Weak and Powerless

by nicthepunk

A semi-song fic based around a chance encounter between Sasuke and Naruto that went from a epic battle to something intimate. Lemons! And it's my first yaoi so enjoy! R&R!

A/N: Hello my lovelies, it's been awhile since I've written any stories for you guys, but in my defense, it's been a shitty year. And why? Well, my best friend died at the beginning of January, so I've been dealing with that... And for the most part, I don't know, 2011 has just majorly sucked so far. =/

Hopefully, this story will make up for my long absence though! :D

Sorry non-yaoi fans, I'm just doing another experiment with my writing, this one being taking a stab at writing a yaoi fic. That, and for some reason, this pairing has been stuck in my head for awhile now. I was going to write a Shika/Ino story because I've been wanting to write another one for them for like two months now but haven't had any good plot ideas =/ that, and I can't focus for shit off of these pills, at least, not enough to write a really good fan fiction. Speaking of which, today, I took two Adderall today for the first time in like...over a month and a half? Maybe two? Hell, I can't remember. The plus side is, no heart attacks yet so let's keep hoping! Lol, I kid – I kid, I'll be fine!

The beginning of this story takes place sometime after the Five Kage Summit arc (or at least, I'm going to try to portray it as taking place during that time). Then there should be a time skip further into it, but it'll probably only be a few months afterwords.

The quote's featured in the first part (i.e. the flashback-ish scene) is taken from a series in the actual Naruto manga, but I'm going to change things up a little bit here so hopefully, you guys enjoy that as well. I don't wanna write a super long author's note for this story, so I'm going to just say, on with the credits/disclaimer!

Oh yeah, and if you haven't heard this song before, I highly recommend that you look it up. A Perfect Circle is an excellent band and this is one of my favorite songs by them. Every time I listen to it now, I think of Naruto/Sasuke lol. A few of the lyrics may not make complete sense in the story, but a lot of the rest actually do, so if you get confused midway, I'm sorry. XD

Song: Weak and Powerless
By: A Perfect Circle

Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto series, nor any of the characters featured in this story. All property of the Naruto franchise belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and company; I am just a lowly fan fiction writer, owning only the alternative plot featured in this story. I also do not own the song featured in this story; it is entirely the property of the band A Perfect Circle. But, aside from all that legal garb, you may now continue with the story!

---

Tilling my own grave to keep me level
Jam another dragon down the hole
Digging to the rhythm and the echo of a solitary siren
One that pushes me along and leaves me so

Desperate and ravenous,
So weak and powerless over you

Someone feed the monkey while I dig in search of China
White as Dracula as I approach the bottom

Desperate and ravenous,
So weak and powerless over you

Little angel go away
Come again some other day
The devil has my ear today
I'll never hear a word you say
Promised I would find a little solace
And some peace of mind
Whatever just as long as I don't feel so

Desperate and ravenous,
So weak and powerless

Desperate and ravenous,
So weak and powerless
Over you

---

"Uchiha Sasuke has become a severe threat to not only Konohagakure, but the rest of the Five Shinobi Nations," Tsunade's firm voice spoke loudly, the door to her office doing little to ensue privacy between herself and the small group of shinobi standing at attention before her.

Coincidentally, Naruto had been making his way to the blonde-haired woman's office to request something to do, his recent lack of missions having left him restless and quite bored. He had his hand wrapped firmly around the doorknob right around the time he heard his childhood friend and teammate's name making it's way through the wood, causing him to freeze dead in his tracks and for once, remain dead silent as he strained himself to listen in to whatever the woman was saying.

"Kakashi, Yamato, I have chosen the two of you to lead this team consisting of yourselves as well as Shikamaru, Neji, Lee, and Sai. This mission is ranked as an S-Class and it is strictly classified, specifically, from Naruto and Sakura. The success rank of this particular mission is very low, especially since the leads involving it aren't completely solid," she continued, her face grim with doubt and concern for the six shinobi standing before her, all silent as the waited for her to continue speaking.

"This is only a rumor, so whether or not it is one-hundred percent accurate, I am not certain. What I am certain of, however, is that on the off chance that my information is accurate, Uchiha Sasuke is currently lingering somewhere in the shadows not far from the Fire Countries borders."

Naruto felt his breath cut short in the back of his throat, the grim general idea of where the conversation taking place on the other side of the door in front of him was headed. If his assumptions were right, there would be a team dispatched soon with the objective of eliminating Sasuke, one where he would more than likely be refused to participate in. Hearing the blonde's voice breaking the silence that had fallen over the air surrounding the vicinity, Naruto once again began to strain his ears to listen to whatever other new information Tsunade had about the rogue Uchiha.

"At first, your objectives will be just to scout the area where Uchiha Sasuke had last been rumored to be seen heading. Whether or not you will actually be forced to confront him is at this time uncertain," Naruto released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, though as the stern voice of the Hokage continued speaking once again, he found his body going numb, the relief once again overcoming him suddenly being sucked completely out of his soul.

"Should any of you encounter Sasuke, he is to be eliminated at all costs. Now, as I've mentioned, this mission is completely classified, so any mention to either Haruno Sakura or Uzumaki Naruto is absolutely forbidden! Due to their personal connection and feelings towards Sasuke, the two's knowledge about this mission would only cause an interference that could cost you the completion of this mission, as well as put your safety in danger. Is this understood?" she finished, her sharp hazel eyes scanning the six, making sure to linger a bit longer on both Shikamaru and Sai, the blonde knowing their loyalties as friends towards both Sakura and Naruto may drive them to cause an unacceptable slip-up.

The six shinobi nodding their heads in a confirming unison, however, was enough reassurance for Tsunade to continue speaking, though her words were cut off by Kakashi having roughly opened the double doors leading into her office, the sudden inward jolt tugging Naruto, who had still had his hands wrapped firmly around the handle, inside with a startled jolt.

Taking a moment to recollect his composure, Naruto straightened himself up, and as his sharp, betrayed eyes finally looked up towards the blonde hokage, a thick, stifling intensity filled the air. A silence filled the room as dread overflowed Tsunade, the woman having a gut-wrenching feeling that the young Jinchuuriki had indeed overheard everything that had just been said, and until he decided to speak, she was left at a complete loss for words.

"I thought that I sensed an extra chakra presence nearby," Kakashi muttered, his one visible eye looking down at his slightly shorter, former student, who was now brushing the non-existent wrinkles out of his jacket, trying to regain his professionalism and composure as best he could, aside from the current situation.

Having momentarily lost his train in thought, the recollection of everything that he had just overheard returned, sending his anger level back up as he—still never the type to simply remain silent for too long—finally decided to break the lingering silence currently being shared between the now six occupants of the room. And in less than two seconds, his mood had managed to go completely from remaining horrified to being completely enraged.

"How could you?" was all he asked, and Tsunade immediately knew what he was referring to. As she parted her lips to respond to his question, however, she was cut off by his shouting voice, his voice echoing loudly throughout the room with a mixture of rage combined with pure betrayal clearly evident in his tone.

"You promised me that you would let Sasuke come back if he chose to! How could you do this, Baa-chan?" he shouted, his longtime nickname for their blonde hokage still remaining present as he slammed his hands down roughly atop her oak desk, the strong impact causing the desk's contents to rattle slightly, threatening to tip over, before eventually stilling once more.

Standing up to meet his intense stare, Tsunade—herself now equally angry—moved her face close to Naruto's own, meeting the younger blonde at eye level, her own hands slamming roughly to the desk and causing several of it's contents to fall over from the second impact.

"The circumstances have changed since then, Naruto!" she shouted, and in response, she was met by a very baffled and incredulous look as Naruto's sharp gaze never once broke, his silence urging her to explain herself further, which she took the initiative to do.

"He has become too much of a threat and he must be stopped, Naruto," she continued, her tone calming down greatly as she tried her best to reason with him as best as she could. Tsunade knew more than anyone how both Naruto and Sakura felt towards their former teammate, but things had gotten too far out of her hands and jurisdiction for her to not take action on Sasuke, and she had to somehow get that through to Naruto now, once and for all.

"His crimes have only gotten more severe, and the Raikage wants his head for his crimes against the Hidden Cloud. As a former Konoha citizen, Sasuke is still our responsibility, rogue ninja or not. It will be better on everybody if we handle Sasuke ourselves rather than letting someone else do it for us. It would only make us look bad," she explained, and immediately, Naruto blanched in response, his words immediately following, cutting of anything further she wished to say.

"Oh, so that's what this is really about? Making Konoha look good to all of the other villages?" Naruto asked, his anger only seeming to rise as time progressed. Narrowing her eyes, Tsunade spoke again.

"Of course that's not the only thing this is about, weren't you paying attention to me?" she asked, her two index and middle fingers rising to her temples as she began to rub away a migraine that she could just feel trying to make itself present.

"There's still plenty of time for Sakura-chan and I to find Sasuke and try to convince him to just come back home! You don't need to do this! If you'd just—" he tried to finish, only to be sharply cut off by Kakashi, who had finally decided to speak.

"Naruto," he began, said blonde looking over his shoulder at his former teacher out of respect, acknowledging the silver-haired man as he spoke.

