© 2006 FastForward
Disclaimer: They're not mine. Don't sue me, 'cause all you'd get is Kiba... and we all know nobody wants Kiba. :clutches Kiba with a deathgrip: He's MINE.
Previously:
Sasuke ran down the long corridor he'd been seeing in his dreams ever since he'd woken up from his coma. Tonight, he was determined to make it through that door. He knew the real him was behind that door. He wanted to be who he used to be.
His feet pounded on the ground, echoing off the walls around him. His breaths were harsh gasps as he struggled to push himself to go faster, even though he was already at his limits. The door began to close, the rectangle of light becoming smaller and smaller.
But not tonight. Sasuke would not let it close tonight. With a cry, he launched himself at the door, slamming through it and entering the room beyond. For the first time since Sasuke woke up from his coma, the raven made it through the door.
Sasuke jerked up in bed with a gasp, his eyes searching the room frantically. Panic gripped him as he didn't recognize it. He saw his stuff—posters, pictures, clothes—but he didn't know where he was.
"Naruto." he whispered, the last thing he remembered being the blond getting shot. Shit, was he still alive? What of Itachi? Had he killed him?
The raven struggled to untangle himself from his sheets, intent on finding out where he was, how he'd gotten there, and most importantly: what had happened to Naruto. He kicked the blankets off and then got to his feet, only to trip when his foot got caught in his sheets. He cursed angrily as he pulled free, pushing himself to his feet and running towards the door. He threw it open and ran into the corridor, looking around for something he recognized. Nothing looked familiar.
As he glanced at the doors, he noticed two doors with pictures on them. One he didn't recognize at all, and the other had a picture of—Naruto!
"Naruto!" Sasuke slammed into the door, only to find it locked. He pounded on the door. "Naruto! Can you hear me?"
"What?" The door flew open to show the blond on the other side, his eyes wide in concern, but sleep still evident on his face. "What's wrong, Sa—" Naruto didn't finish because his arms were suddenly full of Sasuke.
"Thank God!" he exclaimed before pulling back, looking Naruto up and down with his hands on the blond's shoulders. "Are you all right? Are you okay?" His eyes focused on the wounds. Or rather, the lack of wounds. "Your-your wounds. They're gone." he said, utterly confused as he patted the blond's chest with one hand. He didn't even notice the door behind him had opened, another person looking in on the situation. "Wha-what happened? Where's Itachi? This isn't a dream, is it?"
Naruto placed his hand on Sasuke's mouth, silencing him. He stared deep into the raven's eyes, a spark of hope building in his chest.
"Sasuke?" he asked carefully.
"What happened?" Sasuke's muffled voice asked through Naruto's hand. "Did I dream it all?"
"Wh-what do you remember last?" Naruto asked, feeling his throat tightening and tears forming in his eyes. God, was he back?
"I shot Itachi." Sasuke said, still through Naruto's hand. "He shot me. And then—I just woke up."
"Oh my God!" Naruto's hand fell from Sasuke's mouth, only so he could throw his arms around the raven, crying into his shoulder. "You're back!" He hugged him tightly. "You're back. Oh my God!"
Confused, Sasuke just hugged Naruto back, not caring that he didn't understand what was going on. He was just happy Naruto was okay.
The blond then pulled back and grabbed Sasuke's face before planting his lips firmly on the raven's and trying to lick his tonsils. Sasuke, for his part, didn't mind one bit. In fact, he even began to push Naruto back slightly so that they could enter his room and shut the door. He still wasn't sure where they were, though.
Once inside the room, he kicked the door closed, fumbling for the lock. Once he'd gotten it, Naruto pulled away from him and spun them around, throwing Sasuke on the bed before jumping on top of him and devouring the raven's mouth with his own.
I don't know what's gotten into him, but I like it, Sasuke decided as he let Naruto plunder his mouth. He could already feel himself getting hard, and Naruto wasn't too far behind.
But, as wonderful as this was, Sasuke was still confused. He pushed lightly on Naruto's chest to get him to let go of his mouth for a second, the blond complying, but reluctantly.
