A/N: Guys, so far the response to this fic has been very positive, I'm glad! I love reading your reviews, and would love to see more. This chapter is a little longer than the previous one, and most likely the chapters will be closer to this length from here on out. (If you still want to see it continued!) Anyway, here's chapter two for all of you to enjoy!


In another life
Chapter two.


Enveloped in darkness, Naruto's conscious flitted to and fro. Voices drifted to his ears, altering between muffled and clear, some of which he recognized and some of which he didn't, before disappearing again altogether.

"…–ruto! …"

"…–t ha–…–ened…? … this…"

"… Check him."

Sasuke's familiar voice broke through and reached him through the darkness. He felt his weight being shifted and how he was laid down. Hands pressed against him. Different people talked around him, their voices sounding distant – like he was submerged under water and they came from above him.

Occasionally some words broke the surface and cut through the water, grasping after his conscious, but whenever they caught it, it seemed to slip through their fingers and he sank deeper.

"–…! … I can–…! … - … … -! … seem to – … poisoned… – can't –…"

"Let me – … - … don't – …!"

"Alright, we – … … - … …!"

"… now."

"Fine."

And Naruto was once again left alone in complete silence.


Even though the other's look made him somewhat nervous, Naruto stubbornly stared back with a determined gaze at the raven across from him at the kitchen table.

Sasuke – the fake Sasuke, he had to remind himself – had a furrow between his brows and was sending him a weird look, his gaze questioning and telling the blonde that he had found his question rather odd. The raven seemed to judge him, contemplating in silence before he finally parted his lips.

"… Our apartment." He said slowly, a suspicious tone seeping into his voice as he regarded the blonde with slightly narrowed eyes as if he suspected Naruto to be up to something.

The answer didn't tell the blonde anything.

His brow furrowed. Wait…

Their apartment?

His thoughts began spinning. Was Sasuke suggesting that the strange and unfamiliar apartment he had woken up in was their apartment? As in, they lived there, together? Naruto and Sasuke?

The bad feeling in the blonde's stomach grew and he steeled his jaw. He could not wrap his head around what was going on. Him and Sasuke living in an apartment together, Sasuke greeting him and cooking him breakfast; how could it not be a genjutsu? It didn't make any sense.

He was growing more and more confused for every passing minute, but Naruto decided to push on. He had to find out more. Even if it wasn't a genjutsu, it still had to be some sort of jutsu – some sort of trick or spell, and he had to figure out how to break it.

Leaning his body slightly forwards in his chair, his blue eyes didn't leave the raven's across from him.

"And where is this… apartment?" What land? What city? Anything he could work with was fine.

In front of him, Sasuke's brows furrowed further. He looked confused by Naruto's question – an emotion Naruto rarely saw reflected within the onyx orbs.

"… We're in Osaka."

Naruto came up with a blank. He did not recognize that name at all. Was it somewhere near the Hidden Valleys Village? Or perhaps somewhere beyond the Land of Earth? It had to be far away form the Land of Fire; otherwise he would've recognized it.

If the place even existed at all, a small voice in his head whispered, reminding him that everything could be fictitious around him.

Maybe the enemy had him caught in some sort of dream that was created to mislead him, and if that were the case, then asking questions would get him nowhere.

Even if he didn't seem to be in a genjutsu, the world in which he'd found himself and the Sasuke in front of him could not be real. It wasn't real, it wasn't his world, and it wasn't genjutsu. What the hell was it? Where the hell had he woken up?

He brought a hand up to his chin, his brows furrowed as he blindly stared at the glass of juice in front of him while silently contemplated everything, trying to grasp the non-existent puzzle pieces that would help him figure his situation out and rid him of his helpless state of confusion.

Sasuke studied his concentrated expression with mild suspicion across form him, leaning back in his own chair and narrowing his eyes.

"… Is this some sort of new prank you're trying to pull?" He questioned the blonde dubiously, drawing his attention.

"It's not April first, you know."

"I know that." Naruto snapped hastily, forgetting for a second that the Sasuke across from him wasn't the Sasuke from his world because of the familiar condescending tone in the other's voice, his cheeks heating once he caught himself. This Sasuke simply arched an elegant brow at his reaction, his expression unamused.

Then he closed his eyes, sighing, the tension disappearing from his posture.

"Whatever." He said and stood from the table, grabbing his plate. Naruto's heart jumped in anticipation of what was to come. So far he'd only woken up, met Sasuke and eaten some breakfast. Would the true nature of this strange illusion he'd found himself in show itself soon?

"Don't forget you promised to help Sakura re-furniture her apartment today." Sasuke chatted casually while rinsing his plate in the sink and then placing it in some sort of special cabinet underneath another counter top.

Naruto's ears picked up on the familiar name and he straightened up in his chair.

"Sakura-chan?" He mumbled, mostly to himself. There was a Sakura in this fake-world too?

Sasuke hummed in his usual way as he dried and put away the pans he'd used for the eggs earlier.

"I was told to remind you, because she knew you'd forget. You agreed to meet before two." Blue eyes found the clock hanging above the entrance to the kitchen and scanned the time. Twenty past one, it read.

