Blinding Light

Sequel to "Wrapped in More than Kindness"

Warnings and Disclaimers: All Naruto names, places, and related indicia are copyright to Masashi Kishimoto. Only the plot, OCs, and writing style are mine. This story has been rated M for mature themes, languages, and graphic sexual scenes (for later chapters). It is also a shounen ai fic, meaning there is a boy x boy pairing inside (Naruto and Sasuke). If you are uncomfortable reading stories of this kind, please push the back button to spare your sanity.

Author's Notes: See the disclaimer up there? This chapter is what I was warning you about (among others…many others). Chapter seven contains LIME; just a little taste of what's up ahead. So buckle up in your seats ladies and gentlemen…

Just so you know, there will be no explicit sexual scenes. Lime, remember?

NxS NxS NxS

Chapter 7

Hyuuga Neji rubbed at his nose delicately with a finger. Both Lee and Ten Ten looked at him with slight curiosity, but it was Ten Ten who spoke up. "Are you getting down with a cold, Neji? That's the third time you've sneezed in the last half hour."

Lee immediately took up a pose. "Yosh! It would be best for Neji to get a good rest—it would not do for Youth to be spoiled by an ugly and un-youthful cold!"

"I'm fine," Neji replied casually, pointedly ignoring the way Lee maintained his pose with a serious, determined expression. Instead he turned his pale, milk-white gaze on Ten Ten. "Where is Gai-sensei?"

They were gathered in front of Ichiraku's, right across the street. The sun was already high above them, but the day was relatively cool. They were doing training with Team Seven, at the insistence of their teacher, Maito Gai. This was something the green spandex-clad jounin had recently come up with to solve two things: how to train his students and how to challenge Hatake Kakashi and finally prove who was best between them. Neji honestly had no problem with the arrangement, but he considered it a waste of time whenever both teams paused in mid-training to watch Gai-sensei put it into his head to challenge his masked jounin rival. Which, unfortunately, was all the time.

Ten Ten squinted up at the sky overhead, one hand coming up to shield her eyes. "He should be here by now; he told me he was going to make sure Kakashi-sensei and his team comes here without delay."

"Yosh! What a brilliant idea! I shall go and assist Gai-sensei in his noble quest!"

Ten Ten grabbed a handful of Lee's own green spandex sleeve and pulled him back, her deep brown eyes sharp. "You're staying here," she enunciated clearly. Her free hand suddenly brandished three kunai.

"Y-Yosh." Lee gulped and stayed where he was. Neji sighed. Over the years he had grown accustomed to Rock Lee's outlandish and mostly loud attitude, but the thought of spending the day with both Lee and Uzumaki Naruto made a nerve in his temple twitch. It wasn't because he hated Naruto—quite the opposite in fact—but did they have to be so loud all the time?

Still, training with Naruto would be interesting. His slight annoyance was quickly replaced with anticipation. The loudmouthed blond had actually beaten him during the Chuunin exams when he had the upper hand. Neji wanted a rematch, and he wanted to talk to Naruto. The words he had told him still rang clearly in his mind.

Could you really alter your fate and choose your own destiny?

After the exams he and Naruto had gradually become friends; Naruto would often greet him enthusiastically whenever they crossed paths on the street, and he would give his own (more dignified) greeting, accompanied by a half-smile. Neji never smiled, and he rarely noticed anyone in the streets; it surprised Ten Ten and elated Lee. Needless to say it brought tears to Gai-sensei, exclaiming that his student was starting to enjoy the "Springtime of Youth".

It surprised Neji, too. But it was more of a pleasant, subdued surprise. It seemed as if his fight with Naruto changed something within him. He wasn't as high strung or as reserved. Even his cousin Hinata noticed, although she had never told him out loud. His relationship with the main family was still on tenterhooks, but not as tensed and brittle as before.

He was abruptly pulled from his thoughts when his senses alerted him. "Gai-sensei is coming. I think he's with Team Seven."

Ten Ten nodded, a small smile on her face. Lee energetically struck a pose again. Both looked in the same direction as Neji did.

They saw Gai-sensei emerge from the corner, one arm casually slung over Kakashi-sensei's shoulder, the other held aloft with a thumbs-up sign at them. His dazzling white teeth gleamed in the sun as he smiled. Ten Ten sighed and Neji's eyebrow twitched, but Lee's response was to imitate their sensei's "cool-guy pose".

"If it weren't for the fact that Gai-sensei is actually one of the best jounin in the village I'd have begged to be transferred to another team ages ago," Ten Ten muttered under her breath.

