A/N: I apologize for taking so long, but I've had four months of writer's block on anything that isn't a one-shot. I won't put on any excuses other than that, nor anything else than this excuse. You want to read, if you are reading now, and I want you to. So go read.

Sasuke had been avoiding Naruto all day. The dream he had had had scared the shit out of the brunette. He didn't know what to think- it was like he spent too much time around the idiot, and now he was paying for it. It really didn't make any sense, and Sasuke still couldn't wrap his mind around it.

So he had decided to avoid the blonde. It wasn't anything personal- he hoped- and the brunette had purposedly arrived late to school, surrounded himself by people he knew would try to claim his attention, and with which he could pretend to pay attention to and have a viable excuse for ignoring Naruto. He didn't care if Naruto looked confused and angry- Sasuke just couldn't deal with the sunshine teen for the moment.

The fact was, Sasuke really didn't hate Naruto. Sometime during the four and a half weeks they had been working together, learning about each other, Naruto had earned a grudging respect for Naruto. He was impressed that Naruto spent so much time with a brat in his building, how loyal and devoted he was to those he cared for, how open he was with his emotions. Sasuke knew that he respected Naruto, if only because the teen was everything that Sasuke wished he could be, and couldn't.

Sasuke snuck a glance from the gaggle of girls he was surrounded by, locating the shock of blonde hair easily. They were in their last block, and Naruto was making an attempt at finishing up his first peice. Sasuke had asked Naruto about it, learned it was from a dream he had had, and had watched as he struggled to get it perfect. The teen had been constantly shoving it away and pulling it out, repeating as he frustratedly growled over it not being right. Sasuke thought it was fine as it was, with the swirling dark colors, the shadowed figure ready to leap out of the portrait, the shocking, red, pinwheeling eyes threatening to start spinning at any given moment. It moved the onlooker, and Sasuke had heard many of the other students talking about it, giving their reluctant compliments, and yet...Naruto still wasn't happy about it.

Sasuke turned his own attention back to the teacher and Haku. They were explaining the homework, which would be an excersize in using different mediums and different shading styles. Sasuke tried to pay attention to the teacher as he explained that they would be using five mediums- charcoal, watercolor, pen, ink (which wasn't the same as a pen, as Mr Morioka kept pointing out), and pastels- and had to divide a paper into six sections, reusing one of the mediums in the sixth square. The class was allowed to draw anything, so long as it was school-appropriate and didn't take up too much space. They also had to use a different style of shading in each sqare.

The bell interrupted Mr. Morioka's rant on treating tensils like lovers (a concept Zabuza loved, since it made most of the class uncomfortable) and the students made a mad dash towards the doors. Sasuke was at the front of the crowd, having put his stuff away earlier and not wanting to meet up with Naruto. He ignored Sakura, bouncing next to him, and Ino, on his other side asking for a date. He nodded as he passed Shikamaru, and quickly left the premisis.

He was able to shove the two leeches from his person when he got to his car, and he told the driver to leave them in the dust, or something to that effect. He leaned back, his thoughts already returning to his dream the night before. Why had it happened? He had never remembered his dreams before, so why should it happen now? Was there a message to be sent? If so, what was the message?

Questions swirled around in his head, one after another, in a neverending stream. Sasuke needed answers. He planned on holing up in his room, fully intending on dissecting his dream to figure out the hidden meaning. He sighed, watching the scenery pass, and let his thoughts roam.

Fed up, Naruto needed to talk to someone. He couldn't understand anything at the moment- Sasuke avoiding him, being hurt over being ignored by the brunette, the multitudes of emotions that plagued his mind at the moment. He couldn't seem to grasp anything, his mind refusing to wrap itself around the only conclusion he had come up with in the passing day, and so he did the only thing he could think of- he went to Iruka.

The halls had long since emptied of students and most personnel, but Naruto knew his mentor liked to stay after. Whatever for, Naruto didn't know, since Iruka always managed to get his paperwork done during the day. It wasn't like he had any really pressing matters to attend to in school, nor a girlfriend, or even much of a life as was defined according to the teenage populace.

Naruto should have known something was up just from those conclusions. However, he wasn't about to go and analyze Iruka's life for him. A second indication that something was going on should have been the shut door, windows covered with construction paper, that barred Naruto's way into the room. But he didn't suspect anything was happening, and nothing short of being able to see through walls could have prepared him for what he walked into.

He was sure his eyes would be scarred for life. His teacher, Iruka, was pressed up against the chalkboard with no shirt on. He was lip-locked with a familiar teacher with silver hair, and neither had noticed their audience. It looked as if they were enjoying themselves immensly, and didn't even look up when Naruto let out a feminine squeak and backpedaled out of the room. Although, looking back years later, Naruto figured they probably knew he was there when the door unintentionally slammed behind him.

Iruka...and Mr. Hatakenaka. Together. Intimate. Probably dating. Naruto's mind was on its way to being overloaded, and so he didn't struggle or move when a hand shot out of the room with his two teachers in it, pulling him into the empty classroom. When Naruto finally realized he was back in it, he immediately flushed.

