Stranded

Ch. 12- Rub a dub dub

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and TV Tokyo.

Beta'd by Naruto771

Thunder rumbled up above. Gray clouds dominated the sky, rolling across bringing torrents of water and lightning. The water pitter pattered against the leaves, creating a sort of clapping sound. The entire surface of the lake was shrouded in a fine mist of water vapor. The raindrops splashed playfully against the pool of water, causing tiny ripples everywhere. The ground slowly became soggy and muddy; the sand became thick and heavy as it absorbed the rain. All around Sasuke and Naruto, the trees lightly danced underneath the weight of the sky's tears.

Hearing small chitters, Sasuke opened his eyes to see three small creatures dart into the thick canopy of the tees. Shivering, he rubbed his hands on his legs, trying furtively to warm them. Irritated, he looked at his soggy shirt. This is what I get for trying to put an idiot in his place. Fuck. Breathing deeply into his hands, he rubbed them together, using the slight friction to warm them up. Inspecting his shelter, he noted with a hint of pride that it was holding up well. Despite letting in a few raindrops here and there, the roof he made by stacking the palm fronds together was holding up quite nicely. Although he was quite dry, the chilly rain brought with it a deep drop in temperature. Gazing at his arms, he noted the goosebumps that had risen up and scowled. Shivering again, his entire body shook and he gritted his teeth to stop them from chattering. What the fuck is up with the damn weather here? One day, it's hot as hell. The next, I'm freezing to death. Remembering that he was not alone in his ordeal, he glanced over at the blond and cursed loudly. Naruto was off even worse than him. At least he was dry; the smaller man was getting soaked from his shitty shelter and was shivering violently.

Naruto sneezed. Huddling his legs closer to his body, he closed his eyes and desperately tried to take his mind off the cold. The freezing rain fell through the roof and onto him, slowly rolling down his skin and leaving a trail of goosebumps behind it. His teeth chattering, he refused to acknowledge the fact that he should have taken the bastard's advice and build a better shelter. He jumped slightly as the rain increased in intensity and poured another bucket of ice cold water onto his head and down his back. Cursing, he opened his eyes and turned to Kyuubi.

"Oi Kyuubi. How much longer do you think this'll last?"

"…"

"The rest of the day!? It was only the afternoon! God, I'm going to fucking get hyperthermia!"

"…"

"No, I will not go to the bastard for warmth."

"…."

"…..Kyuubi, we are not doing that to keep warm. Why the hell do you have such a dirty mind?!"

Aggravated, he renewed his efforts to warm himself and began to furiously rub his arms up and down. Wincing as more rain hit his sensitive neck, he yelped and jerked up, hitting the wall of his teepee. The structure decided it couldn't take the abuse and wobbled before collapsing unto itself. Shocked, Naruto leapt out of the way and watched as his hard work crumpled to the floor into a pile of disappointment. Pissed, he angrily kicked the fallen pile of branches. Pushing some up, he quickly began to try and build another, even as the rain began to numb his fingers and wrack his body with shivers. Desperately tying the branches together, he propped them up only to watch as the fell over. Refusing to give up and let his anger takes over; he bent down and tried again with the same result. Breathing deeply, he violently shivered and rubbed his eyes. Angry tears welled up in his eyes, but he brutally wiped them away. Looking around, he refused to turn in the direction Sasuke was. That piece of shit bastard is probably just laughing at me. He's probably waiting for me to go over there and apologize, but fuck that. Turning to the forest, he was surprise to see that the thick trees offered no protection. The rain simply slipped in between the leaves and soaked the ground. Wiping the soaked hair plastered to his face out of the way, he rubbed the back of his neck and sat down underneath a small tree that offered the tiniest bit of protection.

Sasuke watched and winced as Naruto's attempts to fix his shelter failed. Irritated that he felt concerned, he resisted calling the blonde over. Even if I did call him, he won't come. He'll argue with me and turn down my offer, go back to that ball and end up freezing to death. Stupid dobe. He should've just listened to me when I first told him to fix it. Now look at him, he's basically helpless. Scowling he crossed his arms. A voice in the back of his head that he never knew he had spoken up. Maybe you should still call him over and help him. It's what a good friend would do. Sasuke internally rolled his eyes. Oh? Are we friends?

