Chapter 2: Secret Illusions

Rating: PG-13 (T-for now)

Pairing: SasuNaru, NaruSai

Disclaimer: We do not own these characters. They all belong to Kishimoto!

Quixotic Delirium

----2----

Did I say that I loathe you?
Did I say that I want to
Leave it all behind?

"Sasuke?" he repeated, looking at the boy, no- man, in front of him. He left his bed and walked towards Sasuke in trepidation, his heart beating so loud he was surprised that the person in front of him did not react to it. His mind was surprisingly blank, and the steps towards the unmovable figure were as if in slow motion, making him aware of his harsh breathing, his own heart beat, and his slight steps on the floor. Yet, there was no movement from Sasuke or the illusion in front of him.

"Naruto."

Naruto stopped suddenly and waited for further words. It did sound like Sasuke. He realized he definitely was not dreaming.

"Naruto," repeated Sasuke in a harsh voice.

Maybe Sasuke had decided to kill him, after all. It was different back then. Now, he could probably take down Sasuke - he was quicker and stronger than those years when they were children. He thought before he acted, but this was Sasuke. Would he revert back to old tendencies?

"I…did not come here to harm you. Just listen to me." Sasuke closed the distance between them, and looked coldly at Naruto. "Don't ask me why I came here yet." He closed his eyes. "I will tell you some details, but not all of them."

"Then why should I trust you?" asked Naruto, finally finding his voice.

"Don't you already?" countered Sasuke, his eyes still not betraying anything.

Naruto opened his mouth and closed it abruptly. His lips formed a thin line as he looked at the calm Sasuke in front of him.

"You can't expect to show up and have me believe every word you say. Have you forgotten? Last time I saw you, you seemed very pleased at Orochimaru's side. So please excuse me for not believing you're here on good will. What do you want, Sasuke?" asked Naruto, his voice getting louder. "You unexpectedly show up…you stand there as if you have a right to be so calm. As if nothing ever happened. You hate me," he bitterly continued. "So what do you want?"

"I don't hate you. I just don't believe in some of the things you stand for."

"Oh, is that so?"

Naruto pushed Sasuke back with his right hand. His previously blank mind now burned with different emotions and memories. He felt himself getting madder by the second and close to losing control.

"Is that so, Sasuke? You don't hate me? Your attitude towards me when I saw you seemed to imply a different thing. Orochimaru…"

"Don't mention his name!" snarled Sasuke.

"Don't mention his name? Isn't he your master? The person you willingly follow?" yelled Naruto. "The person you left us for…the person you left me, your friend, for?"

Sasuke remained quiet, his eyes boring into Naruto's own.

"Orochimaru is dead."

"Wait…what?"

"I killed him," Sasuke said quietly.

Naruto looked at Sasuke, his eyes showing his disbelief. Sasuke killed Orochimaru? That was impossible! Unless…the person in front of him was not Sasuke. Wasn't Sasuke supposed to give up his body for Orochimaru at this time? The man in front of him could be Orochimaru. Why had he not thought of this sooner? He was still an idiot...and worse, the man in front of him was going to kill him. Yet, there was a possibility it really was Sasuke? He had to find out somehow.

"You're not Sasuke."

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow and a trace of amusement made his way into his black eyes. "I didn't expect you to say that, Naruto. You of all people should know it really is me."

"I don't trust you."

"You do trust me, Naruto. You're glad that I'm here. Don't lie to me."

"You think you still know me?"

"You don't change. Aren't you glad I am here?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sasuke and took a slight step back. "Don't act like you know me," Naruto said, cold eyes on Sasuke. "Believe it or not, people change… Sasuke..."

Sasuke smirked and sat down on the chair Naruto had, relaxing himself and hoping to relax Naruto as well. "Naruto, you know me better than anyone," he said in a low voice. "You, of all people, should know it's still me."

Naruto relaxed slightly but remained standing up. He glared at Sasuke through cold eyes while a million different thoughts raced through his head. 'Was this really Sasuke?' he thought, biting his lip as he stared at Sasuke, searching him for anything out of the ordinary. No, it was still the same Sasuke. Naruto doubted that an imposter would be able to mimic Sasuke so well. He glared back at Sasuke through narrow eyes. But… what did he want….