"You have to understand that if some form of action isn't carried out against Sasuke, he will eventually target the village and destroy it," he explained, and successfully managing to strike a nerve within Naruto, the blonde's anger immediately dimmed away. A grim feeling immediately followed as for once, Naruto realized the truth behind Kakashi's words, the proof being far too obvious for him to simply ignore the fact.

It was something that Naruto had realized for a long time now, but hadn't wanted to completely accept. The still present yet small sliver of hope that perhaps he could still change his childhood friend-gone-rogue remained present in his heart, though time and a firsthand account had slowly been destroying that hope. Despite this, however, Naruto wanted to continue believing that maybe—just maybe—he would someday still be able to change Sasuke's mind; to make him finally return to the village where he belonged.

Noticing that Naruto had yet to respond, Kakashi knew that he had struck a nerve within him, one where Naruto agreed with what his former sensei was saying. And so, the silver-haired man once again began to explain things in a way that would actually make Naruto get it.

"Considering the crimes he has committed during his time as a rogue shinobi, Konoha can no longer simply look past Sasuke's actions, and some form of punishment must be done now. I know that you and Sakura wanted Sasuke to be able to simply return home when his quest for revenge was over, but he's made overlooking things simply impossible at this point in time," Kakashi finished, taking a step towards Naruto to place both hands upon the blonde's shoulder's in a comforting gesture. Naruto's head lowered towards the ground, his sad blue orbs staring downwards as he began getting lost in thought.

From behind her desk, Tsunade watched the blonde sympathetically, knowing that Kakashi had successfully been able to explain everything that she had meant to in a way that Naruto could understand. As a long silence filled the air once more, Tsunade decided to clear her throat to regain everyone's attention, knowing that they had to proceed, though not before she made it clear that Naruto couldn't take place on this mission.

"I am sorry about all of this, Naruto," she began, her tone sincere and sympathetic though she knew in her head and heart what needed to be said and done. Using that as her resolve, she continued speaking.

"Were it not for the liability of your personal feelings towards Sasuke to interfere with the successful completion of this mission, I would have personally assigned you to this squad, but as a means of avoiding putting them at risk, I have to force you to remain here in the village. It's nothing personal, Naruto, honest."

Nodding his head, Naruto pulled away from Kakashi's comforting gesture, his body turning to face Tsunade once again as he finally looked up at her.

"I understand. If you don't mind me asking, though, just where exactly had Sasuke been rumored to be seen last?" he asked. Hesitating in answering his strange and sudden question, Tsunade figured that Naruto had decided to just submit for once rather than further insisting on getting his way, and for that Tsunade was grateful. Pitying the boy far too much already for comfort, she decided to at least answer his question, not anticipating his motives behind it.

"From what we've gathered, he was last seen near the border separating the Land of Fire from the Land of Grass, so—Naruto!" she shouted, the blonde suddenly darting out of her office in a blinding sprint.

'Dammit!' she thought to herself, having been tricked into trusting him not to pursue Sasuke out of her pity for him, she slammed her fists down on the desk once again and turned her sharp gaze immediately back to the six shinobi before him.

"All of you – stop him! Don't let Naruto out of the village, or we'll never catch him! This mission, however, is still in effect, so even if you have to take Naruto with you—despite my prior orders not to—you are still to do your best at finding and taking out Uchiha Sasuke." she shouted, her body slouching back into her chair as she buried her face into her hands and let out a long, aggrivated sigh.

"And another thing, at least make sure that Sakura doesn't find out about all of this as well. The last thing we need is for two irrationally thinking shinobi to go out on a wild goose chase, especially considering how great the danger rate of this mission is," she finished, roughly waving her hand in a shooing gesture.

Deep down, Tsunade knew that even if the six shinobi did manage to catch Naruto, the blonde would now stop at nothing to pursue Sasuke, even if it meant leaving the village without permission. As long as he continued acting irrationally, he would stop at nothing—even if it involved breaking the law—to follow this new lead in pursuit of Sasuke.

"Go now!" she screamed again, as the six shinobi standing before her slightly hesitated for a brief moment rather than immediately taking off in pursuit of Naruto. Hearing Tsunade's sudden order, however, the six immediately took off out the door in a run, all running in the direction Naruto took off as quickly as they could.

Eventually making their way to the village gates, the six shinobi briefly stopped as Kakashi addressed the two usual village guards, Izumo and Kotetsu.

"Have either of you happened to see Naruto recently?" he asked, slightly winded, and the two blinked in response before briefly glancing towards one another. Looking back at Kakashi, Izumo was the one to finally answer!

"He just ran out of the village a few minutes ago, you guys literally just missed him but—hey! What's going on?" he asked, his last words falling on deaf ears as the six shinobi immediately began running off in the direction Naruto had gone once again. Giving one another a confused glance, the two simultaneously shrugged immediately, both remaining clueless as to what exactly was going on.

And once again, the hunt for Naruto was on, though now that he was out of the village, the six shinobi would simply settle for allowing him to participate on this mission with them rather than allowing him to continue chasing after Sasuke blindly and thus, compromising the entire mission.

All the while, both Kakashi and Yamato both strained their shinobi senses to their limits, trying their best to catch even the slightest hint of Naruto's unmistakable chakra, and it didn't take too long until both managed to catch the faintest trace, informing them that Naruto was still a good distance ahead of them, though not too far out of reach.

Increasing their traveling speed ever-so-slightly, the six shinobi leaped from tree branch to tree branch, their chakra remaining channeled to the soles of their feet as they made their way towards Naruto. Gradually, the faint lead of the blonde's chakra began getting stronger, informing them that they were finally gaining on him. Naruto may have high stamina levels, but he was still merely human, and he certainly wasn't able to completely outrun a whole six seasoned shinobi.

Several moments passed until they were finally able to catch sight of the rapidly moving blur of orange, and then they knew they'd now easily be able to get his attention. Forcing more chakra into his feet, Kakashi began making his way forward even faster than before, his speed reaching the maximum as he began traveling side-by-side with Naruto.

Looking over at the sharingan-user, Naruto's eyes narrowed visibly, though his pace never faltered. The two continued running forward, the five shinobi following closely behind them, as Naruto continued onward, his objective serving as the only thing running through his mind at the moment. His instincts had long-since taken over, and now, Naruto would stop at nothing to make his way towards his friend before they would, the blonde deciding that if the Uchiha had to be confronted like this, then he would be the person to do it.

For a long while, neither Naruto nor Kakashi said a word to one another, and Naruto had already anticipated anything that Kakashi may want to say to him in attempts to deter his mind away from his sole objective, which was to get to Sasuke before anyone else had the chance to.

"Don't even bother, Kakashi-sensei, I already know what you're going to say and I'm just gonna tell you now that it won't change anything," Naruto finally said, his words causing his silver-haired sensei to look at him quietly for a moment, before calmly responding.

"Oh, is that so? Well then, I guess you already know that I was just planning to tell you that you have been permitted to participate on this mission officially, should the six of us not be able to stop you from leaving the village on your own first hand," he explained, a mild tinge of humor clear in his voice. Looking skeptically over at his sensei, Naruto hesitated, before speaking again, and gradually, he began to slow his pace due to his rapidly growing fatigue.

"Baa-chan said I could join the team?" he asked hesitantly, receiving a simple nod in confirmation. Trusting Kakashi fully, Naruto only slowed his speed even more until the seven shinobi were sprinting at a normal pace, much to everyone's relief. Not wanting to be fatigued before they were even able to scope their destination for any traces of the Uchiha, the other six members of the squad remained quiet as they listened in on Kakashi and Naruto's conversation, none of them feeling the need to voice their own opinions towards the conversation.

"What you did back there, however, was very unprofessional, Naruto, and when we get back to the village, Tsunade certainly isn't going to go easy on your punishment for your misconduct. You do realize that, right?" Kakashi asked, and Naruto averted his gaze forward, avoiding eye contact as the elder man chastised his unorthodox behavior.

"Yeah, I know that," the blonde simply responded with a long sigh, a hand raising to run his fingers through his long blonde spikes in frustration as he continued making his way towards his destination.

"Why did you take off like that though, even after she had given you strict orders not to?" Kakashi asked with genuine curiosity, his question enticing the blonde to once again look at him as he answered truthfully.

"Because I realized that nothing I said to her would change her decision, and that because I felt somewhat responsible for Sasuke—as both his friend and his teammate—if anyone were to have to fight and defeat him, I was the only person capable of doing so."

For a long moment, Kakashi couldn't find the words to say in response to Naruto's startling revelation, the Jōnin having never anticipated Naruto feeling such responsibility towards the rogue Uchiha. Staring ahead at the foliage and other landscaping, Kakashi let Naruto's words sink in, as he tried his best to offer the blonde some comforting words, as well as a response.

"Sasuke isn't you're burden alone, Naruto," he finally offered after several long moments of silence, his words causing the blonde to once again look at him, his eyes filled with a grim look of resolve and dread.

