A/N:
Considering I'm impatient, I posted this one early. The next one will be up in about a week or two! I'm so happy everyone has been responding to this story so positively!
Chapter Two: Patience Paves the way to problems
"Stop making that face, it's irritating me."
A steady palm met Naruto's nose with a light smack, and he huffed at the contact, burying his head into his hands.
He couldn't help it. It had been been nearly a month since he confronted Sasuke in Awrutshimaru's tomb, but he still couldn't get the loss out of his mind. Or the scar to disappear from his thigh where the bastard stabbed him. Again.
His only consolation was that Sasuke's body bore a few marks from him as well.
"Just thinkin' about it makes me mad, is all…" Naruto grumbled petulantly. That artifact could be anywhere by now. It could be hanging on a mantle as a decoration, cast away into the black market or worse — on a living room floor somewhere getting chewed on by some overly-privileged pooch. He cringed.
"Then don't think about it." Came the simple answer from the man next to him, who touched his shoulder in firm reassurance.
Naruto sighed, looking up at his friend. Dark long hair, that usually framed alabaster skin, was tied in a ponytail today. Muted silver rounded on him, surveying his gloomy form. While Naruto was rocking cargo pants and a tee, this person was dressed in his usual attire: black dress pants and a tailor made vest.
"Our team is examining the mummy and the other artifacts that you recovered. You needn't concern yourself with anything else."
"But Neji, you don't get it. You should have seen how close I was! It was right there!" Naruto moaned, his elbows collapsing on the marble counter. He pressed his cheek against the cool surface of the museum's information kiosk and let out a despairing breath of air. People shuffled past the scene without a backwards glance.
"And Sai, that creep. After I got him arrested for artifact trafficking someone bailed him out somehow. Can you believe it? I saw him walking around the bazaar yesterday. The asshole didn't even look sorry. He winked at me."
Neji rested his head on his hand, glancing down at Naruto with a raised eyebrow.
"Did the sheep manure turn to caramel?" He delivered in fluent Arabic. Neji's voice was smooth and calm, despite the claim of being 'irritated'.
Naruto was familiar with Egyptian proverbs, but he hadn't heard that one before. His eyebrows knitted together, giving Neji a distinguished look of confusion. Neji exhaled through his nose.
"Don't expect a bad person to suddenly turn good." He restated, mildly disappointed.
"Oh…Right." Naruto murmured. He'd file that one away for later.
With that advice in mind, it wasn't even just Sai that bummed him out. Since the discovery of Awrutshimaru's sarcophagus, diggers have been on the clock non stop trying to uncover more priceless artifacts. They hoped that since they found Awrutshimaru, maybe they could dig up one of his advisers or even a scribe. Yet there's been no luck so far, and Naruto wasn't counting on anything anytime soon.
"Fine, I'll forget Sai, but I need a new distraction or I'm gonna go crazy." Naruto said out loud, desperate, though it was muffled against the table top. "Any mummies in All Selum that need to be discovered? Something shiny in the sand in Dahsur? Come on, there needs to be something, damn it I'm dying here."
In spite of being twenty-five, Neji was certain Naruto was perpetually five years old.
"Patience is a virtue." He said sternly, much like a mother condemning her child's obnoxious squirming in public. "It's a proverb you know, yet never heed."
"Harr. Harr. I seriously can't help it okay? I guess since I'm always on the move, lately things just seem slow."
"Only you would be uncomfortable standing still. If you're so eager to work, work on your self control. Or you could always help me with the paperwork to document our findings, instead of squirming." Neji remarked. He idly watched tourists file out of the museum as the faint chime of a bell signaled its closing. "Naruto, I can still feel you squirming."
"Gah, fine!" Naruto shouted, reluctantly trying to stay still. He's worked for The Hyuga Museum of Egyptian antiquities for almost three years now—a position most formerly given to his mother and father when they moved to Egypt when he was ten.