"I'm going to run by campus, pick up some stuff I left after finals." Sasuke turned around, leaning against the counter and looked at him.

Naruto blinked dumbly, his brain struggling to absorb the sudden flow of confusing information. He was meeting Sakura? Sasuke was going where to pick up some stuff from what? Sasuke was leaving? What exactly was going on?

"Uh…" Was all he managed to say. Unfazed by the lack of an intelligent answer, Sasuke pushed away from the counter and started to make his way towards the kitchen entrance.

"I'll probably be back before you are, so you won't need to bring your keys with you to Sakura's place."

A tiny spark of panic shot through the blonde when he realised Sasuke was walking away from him. He had figured out that this wasn't the real Sasuke from his world, and he had only just met him, but even so, the idea of being left all alone in the unfamiliar apartment without the other male present scared him.

Stressed not to be left behind, Naruto pushed away from the table and followed the raven through the door to the living room and stopped in the small hallway where the other had begun to put on his shoes.

Sasuke really was leaving. The thought was oddly unsettling and the blonde swallowed nervously.

He still hadn't gotten any answers. Apart from the fact that he knew that this was supposed to be his… their apartment, and that he was in some place called Osaka – which didn't tell him much, to be honest – he was still in the unknown. He had not figured out what was going on, how he'd gotten there or why he'd waken up in another place from where he'd gone to sleep – and now the other Sasuke was leaving him alone in this strange world and telling him about his supposed meeting with a Sakura from this world while he still had no idea what he was supposed to do about anything.

"I'll probably drop by Kakashi's place once I'm done at uni. I'll tell him you said hi."

Sasuke finished with his shoes and stood, swiftly pulling a dark, knitted cardigan over his head and swinging a simple satchel over his shoulder. He turned with his hand on the handle of the door, his onyx orbs locking with Naruto's searching blue gaze.

"I'll call you later, okay? To check when you're going to be done at Sakura's, then maybe we can get something to eat together."

Naruto wanted to tell the raven to stop, to wait, to explain what he meant, everything, but a lump had formed in his throat and his voice refused to work. He could only stare into Sasuke's eyes and hope that he would be able to read Naruto's unvoiced pleads through his eyes and stay. But the raven simply offered him a tiny tilt of his head.

"I'll see you, alright?"

And then he stepped out the door and closed it behind him, leaving the blonde alone in the apartment.

Naruto stared at the wooden door for a few moments before he was jolted into action. He spun around in the small hallway, his eyes quickly finding the two windows situated on the living room wall to his right. Stumbling over his own feet he dashed to them, pushing the heavy glass open and peering outside.

He was a few stories up – maybe on the third or fourth floor – in a rather tall building. Other tall buildings surrounded his; some lying straight across from him on the other side of a street that he could spot below, and others connecting to his building by their walls.

He could tell the windows across from him lead to other apartments, but felt a sense of being out of place as he took in the structure of all of the buildings. They were not made of wood, but other, unfamiliar materials, and they looked nothing alike the houses in Konoha. They were flat and grey, the windows unframed and huge, reflecting the sunlight on their blank surface, and some stood taller than any building he had ever seen. The strange sights made his head spin.

Shaking the uneasy feeling threatening to creep over him, he directed his gaze downwards to the street below, searching for the familiar raven hair.

His eyes spotted the other exiting a door leading out of their building on ground level.

He opened his mouth to call the other's name, but hesitated in the last second. What did he hope to accomplish calling after the other? Did he wish for the raven to come back? And do what? Tell him how to break this weird illusion and return to his own world?

… But this wasn't an illusion, was it? A dream? Was he maybe having a hallucinative dream in his poisoned state? Was he imagining up another world where he and Sasuke lived together in an apartment in a strange city with strange buildings? Why would he dream something like that? It seemed strange for his mind to make such a dream up, but then again, maybe the poison messed with his head more than he was able to anticipate.

It didn't matter how much he mulled his situation over, Naruto could not make sense of anything. What had happened? The main mystery kept nagging at the back of his mind.

Could he really be dreaming all of this? He considered the possibility seriously. Maybe he was dreaming.

Quickly he pinched his left arm between his fingers, the skin stinging painfully and bruising from the force. Letting go, Naruto stared disappointedly at the small red mark that had formed where he'd pinched. If it was a dream and the pain hadn't woken him up, he must really be sleeping heavily.

Another idea struck him and he looked around the living room, his eyes pausing at the red couch.

He'd been told that falling while sleeping was sure to wake a person up, even from the deepest of slumbers.

Standing at the couch's armrest, his back towards the cushions, Naruto steeled his jaw in determination. Then he leant back and fell backwards. He bounced slightly when his back hit the seats, hitting his head against the other armrest at the opposite side of the furniture.

Cursing and clutching his skull between his arms, Naruto rolled back and forth on top of the couch for a little while, eventually accidentally toppling over the edge and onto the floor with a surprised yelp.

Even after the pain had subsided, he remained on his back, staring at the plain ceiling above him and relaxing against the soft carpet.

He'd hurt himself intentionally and unintentionally, he'd fallen twice, and he was still there. That had to mean that it wasn't a dream, right?

