A/N: Hello, hello! Thank you for the wonderful reviews, I am glad to hear everybody is enjoying the fic so far. Special shout out to angelhitomie for the incredibly detailed critiques - you may see a little somethin somethin in here for you.

Warnings: Clean chapter. If you squint and turn your head you may see a microscopic hint of boyxboy... but really, does that even count?

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever owned Naruto.

Lunchtime Wednesday and Sasuke had finally managed to lift the angsty cloud that had been hovering over him since Monday. His thoughts had weighed on him heavily and he was becoming so tired of this constant internal conflict. Perhaps a little self discovery was what Sasuke needed; a chance to look at his relationship with Naruto through a "new lens" as the grad student had put it. He felt better once he had decided to go through with the experiment.

Naruto sat across from the raven-haired boy, a thin facade of nonchalance covering his excited eyes. Anxiety was seeping out from under the mask as he stared at Sasuke, who only stared back with unreadable onyx orbs.

"I've been thinking about the extra credit project," Sasuke stated with a bored tone.

Naruto's eyes widened, a grin threatening to split his face in two, "yeah...and?"

Sasuke shrugged, "nothing, I've just been thinking about it."

The blond growled, "Teme! Do you want to do it or not!"

The pale boy snickered, oh I want to do it. Sasuke shook his head noncommittally, "maybe."

Watching Naruto squirm brought a sick pleasure to Sasuke – in fact, the only pleasure he'd received in the last two days had been the result of teasing the blond. He knew Naruto wouldn't do the extra credit without him. Sasuke wasn't sure why Naruto insisted they do these things together, but it he wouldn't deny it made him happy.

This same sort of thing had happened during Art Appreciation – an extra credit opportunity that required students to go to an exhibit and write a minimum three page report. Naruto had begged Sasuke, literally fell to his knees and begged the raven-haired boy. The Modern Art Museum had an exhibit titled "Skin" – it was everything Naruto had hoped that class would be.

The day before the exhibit was scheduled to close Sasuke finally agreed to go. It really had been an amazing show – pieces from movements as far back as the renaissance (sure some of them were reproductions) and all around the world. The concept was well executed, or so Sasuke had written in his essay. It had been hard to get Naruto to appreciate the art beyond the nakedness, but after some time Sasuke convinced the blond the beauty wasn't in the body – it was in the brush strokes and use of light. It was in the parts you didn't see just as much as in those you did. Watching Naruto transition from a gawking pervert to a contemplative observer was worth every frustrating minute.

So here they sat – new class, same game. Sasuke waited a few more tics before getting up to throw out his trash. When he turned back to the table he was shocked to find Naruto standing right in front of him. The blond was never very stealthy, how he had managed to sneak up on Sasuke was almost a surprising as his proximity. With as much control as he could muster, the raven-haired boy brought his hand to Naruto's chest and pushed him back. His fingertips screamed to hold on, they itched to linger – but Sasuke pulled them back. He slipped out his tongue to quickly swipe across his lips before smirking at the anxious blond.

"Come on," Sasuke instructed as he moved to pick up his bag.

They made their way across the campus, a light breeze rustled the leaves on the branches that hung over the walkway. Sasuke inhaled deeply, the scent of cut grass mingled with a familiar musk. He spared a glance over to Naruto, the boy had such a unique scent – it was fresh and deep, it reminded Sasuke of moss. Kind of a strange thing, but it was the only way he could describe it; cool and dense – not quite rain, it was more earthy. He cleared his throat, partly to pull himself out his thoughts but also to garner the blond's attention.

Once Naruto had turned his gaze to the pale boy, Sasuke spoke, "you got your waiver?" the blond nodded excitedly, "fine then."

With those indifferent words Sasuke turned and headed toward the three story building that housed their Altered States class. He held the door open and followed Naruto up the stairs to room 304.

The grad student sat alone, hunched over a stack of papers. This time it was Sasuke who knocked on the door, he waited for acknowledgment before entering.

"You two again?" the brunet sat up in his chair.

"Naruto Uzumaki," the blond announced before clapping his hands on his companions shoulder, "Sasuke Uchiha."

The grad student stood and moved to the boys with a smile, "Iruka Umino," he offered a firm handshake to each student and gestured for them to take a seat on the couch that lined the wall, "so you think you are up for this?"

Their responses spoke volumes about each boy. Naruto nodded, eyes lit with excitement, whereas Sasuke looked unimpressed if not a little irritated. This was good for Iruka, to have two individuals with a huge gap in interest participate in the same activities. If somebody as distant and shut out as Sasuke could achieve the same level of awareness as Naruto who was so obviously open, it would make for a very interesting case study.

Iruka smiled again, "have you thought about which methods you would like to use?"

Sasuke looked down at his packet, "I haven't really-"

"I definitely want to do hypnotism and the sweat lodge!" Naruto nearly shouted, barely able to contain his enthusiasm.