Although Naruto had a degree in Archaeology, he had went to school and double majored in Linguistics and culture. Like his mom, he could read and write ancient Egyptian, so he'd often be called in to make sense of new findings. If today was one of those days, he wouldn't have been bored out of his mind.
"Naruto," Neji whispered a little forcefully, "lookup."
Hearing the warning in his voice, Naruto picked up his head just in time to see a small boy was with his parents, wildly flailing his hands at them in goodbye.
Naruto returned the gesture with a large smile, waving back at him just as energetically. They had just started displaying Awrutshimaru's canopic jars to the public and he should have been filled with a sense of pride. But instead, all he felt was frustration.
Once the kid vanished out of sight Naruto slumped over the counter again.
Neji scowled at the over dramatic display, shaking his head.
"You're obsessed."
"What?" Naruto grunted, glancing up at Neji questioningly. "What the hell are you saying?"
"With Uchiha," Neji reiterated, something sour in his tone, "you're obsessed. This isn't the first time you've lost to him yet here you are, thinking about him. Bemoaning your own failures doesn't suit you. "
"Hey! I'm not obsessed with that jerk! It's just, he made off with the dagger, Neji." Naruto emphasized with a beating fist. The counter shook. "You know, Awrutshimaru's sacrificial dagger? The one used to kill all those slaves?"
"I'm well aware of the daggers significance... I don't need a lesson in history, Naruto. If anyone has more knowledge about the Twelfth Dynasty at their disposal, it's me." Neji reminded him sharply, signalling vaguely around them.
Naruto's face, heavy with irritation, softened in admission. Neji was right.
"You've been sulking around my museum since you've returned from your excursion."
"Can't I be bummed about it?" Naruto responded grumpily. After all, he has been looking for the damn thing his whole life.
"You can, just not in my presence." Neji plainly stated. He closed the visitor's book that had been laid out in front of him and clapped his hands twice. The lights shut off in the main entrance of the museum. "I have always admired your willingness to stay positive, even in the face of difficulty… and right now, you are betraying my confidence."
Listening to make sure that the museum was completely devoid of people, Neji shut off the desk lamp.
He walked around the booth and ran a hand through his hair. Any volunteers that had helped with selling passes to certain exhibits were now vacating towards their respective locker rooms. Neji would have to check with his custodians about the lackluster state of some of their floors. With more than two million visitors a day, most of which being tourists, he'd had enough experience with children leaving his hallways in disarray.
Speaking of children. Glancing behind him, Neji found Naruto had grown completely silent. He wondered if he'd been too blunt in his assertion, however, it was a correct one. He never went a day without hearing about Uchiha, and speaking about the man who stood against everything the museum represented was more than a little trying on his patience.
"... You're right." Naruto spoke up suddenly. Neji quirked an eyebrow in honest surprise.
"While I am always happy to have you acknowledge my correctness, would you care to be more specific on exactly what I am right about this time?" Neji's eyes held a glint of amusement.
Naruto rolled his eyes. "About staying positive. You're right. I shouldn't let that asshole get to me… I'm pissed that he made off with the dagger, but standing around and thinking about it isn't going to bring it back."
Naruto hopped over the booth so they were standing side by side, facing the foyer.
"I'll just have to find a way to track him down somehow and beat the buyer's name out of him..." Naruto finished, his voice not sounding at all displeased at that prospect.
Neji's brow creased slightly. "Just be careful when you do go after him, Naruto. He seems to have… some sort of fixation with you. And I don't like the way he gets under your skin so easily."
Hearing that subtle change in Neji's voice again, Naruto blinked twice, confused. His lips curled into a sly smile when he finally recognized what it was. It's been awhile since he's seen it.
"Yeah?" Naruto chuckled, leaning back against the table. Neji's gaze stayed trained on the movement. "Well, it's funny you say that since he couldn't keep his hands off me. The last time we fought, did you know he had me pinned down? The bastard was sure fixated on keeping me-"
Neji stepped in, not letting him finish. He pushed Naruto up against the counter, elegant fingers wrapping around his hips possessively. Blue orbs lit up in amusement and challenge.