His brows furrowed and he groaned, bringing his hands up and covering his face. What was he doing?

He decided to try breaking a genjutsu a second time as he remained on the floor, but once again, even though he completed all the steps correctly, nothing happened. He remained on his back on the floor in the apartment. His and the Sasuke from this world's apartment.

Dragging a hand down his face, Naruto could feel a headache approach. His shoulders had tensed from stress and his mind had been clouded with disorientation since the moment of his awakening. No matter how much he thought about it, he wasn't able to figure out the solution to his problem.

Opening his eyes he stared at the ceiling once more. His mind drifted to the Sasuke from his world. Behind Sasuke's fluent movements and natural skill for fighting lay a bright and sharpened mind, he knew. The raven was clever, more so than most – a lot smarter than the blonde by far – and Naruto found himself wondering if the cold Uchiha would've been able to figure out what was going on, what technique he'd been a victim of, and break free from it without struggling like the blonde was at the moment.

The answer was 'probably' and Naruto frowned despite himself.

It was a long time ago since he'd referred to him and Sasuke as 'rivals', but even as they'd grown into equals in the sense of strength and technique over the years, he still struggled with an inner desperation to prove himself in front of the other male. He knew that Sasuke acknowledged him in a way – he must, since he'd lost against the blonde that time, three years ago when Naruto had finally managed to drag him back to Konoha – but ever since his return, Sasuke had grown cold and put a distance between them. Once Naruto had noticed the giant rift growing between them, it had been too late, and the raven had adapted an unapproachable air around him, cruelly ignoring the blonde's every attempt to rekindle their friendship, their rocky relationship crumbling further with every unfortunate clash.

Naruto was happy Sasuke was back, he was, but he would be lying to himself if he said he was happy with how things were between them. He'd chased Sasuke all those years and brought him back with the hope and belief that they would return to the way they had used to be; friends, rivals, team mates. But of course, in reality, the Uchiha's return hadn't turned out as well as he'd hoped.

In the beginning it had been a lot of arguments, paperwork, test and evaluations concerning the Uchiha. Sasuke had been put under careful watch by the Anbu, and had been under a lot of pressure to pass a lot of different test – most of which's nature the blonde still didn't know of – that would decide if he was to be trusted, and thus go free and return to the line of duty as a shinobi of the lead, or if he was too unstable and twisted and would spend the rest of his life imprisoned for his crimes.

It had been a though period of months, and Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi had struggled to support their former team mate from the sidelines.

Naruto still remembered the painful grasp in which Sakura had held his hand on the day of the verdict, and the tears of which she'd cried when it had turned out to be white and Sasuke was once again assigned as a Shinobi of Konohagakure.

Back then Naruto really had thought they could've gone back to how they had been. That team seven could be once more. He had been wrong.

When Sakura had ran to and thrown her arms around the raven that day, Naruto had met Sasuke's eyes. They had been eyes of a bitter man, cold and distant, freezing his blood when they looked at him over Sakura's head. It had been eyes filled with hate.

Naruto released a shaky breath, feeling pitiful for being so affected by the distant memory.

Being melancholic didn't help his current predicament at all. He had to figure out how to get back to his own world somehow.

Sitting up and dragging a hand through his short, blonde locks, Naruto considered his next step of action.

If he wanted to find out where he was, he would have to leave the apartment. Hopefully he would find some sort of clue of how to get back to the real world, or at least a fault in the technique (if he even was in one to begin with) that might help him figure out how to counteract it.

Having made up his mind, he got to his feet. Looking down at his body, he decided to change into something other than the sweatpants he was wearing. The white T-shirt, he could wear.

He felt somewhat awkward making his way back into the small bedroom and digging through the closet that was supposed to be his and Sasuke's. The very idea of sharing something with the raven made him feel uncomfortable. He managed to find a pair of plain slacks that fit (which he hoped meant that they belonged to him) and pulled them on, breathing a sigh of relief as he left the small room.

He'd pinpointed the distinctive smell that lingered through the apartment to be the smell of Sasuke. He'd recognized it from their many fights where they got up close and personal and the smell of Sasuke's sweat mingled with his own as they exchanged blows. The fact that the bedroom smelled so much like the raven had his body itch to move into a defensive position, the muscles associating Sasuke's smell with the heat of a battle, and frankly, it was stressful.

Now dressed, Naruto mentally prepared himself for his journey of exploration outside of the apartment. So far he hadn't run into anything that seemed to poise any danger or be out to hurt him – only the strange Sasuke of this world who weirded him out, but neither he had seemed dangerous. Actually, he'd been less threatening than the Sasuke from his world.

He managed to find a pair of sneakers in the hall that fit him, and only after some struggle, managed to tie them around his feet. Looking at the various jackets hanging by the door, he decided against taking one. He didn't know which was supposed to be his, and even so, they were not really his and glancing at the sun outside he doubted he'd even need one.

Feeling nervous, but determined, he grabbed the door handle and stepped out into the building's hall.

There was a second door on the same floor besides the one he had exited, and two staircases, one leading upwards, and the other down. Some sort of construction separated the two stairs, but Naruto had no idea what it was and also felt no need to find out.*

He listened for a few seconds, but there were no alarming sounds or anything else indicating that leaving the apartment could threaten him.