"Um..." He noticed that, this time, Iruka had his shirt back on. He also wouldn't meet Naruto's eyes, a slight blush staining his cheeks. Kakashi, on the other hand, was probably smirking underneath his ever-present turtleneck. Naruto cast his mind about for something to say to break the (for him and Iruka) awkward silence. Kakashi saved him from sticking his foot in his mouth.

"Well, what can he help you with?" the silver-haired teacher asked with an annoying smile. "Don't worry about me either- according to the rest of the school, I'm at home." He winked at Iruka, who blushed deeper, and held up a peace sign.

Naruto hesitated, but when Iruka nodded encouragingly, he took a breath and began to tell his mentor how Sasuke had been avoiding him, and how he felt about it. Naruto had never held anything back when it came to Iruka. He was one of the few people in the blonde's life that could be trusted to the fullest, and he honestly forgot that Kakashi was still there.

Iruka fidgeted, and Naruto found it a bit odd. Yes, the blonde had walked in on him and...Kakashi (his mind still couldn't fully comprehend the thought), but it wasn't as if it were a life changing, earth shattering, thunder pealing discovery that would forever scar his fragile little mind. Was it?

Iruka and Kakashi shared a look, both wearing the same, careful masks of blank emotion. Unlike the last time Iruka had devoid his face of all emotion, Naruto picked up on it immediately this time. "Iruka?" he asked with confusion. "Is something wrong?"

Iruka wondered what to tell Naruto...the truth? Possibly? Would he believe it? He rubbed his forehead, his internal debate keeping him from saying anything for the moment.

Kakashi once again saved the day. "You're remembering," he said simply. Naruto gave him a look that said he was crazy, so Kakashi clarified. "It's one of your past lives; one of many, actually. It was the first time that you and Sasuke fell for one another, and each person in your life has, since then, played a part- Sasuke, of course, has always been yours." He winked.

Iruka groaned. Naruto stood, mouth agape, wondering if his psych teacher needed a shrink himself. "Stop pulling that bull with me. What's the truth?" He narrowed his eyes, looking between them, wanting things laid out in front of him to make a complete picture that made sense.

Iruka couldn't take back what his...friend... had said, so he went along with it. "Will you let me explain, without interruption, no matter how crazy it sounds as long as there's proof?" he asked his student. After a reluctant nod, during which Naruto glared at Kakashi, Iruka began his tale.

"It all began around five hundred years ago. Back then, Ninja were a common sight in the world. There were many villages, but I'll spare you the details until a later date. There was one where you were born, along with Sasuke. You were rivals from the start, always fighting, always trying to better one another. There is a long, impending story to go along with it, but in short, you each reached the rank of ANBU, or elite assassin. It was around then, when you two were working as some of the best Black Ops that Konoha had seen, when you started to show affection for one another."

Naruto made a noise in the back of his throat, but Iruka plowed on. "I don't know how it happened, but one day, you and he were different. It wasn't a physical difference, because you still looked the same, and you were always seen around each other. It must have been something unconcious, a way you carried yourselves, like you hadn't a care in the world. Putting things together, your teammate, Sakura, found out that you had become a couple." Iruka looked over at Kakashi, who waved. "Kakashi and I weren't very far behind you, back then.

"Anyways, people were shocked. You were the last of your clan, and Sasuke was the last of his, after the murder of his family and, in retrospect, after killing his brother. There was no way either of you would have a future generation, and that bode ill for a bloodline like Sasuke's. They tried to take you down, convince you that you two were making a mistake. Being as stubborn as you two were- and still are -you didn't listen. Instead, you made a promise.

"You were in a clearing, and Kakashi and I were out walking when we heard you two talking. You said that you couldn't bear to think of living without him, no matter what others thought, and you wanted to stay with him. Sasuke agreed, but neither of you knew what you could do: you couldn't marry, because that was as unthinkable back then as it is nowadays. So, being the loudmouth you were, you swore to him that you'd never forget him, nor your love for him, and he swore the same thing.

"You died shortly after that, just after becoming hokage, when Orochimaru attacked the village one last time. Sasuke took his revenge, dying in the process, and that was that.

"Or so we thought. See, Kakashi and I borrowed your idea and swore that we would never forget one another either. Reincarnation seems to be working for us, because from that life on, the same thing has been happening- dreams of the original life that created this string of events, eventually memory recollection, and living life with the ones we love." Iruka stopped, looked up at Naruto, who stood stock-still.

Things were flooding back- memories, happier times, a time when he and Sasuke were together. With the memories came feelings, overwhelming him to the point of nearly losing conciousness. His heart felt like it would explode, longing and wistful wont filling him to his ears. He shook his head, breathing hard with the new change that was coming. He tried to stop it, but something was preventing it from happening. It appeared that his promise, the one he had made with all his heart, wouldn't let him deny what he had felt, what he felt now, what he had felt all along ever since the beginning of time.

It was too much. He felt like he was being burned out from his insides, and he couldn't take it. He knew Iruka was talking, that he and Kakashi were saying something to him, panicking in their attempts to get him to listen. He couldn't take it, and so his overloading mind did the only thing it could to protect him while he came to terms with his newfound emotions.

His knees buckled under him, and he collapsed.

End Chapter

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