"As his friend, I owe it to Sasuke to at least be able to take away his burden of hatred and pain, because Sasuke clearly can't harbor it all on his own. It's destroyed far too much of him already. I've accepted a long time ago that someday, the two of us would have to fight like this, and I told him to save up all of his anger and all of his hatred, so that when the day came for us to fight one another, he could finally take it all out on me. I promised that to him, and I fully intend to see that promise through to the end," Naruto explained, his voice solemn with a resolve that left Kakashi startled, the older man knowing fully well that Naruto was being completely serious.

"I'm the only person in the whole world now who can handle all of Sasuke's hatred, and if it leads to it, I'm also ready to die with Sasuke in the process if I have to."

The way that Naruto remained so calm during his explanation unnerved Kakashi. Accepting the fate of potentially dying in the process of destroying Sasuke somehow didn't seem right to Kakashi, because he knew that should that happen, Naruto's dream of someday becoming Hokage would be over. Also, there was another nagging feeling deep within his gut at the mere thought of Naruto being killed, one that Kakashi couldn't quite shake.

He didn't know what to say to the blonde, and as his sensei, he felt almost obligated to offer the younger shinobi some sort of words of comfort or support, something to let him know that everything would be okay; that should he and Sasuke fight one another, he wouldn't have to go at it alone because the six of them would be there as well to assist him. But Kakashi was awestruck by Naruto's resolve, speechless by his intentions to a degree where nothing he could say would be enough. But still, he felt he should still at least say something, and in a way, Naruto was now expecting him to do just that. And so, Kakashi did.

"You wont be fighting him alone, you know. And no, before you even try, there isn't anything you can say that would keep the six of us from intervening, should a fight occur between you and Sasuke," Kakashi said sternly, successfully cutting any of Naruto's protests off before the blonde could voice them. Deciding to remain silent for a moment, Naruto only narrowed his eyes slightly in aggravation, knowing that Kakashi was serious about there being nothing Naruto could say or do to keep the six of them from interfering in a fight between himself and Sasuke.

"Fine," Naruto began, albeit begrudgingly, but immediately, he continued speaking.

"But... can you guys at least do me a favor?" he asked, his question causing Kakashi's face to perk a bit in curiosity, encouraging the blonde to further elaborate.

"Can you guys please refrain from interfering in the fight. At least, until things manage to reach a point where I'm left either defeated or somehow unable to continue fighting?"

Kakashi was reluctant to respond, too hesitant to risk allowing things to progress between Naruto and Sasuke to the point where Naruto is left in even the slightest bit of bad shape. He knew that the six of them prematurely intervening would be the equivalent to taking a direct stab at Naruto's pride, however, and as a fellow shinobi, Kakashi respected Naruto enough to at least offer him the gift of self-restraint in this fight which was undoubtedly personal, meant only to be between both Naruto and Sasuke. Finally, Kakashi nodded his head, and Naruto slightly bowed his head in a silent thanks, grateful that Kakashi at least understood and respected his feelings towards the inevitable battle to come.

For the rest of their trek towards the border separating the Land of Fire from it's surrounding ninja villages, a silence fell around the seven wayward shinobi as they quickly traveled towards their main destination. Naruto knew that the odds of actually encountering Sasuke based on a mere tip—one that was possibly unreliable, at worst—but his hopes for reuniting with his former rival and teammate remained high, despite the circumstances and objectives surrounding them.

It wasn't until a series of several loud metal clangs were heard in the background that the seven shinobi realized they had set off some sort of trap, a barrage of various shinobi weapons ranging from senbon needles to kunai knives were raining down on the six shinobi following behind both Kakashi and Naruto, who had been leading them onward beforehand.

Using their own weapons in combination with their finely tuned shinobi skills, the six shinobi did their best to dodge as many of the weapons as possible, though due to the attack having still managed to catch them all by surprise, they all still managed to sustain some sort of injury from the attack. Naruto and Kakashi, who had just barely been able to dodge the weapons barrage by jumping out of the way, immediately searched their surroundings, and with Kakashi's sharingan, they had been able to catch site of their target.

Suddenly finding themselves surrounded by a large group of shinobi—all of which were donning long, black cloaks painted with a familiar pattern of various red clouds—Naruto was immediately instructed to continue pursuing Sasuke on his own while the seven of them finished things up here. Well, Naruto certainly didn't need to be told that twice, and once again, he continued running forward, a large clearing in the distance slowly beginning to make its way into plain sight.

It wasn't until the foliage of the trees had finally ended and the clearing was before him that Naruto was met by a familiar chakra presence, one standing directly in the center of the clearing, his back facing Naruto. Stopping dead in his tracks, Naruto felt his breath hitching in the back of his throat as he stood there, hesitating as he watched the young man before him carefully, his guard immediately raised, anticipating almost anything.

It seemed like almost a whole five minutes had passed, though it had really only been a brief moment, before slowly, Sasuke had begun turning around to face Naruto, and the blonde's eyes never once faltered away from the image of a familiar face from his youth. Once Sasuke's body had completely turned around to face him, a pair of coal black eyes immediately locked onto the intense gaze of a pair of blue ones staring opposite to him, a grim mixture of anticipation and something else that was quite indistinguishable meeting him from deep within those cerulean depths.

Not a word was spoken from either of them, nor did either of the two move; they just stared at one another in silence, both carefully studying the other and mentally noting any and all changes that had occurred in comparison to the last time they'd met. Both were fully expectant on the other to make a move to attack the other at any moment, though at the exact same time, neither was quite willing to be the first to initiate the inevitable fight between them.

After a few long moments passed without anything happening, Naruto began to take it as a good sign, one that encouraged him to continue stalling as a means of giving the two of them as much neutrality-spent time together as possible. He knew from past experience that if and when a fight between them finally began, Sasuke would have no reason to hold back, nor would the raven-haired man hesitate to kill him. It was because of this that Naruto remained guarded, even after Sasuke had taken the initiative to finally be the first to break the silence.

"Naruto," was all he said, his voice still as void of any traces of emotion as ever, and hearing his name being spoken so coldly by someone he still considered to be his friend, Naruto's eyes visibly hardened as he continued staring at Sasuke, though Sasuke's decision to finally speak had given Naruto the motivation he had needed to actually say something himself, though when he opened his mouth to form some sort of response, his words fell fairly short and simple, just like Sasuke's own had been.

"Sasuke," he said, his voice hoarse and nervous. With each passing moment, the reality of the situation at hand sunk into Naruto's heart and mind more and more, and the small trace of whatever hope remained for the Uchiha to be saved was slowly dying, despite Naruto's desperate want for it to remain true.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked, his cold, calculating eyes never leaving Naruto's face as he studied the blonde's reactions and expressions, wondering if and when the blonde would make a move to attack him, as well as wondering whether or not he should be the one to make some sort of a first move, to initiate a battle between them rather than making some idle chit-chat. But despite these thoughts, for some reason, Sasuke continued remaining immobile, the peaceful neutrality surrounding them surprisingly being given the opportunity to remain in tact for a bit longer, at least until one of the two young men decided to engage in a fight.

"It's pretty obvious, isn't it?" Naruto asked, his eyes gesturing towards the raven-haired man who's eyes merely narrowed slightly in response before once again, he opened his mouth to respond.

"I'm still not going back," he said, and Naruto nodded his head knowingly, having fully anticipated and accepted this fact long before Sasuke had even bothered to say it out loud.

"I'm not here to take you back, Sasuke. Even if you were willing to go home, I'm afraid that it wouldn't be enough for them to be willing to accept you," Naruto explained grimly, his gut turning as he finally voiced the truth aloud, causing the heaviness of the reality of it all to sink in even deeper than before.

"Then why are you here?" Sasuke asked after a passing moment of silence, though in the back of his mind, he knew the answer to that question already. After all, the final fight between himself and Naruto was inevitable, however, he hadn't anticipated it would happen so soon, despite several years having passed since the two had last met, back when Naruto had promised said battle to him.

"Oh, I think that you already know that answer, Sasuke," Naruto calmly answered, doing his best to mask his the inner turmoil of his emotions and remain (seemingly) calm. Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment, a long breath escaping his lips as he let everything completely sink in. Once again opening his eyes, Sasuke's coal-colored gaze returned to Naruto's own cerulean one.

"Then why haven't you made the first move at attacking me?" Sasuke asked with genuine curiosity, figuring that if Naruto had bothered to come all this way with the sole intention of fighting him, then surely, the blonde would have been the first to initiate the fight. Naruto hesitated before answering Sasuke's question, himself unsure of the answer to Sasuke's question. Having never really thought about it, Naruto had just figured that he would wait for Sasuke to make some sort of a first move; apparently, Sasuke was doing the same thing.

"I guess I was expecting you to make the first move," Naruto responded truthfully, and for a split second, Sasuke considered taking Naruto's words as a cue to finally charge at the blonde, though for some reason—one completely unknown to him—he remained still and calculating.

"Hn... I guess the feeling there was mutual," Sasuke coolly replied, his words still ever-void of any sign of emotion.

Naruto's lips turned downward slightly into a frown, the blonde by now having expected that surely, Sasuke would have charged towards him, his katana firmly at hand and ready to strike the blonde down—completely mercilessly—but instead, there Sasuke stood before him, his sword having yet to be even drawn defensively yet, unlike Naruto's own weapon—a simple, traditional kunai—which remained clenched tightly in one of the blondes hands, both of which were currently hanging limply at each of his sides.

