AN: I've made an executive decision. Reviews WILL be replied to... once the fic is finished. Because I'm procrastinating writing because of replying to reviews, and then it makes me feel bad, but not replying makes me feel bad, so really, it's a vicious cycle. So, I write, I finish FTL, I reply to reviews -nod nod- This is the master plan. So when chapter... say, 25 (don't think it'll be that long, but whatever) is out and you suddenly get a review reply from chapter 6, THAT'S WHY! lol

Disclaimer: Kiba spoke to K. Masashi... Why do I call him that? -just occurred to self- I've always called him that, right? Why do I call him that?! -lost train of thought- Uh... Well, this is the disclaimer now cause my stupid Kiba one suddenly flew away... Enjoy.

ALSO! I have a poll on my front page... Please satisfy my curiosity?


Tsunade's car almost hit another parked one as she slammed on the brakes, leaping out of it without bothering to turn off the engine or close the door. She ran towards Naruto's unit, climbing the stairs to his door two at a time and then banging on it loudly.

"Naruto! Naruto Uzumaki, open this door right now! Naruto!"

"Shut up! Shut up and leave me alone!"

The president couldn't help but heave a giant sigh of relief as she heard the boy's voice. She rested her forehead against the door, closing her eyes. He was all right. Thank God. Thank God.

"Naruto, are you all right?"

"No! Go away!" He sounded like he was crying.

"Please let me in."

"No!"

She noticed one of the other suite doors open, and saw Gaara stick his head out. The second he saw Tsunade, he nodded once, then closed the door again. She idly wondered why the redhead was in Kiba's suite, but figured maybe they were all convening. That was what they always did last year when they were concerned for Naruto, after all.

"Naruto, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry he's not your father, but he's dangerous. Please, let me in."

"He's not here!"

"All right." She closed her eyes. She could understand why he didn't want to see anyone. "All right. Where's Sasuke?"

"Out! He knows!" He sounded almost hysterical when he answered this one. She winced.

"You should call Sai, and CS—"

"I have! He's coming!"

Well, that's good, at least. That meant she didn't have to call. If Sai knew, chances were he was on his way down right now. That was good. It meant Naruto would be safe. Sasuke was probably headed home right now to make sure the blond was safe, too. She shouldn't have worried.

Well, yes, she should have, but she should have known he had so many people who loved and cared about him that nothing would ever happen to him again. He was safe now. He didn't need her.

"Don't you dare open this door for anyone but Sai, do you understand me?" Her tone was harsh. "You don't open this door for anyone but him."

"Fine!"

She closed her eyes. He was upset, and probably panicking. She couldn't be mad at him for how he was acting. His friends were close, and he'd probably told them. They would keep an eye on him. Sasuke was coming home, and Sai was on his way. Naruto would be fine.

All the same, Tsunade sat in her car and watched until she saw Sai arrive. Once the tall, raven-haired man stepped out of the car with a purple-haired woman, she called Shizune at the hospital, pulled out, and went home to tell Jiraiya.


Sai climbed out of Yuugao's car with a sigh, closing the door and meeting the woman at the trunk as she popped it open, pulling out one of his smaller bags. He reached in and grabbed his suitcases, closing the trunk once one of them was on the ground. He'd had to think of a reason to be there, and it made more sense for him to bring as much clothing as he had the year before.

"Make sure you're out of sight when I bring him outside."

"I know, Sai." Yuugao handed him his bag, the agent putting it over his shoulder.

"And make sure you're subtle about your sweep. If they have cameras and they see you with the equipment, they'll know you're looking for bugs, and then they'll think Naruto contacted CSIS."

"I'm kind of insulted," Yuugao informed him as they walked towards the front of the car, the woman leaning against the driver's door. "You're acting like I've never discreetly swept a house before."

"I know, I'm sorry, it's just—Naruto means a lot to me, and Sasuke means a lot to him, so in a roundabout way... Sasuke means a lot to me. Having him come back alive is of utmost importance to me. I can't—see Naruto cry. I can't."

Yuugao pressed her lips together and nodded, raking one hand through her long purple hair. She waved Sai away half-heartedly, not really knowing what else to say to him, then got into her car. Sai turned to head towards the unit Naruto currently resided in. He idly wondered if the blond would be shocked that the raven knew where he lived, since he'd never informed him, but then again, it probably wouldn't be on his mind. He had more important things to think about.

Besides, the men who'd been watching Naruto reported back to Sai, so it wasn't like it was a huge coincidence.

Climbing the steps, he could hear Kiba and Kankurou's booming voices in the suite next door, and then laughter. He winced, knowing that Naruto would never be able to laugh like that. Not with Sasuke gone.

Reaching the door, he put one of his suitcases down and knocked. It opened almost instantly, Naruto's blue eyes wild, panicked and red-rimmed, but there was pain set deep within the sapphire depths. A pain Sai was unwilling to look at for long, even though he knew there would be no escape from it.

"It's been a while, Naruto. I was surprised to receive your call."

The blond's eyebrows slowly turned down into a confused frown, and then realization hit him. He'd done the same thing, after all, going to call Sai. His place might be bugged, they would have to be careful.

"Trust me, I didn't want to see you any more than I'm sure you want to be here." His voice lacked any of the convincing venom it should have had, but the blond supposed that, if Pein was watching, it shouldn't be noticed since he was obviously distraught.

"So, where will I be staying?"

"This way." Naruto grabbed one of Sai's suitcases and led the way up towards the second floor. The agent closed the door behind himself before following. He noticed rooms to the left, center and right when he reached the top of the stairs. The left and center rooms were taken, Naruto entering the one on the right.

It wasn't hard to guess which room belonged to who. The one on the far left had an orange bedspread, and the room in the center was overflowing with dark colours. The room on the left was Naruto's.

"This is your room." Naruto put Sai's suitcase down. "Mine's across the hall."

