Title: Chapter Six: Exam, Part 2
Author: wife-chan
Rating: T
Warning: OOCness, Mood!Whiplash, some language. Political shenanigans.
Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto; Masashi Kishimoto does. We are not making any money from this fan fiction.
We do not advocate or approve of suicide. We do not find it funny. None of the characters in this fic were actually thinking about killing themselves, it just seemed that way to a defeatist!Kakashi.
Notes: We know it's been a while since we've updated this fic, but have no fear, we'll never forget about this hilariousness :D Maybe a bit more angsty then the other chapters, but still with the humor undertones :) This is part one of this chapter. It got so long we had to split it :)
And if you tell us that you feel gypped about something that we didn't specify, we may, or not may not, laugh at you. Most likely, if you intrigue us with your specific question, we'll write a short piece for that one. If you log in before reviewing, we might even send it to you before making a darling little omake file and posting it there.
***xxxXXXxxx***
Gai watches his Eternal Rival's students as they enter the preliminary match arena. He's not surprised that Kakashi entered his team into the very first chuunin exam after their graduation to genin.
It's not that he thinks his Eternal Rival is pushing his team, but perhaps Kakashi could maybe consider how the girl, at the very least, feels about fighting this intense.
After all, even his Most Youthful kunoichi, Tenten was rather delicate after her immediate graduation, even for a dedicated worker such as herself.
"Gai." Kakashi murmurs, flickering in beside him.
"My Eternal Rival, I see that your Youthful team has Gloriously passed the Second Exam!" Gai is pretty good at hiding his feelings, but his description of Kakashi's team, that one word Youthful, may have come out a bit more stressed than it usually is.
"Hai." Kakashi seems very down.
It's a disturbing thing for him to notice to notice.
He wonders briefly what the reason is and then shoves the thought to the side. He has Youthful Fights to Watch!
Unfortunately for Gai, as he quickly finds out, most the Fights are Uninspired. He certainly doesn't miss the fact that after the Uchiha's fight, Uzumaki had followed his sensei and lover out of the arena hall. He isn't sure what is going on with that, but he is willing to set it aside until Kakashi needs to talk.
The fight between the Beautiful Flowers of Konoha's Youthful Ladies is a very high disappointment for him. He makes a mental note to talk with Asuma about taking Ino for a few weeks under his tutelage. It will do the Youthful Woman well. Sakura is almost as bad, but even he can see that it is only lack of training and not lack of ambition.
He's pretty sure that Sakura came into her own in the Forest. The Second Exam is known for bringing a genin's strength to the forefront. He's glad to see that Sakura understands that.
Watching his Darling Student fighting the Suna kunoichi is invigorating! He cheers at the end, unable to keep his joy in Tenten's best fight as of yet to himself. He wants her to know how well she did. He praises her, inter-spacing his Bright Words with Notices of Caution for her next fight and she thanks him, as she always does.
He'll break her of her need to thank people for the littlest thing soon enough. He knows she's close to the edge already.
Shikamaru's fight reminds Gai of his father very much. Even down to that Unyouthful 'Troublesome' that Shikaku likes to use. He isn't surprised at all that the Youthful Boy wins. (The bells had been fairly obvious, after all.)
When Naruto's name is called out, there is a moment of confusion and then the boy appears in the door. Gai is pretty damned sure that he saw a yellow light just as Naruto stepped though the door, looking calm as you please, but he isn't going to tell anyone, since no one else seemed to notice it.
Gai wonders how long the boy has known his father's Hiraishin, but isn't going to question him. Naruto has far too much on his plate for such an inconsequential question. Just knowing that Naruto knows the Hiraishin makes Gai want to break out into paroxysms of Youthful Glory! but Gai is shinobi, so he doesn't. If Naruto is hiding his abilities for a reason, than Gai isn't going to mess that up for him.
Kiba makes a few remarks to Naruto about being homosexual and one of Gai's eyes starts twitching. The boy is being particularly aggravating. Doesn't he know when to keep his mouth shut? Gai knows when not to say anything, for all that it seems he doesn't have a filter between his brain and his mouth. Otherwise he'd never have made it to jounin.
Inuzuka Hana, who is standing in one of the dark corners as a chuunin examiner, winces at her little brother's Violation of Acceptable Etiquette. Not to mention, Shinobi Rule Twelve.
Given that the Inuzuka has just revealed to every foreign shinobi in the arena that Naruto is gay - and has a lover, even if Kiba didn't mention a name - everyone knows immediately that even if Naruto doesn't beat him in the pre-lim fight and Kiba continues on to the Exhibition fights, no one is going to be voting for him to pass to chuunin.
A shinobi never reveals secrets about comrades.
That UnYouthful Boy, Gai thinks to himself, so sure of himself and so phobic.
But Naruto shakes the insults off and laughs with the Inuzuka. It makes Gai cheer loudly for Naruto's Self Acceptance and Surety.
The fight between them is over quickly and that seems to startle most of the chuunin and jounin in the room. Kakashi and the Uchiha arrive just in time for the end of the fight and Gai does notice that Naruto's abilities don't seem to upset Kakashi, though Gai thinks that even if Kakashi knows that Naruto is far above this level, he probably doesn't know about Naruto's Hidden Ace.
His second student's fight goes Very Badly. Neji-kun is not Youthful at all, though Gai does see how Naruto and Sasuke are glaring at Neji for his horrid behavior towards his cousin.