Neji wisely avoided comment, and watched the approaching people instead. Kakashi was intently reading a bright orange book held in one hand, apparently ignoring Gai-sensei's arm. Behind them were Team Seven: Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto.

Neji frowned slightly at the sight of Sasuke. The Uchiha was usually stoic and placid, belying an astonishingly good repertoire of ninjutsu and a mastery of taijutsu that was almost at par with Lee, but something seemed off today. He was a good distance behind the rest of the approaching group, and he was staring murderously at Naruto's back.

He raised an eyebrow slightly. It was not uncommon to see Naruto and Uchiha fight, but most of those could be called childish bickering. The look on Uchiha's face was undiluted anger…at what, Neji wasn't sure.

The fact that the look was directed at Naruto though, provided him with a clue.

As the group approached, Naruto caught sight of Neji watching. He raised an arm in a frenzied wave. "Hey Neji! How've you been?" His voice was loud enough to be heard three blocks away, but Naruto did not seem to care. His face was stretched into a wide grin that showed almost all of his teeth. Neji, as always, could not help the small smile that crept up his face in response. It was most peculiar how Naruto's smile could affect even him.

"Naruto. Still as loud as ever, aren't you?"

Instead of bristling in anger, Naruto actually puffed out his chest in pride. "Yep! Stronger, too."

Neji could see Sakura roll her eyes at Naruto's proclamation. His smile changed subtly into a smirk of amusement. "Really. Maybe you could show me during training, then?"

Naruto's answering smirk was charged with anticipation. "You're on!" His eyes shifted to Lee, and the smirk melted into another grin. "Hey unibrow! I heard you're sparring with Sasuke-teme; kick his ass good for me will ya? But don't pummel him too good; I want to be able to get to him first and pound him to the ground!" He laughed boldly, and this time Kakashi-sensei sighed along with Sakura.

Neji watched, transfixed, as Uchiha Sasuke's murderous glare vanished, his face growing quite slack, before blood rushed to his cheeks and neck along with a scowl he directed firmly to the ground. Neji's interest was piqued; he had not expected such an unusual reaction from the Uchiha. He let his pale gaze stay on him. "Something wrong, Sasuke?"

Naruto turned to Neji for a moment, before looking behind him. Neji watched Naruto's face carefully. Something flashed in his eyes, something that made his enthusiasm waver for a blink of an eye, before his grin came back. "Nah, don't mind him—he's been all hyped up about his match with Lee." He forced a laugh, which was markedly more subdued than the last. Neji chose not to comment further.

Gai took that moment to give everyone his trademark grin. "Yosh! We'll be training down at Field 3—you all know your partners, don't you?" All the gennin nodded. "Then we will start with a race to get our blood pumping! First pair to reach Field 3 will win a free pair of Green Beast Spandex TM from me!" He winked and posed again.

"Oh, Sensei! Such generosity!" Lee gushed, valiantly trying to blink back tears.

Sakura looked as if she had swallowed something nasty. "Who would want to be caught wearing that?" She whispered almost to herself, pointedly staring at Gai's own spandex attire.

Tenten, who was standing right beside her, only shook her head and sighed. "Don't even ask—Naruto looks like he just might take up Gai-sensei's offer." They turned their heads in unison at Naruto, who was jumping up and down in excitement at the prospect of a race and winning a prize at the end.

Neji only ignored the ruckus that Naruto and Lee were already starting to make—something about doing the race on one foot only—and discreetly threw a glance at Sasuke, who had been staying out of the conversation all the while. He was standing a little ways from their group.

Filing away that information for later, Neji raced the other gennin to Training Field 3, easily taking the lead. As he predicted, Lee was close behind him, followed by Naruto, Tenten, and Sakura. Surprisingly, Sasuke was last, his face still set in a deep scowl.

Neji heard Naruto's loud voice from behind. "Hey bastard! Why are you so slow today?" He could hear the smirk in his tone.

The Hyuuga knew Naruto was talking to Sasuke; there was no one else he called a bastard on such a regular basis. Sasuke seemed to have answered something in response, because he heard Naruto say, "Oh yeah," in a sheepish tone.

Neji could feel his eyebrow rising. Something was apparently going on, and it kept Sasuke a firm distance away from Naruto. Curious, he slackened his pace a bit to get nearer, and Lee swallowed the distance between them in a blink to take the lead. Neji did not mind; it was only a race after all.

When he was right beside Naruto, easily keeping pace, he turned to him. "Something going on between you and Sasuke?"

Blue eyes blinked at him in confusion for a moment, before Naruto grinned. "It's nothing. Just the usual—him being an ass." He laughed forcibly again.