"Excellent, thank you." Ridding his hands of his own baggage, The raven looked around slowly, making as if he was admiring his new room. He was actually sweeping the walls. He found nothing out of the ordinary, but then again, this room had been empty, so the chances of it having been bugged were slim.

"Have you eaten?" he asked, turning to Naruto. The blond stared at him for a long while, then looked at the floor.

"I don't remember."

"Well, I haven't eaten." Sai would never have answered like that if he was sure there were no cameras. Naruto's expression was—agonizing. "There's a McDonalds in the Village, right? Let's go get food, I'm famished."

Naruto seemed to understand that statement for what it was: an escape from the house. Nodding, he went to his room to grab his wallet and keys. Sai descended the stairs without a word, Naruto following obediently. When they got outside, the blond locked the door.

"We only have one key between us," he whispered, his throat tight. "I can't ask Tsunade for another. I don't think it'd be good for her to know you'll be staying here."

"I'll never leave your side, anyway." Sai put a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder, then led him away, glancing at Yuugao's car out of the corner of his eye. He nodded once subtly, then turned his attention back to Naruto. He didn't trust their conversation not to be overhead just yet, so he waited until they were half-way to the Village before saying anything.

"Has anyone contacted you since you called me?"

"No," Naruto replied, his eyes lowered. "I haven't... there's been nothing. I don't even—know if he's okay." He clenched his jaw, and Sai winced, looking straight ahead.

"Sasuke's tou—"

"Please," Naruto interrupted him, the raven looking at him. The blond had stopped, his eyes closed. "Please don't say his name. I can't..." He swallowed hard, his last words to Sasuke echoing in his head. He resisted the urge to cover his ears. "Please just don't say his name."

"Sorry." Sai was sincere in his apology. He stood waiting, not trusting Naruto to follow if he started walking again.

They stood silently for close to five minutes before the blond finally took a step, and he and Sai continued on towards the Village. Though he wasn't hungry, Sai ordered and paid for food at McDonalds, which he promptly shoved across the table to Naruto once they'd sat down. The blond barely took three bites of his burger, but at least he'd eaten something. That was all Sai really cared about.

"I've thought of something that's a bit of a concern to me," Naruto said in a low voice. The agent had to lean forward in order to hear him. "Shizune... She called me to tell me about Pein. Tsunade knows, as well. She came by before you did in a panic, but relaxed and left when I assured her I was fine and that you were coming. I think Jiraiya might know, too. Pein knows that Sasuke brought samples to the hospital, so he has to know that they're aware of his real identity. I'm worried for them." Naruto wrung his hands together.

Sai frowned at this thoughtfully. Pein had said Naruto could tell no one about this, so it was unlikely that he'd let the doctor live if she knew his true identity. However Pein wasn't aware of the fact that CSIS had a record on him, since he'd never been caught and his DNA had been gathered after months of effort years ago. It was possible he had no idea that Shizune knew he was actually the leader of Akatsuki, but it posed a problem for them because she wasn't allowed to know. With Sasuke suddenly missing—this could really blow up in their faces.

He rubbed his forehead, recalling the technician who'd burst into their meeting earlier that day informing them that the hospital had a record of Pein. When Shizune's tests had gone through, CSIS had been notified. Too bad for the technician, they already knew, and Homura wasn't very kind in telling him to fuck off and find something useful to do.

He would have to inform his supervisor of his next move, but at this point, it was all he could think of to keep the doctor safe.

"I may know how to fix that," he informed the blond. "I can visit her—with you, if you would like to come—and explain that it was a false lead. I can say we'd been following him for the past few years with suspicions, but have since realized our assumptions were wrong and his name had been removed from our suspects list. If I say it was done sometime tomorrow morning, before we visit her, then it will explain why he was still coming up as a suspect on her records. If she shared information with Tsunade and Jiraiya, then she will inform them it was a false alarm and no harm done."

"Right," Naruto said slowly, playing with the end of his burger. "I guess it'll be easy to say Pein and I had a fight because he lied and he left town. We can say he was after my money or whatever."

"Do you think they'll pursue?" Sai was mostly concerned about whether Tsunade would let this go or not. He knew his somewhat aunt was stubborn, she wasn't going to just believe a smile and a long, convenient story. If she found out about Sasuke, everything would fall apart.

He knew from last year's experience that Naruto's friends wouldn't talk to Tsunade. None of them really ever spoke to Kakashi, either—who would be the only person to report to UBC's president should he find something seemed wrong—so all they had to do was put on a convincing show.

"What do I tell people?" Sai was snapped out of his thoughts when Naruto's low voice met his ears.

"About what?"

"About you. About—about him."

The agent knew 'him' was Sasuke and not Pein. Pein's story was easy: he'd lied, and then left.

"I have a story set for myself, so you don't need to worry about that." He leaned back in his chair and sighed internally as he started in on his lie. He hated having to lie to Naruto. "I told my boss I wanted some time off. After having been part of Akatsuki undercover for so long, I think he felt I deserved it. So I've taken an indefinite leave from CSIS. When people ask why I'm here, I'll tell them I wanted to come back to school because I never actually officially graduated." He smiled slightly when Naruto blinked, seeming surprised. "That's part of the lie, Naruto, I wouldn't have gotten into CSIS without a university degree."

"Oh. Right." The blond looked down again.

"This works out well, though, because since I'll be telling everyone I'm technically a first year, it will explain why I'm not in your classes."

"You won't come with me?" Naruto was looking at him again, fear in his eyes. Sai smiled sadly.

"I won't be able to go to class with you, Naruto, since I won't actually be registered for courses and Kakashi especially will notice. He's actually someone I'm a little concerned about. I would like it best if he didn't find out I was here." As impossible as he knew that was, he was hoping it might be pulled off. "He'll get suspicious the instant he sees me. He'll know something's wrong. Which will lead to aunt Tsunade finding out and then everyone will get involved, which we don't want."