Perhaps Naruto is a good influence on clan members, Gai thinks. He's managed to get Sasuke to be polite and he's stopped Neji from killing his cousin by just watching the fight.
When Neji practically stomps his way over to the team, Gai sees something he'd never thought he'd see in the Hyuga. A blush.
Neji has a crush.
On Naruto.
... Oh, this can only End Badly. Gai is sure that if Neji challenges Sasuke for a chance to win Naruto from him, there will be blood and death because there is No Way in Hell that the Uchiha is going to give Naruto up.
Stopping Gaara from killing Lee scares Gai. Not because he has to step in, but because Naruto also steps in.
"Lee," Gai grabs the standing, unconscious boy so he doesn't fall over. He can immediately tell that Lee has a lot of broken bones. More broken bones than most shinobi can stand to fight with.
He's insanely proud that Lee continued through the pain. (Not that it will help him become chuunin since shinobi need to know when to quit, but still - So Youthful!)
Naruto looks over his shoulder to them and gives them a nod.
Gai turns his back on the red head from Suna and walks away with Lee in his arms.
Shinobi never turn their back on an enemy, unless someone was covering their six.
Gai trusts Naruto to protect him and his student from Sabaku no Gaara.
**xxXxx**
Hana cants her hip to the side, leaning on the edge of the kitchen table, waiting patiently for her little brother to show up. She's still in her gear, having just returned from the preliminary rounds of the chuunin exams. Her little brother's fight had been rather impressive for a genin; his skills are solid and his communication with Akamaru has progressed smoothly.
One day, he'll be a very good shinobi, Hana suspects. Not that she'd tell him that; Kiba's ego is a little too big as it is. And if she did compliment him, there is no way he wouldn't immediately run off at the mouth for anyone who cared to listen to him - and a lot who didn't - about his skills and about how awesome a shinobi he already is.
And that's partially the reason she's standing here, waiting for him to return. She won't offer him congratulations on a good showing, despite her wish to do so. Because her little brother's conduct was a serious breach for a genin, never mind a chuunin. She's always known he was brash - hell, their whole family is brash, and quite proud of it too, because they know how to use it against their enemies, and for their friends.
But that was no excuse for Kiba to turn that brashness and allow his mouth to rule his head. No excuse for the breach of the Uzumaki pup's privacy in front of a crowd of onlookers both native and foreign. Because although Uzumaki is only a genin yet, there is no way the matter of his sexuality wouldn't be recorded in one form or another.
She had thought Kiba had understood about never revealing anything potentially useful to an enemy, no matter how lightly Kiba himself thought of the subject. It is always better to be cautious with intelligence, because information about things pertaining to one's life outside the shinobi forces is the most useful kind for an enemy spy.
Fighting skills and bloodlimits are bound to get known to the enemy - which is why these exams could be held in the first place - but personal information, quirks, habits and idiosyncrasies, are guarded by allies because these are things that revealed personal weaknesses and targets rather than flaws in technique. There is a reason most shinobi never married in large public ceremonies the way most civilians do; a spouse is often considered a weakness - especially if the spouse is a civilian or low-ranking ninja - and is always one of a shinobi's first targets.
She's been on missions with that purpose - hadn't liked it; no one did - and it was the most effective way of destabilizing the partner they were trying to weaken. This was why, even though the Uzumaki's and the Uchiha heir's liaison was all but common knowledge inside Konoha, that piece of information hadn't leaked out yet. Well, that and the fact that the two boys aren't of high enough rank for the information to be deemed as dangerous and subsequently classified.
The fact that the heir of a clan is courting the jinchuuriki did make the risk higher for this information to matter some day, though; which is why her little brother's indiscretion is so unseemly. There are many people who coveted the sharingan - or bloodlimits in general - and clan members are always at a higher risk of being captured for the abilities. Uzumaki's status as a jinchuuriki isn't well-known though, S-class secret as it were, so for now he's just a clanless orphan.
For now. She doesn't know for sure who his father was, but she isn't blind or willfully ignorant, and greatness is oftentimes hidden. Oh, Hana knew the boy was regarded as an idiot, but not everyone blossomed early. The fact that he could beat Kiba - who had been trained in his clan's techniques and fighting-style since he could walk - especially considering his seemingly unrefined taijutsu, spoke a lot about the boy's potential as a shinobi and Hana was far from the only one who could see that.
So this would be noted down and kept until the boy became a threat large enough to warrant someone from another nation's shinobi forces to target him - probably someone from the Seduction corps of ANBU - and while it obviously wasn't a sure thing that they would succeed, the fact that Kiba's slip of the tongue could potentially bring about the downfall of one of their own was a disgrace for the whole clan.
They wouldn't show their disapproval publicly, but within the compound walls, Kiba would probably feel a lot more coldness directed towards himself than he was used to as the Alpha's pup. Their mother had been on the verge of an apocalyptic fit of rage when Hana had told her what happened, and the only reason she wasn't the one to meet Kiba at the door when he arrived was because she'd been to angry to consider herself capable of explaining to Kiba exactly what he'd done wrong and why without taking him by the scruff of his neck and shaking some sense into him.
Loyalty was everything to the Inuzuka, and Tsume was the one who had, even before her ascent to Alpha, been the epitome of that ferocious loyalty. The fact that her own pup was the one unable to keep his mouth shut reflected badly on her as the pack leader, and hurt as a mother. Hana knew that.
