Ohayo Folks!
Whoa, so glad to have finished a chapter! I've been trying to outline the chapters of this story and I'm excited of the direction it's currently going. Until then, here's one for you. Gotta warn you, it's a bit dialogue-y, but I tried to even out the ratio with some description and such. I thought I was going to hate this chapter since it feels a bit angst-y but I actually liked it. Haha, angry Naruto is a fun Naruto…I'm messed up. Anyway, enjoy and please review!
Today's picture is a KakaNaru pic. LMFAO I've been reading some KakaNaru smut (I ship it, so what?!) and added some Kakashi in this chapter so I figured, why not? www-deviantart-com-art-AND - ANOTHER- 107980158
Anyway, please enjoy the story and if you enjoy this, perhaps you'll enjoy my other story Always a Sin. Thanks so much for reading, and please review!
Eggs and Bacon,
CrimsonNi
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Chapter Six:
By the time Naruto woke up, Miro was already gone. He gave his room a quick glance, noting that Miro was kind enough to tidy the place up even though he hadn't gained any sleep after last night. Even the kitchen and living room were clean. That idiot…Naruto thought. A smile began blooming upon Naruto's face when he mentally recapped what happened on the bedroom floor and again on the bed—he'd have to thank Miro when he got the chance. But for now, Naruto had no time and had to get ready for whatever duties were scheduled for the day.
The shower was quick, the walk to the office was quick, even the mild conversations Naruto had with bystanders as he made his way were quick, yet everything felt as if it went in slow motion. Already he wanted the day to be over with. But as a shinobi that consistently brags how he's a man of his word, he dragged his feet into the office.
"You're lucky, I was about to fetch some ANBU after you if you were to walk in here late."
"Baa-chan—"
"Stupid! What have I told you about calling me that?!" Tsunade roared as she chucked a stapler at Naruto.
"OW! What are you trying to do? Kill me?!"
"Shut up and sit down. We're already behind as is."
Naruto looked around the office while making his way to the double-seated couch at the far wall. Noting that it was safe to talk, he leaned his head back and exhaled. "Did the results come in?"
"Who the hell do you think you're asking?" Tsunade snarked. "Of course they came in and it isn't good."
Naruto shot right up with alarm clear in his eyes. "What is it?"
"Whatever it is, it's powerful—"
"Wait, you don't know what it is?"
"Not completely, no. From what I could gather up from the samples and the records sent to me, this is a mutation genetically made to attack the nervous system."
"….What?"
Tsunade sighed heavily. "A bad guy cooked it up somewhere to affect and destroy the wiring of the body."
"What?! People can do that?! How?!"
"Would you SHUT UP! Why are you surprised—you've experienced this first hand! Remember Kabuto? He's a perfect example of a medical genius capable of creating dangerous chemicals like this."
"Oh, right, well is this his work? Because if it's not then we have a problem; other than him, you, Sakura-chan, and Shizune-nee-chan, there's not that many medical geniuses running around."
"I know, I already have ANBU looking into it. Whoever made this, I'm afraid, might be more of a threat than Kabuto ever was. There are some components in this…poison that I've never seen before."
"So what does this mean for me?"
"That whoever made this isn't playing any games. They're in it for the whole circus with the clear intent on taking down a tailed beast and its human container."
Naruto looked venomously at Tsunade, his claws already protruding and his whisker marks darkening. "Then just let them try."
"Before you go off on your crusade, there's something else I need to tell you."
"More bad news?"
"Depends. She underestimates my power of observation and thinks I didn't notice but I found the medical files you sent me to be tampered with."
"'She' meaning…?"
"Sakura; I think she might have looked at them and deciphered the forms…"
"Damn it! No wonder her and Sasuke-teme have been acting so weird!"
"Although I may understand what her—their—motives were for looking into that file, I still have to serve some punishment."
"No, don't do that! Sakura-chan was just worried; lemme talk to her, try and get her off my back. I'm having lunch with the both of them this afternoon."
Tsunade hummed, pulling the tip of her thumbnail into her mouth for her to bite on as she thought Naruto's words over. "Fine, but make sure she understands, got it? I love Sakura to death but even I can't tolerate lying or misconduct."
"Sure, sure, leave it to me –Dattebayo! See ya later, Baa-chan! I've got some research to do!" Naruto shouted before a heavy book was thrown his way. He managed to duck and escape the office with the sounds of his laugh echoing down the halls.
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- For a guy that's had explosions go off just a few yards from his ear drums, nothing sounded louder to him than the ticking of that damn clock. Tick, tick, tick…
He should have gone straight to the Hokage's office like he originally wanted but damn these mandatory sessions. His fingers twitched with each tick, his teeth dug a tad deeper into his bottom lip with each tock. Maybe if he spoke, answered whatever question was asked of him, it would drown out the noise. But then again, Sasuke hated talking; shouldn't the guy have realized that by now? Why keep asking questions? He's just been staring right at Sasuke, without moving or blinking—it was beginning to be disturbing. Another round of ticks registered into Sasuke's mind.