"Fuck." Naruto covered his face, his shoulders shaking. Sai could tell he wasn't crying, so he could only assume he was trembling with rage. "If Pein wanted this kept so secret, he shouldn't have made it so God damn obvious!"

"I think this might be the first part of your game," Sai winced as he said the last word. "Seeing if you can keep Sasuke alive long enough to actually get your first task. The second this gets out, the game's over, Pein knows that. This is why we have to make sure there are no loose ends." He sighed, raking one hand through his hair. "It would be easier without me here, honestly, but I need to be with you to make this believable. They don't know I'm CSIS, and they probably don't even know that everyone else 'thought' I was Akatsuki. To them, me being here poses no threat of exposure. To us, me being here is like a giant neon sign saying something's wrong."

"Right." Naruto rubbed his face some more, then rubbed his head. "Shit, but I can't leave. I have to stay here, it's part of the rules. And I need you here, I can't... I can't be alone in this."

"I know." Sai reached across the table, grasping one of Naruto's hands tightly. "It'll be okay, Naruto. I won't let anything happen to S—to him, I promise."

"Thanks," Naruto whispered. I just hope you can keep that promise, he thought darkly.

Sadly, Sai was thinking the same thing.

The agent's phone trilled, startling them both. Retreating his hand, he reached into his pocket and flipped it open, seeing he had a new text message. He clicked it, read it, and then snapped his phone shut.

Yuugao was done. The unit was clean.

Well, that'll certainly make things easier for us, though I'm going to have to run subtle sweeps consistently just to be sure.

"I've got some good news." Naruto frowned at those words. "Don't get mad."

"I have a feeling I'm going to get mad," the blond groaned, covering his face with his hands.

"Before I tell you what just went on, there's something about me that you need to know." Sai shifted in his seat. At least what he was telling Naruto now wasn't a lie. "I'm a very paranoid person. Seeing as how I work as an undercover spy most of the time, that's understandable, right? I usually have one of my co-workers sweep my house twice a month—I ask her because that's one of her expertise; covert sweeps. She makes it look like she's robbing the place." Sai smirked slightly. "She sweeps my house twice a month, and then I usually do it one a week. Sometimes two, depends on how paranoid I'm feeling."

"You had her check the unit." Naruto wasn't a rocket scientist, but it wasn't like he was an idiot, either. "And it's not bugged."

"No, it's not." Sai smiled. "And because it's not unusual for me to ask her to sweep my house, she didn't find anything strange with doing it here, either, so she doesn't know why I asked." That part was a lie, but it was better than telling Naruto that his whole CSIS team was aware of the situation. And Sai hadn't even told anyone, either, so it wasn't even really his fault.

"That's good. It means we don't have to leave the house all the time whenever something happens." Naruto glanced at Sai. "And it means we can keep you hidden, for the most part."

Sai nodded, and then they sat in silence. The blond continued to pick at his burger, and the agent couldn't bring himself to scold Naruto into finishing it. Seeing him so dejected was painful. He looked almost worse than last year, if that was even possible.

"Just so you know," The raven straightened slightly as Naruto spoke, "I have a psychologist."

And all Sai's hopes of keeping Sasuke alive suddenly came crashing down, seeing as how that was now going to be impossible.

"You can't see him anymore."

"I have to," Naruto whispered, avoiding Sai's eyes. "Tsunade's the one who hired him. If I don't go see him, or try to cancel, he'll know something's wrong."

"Naruto, he'll take one look at you and go screaming to aunt Tsunade," the agent insisted. "Psychologists are meant to know when something's wrong, and I bet even the guy at the counter knew something was wrong." He motioned in the vague direction of the McDonalds counter.

"I can tell him Sasuke and I fought. It's believable for me to be like this if the fight was bad enough." He clenched his fists. "Sai, I can't stop seeing him, it'll just complicate things."

The agent refrained from saying that seeing him would also complicate things, probably more so than if he didn't. But he understood Naruto's fear. He understood that this was going to be nearly impossible to pull off without anyone finding out. But somehow, some way, he was going to bring Sasuke back to Naruto.

He had to.


Sasuke stared silently at the ceiling as he leaned back against the wall, continuously banging the back of his head against the concrete behind it. He was angry, and upset, and fucking ashamed. He'd gotten caught, and now Naruto was going to suffer—which was the exact opposite of what Sasuke was trying to do. He was supposed to make sure Naruto didn't suffer, and now he was the damn cause of it.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. The word repeated itself in his head each time it struck the wall.

He tried moving his jaw slightly, the corners of his mouth aching from being stretched for so long. Apparently these kidnappers didn't believe in duct tape.

They'd tied a piece of cloth around his mouth, pinning his tongue down and stretching the corners of his mouth painfully. His hands were still bound behind his back, but his ankles had been freed. He'd been moved to one of the back rooms of the building they were in, and since it had no windows and he'd have to go through two rooms to reach the first exit, they didn't seem too concerned with the possibility of him escaping.

Mostly because there was no possibility for escape.

The door opened and Sasuke shifted his eyes to glance at who was entering, but didn't stop banging his head against the wall. It was the tall orange-haired dude, Juugo. He wasn't much of a talker, Sasuke had noticed. Suigetsu was much more annoying.

"Dinner." Juugo placed a bowl of what looked like goop, in Sasuke's opinion, on the floor near him. Then, the man leaned forward and untied the back of the gag, pulling it away. Sasuke opened and closed his mouth a few times, then rotated his jaw as best he could. It helped a little.

"Turn around."

Sasuke complied, Juugo getting to work undoing his bonds. Once he was free, the raven decided to take his chances. He elbowed the other man in the face, then kicked him in the stomach, scrambling to his feet and running towards the door.