Silence surrounded the two once again, and the intensity filling the air around them was thick enough to be cut with a knife. Both stood there ready, both anticipating an attack that (unknown to them) neither were willing to take the first initiative to make. They stared at one another, Naruto's head racing with a barrage of questions and random thoughts, trying to make sense of the situation at hand, as well as a few other things, including why Sasuke had yet to return to Konoha despite his revenge having been long-since fulfilled.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was also very thoughtful, though mostly, he too was wondering why Naruto wasn't charging ahead at him blindly like he always did. He remembered their last encounter, back when Naruto had promised the big, final battle between them, one where Naruto would harbor all of the hatred and anger that Sasuke was constantly building up inside of him. He also remembered how on that day, despite everything that had happened between the two of them during the time between Sasuke leaving Konoha and the events transpiring after the Five Kage Summit, Naruto still reassured Sasuke that he still considered him to be his friend.

Sasuke remembered that more than anything, because it was something that had somehow managed to leave him completely baffled and, as a response, completely and utterly enraged, because it meant that Sasuke had failed to completely sever his bonds with Team 7, despite having tried everything in his power to do so. Naruto had no right to still, after everything Sasuke had done, consider him to be his friend, but still he told him over and over that he would harbor Sasuke's hatred because of it, and that pissed Sasuke off more than anything, though the onyx-haired man didn't quite understand why.

Deep down, however, in the depths of his soul where whatever piece of humanity mixed with what remained of Sasuke's heart still lived, Sasuke knew that Naruto's loyalty to him enraged him because he didn't feel worthy of such loyalty. It was that part of him, the one that consisted of that same boy who he had intended to leave behind in Konoha, that felt remorse for all of his actions, though Sasuke would never admit that fact aloud; he'd rather be caught dead first.

No matter how much Sasuke tried to ignore the fact and deny it's truth, however, there was still a piece inside of him—albeit, it was a very small and very deeply hidden piece—that was still a human being, one that still had the capability to feel emotions, despite Sasuke always doing everything in his power to destroy said emotions immediately upon contact. It was this very same human side of him that left behind an undying sense of guilt and shame, as well as the still barely in tact loyalty he once had towards not only Team 7, but towards Konoha as well.

It was also his constantly suppressed human side that forced Sasuke to feel something else, something that he couldn't quite name due to lack of prior experience, towards his former male teammate, though Sasuke made sure to do his best to ignore and try to destroy this particular foreign emotion as much as he possibly could.

Naruto wasn't sure what to say to Sasuke, or whether or not he should even say anything to him at all. He was at a loss for words, and his thoughts were beginning to consume him as the two stared at one another silently, both clearly calculating and observing the others' every move. There were so many questions left unanswered, ones that he was left tempted to finally ask, despite not knowing whether or not Sasuke would even bother answering them for him.

Naruto's friendship towards Sasuke had remained loyal, even until right now, and it was because of this loyalty that everything the blonde was currently anticipating to happen just felt wrong, for some reason. It was because of the guilt at having to fight his lifelong best friend, possibly to the death, that left Naruto completely guilt ridden and full of emotions, many of which he—like Sasuke—couldn't quite name.

The more that time progressed neutrally between the two, the more confident that Naruto had begun to feel that Sasuke wouldn't attack him should he decide to make an attempts at calmly moving closer towards the raven-haired male. It was this confidence alone that had encouraged Naruto to finally—after what seemed like an eternity—take a step forward, his weapon-equipped arms never once raising in either offense nor defense, as he began slowly walking towards the Uchiha.

As soon as Naruto began walking forward, immediately, Sasuke's shinobi senses went into overdrive with alert, though because Naruto's arms remained lowered to his sides, the raven-haired male didn't feel alarmed enough to draw his katana in order to go into a defensive stance. He silently wondered what the hell Naruto was planning, though he didn't bother to voice his questions aloud, instead deciding to simply observe Naruto's movements as he made them, and thus, he watched the blonde-haired male slowly make his way onward until finally, stopping a mere several short feet away from Sasuke.

"What are you going to do then, Naruto?" Sasuke asked with a raised, curious eyebrow, and he silently wondered to himself whether or not Naruto was simply approaching him as a means of preparing himself to make some sort of a first move, intending to finally initiate the inevitable battle between the two of them.

Naruto's sharp stare, which had yet to leave Sasuke's face, faltered the tiniest bit, it's intensity softening just a tinge as he stared at his childhood friend, never having wanted the day to come where the two would have to battle to the death against one another, though in a way, it would certainly also be a fitting end for either one or the both of them, depending on the final outcome.

"I'm leaving it up to you to make the first attack, Sasuke," Naruto said before briefly shifting his gaze upwards towards the rapidly darkening sky, having noticed beforehand that the lighting around them was slowly dimming. Inevitably, it would end up raining soon, either before or during their battle. Judging by the looks of the sky, however, the rain would be coming down soon, though how soon exactly, Naruto wasn't completely sure.

Noticing the blonde's gaze was no longer focused on his face, Sasuke's own attention turned towards the sky, and the obvious telltale sign of an incoming downpour met him. After a brief moment, the two boys simultaneously returned their gazes to each others' faces, and Sasuke decided to actually voice the thought that both males had just been thinking.

"It's going to rain soon," he said simply, his voice tinged with the faintest bit of amusement tinged with an obvious matter-of-fact tone. Naruto merely nodded his head numbly in response, the simple musing having been uncharacteristic and unexpected having come from Sasuke.

Already, the two could feel a stray raindrop or two making contact with any currently exposed inch of flesh, though it wasn't quite enough to alert them of the impending downpour, and thus the small, faint sprinkles were simply left ignored by the two. The silence that surrounded them lasted a brief moment before Sasuke had decided to speak again, finally commenting on Naruto's previous statement regarding the Uchiha making the first move.

"Let's get this over with," he said emotionlessly, his left arm reaching over his shoulder as he gripped the hilt of his katana before slowly unsheathing it and Naruto, who was still standing several paces away, finally raised his kunai in a defensive stance, his entire body now filled with anticipation as he waited for Sasuke to finally make the first move.

Sasuke's body shifting into his own offensive stance, the two males stared intensely and motionlessly at one another for a final moment before finally, Sasuke lunged forward with killing intent, his blade swiping towards Naruto who, using all of the muscular strength in his arm, did his best to deflect the impact of the blade using only his kunai, the task proving to be nearly impossible considering the difference in weapon size as well as the strength Sasuke had put forth for the strike.

However, managing to hold his own in deflecting the strike, Naruto held his kunai firmly against the blade of Sasuke's katana, before eventually, the two jumped backwards, thus successfully breaking contact with one another and resuming their former battle stances. The two repeated this same action several times before Sasuke had grown frustrated with Naruto's constant dodging, and deciding to take a new approach as a means of landing the first hit, Sasuke began summoning his chakra into his blade, a chirping blade of lightning surrounding it as he raised his sword.

Immediately recognizing the attack, Naruto jumped further out of harms way just barely in time with Sasuke's sudden Chidori-enchanced swipe, the blonde suddenly realizing that in order for this to end up being a fair fight, he would have to separate Sasuke from his katana. The only problem now was devising some sort of plan of how to go about doing so.

With his trademark lightning technique still remaining active, Sasuke began a relentless series of attacks, his sword making slicing movements from left to right as Naruto did his best to dodge them all, though his only means of doing so without being injured in the process was by merely leaping away at the last minute.

Even the most seasoned shinobi, all possible chakra limits aside, were unable to avoid the inevitable fatigue that found itself starting to creep up on both Sasuke and Naruto, though both males did their best to ignore it, the minor inconvenience not being nearly enough for either to hinder in this fight against one another. Finally releasing his Chidori Nagashi, Sasuke decided to reserve his chakra as best as he possibly could, finding the uphold of the technique being a waste of energy if all Naruto planned on doing was dodging his attacks every time.

By now, their breathing was slightly heavier, though not to the point of being labored, and now, it was Naruto's turn to make the first attack. Reaching his hand into his kunai pouch, Naruto tossed a series of kunai in Sasuke's direction with the flick of his wrist, though like he had anticipated, Sasuke merely deflected the attacks with his sword, causing the three kunai to fall and land firmly into the ground below, the sharp end having imbedded itself into the grass.

Before Sasuke could make his own attempt at an attack, however, Naruto had his own plans in mind and forming a familiar hand seal, Naruto was soon surrounded by a series of clones, all of whom lunged towards Sasuke to attack while the real Naruto went off to hide somewhere.

Activating his Sharingan and swiping his blade towards each of the clones simultaneously, Sasuke watched calculatingly as several white clouds of smoke appeared in the wake of each of Naruto's destroyed clones. With his now Sharingan-blazing eyes quickly searching the area for the real Naruto, realizing in his mind finally clicked and he immediately leaped to the air just as an orange-clad arm shot up out of the ground.