"If you've been wanting someone to pin you down, Naruto, you know that all you had to do was ask me."
Neji slid his thumbs along Naruto's cheekbones, forcing their eyes to lock together. It had been hard these past several months, staying away from each other. They both knew that this wasn't going to go anywhere, but Naruto always knew just how to push Neji's buttons. Even when he didn't try.
Naruto craned his head forward, sliding his lips against the smooth pasture of skin along Neji's collarbone. He hadn't gotten any action in a while and honestly, he was so frustrated about losing the dagger and losing to Sasuke he hadn't really wanted to do anything else except scream. Running his hands through Neji's hair, Naruto tugged on it lightly, bringing his head down and smashing their lips together in a rough kiss.
Neji didn't need any further invitation. He could play the refined professional to a Tee, but he reveled in Naruto's coarse, wild nature. He pressed harder against his sometime lover, bringing their bodies flush and sliding his hands down to grip Naruto's ass. When Naruto arched back, Neji's lips slid down to Naruto's collarbone and sucked. The mark wouldn't show unless his shirt was removed, so it was safe enough. Neji would know it was there.
Naruto exhaled shakily. His grip on inky locks slacked as a pleasant shiver ran throughout his body. He needed a distraction, so maybe this was the one he was looking for. Neji slowly spread Naruto's legs with his knee and he bit his lip, holding back a soft moan, relishing in the delicious friction as it rubbed against him. He was just about to suggest maybe they bring this somewhere more private when a gentle voice carried in from the end of the hall.
"Neji? Are you here?" Hinata called out softly, and both men immediately sprung apart, their eyes wide.
Naruto hopped over to the other side of the kiosk and ducked, groaning low in his throat when he accidentally hit his head on the way down. Neji inwardly sighed, but suppressed a smirk at the sound of a painfully muttered cuss.
"I was just looking for one of my field journals. I'm in the foyer," he said calmly, combing a hand through his bangs.
As much as they were attracted to each other, they didn't advertise it. It was a mutual give and take. He would be frustrated with the many facets of running a museum, in need of relief, and Naruto would provide him with some. It was beneficial to both their hungers.
But Hinata's one-sided crush on Naruto had been legendary, in spite of Naruto's initial obliviousness to it. They both cared for her deeply, and the both of them knew that they could only be together behind closed doors, and only temporarily. That was how things worked, and Neji was a contender of constructive repetition.
Smoothing his pants, Neji walked towards the sound of Hinata's footfalls. Naruto pulled up the collar of his shirt with an awkward cough and, after peeking over the counter, stood up when he realized he hadn't been seen.
"Oh, there you are." Hinata said with a tender smile as she came upon them. Her beige jodhpurs were shedding sand and she fixed her disheveled long hair, moving it out of her face. Buttoning her silk blouse which was also unkempt, Neji narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"You were with the diggers again."
Hinata's smile faltered at the statement, lips parting to offer up an excuse. She then seemed to decide against it. Tucking a stray hair behind her ear with a guilty expression, her eyes flickered anxiously around the room before they landed on Naruto. She flushed.
"O-Oh! N-Naruto, I didn't realize you were here too."
"Uh, yeah! I'm just visiting again," Naruto laughed, nervously scratching the back of his head. "This guy would lose his mind if I didn't swoop by at least once."
"He was just wasting my time." Neji clarified, earning a glare from the archaeologist. He focused back on his earlier deduction. "Hinata, you promised me you would stay away from the dig site."
"I was just looking." Hinata lied. She'd grown better at concealing things with a straight face, a skill Neji suspected had come from a certain imbecile he knew. However, he could still read between the lines.
In spite of being knowledgeable in Egyptology, Hinata was denied clearance to go out in the field due to lack of experience. Much like Naruto, Hinata yearned to unearth history head on, and while Neji supported her dreams he knew too well the dangers involved in excavating.