He heard the door click as he closed it behind him. He was surprised by the fact that it had seemingly locked itself, but shook his head and shrugged it off as another strange thing of this world.

He made haste of climbing down the stairs and soon found himself standing on the street with the many buildings towering above him. He looked up in amazement, stunned by the height of the buildings. Even the street looked odd, a black, smooth surface making it out, and on each side of the street were two stoned paths which reminded him somewhat of the roads back in the Fire Country, albeit a bit different.

He weighed his options. He could walk right, or head left like Sasuke had. Did it matter which way he chose?

He felt more inclined to head the same way he'd seen the raven do. For some reason, his gut told him that that direction would prove more giving in his quest.

As he walked his eyes cautiously darted between the buildings, people, and random objects that he found along his way. For a world he was certain couldn't be real, everything was amazingly detailed. Every face, every corner and every building was unique and stood out from the one's around it. He wondered how such a thing was possible. If he really was caught in some jutsu, or within a dream, it was seriously impressive.

Even the things he'd never seen before, such a colourful boxes marked with symbols*, odd, huge machines with wheels standing still alongside both sides of the street*, and the weird signs pointing in different directions at every corner were so complex and seemed to have actual purposes in the world he was in that he was unable to wrap his mind around it. Most things were extremely curious to the blonde.

He'd only gotten a few streets, and was considering in which direction he was going to go, when he heard a familiar voice yell his name.

"Naruto!"

He paused and furrowed his brows in confusion before he turned in the direction of the voice. His eyes widened as he caught sight of the pink strands of hair swaying back and forth on top of the head of the woman walking briskly towards him with a scowl on her face.

The familiar green eyes flashing angrily at him had his heart jump in his chest and his mouth falling open slightly.

"S-Sakura-chan – "

He managed before the girl reached him, swatting his upper arm with a strenght he'd grown all too used to over the years in her company.

"Don't you 'Sakura-chan' me! What time do you think it is?" She huffed, glaring at him with her cheeks puffed out. Said cheeks were rosy and Naruto could spot a small sheen of sweat on her forehead, noticing her slight breathlessness indicating that she'd been walking briskly on her way there.

"Uh…" He said, stunned by his team mate's sudden appearance. He studied her face and was frightened by the perfect resemblance it held to the real deal. His eyes travelled further down and he found himself distracted by a drop of sweat travelling down her collarbone and the skin exposed by her low cut top before it disappeared down her cleavage. Even the size of her breasts was spot on. He blushed red the second after the thought had crossed his mind.

The pink-hair in front of him luckily paid no mind to where his eyes had journeyed and shoved a finger in his face.

"It's almost a quarter past two already, and we agreed you'd be at my place no later than two, at most!"

Naruto found himself at a loss for words. Everyone in this world seemed to ramble about things he was unable to follow or comprehend. The Sakura-copy crossed her arms, looking less upset than she had a few seconds ago, but her expression remained displeased.

"Didn't Sasuke remind you this morning like I asked him to? Jeez, I can't even rely on one of you nowadays. Come on." Naruto startled when she grabbed one of his wrists, tugging at him to follow her as she spun around.

"I want to be done before six today, so you better work hard once we get there."

"Wha–? S-Sakura-chan, wait!" He managed to get out as she pulled him along down the street in the direction of which she'd come, stumbling as they went.

"Nuh-uh! You're coming with me, no objections!" She called over her shoulder, and Naruto could do little else except for attempting to keep up with her while his thoughts spun in his head.

Where were they going? Why had Sakura appeared?

What was up with this world?


The second time Naruto came to, he was a lot more comfortable than last time.

Slowly peeling his eyes open, he blinked sluggishly as he grew aware of his surroundings. He was lying in a white bed – a small bed with a thin, somewhat stiff mattress, but a bed nonetheless – in a somewhat spacious, white room. The sun shone through the window beside his bed, the white curtains fluttering lightly in the breeze that drifted into the room through the frame that had been left ajar.

He instantly recognized his sterile surroundings to be a hospital.

What had happened? Had he drunk so much he'd ended up in the hospital?

Maybe he'd run into the road and been hit by a car. Embarrassingly, it had happened before. Naruto didn't have the best stories of his nights spent intoxicated.

He wriggled under the thin sheet, trying to feel if he was hurting anywhere. Except for his muscles feeling somewhat sore and his stiff back complaining slightly, he was relieved to find that he felt fine.

His mouth was a little dry, but otherwise, he felt fine.

He furrowed his brows as scenes from his dream flashed through his head. He'd had the strangest of drunken dreams he'd ever had. Frankly, it had been utterly terrifying. He'd woken up in a desolate place without Sasuke, and then, when he'd finally found his lover, Sasuke hadn't acted loving at all.

The image of his lover's twisted face and chilling glare had Naruto shiver. It had been an unpleasant dream.

And the worst part of the dream had been the graphic, brutal murder of a random guy. Naruto could still imagine the sound the guy had made when Sasuke had sliced his throat with his sword.

A very unpleasant dream.

He was glad that he'd woken up.

