy rabbit.

"Don't forget Mr Sunday." He said, and Sasuke looked at him in confusion.

"Mr Sunday?"

"The rabbit." Naruto said, managing to smile.

"Oh wow, that's...a name."

"Hey, she's only four."

"I see, so it wasn't your idea."

"Hey!" Naruto said indignantly, shoving Sasuke slightly, and picking up the toy. "Come on, let's find the girl and Sakura."

….

The two boys made their way back through the alleys, and found the girl in the market square with Sakura, the mother, and Kakashi.

"Hey!" Naruto waved, limping slightly. "Renge, I have someone here who missed you." The girl turned to look at them, and then her face lit up when Naruto pulled the toy rabbit out of his pocket.

"Mr Sunday!" She cried, and ran over to him, cuddling the bunny.

"Thank you!" The mother said, smiling at them. "I knew you would manage it, you came highly recommended."

"Aw gee, thanks." Naruto said, smiling, still leaning slightly on Sasuke.

"Thank you so much." She said again, and took her daughter in her arms, waving goodbye to the group, before disappearing into the crowd.

"We've not been recommended before have we?" Sakura asked, looking at Kakashi.

"No. It's highly unusual. Did anything odd happen?" He asked.

"Sort of." Sakura said, looking over at Naruto.

"Yeah," the blonde continued, "the girl had a toy rabbit right? She said someone had taken it and...it sounded like they'd led her there. And I got into a fight with some guy hiding amongst some bins."

"Something about it was off." Sasuke added. "He had no headband, but clearly had control of his chakra enough to scale the building on one side of the alley. And it wasn't a low building."

"But...he didn't seem totally with it." Naruto said, leaning heavily on Sasuke, and cringing against the pain.

"Shit, Kakashi, Naruto got hurt, can I take him to the hospital?" Sasuke asked, and their teacher nodded.

The two boys made their way up the hill, Sakura following them.

"You don't have to come you know." Sasuke said coolly.

"I want to make sure Naruto is okay just as much as you." She said, looking awkward.

"Not enough to stay with him." The raven muttered, and she flushed.

"Naruto should be able to handle himself, I can't babysit him when there's a mission on. You're just angry because he got hurt." She said, getting louder and the two boys stopped to look at her. "I had to get the girl back to safety, even Naruto knows that." She turned and stormed away, leaving Sasuke glaring after her, and Naruto looking resigned.

"She's right you know." Naruto said, nudging Sasuke. "On two accounts. I should be able to take care of myself, and the little girl needed to be taken care of more than me. That creep was probably trying to kidnap her or something." Sasuke refused to look at him, and Naruto was about to say something when he remembered the pit. "Fuck! I forgot to tell Kakashi that the guy had laid a trap! There was a hole covered by some fabric and dirt."

"...that's weird." Sasuke said, continuing to walk, happy for the change in subject.

"Yeah, something doesn't add up. I hope we're not getting a spate of kidnappers…" Naruto frowned in concern, and Sasuke ruffled his hair with his free hand. "Hey! What was that for?" The blonde pouted.

"You're cute when you're worried about others." Sasuke said, giving one of his rare smiles. It always surprised him how even though the whole village seemed out to get Naruto, he would still be concerned for their safety.

The hospital was quiet, and Sasuke helped Naruto find a free nurse to see to his leg. It wasn't bad, he'd just caught it on something sharp, and already his healing abilities were kicking in. The nurse sent him away with a bandage and instructions to rest it, having given him a once over to check for other scrapes and bruises. She had seemed a bit odd after a while, and had told Naruto that she was only doing her job, but she highly disapproved of his 'influence' on the village. Naruto had shrunk back guiltily, and let Sasuke give him his shirt, to hide his tattoo. Sasuke bit back his words until he was out of the hospital, but then felt his rage boiling over.

"Less than ten minutes ago, ten fucking minutes, and you-"

"Sasuke, not now, please?" Naruto said quietly, and Sasuke looked over at the blonde who was wearing a sad expression, tucking his head down into the collar of Sasuke's shirt. "I just want to go home." Sasuke nodded, and they walked in silence to the house, avoiding questions from the housekeeper Thea, before unlocking the door to their small house.

Sasuke shut the door behind him, and turned to see Naruto just standing in front of him, staring at the living room blankly.

"Shall I make some ramen?" The raven asked, and Naruto nodded, still looking down.

"That would be nice." He said in a small voice. Sasuke sighed, and started making the noodles. This sort of thing happened all too often. People were getting better, but there was still a lot of prejudice against Naruto. The parents of the other ninjas, the ones who had been involved in the fight, they had been better since. They'd been actively trying to change people's minds in some cases, but it felt like fighting to stop the tide from coming in. Sighing, the raven poured in the flavouring, stirring the two bowls, before carrying them over to the sofa where Naruto had settled.

"You don't have to do this you know." Naruto said, and Sasuke eyed him.

"And what exactly is 'this'?"

"...this whole making me ramen thing...trying to make me feel better…"

"Naruto, you may find this hard to believe, but I am your boyfriend." Sasuke said, deadpan. Naruto snorted into his ramen elegantly. "No really, you probably haven't noticed but for the past six months I have been dating you. I'm really subtle, like a ninja." Naruto threw his head back laughing, and Sasuke smirked.

"Baka!" Naruto said, wiping ramen off of his cheek. "I can't even mope without you being a teme."

"Nope, that is the sad fate you face with me as your boyfriend." Sasuke settled back into the sofa, still smirking. "Now eat, and appreciate that I made you incredibly awful food just to make you feel better."

"Ramen isn't awf-"

"Yes it is." Naruto pouted, but snuggled against Sasuke nevertheless, and let the raven turn on the TV, allowing them to watch something frivolous as Naruto's spirit picked up again, and as Sasuke suffered through the ramen in the name of love.