"Sasuke?"
"What?" he growled. Truthfully, he hadn't meant to respond like that, but the clock was getting to him and he didn't feel like being here. He wanted to leave and meet up with Naruto already.
The counselor was a ridiculously tall man, probably about 7 feet tall with the dullest features Sasuke had ever seen on a person; brown shaggy hair, boring brown eyes, a narrow nose, smooth chin—he could pass as Kiba's abandoned older brother. However, despite the man's unoriginal features, there was something eerie about him that Sasuke couldn't pinpoint. It was almost as if he could see right through Sasuke and tease the thoughts that plagued his mind. "I asked if everything was ok. You seem bothered by something."
How could he tell? Aside from frowning and remaining stoic, what other expressions did Sasuke show on his face that created such theories of his thoughts? "Not really," Sasuke replied curtly.
"Not really? Could that imply something that isn't bothering you is on your mind?"
Not exactly reverse psychology, but definitely an interesting angle. "I didn't get much sleep last night."
"Any particular reason?"
"My teammate, Sakura, dragged me over to my other teammate's apartment to interrogate him. He just got back from his mission in Suna."
"Ah, Mr. Uzumaki—how is he?"
"I don't know…," Sasuke shamefully admitted. He hated not having all of the information and he hated how pitiful he sounded at not knowing.
"What do you mean, Sasuke? Is he alright?"
"I don't know. Sakura…she found his medical record in the Hokage's office and she said it was encrypted with the mention that something may be wrong with Naruto's health but it didn't specify more than that." For a second Sasuke briefly wondered if mentioning so much information was acceptable; these sessions were always noted to be sent to the Hokage and just now, he threw Sakura under the horse. Maybe if the explain…?
"So you went to his apartment last night to confront him about what you found?"
"Hn." He replied, regaining his attention back on topic.
"And what was his response?"
"…He didn't say. When he answered the door, he was preoccupied…with something else." The counselor patiently waited for Sasuke to continue, allowing the sounds of the clock to resume again. Sasuke sighed heavily and cleared his throat as he straightened up. "He had someone over," he said with a scowl.
"Did that bother you?"
There was that feeling again, like he could see Sasuke's thoughts and feelings personified in little caricatures dancing in front of them. Sasuke replayed their whole conversation thus far and tried to find where he faltered, where his voice weakened enough to alert this guy to what he was thinking. He was too good for Sasuke's liking.
"What does?" He decided to play dumb.
"The thought of Naruto with someone else? Or is it the thought of him with someone else intimately?"
"What's the difference?" Sasuke snapped angrily.
"You tell me," the counselor challenged.
"What the fuck does that mean?"
The counselor lightly huffed through his nose. "How about you give that question some thought and how it correlates to your relationship with Naruto at our next session."
The air felt tense around Sasuke; he felt as if his lungs were shrinking while his blood was pumping much too fast for his body to control. He was seeing red. "I am not a homo."
"I didn't say that you were."
"You don't have any issues implying it! That's disgusting and he's my friend; I don't harbor those kinds of…feelings for that dobe."
Another huff. "Fair enough, Sasuke, I apologize if I've overstepped the boundary line. However, I do want you to give everything that we've talked about today some thought. Can you do that?"
"Hn," Sasuke barely managed before he snatched his belongings and raced out the door. He was seething and didn't want to spend another minute in that room. The hell he was going to think about Naruto in that light! The guy was sick, Sasuke hated him, and he was a fucking quack that needed to die…or disappear— whichever came first.
The anger that coursed through him led him in the direction of the Hokage's office; he needed to square this problem with Naruto and resume back to their old ways. So he ran straight forward, bypassing all of the merchants and random nobodies, zooming right through the doors of the building. Immediately, he could sense Naruto's enormous chakra pulsing through the building. Sasuke relaxed, finding some comfort in the familiar chakra. Almost as if he could smell it, Sasuke followed the scent of the spicy, earthy chakra up a flight of stairs and into a long hallway. The closer he moved, the more suffocating the chakra felt, but that was a common feeling when hanging around Naruto; he wasn't the only one, many of their friends and teachers all vouched that even standing a couple yards away from Naruto could be intimidating.
Naruto was standing at the end of the hallway, his laugh reaching Sasuke's ear as if they were standing right next to each other. He looked to see what was so amusing to his friend and found him talking animatedly to their sensei, Kakashi. Naruto was flailing his hands, smiling and widening his eyes so big that it was a wonder how the skin around his face could keep up. Whatever they were talking about, Kakashi seemed rapt in the conversation, even though it was hard to tell since his face always seemed disinterested and bored, but Sasuke could tell. Training long enough with the guy gave him adequate experience in how to read him.