"I'm glad I'm still of some interest to you, Naruto," Sasuke said suddenly, standing up and sending Naruto slightly off balance because of their proximity. Sasuke quickly reached for Naruto and steadied him, his arm around Naruto's waist. "Trust me, Naruto," Sasuke said, his smile widening slightly at their proximity. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, old memories resurfacing before he opened his eyes once again and stared back at Naruto, who was staring at him with wide eyes.

Sasuke looked him over and shook his head slightly. Now was not the time, he thought, letting him go and distancing himself. He moved towards Naruto's only window and opened it, his back to Naruto for a while before turning back, his hands on the window ledges.

"I'll explain everything once I'm back, Naruto," he said, his mind slowly becoming hectic once again. "Trust me," he said, before disappearing out the window and into the night.

Naruto stared after him then sighed, slumping down into his bed and wrapping his arms around his knees as he drew them up to his chin. He leaned against his wall and looked out the window, wondering what to do about the situation, wondering on whether he should be quiet or not.

'Maybe it was just my imagination,' he thought. 'No. No way could I come up with something like that. But, if that was really Sasuke, shouldn't I report him?' Naruto furrowed his eyebrows in deep thought.

No, he decided eventually, after turning over several thoughts in his head and studying the situation thoroughly. No, he wasn't going to turn Sasuke over or tell anyone Sasuke was back. He would leave that up to Sasuke. But… if Sasuke was going to harm anyone in the village… if Sasuke harmed anyone, Naruto would personally kill him.

No, Naruto decided. That risk couldn't be there. He had to figure out a way to eliminate that risk. What if… but no, it would be too risky… but he had no other choice. If he was going to keep Sasuke a secret, he had to keep the village safe as well. That was his topmost priority, should be his topmost priority. He would do it then.

Why was Sasuke back, though? If Orochimaru was truly dead, he was free to do as he wanted, free to hunt down Itachi or do anything else he desired. So why was he back in the village he had given up for power, why had he come back to the person he had nearly tried to kill. He sighed. He was sleepy and he didn't really want to think about it. For now, he would trust Sasuke, like he had done all those years.

"But things do change, Sasuke," he thought aloud as he lay down in his bed and fell asleep, troubled thoughts mixing his dreams.

-----

"Hello, Naruto," Sai said, entering the sleepy blonde's room.

"Hello, Sai," Naruto said, sleepily walking back to his bed and rubbing his eyes. Sai followed and looked at him curiously.

"It's nearly noon, Naruto-kun. And you still look tired," he said, moving his head slightly to the side with a perplexed expression on his face.

Naruto yawned widely and nodded. "Yeah, I had a rough night," he said, rubbing his eyes once again before heading over to his bathroom and washing his face and brushing his teeth. He changed clothes and came back out after a few minutes, yawning loudly.

"We have no mission, today, Naruto-kun, so we can go train," Sai said, still watching Naruto curiously.

"Sure," Naruto said, nodding and smiling, though lacking his usual enthusiasm. Sai frowned slightly, linking it back to last night.

"Naruto, are you all right?" he asked, staring at Naruto intently. Naruto looked at Sai.

'Should I tell him?' he thought. 'No, I shouldn't drag him into it. Then again… he is my… but I don't want him to get hurt…,' he thought.

"No, nothing's wrong Sai," Naruto said, forcing out some of his usual hyperactive self out. "Now let's get going to get a good workout!" he said, pushing Sai off the bed and leading them both out towards the training site.

-----

"Naruto, you're much more distracted than usual," Sai pointed out after his easy victory. Naruto looked up at him with a worried expression before looking away.

"It's nothing," he said. "Just, some problems I have to deal with first."

Sai looked curiously at him before lying down on the grass next to him, looking up at the sky before turning his gaze back to Naruto, who was staring straight ahead with a glazed expression in his eyes.

Something was troubling Naruto, he knew that, but what it was he couldn't figure out. He looked at the outline of Naruto's face and the scars on his cheeks. He watched as Naruto's blonde hair moved slightly in the wind. It was longer than before. Some of the spikes went down to his chin and neck and Sai found he liked it better that way. He stared at Naruto's blue eyes staring far ahead of him and felt an irresistible urge to kiss him. He just looks so tempting, Sai thought, a small smirk on his face as he suddenly got up and kissed Naruto, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Naruto had been lost in his thoughts until Sai had decided to surprise him with the kiss. He had been thinking about the 'Sasuke situation', as he now referred to it, and was trying to figure out what his best move would be when familiar lips were on his own and he focused onto a familiar face.