Kiba had always been a bit of a loose canon, but it had never been a true problem before now. They'd all expected him to grow out of it once he realized his responsibility as a shinobi, but obviously that hadn't happened, even with his teammates and sensei there to set examples (nobody set an example of calmness as an Aburame, and the girl was the only genuinely respectful Hyuga Hana has ever met).
She'd been tempted to blame Kureni-sensei for Kiba's lack of knowledge about simple facts like not giving potential enemies hand-outs - Kurenai was a newly minted jounin with less experience and reputation than most of the other jounin sensei - but she knew that wasn't fair. Kurenai was a capable sensei and even if she had never had commented on the issue before, Kiba should have understood that on his own.
But the sad possibility was that the teacher probably had spoken to the team about it, and Kiba just hadn't been listening. Or worse, hadn't been able to put a practical application to the caution. The first was a flaw of manners and could easily be corrected but the second was more of a sign that her little brother wasn't as flexible as he should be, which would mean that Hana would need to pound the basics into the pup's ears again until he understood that everything Academy student's read or was lectured about had real-life applications that they'd be expected to use as genin.
The door opens with a click and a gust of wind bears her brother's and Akamaru's personal scents into the kitchen. The puppy is barking quietly and Kiba laughs at something Akamaru does; probably licking him. Hana remembers a time her little brother had been no larger than the small puppy and at the memory she feels her anger soften into a slowly burning ember instead of an ignited spark.
That can't be allowed to happen. Kiba needs to understand how serious this matter is, or he wouldn't make an effort to understand and change his behavior. And if he didn't do that, he frankly shouldn't be trusted as a shinobi - a terrible blow indeed, to both Kiba, the family and the clan as a whole.
"Otouto?" she barks when she hears his approach in the corridor. Likely he wanted to wash Akamaru and then wolf something down before going to his room to sulk at his loss.
"Nee-chan?" Kiba sticks his head through the door, looking tired and a bit wary at being called in such a harsh voice. The color of his cheek markings seem almost faded and Hana is dismayed to feel her anger soften further. She's a shinobi though, so she can act the anger out - because it needs to be there - without actually feeling it.
"What do you have to say for yourself?" she asks, setting her jaw against his rather innocently confused expression. Kiba still knows so little about the world, is still such a child in her eyes. Compared to the Uchiha's and Uzumaki's eyes - which bear the shadows of a troubled past - Kiba's eyes are still bright with childhood.
But he's a shinobi, and there isn't much place for childhood in their occupation. At least, not when it interferes with the shinobi side of life.
"About what?" Kiba asks, taking a step towards her. Hana makes a downward slash with her hand, warning him to stay where he is.
"About revealing information about a comrade to potential enemies," she snaps out harshly, telling him in the hardest terms she knows, what exactly he's done. Her little brother's mouth opens, baffled and indignant, but she growls at him and his jaws snap shut with a click.
"Sis - what are you talking about? I haven't done anything -" he begins and she realizes that he hasn't even considered that revealing the information might have been bad. It's not that he deemed it too useless, but rather that it didn't even occur to him that it could have been bad.
She's not sure if it upsets or relieves her. Cluelessness can be more dangerous than outright sabotaging even, and a chuunin can't afford to be ignorant about these matters.
"Your match with the Uzumaki," she hints, wanting him to realize it himself, wanting him to show that he does understand if only he gets a little nudge in the right direction.
"I haven't revealed anything to Naruto! And what the hell; he's a friend not a 'potential enemy'!" Kiba shouts and Hana wants to throw her arms up in frustration or maybe smack him. Maybe her little brother was dropped on the head to many times as a young pup; that's the only explanation she can think of. Kiba is a little dense, but he's usually not this thickheaded.
"You're not one of those people who hate him for no reason, are you?" Kiba looks at her, seriousness overtaking his youthful expression for a moment, and Hana almost loses her breath. She's seen that look on her father's face, a long time ago, and she'd never expected to see it again. For that matter, the fact that he's noticed how few people look kindly at the blond does speak in his favor... and makes it even more incomprehensible that he'd so badly misunderstand what was appropriate to allow foreign shinobi to know about him.
"Not to the Uzumaki; about him," she growls finally, teeth clacking together in annoyance when she realizes that he's all but accused her of being prejudiced. She doesn't think the Uzumaki is a monster; in fact, she has no opinion at all about him, since as she's only ever seen him from a distance. She knows of his reputation as a troublemaker, of course, but that's about it.
"What are you talking about?" Kiba asks again, blinking rapidly. Akamaru whines something Hana doesn't quite catch and then the boy frowns.
"Mate? What - oh, the Uchiha?" He rolls his eyes up to look at the puppy on his head, who barks a little in reply.
"Yes," Hana snarls and watches with some measure of satisfaction as Kiba takes a step back. "The Uchiha's relationship with the Uzumaki."
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Hana continues, "Do you even remember Shinobi Rule Twelve or have you completely forgotten everything you've been taught?" She speaks slowly as if to an addle-brained child and Kiba puffs up with indignant anger. All Hana can think is that her little brother really will have to relearn the basics if he really can't remember the rules.
Kiba looks confused and Hana almost blows her fuse when before he answers; "Shinobi Rule Twelve? 'A shinobi must never compromise a comrade'," his tone precise and clear. It's a relief that her little brother isn't quite as clueless as she'd thought him to be; more of a relief than she's really willing to admit.
"And do you not realize that releasing personal information about a comrade to a room full of foreign shinobi would count as 'compromising a comrade'?" Hana snaps, voice as rolling thunder and teeth bared in an animalistic of rage.