Iruka nodded in response, "both good choices, but for the sweat lodge you will have to get in contact with somebody on a reservation."

Naruto waved his hand dismissively, "not a problem."

Iruka turned to Sasuke as he spoke, "well, if you have no preferences, I would suggest..." he paused in consideration, "sleep deprivation or fasting."

"Fuck fasting," Naruto scoffed.

Sasuke knocked his knee against the blond's and gave a disapproving glare, Naruto offered an apologetic smile. Shaking his head Sasuke turned to Iruka, "sleep deprivation it is."

"Excellent," Iruka clapped his hands and stood up, "fill out the back page and I will go grab your supplies."

Sasuke flipped to the last page that detailed the experiment's agreement. It was just as Iruka had described it on Monday – three experiments to be done no less than 1 month apart with the final reports due back no later than December 15th. The two boys initialed the boxes where they agreed to complete journals throughout the length of the experiment and where they would return for an evaluation after each method. Finally they signed at the bottom of the contract which stated in plain language that the university could not be held liable for any damages or health issues as a result of the experiment and that their extra credit would be judged based on the value of their reports with no guarantee that completion of the experiment would garner the increased grade. It all seemed like more trouble than it was worth to Sasuke, but he couldn't turn back now.

Iruka returned and handed each boy a small hand held camera and composition notebook, "I encourage you to take this seriously if you want your grade. Oh and you will need this as well," he handed them each a folder, "instructions for the specific methods you have chosen."

They returned to the student union, Naruto was done with his classes for the day and Sasuke still had 20 minutes before Statistics. The blond eagerly thumbed through the instructions for the experiments. He furrowed his brow and looked up to Sasuke, who leisurely raised an eyebrow in response.

"It says only one of us gets to be hypnotized, the other one asks the questions," Naruto stated with a curious tone.

"So? Which do you want to do?" the raven-haired boy replied with indifference.

The blond looked pensive, "I think I wanna be hypnotized."

Sasuke shrugged, "fine by me."

Truthfully he was relieved, the idea of Naruto fumbling around in his brain was disturbing. God only knows what he would break in there, not to mention what he might dig up. Sasuke gave a little grunt as he read further.

"What?" the blond queried.

"It says you are 'discouraged' from using post-hypnotic suggestions... but it doesn't say that you can't," Sasuke looked to Naruto with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Post-hypnotic what now?" Naruto looked thoroughly confused.

Sasuke snorted, "dobe, only you to agree to something with no idea what could happen," the blond huffed, "a post-hypnotic suggestion is like planting a seed in somebodies mind. You can make them do something without their knowledge. For example I could make you... bark like a dog every time you hear a bell ring."

Naruto scoffed, "the fuck you can," Sasuke shrugged, a devilish smirk began to tug at the corner of his mouth, "fuck you teme! No way you are gonna make me act like an idiot."

"Don't worry Naruto," he paused and his smirk grew wider, "you can do that all on your own."

The air around Sasuke was much lighter than it had been during their last meeting and Sakura was relieved when he looked up at her with little aggravation.

"You are in a better mood today," she observed as she took a seat in front of him, she turned in her chair to face him, "what brought this about?"

Sasuke pursed his lips and shrugged. The pink-haired girl did not waver, she kept her eyes trained on him until he finally spoke, "I think I have a rare opportunity coming up."

She cocked her head to the side, "what's that?"

"This stupid extra credit assignment Naruto has us doing..." he paused and his voice took on a devious tone, "I think I am going to learn a lot about the dobe."

Sakura squinted, trying to read Sasuke's expressionless eyes, "I thought the idea was that you were supposed to learn things about yourself. You know, open your mind and all that jazz," he looked at her with surprise, "what? I'm friends with Naruto too. He has been going on about it for the last 48 hours."

"Yeah, well," he smirked, "I am less concerned about opening my mind and more interested in opening his."

The pink-haired girl sighed and scanned the ceiling before returning her emerald eyes to Sasuke's, "I shouldn't be surprised, but frankly Sasuke," she paused until she was sure she had his attention, "I really think you should take advantage of this chance to do a little soul searching. At least, I am pretty sure you have a soul..." she poked him in the chest, "somewhere deep, deep down there."

She laughed and he shot her an icy glare. Sakura feigned an apology and turned around to face the front of the class. Throughout the lecture she could here the light rapping of pencil on paper and she smiled to herself – she had at least got him thinking about it.

"Professor!" Naruto took the steps to the bottom of the auditorium two at a time, "have you got a second?"

The silver-haired man stopped packing up to acknowledge his student, "Naruto," he turned his attention back to his bag, "Iruka told me you and Sasuke are doing the extra credit project."