He'd barely made it two steps before a hand wrapped around him, clenching against his throat. His feet flew out from under him and he was wrenched backwards, his back colliding painfully with the floor as he cried out.

His shout was cut short as his airways were blocked, the hand tightening. Juugo was straddling him in a second, one hand wrapped around the raven's throat, and the other gripping one of Sasuke's wrists. The Uchiha used his free hand to claw at the one around his neck, blocking his airways.

"Juugo."

Air found its way back into his lungs and Sasuke inhaled loudly, then turned onto his side and coughed, holding his throat with one hand. Juugo was standing next to him, now, looking at the door. Sasuke followed his gaze, wheezing.

Konan stood just inside the room, a bored expression on her face as she regarded the gasping teen on the floor. Her attention then shifted back to Juugo.

"Pein won't be pleased if you kill him. Go join Suigetsu in the other room, I'll take it from here."

The large man didn't say a word. He simply walked out of the room and closed the door, leaving Konan alone with Sasuke.

Though she looked much easier to overpower, Sasuke wasn't going to take any chances, not with Juugo in the other room. He wasn't ready for round two yet.

"Hurry up and eat," Konan ordered. "Pein will be back soon, and he'll want to get started."

Glaring, Sasuke stood unsteadily, making his way back to his little corner and falling to the ground. He pulled the bowl of goop towards himself and took a bite. It tasted like nothing, and it took him a second to realize it was meant to be oatmeal. Plain oatmeal. My, weren't his captors generous. Maybe he'd have to ask for someone to spit in it next time, just to get some kind of flavour.

"What happens if I die?" Sasuke inquired before taking another bite. It had been on his mind for a while. If he died, did the game end? Was Naruto safe? Because if so, he might end up pissing Juugo off more often, just to end this torture for the blond. Sasuke would sacrifice himself for Naruto, his boyfriend had suffered enough.

"Nothing."

That wasn't exactly the answer he'd been expecting.

"The game doesn't end?" Sasuke scowled.

"How would Naruto know you'd died?" Konan wasn't smirking, like Sasuke felt she should have been based on her words. He figured she wasn't one to show emotion much.

"So if someone here kills me, you lie and say I'm still alive until Naruto screws up, is that it?"

"That was the general idea," the blue-haired woman confirmed. "Though Pein is hoping for that not to happen. He'd prefer it if you didn't die before your time. Should Naruto succeed, then by May, you'll be back with him, and we can restart the process at a later date, should he so choose."

The raven felt sick. He'd only taken two bites of his dinner, but he felt ready to throw up. They were never going to stop. Ever. And he knew that if he and Naruto somehow got protection—if they weren't able to capture either of them—Pein would go for someone else.

Kiba.

Tsunade.

Sakura.

Kakashi.

Anyone that would cause either he or Naruto to react. And the game would start again. It was never going to stop. Even if he died today, tomorrow, next month, in a year... it didn't matter. For Naruto, this game was never going to stop.

"Why is he doing this?" Sasuke clenched his fists. "Why is he trying to destroy Naruto?"

"Because Naruto's existence destroyed his." For the first time since entering the room, Konan's face showed emotion. Her eyes narrowed and her jaw clenched. "He wasn't meant to be born. He's proof of Minako's betrayal towards us, and..." She trailed off, but Sasuke thought he got the gist of it.

Minako's betrayal towards Pein.

"If he loved her, he shouldn't have sent her out." Sasuke was about to take another bite of his food when Konan was suddenly in front of him, fisting his shirt and glaring hatefully at him.

"When Naruto messes up, Uchiha—and he will, believe me," she laughed darkly, "I'm going to make sure I'm the one who disposes of you, and we're going to film it and send it to him. I want him to feel the same kind of hate and anger towards me as I feel towards him. For making Pein feel like this. For existing, as if to remind him of what that slut did!"

Sasuke found himself wondering if maybe Minako and Pein had, at one point, been married. If maybe by falling in love with Arashi and conceiving Naruto, she had broken more than just Pein's heart. Naruto's punishment seemed more personal, now. Though he'd heard the phone conversation, Konan's words seemed to confirm it more.

Pein hated Naruto because he was the son of the woman he loved, but she had loved someone else more than him.

Maybe that was why Deidara had been sent to kill her and Arashi. Maybe it didn't have to do with just her cover being blown, or the fact that a baby complicated things for them. Maybe all it really meant was that Pein had found out she loved Arashi, and he'd gotten mad.

Jealousy was a strong emotion. As was hate.

He wondered how Naruto would've felt if he learned this. He'd already forgiven his mother for everything when Deidara had admitted to killing, not only Arashi, but Minako, as well. If he learned just how big a risk she'd taken... How much she'd truly loved Arashi and Naruto...

His head collided painfully with the wall, this time not of his own accord. Konan stood, glaring hatefully down at him before turning on her heel and stalking back towards the door.

"Finish your dinner. Pein will be back soon."

The door slammed loudly.


Naruto hadn't slept well that night. Every time he got even remotely close to falling into REM sleep, he would have a dream of Sasuke screaming in agony, and he would wake up screaming himself.

Sai had run into his room each time, gun drawn, but by the fifth time, he'd learned it was only Naruto's own dreams causing him to scream, and he'd ended up spending the night with Naruto in the blond's bed, though the younger boy had refused to let him rest his head on his pillow.

It was pathetic, really, but every time Naruto put his head down, he could smell Sasuke. The Uchiha always used his pillow, even when Naruto was doing homework or something. Sasuke's smell—a mixture of scents he couldn't quite place, though they were purely Sasuke—lingered on the pillow, and Naruto didn't want to lose it.

He'd left the room before Sai had woken up, heading down the stairs to make breakfast. He only did it because he had nothing else to do that would occupy his mind. Turning on the television, he started making the most complicated breakfast he could think of, which—sadly—was pancakes. Even with the television on, and his attempt to make breakfast from memory, it wasn't helping. Sasuke's agonized face kept appearing in his mind.