Kiba blinks once, blinks twice - and then pales. He loses color so quickly he's almost ashen within ten seconds and Hana feels a flicker of concern before he manages to stabilize himself. Well. He finally understands, anyway, though it took much longer than it should have.
"Oh- about- their relationship? What I said-" he asks, voice weak and tremulous. Hana snaps her teeth together, running a tongue over her canines and then nods seriously, forcing the anger to yield to the purpose of having Kiba understand just how important this is.
"Yes, Kiba. What you said - had you been of any higher rank, that could have been constituted as treason! At the very least, the Hokage would have demoted you," she rumbles softly, pitching her voice in the same way their mother does sometimes when she wants to make sure to get a point across.
Kiba staggers to a chair, breathing harshly. Perhaps the reality of the situation has finally sunken in.
"I didn't mean- I was just joking -" he rambles and looks up at her with beseeching eyes. Hana keeps her face stony, even as her chest contracts a little at his forlorn expression.
"That's not an excuse," she says and Kiba slumps in the chair, head in his hands. Akamaru whines lowly jumping down to the table to buff at Kiba's face with his nose. Her little brother gathers the puppy in his arms, stroking his fur gently, as if trying to ground himself.
"Mother- is she- ?" he looks up tentatively and Hana feels her brow crease. Kiba's eyes close, like he's preparing for a blow he can't avoid and Hana sighs.
"She's very angry, yes. The angriest I've seen her for a long time."
It's the truth, an Kiba needs to face that. He made the bed, unintentionally though it was, and now he'll have to lie in it.
"I disappointed you," Kiba mutters quietly and Hana eyeballs him in a serious manner. He's clenching his hands to fists, staring down at the tabletop without really seeing it.
"Yes, you did. I thought you knew better than this."
"I'm sorry, it won't- it won't happen again," Kiba swallows convulsively and Hana nods.
"It better not happen again, Otouto, because the next time you do, you'll probably be demoted to the academy - or thrown out of the forces all together," she says seriously and Kiba's eyes widen at the implicated consequences of his indiscretion.
"Thrown out?" he asks weakly, repeating the word as if they were hard to understand. Akamaru yips unhappily as Kiba squeezes him for comfort.
"We can't have leaks in our own ranks, you do understand that, no?" Hana asks, a bit of harshness creeping back into her voice, tinting her tone with a barely-there growl.
"As it is, even if you had beaten the Uzumaki kid and gone on to the final round, you wouldn't have been promoted," she continues when he says nothing, and Kiba's eyes widen in realization and horror. His win would have been for nothing, because shinobi need a good head on their shoulders more than pure brawn.
She tells him as much and he nods frantically. Satisfied that he's understood the situation, she plucks a book from the shelf behind her.
Shinobi 101: the Basics. It's the first book an Academy student is given to read when they first enter the Academy and Hana is half-expecting Kiba to protest being ordered to read it again.
He doesn't, though, but sits down quietly, looking to be preparing himself for a long stay.
**xxXxx**
Kabuto kneels to the ground, face set in perfect neutrality as he waits for Orochimaru to acknowledge his presence. He doesn't know why he's been summoned; nothing had gone wrong with their plans, their spies were still in place, Kabuto himself hadn't been discovered... but there was no doubt his master was displeased. And Orochimaru's displeasure was always painful for anyone unfortunate enough to be in the vicinity.
"Kabuto..." he hisses, and the teen doesn't know how Orochimaru can hiss out his name when it doesn't contain any S's. It never stops sounding sinister, and while he's used to that, and used to the knife edge he dances across as Orochimaru's right hand he still has to stop himself from tensing noticeably. It would probably just amuse his master, but he refuses to show any weaknesses where Orochimaru can see them.
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama?" he asks calmly, remaining in his kneeling position even as he feel's the snake Sannin's eyes slide across his body. He's not sure if he should be grateful that Orochimaru doesn't appear mad at him or concerned that he's captured the man's interest. Having Orochimaru be interested in you is oftentimes more dangerous than having him as your enemy, Kabuto knows very well.
"I have a mission for you," he says, pausing. Kabuto can almost hear the pleasure in his voice when the pale man permits him to rise and holds back any kind of response he might have wanted to make. He's in this man's service presently, and this is where he needs to remain at all costs until...
"How may I serve you?"
"I have a mission for you," Orochimaru repeats sharply after a brief pause. Kabuto sees the man's eyes narrow and wonders what it is that his master will require of him. It's unusual for the snake Sannin to draw out any of his orders this way unless he's in a playful – sadistic – mood, and it's very obvious that that is not the case today.
"The Uzumaki brat," the pale man continues, still watching Kabuto avidly through slitted eyes. "Have you heard?"
And there is a test in those words that Kabuto sidesteps with a prompt nod. Even if he wasn't there at the prelims, he'd had one of the Sound boys tell him what the jinchuuriki's match had been like, since that was potentially interesting to his other master. And after that he'd just listened to the village gossip, which told him even more.
"The Uchiha and Uzumaki's liaison?" he asks lightly, watching carefully as Orochimaru's eyes darken to a molten, sickly yellow color. All right, so for whatever reason, that put an obstacle in the snake Sannin's path.
Ah. but of course. The relationship would probably be a reason for the Uchiha heir to remain where he was and thus out of Orochimaru's grasp. And for the snake Sannin to be this angry about it, the feelings the Uchiha had for the jinchuuriki were apparently strong enough for him to be able to override the Curse Seal's planted impulses.