Sitting up in the hospital bed, Naruto cricked his neck. His shoulders were stiff, he realised, and a groan escaped his lips when he rolled them backwards in circular motions to ease his joints a little.

Just as he was about to change direction, the door to his room opened and a nurse stepped in. Naruto raised his eyebrows at her uniform, as it resembled the one's from the pornos more rather than the one's from the modern-day hospitals. It wasn't as short as the 'slutty-uniform'-version, but it was very outdated. He decided not to comment on it, though. Maybe it was a new thing.

The brunette took note of his aware condition, and seemed satisfied by his awakening. She briskly scribbled something on her clipboard before she walked over to his bed.

"Uzumaki Naruto, good to see that you're up." She said in a practised, neutral tone as she pulled back the drapes separating his bed from another, unoccupied one closer to the door.

"How are you feeling?" She asked as she bent down, motioning for him to tilt his head back. Naruto knew she didn't really care for an answer and just asked because it was polite. Since she was the nurse, she would determine if he really was feeling fine or not. He nodded his head anyway as she held her hand against his forehead, probably checking if he was feverish.

Her finger pulled lightly at one of his eyelids, her own chocolate brown eyes staring at the reaction of his pupil before letting go again, backing away from his face.

She began fiddling with the IV-drop that hung from a hook and was connected to his arm through a thin tube. Once satisfied, she pulled the small chair on wheels closer to his bed and sat down, pulling out a pulse-meter, beginning to strap in to his arm.

"Your body seem to have made a good recovery, considering the condition in which you were when you arrived here." She chatted, tightening the strap and reading the meter after she'd pumped the small ball in her hand a couple of times. Naruto offered her a sheepish grin, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"Well, I usually don't end up in the hospital for such things…" He chuckled.

She looked at him but didn't comment. She released his arm and took out her clipboard, writing down the results of his blood pressure with her pen on the paper. Then she flipped through the different sheets the clipboard held, her eyes scanning their contents while she relayed the information to the blonde.

"From your last blood test, the results returned with normal readings leading us to believe that the poison has left your body completely. It was a strong dosage of a poison from a very rare plant – it's impressive that you survived an entire night without treatment. Lucky for you, Shizune-san knew of the antidote and was able to inject you with it as soon as you were brought here." She flipped the board closed and hugged in to her chest, catching his gaze.

"Your readings give us no sign to worry, and your blood pressure and temperature seem fine. I'm going to bring my final report to the desk, and then you'll be discharged. In other words, you'll be free to go. However," She added as she rose, her black heels clicking against the plastic floor.

"We would like for you to take care of your condition. You've been relieved from duty for a couple of days, just to make sure your body can recover it's full strength. If you feel dizzy or any sort of discomfort, we'd like for you to inform us immidiatedly and we'd run some tests to make extra sure the poison really has left your system. Don't over-exercise during these days and don't push your body past its limit. It's important."

Naruto stared at the nurse as her words went over his head. What was she talking about? Poison? A rare plant? Lucky to be alive? Relieved from duty? He didn't understand.

"What…?" He whispered, feeling his voice tremble as a heavy stone of dread settled within his stomach. "What are you talking about…?"

What was she saying?

The nurse looked unimpressed by his reaction.

"It'd be best if you had someone who could look after you, just these few couple of days, to see that you really have fully recovered."

Naruto's heart was thumping forcefully inside his chest. What was she talking about? Poisoned? The nausea from his dream came to his mind and he could feel his throat constricting. It had all just been a dream, right?

… Right?

Two firm knocks sounded on the door, drawing both Naruto and the nurse's attention to it as it slid open. Naruto's heart jumped in his chest, before it sank and he had to struggle to swallow a sob.

The familiar face of his lover was expressionless and stony as he stepped over the threshold and into the room. With utter terror, Naruto realised that his dream hadn't been a dream at all.

The Sasuke in front of him, taking two steps into the room before stopping, an aloof aura surrounding him and a haughty glint in his narrowed eyes as he straightened his posture, looking slightly threatening, was not the Sasuke he knew.

"Uchiha Sasuke, pardon my intrusion." Sasuke drawled, the familiar voice tainted by an unfamiliarly bitter tone that Naruto wasn't used to hearing from his lover.

He fought the oncoming tears with every ounce of strength that he could muster, biting his bottom lip hard enough to taste iron.

This couldn't be happening. It hadn't been a dream.

He had thought that the cold, venomous Sasuke had been a figment of his horrible imagination, someone who didn't exist – someone he would've never had to face again. It appeared he'd been wrong.

He found himself staring straight into the face of the same person who had driven his sword into someone's chest only a few steps away from the blonde, and it terrified him.

The nurse didn't seem fazed by the Uchiha's intimidating demeanour and simply nodded towards him with a stiff expression.

"Uchiha-san." She said in acknowledgement of his presence. "You were assigned to the same mission as Uzumaki-kun when he was poisoned. You were also the one to escort him here, if I'm not mistaken." She stated, studying the raven with her dark eyes.

Naruto was still caught in his own mental breakdown.