He didn't even know if it was real. If Sasuke was in pain at all. If he was even still alive...

His eyes went unfocussed as his brain lingered on that one thought. He had no proof Sasuke was alive. He didn't know anything. Anything.

Naruto let out a shout, jumping, when a hand closed around his. He whipped around to see Sai, the agent ignoring his outcry and moving his hand. When the blond looked down again, he clenched his jaw. He'd been in the process of pouring a dollop of batter into the frying pan. It had missed and the liquid was slowly trekking towards the fire.

"Sit down. I'll clean this up." Sai moved the blond aside, grabbing a dishtowel and quickly cleaning up the batter before it could reach the flames. He then poured a dollop into the frying pan, glancing at Naruto out of the corner of his eye.

The blond pretended not to notice, sitting down at the kitchen table and changing the channel. There was nothing interesting enough on to keep his attention, and it was frustrating him. All he could think about was Sasuke and heroin.

He shook his head viciously to dispel thoughts of the drugs. No, he didn't want them. If he took heroin right now, then he'd forget everything.

He'd forget Sasuke.

Naruto would not let that happen. He was going to get Sasuke back, and everything was going to be fine. He would get him back, Sai would arrest Pein behind CSIS's back and possibly get a promotion for it, then he and Sasuke would carry on with their lives, have lost of sex, get good jobs and die fucking at ninety-five. Or maybe ninety-six, Naruto hadn't decided yet.

But it wasn't going to end like this. It couldn't! He'd survived through way too much! All that hate and neglect throughout middle school and high school. Getting beaten up and shot in first year. Getting unwillingly recruited into the Akatsuki and turned into a druggie in second year. No, he hadn't lived through all that to have it end now. Sasuke was going to be fine. He was going to come back!

Jumping as a plate was set in front of him, Naruto just stared at the pancake, not feeling hungry. He's mostly made them to have something to do, and for Sai to have something to eat. He wasn't interested in eating it now and then throwing it up.

"I don't care if you're not hungry." The blond looked up, wondering if Sai could read minds. "You're eating it. You barely ate any of your burger last night, and I don't even know if you had anything before then. So you're eating that if I have to sit on you and shove it down your throat."

Wincing, the blond picked up his fork and cut off a piece, shoving it into his mouth and forcing it down. He didn't want to put any syrup on it, he felt the sweetness might just make him feel even more ill.

Sai sat down across from him a few minutes later, the two of them eating in silence. The agent had put syrup on his pancakes, and the mere smell was making Naruto's stomach turn over. He shoved the last piece of his pancake into his mouth and pushed his plate away, feeling ready to throw it back up. He could only hope for it to stay down.

"I think it would be best if we went to the hospital today," Sai informed him, grabbing another pancake. Naruto wanted to be mad at him for acting so calm and collected when Sasuke's life was in danger, but he knew that wasn't fair. Sai was in danger every day because of his job, he'd gotten accustomed to it. Naruto couldn't fault him for that.

"Right. It'd be best. I still haven't called Shizune or anyone since hearing the message." A cold wave of fear washed over him. "Oh my God! What if she called the cops?!"

The blond ran to the phone, dialling her number from memory and cursing colourfully as it rang. She answered on the third ring, Naruto sighing with relief before his thoughts froze. What was he going to say? What... shit!

The phone was wrenched from his hand, the blond turning to see Sai holding it against his ear, a professional look on his face.

"Hello, Shizune, it's Sai here. I'm over at Naruto's place because I received a very worried phone call from him yesterday." There was a pause as Shizune replied. "Yes, yes, everything is fine. No need to worry, it was a false alarm on our part. But I'm glad aunt Tsunade called you to tell you I was coming. I would like to discuss this matter in person, if you don't mind. It's procedure. How does your schedule look for the day?" Another pause. "You seem to be very busy. I'll try to come by around lunch time, if that's all right with you. Hope you don't mind my intruding on your meal." Shizune said something else, but Naruto couldn't figure out what based on Sai's expression. It remained unchanged, and still one-hundred percent professional. "All right, thank you. I'll make sure I'm on time, and the meeting will be brief. I'll talk to you then." He hung up.

"What did she say?"

"Tsunade called her last night after I arrived. Turns out she was outside waiting for me, but I don't think she stayed long enough to notice I had luggage." Or, he hoped she hadn't, at least, but he was sure the woman would have gotten out of her car and caused a scene if she had. So they were safe in that respect. She thought Sai was just there to keep Naruto safe.

"Are we seeing Shizune today?"

"Yes, we'll meet her around lunch time." Sai glanced at the time. "We still have three hours."

"Oh my God!" Naruto blurted out as he looked at the time. "I forgot about class!"

"Don't worry." Sai put his hand on the blond's shoulder when he was about to run back up the stairs to get ready. "I don't think you should go. We can use our visit to the hospital as an excuse."

"Right." Naruto rubbed his face. "Right, yeah. Okay. Shit." He fell back down in his chair, sighing. He was going to have to act normal, but he was finding it harder than he had last year. Maybe because last year, even though all his friends had been in danger, they hadn't been kidnapped.

A knock at the door caused Naruto to cry out again, and he cursed how damn jumpy he was. First the girl at the public phone, then with Sai, now this? God, he had to pull himself together!

"Yeah, I'm coming." The blond pushed out of his chair and headed for the door, Sai lingering behind to try and stay out of sight.

When Naruto opened the door, his hands came up instinctively to cover his face as fists came flying towards him. They fell onto his shoulders, and suddenly, someone was shaking him almost violently.

"Do you have any idea what this is doing to my blood pressure?!"

"K-Kiba?" The blond lowered his hands, blinking. Then, the other's words sank in. "Wh-what?"