"Yesss," Orochimaru hisses, drawing out the word to sound like an expletive and Kabuto nods again, painting sympathy across his face. His master's mouth elongates in a smile, the tip of a pink tongue sliding between the upper and lower lip in anticipation.
Disease curls in Kabuto's stomach and he wonders what the Sannin will order him to do that he finds so amusing.
"I'd like for you to break them up," Orochimaru says faux-courteously, like he's making a request, "I would like for them to remain apart." His tone is a mockery, but Kabuto doesn't react to it. He's used to his master's games.
"In any particular way?" Kabuto asks carefully. There is something Orochimaru wants him to do - this is not a free reign mission, no matter that the Sannin hasn't indicated anything.
"Which way do you think would work the best?" Orochimaru asks, a queer gleam in his eyes. Sometimes Kabuto wonders if the madness made the snake Sannin more perceptive, more intelligent and resourceful, rather than acting as a hindrance.
The best shinobi are always a bit mad. Some thrive in it, others lose themselves. Kabuto isn't sure which category Orochimaru fits into.
Focusing on the pale man's question, Kabuto's mind spins in circles and squiggles, trying to anticipate what answer the Sannin wants from him. The correct answer. The sadistic answer; or the most humiliating.
"...You wish for me to seduce one of them?" Kabuto asks, not quite daring to be so presumptuous as to state the answer with certainty. He's not sure what he feels when Orochimaru's smile widens; as far as he knows, the man is only interested in immortality and in collecting jutsu – sex, romantic entanglements (fake or otherwise), friendship or even camaraderie hasn't ever been encouraged by the Sannin.
But then - when Orochimaru raises his non-existent eyebrows in silent affirmation - it's not like the Sannin actually cares about the relationship he wants Kabuto to cultivate, just the improved chances of Sasuke coming to him of his own volition.
"Which one is to be the intended target for this seduction?" Kabuto asks, tilting his head. He doesn't usually do seduction missions, because while he's handsome enough, there are shinobi under Orochimaru's command more handsome than he and more experienced in this particular area of work.
He suspects the reason he has been handpicked for this is because he's one of the few people who know exactly why Orochimaru wants the boy; Kimimaro, the poor boy, is much too sick to be of use even if he hadn't carried his clan's distinctive markings. The Sound Four consist of three rather ugly and highly unstable persons and the last, while pretty, is a girl.
Kabuto's lips almost twitch at the fact that the most beautiful member of the Sound Four is the one with the least chance of completing the mission. There is a rather interesting dose of irony in that, as well as the fact that the Uchiha clan will never be revived even if Orochimaru hadn't been determined to have Sasuke as a host.
"I should think -" Orochimaru pauses, slowly running his tongue along his upper lip, "Whichever one you want, Kabuto-kun," he purrs lowly, drawing his tongue back in.
Kabuto doesn't know if he's offended at the suggestion that he might be attracted to either of the boys - which is clearly the man's intention - or if Orochimaru thinks that suggesting his possible homosexuality would disgust Kabuto.
He's not attracted to men – or boys -, but he's a good ninja, an even better medic and an excellent actor – he can fake anything.
That being said; from what intel he's gathered about the relationship in the short few days after the Inuzuka boy's outbursts at the preliminary exams, the Uchiha boy is what is apparently commonly called the 'uke' in the relationship, meaning the 'bottom' or the 'receiver'.
If possible, he'd prefer being in the dominating role, as it gave him more room to lead the interactions as he wanted them to go and was less of a risk for him.
"The Uchiha," he murmurs carefully, watching the expressions flicker across the pale man's face before Orochimaru nods, once.
Kabuto isn't sure if he likes how easily his master acquiesced, but says nothing.
**xxXxx**
Sasuke stares at Kakashi in horror. He's so shocked that he can't even hide the horror he feels.
"Leave- leave Naruto?" He asks, stuttering. Naruto grips his shoulders tightly and refuses to let go, "I-I can't leave Naruto, he's everything to me..." He trails off.
Naruto hugs him close and stares at their teacher before lowering his eyes. Sasuke has never seen him so defeated before. "It's the council, isn't it?" Kakashi nods and Sasuke doesn't know what his cousin means. Why would the council want them apart? "Damn it," Naruto curses and pushes Sasuke away from him, steps away from him.
Sasuke blinks and reaches out a hand to his cousin and Naruto takes it briefly before letting him go and walking away.
"Naruto?" Sasuke feels so confused. What does the council have to do with separating them?
Naruto spins and pins him with a look he's never seen before, "I'm so sorry, Sasuke. I never even gave a single thought to the council; how they were react to this other than..." He stops speaking and Sasuke wonders what he was going to say.
"Why are they so against this?" Sasuke asks, lost, looking from his teacher to his cousin for answers. He doesn't understand, not really.
"Sasuke," Naruto's face softens and he comes back to the Uchiha, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and hugging him close. Closer than before, "Remember- Do you remember what I told you? When I told you for the very first time that I love you?"
Sasuke's mind goes back and he thinks and thinks and suddenly it's there.
Kyuubi.
Of course the council doesn't want the last (loyal) Uchiha to be related to the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki.
But... they don't know that he and Naruto are related. They're hiding it, right? So then... why are they so mad?
*x*
Kakashi watches his students closely. He knew that this news was going to really hurt them, but he hadn't realized that it was going to break Sasuke, hadn't expected Sasuke to be the one most affected by it.