No. No, no, no, this wasn't happening. Everything he had dreamt – everything had really happened. He'd woken up in a strange place, alone and feeling sick – poisoned, a voice reminded him – and then he'd found Sasuke; a Sasuke that was nothing like the raven he loved, who had taken him into a choke-hold, snarled at him, left him behind, and cut a man's throat without a single trace of hesitation in quick succession.

And then, Naruto had fainted, and now he was in a hospital. And once again, the dark, terrifying, spitting image of his lover was glaring him in the face. It took every fibre in his body not to cry. Instead his knuckles fisted the sheet of the bed so hard they turned white, his entire body trembling.

Sasuke – not Sasuke, not Sasuke, the blonde stressed in his mind – looked at the woman with a cold and expressionless gaze.

"Yes." He said simply, his tone giving away nothing to hint of his thoughts on the matter.

"I was just telling Uzumaki-kun that he will need someone to keep close watch over him the following days, just to make sure he has completely recovered." The nurse started, hinting what she wanted to get at. Naruto's eyes widened as he realised that she was suggesting the raven to be that person.

No, he did not want that. Anything but that! He did not want to be left alone with a nightmare version of his most important person – he didn't think his heart would be able to take it.

Glancing up he jumped when his gaze locked with the scrutinizing stare of the onyx orbs belonging to the Uchiha. His heart beat nervously under the intense glare and he could feel himself beginning to sweat. Then Sasuke's eyes thankfully left his and drifted back to the nurse.

Naruto almost breathed a sigh of relief. For some reason, this Sasuke didn't seem to like him. Which was fine by him. That meant he would defenitely decline the Nurse's offer and then walk out of Naruto's life, hopefully to never return again.

"I'll do it." The raven agreed passively. Naruto choked on his heart as it flew up into his throat.

What had he said?!

The nurse nodded, seemingly satisfied by the answer.

"Good. I will then leave him in your hands. He's going to be discharged right away. Please look after him." She said, bowing politely.

"I will." Sasuke said, his voice indicating no such promises. The nurse bowed once more, and then left the room.

Naruto wanted to reach out after her, scream for her to 'wait!' and 'don't leave!' but he found himself frozen to the spot, unable to speak or move before she had already closed the door behind her.

He was left alone with Sasuke. A Sasuke who seemed to dislike him very, very much.

What was going to happen now? Would this Sasuke take his sword out and kill him like he had killed that other guy? It wasn't unthinkable, and the thought frightened the blonde.

He didn't want this. He wanted to go home. He wanted Sasuke to smile at him, kiss him and laugh that beautiful laugh that he loved so much.

Instead he was sat in silence, his heart racing and his thoughts spinning as he could feel the other's gaze burning into his skull. He refused to turn his head and look at this Sasuke. He couldn't help the slight tremble of his bottom lip.

Suddenly, he felt the air shift just beside his bed, and he startled when the raven was suddenly standing very close to him, his narrowed eyes looking down his nose at the blonde who shrunk away from the intimidating glare.

"Get up. We're going."

Naruto would've had to be extremely stupid not to head to the other's hard command that left no room for argument. Not that the blonde would've even dreamt of arguing with the frightening raven after having seen what he was capable of.

Instantly he shot out of the bed, standing on his shaky legs and swallowing hard as he waited for what the raven would do to him. But the animous Sasuke simply looked at him and then turned around and started walking towards the door.

His brain taking a few seconds to follow, Naruto started when he realised he was supposed to follow the other out of the hospital. Almost tripping, he hurried to catch up to the retreating back of his lover's terrifying look-alike.

It wasn't long before Naruto found himself stumbling after Sasuke onto the street outside the hospital.

Immediately he looked around and was surprised by his surroundings. He could spot quirky buildings, with wooden roofs and simple windows, standing at different heights along the gravelled roads. Tall, wooden poles reached up between the houses, old-fashioned wires connecting them, crossing back and forth across the sky above their heads.

Naruto's mouth fell open as he looked around in amazement. Everything looked so different, so odd. Looking over his shoulder his jaw dropped further as he spotted the giant cliff towering above the village, big, stone monuments resembling faces protruding from the cliff-side, their empty, stony eyes looking down over the buildings.*

As he stared his mind reeled.

Where the hell was he? What was this place?

It looked nothing like any city he knew of, and Naruto couldn't shake the feeling of being far, far away from home that had settled deep within his heart.

Turning back around he realised the raven had gotten a far way ahead of him down the street to their right and he hurried to catch up to the other male.

He felt lost and out of place among the people out and about on the sunny day. Families and friends moved through the village, shopping or simply making their way somewhere. The blonde's eyes darted between the many traditional stands and small shops along the roadside, his confusion growing with every step.

What was this strange place he'd found himself in? Everything looked very old-fashioned. Even the clothes that the other pedestrians around him wore were out-dated and looked nothing like the different fashions he was used to seeing.

He tried to focus on what was in front of him, namely the raven.

The other was walking at a fast pace, seemingly uncaring for the disoriented blonde behind him that had to jog to keep up.

Naruto didn't understand.

He'd woken up at the floor of a cavern in the middle of nowhere, suffering and in pain, and not knowing where Sasuke was. Then he'd stumbled through the woods and been attacked, only to be saved by a stranger wearing his significant other's face.