"Naruto, what happened? How are you okay? Am I dreaming? 'Cause I don't want to wake up if I am."
"Please." Naruto kissed Sasuke's lips. "Please, let's not talk about it. Not right now. I need you too much." He kissed Sasuke deeply again, and as much as the raven wanted answers, Naruto had looked so—desperate. He could wait until morning.
As the two lovers in Naruto's room got reacquainted after months of separation, neither even thought of the other resident of their suite, who was gritting his teeth angrily and glaring at Naruto's door in hatred before slamming into his room.
Sasuke let out a slow breath as he began to roll over, frowning slightly as he felt something stopping him from rolling over. Annoyed, the sleep began to disperse from his system and Sasuke's eyes opened slowly. He looked down and smiled gently as he realized what was stopping him. Naruto had his head on his shoulder, one arm wrapped protectively around his waist. When Sasuke shifted slightly, Naruto tightened his hold.
The Uchiha stared at the top of the blond's head. He had one arm across Naruto's lower back and the other was resting on his own stomach. He raised the hand on his stomach and lightly ran it through the blond locks. Naruto let out a content sigh before nuzzling more into Sasuke's shoulder, still fast asleep.
The raven frowned as the hand on Naruto's lower back moved up and brushed against fresh wounds. Well, not exactly fresh, per se, but they were still healing. He ran his hand up his back, feeling at least eight of them. They were lines, stretching from his shoulders to mid-back. Sasuke tried to think about what could have caused them, but figured he might as well just ask Naruto. He wanted answers to a lot of questions, but he didn't want to wake Naruto up. He could wait just a little while longer.
Gingerly, Sasuke shifted again, releasing Naruto and moving the blond's hand away from his waist. After a few minutes of struggling with an unconscious Naruto who wouldn't let him go, Sasuke got free. He pulled the sheets up over his boyfriend before glancing at the clock. It was eight-thirty in the morning, and he hoped they had nothing to do on that particular day. Then, he began looking around the room for his boxers. Naruto had practically ripped them off, and Sasuke let out a sigh as he found them intact in one of the corners.
He pulled them on before exiting the room, closing the door silently behind himself. He searched for the bathroom to relieve himself before entering the kitchen and looking around. He was trying to figure out where exactly they were, but he didn't recognize anything. They could be in a completely different country for all he knew.
His stomach growled and he put one hand over it, sighing. He wanted to wait for Naruto, but his body would rebel and he would lose his spine to his ravenous stomach. So, he walked towards the fridge and pulled it open. His eyes scanned the contents and he finally pulled out a few eggs and some cheese to make himself an omelette.
He spent two minutes looking for the bowls before spending another two looking for a pan. He was getting frustrated with everything around him and was just about ready to kill anything stupid enough to walk into his immediate line of sight. Minus Naruto, he thought with a smile. He was still glad the blond was okay.
As Sasuke was just about to pick up an egg to crack it into the bowl, someone behind him spoke. Someone he didn't recognize.
"So, you're back." Sasuke jerked around, his fists clenching instinctively.
His eyes fell on a boy leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen, his arms crossed. He looked a little bit like Sasuke if you looked at him just right, but Sasuke's hair wasn't cut the same way. They had different jaw-lines and where this person's eyes were a light brown, Sasuke's were dark as night.
"Who are you?" Sasuke hissed vehemently, not liking this stranger in the same place he and Naruto occupied.
"Your look is good." Sai commented as he received Sasuke's best glare. He had to admit, this Sasuke was definitely scarier than the old one.
"Who are you?" Sasuke demanded again. "Why are you in here?"
"I live here." Sai pushed off from the doorframe and walked further into the kitchen, plopping down on one of the chairs around the small table. "I'm guessing the last four months are a complete blank."
"What?" Sasuke asked, his harshness subsiding due to his confusion. "Four months?"
"You're in Gage Towers on UBC campus. Naruto and I are your suitemates."
"Fine, doesn't explain who you are." Sasuke snapped, returning to his cold demeanour.
"Sai Baikan."
"Never heard of you." Sai merely shrugged as he leaned back in his chair, the two front legs lifting off the ground.