Neji stared at Naruto, then at Sasuke. He was startled to see that Sasuke was now glaring at him. Instead of being ruffled, Neji merely frowned slightly at him before turning back to Naruto. "Seems like he's being more of an ass than usual," he commented lightly.

"Tch. Sasuke's always like that," Naruto scoffed. "You'll get used to it."

Neji made a noncommittal sound, racing with the others in silence the rest of the way. They arrived only three seconds after Lee, who was striking up a victory pose in front of Gai-sensei. Kakashi was already there, of course, reading his bright orange book, and giving them a casual wave.

"Just what I expected of my student!" Gai sniffed theatrically, tears shining in his eyes as he stared adoringly at Lee. "Your Youth shines as bright as the sun!"

"G-Gai-sensei!" Exclaimed Lee, who had by now grabbed both of Gai's hands in his own, eyes also glistening with tears. "What profound words! I am touched; but really, it is all thanks to your wonderful teachings. You made me realize the full potential of my Youth!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"What now?" Tenten asked the others, completely ignoring the display.

This time, it was Kakashi who spoke up. "You're given two hours to spar and train with your partner. Stick to taijutsu and weapons only. After that we'll take a break." He lowered his book slightly to point to his left. "Lee and Sasuke will train over there. Naruto and Neji, you'll be training in the clearing just south of them. The girls will train here, where Gai and I can see them."

"Eh? Why here?" Sakura complained.

Kakashi gave her a crinkled-eye smile. "Because you two are the ones most in need of improvement in your taijutsu. Even Naruto could best you if he tried really hard."

"Hey!" Naruto puffed indignantly. "That's not true! I can beat them with my eyes closed!"

Sakura glared daggers at him, cracking her knuckles menacingly. "Wanna bet?"

Naruto flinched. Sensing danger, he grabbed Neji's hand and dragged him away. "We're going!" he yelped as he disappeared into the trees. Sasuke and Lee followed soon after.

Kakashi watched as the other four gennin left, before turning to Sakura and Tenten. "Remember: this is training only. You don't aim to kill. The objective is to develop your hand-to-hand combat skills."

"What about the guys?" Sakura asked, still slightly pouting.

Gai gave her a thumbs-up. "Don't worry; I'll be monitoring their matches occasionally."

Tenten frowned doubtfully at him. "Gai-sensei, are you sure you can handle them?"

"Of course! What kind of trouble could they land themselves in?"

NxS NxS NxS

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

There was a pop and a puff of smoke; Neji watched as Naruto's clone emerged right beside the original, looking nonplussed, blinking bright blue eyes at them both. It turned to Naruto. "What's up?"

Naruto grinned at him in response, jerking a thumb towards Neji, who was standing nearby. "Just stand still while Neji takes a look at you."

The clone pouted. "What's there to look? He can just stare at you any damn time."

Neji spoke up. "I want to study Naruto's shadow clones using my Byakuugan." His pale, milk-white eyes watched the clone. "It won't take long."

The clone shrugged and put his hands together behind his nape. "Fine."

Neji nodded, his gaze traveling from the clone to Naruto, who was standing in the same pose. "Your clones copy your behavior, too?"

"Eh? Well, I guess so. I never really thought about it," Naruto confessed as he watched Neji look the clone up and down, his bloodline technique activated. "Why are you so interested in my clones anyway?"

"I've never come across clones like yours before," Neji answered truthfully. He walked around the clone slowly, as if studying a painting. "My eyes can tell a clone from the original—there are differences, you see, that the Byakuugan can easily detect." He looked at Naruto. "But your shadow clones don't have those differences."

"Mmm." Naruto followed Neji as he walked around his clone, who was staring boringly up at the sky while picking his nose. "What's so special about my clones?"

Neji stopped in front of Naruto's copy and placed a palm flat against its chest. "This. The chakra coil is supposed to be absent in clones, but yours have it, like a real person does." His hand left the clone's chest and traced an invisible line from the arm to the wrist. "Your clones have visible chakra pathways. If I hadn't been watching you, I would have a difficult time telling which one of you is the real Naruto or not." He smirked at Naruto. "Which means you only got lucky at the Chuunin exams."

Naruto smirked back. "We can have a rematch now, if you like," he challenged Neji.

"Are you finished yet? This is getting pretty boring," whined the clone.

Naruto wordlessly turned back to Neji, who nodded curtly. "I'm finished for now."

Naruto dismissed the clone with a pop, and waited for the smoke to clear before speaking up again. "Wanna spar now?" His eyes shimmered in anticipation.

"I want to ask a few things first."

