Sasuke pulled away from Naruto panting. He wanted nothing more than to fully ravish the blonde, but he needed to be sure that Naruto had made his mind up.

"Dobe, are you sure?" he asked.

Naruto gasped as Sasuke resumed kissing the spot on his neck that never failed to make him mewl. He nodded, pulling away. There was nothing more he wanted than to be with Sasuke fully.

They hadn't gone much further than kissing and although they had been together mere weeks, it seemed like their relationship had been a long time coming anyway. The blonde had been prepared for such an occasion.

He had swallowed his pride and finally bought some lube, stashing it in his top drawer. As embarrassing as it had been handing it over to the cashier, it would be worth it in the long term.

Now there was nothing stopping him from being with Sasuke. Naruto knew Sasuke wouldn't decline. He could almost feel the sexual tension in the air.

"Look in the top drawer and you'll see how serious I am." Naruto purred seductively.

In his lustful haze, Naruto had completely forgotten what else he had hidden in that particular drawer. Sasuke's hand dived in the drawer and pulled something else out, a furious look on his face.

"What the fuck is this?" Sasuke snarled.

Naruto gulped as he saw Sasuke holding the real band. He had no way to explain. He had no excuse he could possibly give. His mouth opened and closed soundlessly as the blonde fought to find a lie that could cover everything up. He came up with nothing.

Sasuke wasn't stupid, though, and Naruto realised there was nothing he could do to cover up his mistake. He had been caught out all because he hadn't been careful enough. Why had he been so stupid? Of course Sasuke would end up finding out if he kept evidence in his house!

Why hadn't he just gone out to the far sides of Konoha, dug a huge hole, and buried the darn thing? Sasuke never would have found it there and Naruto would still have been able to recover it in case of an emergency, or if the Hokage had needed to examine it.

He was glad Sasuke had only taken his shirt off; this was not the kind of conversation he wanted to have naked. It would already be humiliating enough. Sasuke swept up his wrist and all at once, he realised just how shoddy the one on Naruto's arm looked.

Almost as though it had been made carelessly and quickly. The other band, the real one, looked much smoother and more professional made. Naruto swallowed; Sasuke's angry glare was pinning him to the bed. He didn't dare move, lest make the Uchiha even more angry. It that was even possible right now.

"I saw you in the bathroom that time. You were…crying." Naruto said awkwardly.

Sasuke's facial expression didn't change at all. He didn't even seem to care that Naruto had seen him so vulnerable. He was far too angry to think of anything else.

"I had to do something, Sasuke. You were so upset." Naruto mumbled, in way of explanation.

He felt stupid. At first, Sasuke had pretended to love him to spare his feelings when he had been tightly under the Kyuubi's spell. Now, it was the other way around. He was pretending to love Sasuke so he didn't hurt the Uchiha. If only one of them had been just a little uncaring; they wouldn't be in this situation.

Sasuke was off the bed in seconds as was pacing the room, running his hands through his hair.

"What is wrong with you?" he spat. "Did you really think you could carry on this farce forever?"

Naruto frowned; Sasuke had every right to be angry, but there was no need to scream at him. It wasn't as though he had been doing it through spite. He had been trying to help Sasuke through everything.

"What would you have done then, Sasuke?" Naruto challenged angrily, also jumping up.

Sasuke didn't have an answer.

"I don't know, but I certainly would have used your feelings against you like that!" he screeched.

Naruto tuned out as Sasuke began screaming at him again. Sasuke was livid and Naruto could understand that, but yelling wouldn't change the past. It was done. Sasuke didn't seem to be coming close to calming down.

"But I do love you!" Naruto wailed. He was so confused. Sasuke turned on him like a hungry hyena rounding on its prey.

"I love you," Naruto said again. "My head is just so fucked up I don't know what to think anymore. I just wanted to make you happy." he finished miserably.