"You and Sasuke!" The brunet's hands flew into the air. "You guys are going to be the death of me! You're not even mad at me, and yet I was the one tossing and turning all night worrying about the two of you! It was eerily quiet in here last night, it worried me! You didn't kill him, did you?"

Those words caused Naruto's face to pale. Not yet, he thought, but forced himself not to answer with that. "N-No. We've, um... we're still—fighting." He licked his lips. "I'm still mad," he blurted out, remembering he was the one angry in the first place. "I'm mad. Very mad."

"Oh." Kiba scratched at one of his arms awkwardly. "He's really bummed out, you know," he whispered. "I don't know if you've seen but he..." Kiba trailed off, seeming to hesitate. "He was cutting again."

It was very hard for Naruto to keep it together. Hearing Kiba telling him this was making the fact that Sasuke was gone even harder. And—fuck! He'd been cutting! Because he was upset. Because Naruto had said he hated him. He'd wanted him to disappear. And he had. Fuck, Naruto was going to lose his mind!

Stop talking, he begged silently as Kiba continued to explain what had happened the day before. Please, God, Kiba, please! Please stop talking! I can't hear this, please stop! Stop!

"What the—!" Naruto's hands were shaking, and he didn't know what had caused Kiba to say that, but he was glad. So very fucking glad and thankful. "Sai?" Well, that explained it. And he could've kissed Sai right then and there for butting in. "What—are you doing here?"

Kiba looked suspicious. His eyes stayed on Sai for far too long before flickering back to Naruto, and then towards the stairs. This wasn't good. As thankful as he was for Sai butting in, this wasn't good at all.

"I decided to take a leave from CSIS and come back to finish school," Sai replied with a kind smile. He kept his distance from Naruto, as if having him be too close would cause Kiba to be even more suspicious. "I never did get a University degree, you know. I thought it'd be fun to get it." He shrugged.

"Right..." Kiba said slowly, eying him some more. "And how does Sasuke feel about that?"

Please, fuck! Please stop saying his name! Naruto's hand was shaking on the doorknob. He was going to slam the door in a minute, and not because he was mad at Kiba. But because he couldn't bear to hear him keep talking so innocently like that. Talking about Sasuke!

"Where is Sasuke?" the brunet asked when no one answered his other question. "And shouldn't you be in class, Naruto?"

The blond didn't know what to say. He hadn't thought of a reason for Sasuke's absence yet, and he didn't want to tell him about the hospital visit. He didn't want too many people to know, it would be suspicious, wouldn't it?

"Um..." He swallowed hard, his mind racing. Kiba stood waiting, his expression expectant. Waiting... He was waiting... "He, uh..." Naruto licked his lips.

"Co-op." The blond's eyes closed as relief washed over him for Sai's quick thinking. The pause, which had seemed like an eternity for him, had only been two seconds or so. The agent's quick reply made it more believable.

"Co-op? Isn't that only for Engineers?" Kiba looked confused.

"No. If other faculties want to go out and see the world, they're more than welcome to." Sai smiled pleasantly, though the brunet still didn't look like he trusted him much.

"I guess..." he replied slowly, half-wanting to tell Sai his smile was creeping him out. "How come he never said anything? I mean—last time I saw him, he didn't act like he was leaving."

"Spur of the moment," Sai continued, Naruto silently thanking him profusely. He knew it was a good idea to call him. "He wanted some time alone to clear his head because of his fight with Naruto." The agent moved closer, now, to put a hand on the blond's shoulder.

"Fair enough." Kiba nodded, and then was immediately suspicious again, glaring at Sai. "Why are you here again?"

"University. School. Degree. Better job."

"Uh huh..." he said slowly. "Naruto, can I talk to you for a second? Alone."

The blond's breath froze in his lungs and Sai squeezed his shoulder tightly, then gave him a slight push forward. If Naruto didn't do this, then Kiba would be even more suspicious than he already was.

"Sure," he forced out, exiting the unit and closing the door. Kiba moved back towards his own suite, motioning Naruto in, and then closing and leaning back against his front door.

"Naruto, I know you're mad at him, but I really hope you didn't break up with him for Sai." Kiba looked more worried than suspicious now. Naruto suspected it was because having Sasuke out of his sight made him nervous, because he couldn't look out for him. The blond understood that feeling.

"I'm not dating Sai." Naruto sat down on one of the steps, raking a hand through his hair. He had to be normal. This was important. "Sasuke and I haven't spoken since I found out he sent DNA tests to Shizune." He looked up slowly. "Pein isn't my father. He lied. He was after my money." Naruto spat the last word out hatefully. Because even now, wasn't Pein still after his money?

"Shit, man, I'm—I'm really sorry." Kiba kneeled on the step below him, resting his hand on the blond's shoulder. "I'm really sorry."

"Whatever, it's fine." Naruto shrugged the hand off. He felt guilty when he noticed Kiba wince, but he didn't want his pity for something as trivial as him not having a father. "I don't care, and even though I know the truth, I'm still mad that Sasuke went behind my back. When I came home yesterday, he was..." His voice broke. He hoped Kiba hadn't noticed. He couldn't tell whether he had or not. "He was already gone. He left me a note, saying he'd left for co-op, and he was upset and confused, and he was sorry. He left his phone here." Naruto figured he should lie about that now, so he didn't have to later when no one could reach him on his cell phone. Not to mention Pein might actually answer...

"Fucking stubborn ass," Kiba grunted. "Probably won't answer e-mails, will he?"

"No, I don't believe he has internet." Naruto wasn't lying now.

"Do you know when he'll be back?"

"Sometime near the end of the school year." I hope.

"You won't... have moved on then, will you?" Kiba winced as he asked this, and Naruto was suddenly overwhelmed by Kiba's care towards him and Sasuke.