Naruto frowned slightly. "Eh? What about?" He watched Neji look off in the distance, towards the trees. If Naruto remembered correctly, Sasuke and Lee were training in the clearing that way, which was pretty close by. Worry made Naruto's insides squirm uncomfortably. Each day that Sasuke was under the genjutsu's influence, the worse the effects were going to be. The image of the kiss Sasuke had stolen from him last night flashed in his mind, along with the look of pure helplessness and frustration that flared in Sasuke's dark, depthless eyes.

Is there something worse than that?

"Is something going on between you and Uchiha?"

The question made Naruto stiffen involuntarily. Had Neji found out about the genjutsu? With extreme effort he forced a smile on his face. "What do you mean, Neji?"

Neji approached Naruto, stopping only a few short paces away. His opal eyes never wavered as he watched him. "I noticed that he was pretty upset with you."

"Sasuke was…?" Naruto froze, but outwardly he tried to look confusing. It wasn't very hard; all he had to do was wonder what was going on inside Sasuke's head. Speaking of which, was the teme doing alright? He had seemed tense and angry that morning. Last night, too, when they were talking about this training. He would have assumed that it had something to do with him, but Naruto had a feeling it was something else. "Are you sure? Maybe he just got off the wrong side of the bed this morning."

It was too bad he had dismissed the clone already. It would have been easier to keep an eye on Sasuke if one of his shadow clones were around. Although a fairly good distance kept them apart, Naruto was sure Sasuke could still feel his presence because their chakra signatures were—what was that word again?—attenuated, because of the genjutsu. Sasuke was probably annoyed about that by now.

Why does that thought bother me?

Neji did not look convinced. "Maybe. I've heard he can be pretty cold sometimes but…" He looked at Naruto again. "Then again, maybe I'm reading too much into things." He threaded a hand through his long dark hair. "Taijustsu and weapons only, right?"

It took a second for Neji's last statement to sink in. When it did, the gleam in Naruto's eyes was back, and he grinned expectantly at the match, cracking his knuckles for effect, Sasuke momentarily forgotten. "Ready to be pounded into the ground again, Neji?"

Neji smirked. "I was under the impression that things would go the other way around." Without warning, he launched himself at the blonde gennin, his pale eyes frowned in concentration.

Not expecting the suddenness of the attack, Naruto caught the punch square on his jaw, the force of it enough to throw him back a few paces, landing on his back. Red and green spots burst from underneath his closed eyes, and he stood up in a daze, shaking the pain with a wince. He touched his lip tentatively with a hand. "Hey! You didn't have to hit that hard!"

Neji relaxed from his stance. "I thought this was training."

"Training, not actual combat!" Naruto yelled from the far side of the clearing, fuming. "Shit Neji, that hurt!"

The violence of Naruto's reaction to his punch made Neji smirk. "It's pretty hard to believe you're in pain when you can still make a ruckus like that."

"Ah, stop changing the topic, Neji! I'm gonna get you for that!" Naruto shook a fist at Neji even though he was smiling. Sparring with Neji was a refreshing change from constantly sparring with Sasuke or training with himself. It was rather enjoyable. "Here I come!" And he sped towards Neji, brandishing a kunai in his left hand, ready to strike.

"Too slow," Neji commented dryly as he sidestepped to avoid the oncoming slash, then lowered himself quickly to the ground, stretching out his right leg and sweeping it in a low arc. He expected to connect with the back of Naruto's legs only to hit empty air; Naruto had leapt up into a somersault, landing on his hands, twisting his lower body to deliver a spinning kick directed at Neji's face.

Neji caught Naruto's right ankle in his hand, pulling Naruto towards him, his other hand coming to meet Naruto's face in a closed fist.

With a growl Naruto put up his arms to shield his face just in time, but dropping the kunai in the process. "Shit!" He hissed, his hands finding purchase on Neji's sleeves and kicked himself off of Neji, launching him a safe distance away. He turned quickly, trying to find his weapon.

"Looking for this?" Neji twirled Naruto's kunai in one hand while watching Naruto with a light smile. He threw the kunai at Naruto, who yelped and jumped away.

"Oi! Don't you know that's dangerous?" Naruto yelped indignantly, pointing at the kunai that twanged resonantly as it was embedded deeply into the trunk of a nearby tree.

Neji ignored Naruto's tirade and tilted his head in a scrutinizing fashion. "Your reaction time has improved since we last fought."

This compliment dissolved Naruto's little irritation, and he beamed with pride at himself. "Heh, nothing constant practice can't do." He pointed at himself with one thumb. "If I'm going to become Hokage, I have to get stronger!"