Of course, it was more than obvious of what they were doing. Their attacks were so simple, and so text book, and for the time being, they would just continue toying with each other and stalling for time; dragging this fight out for as long as they possibly could before they would start to whip out their more serious, powerful attacks against one another.

Finally emerging the rest of himself from the ground below, Naruto wasted no time before he himself leaped upwards in pursuit of Sasuke, who was now pulling his body out of the way as he made his way downward from his place in the air. Seeing this, Naruto also forced his body to move in the direction Sasuke was moving, and just as the two boys' feet hit the ground, a loud clap of thunder was finally heard resonating itself from the sky above, only to then be followed by an immediate downpour of rain.

Within a matter of seconds, the two were soaked straight to the bone. Naruto—whose clothes were much baggier and thus, heavier than Sasuke's when wet—immediately unzipped and shrugged off his traditional orange jacket, tossing it to the side without a second thought. Now left wearing only his shinobi sandals, his orange pants, and a thin, black undershirt, Naruto once again was ready to continue their fight without having the weight of the heaviest pieces of his soaked shinobi outfit to weigh down his movements.

Wasting no time once again, Naruto lunged towards Sasuke with his kunai raised, and now, it was Sasuke's turn to dodge the attack using all of the strength in his arms being put behind his katana. The rain had caused the grass below their feet to become wet and slippery, the few rough patches of dirt surrounding the area now turned completely into mud. The two shinobi were doing their best to continue fighting without slipping on the grass or in the mud, though the task was truly proving to be a difficult one when pile atop the task of focusing on each others' attacks.

Several dodged attacks later, Sasuke—much to his displeasure—inevitably found his sandal-clad feet sliding in one of the various patches of mud, the lack of anchorage to the ground allowing Naruto to be able to force the Uchiha to slide backwards with the strength behind his most recent attack. Eventually backing the raven-haired male into a nearby tree trunk, Naruto held his kunai firmly against Sasuke's blade before eventually, being able to force the katana out of Sasuke's grip, the sword falling to the ground nearby.

Using one of his arms to hold Naruto's own kunai-weilding arm away from him, Sasuke used his other hand to grab one of his own kunai out of his leg holster and forcing the blonde slightly away with a rough push, the Uchiha was finally able to dodge the attack that followed by meeting the blade of Naruto's kunai with that of his own.

Intent on keeping Sasuke pinned against the tree, Naruto's hold remained strong against his own. Looking into the Uchiha's eyes, Naruto's former guilt immediately resurfaced itself, enticing the blonde to voice his feelings aloud, despite knowing that it would probably just fall on deaf ears anyway. Still, however, he had to at least try.

"I didn't want things to end up this way, you know," he said, their kunai never separating as their arms gradually began to tremble from the hold. Trying his best to gain the upper hand, Sasuke forced himself to push forward even harder, trying to get away from the tree holding him in place between itself and Naruto.

"Why couldn't you just come home? I mean you did everything you had planned to do, and Itachi's dead, so then... why? Why did you stay gone for all of these years?" the blonde asked, his voice full of genuine hurt while Sasuke, taking Naruto's brief moment of emotion-fueled hesitation, to force the blonde back a few paces, though not far enough for him to manage to successfully get away from the tree bark.

"Because I learned the truth about everything; about Itachi and the massacre. I could never go back to live in that place after knowing what they did to my family!" Sasuke shouted, his anger rising as he thought about everything Madara had told him after he had killed Itachi. Looking at Sasuke with a brief look of bewilderment, Naruto waited for Sasuke to lunge towards him as anticipated, which sure enough, he did.

Now, just as Sasuke had done to him beforehand, Naruto had dodged Sasuke's every attack, meeting and blocking the barrage of swipes from Sasuke's angry kunai with the blade of his own kunai, and a loud clanging of metal resonated itself loudly throughout the surrounding area.

The ground was now more slippery than ever, and remaining grounded on even the grass seemed impossible, the strength applied to Sasuke's weapon pushing itself against Naruto's own, as well as occasionally pushing the blonde shinobi backwards.

"Sasuke..." Naruto started through gritted teeth, doing his best not to falter in physical strength as he did his best to hold back Sasuke's kunai.

"I heard about everything that happened to your clan..." the blonde continued, the mere direction the conversation was steering further into managing to increase Sasuke's overall rage, but Naruto ignored it and continued speaking.

"What they did back then... it wasn't right..." he said, trying his best to reassure Sasuke that whatever contempt the Uchiha felt towards the village, towards the elders and it's higher ups, he understood and in a way, agreed with. He wasn't sure if it would help make Sasuke feel better, but he knew that Sasuke should at least know his take on everything.

"I don't blame you for hating them, and I don't blame you for wanting to get revenge on them for what they did to your clan; to Itachi..."

Sasuke seemed to only be getting more and more angry with Naruto's every passing word, and really, Naruto had fully anticipated that. But what Naruto truly felt that Sasuke needed more than anything was reassurance, someone to tell him that he wasn't alone and that all of his hatred and anger and contempt; he wasn't the only one feeling that way, and that Naruto understood, even if only a little bit, how Sasuke felt towards the people truly responsible for the murder of his clan.

"Naruto," Sasuke finally gritted out, in attempts at silencing whatever further the blonde had to say. Sasuke knew that he was losing control of his temper and that if he were to lose it completely, it would only cloud his judgment and impair his ability to fight properly. What he needed now was for Naruto to be quiet, and so, he decided to cut the blonde's speech off now rather than just completely hearing him out.

"You don't have a clue how I feel, so just stop trying to pretend that you do!" Sasuke finished, his voice having raised greatly during his rage to an almost scream. He was trying his best to calm himself back down, albeit unsuccessfully, before he ended up doing something stupid; something that could ultimately cost him the victory of this fight, which was absolutely unacceptable.

The steady downpour was doing nothing to assist their battle, however, the rain slicking the blades of their kunai and slightly hindering them from being able to keep the contact between the two from moving. Each time they would manage to break apart—only to inevitably reconnect themselves, blade to blade—it would take an extra amount of strength and concentration to keep their blades from slipping against one another, and having that problem piled on top of the slippery ground beneath their feet, this simple series of basic attacks was starting to prove increasingly difficult.

An all-too-familiar clang resounded once again as Sasuke's kunai was being ground blade-first against Naruto's own once again, and using as much physical strength as he could, Sasuke did his best to force Naruto's body backwards, intent on forcing the blonde up against a steadily approaching tree bark.

Feeling his back roughly being forced into the bark of a tree, Naruto winced as he continued trying to force Sasuke away from him, his hand now slightly bloody from a series of small nicks that appeared in a few instances where Naruto's hand had accidentally slipped down the handle of his kunai and onto the blade of it, the sharpened weapon immediately cutting into his flesh and drawing blood.

Sasuke too had his fighting hand covered in blood, himself having experienced the same misfortune as Naruto—no thanks to the troublesome rainstorm—though the two shinobi merely ignored the bleeding, their red-stained hands in far better shape than they looked. It was thanks to the rain water mixing with their blood that the crimson liquid had ended up watering down and smearing, making their wounds look a lot more fatal than they actually were.

"Why did you even come here today, Naruto?" Sasuke asked, his teeth clenched tightly together and an eye tightly closed as he struggled against the blonde, trying his hardest to successfully dominate Naruto enough to actually land some sort of an injury on the still very much unscathed shinobi.

"Because...it's like I told you years ago... I'm going to let you take all of your hatred out on me...because I'm still your friend..." Naruto gritted out in response, one of his own eyes tightly shut as his teeth—like Sasuke's—remained tightly clenched together, still straining against the Uchiha, fighting him off as best as he could.

Sasuke's one closed eye forced itself open, joining it's twin as the Uchiha stared incredulously at the blonde, his words repeating in Sasuke's head, though he remained unwilling to believe nor accept them. Sasuke found Naruto's words absolutely ludicrous, unwilling to accept that even after all this time, Naruto still considered Sasuke to be his best friend, though really, it was for a good reason. After all, if Sasuke were to acknowledge to himself that Naruto still considered the two of them to be friends, it would also mean that Sasuke would have to accept that a bond was still shared between the two, and deep down, that thought slightly scared him.

"But why?" Sasuke screamed in his face, the rage from before only intensifying now rather than working on going away. Naruto was quiet as he watched the only sign of emotion that he had seen from Sasuke in literally years, quietly taking all of these rage-filled feelings in as Sasuke dealt them to him one by one.

"I severed Team 7's bonds a long time ago, Naruto!" he continued, the rain causing his long, black bangs to stick to his cheeks and slightly obscure one of his eyes, though not entirely. Naruto's own hair was sticking to his face and neck, though because it wasn't nearly as long as Sasuke's was, it didn't lay plastered anywhere near his line of vision.

For the briefest moments, the two's strong hold pinning their kunai blades against one another lessened, though not disappear, and the intensity that had once filled the air surrounding them only increased even more with the passing conversation. Finally, after several long, drawn out minutes, Naruto decided to answer Sasuke, his voice remaining calm.

"You didn't," was all he said, and Sasuke's rage increased even more.