He'd always been close with the brunet, even in first year. He'd been Naruto's first real friend, and as time had passed, he'd gotten so involved with Sasuke that he'd almost forgotten just how important Kiba was. How much he did for him, and for the Uchiha. How much he cared. How badly he wanted them to stay together, always. To be happy. To have each other.

Naruto was about to have a breakdown right there. He was about to start bawling, hugging Kiba, telling him everything. But he couldn't do that. He had to get out.

He stood up quickly, rushing through his words to get them out and leave. "No, I won't have moved on. As angry as I am, I love Sasuke. Sai showed up this morning actually looking for him to ask if he could live with us; he's completely over me. He had no intention of trying to break us up. Don't worry, I won't replace Sasuke. I'm going to wait for him to get back, and then you'll walk in on us having sex, and you'll scream and wonder why you wanted him back so bad."

Naruto was at the door, now, and he pulled it open, slamming it shut behind himself and practically slamming into his own door in his haste to get back inside. He slammed it quickly, locked it, and bolted up the stairs.

"Naruto!"

He could hear Sai chasing him, but he didn't care. He reached the landing and disappeared into his room, starting to close the door but the agent shouldered into it, forcing it back open. He grabbed the blond's shoulders as Naruto started hyperventilating.

"Naruto, calm down! It's okay, everything's okay, you didn't tell him anything, right?" The blond shook his head, but his breathing didn't slow. "Then we're fine. We're all fine, nothing's wrong. You didn't say anything, so he'll be okay." He hugged Naruto tightly, running one hand soothingly through his hair. "It's okay. He'll be okay. He'll be okay, calm down."

It took almost an hour for Naruto's breathing to return to normal.


"Are you sure you want to come?" Sai asked, climbing out of Naruto's car and closing the door.

They were in front of the hospital, the agent wearing a suit to make it look like he was coming by during his own lunch break from work. They had to make this believable, after all. Naruto was just wearing normal jeans and a T-shirt, but he was wearing one of Sasuke's hoodies. Having his scent nearby seemed to keep Naruto more in control. Sai was just worried about what would happen once the scent disappeared...

"Yes. I can keep it together. I want to be here for this conversation, it's important." He clenched his fists. "And I don't want anything to happen to you. If anyone working for Pein sees you going off on your own to see Shizune, they might..." His throat clenched as he thought about it.

"All right," Sai said quickly, able to see the tension in Naruto's face. "Let's go in, then."

The blond merely nodded and they hurried inside. Sai didn't dare flash his CSIS ID anywhere, and Naruto ended up being his ticket up to seeing Shizune, since almost all the staff knew who he was, and what he meant to the doctor. They made it to her office without too much trouble.

Sai knocked once they reached her door, and she called for him to enter. She sighed, relieved, when she saw Naruto, coming around her desk and hugging him tightly.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto," she whispered. "But I'm so glad it wasn't as bad as it could've been."

Keep it together, Naruto thought.

"Me, too." He forced a smile.

"Sai." She shook the man's hand and smiled warmly. "Always a pleasure seeing you. Tsunade praises you to high heaven, you know."

"She just likes to brag." The raven laughed. "Besides, we all know she loves Naruto more." He nudged the blond, who forced out a laugh. It sounded loud to him.

"I'm irresistible, what can I say?" He grinned, putting both hands behind his head.

Keep it together.

"So, Sai," Shizune checked her watch. "Sorry this meeting needs to be fairly rushed, but I do have something coming up."

"Of course." He smiled, motioning for her to sit once more. She took her seat, picking up a fork and continuing to eat her lunch, which the agent and Naruto had interrupted. Sai sat down across from her, Naruto choosing to stay standing.

"Pein Akasaka—or Pein Nagato, as is his birth name—has been coming in and out of British Columbia numerous times a month for years. We'd always been watching him, because he'd been suspected of being a drug dealer in the past. As Akatsuki's power grew, we then began investigating him and for a long time, it was thought that he might actually be Akatsuki's true leader." He paused here, shifting in his seat. Naruto noted he looked bored, as if the entire story was a pain in the ass for him to tell. That made it more believable. "When he approached Naruto, we got concerned. Obviously, after last year, we grew even more suspicious and our director decided to play it safe and have his name flagged, just in case something ever happened where he ended up in the hospital with a knife wound or a bullet or something of the sort." He shifted again, turning to glance out the window. "We got a call from Naruto last night after he received your message." He looked back at Shizune with a small smile. "You scared the poor kid." The doctor blushed, mouthing an apology to Naruto. The blond didn't even notice. "Of course, when we got the call, we immediately apprehended him. I can't go into the details." He winked. "Classified. You understand."

"Yes, of course." She smiled.

"After an interrogation, we assessed that he wasn't the leader of Akatsuki. We told him never to contact Naruto again and had him put back on a plane to Ontario. He wasn't a threat to national security, just a crazy old man with heavy debts wanting to get Naruto's money."

"I'm so sorry." Shizune leaned forward, touching one of the blond's hands sympathetically. He forced a smile.

"It's okay. I should have known better. I look too much like dad, it was stupid of me to have believed him." It really, really was stupid of me.

"So, what was he truly coming to BC for?" Shizune asked, turning her attention back to Sai. "Or can you not discuss it?"

"Well, I shouldn't." Sai rubbed the back of his head, then chuckled. "But really, it's not a big deal. He had a mistress out here, and a wife back home. He kept telling them both that business was bad and that was why he kept losing money. Really, he was using it all to buy his plane tickets."

"What an asshole." Shizune scowled. "I'm glad this got caught before any real damage was done." She turned to smile at Naruto. He smiled back.

Keep it together.

"Yes, quite." Sai stood with a grunt. "Sorry that it all blew up like this. His name was removed from the suspects list so it shouldn't pop up again." He winked. "But I appreciate your prompt response. Calling Naruto, I mean. Though in the future, you would do well to actually contact CSIS when something like that appears on your screen."