"Hokage, huh? Still after that dream of yours?"

Naruto pouted at Neji. "You talk about it like it's stupid," he scowled.

"No, nothing like that." Neji shook his head. "I'm just surprised you're really set on becoming Hokage."

"Heh, of course I am! And I will become Hokage—you'd better believe it!" Naruto exclaimed proudly. He planted his feet farther apart, lowering his upper body in the process. "Ready for round two?"

But Neji wasn't listening. He was staring at something to his right, towards the trees. Naruto frowned at him in confusion, until he heard footsteps and the snapping of twigs. A moment later he picked up a familiar chakra signature, and a head of unruly black hair appeared, followed by an ominously blank, pale face.

Naruto blinked in surprise. "Sasuke? What're you doing here?"

NxS NxS NxS

I will focus on this fight.

Sasuke scowled at the foliage as he and Lee walked to the clearing Kakashi had pointed out as their sparring arena. Lee jogged briskly before him, exclaiming how excited he was that he and Sasuke would be testing each other's flames of Youth—or was that blazing flames of Youth?—as they got nearer their destination. Sasuke ignored him.

Instead he was focusing on the slight tugging feeling at the back of his head that told him accurately where Naruto was. He was somewhere several hundred meters south; Sasuke assumed Naruto had already arrived at the other clearing with Neji.

Red-hot anger speared through his gut, making him growl under his breath. No, stop thinking about that. Focus on this fight with Lee.

"Shall we start then?"

Sasuke stopped on instinct at the sound of Lee's voice, his eyes focusing. They were already standing halfway across the clearing. Lee was looking at him, his face already serious, fists resting at his sides. Sasuke's scowl grew; he mentally berated himself for spacing out, and for doing the very thing he had promised that morning to avoid at all costs: letting his thoughts stray to Naruto.

"Hn." Sasuke leapt back and landed into a fighting stance, at the same time that Lee had. They were already tensed and ready, the silence between them crackling with tension.

A soft breeze rustled the leaves in the trees around them, and they moved almost as one.

Even at the start Sasuke had no intention of holding back. His personal problems aside, Sasuke had been waiting for this match almost as much as Lee did, and for a very good reason. Their last match against each other had been during the Chuunin exams, which had been cut off abruptly by the arrival of Gai. Lee's taijutsu skills had been exceptional, and Sasuke knew that if they had not been interrupted that time he would have probably lost. Sasuke hated loosing, but he hated leaving a match unfinished just as much.

Had he improved at all since that time? Had he become more powerful?

Naruto's not moving. What the hell could they be doing all this ti—

With another low growl Sasuke forced his thoughts to a halt as he bent low to avoid Lee's kick, rolling away and jumping in one fluid motion. Anger and irritation boiled up inside of him, and it took all of Sasuke's willpower not to activate the Sharingan or Orochimaru's cursed seal. He could feel the latter burning a hole on his left shoulder, as if begging to be released. He took a kunai from his pouch and launched himself at Lee once more, focusing all his energy into winning.

Lee aimed an elbow under Sasuke's chin. Sasuke tilted his head back to avoid it and brought up his right knee, targeting Lee's ribcage. But Rock Lee proved to be as quick as ever when he twisted around suddenly and left Sasuke hitting nothing.

I want to see Naruto.

And then Lee was behind him, his palm hitting the base of Sasuke's spine, sending him sprawling several feet. Dust trailed in his wake, choking him as he took in air. He cursed underneath his breath, his mind fighting to silence the voice inside his head that would not shut up. It was ruining his focus; he should have landed at least one hit by now. One hand touched his back, which was still throbbing with pain. Nothing was broken, but it would leave a bruise.

"Something is troubling you, Sasuke-san." Lee was standing near the middle of the clearing, his stance eased. His face was set in a slight frown. "Did something happen between you and Naruto?"

Hearing Naruto's name only fuelled Sasuke's anger. "Mind your own business," he hissed, picking up the kunai he had dropped, brandishing it in his right hand.

Lee ignored him. "As long as you don't settle whatever it is that's going on between the two of you, you cannot focus on our match." He folded his arms across his chest.

"Just shut up and fight me!" Sasuke launched himself at Lee with an angry cry, slashing blindly. His eyes had already bled red, tomoe swirling furiously.

Lee turned on the spot, missing the blade by an inch. His right leg rose quickly as he spun, his heel slamming onto Sasuke's back, sending him crashing to the ground again. "No, I won't fight you until you are focused enough," Lee answered calmly while frowning down at Sasuke.