Structures could collapse, hypothermia could set in; environmental conditions were always a setback as well as chemical and biological hazards. Although Neji knew he needn't worry about her getting into knife fights—that kind of unfathomable scenario seemed to solely be reserved for Naruto, who ran into trouble wherever he went—he still wasn't comfortable with the risks.
More so, Neji was aware that a position as a librarian for the museum only worsened her longing to explore; and with Naruto's growing influence, she might soon be uncontrollable.
That would make it much harder to look out for her.
"Did they find anything else yet?" Naruto asked excitedly. He walked around the desk towards her, ignoring Neji's grimace of disapproval. Naruto leaned in so close that blond tufts of hair gently caressed Hinata's cheeks as he whispered, "I won't tell anyone, 'kay? Pinky promise."
His eyes blazed. A brilliant sky opened up around her, shining with curiosity as he held up his pinky finger. Hinata's cheeks dusted red at the sight of them up close. She wrapped her finger around his, giggling when Naruto squeezed back to seal the deal.
"W-Well…T-They haven't found anything yet, but..." Hinata started timidly. She stammered when she noticed Naruto's face instantly sank with disappointment. "B-But! I do… have something for you, Naruto…"
Naruto's face lit up again.
"Eh? What's that?" He grinned, expectant. This time it was Hinata who leaned in close, covering the movements of her lips with an elegant hand. Neji watched the two of them critically.
"I asked my friend about that favor you needed and… I-I think he knows who the buyer is, the one who could have purchased the dagger from Uchiha."
"WHAT?!" Naruto's shout could have woken up the bodies in the sarcophagi on the seventh section of the museum. Neji raised an eyebrow at the outburst, warily. His earlier concern of Naruto being, perhaps, not the best influence only grew.
"Eh-heh. Uh, I mean…" Naruto licked his lips, suddenly remembering that Neji was behind them, scrutinizing their exchange. He just couldn't help it. His heart was beating a mile a minute. He asked Hinata a while ago if there was anyway he could find out who the artifact was sold to, but he didn't expect something to turn up. It was just his luck that Hinata said she knew someone who worked with the Egyptian government.
"Really, are you serious?" He whispered harshly.
Hinata nodded her head and smiled, digging into the pockets of her pants. She pulled out a slip of paper folded into squares. She placed it in Naruto's awaiting hand, boldly leaning in to whisper again, "His name is Lee. H-He's a bit… enthusiastic, uhm… but he says he'll meet you here. Look at it when you get home, okay?"
"Gotcha." Naruto acquiesced, wishing he could look at it now. However, there was something he needed to check on before he followed this new lead.
He'd been hopping from place to place since the incident, not wanting to leave Cairo in anticipation that Sasuke may have stuck around. But there wasn't any sign of him, which meant that there was a high chance he probably left the city—or worse, left Egypt.
"Hinata, you're seriously the coolest," Naruto said genuinely, and he pulled her into a tight hug. "Why can't your cousin be this awesome?" He finished loudly, just enough for Neji to hear, and Neji rolled his eyes. Yes, Naruto was definitely five years old.
Hinata's smile only grew more tender as she hugged him back. "I-It's no problem at all…" She squeezed him gently. "You can always come to me for anything, okay?"
"I will!" He promised, grinning molar to molar. Naruto stepped back and returned his gaze to Neji, who was looking off to the side now in a show of indifference.
"I'll see you soon!"
Neji grimaced. He knew what that meant. Naruto was embarking on most likely another dangerous escapade, and there was nothing he could do that would stop him—and he wouldn't try.
Naruto was not his to claim. Friendship—with some noteworthy benefits—was all that could exist between them, and Neji was resigned for it to stay that way.
Naruto didn't know it, but it was quite clear that his mind seemed constantly in pursuit of a certain individual. Considering there wasn't a lot of space up there already, Neji knew that an attempt to make room for anything more would have detrimental effects on their bond.