He was so tired. He had a headache. Naruto didn't want to talk about it anymore. He just wanted to go to bed, curl up, and sleep for a very long time. Hopefully then, Sasuke wouldn't be angry with him anymore.

"Of course you love me without this on your wrist!" Sasuke yelled, waving the band.

He almost tore the fake band from Naruto's wrist and held him tightly as he made to put the real band back on Naruto's arm. Naruto tried to pull away from Sasuke's grip, but the raven was fuelled by rage, and held him too tightly.

Naruto shook his head violently, tears spilling from his eyes.

"Don't, don't put it on. Don't." he stammered desperately.

Sasuke stopped momentarily and their eyes met.

"You made me feel so loved. Sasuke, I don't want to lose that! I don't want to lose that! Just don't put the real one on. I can keep wearing the fake. No one needs to know." he begged.

As long as Sasuke went along with the plan everything would be fine. Sakura hadn't noticed that the band was a fake, regardless of her suspicions at the beginning when Naruto first admitted his love for Sasuke.

But Sasuke knew better. He knew Naruto's words meant nothing. Everything he said was because of fake feelings the Kyuubi was sending out.

"If you really love me, you wont do this." Naruto pleaded.

Naruto knew he was being cruel, but he was getting desperate. He didn't want to lose Sasuke as a lover. A hazy voice in the back of his mind reminded him that all this desperation not to lose Sasuke was all because of the Kyuubi's influence, but he ignored it.

Right now, Naruto knew what he felt. And he couldn't lose Sasuke. It would kill him. He slid to his knees before Sasuke, pleading with him not to take everything away. Sasuke knew Naruto would only thank him when he had the band firmly back in place and all rational thoughts came back.

He hated Naruto for the deception, but he still loved the blonde dearly. It would be so much easier to go along with Naruto's plan and let him wear the fake band, but Sasuke knew that wouldn't be right. They would be found out eventually.

He dropped down to Naruto's level and kissed him gently before taking his hand.

"This is going to hurt me a lot more than it's going to hurt you," he said, before sliding the band on Naruto's wrist and securing it there.

Naruto's eyes widened as everything became clearer. Yes, the red haze had gone, but his feelings for Sasuke had not changed at all. He was still completely in love with him! He didn't know when, but along the way he had fallen in love with Sasuke.

"I don't feel any different," Naruto said in awe.

Sasuke ignored him and helped Naruto to his feet.

"Sasuke, I honestly don't feel any different! I still love you!" he said happily.

Sasuke's voice was deadly quiet when he spoke.

"Just stop it." Sasuke hissed.

"I'm telling the truth. With the band or without it, I love you." Naruto said honestly. Couldn't Sasuke see how sincere he was being?

"Enough is enough!" Sasuke snarled. He stopped a moment to calm himself down. "I know you only want to help, but this is ridiculous."

He sighed and touched Naruto's cheek gently as he spoke.

"I know you care for me and want to help me through this, but lying isn't the answer." Sasuke said truthfully.

Naruto placed his hand over Sasuke's keeping it on his face. He looked up at the Uchiha, a determined look in his eyes. He would make Sasuke believe him if it was the last thing he did.

"I love you."

Sasuke looked away as soon as Naruto said it. He knew if he listened to Naruto's lies he would only be dragged in again. It was stupid falling for it in the first place, but he would have to be completely dense to let Naruto deceive him a second time.

"Look at me. Can't you feel this? Can't you see I couldn't fake this?"

Naruto did look earnest.

"I don't know anymore." Sasuke said honestly.

As much as he wanted to, he couldn't trust Naruto anymore. Naruto had fooled him once and Sasuke wouldn't let him do it a second time. Why had Naruto been so desperate to make him happy?

It wasn't Naruto's fault he didn't feel the same way. Things like that couldn't be helped. Why had Naruto been willing to go so far just to spare his feelings?

"I can't believe you nearly let me…" Sasuke trailed off, not wanting to say it aloud, gesturing at the bed they had been on mere seconds.