Because the Sasuke walking in front of him couldn't be his Sasuke.

His eyes were cold and unforgiving, sending chills through the blonde's blood every time they glared at him. His posture was rigid, the air surroudning him sharp and hostile, and his face was either set in an intimidating scowl or completely expressionless, the blank, unreadable look unsettling to the blonde. He was nothing like the Sasuke Naruto knew.

Even so, Naruto's eyes desperately clung to the other's back as he followed him. Even though the raven in front of him was nothing like the man he loved, he looked exactly like him, the resemblance so accurate that it scared the blonde.

And no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't ignore the tug at his heart that made him want to wrap his arms around the man ahead of him and pull him close, burry his face in the other's neck and find comfort in his lover's unique smell.

But he held back, reminding himself that he couldn't do that, because this wasn't his Sasuke. The knowledge wounded him.

He wanted nothing more than to wake up and realise it was all a dream and find Sasuke still sleeping beside him in their shared bed. But he wouldn't, would he?

Even though the world around him was strange and extremely confusing, the sun burning into his neck and the small breeze ruffling his hair felt too real to be a dream or part of his imagination. Even the people, the noises, the smells, everything was alive and so colourful around him that it stunned him.

No, this wasn't a dream – it couldn't be. But then… what exactly was it? It wasn't a dream, but it wasn't reality either – not his reality, anyway. So where was he?

In an unknown world, at an unknown place, with nothing but a well-known face to anchor him in some way, but even the person beneath that was actually a complete stranger, he'd found himself.

Just thinking of his situation, not to mention attempting to understand it, made Naruto's head spin.

He felt dizzy for a second and his thoughts drifted to what the nurse had told him; that he had been severely poisoned and that even though they no longer saw any trace of the poison in his blood, he had to take care in case there was any left. His heart jumped at the possibility that he might experience what he had the first time he'd woken up again, although, he doubted that he poison was the reason for his headache this time around.

The pair walked in silence and with each step, Naruto grew more and more anxious. The raven made no motion to tell him anything; where they were going, what was going on, or why he'd agreed to take the blonde anywhere to begin with.

Naruto couldn't know for sure since he'd only spent about seven minutes with this Sasuke thus far, but he had a strong inkling that the other disliked him. He didn't understand why though.

The other male was quiet as they walked, leading them left, down one street, and then right, down another without as much as a single glance over his shoulder towards the blonde.

Naruto was uncertain about what to do. The cold, unapproachable air around the other scared him. He wanted to ask a million questions that were flying through his mind, but they were so many and most of them made his head throb slightly. But he couldn't follow the other blindly in silence, as it made him uneasy.

He wanted to say something – but what? He had some simpler questions, and he opted to go for one of those.

As they navigated between the buildings down some smaller roads, the blonde gathered courage and opened his mouth to break the suffocating silence.

"W – Where are we going?" His voice trembled as much as his legs and he cursed his nervously fluttering heart.

Finally, Sasuke looked over his shoulder and their gazes met briefly, building Naruto's hopes up of receiving some sort of explanation or answer to his question. However, his heart quickly sank when the other simply turned around once more and kept walking in silence.

He didn't understand at all. Why was Sasuke acting so cold? Why was he being so mean to him and ignoring him?

It hurt.

With his heart beating loudly in his ears Naruto bit down on his bottom lip to refrain from saying anything else and fought to keep his emotions in check as he continued to follow the other.

After what felt like an eternity in strained silence, the raven came to a halt beside a building where he begun to climb a narrow staircase going up along it's side. Naruto's eyes swept over the simple, unfamiliar built before he hesitantly followed the Uchiha.

As he reached the top he spotted the other male standing in front of a green, worn door and Naruto wondered where they were. What was this place? Did the raven live there? Were they meeting someone?

As he wondered about many things, Sasuke turned the handle, pulled the door open and went inside the – what Naruto assumed to be an – apartment.

Cautiously, and with more hesitance, the blonde peeked into the apartment before carefully stepping over the threshold. His eyes instantly scanned the narrow hall where he found himself.

It was a traditional Japanese entrance with a small step that merged with the floor made out of wooden planks that reached all the way to what appeared to be a living room further into the apartment. A few hooks hung on the wall to his left, and on one hung a black and orange jacket of sorts. On the wall to his right, just above the step, hung a small mirror – which was probably used by the person living there to check their appearance one final time before they headed out the door.

A few steps into the hall was a door leading right, and Naruto guessed that it lead to the bathroom.

Ahead of him, the hall opened up into a bigger room. Naruto could spot the foot of a bed just below a double-framed window on the opposite wall from the entrance, but not much else.

He was snapped out of his gazing when the sound of the door shutting behind him reached his ears. Before he was able to react, an arm drove into his chest and he was slammed against the hard surface of the door behind him. The air left Naruto's lungs from the force and he wheezed.

Looking up, he met the seething glare of two narrowed, onyx eyes, and the blonde's blood froze in fright.

Sasuke held him firmly pressed against the door with one arm while the other pointed a very sharp-looking, very deadly knife-like weapon towards his throat. An alarm went off in Naruto's head and he could feel the panic rise. The raven's entire stance oozed with murderous intent as his glare clawed into the blonde's very soul.

