Hi and thank you again for taking the time to read this. As I've already said this is a slow build up. All my Naruto stories will be GaaraxNaruto, because I think there the better couple and there's far too much NarutoxSasuke for my liking. Again with the warnings boyxboy (Semi Naruto uke Gaara), bad language (Not just my spelling and grammar), violence, gore, adult themes (Yes sex and stuff) and probably a character death or two. Please excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes, if anyone would like to beta my stories let me know. Please review otherwise I think no one's interested. Thanks again hope you enjoy.

Chapter 3. Awakening.

Naruto grinned at his grandfather. "Thanks. I can't explain why but I feel drawn to it."

The blond slipped the small silver band on his little finger. Naruto's blue eyes travelled over the surface of the ring before he snapped himself out of his daze. Standing up and clapping his hands together with a new burst of energy. Naruto turned back to the large pile of unopened boxes.

"Let's get this done."

Sakura twisted and turned the ring in her hand over again. "It's nice. I love the colour of these stones. I wonder if there real?"

The blond at her side shrugged. "No idea but it weighs a ton."

Sakura frowned. "It hardly weighs anything."

The blond gave her a sceptical look. "Are you kidding me? It feels like I've got an anaconda wrapped around my finger."

Okay so Naruto may have been exaggerating but the ring was really heavy for its size and while he was wearing it the blond was constantly aware of its presents. He wanted to touch it, constantly run his fingers over the warm metal.

The pink haired woman shook her head. "I wouldn't be surprised if it's not real silver."

Handing him back the item of jewellery and watching him place it back on his tanned finger the woman felt uneasy. The ring had made her uncomfortable when she held it. Like she was touching something stained or tainted. She gave a little shiver as she turned her eyes back to the street they were walking down. Naruto had returned to her apartment a lot later than she thought he would. Apparently Jiraiya had a slight problem with letting go of enough things to appease his wife. The blond had been hungry and tired and at one point said he didn't feel up to tonight's activities. Sakura had given the man a few gentle persuasion punches until the grumbling blond had agreed to go and get ready. It was then that Naruto realised he hadn't packed any clothes that he could wear out to the club.

After an hour of debating Naruto had finally worked up the nerve and asked Sakura if she would drive him back to Sasuke's apartment to grab a change of clothes. The pink hired woman had argued until she was blue in the face that this was a bad idea, but she couldn't argue that there was nothing in his bag that he could wear to their favourite local bar. The "Copy Cat Club" wasn't a fancy place by anyone's standards, but they did have a no sneakers policy and there was the problem. Naruto only owned one pair of dress shoes and they were at his ex's home. Was Sasuke the blonde's ex's? Sakura wasn't sure but what she was sure of was that going to the raven's apartment was a bad idea...and it had been.

FLASHBACK.

Naruto chewed on his bottom lip as he stared at the key in his hand. Sakura waited patiently behind him. The pink haired woman had tried everything from telling him to just sit at the table all night keeping his feet hidden under the table to offering to buy him new shoes. The blond had disputed all of them. So here they were stood outside of his old front door. Inside Naruto was a mess. He didn't know if he should knock or just walk in. Sasuke probably wasn't even here he usually worked every hour his chief would allow him to. That thought calmed the blond somewhat. With a shaky smile at his best friend that she looked less than impressed with, he unlocked the door.

Naruto wasn't sure what he had expected, but it wasn't that everything would be just as it had when he left. He almost laughed at the thought. He only walked out last night did he really expect Sasuke to redecorate between then and now. Sakura slipped in behind him closing the door quietly. Naruto took a deep breath trying to push his muddled thoughts away, he had a plan. In and out. Plain and simple go in get the things he wanted and get the hell out. With any luck the raven wouldn't even notice Naruto had been here when he got home. Though a little part of Naruto wanted Sasuke to know, then maybe he'd call him and they could sort things out. Of course things are never that simple because just as Naruto turned to ask Sakura to grab his shoes out of the closet while he went to find the clothes he wanted a voice cut through the air.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?"

The pink haired woman glared down the narrow hallway at the dark haired male stood at the end. "Why shouldn't he be here? This is his apartment too. Plus all his belongings are here."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. He wasn't completely unaware of how Sakura's attitude towards him had gotten steadily more hostile over the years, but this was the first time she'd been openly hostile.

"I wasn't implying that he couldn't be here I just wasn't expecting him." The raven replied evenly.

Naruto could feel Sakura bristling at the side of him so he interjected. "I thought you'd be at work. I need to grab some stuff."

The raven stepped further into the hallway and behind him a figure of a woman appeared. Blue eyes glowered at the new comer. Sasuke glanced behind him then back to Naruto's burning azure gaze.

"It's not what you think." He stated taking a step towards the blond.

Naruto shook his head in disgust and hissed to the woman behind him. "Grab my shoes will you? I'll get what I need from Sasuke's room."

