A/N: I own neither Naruto nor X-men. Reviews much appreciated.

Chapter Three

2: 14 PM. The Mansion, New York, January 22

Rogue departed with Bobby at her side after brief conversation with Logan, most of which contained his introduction to the Iceman. Calling out promise of seeing him later, she let the young man lead her away by the gloved hand. He exhaled, hands buried in the pockets of his jacket. The familiar smells of rain and cinnamon apple drifted towards his nose. He looked up to the sight of Storm reappearing, walking down the stairs that snaked around the corner just ahead of him.

"Looks like we got you at a good time, Logan," she said. Jean followed her a few steps behind, hand running lightly over the wooden surface of the railing that paralleled the stairs. "We need a babysitter." He quirked an eyebrow, a movement he found he'd been doing increasingly much ever since his last match at Grinn & Barrett.

"Babysitter?" Storm gave a smile and a nod of her head before walking past him, Jean followed his, tossing him a glance and a

"See you, Logan." He stood there a moment before lighting up another cigar and taking a drag.

1:12 PM. Apartment room 21, New York, January 27

Naruto was watching TV, sitting inches from the screen, completely fixated with the colorful cartoon figured running around the scene. His mouth was slightly agape and eyes wide. Sasuke was at the what they'd dubbed the hallway table, as it wasn't really in any sort of dining room or kitchen. His glasses sat on the bridge of his nose, him peering through them to see the TV on the other side of the room, a good portion of the screen obscured by Naruto's head and wild, blonde hair. Sakura soon entered the room. Her expression was worried.

"You guys..." both turned to see her, detecting the uneasiness in her voice.

"What is it, Sakura-chan...?" The pinkette stood there silently for a moment before saying,

"You know how I told you guys that every mutant leaves a sort of residue in the mind of powerful psychics, through which they can be traced?"

"Wait, what?" asked Naruto, glancing between them as he walked up, obviously confused. Sasuke exhaled loudly, clearly agitated.

"Shut the fuck up, you dobe." Naruto frown, automatically becoming defensive.

"Well so-rry, Mr.-"

"You guys!" interrupted Sakura, giving them a pointed look. They both fell silent again.

"It's only a theory, Naruto, that with the right telekinesis technology, people of certain groups could be tracked and I.D.'d by their life force. Though I've reason to believe that something similar is being used to find us after Washington. I didn't want to take any chances and deceived such means by sending out signals of my energy in Osaka. A contact of mine there told me of her suspicions." Naruto slowly nodded, it was a lot to take in. Sakura was always talking about a web of energy that ran through every living thing, and how it was different between humans and mutants. Her ability as a mutant was the ability to manipulate her energy to her will.

"So..." spoke Sasuke after a moment. "What's the problem?"

"What do you think? You know what'll happen if we're caught." She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again. "They'll probably give up, and I doubt whoever is looking for us is powerful enough to really differentiate between energy signatures, so we'll probably be okay. I'm just paranoid." She exhaled from the corner of her mouth before saying, "I'm gonna take a bath, put some cucumber slices on my eyes, and go to sleep." With that she turned and left the room.

"Uhh, I think we're all out of cucumbers!" called Naruto after her, Sasuke elbowing him sharply in the side.

11:45 PM. Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, New York, January 29

The kitchen was empty, the students curfew having long come and gone. Logan sat in front of the table, leaning back on chair, only the back two legs supporting him. He'd been watching the ceiling without interest for a while now, a toothpick between his teeth, twitching and moving every so often, occasionally switching to the opposite side of his mouth. His arms were folded across his chest, brow furrowed into a slight frown. He turned his head slightly as a sound came within range of his sensitive hearing in the appropriate direction, chair evening out on all four legs again before he pushed it back, standing. It smelled like...he sniffed once more. Scott was walking past the kitchen, looking in and spotting Logan. He said nothing, simply turning his head and continuing on his way. It wasn't long before he heard that the Cyclops had gotten his motorcycle from the "garage" of the mansion and had rode off. Apparently the mission didn't go to well. Not that he cared, mind you.