He deliberated that it was far too important to chance it, and he believed that Naruto came to that conclusion himself, whether he voiced it or not.
"Next time you see me, attempt to bring much more livelier conversation with you than your list of complaints." Neji commented idly, though he attempted to smile in spite of the dissatisfaction he felt from earlier.
Growing up with the Uzumaki's, Neji became well accustomed to Naruto's inherently impetuous nature. Once his mind was set on something there was nothing he could do to change it, and trying would go against everything Neji admired about him.
"I will." Naruto pledged, because this time he was coming back victorious. With this new lead, he could find the stolen dagger much faster than he thought. And if he did, he could get a one up on Sasuke. Maybe he could even stop him for good.
Waving his friends goodbye he stepped out into the dim shadow of the evening's sunset. He had a felucca waiting in Bulaq, Cairo's port town, which would to take him to his temporary place in Alexandria. He hadn't been to his apartment in a while, but there were a few things he needed to check on first before he could set out on another journey.
However long it would take though, Naruto swore he'd find out who Sasuke sold the dagger too.
He would bring it home.
"About time someone came home ." Naruto winced at the sharp voice, heavy with reprimand.
When he arrived at his doorstep at two in the morning, a pair of olive eyes were ready and narrowed with active interest in searching his body up and down.
There used to be a period in his life when that would have excited him — now all he felt was fear.
Sakura still looked the same. She was leaning against his door in her hospital scrubs. Her short pink hair, tied back into a messy ponytail, bobbed as she examined him.
"Did you hurt yourself again?" She asked seriously. Before Naruto could respond she held up a hand. He flinched. "What trouble did you get into this time, moron? Don't think I can't see that you're limping. Were you shot?"
Stabbed, actually, but it didn't look like Sakura really wanted an answer. Naruto's smile, wide enough to mask his anxiety, almost fell at the sight of his roommate cracking her knuckles. Oh, boy.
"As a child was your cradle rocked too close to the wall, because that's the only explanation for why you didn't call me."
"Sakura, I…!" Naruto found himself cut off by his friend's intense inquiry.
"Naruto Uzumaki, save it, " she snapped. Sakura's temperament could rival even the warrior god Sekhmet's wrath. She stepped over to him and frowned, motioning with her index finger in a clockwise motion. Naruto hung his head and dropped his bags, knowing the drill.
He slowly rotated his body, assuring her that he really did come back in one piece. When her furious gaze was finally appeased over his physical well being they returned to Naruto's face, well manicured hands following to lightly slap his cheek in reproach.
"Seriously, you've been gone for how long?" Sakura said incredulously, placing her hands on her hips. "What have you been doing all this time?"
He smiled at her nervously. What could he say? That he'd found Awrutshimaru's tomb? That he was going to come back soon until he got stabbed?
"You're really about as smart as the bottom of your feet…" Sakura sighed. Her shoulders relaxed, or at least they attempted to. "I get that you're busy, but did you even think for a second to try to contact me? You told me you'd only be gone for two weeks."
"I know, and I'm sorry. Really, just uh… things got kind of crazy, and… urgh, I'm sorry, Sakura." Naruto groaned pitifully.
He hadn't meant to stay in Cairo for that long. Just with Sasuke on the loose, he didn't want to miss an opportunity to get the artifact back if there'd been one. He scratched his cheek, wondering how he was going to make this up to her.
She shook her head. Soft pink lips lulled into a yielding smile. Naruto tried to offer a similar one back, but he couldn't help but feel guilty.
"Seriously, Sakura… I appreciate you looking after everything while I was gone."
"Just contact me," she said, heaving a sigh of what sounded like relief. "I was worried you got yourself killed."
She pulled Naruto into a warm embrace and Naruto hugged her back, breathing in the familiar scent of one of his best friends. A long time ago just seeing her would have rammed his heart into overdrive. When he first met Sakura, he'd been looking for a place to stay in Alexandria and one of their mutual friends introduced them. He thought she was beautiful the first time he laid eyes on her.