When Sasuke moved his lips it took Naruto a long while before he was able to comprehend the words he had spoke with such a sharp, harsh tone.

His thoughts tumbled around in his head, unable to remain calm and keep his mind clear.

"H-huh?" He managed to squeak. Sasuke's eyes narrowed further and he added more pressure against Naruto's chest, bringing the point of the knife-like blade closer to the blonde's neck (much to Naruto's horror).

"I said," The raven hissed darkly, his voice sending shivers down Naruto's spine, his eyes holding promises of death as they stared deep into the blonde's as he recited his previous words in a slow manner.

"Who are you and where is Naruto?"

Naruto forgot how to breathe for a second and then his eyes widened in confusion.

What?


* The construction between the stairs is supposed to be an elevator. I'm assuming they don't have those in Konohagakure.
* The strange colourful boxes are post boxes. Or magazine distributers. Very modern stuff. (lol)
* Cars. (Actually Naruto should be seeing tons of them driving around, but I'm too lazy to add yet another confusing impression for him to experience.)

* The Hokage cliff.

Guest: I'm glad you're enjoying it! It's just as you're saying; if Ninja Naruto and Sasuke were to fall in love with the Modern Naruto and Sasuke, it would be counter-productive since I plan to have the two Naruto switch back to their original worlds eventually (somehow), and so, the simple answer is: No. They won't. Don't worry! I have a plan for how the story and our four characters will proceed, and I will warn that at some point during the story, it will probably seem as if they do. It will all be for a greater purpose though (if not only for the two Shinobi to realise their own feelings towards each other), but we'll cross that bridge when (and if) we get there! I hope this answer is good enough. I really liked your review, thank you for posting it and please keep reading :) xoxo!

Babya: Thank you! I don't think I can tell you how happy it makes me to receive a review like this :) Short, but sweet! And I will try to keep updating! As long as I get enough of a positive response, I will!

DarkIceAngelFlare: First of all, nice username! So badass! *cough* back to your review. I'm glad you like it! And I understand exactly what you mean; it was because of that I myself started to write this. Canon is canon and an AU is an AU, but writing something where the two worlds get to meet in some way is both exciting and fascinating. It's a very interesting idea, don't you think? I would love to continue it! Ah, thank you! Personally I find my own writing to still have a lot of room for improvement (it's still pretty basic and casual language), but it makes me happy to hear that you like it! :) Yes, we'll get to that eventually. (I can't believe I actually had to google UST to see what it meant... XD I've never encountered it before!) And to answer your question... It's probably both a yes, and a no. To put it simply, yes...(?) But the actual reason is probably something far more complicated (something I'm not even sure I'll get to fully explain in the story.) I'd call it a grudge, maybe? Ninja Sasuke isn't someone able to express himself and his feelings properly from the beginning (since he's a man of few words) but eventually I plan for him to loosen up, if only a little, around the Modern Naruto, and then we'll see how things go with Ninja Naruto after that! Thanks, and don't thank me! Thank you! I'd love to continue hearing your thoughts - about this chapter as well, so please keep reading :) Xoxo!

Akane-Rihime: Oh, thank you! For both reviews, of course :) Aw, chucks! Stop it you! Seriously, I should be thanking you for reviewing and showing me support! It's what inspires me to keep writing after all! I'm happy to hear that! I was worried the summary would be too plain or too in-descriptive, but I'm glad to hear that it's interesting enough :) Well, your review helped me get inspired to finally upload this chapter! Oh, yeah! I saw it! Seriously, thank you for reblogging on tumblr! :D I hope you will enjoy this chapter as well! Hugs and kisses!


A/N: Finally, thank you all for the amazing reviews! I've responded to a few in Private Messaging, but I think I will proceed in answering reviews in this manner instead - that way, we can all take part of this journey together! I really enjoy writing this fic, and hopefully I will be able to see it through to the end with all of you guys :) Keep sending me reviews, no matter how short or "unimportant" they might feel; A simple smiley is good enough to keep me writing!

I really enjoy writing about Ninja Naruto in the Modern world so far. For him to meet with and experience a different and softer Sasuke is very fun and interesting to write. I think that he secretly would have loved for his relationship with Ninja Sasuke to be as easy going as the Modern Sasuke make their relationship in the Modern world seem to be.

As for Modern Naruto - these parts are a lot more difficult to write. He's in a lot more emotional pain compared to Ninja Naruto (who is mostly just confused) because he is faced by a very mean and hard version of his lover, which takes a lot more time to write in consideration of his wounded feelings. He's used to an affectionate Sasuke, but instead he's treated coldly, and thus he suffers more through all of this.

Just like before: If you want to see more, please, please review! Even though I personally like this story, there's no use to writing it if I don't know that other's are enjoying it as well. As i mentioned above, if you're a person of few words, just simply post an exclemation point or a smiley face - I don't mind either! :) Just seeing the response is nice.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! And hopefully, I'll get enough reviews, and will be able to post another one! If you'd like, you can check me out on tumblr as well: littleshimmerofhope (I go by the same name as here) Take care! Xoxo!