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," the blond positioned himself in front of his teacher, "We are going to try hypnotism tomorrow and I wanted to know if you had any tips on...like, knocking a person out or whatever."

Kakashi chuckled and snapped his satchel closed, "Inducing hypnosis is not as easy as it seems in the movies. The person going under needs to be able to stay focused and the person initiating the state must be soothing. Trust is often very important in creating a strong hypnotic state. Which one of you will be going under?"

"I will," the blond stated proudly.

The silver-haired man hummed as if considering the idea, "you will want to create a tranquil environment, something relaxing that will put your mind at ease. To help induce the state many people use an object like a pendant or candle – it gives the participant something to focus on, then you just count them out. It is important to take your time, don't rush it. And you'll want to be counted awake too, it will make the transition more therapeutic – instead of just snapping back."

Naruto nodded, "okay...yeah, I think we can do that. Thanks."

The blond turned to leave the class, once again taking the stairs two at a time. About half way up he heard Kakashi's voice, "Oh and Naruto," the student turned to face his professor, who wore a disconcerting half smile, "good luck."

Naruto threw his shopping bag into his closet and sighed as he fell unceremoniously onto his bed. He stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes, running through a mental check list. The blond had just returned from the store with what he hoped would be all the necessary provisions for the upcoming experiment, he was pretty sure he had everything they would need. Now it was just a matter of location. He called out to his dorm mate who was laying silently on his own bed across the room.

Naruto looked over to see Kiba laying with his eyes closed, hands under his pillow, headphones secured to his slightly bobbing head. Typical. Kiba practically lived with headphones on. They had been roommates freshman year and got along well enough they decided to room together again this year; and it seemed the guy could not stand to be alone with his thoughts, he always had to have music playing. He often walked around with one ear bud in, Naruto had likened it to having a real life soundtrack playing all the time.

The blond fished an empty water bottle up from the floor and chucked it at the brunet. The bottle hit him square in the chest; startled, Kiba threw his arms out and succeeded in smacking the bottle into his face. Naruto barked a laugh and moved to sit at the edge of his bed.

"What the hell?" Kiba exclaimed as he tore off his headset.

Naruto could hear a steady percussion before Kiba turned his stereo off, "its your own fault for listening to that shit so loud. Anyway, I wanted to know if you could make yourself scarce tomorrow night."

Kiba tweaked an eyebrow up, "you got a hot date?"

"Sasuke is gonna be coming over," Naruto replied with masked hostility.

The brunet shifted his gaze for a moment, then smirked, "so... you got a hot date?"

Naruto could feel his cheeks warm, if only a slightly, and he narrowed his eyes, "it's for our extra credit project."

"Ahh, right," Kiba gave an exaggerated nod, "you two need some alone time to experiment."

Naruto got to his feet, "fuck off Kiba."

There was no venom in his tone, and Kiba knew he could still get in a few jabs before the blond truly got pissed, "hey isn't that what college is for anyway?" He was still smiling when a fist made firm contact with his arm, "are you two gonna switch it up, or his he gonna do you all ni–ow! OW...okay...God damn."

Naruto landed a hook in Kiba's torso and pinned him halfway on his bed; straddling his chest while his legs dangled off the side. The blond ceased his assault and sat up in victory, resting his ass on Kiba's lower abdomen. They often fought like this, it was as if there was something pent up that could only be relieved by beating the shit out of each other. Kiba often provoked and Naruto always responded with the same half-pulled punches.

Despite the compromising position the brunet couldn't help making one last observation, "you have to admit... you are kinda queer for him."

Kiba closed his eyes and braced himself for a punch to the face, but it never came. He felt the weight lift off of him as Naruto returned his feet to the floor and took a few steps back. Kiba cracked an eye open and lifted his torso up from the mattress, he brought his focus to Naruto's face. There was something strange in his cobalt eyes, it was deep and contemplative – but not new, this thought was resurfacing.

"Naruto?"

And in a blink it was gone, replaced with a teasing expression. The blond grinned at his roommate and slammed his fist into Kiba's shoulder. The brunet absorbed the punch, allowing his shoulder to be thrown back.

Kiba squinted slightly and after a moment decided to drop it. He punched the blond back and nodded toward the door, "dinner?"

Naruto nodded and grabbed his keys and wallet as he was ushered out. Kiba locked up behind him and the two walked down the hall in a silence that bordered on awkward. A ruckus on the second floor lightened the mood and by the time they were outside, the two boys were talking and laughing like nothing had happened. Maybe nothing had, maybe Kiba was reading too much into Naruto's expression. But the image of those eyes persisted, like a little thorn in Kiba's mind.

A/N: So that was the last of the plot establishing chapters. Next up, we start to get into the meat of this fic. Oh and regarding the chapter title (in case you were wondering), it was originally going to be "Preparations" but it sort of evolved. The H is for hypnotism... get it. XP