The air left Sasuke's lungs in a whoosh as he felt the ground coming up to meet him. Pain made his ears ring, his face stinging from the impact. He coughed and hacked, his lungs burning for air. As he made to stand, Lee was suddenly above him, twisting his arms together and pinning his legs so that he could not move. Sasuke struggled with a growl. "Let go of me!"

To Sasuke's surprise, Lee did. One moment he was sitting on top of Sasuke, the next he was standing a good distance away, watching Sasuke with disapproving eyes. "I will not fight you while you are in this condition, Sasuke-san."

Sasuke stood up on slightly shaking knees, bracing himself with his hands, the kunai momentarily forgotten on the ground. He looked up with an angry glare. "Like shit you're not." He spat out the dirt that had gotten into his mouth. "Fight me!"

Lee shook his head. "No. Not until you settle things with Naruto first." His face was set in a determined frown.

Sasuke stiffened, his scowl turning even more deadly. "Leave Naruto out of this," he whispered in a dead tone.

"I should be the one telling you that, Sasuke." Lee narrowed his eyes slightly. "Your mind has been elsewhere ever since we started this match. I have seen how you acted this morning. You have been fighting with Naruto."

The anger that had been boiling in his stomach was now threatening to blaze up into uncontrollable rage. "Shut up! You don't even have the slightest idea what's going on between us!" Scarlet eyes flaring, his angry voice loud in the clearing.

"I don't," Lee admitted. "But you do."

Sasuke smiled bitterly at him. "What the fuck do you expect me to do?" I keep fighting against this everyday, but each time his eyes flicker to mine all I want to do is fall on my knees and beg the ground to swallow me. "It's not like that idiot knows what's happening anyway." He knows what's going on, but not what's happening to ME.

Lee shrugged. "I would not be too sure on that. Naruto may be slow sometimes, but I believe he can be perceptive about other things." He looked straight at Sasuke. "He might even be more worried about it than you are right now. Haven't you ever asked him?"

Lee's words struck a chord within Sasuke; he stopped, considering. I never really asked him about it; mostly I avoided him like the plague. It's much better like this, isn't it? But now that Lee had said it aloud, Sasuke couldn't help but wonder. What does Naruto feel about all of this? Sasuke frowned. No, that's not right. Who cares about what that dobe thinks? What's important is that we find out how to release this genjutsu before everything gets out of hand. Before it's too late.

Without thinking about it, his eyes stared at the trees. Exactly where Naruto would be. His chest throbbed in pain; was it already too late?

"I want to know what's happening with you, teme."

The thing was, he could never tell Naruto exactly what was happening. Sasuke did not think he could survive the humiliation, let alone face the possibility that Naruto would be disgusted with him for being so weak and pathetic. The proud and cold Uchiha Sasuke, brought to his knees by a simple illusion technique.

Naruto isn't like that though. The voice inside his head echoed softly, but each word rang clear. He would never laugh at you, or push you away. He never had, did he?

What Sasuke feared the most though, was the fact that he knew, without one shred of doubt, that he would never survive if Naruto did react in that manner. It meant that Sasuke cared what Naruto thought and felt. Do I?

He did not know the truth any longer. He did not know which thought belonged to him, and which emotion was brought about only by the genjutsu. Everything had become so tangled inside, Sasuke did not know where he began and the genjutsu ended. All the spent emotions, all the time he fought to keep himself in check, all the time he tried to look away when all he wanted was to keep looking…it was wearing him thin.

It felt as if he was a boat caught in the middle of a storm, the waves swallowing him up with every swell, the cold seeping into his bones. And each time he broke through the water to gasp for air, another wave would come, pulling him deeper and deeper.

Sasuke closed his eyes. He was running out of air again, but this time he did not think he could find the surface. Naruto…

Lee watched Sasuke walk away until he disappeared into the trees.

NxS NxS NxS

Naruto's body tensed as he watched Sasuke break through the tree line at a steady walk, his face betraying nothing. Something was not right; Naruto could sense it. "What are you doing here?" he asked again, more calmly than he felt.

Neji stirred from where he was standing. Naruto saw Sasuke's eyes swivel sharply in the Hyuuga's direction, his entire body freezing almost immediately. Neji stiffened in response, frowning at Sasuke. He was smart enough not to do anything more than turn his head slightly so he could see Sasuke better. "Something wrong, Uchiha?" he asked in a cool tone.

Sasuke's dark eyes hardened perceptibly. "I need to talk to Naruto." He turned slightly to look at the blond. "Alone."

Neji nodded curtly, glancing at Naruto. "I'll be with Lee." He turned and left without another word.

"Hn."