The small voice pondered for a moment. Maybe, even, closer than friends. You know, you can predict his behavior better than Itachi's and you've jerked off to him. Definitely closer than friends. Sasuke's cheeks turned the slightest bit pinker. That was just in the moment. Nothing like that will happen again. The voice turned sly. Even if he wants it? Even if he literally throws himself at you like he did before? The raven coughed and rubbed his arms. He didn't throw himself at me; he was trying to help me.

The voice changed tone and became a bit crueler. Help you? He wanted it and you know it. He could be really easy. What if he's nothing more than a slut for you to fuck? Hey, take what you can get. Getting incredibly pissed at the imaginary entity in his mind, Sasuke frowned and felt an urge to protect his dobe. The dobe is not easy. I refuse to think that he's a slut. He's just stupid and cute. He tries his best and keeps trying even when that fails. The voice changed back into its light tone. If he's not your friend, and you don't like him, why defend him? Face it Sasuke, you feel something for Naruto. Sasuke looked down and pressed his lips together. Taking in all of the facts, he was cornered. Even if I did like him, he probably doesn't like me. The small voice got irritated. Duh he likes you. If he didn't, he wouldn't have been responding while you were making out with him. And don't you give me any of that "caught up in the moment" bullshit. Sighing Sasuke relented. Besides, if I did fuck him, I doubt I'd let it be a onetime thing. The voice piped up happily. I doubt he would either.

Standing up, Sasuke braced himself and stepped out of his shelter. Immediately getting pelted by the rain and cold wind, he shivered and made his way over to the freezing blond. His hair became heavy and plastered itself against his face and neck, creating little rivulets of ice cold water on his body. Looming over the smaller man, he nudged him.

Naruto looked up in surprise to see Sasuke standing over him. The pale man was shivering just like him, but was dryer. Frowning and looking away, Naruto spoke.

"W-What do y-you want? Did y-you come to gloat, t-teme?"

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke held his hand out. "Come on, dobe."

Eying he hand suspiciously, Naruto stared at him. Rubbing his arms, he leaned away from the hand.

"W-What? What do you w-want?"

Still holding his hand out, Sasuke stepped closer. "Come with me."

Feeling nervous of Sasuke's proximity to him, Naruto gazed up at him curiously. He's not gloating, so what does he want? Go where with him?

Sasuke licked his lips and shivered. His pants had now been soaked though and his wet skin was being abused by the cold winds.

"Back to my shelter. Come on." Grabbing the blonde's hand, he pulled Naruto to his feet and dragged him towards his shelter.

Startled, Naruto pulled on his hand and resisted. "No. I d-don't need your p-pity. I'm p-perfectly fine."

Sasuke turned and stared at Naruto, his dark eyes searching Naruto's face intently. "I'm not doing this because I feel pity for you. I'm doing this because I want to."

Blushing at the severity of Sasuke's voice and his piercing eyes, Naruto gulped. But he still had his pride and was not about to become Sasuke's slave. Yanking his hand back, he stepped away.

"N-no. My shelter was not t-the best and I will a-accept the consequences. So n-no thanks." Turning around, Naruto began to walk back his spot before he was stopped by a cold, pale hand that clamped tightly onto his arm. Sasuke had grabbed onto him and began to pull him away.

"Moron. You're coming with me whether you like it or not."

Sasuke dragged the fighting and shivering blond back to his shelter. Thankful that he built it big, he pushed the dobe inside. Naruto pouted, crossed his arms and plopped onto the floor near the back. Once inside, Sasuke unbuttoned his soaked dress pants and began to pull them off. He was amused to see Naruto's eyes widen and a bright red blush run across his tan face as the smaller man watched him.

"Teme, w-what are y-you doing?!" Naruto scooted even further back of the shelter.

"It's stupid to stay in wet clothes, remember?"

Stripping to his boxers, he pushed the pants into a corner. Turning to Naruto, he cocked his head.

"Well? Do you need help?"

"N-NO! I can d-do it myself, pervert!" Bringing his frozen fingers up, Naruto fumbled with his pants' clasp. Unable to get his fingers to work properly, he cursed and tried to tug the pants off. It didn't work.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and pushed his hands out of the way. It's not perverted if you want it. Smoothly undoing the clasp, he pulled them down to reveal a familiar pair of boxers.