"Naruto-" Sasuke murmurs to Naruto and starts to drag him away. Kakashi catches Naruto and Sasuke's shirt sleeves, one in each hand, before they manage to get very far. He can't let them escape.
But they look at him and he drops their sleeves. This may be the last time they're together, and he can't stand in the way of that.
Naruto draws Sasuke off and he watches from afar as they talk quietly. It's a surprise when Sasuke seems to get angry and Naruto can't calm him down.
There are several moments where Kakashi feels tense and then Sasuke sighs and sits back down, nodding along with whatever Naruto is saying though his face has the coldest expression Kakashi has ever seen Sasuke direct at Naruto.
Then Naruto leaves. It's a surprise that he does, Kakashi had thought that Naruto would fight this, would give it his all to resist the decree. And Sasuke looks so very alone, sitting in the middle of a training field by himself, his face twisting after the Uchiha is sure Naruto is gone, as though he is trying not to cry.
Gathering his courage, Kakashi heads towards him. He's the only one who knows exactly how much Naruto means to Sasuke and he still doesn't believe that Naruto has just left his lover, the love of his life, sitting alone with no one to help him through this.
But maybe Naruto knew that Kakashi was sticking around, that Kakashi was there to help.
But if he helps Sasuke, who's going to be there for Naruto?
As he gets closer to Sasuke, he can hear the boy muttering under his breath. The words he hears practically stop his heart.
"-can't not have him, he's part of me, part of Uchiha, can't be without him, don't care what people think, don't care what they say, don't care what they do - can't lose him. I don't want to let him go- can't let him go. He's everything. Can't - won't live without Naruto anymore, can't stand not having him with me -"
He sees Sasuke's hand fall to his weapons pouch and he rushes the last three steps, grabbing Sasuke's body and hugging him close. He doesn't really care how it looks for him to be hugging his thirteen year old student; he can't let Sasuke think that Naruto is the be all and end all of his life.
"You can live without him, Sasuke, you can," He stresses the last word, whispering into Sasuke's ear. If there's one thing that Kakashi fears most of all, it's losing another friend, losing another teammate. He can't lose Sasuke, and he can't lose him to suicide of all the possible deaths out there.
"Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke hiccups his name, trying to keep back tears. "I can't live without Naruto, not after finding him, not after knowing him so intimately. He's- he's everything to me now. He's all I have left."
"Shh," Kakashi rocks the boy back and forth, "You can live without him. He'll still be here, you just can't be so close with him, you just can't be... intimate with him." Kakashi's never had to talk someone down from suicide before and he doesn't know what he's doing. He hopes that he's not making it worse.
"He left me! He's trying to protect me and he told me - told me about what he was doing! But I don't care! I don't care that he used me like that! He loves me; I know that he loves me too much to let me go!"
Kakashi wonders what Sasuke means when he says Naruto used him, because he can't make sense of it. Naruto loves Sasuke with his entire heart; he's taken a deadly poison for him, he's killed for him, he's fought Orochimaru for him. He cuddles Sasuke to his chest and wonders what he is supposed to say, supposed to do to help.
He wants to help so badly.
And there is a thought forming that tells him that maybe he can. Maybe, if Sasuke is serious about killing himself if he can't be with Naruto, he can use that to dissuade the council, make them rescind their decision so that Sasuke won't have to lose Naruto.
"Naruto loves you, Sasuke," he whispers to the boy in his arms, "He loves you so much that he's willing to let you go." That can be the only reason that Naruto would leave Sasuke. He knows that Naruto is far too possessive to let Sasuke go for anything else.
"But- he left," Sasuke mutters into Kakashi's vest through near silent sniffles, "He told me that he was sorry, that he never meant to hurt me... and then he left."
*x*
Naruto hides himself away in the forest, knowing that he's hurt his cousin deeply without meaning to. He never meant for the prank to go this far, he never meant for Sasuke to be hurt by it.
It was supposed to be funny, he was supposed to be able to tell Sasuke when he wanted - not when he was forced to - that he was pranking the village, making them think that they were romantically involved. He hadn't wanted to ruin his relationship with Sasuke, not like this, not by his hand being forced into telling Sasuke what was going on.
He tries to think of the way he would have told Sasuke in an ideal world. For the life of him, he can't. When he realizes that he never planned for when he would tell Sasuke, he wonders how long it would have gone on, wonders how long it could have gone on without Sasuke hating him more and more once he finally did find out.
Not very long, he thinks.
But now Sasuke knows - and hates him for it - and he doesn't know what he's going to do. He told Sasuke what the council thought, told him what he'd done.
Told him that it was a prank.
Told him that there were practical applications (Itachi) to the misconstrued relationship.
And then he couldn't stand to look into Sasuke's betrayed eyes any longer, so he'd left.
He wonders if he'll ever get his family back.
He doubts he will.
And realizing the odds of ever getting Sasuke back in his life, he flickers to Sasuke's house and packs his bags. Sasuke won't want him here anymore. He tries to think of where he can go, but nothing comes to mind.
It had been nice, while it lasted.
The last thing that he packs up is the ninjatō he stole from the ANBU HQ after the massacre.
He sits silently in one of the large Konoha trees, just outside of the walls and sharpens his ninjatō. His single bag of personal belongings (because most of what he has now was bought for him by Sasuke and he can't take what isn't really his) sits beside him, mocking him.