For some reason he nearly smiled at what Sai had done before kissing him back. He ran his hands through Sai's black hair, loving the way it felt on his fingertips, while tracing patterns onto Sai's back. Sai was unzipping Naruto's orange jacket when a whistle erupted from somewhere around them. They both parted and saw a grey jacket slowly coming closer with a white blur in front of him.

Kiba made his way through the training site and gave a wide grin once he got to where Naruto and Sai were. His grin turned into a sly smile as he noticed Sai's slightly tousled hair and frowning features and Naruto's red cheeks and unzipped jacket. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything," he said, laughing slightly.

"N-No," Naruto said, getting up and holding out a hand for Sai, "we were just practicing," he said as Sai got up.

"Oh, well. Remind me never to practice with you guys then," Kiba said, earning a slight punch from Naruto.

"Right, because you know I'd beat you," Naruto said.

"In your dreams," Kiba answered, answering the challenge in their own terms and moving back in order to attack.

Sai moved back and sat against a tree. He watched as they readied themselves before turning around at the sound of rustling. There was no one in the tree anymore, though, as he stared at it with frowning eyes. He looked back at the two as they sparred, wondering idly who it had been in the tree just a minute ago.

----

It was the same person that he had seen besides Naruto those many months ago in front of Orochimaru. That person was his replacement in Team 7 and it definitely did not sit well with him. In such a short time he had already gotten rather cozy with Naruto and by the look of things, it seemed they were in a relationship. He gritted his teeth in frustration as the kiss he had witnessed replayed over and over again in his mind.

Sure, he and Naruto did not seem to get along to many people, but they had a connection that went far and beyond a simple friendship. In fact, he wasn't sure if it even was a friendship. Whatever it was, it was much stronger than what Naruto and that 'Sai' character had. Wasn't it?

He suddenly stopped and breathed deeply. Naruto obviously did not trust him, and that was certain by his odd behavior at his appearance. Sai was a problem that he had not counted on. Naruto might tell Sai that he held contact with him, and Sai would then tell others. That was not good. He didn't need any foolish people getting in his way.

If Naruto turned him in…or if Naruto ignored him because of Sai…

He snapped the tree branch he was holding in his right hand, and his sharingan came to life. First thing first was to shift Naruto's attention back to him and away from the current… distraction. Naruto would then help him catch Itachi and everything would be settled. He smiled bitterly and looked back towards Naruto's direction. Yes, Naruto would be his again.

----

"Kiba, I'm ready to call it a day."

"What, Naruto? We haven't even trained much! Usually you're the one that wants to continue training for hours straight without rest. Why the sudden change?"

"We have some things to do," quipped Sai, noting how Naruto seemed slightly irritated at the question. "We really should get going, unless you want a full explanation on what we plan to do?" asked Sai slyly.

Kiba crunched his nose. "That's fine. I don't need to know any details of your sordid affair."

"Watch what you are saying, Kiba. I may just tell some people about your own sordid affairs," said Naruto, snapping himself out of his trance and trying to put a smile on his face as he addressed Kiba, and an even bigger smile as he turned to Sai. "Sai, you're treating me to ramen today."

Sai visibly blanched and looked at Naruto with wide eyes. "I'm treating you to ramen? What did I do to deserve that? Make Kiba treat you!"

"Um…I'll see both of you later…I need to go…come on, Akamaru!" yelled Kiba, taking off in a run towards the village with Akamaru besides him.

"It's just you and me then." Sai said, placing a hand around Naruto's waist and heading towards the village.

"Pity," said Naruto jokingly. "Pity I have to be with you."

"You know you like my company," teased Sai.

Naruto smiled tightly and his good mood once again vanished.

"Sasuke?"

"What do you want, Naruto? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"You don't seem busy to me. Actually, you don't seem to be doing anything. Bored, are you?"

"Go away."

Naruto brightly smiled and playfully punched Sasuke's left shoulder. "You know you like my company."