Jean entered the kitchen next, having already changed out the the leather suit worn on missions.

"Hey," she greeted, leaning against the door frame. He returned the greeting with a nod.

"How'd it go?" She shook her head.

"Mm, not too well. We couldn't find the mutants that were supposedly in Osaka, the Professor thinks one of them must have some sort of ability that allows them to create mirror images on Cerebro."

"Maybe he'd getting old." Jean rolled her eyes, looking away with a slight shake of her head.

2:14 PM. Apartment room 21, New York, January 31

Sakura had left for her work hours before, she was a waitress at a diner, and left the two unemployed males to themselves. At first Naruto had the intention of eating what was left of the ramen and then going back to sleep again. But unfortunately he'd already eaten the last of such a food. Without a happy stomach, he wasn't able to fall asleep. So now he was perched on the arm rest of the couch, watching Sasuke read. This went on for many minutes, silent save the distant sounds of the street below their open window.

"...I'm bored," announced Naruto.

"So you've said," the Uchiha replied, not glancing up from his reading material.

"...Do you wanna get something to eat?"

"No."

"Wanna watch a movie?"

"No." The blonde frowned.

"But you're not doing anything!" he yelled, launching an accusing index finger in a wild jab in the direction of other.

"I'm reading."

"Well, that's stupid!" Sasuke exhaled, charcoal eyes flickering up to the other.

"I'll make you a deal then, dobe," he said, closing his book and tossing it by his feet.

"Name it, bastard!" Sasuke turned his head slightly, speaking again.

"I'll humor you. We'll fight. If you win, we'll do something. If I win, you leave and don't return until Sakura does." A grin spread across scarred face of Naruto who promptly shouted "Deal!" before hurling himself forwards from his perch, flying at the other male. The two tumbled off the couch, Naruto landing heavily on the stomach of the other, sitting on him. Sasuke planted his foot on the ground and pushed off, rolling over the other, pulling the smaller blonde under him. His hands snatched Naruto's, pinning them above his head.

"Ichi, Ni, San!" he said in rapid succession before pushing himself off the other, a smirk in place. He straightened out his clothing before regaining his seat on the couch and reopening his book, returning to his activity as if nothing had happened. Naruto lay there for a second, panting. It hadn't taken long, but he was already exhausted. After a moment these feelings dissolved and he was once again the cesspool of energy that made him Naruto. Leaping to his feet, he pulled his hand to his chest, fisted.

"Fine! You've won this round-"

"Shut the door on your way out." Naruto's lips stumbled a moment in confusion as he was cut off before he turned on his heel and stalked out of the room, fists balled at his sides. It wasn't long before he found his way out of the apartment building, wandering through the crowded streets.

1:30 AM. Alphabet City, New York, February 01

Scott was speeding down the night streets of Alphabet City, his bike roaring into the quiet air. Suddenly a rather large truck pulled up out of the darkness. In his deep state of mind, he didn't realize it until such a vehicle was practically on top of him. He threw himself from the bike, sliding across the concrete of the street, cement biting into his jacket sleeve and the flesh beneath, tearing the skin of nearly his entire left arm. A loud metallic crash like the crushing of a tin can erupted in sync with the screech of tires, his bike left mangled in the wake of the truck that continued to drive on.

"God damn it!"

Naruto was walking the sidewalk, staying on the far side, of the street, away from the flickering circles of light cast by the posts that lined it. Shouting could be heard somewhere near by as well as the sounds of the TV in the nearby apartments. A baby was crying, and tires were screeching on the road. That Sasuke was such a bastard! Leaving him alone, at night, on the streets of Alphabet City. What was he thinking? The blonde hugged his body against the cold night air as he continued to walk, uneasiness welling in his stomach. Alphabet City was scary at night, that's when people he didn't care to run into came out. The cold air stung at the insides of his throat, dry eyes darting around him. He couldn't get back into the apartment until Sakura got back, which would still be a while as she was working overtime and getting a ride home from one of the chefs. Fucked up as he was, Sasuke would probably let him in if he asked, but Naruto couldn't bring himself to. A deal was a deal, after all.