Naruto opened his mouth to say something to Neji, but he was already gone. He huffed and scowled at Sasuke. "What the hell do you want?" he grated. Mentally, he was trying to measure the distance between him and Sasuke.

Some of the tension eased from Sasuke's shoulders when Neji disappeared. His face had taken on a contemplative look, tilting slightly to one side. He took slow steps forward. "How are you feeling?"

Naruto's scowl melted into a look of confusion. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?" He took a step back when Sasuke did not stop walking forward, towards him.

Something flashed in Sasuke's eyes, and he smirked. Naruto stiffened, irritation flaring. He's fucking laughing at me! And just because I'm trying to keep it safe for the both of us! A growl erupted from his throat, his face slowly turning into a scowl.

It earned him a light chuckle from Sasuke. "Afraid, dobe?"

"You wish," Naruto snapped before he could think. He gritted his teeth. Sasuke took another step forward, his smirk deepening. He was about ten paces away now; considerably closer than he had been last night.

Naruto stood his ground, glaring blue ice. "What are you doing here, Sasuke? Don't you have to train with Lee?" He smirked suddenly. "Don't tell me he kicked your ass that quickly?"

"He was the one who told me to come here."

The smirk vanished. "What? Why?"

Sasuke took another step forward. Nine paces away. "He said I should straighten things out with you before I fight him again."

"Why the hell would he say that?"

"Does it really matter?" Sasuke asked back. His onyx eyes stared unblinking at him, even as he took another step. "What he said got me thinking…"

"Teme, you shouldn't be here."

"…and I realized I needed to see you." Sasuke frowned, his brow furrowing slightly, but his eyes did not harden. Instead they seemed quite puzzled. He stared at Naruto. "I wanted to see you."

The anger drained from Naruto's face, which was quickly being replaced with slight alarm. "You don't need me for anything," Naruto's voice was strained. He gave Sasuke a worried look. "You shouldn't be here," he repeated, much more firmly this time.

Six paces.

Sasuke did not reply, only continued staring at him. Alarm bells started ringing inside Naruto's head, and he tried to come up with something to distract Sasuke with. "We're supposed to be training, teme," he began, trying to look pissed and failing miserably, ending up with a sort of pained grimace instead. "Lee's waiting for you. And Neji and I still have to finish our match!"

This seemed the right thing to say. Sasuke froze like stone all of a sudden. His face had taken on a cold mask. "Neji, huh?"

Naruto nodded quickly, a smile of relief starting to spread on his face. "Yeah. We were just getting more serious when you showed up. Oh yeah, did you know that Neji's Byakuugan has a hard time figuring out my Kage Bunshin? He told me—"

"Will you shut up about Hyuuga already?"

Naruto's mouth snapped reflexively, surprised at Sasuke's angry tone. It only irritated Naruto further, his scowl returning ten-fold. "What's eating you? Each time I get talking about Neji you start acting like a stick's been shoved up your ass."

The mask slipped, and Sasuke's mouth twisted unpleasantly. "I didn't come here to talk about that stuck-up dick." His eyes hardened for a moment, but then he shook his head and it was gone. He began walking towards Naruto again. "I couldn't concentrate on our fight because I kept getting distracted." He looked meaningfully at Naruto again.

It took a lot for Naruto to stay put and not flee. He watched Sasuke carefully as he approached. Emotions waned and flared in Sasuke's eyes although his face remained frowning. He had never seen Sasuke look so lost. It made breathing harder.

"Sasuke…" Naruto cleared his throat. "Sasuke, get a grip on yourself. This is not you."

"Funny, I don't think I can tell you if this—" he gestured with a hand," is really me, either." He stopped walking when he was directly in front of Naruto, and took a deep, shuddering breath. "I have to get this off of me, Naruto," he whispered, desperation bleeding into his voice.

"I know," Naruto answered just as softly, his eyes drawn to the ground. It was hard to look at Sasuke for very long. "We're going to look up those scrolls in the library later, right?"

"And if we don't find anything?"

Naruto's eyes shot up, anger flaring in them. He did not want to hear any shit about giving up. Damn it, they hadn't even begun looking yet! He would have opened his mouth to say so, in a loud voice that would make Sasuke's ears ring, but stopped when he saw Sasuke.

He was smiling a small, sad smile. His onyx eyes were dull and clouded, making his face look paler than usual. It unnerved Naruto so much that the words died in his throat. He had to shake his head to clear his thoughts. "Listen, Sasuke. We're going to find a way to remove the genjutsu on you. I promised you I'd help, didn't I?" He raised his left hand and gave Sasuke's shoulder a pat, forcing a smile on his face.