"You were in a coma for a while. When you woke up, you had amnesia. You didn't remember anything. That was four months ago. A lot has changed since then."
"Oh, really?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Other than some stranger sitting in the kitchen I'm currently standing in, nothing seems too different."
"He doesn't want you anymore." Sai smirked. Both knew whom he was talking about.
"Oh, and you know this?" Sasuke asked, a smirk of his own appearing on his face.
"Did you see any pictures?" Sasuke's head snapped back, the smirk fading. "In his room. Were there any pictures of you? Any little thing you've ever given him?" Sasuke felt his blood run cold as he thought about it. He hadn't really looked around, but he'd seen a few pictures. He didn't remember seeing himself in any of them.
"He put them all in a box in the corner of his closet. He just didn't know how to tell you. Last night was goodbye, Sasuke. You should just let him get on with his life."
"You don't know anything about Naruto." Sasuke hissed, clenching his fists.
"I know he likes having his neck touched." Sai smirked, having learned this particular detail from massaging the blond.
"You could've found that out anywhere." Sasuke growled.
"What about the fingernail marks on his back?" Sasuke felt his heart plummet. That's what they are? he thought worriedly. "He's pretty rough in the sack, so I returned the favour."
"You're lying." Sasuke insisted.
"Check his closet." Sai smirked. "All your answers will be there."
Sasuke flew past him without a word, rushing down the corridor towards the room he remembered being Naruto's. He opened the door and cast a glance at the blond. Naruto was still asleep. He rushed to the closet and opened it. The door creaked and Sasuke grit his teeth, turning to look at Naruto. The blond didn't move. Sasuke turned back to the closet and bent down, pulling out a box his fingers touched in the corner. Taking a deep breath, he pulled open the flaps and glanced inside.
Sasuke's heart almost stopped beating at what he saw. Pictures of the two of them—framed and in photo albums—were sitting in the box, along with a list of rooms in Naruto's house, which they'd made to tick off which rooms they'd had sex in; the cotton balls didn't stick to the doors very well. Christmas presents, random little trinkets—everything Sasuke had ever given him was sitting peacefully in the box.
Sasuke stood up, horrified. Could it be true? Since Sasuke had forgotten him, Naruto had moved on? After all, Sai did look like him a little bit. Even he had thought so. Could Naruto have used Sai as a replacement, and then fallen for him instead?
There's no way, Sasuke thought as he backed up, his eyes looking around the room frantically. There's no way he would just cast me aside like that. This is Naruto. He would hope and pray for the best, and if it didn't come, he would wait longer. He wouldn't—he couldn't—
Sasuke's eyes suddenly fell on something sitting peacefully on the blond's desk. He stared at it as if it were the Holy Grail as he slowly walked towards it. His hands shook and he pulled it off the desk, hugging it to his chest. It's not true; I knew it wasn't true, he thought, relieved.
After all, why else would Naruto have Sasuke's Jar of Clouds on his desk?
Naruto groaned as he shifted, his hand reaching out for Sasuke. He frowned as it found nothing. Horrified, he jerked up in bed. Had it been a dream? God, please don't let it have been a dream! Naruto thought as he scrambled to get out of bed. He paused as he felt a draft and looked down. He was naked. He had most definitely been clothed when he'd gone to bed.
"Naruto?" The blond whipped around at the voice, his eyes widening.
"Sasuke." he whispered.
The two of them stared at each other for a long while, Naruto not even caring about his state of undress. Naruto wasn't sure whether or not he'd dreamed it all, and Sasuke was still somewhat worried about Naruto not liking him anymore, although he didn't show it on his face. Naruto, however, didn't miss the death-grip his boyfriend had on the Jar of Clouds.
"Um..." Naruto shifted uncomfortably, and then remembered he was naked. Clearing his throat, he reached down and grabbed his sheet, wrapping it around his waist. Sasuke just watched him, not relinquishing his grip on the jar.
"I have a question." both said at the same time. They were then both silent so the other could ask.
"You first." Naruto said.
"No, I have more than one question." Sasuke insisted. "You go first."
"Okay." Naruto took a deep breath. "Did I dream it all? Are you—back?"