He walked alone for several more minutes until footsteps, many footsteps, thudded behind him. He hurried his steps, hearing those behind him do the same. Pretty soon he was all out running, looking around wildly for somewhere to go. A hand reached out, grabbing a handful of his jacket and yanking him back. He was suddenly thrust against a nearby building side. He was surrounded by four men, all in similar attires of caps, jackets, and ripped jeans. The nearest street-light had been shot out, so it was hard to make out their faces.

"Dude, I think this is a guy, man," said one. Hope sparked in Naruto's mind, maybe they wouldn't be interested in him, being male. Though it was an easy mistake to make. Naruto had a small, feminine frame and face that was rather pretty for a boy, his lips were round and pink, eyes widely set and a bright shade of blue.

"Whatever, man, I'll do anything ta' get myself a fix," said another. There was laughter from all of them. Naruto's eyes widened. That meant...

"Oh, hell no!" he shouted, trying to run but being held back. He struggled against them until one landed a punch hard across his face, knocking him to the ground, hitting the wall. One of the men yanked him up by the front of his shirt, throwing him back against it. Naruto could feel blood beginning to trickle down from his lip, where he was punched, but forced the pain and dizziness away. One of the men crushed his body against Naruto's, who reacted by kneeing him in the crotch. Hard. The man stumbled backwards, weak at the knees and clutching himself. Naruto was promptly grabbed by the hair and thrown to the ground, the click of a switchblade sounding in the air. His eyes widened, blood turning to ice in his veins.

Suddenly one of the men was grabbed and yanked around, being punched hard across the face. The other three, one of which was still recovering from Naruto's low shot, automatically launched at him. The newcomer ducked a swing of the second, punching him hard in the gut, sending him stumbling back into the two others. The third took a dive, being flipped head-first over the back of the other. The fourth was promptly thrown on top of the third. In mere moments, they were back up, yelling obscenities. He gave the first to attack punch to the gut, lifting his body up slightly as he did so, double-tapping in a second punch, the sound of ribs cracking painfully audible. Another tried to run at him from behind. He turned on his heel, hand shooting up to his temple, fingertips pressing the side of his glasses. A thin, red beam of light shot out, hitting the thug in the chest and sending him backwards, sprawled out on the cement. The three managing to stay conscious made haste from the scene upon seeing this. Naruto stood up, having been staring at the actions from the sidewalk the entire time. The man, now stepping near, spoke.

"You alright?" He had dark brown hair that was brushed across his forehead and wore a pair of red tinted sunglasses. His build was strong, but slim, definitely not bulky despite the incredible strength he just displayed. Naruto nodded, hardly able to speak for surprise. His eyes widened as the remaining thug approached the newcomer from behind, having recovered enough to stand, and apparently wield a switchblade.

"Look out!"

2:10 AM. Apartment room 21, New York, February 01

Naruto had managed to drag the unconscious body of Scott Summers back to their apartment without running into any more trouble, and called up to Sasuke for help in getting him up the two flights of stairs. The man now lay on the couch, having yet to regain consciousness. Naruto was fidgeting nervously, staring at his now still savior. Sasuke was now sitting at the table, reading the newspaper.

"You're always freaking reading!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed. Sasuke simply shrugged. After a moment, the blonde spoke again, this time softer.

"Do you...do you think he'll be okay?"

"No, I think you killed him." A silence ensued, making him glance up at the other who was biting his lip, staring at the stranger. He rolled his eyes. "Relax, dobe, I'm sure he'll be fine." Naruto visibly relaxed at the sound of this reassurance, however meanly stated it was. A short time later Sakura entered, having been dropped off at the apartment. She blinked at the sight of the sleeping man crashing on their couch and, mistaking him for a bum, briefly wondered if she'd have to get one of the boys to remove him. But at the sight of Naruto looking more worried than she'd seen him in a long time, she realized it must have been a lot more serious.

Aw, crap.