He doesn't have an apartment anymore - he'd given that up when Sasuke asked him to move in. He doesn't have Sasuke anymore - he'd lost him because of his own stupid mistakes. He doesn't have anything anymore - and that hurts.
**xxXxx**
Inoichi rubs at his cheek in irritation. Damn council, getting involved in matters they don't actually have a say in.
But there is nothing anything he can do about it, not unless he has unwavering support of every other major clan. And the Hokage.
Nothing against the Professor, really, but he's a little old to be dealing with everything that he should be dealing with.
"Inoichi?" Shikaku slides into the back room of Inoichi's family flower shop, "You called for me?"
"I'm having a problem with this decision that the council has made."
Shikaku nods, understandingly. Inoichi is just glad that he has a friend that understands him so quickly. "I see. And you aren't letting your personal feelings get involved?"
Inoichi snorts, "I have personal feelings?" He asks with humor that falls a little flat.
Shikaku just looks at him and raises an eyebrow, "Toshi-kun?" He says and Inoichi winces.
Obviously the man would bring that up.
But that had been a long time ago and Shikaku knows that.
"No, Shika, my personal feelings aren't getting involved in this." Just because he'd once had a male lover before he'd gotten married doesn't mean that he's letting his heart get all twisted up imagining the situation with the Uchiha and Naruto happening to himself and Toshiaki.
Really.
It's not like he's comparing himself to the Uchiha, being expected to marry and have many happy clan babies, and Toshi as Naruto, the street kid who no one would approve of even if he'd been female.
"Okay," Shikaku nods again and just like that, Inoichi knows that even if Shikaku doesn't believe him, he'll set that topic to the side for Inoichi's sake. "So, you do realize that to oppose the decision of the council, you'll have to invest a lot of time and favors into getting the other major clans on your side, right?"
Inoichi shrugs a shoulder, "I'm pretty sure that I already have four - maybe five - of the major clans on my side. I just need the others."
And he does know that he has enough clans on his side. He has the Yamanakas, the Akimichis, the Naras and the Uchihas on his side. He's not sure if the Hatakes are on his side or not, but since the only remaining Hatake, like the only remaining Uchiha, are on the same team, Inoichi's pretty sure that Kakashi is willing to go to bat for his student.
Even if he hadn't when he'd been called before the council during the second exam.
He hopes that a week ago Kakashi had just been startled and unwilling to push without more information.
Well, now he'll just have to go around to the Inuzuka's, and it's a pretty sure bet on his part that they'll side with him over the council, since they value love over everything else; the Aburame's, who are pretty much the same as the Inuzuka's, even if they are low key about it; and the Hyuga's.
It's the Hyuga that he's mostly worried about. The Hyuga hate the Uchiha so it's not a stretch to assume that Hiashi would want to deny the Last Uchiha the love of his life.
On the other hand, Hiashi believes in true love - the closeted romantic! - so... It's pretty much a toss up and a crapshoot as to which way the stuck up bastard will bend.
He'll go though, and he'll employ his rather credible skills in observation and if need be, press Hiashi into the choice that he wants. If that just happens to involve a favor to two, he's willing to go that far.
**xxXxx**
Sasuke stares up at Naruto as his cousin does several katas hanging upside down on a tree branch.
The explanation that Naruto was pranking the village by making everyone think that they are - were - lovers had hurt him. Once he'd had a little time to think it over though, he had to concede that it wasn't a bad plan, or a bad prank. Oh, he still hasn't forgiven Naruto, but he knows he will in a few more days. He can't really hold his cousin's nature against him, especially considering the benefits Naruto had counted for the prank. They can't precisely reveal that Naruto is an Uchiha, after all; not until that man is dead.
Kakashi strolls over to him lazily and crouches next to where he's sitting at the base of the tree that Naruto is hanging off of.
"Sasuke-kun?" Kakashi sounds very tentative and Sasuke inwardly snorts. Naruto has even managed to get Kakashi to believe that they were lovers without letting onto Sasuke what was going on. It's a pretty masterfully executed plan.
Sasuke doesn't mean to feel pride in Naruto's ability to bullshit, but he does. It's hard to not feel prideful of everything that Naruto has been able to accomplish with this shtick of his.
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei?" Kakashi winces a little and Sasuke feels vindictive. It is only because Naruto specifically asked him to be more polite that he's as polite as he has been. Kakashi must have noticed that too.
"How are you doing?"
Wanting Kakashi to feel as bad as possible for not fighting for Naruto and him - for not being trustworthy, for separating the two of them from the one thing that had started healing them -, even under false pretenses, Sasuke lowers his face and looks to the side, pursing his lips and blinking rapidly. "I'm fine, Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke lets his voice waver a little. He truly misses being with his cousin, so he projects that into his words and hopes it twists Kakashi's heart up. The man is surprisingly emotional under his rather lackadaisical continence.
"Sasuke-kun," Kakashi pauses then takes a breath and tries again, "I'm sorry they took Naruto away from you."
"They didn't," Sasuke snarls with genuine anger and hurt as he snaps his head up and stares into Kakashi's gray eye, "You did. You didn't fight for me. You didn't fight for him. You didn't fight for us. You're Sharingan no Kakashi. You're the best jounin in Konoha. You are far more respected than any of the council. If you'd've fought, Naruto and I would still be together - like we're supposed to be."