"Yes, I'm back."
Naruto let out a sigh as he closed his eyes. "Thank you." he whispered, bringing one hand up to cover his eyes as he felt tears forming. "Thank you."
"I have a few questions for you about what happened, but I need you to answer the one I'm about to ask right now." Naruto looked up at Sasuke, wiping tears away with one hand, the other still holding the sheet up.
"Shoot."
"Did you move on while I was..." Sasuke trailed off, still not sure what had happened.
"No." Naruto blurted out. "No, God, Sasuke." The blond shuffled towards him, the sheet making it hard for him to walk. "Do you think I would've pulled you in here like that last night if I had?"
"I didn't think so." Sasuke said, feeling a weight lift. "But the other guy—"
"Sai." Naruto growled angrily. "I'm gonna kick his ass."
"Get in line." Sasuke mumbled, finally letting his grip loosen slightly on the jar. "He had a convincing argument."
"Oh?" Naruto asked with a frown. "Like?"
"Well, first, there's the box of stuff in the closet." He motioned the box he'd opened.
"Shizune told me to do that. There's a valid explanation."
"Good." Sasuke nodded. "I feel better."
"Was that it?"
"No." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto. "He knew about your neck."
The blond blushed, clearing his throat. "He gave me a few massages. I didn't ask for them." he rushed. "He just kind of—did."
"And the fingernail marks?" Sasuke demanded. Naruto winced, looking away.
"I don't want to get into that, but trust me when I say that wasn't something I wanted. I didn't cheat on you." Not intentionally, anyway, Naruto thought.
"Okay." Sasuke didn't like this answer, but he would live with it for now. As long as he knew Naruto was still his and only his, everything else didn't matter so much.
Sasuke put the jar down and walked towards Naruto. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, resting his forehead on Naruto's shoulder.
"I missed you." he whispered. Naruto wrapped his own arms around Sasuke.
"I missed you, too."
Kiba yawned as he walked towards the front door to his suite, wanting to answer the insistent knocking before it woke anyone else up. He'd woken up to get ready for his twelve o'clock exam, and had just exited the bathroom when the knocking had begun.
He swung open the door and his eyes widened. "Did he leave?"
"Huh?" Sasuke asked, confused.
"Naruto. Did he leave again?"
"No, last I checked, he was in the shower."
Kiba let out a sigh and motioned for Sasuke to come inside. The raven complied, but as he was about to tell Kiba he was back, the brunette had started talking.
"He hasn't left in a while, and the bruises on his jaw are gone. It's either over, or he's getting a break." Sasuke frowned.
"A break? From what?"
"Orochimaru, fuck." Kiba said.
"Orochimaru?" Sasuke's eyes hardened. "What does he have to do with this?"
"Where have you been?" Kiba asked with a frown. "We've only been complaining about the fact that he's sexually abusing Naruto for four months n—" Kiba's eyes widened as Sasuke interrupted him by grabbing the front of his shirt and wrenching him forward so their noses almost touched.
"What did you say?" he hissed vehemently. "What has he been doing?"
"Sa-Sasuke?" Kiba asked as he stared into the raven's eyes. That was when it hit him. "Holy shit, you're back."
"He only told me about myself. We spent the last two hours talking about what happened in the last eight months, from my coma to the movie we watched last night. He evaded every question I asked about him, so I asked him where you lived because I knew you would tell me. So talk!"
"Can you put me down, first?" Kiba asked.
Sasuke frowned, and then realized why Kiba had asked that. As he'd been talking, he'd been slowly lifting Kiba off the ground by the front of his shirt. He slowly let him back down, Kiba pulling his collar away from his throat as he motioned the kitchen. Sasuke walked in and sat down, Kiba following suit.
"Tell me everything." Sasuke ordered, narrowing his eyes as a warning that if Kiba left anything out, he would die a slow and painful death.
"Okay." Kiba took a deep breath. "But before we start, you have to understand we tried to stop it, but—we didn't know what to do. We didn't know who to call."
"I'm back now." Sasuke growled. "I'll stop it. Talk!"