If Naruto hadn't spoken up, Sasuke never would have forgiven himself if he found out later Naruto had been under the influence of the Kyuubi's chakra. It wouldn't have been right. No matter what we he looked at it, no matter how much Naruto told him he wanted it too, he would have taken advantage of the blonde.

"Would you have gone through with it?" Sasuke demanded.

Naruto nodded.

"I love you, Sasuke. Why can't you believe me? I know you don't want to let yourself get hurt again, but can't you see I really am telling the truth this time?" he asked hopefully.

Sasuke was silent, wondering what he could say to Naruto. He really, really wanted to believe the blonde dobe, but letting himself believe him was another matter. He watched with wide eyes as Naruto unzipped his orange cargo pants and let them fall to the floor.

Sasuke couldn't speak. Naruto carried on undressing, ignoring Sasuke's inner turmoil.

"Tell me you don't want me and I'll stop." Naruto challenged.

He felt Naruto move forward and press against him. His resolve was breaking and he didn't know how he could resist Naruto. He was gorgeous. Sasuke prided himself on his self-control, but controlling himself around Naruto was another matter completely.

Sasuke finally snapped and reached out, touching the blonde. Naruto smirked and started to undress Sasuke. Sasuke didn't stop him; he was only human and he only had so much self control.

They both looked up as a startled gasp sounded from the door. Naruto groaned in embarrassment as he saw Sakura standing there. Her hand was covering her mouth, and a light blush dusting her cheeks.

The blonde buried his face in the crook of Sasuke's neck, hiding his face. Sakura cleared her throat awkwardly and kept her eyes away from Naruto and Sasuke.

"I…just came over to check on you guys. Apparently you're fine, so I'll just be going." She stuttered.

Sasuke suddenly came to his senses, realising he had fallen completely for Naruto's charm. He shoved Naruto away.

"Damnit, Naruto!"

Sakura frowned, obviously confused by Sasuke's sudden hostility. Hadn't he and Naruto just been kissing? What reason would he have for fighting with the blonde? She sighed. Everything always had to be so complex when it concerned Sasuke and Naruto.

"Am I missing something?" she asked slowly.

Sasuke stepped away from the blonde, keeping a distance between them. He took a deep breath before beginning to explain everything to Sakura. She seemed to manage to keep up with the wild story, understanding everything. Naruto noticed the deep frown on her face hadn't moved throughout Sasuke's explanation. He supposed she disagreed with what he had done.

"I really do love him," Naruto said honestly. He ignored the snort of disbelief Sasuke made and carried on talking.

"I know it was a stupid plan, but it was the only thing I could think of to keep Sasuke happy. That's all I wanted to do." he added sadly.

The frown shifted from her face. She didn't look angry with what Naruto had done. In fact, she looked rather amused. Naruto had handed over the band for her to look at; both the real one and the fake.

"They are both made of the same material," she said, holding up both the metal rings.

Naruto didn't see the significance.

"So?" he asked impatiently.

He needed to get back to explaining to Sasuke just how real their relationship was, and could be. He needed to make him believe he was really in love this time. Sakura laughed.

"There's no special device inside this band." She said, holding up the real one. "Its simple really; the Kyuubi's chakra has a repugnance towards lead. Almost like an allergy towards it, you could say. Your chakra, however, is a completely different type and remains unaffected."

Naruto wasn't following. Sakura sighed and held up the fake band.

"They are both made of lead. It doesn't really matter which one you wore; they would both work exactly the same! You never were under the influence of the Kyuubi as long as you were wearing either one of these. The chakra was always blocked." she said.

The truth finally dawned on Naruto and he gaped soundlessly.

"Then…this whole time…but I…I…"

Naruto didn't know what to say. He was now as helpless as Sasuke; he remembered the panic he had felt when he thought he might lose Sasuke. It wasn't fake; those were his real feelings. Sasuke was the most important thing in his life.