But Naruto had long since gotten over his crush; Sakura was probably the closest thing to family he had.
"So...," she quipped mid squeeze, "...did Sasuke corner you again?"
Naruto's face sunk with defeat.
His family was perceptive.
"You're an open book, you know that?" She said, pulling away. Sakura opened the door to the apartment and led him inside. He picked up his things, following her through the entrance before settling them down in some random space by the coat rack. "Maybe if you weren't such a pea brain, you wouldn't be losing to him as much."
"Hey! I beat him almost as much as he beats me! And he has to play dirty to win." Naruto moaned, flailing his hands in an impression of the bullets flying at him every which way. To her it simply looked like he was frustrated.
"He even paid off one of my informants!"
"And that's whose fault? You trust people too easily, Naruto. I'm not even surprised that happened." Sakura stated, exasperated, yet it wasn't in reprimand. Naruto's unnatural ability to give anyone the benefit of the doubt was one of his most endearing qualities.
It's what drew people to him in the first place.
Naruto shut the door behind him. Blue eyes, dull with exhaustion, entered their dark living room with sinking unfamiliarity. His apartment was exactly how he left it—poorly furnished, littered with books, and baptized with his dog's shedded hair stuck between the fibers of the carpet.
He fell on the couch with a tired grunt.
"I'm not saying that's a bad thing," Sakura continued as she went into the kitchen. "You just have to be more careful — people aren't as good as you'd like to think they are."
"I know…" Naruto didn't need another reminder. Sai's betrayal, while suspected, was a much needed reality check that some people were just born without empathy. Or shame, for that matter. "I just didn't expect Sasuke to show up there… I thought I shook him off in Luxor, yanno?"
"He shows up at every site you're investigating, right?" Sakura asked out loud, tapping her chin contemplatively. She reached into the kitchen cabinets. "Maybe he likes you?"
Naruto clenched his jaw.
Memories of hanging from collapsed bridges, to fighting off teams of paid bandits, suggested otherwise.
"If that's him liking me, I wouldn't wanna see that bastard hating me," he grumbled.
"Well, try not to think about it too much," Sakura said. She reentered the living room with a glass of juice, handing it to him. "You're annoying when you're depressed."
"And you sound like Neji."
"Except I don't try to get in your pants," Sakura smirked as Naruto's face went up in flames.
He took the glass from her, shifting into a more comfortable position. Once he was cozily sitting upright against the sofa, he noticed Sakura was heading into her own bedroom to grab something.
She reemerged with her purse and a small bundle of fur in her hands.
"Kurama!" Naruto grinned. His eyes lit up with excitement as she plopped him in his arms.
It was a wonder Kurama was even asleep. Usually the tan schipperke would be a flailing pain in his ass on a good day, but the little asshole looked worn out for once.
"He almost bit me the day you left," Sakura said sharply, glaring at the culprit. "I seriously don't know how you handle him, Naruto. He ruined my sheets. He tried to get out of here a few times by turning the door handle. I even think he'd timed it for when I'd leave for work. He's a demon. "
"Aww, Kurama? He's not a demon. He's twelve years old, I think he's just a grumpy old man inside. Always angry, always constipated—wishing we'd get off his lawn." Naruto rationalized, in spite of being on the other end of his mood swings too many times than he could count. He's been away from home for so long he'd actually missed Kurama, terrible attitude and all.
He cradled Kurama's sleeping chin in his hand and attempted to make the constantly resentful looking fleabag smile. "Maybe if ya took a good ol' dump, you wouldn't be such a grouch all the time, eh?"
"You're so gross." Sakura reproached, her expression pained. She moved toward the door as Naruto chuckled.
"Going to work at the hospital?"
"It's going to be a long night. I'm taking the late shift, and I just found out there was an accident nearby," Sakura adjusted the strap of her bag, "so I won't be back until later. We need to go shopping, but I left some ramen for you in the cupboard, and there's eggs in the fridge."