"I did! I made sure that I burnt every bridge that ever led to that damned village of yours, and that included you and Sakura! I'm not that weak twelve-year-old anymore, Naruto! And this isn't just some stupid teammate rivalry anymore! Today is going to be the day when I kill you once and for all! And then we'll see where Team 7's pathetic bonds stand! I swear, I'll—" he continued, only to be suddenly cut off.

"Sasuke... You can't stand there and tell me that you feel absolutely nothing, when I know for a fact it's a lie!" Naruto shouted, his words causing Sasuke's eyes to widen, though the rage within them never left.

"I know you feel something for Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei... But most of all, I know for a fact that you feel something for me, something that's different from everyone else. I know that because I feel it too!" the blonde shouted, his words startling Sasuke and catching the Uchiha off guard.

His eyes flashing in a sudden panic, Sasuke felt Naruto's free hand tightly gripping onto the collar of his Akatsuki cloak, slightly pulling the raven-haired man closer. The sudden movement had once again caused both males' grips on their respective kunai's to ease, though not disappear entirely, and Sasuke looked at Naruto almost expectantly, anticipating whatever Naruto was about to say next.

"Kami, Sasuke... Nobody else has ever made me feel so damn weak; so damn vulnerable and desperate... and that's saying a lot considering the fact that I'm apparently one of the strongest shinobi of our time..." the blonde continued, once again pulling the Uchiha by the collar even closer until the two could feel each others' breath's on their lips. Frantically locking his gaze onto Naruto's eyes, Sasuke was speechless as he waited for Naruto to speak again, almost impatiently. And so, he did.

"And I know for a fact that you aren't as emotionless as you try to seem, because I know for a fact that you feel the same way, even if you'll never say so out loud. Sasuke... ever since we became teammates—hell, ever since we'd first met, even—there had always been something strange going on between us, but I could never quite place just what it was. I think that it just took years of you being gone for me to realize what exactly it was," Naruto said, pulling Sasuke closer until he was less than an inch away from him. Pausing briefly, Naruto parted his lips once again to whisper the rest of his speech to Sasuke, who was staring at him like a deer caught in the headlights.

"So damn desperate... and weak... and powerless... over you..." Naruto finished, before yanking Sasuke towards him roughly, the force causing the blades of their kunai to separate before limply falling to their sides, and their lips roughly colliding against one anothers.

Sasuke was frozen against Naruto, whose lips were slowly moving against his own. It was in that very moment that memories of their youth, of their first accidental kiss, came flooding back to the Uchiha's mind, as well as the feelings that said kiss had aroused.

At first, the two had thought the feelings being disgust, the unnaturalness of two boys kissing one another seeming far too taboo to be in any way natural, but also, that familiar and yet unfamiliar tingle, one that made a path from their lips, to their chests and fingertips, and landed deep in their guts. It was a feeling that back then, neither boy had understood and thus, they'd ignored it; pushed it out of the way so that they could eventually forget all about it. But now, Sasuke remembered that feeling, and it was back, hitting him over and over again tenfold.

Naruto's eyes were closed though Sasuke's remained open, the Uchiha far too frozen in disbelief and horror to budge an inch. His lips were cold and lifeless, much like his modern-day personality, but that didn't stop Naruto from persistently trying to entice the Uchiha to participate in the kiss, the blonde's lips moving slowly, sensually encouraging Sasuke's own to join in at anytime.

The feeling of raw emotion that was threatening it's way into Sasuke's heart was starting to get the best of him, and all at once, a series of other emotions followed along with it; emotions of pain and anger, as well as sadness and loneliness, grief and emptiness, and hatred mixed with sorrow, followed suit, the sudden feeling of them hitting him all at once starting to overwhelm him.

If he weren't currently pinned to a tree, Sasuke would have backed away, he would have pulled away from Naruto in attempts at squashing away these once-buried feelings that were starting to manifest themselves, but alas, there was still the bark of the tree currently keeping him rooted right where he was standing. It was like a slap in the face, and unable to escape from the intrusive emotions, Sasuke was thus forced to feel them, and unfortunately for him, it happened all at once.

Finally closing his eyes as tightly as he could, Sasuke felt his hands go numb and soon, a familiar thud was heard from his kunai falling and imbedding itself into the ground below. Briefly opening his eyes, Naruto was pleased to see Sasuke starting to respond to the kiss, even if it was just by closing his eyes. It wasn't much, but it was progress.

Closing his eyes once again, Naruto slowly began dragging his mouth away from Sasuke's own still unresponsive one, only to make his way along the rigid Uchiha's jaw, his lips sliding against the flesh the entire way back as Naruto traced Sasuke's jawline, planting a trail of gentle kisses along the way before he stopped briefly, pulling his lips away just enough to speak again, his whispering breath brushing gently against Sasuke's skin.

"Please... give me all your hatred, Sasuke... you don't have to feel it alone anymore..." he said before pausing to plant another soft kiss against the skin separating the base of Sasuke's jaw and his neck. Once again pausing his ministrations to speak, his volume never rose above a whisper, the feel of Naruto's breath causing chills to run down Sasuke's spine.

"Just let go..." Naruto said before pulling back far enough now to meet Sasuke's intense gaze, the still rigid Uchiha never moving beneath him. Dropping his own kunai to the ground finally, Naruto pressed his body up against Sasuke's own, and much to the blonde's surprise, Sasuke's hands immediately darted towards the blonde's drenched spikes, tugging him closer by the hair until once again, their lips were crushed together.

The kiss between them now had grown far more intense than before, Sasuke's consent to the kiss as well as his initiation of the kiss having strongly encouraged Naruto to reciprocate things a lot more rough and intensely. This time, both of their eyes were closed, the two slowly losing themselves in the throes of passion brought on by the intensity of the kiss.

Sasuke's hands remained tangled in Naruto's blonde hair, and as the heat between them began to steadily rise, eventually, the Uchiha removed his hands from the blonde's hair, only to wrap his arms around Naruto's waist, pulling the blonde's body completely against his own, their chests and their pelvises pressed firmly against the others'.

a Sasuke's head in his own hands, Naruto deepened the kiss by pulling the Uchiha's face towards his own, and holding him firmly in place, though by now, the onyx-haired man could care less; he was way too focused on the task at hand, which happened to be losing himself to everything Naruto had to offer him.

Love, serenity, safety, comfort; it was everything that Sasuke had never wanted to accept, but in the end, it was also everything he had ended up succumbing to. It wasn't quite what he had in mind when Naruto had promised to harbor all of Sasuke's rage and hatred, but Sasuke certainly couldn't complain about the outcome.

The rain continued to pour endlessly, and it had been over an hour since the two had reunited with one another. At any moment, Naruto knew that the rest of his squad should be wrapping things up with the Akatsuki and come to 'assist him', but right now, he could care less about getting caught in such a scandalous position with the missing nin nor could he care about whether or not the six ever bothered showing up. Right now, all he cared about was the intense moment between himself and Sasuke, and for now, that was plenty.

The two shinobi had been so lost in the kiss that neither had bothered to part for some much needed oxygen. After several long minutes of nonstop, intense kissing, Naruto was the first to pull back nearly breathless. When he did eventually break the kiss, both he and Sasuke's breathing was heavy and labored, and the sudden loss of warmth caused both boys to slowly open their eyes, their gazes immediately locking on each others' as they stared, their eyes lidded and hazy.

But Naruto was far from done with Sasuke, and as soon as the two had reestablished eye contact, Naruto once again broke it, his lips returning to Sasuke's jaw as he breathlessly trailed a series of kisses along Sasuke's jawline, finally able to reach his earlier destination, Sasuke's neck. Dragging his lips down to Sasuke's pulse point, Naruto's lips pressed tightly against the flesh below.

Placing an open mouthed kiss followed by a rather rough bite, it took everything he had not to groan aloud at Sasuke's response, which consisted of a noiseless groan followed by a rough grinding of Sasuke's slowly growing erection against Naruto's pelvis, the slight bulge arousing enough to entice one of his own.

Realizing that he had just discovered one of Sasuke's weak spots, Naruto repeated the same action from before, his teeth sinking roughly into the flesh covering Sasuke's pulse as his tongue darted out between his teeth, gently licking the flesh that awaited it.

Immediately after he started his ravishing attacks on Sasuke's neck, Naruto was met with a twin grip on each of his shoulders, Sasuke's short fingernails digging slightly into the muscular flesh beneath them. Hissing sharply against Sasuke's neck in response, Naruto only bit down harder in response, his hips instinctively grinding against Sasuke's pelvis from the sensations.

A verbal groan finally managed to escape hoarsely from Sasuke's throat and after a few more long seconds of sucking on Sasuke's neck, Naruto released the skin from his teeth, placing another kiss against the now even paler skin left surrounding a set of teeth marks, the center already starting to turn a shade of reddish-purple. As soon as he felt Naruto pulling away, Sasuke wasted no time to pull the blonde back up to face-level by his hair, his mouth smashing against the blondes in another rough, passionate lip lock.

As rain continued trailing down their faces and bodies, the two were rapidly growing more aware of the drenched fabric prohibiting them from the promised flesh awaiting beneath. Releasing Naruto's spikes, Sasuke's hands returned to the blonde's waist, his fingers wrapping around the hem at the bottom before roughly yanking the soaked fabric up his torso.