Sasuke's own hand came up and grabbed at Naruto's. His hands were rough and calloused from years of training. Naruto knew his own was no better; maybe it was even worse, considering how much he pushed himself. He tugged on his hand lightly, but Sasuke did not let go. "Hey, teme…"

Sasuke did not appear to hear. His thumb was running small, slow circles against Naruto's palm. He looked up, an unreadable expression on his face.

Something in the way he looked at Naruto gave him pause. Time seemed to slow to a trickle as Naruto watched, mesmerized, at the way Sasuke's eyes slowly pulled down, watching his own hand touch Naruto's, as if memorizing every detail of it. "Your hand is warm." Sasuke's voice had become soft, almost a whisper.

Naruto answered without thinking. "So is yours."

The next thing he knew, he was lying on his back with Sasuke on top of him, their breaths coming out in a rush as Sasuke's lips covered his own.

Sasuke's hands came up to hold Naruto's face in place while his tongue darted out to lick Naruto's lower lip. A groan came from Sasuke's mouth. Naruto could feel him shiver above him. When he tried to push Sasuke away, his hands grabbed Naruto's wrists and pinned them over their heads.

Sasuke's mouth was tracing a line of fire down Naruto's jaw. Naruto turned his face away. "S-Sasuke—"

Sasuke was having none of it. He licked and sucked at Naruto's neck, kissing every inch of bare skin he could reach. With his head buried against Naruto's neck, Sasuke thrust his hips roughly against Naruto and moaned.

Naruto bit back the cry that threatened to escape his lips. He was panting with the effort of struggling as well as fighting the sensations that Sasuke's movements were doing to him. "Sa—ah—Sasuke, stop this—"

Sasuke moaned louder as he thrust again. "N-Naruto…"

Naruto's cheeks flushed bright red when he felt something stiff rub against his own growing erection. He shivered despite himself when Sasuke continued to rub hard against him, his pace quickening with every thrust. It was getting harder and harder to speak coherently. "Teme, g-get off—nnh—get off me!"

Sasuke's response was to capture Naruto's mouth in a kiss, taking the opportunity to delve deeper into Naruto's mouth, his tongue hungrily exploring every inch. Naruto turned his face away again, only to gasp as pleasure shot through his limbs with every push of Sasuke's hips against his own, the friction driving all thought out the window.

Sasuke was already breathing hard, his face contorted in a mixture of concentration and pleasure as he murmured Naruto's name over and over again. His thrusts were becoming more erratic, picking up speed. Naruto knew he wouldn't last much longer.

Sasuke gave a sharp cry and collapsed on top of Naruto, his breath coming in shallow, hot gusts against Naruto's neck. Naruto stopped moving, feeling his own heart beat loudly in time with Sasuke's, waiting.

It was several minutes before Sasuke stirred, pushing himself off of Naruto with one quick movement. When Naruto stood up, Sasuke had turned his back to him.

He should be angry, that much was obvious. But for the life of him Naruto just didn't have the strength to punch Sasuke in the face, or even scream at him. He bit his lip, frowning, unsure. "Sasuke…"

"It's my fault." Sasuke's voice was hard. Cold. "I shouldn't have come—there's no excuse for—" He stopped, his shoulders stiffening visibly. "I should leave." He took a step forward, away from Naruto.

"I'll come by your house around midnight." Naruto wanted to say a lot more. It's not your fault. I'm not angry at you. Yeah, it was damn stupid of you to come here, you bastard! What do you take me for, a jerk? Of course I won't leave you like this even if you do something stupid. I'm your friend, teme. But Naruto knew that what he said would be enough for Sasuke.

The Uchiha stopped in his tracks. "Thank you, Naruto." He left without turning back.

Naruto waited until Sasuke was gone before collapsing back onto the ground, his blue eyes staring at the great expanse of cerulean sky above. His body was still warm, and his lips were slightly swollen, still tingling from the memory. He gritted his teeth and frowned angrily at the clouds passing by.

He should have stopped him. He knew he could. He knew it was the right thing.

But—damn it all to Hell!—why in the world did he feel glad that he didn't?

NxS NxS NxS

End of Chapter 07.

More notes from the Author: This has been another challenging chapter to make, especially since I had to study Team Gai's characters beforehand. And I had to make two fight sequences! I hope I didn't screw anything up. If you find something that needs correcting though, please tell me ASAP so it can be fixed. :)

Sorry if you've begun thinking this story is on hiatus or worse, abandoned. Things have just been pretty hectic, but this story will be continued until it is finished. That's 'true as toasted toads' (haha, I took a leaf out of T. Goodkind's book—literally).