In the tree above them, Naruto's stopped moving and when Sasuke looks up to him, he can see his younger cousin (mentally so much older though; he still hasn't gotten over how mature Naruto usually is) looking down at them with shuttered eyes.
Pushing his own boundaries a little, and hoping that Naruto understands his message (that he's willing to participate in the prank), Sasuke reaches over his head and wraps an arm around the trunk of the tree, staring up at Naruto like he's drowning and Naruto is the only source of oxygen in the world.
"Sasuke?" Naruto's strained whisper reaches him and Sasuke has to wonder how in the ever living hell he'd managed to miss the connotations in Naruto's speech patterns when they were around other people.
Ah well. He knows now. And Naruto's right, it's fun to fuck with people. Especially when there is an element of revenge involved. At the moment, he couldn't care less if it's immoral or some shit like that.
"Naruto-" Sasuke whispers back with longing. He continues to look at Naruto before tearing his gaze away and slumping back against the tree. His hands settle in his lap and he stares at his fingers as his body shakes, trying very hard not to laugh at his sensei.
Kakashi doesn't seem to know what to say, or do, and so he sits there for a moment, just watching Sasuke shake. Sasuke has to be very careful not to look up and check on how his acting is doing, because if it does that, it'll give the prank away.
He doesn't want to be the reason a six month long prank fails. He has to think of the prank as though it were a mission to keep from breaking character, and realizes that this will work very well as infiltration training.
"Sasuke," Kakashi finally rests a hand on his shoulder and looks shifty, glancing around cautiously, "I'm going to go over there," he points lazily in a random direction, "-and I'll be gone for about half a hour." Kakashi then stands and wonders off with a wave over his shoulder. Before he's completely left the clearing, Naruto is down the tree and hugging Sasuke for all he's worth.
"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you-" Naruto practically cries into his neck. Sasuke hugs his cousin back.
"I never hated you, Naruto," Sasuke tells him gently, rocking back and forth, letting the jinchuuriki rest his ear against his chest to listen to his heart beat. "I love you."
"Oh, gods, Sasuke-" Naruto whispers, tears in his eyes, "I thought you would. I really thought that you'd hate me because of..."
"Shh," Sasuke strokes Naruto's hair and stops him from saying anything more. Let Kakashi (who's hiding in that tree over there. As though Sasuke wouldn't sense him. Ha.) think whatever he wants about Naruto thinking Sasuke hated him. "I would never, will never, hate you. I love you far too much to ever hate you."
Naruto sags in his arms and his dead weight pulls them both to their knees. "Thank you," he whispers into Sasuke's neck again, scenting Sasuke.
Sasuke wonders how much it hurt his cousin to be so long without the smell of home after having had it for six months. He thinks that it was probably agonizing so he doesn't (refuses to) flinch when Naruto licks his jugular. He's shinobi, he doesn't like teeth that close to a major artery.
It takes several minutes for Sasuke to let go of Naruto. Naruto isn't the only one missing that feeling of home. "Come on, we only have about twenty minutes left."
"Can we-" Naruto bows his head and and looks up through his eyelashes. Sasuke immediately realizes that his cousin also knows that Kakashi is watching them. Naruto's cheeks pink lightly and Sasuke can't help but laugh. He makes sure to have it sound a little embarrassed.
Now that he knows, now that he can participate in this prank, Naruto is really upping the ante.
"I'd love to, Naruto, but we don't have time-" Sasuke strokes Naruto's neck, feeling his pulse, making sure that his cousin is still alive, that he's still there, that they're able to hug one another again. It had been so long between the death of his family and his reunion with Naruto and now that he's had to live alone, live without that content feeling of family once again, it almost hurts to be allowed to hug.
Naruto nods his head then rests his ear against Sasuke's breastbone again. "But we can-"
"Yes," Sasuke whispers, "We can hold each other now."
His heart beat must be putting Naruto to sleep because his voice gets lethargic as his talks, "Do you think, maybe, we could have longer?"
"No. Kakashi-sensei is putting himself out on a limb right now," - and the tree branch Kakashi is crouched on is about to snap in half - "and we don't want to get him in trouble."
"Right," Naruto all but growls the word out and Sasuke looks down to see his canine's have elongated. His cousin isn't feral yet, but it seems that Kakashi is truly making Naruto angry as all hell; and that anger is what brings out Naruto's demon fox side.
(Sasuke isn't sure if he's more scared of the demon part or the fox part of the Kyuubi. He's pretty much decided that seeing as he now has his sharingan active, he shouldn't be scared of either because it's been said that the sharingan can control the Kyuubi.)
"Shh, calm down Naruto," Sasuke hushes his cousin and breathes deeply and makes sure that his heart rate doesn't go up. It doesn't take long for Naruto to calm down and Sasuke is relieved to see his fangs recede back to their normal - if longer than average for human - length.
When Kakashi jumps down to the ground and starts wandering back over to them to continue their training, Naruto and Sasuke reluctantly let each other go, lingering touches on elbows and wrists and fingers combining with furtive glances from under lowered eyelashes to make it look provocative.
Finally Kakashi clears his throat and Sasuke jerks away from Naruto, stuffing his hands in his pockets and standing just outside of arms reach from Naruto. Naruto glares at Kakashi and scampers back up the tree that he'd been working on before.
Kakashi just gives them a sad look and directs Sasuke into a strange and lightening fast kata. Sasuke doesn't know what the kata is preparing him for, but it's something special, he can tell. At the moment, though, he doesn't really care enough to ask about it.
***xxxXXXxxx***
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