Breaking the kiss for a moment, Sasuke pulled Naruto's shirt the rest of the way off of his head before tossing it aside. Naruto's face watched as the shirt was discarded into a slightly muddy patch of grass nearby, but before he could protest, he was once again captured roughly by Sasuke's lips.

Wrapping his arms gently around Sasuke's neck, Naruto began trailing his hands down the Uchiha's torso, immediately deciding that Sasuke was way too over dressed. Dragging one of his hands towards the zipper of Sasuke's cloak, Naruto immediately began pulling it down slowly, before growing impatient and finally doing everything but ripping the zipper apart.

Once the opening of the cloak fell open, Naruto roughly forced it off of the Uchiha's shoulders and arms until it roughly hit the ground below them. Kicking the annoying, rain-soaked garment out of the way, Naruto once again continued on his quest to remove all of the clothing from Sasuke's torso.

Fingering the purple hems of his Uchiha clan shirt, Naruto wasted no time in roughly pushing them apart, pulling them out from Sasuke's pants, before sliding them down the Uchiha's shoulders and arms much like he did the Akatsuki cloak. Sasuke moved almost mechanically as he slid his arms the rest of the way out of the short sleeved shirt, the garment immediately pooling to the ground behind them in a rumpled, drenched heap.

With both males now completely topless, both felt momentarily content enough to resume their focus on their current lip lock, their hands moving roughly against each others' rain-drenched skin, leaving small trails of heat in their wake. It wasn't until Naruto felt himself being roughly shoved backwards that he regained some of his senses—at least enough to open his eyes and see what Sasuke was doing—that he decided to grab the Uchiha's shoulder's at the last minute, the two of them falling backwards into the rain-soaked grass below in a none-too-gentle heap.

Grunting as he landed on top of Naruto—something he hadn't originally anticipating happening—it was now Sasuke's turn to explore kissing other part's of Naruto's body, the onyx-haired man idly wondering if the blonde also had a sensitive neck. Deciding to mimic Naruto's previous actions, Sasuke roughly dragged his lips across Naruto's jaw, leaving a trail of kisses and gentle bites in this wake.

It took every ounce of self-control that Naruto had not to whimper as Sasuke nibbled on his jaw, but Naruto was determined not to grant him the satisfaction of responding to something so menial. It wasn't until Sasuke's mouth had finally reached the juncture in Naruto's neck that the blonde had accidentally let a barely audible moan escape, and had Sasuke not been so close, it surely would have gone unheard.

Smirking against the blonde's neck, Sasuke roughly bit down, his tongue swirling in circles against the flesh as he sucked on the skin, an action that would surely leave a nicely sized hickey later. Sliding his fingertips down along Sasuke's abs, Naruto's fingers immediately reached for the hem of Sasuke's pants, momentarily ignoring and forgetting about the belt securing them to the Uchiha's waist as he roughly forced one of his hands underneath, causing Sasuke to roughly hiss against his throat, his teasing kisses immediately halting.

"Naruto..." Sasuke growled lowly in a warning, unsure of what exactly Naruto was going to do.

Suddenly, all further coherent thought seemed to escape him when Naruto's long fingers wrapped themselves firmly around hiss now fully erect member, Sasuke's failed attempt at giving him a "warning" only enticing Naruto to further give him a teasing tug.

In response, Sasuke stifled a moan threatening to escape his lips by biting down on Naruto's neck once again, the action only driving the blonde to glide his hand up and down once again along the shaft, his other hand finally reaching up to untie the purple rope-like belt that was trying to restrict his actions.

Feeling the waistline of his pants considerably loosening, as well as Naruto's teasing ministrations, Sasuke immediately decided to get some revenge on the blonde. Sliding one of his hands down to the button securing Naruto's orange pants, Sasuke immediately set to work, fumbling in attempts to unfasten the blonde's pants.

After several long and frustrating attempts at unfastening the pants, Sasuke finally felt the button release in his fingertips with a slight pop, and he wasted no time to force his hand into Naruto's own pants, and mimicking the blonde's torturous actions, Sasuke gave Naruto's erect member a gentle yet firm tug.

Immediately, Naruto's body went rigid and both males opening their eyes, looked sharply at one another, their lips slowly breaking the kiss. Sasuke had also stopped his movements against Naruto, and immediately, his lips upturned into his trademark Uchiha smirk, the gesture causing Naruto's eyes to narrow. Getting the hint, Naruto slowly removed his hands from Sasuke's pants at an agonizingly slow pace, and in turn, the Uchiha did the same.

Deciding he's had enough of being pinned to the ground, Naruto roughly gripped Sasuke's shoulders before flipping the two males, his hips settling comfortably between Sasuke's legs. Just as the Uchiha was about to say something in protest, however, Naruto crushed his lips back down against Sasuke's and once again, the two began engaging in a heated lip lock.

Managing to suck Sasuke's bottom lip into his mouth, Naruto roughly bit down, effectively causing the Uchiha to part his lips in what would have been a gasp, only to have his breath prevented from escaping by Naruto's tongue roughly forcing it's way inside of his mouth, where it slowly attempted to entice Sasuke's own to mimic it's movements. Too far lost in the throes of passion, Sasuke willingly obliged to Naruto's silent wish, and in a matter of moments, the two's tongues were dancing against one another, battling endlessly for dominance over the other.

They could both feel the others' heart pounding wildly against their chests, their slick torsos pressing roughly against one another as Naruto continued pinning Sasuke to the rain-drenched ground below. Teasingly grinding his hips against Sasuke's erect yet clothed member, Naruto was met with another moan-like growl trying to force its way from Sasuke's mouth, though it too was stifled by Naruto's mouth covering his own.

The rain was still falling, the downpour relentless and cold, though the downpour did very little to cool either of their very scorching warm bodies. It wasn't until Sasuke finally felt his purple pants being roughly forced down his hips that the reality of the situation was starting to don on him, slowly threatening to drag him back to his senses.

Breaking the kiss from Naruto, Sasuke was just about to call it quits, but sensing this, Naruto's lips immediately moved to the Uchiha's neck—or more specifically, the most sensitive part of it—and immediately he began alternating between sucking and biting on the flesh there. His ministrations had immediately caused any of Sasuke's newly found protests to die before they could even make way to his throat, and trying his best to stifle a whimper from escaping instead, Sasuke bit down on his bottom lip roughly as Naruto continued biting and sucking on his neck, the blonde's hands continuing to inch Sasuke's pants off.

Moving as if out of instinct, Sasuke's legs kicked the purple pants the rest of the way off of his hips, his shinobi sandals getting tangled and ending up being removed right along with them, leaving the Uchiha stark naked. Lifting his head enough to turn his gaze to the most recently unraveled sight, Naruto let out a low chuckle before leaning forwards to whisper into Sasuke's ear.

"So the Teme goes commando, eh?" he asked, his words causing Sasuke's face to tint the slightest shade of pink and out of embarrassment from Naruto's words, he turned his head to the side, and of course, muttered something sardonic in response.

"Shut the hell up, Dobe..." Sasuke sharply retorted before turning his gaze back to Naruto, who appeared to be ready to say something else, though not if Sasuke could help it.

Grabbing a handful of blonde spikes, Sasuke quickly pulled Naruto's head back towards him, and as soon as the two were lost in another kiss, his hands began making their own way downwards towards Naruto's own pants, which were currently hanging halfway off of his hips as it is due to the friction between their bodies.

Using his hands as much as he could reach, Sasuke roughly began sliding Naruto's pants down the blonde's hips. Once the orange material made it's way too low for Sasuke to be able to reach, Naruto used his legs to work the orange pants the rest of the way off, his own shinobi sandals being kicked off afterwords.

Once the pants were finally off, Naruto was left clad in only his boxers, and deciding to—for the time being—leave them be, Sasuke pulled Naruto closer and deepened the kiss, the blonde's lips starting to move more quickly and roughly against his own. It wasn't very long until the two began working their tongues into each others' mouths, the two muscles roughly dancing against one another in another quest for dominance.

Once again getting lost in the heat of the moment, Sasuke's hands began making their way down Naruto's torso, his fingertips feathering along the flesh-covered muscles of his abs, the muscles tensing and relaxing beneath his touch. Moving his hand even lower, he forced his way under the hem of Naruto's boxers, his fingers seeking out the erect appendage that awaited.

Finding the desired area, Sasuke's fingers immediately wrapped around Naruto's hardened member and began moving up and down roughly, the action causing the blonde to stop breathing from the intensity of the sensations he was causing. His own hand moving down Sasuke's much paler torso, Naruto wasted no time in making his own way towards the raven-haired man's own erect member.

Mimicking Sasuke's own movements, Naruto matched the Uchiha in speed and roughness, and before long, the two men found themselves roughly stroking the others' member to a point of rapidly approaching their release. Realizing this, Naruto was the first to stop his movements, and Sasuke immediately followed suit.

Finally sliding Naruto's boxers down and away from the blonde's legs, a thought suddenly donned on Sasuke after the acceptance that something sexual was definitely going to happen between the two, and he immediately wondered why he hadn't thought of it before: who was going to be on top?