Shizune turned scarlet, and Naruto had the feeling she was resisting the urge to cover her face. "Yes, of course. How silly of me. I really should have thought of that, but I was so worried that—"

Sai held up one hand, chuckling. "No harm done, Shizune."

Keep it together.

"You contacted Naruto, and he contacted us, so it all worked out in the end." Sai was glad she didn't assume that Pein's profile was directly linked with CSIS. Otherwise, she would have mentioned it, Naruto would have put two and two together and he would know that Sai was working with his entire team on this. That would have been disastrous.

"I'm so glad." She smiled and stood, coming around the desk to hug Naruto. "Sorry I worried you, but I'm glad this is all over and done with."

Keep it together.

"Me too." He pulled away and forced another smile. His face was starting to hurt from all the fake smiling. "We should let you get back to work. And I've got to get back to class, too."

"Thank you for sparing us a bit of your time, Shizune." Sai shook her hand. "And be sure to pass the message along to aunt Tsunade and uncle Jiraiya."

"Oh, of course." Shizune looked aghast with herself. "How awful of me, I should have contacted her this morning when you called. I'll do that right now." She sat back down, starting to pick up her phone as Naruto turned to leave the office.

"Bye Shizune."

"Oh, by the way, how's Sasuke?" Naruto froze, his hand on the knob.

Keep it together!

"He's fine." He didn't dare turn around. "We made up. I feel bad for having gotten angry. But we're fine, now."

"I'm really glad to hear that. Tsunade was called from the university hospital about his arm yesterday morning. Did he hurt himself really badly? Should I be seeing him?"

Keep it together!

"No, it's not that bad. He'll be fine. He promised never to do it again. I just hope he keeps it."

"I'm sure he will." Shizune smiled, mostly at Sai since the blond still hadn't turned around. "He loves you, and he wouldn't want to hurt you."

Keep it together!

"Right. I'll pass along your well wishes." Naruto wrenched open the door. "Thank you, Shizune. I'll see you soon."

He strode out of the office quickly, Sai staying behind just long enough to remind her to pass the message along to Tsunade, and then he followed Naruto out. His hand fell onto the blond's shoulder and gripped it hard. When he was about to turn to head towards the elevators, Sai turned him in another direction and threw open the stairwell door.

"Stairs are faster."

Keep it together.

"We're almost there."

Keep it together.

He pushed through the door to the first floor, his hand still gripping Naruto's shoulder painfully hard. It was helping a little.

Sai nodded to the guard, giving him a smile as they passed him, probably to reassure him that Naruto was fine. They went through the doors and across the parking lot, Sai forcing their pace to remain even and normal even though Naruto wanted to bolt towards his car as fast as he could.

Keep it together.

He didn't know if Shizune could see him from here. What side of the building was her office on, anyway?

Keep it together.

The door opened and he got in, Sai appearing beside him a second later. He didn't even remember hearing his door close. The engine roared to life and the agent peeled out of the parking lot and into traffic.

Immediately, the blond's mask fell and he covered his face with his hands, feeling his entire body trembling. He didn't cry or hyperventilate this time. That was good. He was getting better and it had only been one day. Maybe he could actually pull this off.

"I'm glad you remembered," Sai whispered. "About not telling her Sasuke was at co-op. She would have told aunt Tsunade, and then she would have checked her files. You can't lie as easily if there's no paper trail proving he left."

Naruto didn't answer. He didn't think Sai was expecting one, anyway. He was glad he'd remembered, himself. He'd almost blurted out 'co-op' and then left the room. That would have been really bad. This way, everything was settled.

He had visited Kakashi earlier that morning to tell him about his fight with Sasuke and how the raven had left for co-op. He'd even told Kakashi to e-mail Sasuke as soon as possible so he could maybe catch him before he no longer had internet access. Naruto wasn't Sasuke, but he knew enough about him—including his email password—to be able to pull off a half-assed reply. Just anything to keep Kakashi from asking Tsunade where Sasuke was, and anything to stop Tsunade from looking into his files about co-op.

Kakashi didn't know Sai was living with him, and as long as Naruto made sure never to miss class again, none of his friends would need to mention it—he hoped.

They might actually be able to pull this off.

They reached Fairview a few minutes later, Sai parking the car and helping Naruto out. He had one hand on the blond's shoulder again, leading him back towards the unit. Once they were inside, he sat Naruto down and sighed, bending down in front of him.

"I'm gonna make you something to eat, okay?"

"I'm not hungry."

"You're going to eat anyway." Sai moved one hand, holding Naruto's cheek and caressing it gently with his thumb. "You did well today. You should be proud of yourself." He stood, kissing Naruto's forehead as he did so, and moved into the kitchen.

The blond would have been horrified that Sai had done what he did, except he knew the difference between attraction and concern. Sai was his friend, and even if he loved him, he wasn't trying to move in on him at the moment. He knew that Naruto needed him, he wasn't going to try and come between him and Sasuke right now.

So instead, Naruto took the gesture for what it was: loving concern. And he was glad. It made him feel somewhat better, if only minutely. Well... Microscopically.

This time, the blond didn't shout when someone knocked at the door. Good. He was learning. He stood up to answer it, pulling open the door to find someone he didn't recognize looking in at him.

"Hiya." The boy grinned widely. "I'm Suigetsu. I'll be your messenger for the duration of our game." He held up a DVD, his grin widening. "Welcome to task number one."


AN: This chapter hurt my brain -headdesk- So. Much. Plot. So. Many. Ways. For. Sasuke. To. Die. Need. To. Keep. It. Together. (Like Naruto XD) But no, seriously... this chapter was hard. If anyone finds any loopholes I missed, please let me know... So I can cry myself to sleep and then try and find a way to fix it. It was hard -whines-

Also, anyone who doesn't know what co-op is, this is me expressing my laziness to explain it: Follow link. http: / / en . wikipedia . org / wiki / Co-op