The pink haired woman didn't answer there was no need. As Sasuke followed Naruto into the bedroom Sakura's jade eyes never left the woman standing at the end of the hallway. She was pretty, but she looked a couple of years older than the raven. Her skin was pale, her eyes a yellow-brown colour and her blue hair was pulled into a loose bun with a white flower clipped to the side of her head. She was watching the door the two males had disappeared into. Sakura hoped she was pissed at the fact the man she was trying to steal had chased after Naruto instead of staying with her. Her yellow eyes drifted to Sakura.

"I'm going to assume that is Naruto. I'm sorry he and Sasuke are having troubles. I'm not a fan of Karin myself." The blue haired woman stated.

Sakura blinked. "Karin?"

The older woman nodded a little. "Yes I thought Naruto would have told you of their problems."

The pink haired nurse stepped forward. "He did, but Sasuke never mentioned a name. You know this Karin?"

Just as the woman opened her mouth to reply Sakura held up her finger indicating to the blue haired woman to wait a moment. Quickly before she forgot what they had originally come here for Sakura opened the cupboard and tried to locate Naruto's shoes as fast as she could. This woman may have some information Sakura could use to help her best friend. Once she had found them she stuffed them in her shoulder bag. It was a tight fit and the nurse was unable to fasten the zip but decided it didn't matter as she turned her attention back to the older woman waiting patiently.

"Can you tell me what you know?"

Yellow eyes regarded the woman in front of her for a moment before answering. "I'm not sure if I should."

Sakura swiftly approached the woman. "Please. If there's any way I can help Naruto I need to know." She pleaded.

The blue haired woman closed her eyes and sighed. She had only known Sasuke for a short time and Karin even shorter, but there was something she didn't like about the woman with glasses. "I'll tell you what I know, but it's not much."

She motioned for Sakura to follow her to the living room. Once in there they both settled themselves on the sofa. Both woman paused and stared towards the hallway when they heard a bang followed by muffled shouting.

Ignoring the arguing males the older woman began. "My name is Konan. I'm a detective from the city of Amegakure. Me and my partner Nagato were transferred here to help with the Akatsuki case. Me, Yahiko and Nagato were the first to uncover the gang. Yahiko went undercover to try and find out the gangs true motives and see if we could uncover the founding members. Yahiko was discovered and killed. So me and Nagato vowed to catch them no matter what. We travel from city to city were the Akatsuki is active.

I've been in Konoha for six weeks. I meet Sasuke on my first day here, he was assigned to help me sort through the information the police in this city had gathered. I suppose you could say we became friends quickly. He would often tell me stories of Naruto and the things he did. They were quiet amusing. But I also noticed he paid a lot of attention to one of the woman that worked in the forensic department. Karin. As long as I've known her she has been very flirtatious towards Sasuke even though she knows he is in a relationship. She's always talking about wanting to get married and having children.

She has done nothing wrong as such. It's hard to explain I just don't trust her motives...manipulative, yes that's the word. I was expecting to find out Sasuke had some sort of hidden fortune or something. He asked me here to talk about his troubles and so far he's been talking none stop about Naruto and how he's worried he's done something he won't be able to fix, but at the same time he's not sure he wants to fix it." Konan turned back to the woman at her side hoping her words had made sense.

They had. It was clear to Sakura Konan had presumed this Karin had been after some inheritance or small fortune of Sasuke's, maybe she was? Maybe she had gotten Sasuke and Itachi mixed up. It was no secret that when the Uchiha brother's parents had died they'd left a decent life insurance behind. The strange thing was only Itachi had received anything from it. Sasuke had refused to tell anyone anything about why he hadn't received anything. So why he was seemingly cut out of the will was still a mystery. Sakura chewed lightly on her bottom lip she liked this Karin woman less and less. Just what was this Karin after? One other thing caught Sakura's attention, when Konan had spoken of Yahiko there was a small tremor in her voice and a glassy look in her eyes. Sakura almost wrapped her arms around the older woman to comfort her. In the end the nurse decided against the action.

Page Break.

Naruto stomped into the bedroom and started yanking draws open with tree times as much force than necessary. How dare he bring her into his home. The blond hadn't even been out the apartment for 24 hours yet. Hell, Naruto's side of the bed was probably still warm. What the fuck was the raven thinking? Naruto heard the door close behind him, but he didn't need to turn to see who it was.

"Naruto will you just listen for one minute?" Sasuke asked quietly.

The blond snorted. He was so angry he could feel his hands shaking. A tingling sensation shot threw his body and he had to hold back a gasp at the strange but not pleasant feeling. The bastard had the audacity to tell him to listen. No, it was about time he listened.

Spinning to face his ex lover Naruto spat. "You couldn't fucking wait to replace me could you? Not even half way out the door before she's half way in it. All that bullshit about sorting your head out, you already knew what you wanted and it wasn't me. Was it? It was always her wasn't it? It was never me from the start. Did you ever care about me or was I just something to pass the time? Do you ever think of anyone but yourself?...You know what scrap that I should have known something like this would happen after I found you in bed with Sai. You really don't care about anyone do you? Do you?"