It was at the same moment the thought struck him that Sasuke felt a long, slick finger inching it's way inside of him. Immediately, his body went rigid and Naruto, who was once again wreaking havoc on the Uchiha's sensitive throat, leaned a bit higher to whisper something in his ear.

"You need to relax or this is going to be really uncomfortable," Naruto whispered into the Uchiha's ear, said man trying to force himself to relax.

Feeling Naruto's finger starting to move deeper, Sasuke let out a sharp hiss in a mixture of pain and pleasure, his hands roughly gripping Naruto's shoulders for leverage. Working a second finger inside of Sasuke, Naruto tried his best to be gentle, and with a slight bit of difficulty, eventually worked his second finger inside of the Uchiha. It wasn't until now that Sasuke's body had finally began to respond to Naruto's ministrations, his hips instinctively bucking forward as his breathing started to become labored.

Moving his fingers in and out, Naruto started to force a third finger inside of Sasuke, and immediately, he was met with resistance as well as a now once again rigid Sasuke, and immediately he slowed his movements to a snails pace, trying to help Sasuke adjust to the intrusion. Thinking that perhaps by kissing him, it would help distract Sasuke into relaxing more, Naruto immediately placed his lips against Sasuke's in a gentle kiss.

Finally managing to work three whole fingers inside of Sasuke, Naruto did his best to stretch the virgin hole without hurting the Uchiha. As he started to move his fingers in an in and out motion, Naruto had to all but force the writhing Uchiha to remain flat on the ground beneath him, the raven-haired man now sweating profusely and panting heavily. Eventually deciding that the hole was stretched enough, Naruto slowly and gently removed his fingers—much to Sasuke's protest—and immediately moved to replace them with something much bigger.

It was as if something had once again dragged Sasuke back to reality, because the Uchiha found himself feeling almost jealous, having always considered himself to be a relatively dominant person overall, he had just assumed that Naruto would be the one on the bottom, though he didn't have too long to muse on this before he finally felt the head of Naruto's member slowly inching it's way inside of him, the foreign feeling forcing his eyes to open wide as he held his breath, waiting for it to just be over with. The pain that was immediately following was unlike anything Sasuke had ever felt nor compare with, even as a shinobi, but years of self-discipline had trained him to force himself to both relax and appear fine.

By the time Naruto's member had gotten over halfway inside, the blonde leaned forward and buried his face near the crook of Sasuke's neck, his lips resting near the shell of Sasuke's ear. Parting the lips of his heavily panting mouth, Naruto began to whisper something in Sasuke's ear, just as he had done several times before already.

"I'm not hurting you too much, am I?" he asked with concern, Sasuke having remained almost completely rigid and silent for several minutes now and despite all outward appearances, Naruto still wanted to make sure that he was alright. Pausing a moment before negatively shaking his head, Sasuke let out a long breath, waiting for Naruto to just hurry up and be done with it, the blonde's snails pace-like movements making him impatient and almost painfully aroused.

"Just hurry up," Sasuke responded through gritted teeth, and Naruto hesitantly began forcing himself inside of Sasuke even faster now, not bothering to stop until he found himself buried all the way to the hilt. Having thought all of the pain was gone by now, Sasuke found himself panting in long, labored breaths as he adjusted to the feel of Naruto being buried completely inside of him.

Naruto remained painfully still within Sasuke as he waited for the Uchiha to adjust to his size, and it wasn't until Sasuke finally spoke again that Naruto had finally begun moving.

"Naruto... move..." Sasuke gritted out, and with a nod, Naruto slowly began drawing his hips back almost all the way before roughly pushing forward, the movement causing the Uchiha to wince in response, though otherwise, the raven-haired man remained—for the most part—silent.

Repeating this action, Naruto slowly began to set a pace and rhythm between the two of them, silently reveling in the feel of Sasuke's inner walls wrapping so tightly around his member. Sasuke too was finally beginning to enjoy Naruto's ministrations, and eventually, the onyx-haired male encouraged the blonde to move faster, to which Naruto happily obliged.

The entire time Naruto continued thrusting in and out of Sasuke, the Uchiha remained standing erect. Pulling himself completely out of Sasuke, Naruto was met with a sharp, questioning look in response, to which he merely chuckled before roughly forcing himself all the way back in. If it weren't for the rapidly-forming juices created by Naruto's member, the action would have been much more painful on Sasuke, and for this, he was thankful for the naturally formed lubricant protecting him from feeling the blunt of the rough intrusion.

Once again resuming his rough, rapid pace, Naruto found his body gradually starting to increase the speed in it's rhythm, and lost in the throes of his passion, Naruto's hand found itself once again wrapping around Sasuke's painfully erect member, his fingers immediately wrapping themselves around the shaft as he began gliding his hand up and down at a pace that could almost match that of his thrusting.

Finally, he had managed to entice an extreme reaction out of Sasuke, who was now moaning loudly in between pants, his eye's closed tightly as he began to really lose himself in the sensations Naruto was bringing upon his body. At the rate they were going, it wouldn't be much longer before Sasuke would reach release, and judging by Naruto's new rapid speed, Sasuke could only assume that Naruto was getting close to the edge, as well. Their bodies each covered with a thin layer of sweat mixed with rain, as the two continued their movements without a care of who seen them.

Right now, nothing else mattered to neither Naruto or Sasuke aside from reaching their much-desired release. Both males were by now each moaning loudly in between pants, and it was taking all of their dignity as men to not cry out too much, despite being so far lost in the throes of their passion. Neither could manage to form a coherent thought aside from reveling in the sensations they were both currently feeling. And it wasn't until Sasuke finally reached his release first that Naruto had been able to finally let himself go as well, their bodies going rigid for several long moments as they rode out their releases for as long as they each could.

Once the moment was over, however, Naruto immediately pulled out of Sasuke, and still breathless, the two looked at one another, staring silently as they both tried to catch their breaths, and failing miserably to do so in the process. Even after they both were able to finally even out their breathing, neither could say a word to one another, instead deciding to redress themselves in silence.

As Sasuke began to pull on his rain-drenched cloak with extreme difficulty, Naruto finally decided to break the silence between them, and he watched as the rain haloed around Sasuke's entire body, illuminating him into an almost angelic presence, as weird as it may have seemed.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

It wasn't until Naruto's eyes had fallen upon the red clouds decorating the cloak that a realization had finally donned upon him, one that left him feeling sick to his stomach. Sasuke had put the cloak back on, which meant that he still had no intention of coming back to Konoha. It was in that moment that anything Naruto had been intent on saying had fallen short, and instead, he remained quiet as he watched the Uchiha sit on the ground to pull his shinobi sandals onto his drenched feet, the task proving to be almost impossible and frustrating Sasuke to no end.

Finally being able to get his feet to slide into the drenched shoes with a slick pop, Sasuke once again stood to his feet, where he was again met face-to-face with a grim looking Naruto. Sasuke, completely clueless as to what had caused Naruto's mood to suddenly grow so sour, shot the blonde a questioning look and in return, the blonde silently averted his gaze towards the wooded area he had originally came out of, now wondering if the rest of his team was alright, considering none of them had come to offer him any back up.

The silence between the two shinobi grew awkward as the moments passed them by. Naruto wanted to say something to Sasuke, anything as a means of hopefully, for the millionth time, convince him to simply give up his quest for revenge and return to the Hidden Leaf Village with him so that the two could finally have a sense of happiness that he knew they both deserved.

Sasuke, as if somehow sensing Naruto's inner conflict, felt almost compelled to offer the blonde some sort of words of comfort, his own ambitions to just turn and leave after everything that had just happened between the two being his current main priority.

"Naruto..." Sasuke began, but his words caught in the back of his throat, leaving him uncertain and doubtful as he tried to come up with some sort of comforting parting words. It was as if on cue that suddenly, another presence—or rather, two merged presences—suddenly appeared behind the two of them. Looking over his shoulder, Sasuke was met by the monochrome sight of a rather battered Zetsu staring at him, a very dry poncho outstretched in offering to the evidently drenched Uchiha, who was staring at him with a dumbfound expression.

"We have been ordered to go back," Zetsu's white half said irritatedly, his narrow-eyed gaze being equally met by Sasuke's now irritated one. Shifting his gaze back to a now frantic looking Naruto, Sasuke remained silent as the two locked gazes on one another, a silent understanding being shared between them. Then, much to Naruto's utter shock and disbelief, Sasuke offered him a brief half-smile, before it was immediately replaced by the Uchiha's usual look of indifference.

Then without another word, the two shinobi took off into the darkness of the woods, and for the first time ever, Naruto didn't bother to give chase. Turning his attention towards the direction he had left his team, he immediately took off to lend them assistance, as well as to inform them of how Sasuke had simply "got away"; he wouldn't bother to mention the other minor details.

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A/N: JESUS that was hard to finish once I got all ADHD again but thanks to my BFF Izzie, I finished it with Zetsu being all [figuratively] "Hey, this is mine -throws Sasuke over shoulder and leaves-" XD Hope you guys enjoyed it! R&R