"Sakura you're my favorite ."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Sakura rolled her eyes. She waved a hand in the air casually, heading out. "You would be helpless without me. But, if you ever leave for that long without telling me again, I'll kill you," she finished sweetly.
Naruto knew she wasn't joking either. She really would murder him, and he couldn't imagine a more painful death.
As she left, the smell of his dog emanating from a suspicious spot on the carpet drew his attention. Naruto scrunched up his nose.
"Kurama, I'm seriously going to throw you in the Nile one of these days," he chided, realizing that not only was there a piss stain, but a patch of carpet had been pawed at and mangled by the disgruntled animal while he'd been gone.
Kurama whined and stirred in his arms. When he finally opened his eyes and looked at Naruto, it was with the most scornful face the archaeologist had ever seen. Kurama looked pissed, possibly from being left alone for so long, or being left with Sakura.
Naruto figured it was a combination of the two.
"What? Did you miss me?" Naruto teased. "Or are you mad that you didn't get to spend more time with Sakura?"
Kurama snapped his teeth at him, letting out three high pitched barks that probably meant fuck you human in dog speak.
"Hey, it isn't like you can take care of yourself you stupid dog. Did you expect me to bring you along or something?"
The growl that followed was a definite indicator that yes, that should have been obvious. He should have been brought along.
"Ugh, I'll make it up to you later, alright?" It was nothing some kibble and a new chew toy wouldn't fix.
Naruto didn't know when he started to negotiate with him like this, but it seemed natural, like Kurama was really listening. He downed his lemonade with a few fervent gulps before he laid it flat on the carpet; and Kurama's head turned up, seeming to snort at the notion that Naruto thought he could be so easily swayed.
Hopping off his lap, the dog seemed fascinated with the living room curtains. The breeze from the sliding door, leading out to their balcony, carried the soothing scent of the sea into the apartment. Sakura must have cracked open the patio door to air out the little guy's stench. Kurama padded towards it. The grouch snarled.
Naruto just rolled his eyes. Whatever temper tantrum Kurama was having right now he'd deal with when he woke up. Naruto tried not to mind the noises as he spread out along the cushions. More room for him. The sooner he got some rest, the sooner he could meet Hinata's friend, Lee, who possibly knew the location of the ritual dagger.
While falling asleep on the couch wasn't the best idea—he'd sometimes wake up with Kurama sitting on his face—he was too lazy to schlep over to his bedroom. So Naruto just hoped he wouldn't wake up with a bunch of fur in his mouth, or worse, Kurama's terrible breath in his face.
"I'm going to bed…" Naruto muttered to the squirming thing, fully aware Kurama probably wasn't paying attention. "Do anything weird and I'll have you neutered, you hear me?"
Kurama didn't say anything.
Instead of barking at him in response like he'd usually do, blindingly white canines, courtesy of Sakura's compulsion with hygiene, threatened to tear into his skin. The black tipped schipperke had padded over towards the couch to tug on his pants leg. Naruto resisted the urge to kick him for being annoying.
"Kurama ..." He grumbled, trying to move away. Seriously, what the hell was wrong with him? " 'M trying to sleep. Stop being a brat…"
"Then stop being careless."
It was like he'd been scorched.
Naruto practically sprung off the couch at the intrusion, wobbling into an offensive stance.
Kurama was on high alert. His dog turned bodyguard, now completely stiff and yelping frantically, bared his teeth at the sound. Anxious growling grew louder, more predatory, and Naruto followed the animal's trained gaze toward the balcony where a familiar figure now stood.
He'd know that arrogant voice anywhere.
"Sasuke," Naruto glared into the darkness. His nerves were electric charged, threatening to start sparks. Under the glow of the moonlight, piercing onyx regarded them both with infuriating stoicism, "what the hell do you want?"
Then came an answer he'd never expected.
"Your help."