Sasuke slammed open a door, storming into the room and glaring at the person before him with everything he had. He silently wished he could burn the man on the spot with his eyes.
"Ah, Sasuke." Orochimaru smiled, putting a pile of exams aside and folding his hands together.
Sasuke walked forward slowly, his fists clenched, his teeth grinding against each other. It was taking everything he had not to throw himself over the desk and pound the living daylights out of the Sannin.
"Am I to assume you've regained your memory, Sasuke?" Orochimaru asked with a smirk.
"You sick, twisted bastard!" Sasuke hollered, making it to the desk in two steps and slamming his fists down on it. A few exams fell off the table, but the two occupants in the room kept their eyes locked on one another.
"Whatever do you mean?" Orochimaru's smirk widened. He'd known Naruto's friends would find out, but to be honest, he had been waiting for Sasuke to explode. He was glad it had finally happened. It would make everything that much sweeter.
"I don't believe you!" Sasuke growled. "What are you holding over his head? There has to be something, because he wouldn't willingly let you do all these things to him!"
"What exactly have I been doing?"
"Sexually abusing him!"
"You have no proof."
"I'll get some!" Sasuke hollered.
"Oh?" Orochimaru smirked. "Have you not thought about it, Sasuke? Have you not considered that he would have stopped this if he could?"
"Of course." Sasuke growled. "Which is why I want to know what you're holding over his head, so I can stop you."
"You can't stop me." Sasuke's head snapped back. "There's nothing you can do. If you stop him from leaving the house, you'll hurt him. If you follow him, you'll hurt him. If you call the police and have them investigate this, you'll hurt him. If anything interrupts what we have, you will hurt him."
Sasuke was shaking in anger as everything Orochimaru said sank in. It was true. If he really did have something to hold over Naruto's head, the blond couldn't get help. And he couldn't stop it.
"Don't you see?" Orochimaru smirked. "You can't win. Your other friends knew this; it's why they let it go on. There is nothing you can do. Rest assured, if you try and have someone help him, he will be mad. He'll send them away. He'll do everything he can to stop them from finding anything out. In other words," he leaned forward, smirking even wider, "you can't win."
Sasuke didn't know which emotion he wanted to take over. Anger, or self-pity. It was true, what Orochimaru was saying. There was nothing Sasuke could do. If he had someone check up on Naruto, whatever it was Naruto was trying to protect or whatnot would all have been in vain. At this point, everyone who was worried about Naruto was backed into a corner. There was nothing they could do.
Sasuke never knew he could feel so—powerless. This surpassed his powerlessness of the day his parents died.
"What you don't understand, Sasuke, is I don't hold anything over his head." Orochimaru smirked. "It's much better than that." He leaned forward slightly, whispering to the Uchiha. "I hold his life in my hand."
Sai walked down the corridor until he reached the end, knocking on the door. There was a pause before it opened and he walked inside, not even acknowledging the person who'd let him in. He walked through the large room towards a lone figure seated at a table.
"You're back."
"I am." Sai replied as he stood in front of the person who addressed him. "I changed my mind."
"You changed your mind." The man smirked. "And what, pray tell, made you change your mind?"
"It's none of your business." Sai snapped.
"We missed you while you were gone." The figure leaned back in his chair. "Granted, it was only three weeks, but it took its toll." He narrowed his eyes. "If you come back, you won't be leaving us again."
"No, I have no intention to." Sai replied. "But the same conditions apply as last time."
"Fine. You work alone, and we tell no one but the people who already know."
"Good." Sai nodded, satisfied. "And I want Christmas off."
"Sai." The man smiled. "Everyone has Christmas off. It's a holiday."
"I'll see you in January." Sai turned to walk away.
"You'll be keeping an eye on Naruto while he's away, won't you?"
"Yes." Sai turned to look at Deidara as he reached the door. "And just so you know, Sasuke has his memory back. Things are going to get more complicated."
"Only for you, Sai." Deidara grinned. "Looks like you won't be dating him, then."
"Give me time." Sai snapped before slamming the door behind him.
A/N: Dun dun duuuuunnnnnnn... I'm okay, really...
© 2006 FastForward