Kakashi must have sensed Sasuke's chakra since he stopped talking mid-sentence to look down the hallway and stare directly at Sasuke. Upon noticing that he was correct, he crinkled his visible eye and smiled. "Hello, Sasuke-kun."
Naruto followed suit but seemed more surprised than happy. "Teme? What're you doing here?"
Did he have to constantly explain his presence to people? Was it a problem that he interrupted their secret conversation? Even if it was, he had his own business to attend to with Naruto. "I finished earlier than expected."
"Um…ah, you're a bit early," Naruto said with a nervous hand behind his neck. He kept giving Kakashi sideway glances, furthering angering Sasuke.
Before Sasuke could object, Kakashi patted Naruto on the shoulder and gave another smile. "Maa, Naruto, it's alright. We can continue this another time."
"Are you sure?"
"Mmmhmm, now go on. Sasuke-kun wants you."
Sasuke glared. He filled his eyes with as much murderous intent as he could muster and threw it at Kakashi as if it were one of Naruto's beast bombs! He suddenly remembered how much he disliked Kakashi; sure, when he was a kid, he admired this guy, his cool, aloof attitude, and his infamous reputation, but after training with him and learning more about this man, Sasuke only grew to be disappointed. Kakashi was nothing more than an overhype, a gossip that got too out of hand. So much so that even Naruto was still glamorized by his faux charm. But Sasuke also remembered how much Kakashi favored him more than Naruto and how much Naruto envied that…yet now Kakashi favored Naruto? Is this his way of making it up to Naruto for all of those years of neglect or did they develop a whole different kind of relationship while Sasuke was away?
"Naruto, let's go," Sasuke ordered.
"Okay, bye Kaka-sensei! Next time!"
Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the arm and dragged him back down the hallway and steps, ignoring the loud protests from the arm's owner. Could this day get any worse? Nothing was going Sasuke's way and he felt so internally constricted from having to resist from resorting to murder. Naruto's squirming was grating on his nerves, so he finally stopped walking and turned around to glare at his friend. "Would you stop it?"
Naruto looked at Sasuke incredulously, as if he had six heads growing out of his neck. "Are you kidding me?! You're the one dragging me all over the place like some maniac!"
"We had a meeting. We have to talk, remember?"
"Yes, at the training grounds, by noon! You came to me early and were so rude to Kaka-sensei—"
"Since when are you so chummy with Kakashi?"
That question threw Naruto off guard. It wasn't one he'd ever expect to be asked because he wasn't sure what it was Sasuke was hinting at. "What're you talking about?"
"I'm asking you since when have the two of you been best friends, talking amongst yourselves?"
"Sasuke, are you fucking kidding me? He isn't some random guy, he's Kaka-sensei. You know, our former sensei, leader of Team 7, our teammate…"
"You weren't saying that when you used to beg for his attention. What, so I left and you're my replacement now?"
"Fuck you," Naruto spat, clearly hurt by those words. "I don't know what you're talking about or what's your problem but find me when you pull that stick outta your ass."
Unperturbed by the brush off, Sasuke continued. "Tell me, what other secrets are you hiding?"
Naruto froze, suddenly washed over with guilt. Unfortunately, he a couple of things he was hiding from Sasuke, but with the way he was acting now, he couldn't say anything even if he wanted to. He couldn't. He wouldn't. "I keep telling you, I don't know what you're talking—"
Sasuke then roughly grabbed Naruto's arm and turned him over to hiss in his face. His face was so close, Naruto could feel spittle hit his cheeks and mouth. "Sakura read your files. She says you're sick!"
"Fuck outta my face!" Naruto shouted as he shoved Sasuke away from him. "That was both of your faults for snooping into shit that ain't your business."
"You would have done the same if it were one of us instead! So don't go playing high and mighty, Mr. Hero of Konoha."
"Heh, you weren't saying that before you left the village…and abandoned us," Naruto countered, immediately regretting the words. He saw the hurt flash across Sasuke's face before contorting back to his angered expression. Damn it, he hated when he randomly grew witty like this. Whenever he argued against anyone else—Kaka-sensei, Sakura-chan, even Sai—he would stammer, say something childish, whine, feel absolutely stupid because he couldn't come up with a clever reply or comment. But when he argued with Sasuke, he felt like a fucking scholar!
Maybe because Sasuke threw insults that were like boomerangs and could be easily whirled around right back or maybe they knew each other so well, it was just easier to find the most striking of insults. Whatever the reason, Naruto hated it because he couldn't stand being the reason for that scowl on Sasuke's face.
"Fuck you," Sasuke finally replied. He then turned and hopped away on the rooftops, leaving Naruto to gloat in his unwanted victory.
**IDKY but this chapter is not being properly saved and it keeps deleting the page break that I placed to switch the scenes of the story. So to make it easier, I've placed an arrow to indicate a change in direction in the story. Hope that help, sorry and thank!***