"Don't touch me," muttered Sasuke, but a slight upturn of his lips was just visible.

Naruto saw the upturn of the lips out of the corner of his eyes and smiled inwardly. Sasuke, cold as ice? He didn't think so.

"Naruto? Naruto?"

"Yeah? Sorry, Sai. Just got carried away with my thoughts, that's all," said Naruto with a shrug of his shoulders. "Race you to the village?"

"Ah, just like a child," said Sai mockingly. He turned towards Naruto with a smile on his face. "In that case, you're on!"

Naruto took off and Sai followed him, trying to gain speed in order to catch up to his boyfriend. His eyes were glued to Naruto's back, and he furrowed his eyebrows at the mystery that was Naruto lately. In the meantime, his wallet was about to suffer.

----

Naruto took off his jacket and threw it on top of his bed. He gave a tug to his hair out of exasperation as he looked outside his window. Sasuke had left four nights ago and he still had not returned. He said he was going to come back, but maybe he had left for good now. He just suddenly turned up to annoy the hell out of him. A brief appearance was all it took to turn his world upside down, but after all, it was Sasuke and it was expected.

He gave a big sigh and got on his bed ready to have another sleepless night thinking about the whereabouts of Sasuke. He truly was pathetic.

----

"Naruto?"

"Hmm…Sasuke?" mumbled Naruto sleepily. Suddenly, something in his mind clicked and he sprung wide awake. There in front of him was Sasuke, looking calm and collected as if he hadn't gone missing.

"You came back?" Naruto asked in disbelief. He got up from his bed and walked towards Sasuke who merely looked bored.

"Does he know about me?"

His steps faltered. "Who are you talking about?"

"Sai. Does he know about me?"

"No he doesn't…but how do you…"

"I saw you with him… kissing," said Sasuke with contained anger. "You must have told him about me if you're that close with him."

"You don't trust me, Sasuke? I'm telling you, I didn't tell him!" said Naruto, raising his voice.

"Well, obviously you don't trust me."

Naruto pulled Sasuke towards him and looked directly into his eyes. "It's not always about you, Sasuke. You are the most selfish bastard I have ever met…It's always you, you, you, and you. You know what? I'm sick and tired of it. You leave me here without a word about where you are going, and you just prance back like nothing's wrong. If I say I didn't tell anyone then I didn't. You told me that I haven't changed, and using your logic, you would know I'm the same honest and loyal person you knew," Naruto said, tightening his grip on Sasuke's shirt before letting go.

"The relationship between Sai and I is none of your business so please stay out of it."

"None of my business?" snapped Sasuke. "Why can't I ask?"

"Why can't I ask what you're here for?"

"That's different."

"That's bullshit."

Sasuke and Naruto glared at each other, making it a contest. They both looked intensely at each other, hoping one would drop their eyes, claiming defeat.

"Itachi is dead," said Sasuke, finally stepping away from Naruto but not taking his eyes off him.

"Are you sure?" asked Naruto, astonished and lost for words at what Sasuke was telling him. Then, if Itachi was dead why did Sasuke leave for four, almost five days? Sasuke could also be lying... he just wasn't sure anymore.

"Orochimaru killed him… Are you happy? Now I've told you what I was hiding. I'm not here to kill you so I can kill Itachi. It's over and done with. I was too late," said Sasuke bitterly, his eyes flashing.

"I…I don't know what to say…"

"Don't say a word. I have to go."

"You just got here! What do you mean you're leaving? Where are you going?"

"You'll know when I come back. I have some things to take care of. Don't tell that boyfriend of yours anything."

Sasuke turned to leave and was almost out the door when a hand stopped him. "I won't tell Sai. You have my word. Do I have your word that you'll be back?" whispered Naruto, looking anxiously at Sasuke.

Naruto looked back in shock as Sasuke turned his gaze at him, and he found himself staring at the sharingan.

"I need to find Itachi," said Sasuke coldly.

Naruto's hand fell from Sasuke's shoulders and he stared at his friend in confusion. Before he could process anything, or even make the request he had decided on, Sasuke was on.

----

"Naruto? Naruto?"

"Sasuke?" he mumbled sleepily. He opened his eyes and looked at the face in front of him.

"Sai…"

A/N: Review :) Sorry for the wait…but at least it's done!