Sasuke stared at the man in front of him tanned hands gripping his blond hair in frustration and azure eyes shining with unshed tears. The raven found his resolve crack a little but not enough, this was Naruto's fault to start with.

"Don't you dare blame me for everything. I was fine, we were fine until that last year of high school when my best friend decided to tell me loved me. That's when things got fucked up between us." He yelled back at the blond.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Naruto screamed slamming his clenched fist down on the dresser making the wood groan under the force.

"You know how bad things were for me at home. I could never get my fathers recognition or praise, it was always Itachi, Itachi. Anything I did Itachi had already done and done it better. Itachi didn't care he was always looking down at me, condescending. The teachers all compared me to my older brother and all the guys at school hated me. They were either jealous of my money or my looks. The girls hounded me like bitches in heat. You were the only one who didn't care about any of it. And I loved you for it, like a brother. Then you had to go and tell me you loved me.

Have you any idea how I felt? I had never even considered dating another guy. I was afraid so I ran. Instead of letting me have some time to think things through you followed me and dragged me back." Sasuke ranted but was cut short by Naruto's scream.

"Your damn right I brought you back. I knew you ran because of me and I told you there and then, if you wanted to stay friends we would. Didn't I? And we did for nearly five years. I put up with every drunken confession from you and every detail of the girls you had been with. How do you think that felt. But not once did I take advantage of you. Not once did I whine about how much it hurt to watch you leave with one of your whores. I stayed by your side just like before."

Sasuke sprang forward shoving the blond back. Naruto stumbled slightly before catching himself on the corner of the dresser.

"It was never the same. You think I didn't see that look in your eye or the way Sakura started to hate me. You think you weren't on my mind all the time. I couldn't get away from you even when I tried. I had no choice in the end." The raven sucked in harsh breaths as he glared t the shocked blond.

"Are you saying you only got with me because you felt guilty or pressured?"

Naruto watched his ex run his hands through his hair over and over. Sasuke couldn't look in those expressive blue eyes he knew what he'd see. Hurt, anger, sadness, confusion, betrayal. The words just slipped out. He wasn't even sure if he meant them. Karin always understood and supportive him she never judged the way he felt. It was one of the things that pulled him to her. She made him feel it was okay to be a little selfish and think about himself. She was rational and logical. Naruto on the other hand was completely irrational and illogical. Naruto always made him feel guilty and like the biggest ass that ever walked the planet.

Naruto zipped his bag up. "I don't think there's any more to say is there? As soon as I find an apartment I'll get the rest of my stuff. I hope you and the new Mrs Uchiha are very happy."

Sasuke didn't move as the blond shoved him out of the way with his shoulder. Naruto pulled the door open and paused. With his hand on the door handle he said in a low tone.

"Just remember, that just because marrying a woman and having children is the norm it won't necessarily make you feel complete."

And with that final statement Naruto slammed the door. Sasuke heard the blond yell for Sakura and a moment after that the front door shut. Sasuke staggered to the edge of the bed and rested his head in his hands. He'd really fucked up now. Even if when he'd sorted his chaotic thoughts out and he decided he did still want the blond by his side it might just be too late.

Page Break.

Heavy eyes slowly opened to the darkness around him. He defiantly felt it that time. His hibernation had been disturbed not too long ago, but it was a faint tingle, this time he felt it. It was absolute. He could feel the adrenaline and aggression being feed through the bond. His neglected petite body stirred in anticipation of freedom. The darkness pushed down on him threatening to push him back into that cruel place somewhere between awake and asleep, but he wasn't going to let it drag him back to that state of semi-conscious. He needed to be ready. There was no light in this place not one sliver of brightness, it didn't bother him anymore. It probably never had. He closed his eyes to the light so long ago he almost wasn't sure if he had ever seen it. It has been a long hibernation this time longer than the others. He had started to wonder if he would ever be free of this prison again. A small grin formed on his lips. He had felt the connection someone of the bloodline was in possession of him once again. He could already feel his power returning to his long forgotten limbs he could feel the grains caress his pale skin. "I wonder how long it has been since I was last on the outside. I wonder if much has changed." He ideally asked himself as he flexed his extremities. It shouldn't take long for this human to release him. After all a human could only resist using this much power for so long. Humans craved power or wealth and the more they had at their disposal the more the addiction took hold. Humans were fickle creatures easily controlled by their emotions. Greedy, selfish, unpredictable and deceitful. They were fragile creatures, really he should feel sorry for them but those emotions were long gone. Burnt out like his patients, compassion and hope. He would do as his new master asked and watch as he burnt his own dreams and desires into ash. And he will laugh, oh how he will laugh loud and harsh just like the reality he had been banished into. They deserve to go to hell and he will help his new master on his way. It was the only way he can keep surviving in this existence. And the one thing he won't do is cease to exist.