Sasuke smirked.

"Do you believe me now?" Naruto asked, managing to sound sly even though he was as shocked by this revelation as Sasuke, he didn't need to let Sasuke know how exposed he felt.

"It seems I have no other choice," Sasuke replied coolly.

He cleared the distance between them in one large stride. His hand came to rest protectively on the back of Naruto's neck and he kissed him soundly on the lips. Sakura coughed and shifted from the room as she realised Sasuke was intent on showing Naruto just how pleased he was with the truth right there, that second, on the floor.


The Kyuubi was furious with the way things had turned out. Naruto was no longer thinking for himself. He was ridiculously in love with the Uchiha and it was doing him no good. There was no way the Kyuubi would allow Naruto to gamble their lives in such a way.

It made him sick; day in, day out, he had to watch as the young fools frolicked. Naruto was making a fool of himself and, inadvertently, shaming the fox too. Everyone knew the carrier of the great demon Kyuubi was Naruto. The fox would not allow Naruto to humiliation him!

The least he could do now was make sure his vessel was powerful and feared. Perhaps even respected. The Kyuubi hated the Uchiha. He had to begrudgingly admit a small amount of respect for Sasuke as he was powerful, but he still hated him. He hated all uchiha's.

The Kyuubi remembered being in love once. He had taken human form once, many years ago and with the human form came a curse; human emotions. Fear had been a completely new experience for the Kyuubi.

In that time, he had set his eyes on the most beautiful human he had ever seen. The Kyuubi had never considered humans as 'beautiful', but this one man was sheer perfection, there were no other words that could describe him.

Uchiha Madara had been his name. He had been strong, in both body and mind. He was extremely clever and had mastered the use of fire jutsu. Even the fox knew he could not control fire as majestically and powerfully as Madara. He stood tall, had great ambitions and bowed to no other man. He was perfect in every way possible.

The fox remembered how he had become weak willed around that man. He had done everything in his power to please him, trying to make him happy. But nothing was enough. Madara didn't even seem to have the slightest interest. The Kyuubi could not understand why the Uchiha would not accept him; they were both powerful. He was more than worthy to stand by his side, as his mate.

In an attempt to show his power, he had revealed his true form. Madara had not been surprised. He had looked upon the Kyuubi with the same cold eyes, filled with the same indifference. He had not moved when the fox began destroying the village he called home.

His tails had flailed wildly, destroying everything in sight. Their eyes met and the Kyuubi knew at once it had been deceived. Madara had disappeared. He had simply teleported, with the aid of nothing other than his own mind.

Through the betrayal and anger, the Kyuubi still yearned to be worthy of such power. Then he came face to face with the man who would imprison him for the rest of his years; before him stood the Fourth Hokage.

He knew in that moment he would never love again. Neither would Naruto; he would make sure of it. The last Uchiha of the present would pay for what his descendant had done in the past. The Kyuubi had long ago abandoned anything close to morals and no longer had a conscience.

Even if it meant using the people Naruto held dear to get to Sasuke, he would do it. He would break them up in the most agonizing fashion he could manage. He would make sure Sasuke felt what true betrayal was like. He would make the Uchiha's rue the very day they crossed him.

The more rational side of the fox knew hurting Sasuke wouldn't make him feel any better about what Madara had done all those centuries ago, but time didn't heal. The Kyuubi had become more bitter and thirstier for vengeance over the years.

Sasuke was the key. He could have made himself useful, protecting Naruto, but the stupid fool had let emotions get in the way. He could no longer be counted on to kill ruthlessly for the blonde. The lust had, sickeningly, morphed into love.

The fox knew exactly what it would do to get the revenge it deserved. He would bring up all of Sasuke's insecurities at once and crush him. The one thing Sasuke had been dreading for years; he would make it happen. Then, sit back and watch as the Uchiha was destroyed.