"OI TEME! Y-you can't just do t-that!" Naruto was stunned when Sasuke's pale hands descended down to his crotch. Feeling his heart rate spike and knowing what kind of affect the bastard had on him, he tried to edge awkwardly away before anything decided to pop up.

"Relax, I'm only helping you. Stop squirming!"

Sasuke fluidly yanked the jeans off the blond and tossed them to the side. Crawling to the back, he sat down next to the smaller man. The cold hitting him full force now that he was soaked, he shivered viciously.

Settling down, Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, the cold seeping down into his bones. Not knowing what to say or if he should thank the raven, he settled for staring at the ground.

"Bastard, are we gonna freeze to death? I mean, we can't make a fire in here, so what do we do?"

Sasuke turned to him, an odd pink tinge on his cheeks and a determined look on his face. "We do what we can do. We use body heat to stay alive."

"Body heat? W-what, are you g-going to work o-out or something?"

"Something like that."

xXx

Iruka blinked owlishly. Wait what? "Pardon?"

Kakashi lightly shook the leashes in his hand. "Do you want to help me walk them? They need to go out for their daily walk."

Iruka snapped out of the slight trance Kakashi's gentle touch had left him in and nodded his head. "Okay, sure." Holding out his hand, he waited as Kakashi sorted out the leashes.

Grinning, Kakashi handed him three leashes. "Each dog knows their leash color. Just hold it out and they'll come to you."

Iruka curiously looked at the ropes in his hands. "So how come you get four and I get three?"

Kakashi glanced over him in surprise. "You want another one?"

"I don't see why not."

"They can get…a bit excited. Have you ever owned a dog before?"

"…No."

"Well then. You get three. Most people can barely handle two, and you, who have never had a dog, have three. Trust me; you'll have your hands full with them. I'm used to them, so keeping them under control is second nature."

Leaving the room, Kakashi went into the living room and whistled. All of the dogs had finished eating already and were lounging lazily on the floor. Upon hearing the whistle, they leapt up happily and ran towards him barking.

Iruka thought of something. "Wait, how can they tell which leash is theirs? Aren't dogs colorblind?"

"I've only ever walked them with a specific leash, so their scent should be on it. It also has their name on it."

"..Oh."

Holding up the leashes, Iruka waited for the owners. A small dog with tan-colored fur and brown highlights on his long ears and legs came to him. The dog sat down and wagged his tail. Sniffing the green leash, he gently pawed Iruka's leg. Bending down and clipping the leash to his collar, Iruka scratched behind its ear. Reading the text near the leashes' handle, he made out the name Bisuke. Smiling at the odd name, he called him out.

"Bisuke."

Upon hearing his name, the dog cocked his head and wagged his tail in confusion. Laughing, Iruka petted him and looked at the other leashes curiously. Finding the names, he called them out.

"Shiba. Urushi."

Two dogs came quickly at his call. One had white and light-brown fur, along with long spiky tufts of hair on his head while the other had light grey fur with a white underside and a black crest on his head that appeared to be a Mohawk. Whining, they pawed at Iruka's legs, impatient. Chuckling, Iruka clipped on their respective leashes and walked to the door, following Kakashi who was waiting at the door.

Stepping outside he was led by the dogs on the sidewalk. Walking ahead, the dogs began to run, dragging the brunette behind them.

xXx

An hour later, a slightly panting Kakashi and a heavily panting Iruka came back. Laughing, Kakashi went into the fridge and removed two bottles of cold water. He handed one to the smaller man and drank from his own. Iruka plopped down in one of the seat, desperately trying to catch his breath.

"I didn't know dogs actually chased mailmen. I thought that was merely a cartoon thing." He panted out.

"Lucky for you, it was just one mailman and two squirrels. I've had to run after them when they yanked the leashes out of my hands and chased down a group of girl scouts. I bought a lot of cookies that day."

Shaking his head, Iruka chugged down his water bottle. Wiping the small trickle that dripped to his chin, he capped the bottle and placed it on the table. "So, now what?"

"Now we leave them here and go to the office and see if anything has changed. I bet Shikamaru has found at least something."

Nodding slightly, Iruka's face darkened a little.

"Yes, hopefully something."

Locking up, they got into Kakashi's car and drove off. Arriving at the Uchiha building, they parked and strolled into the tall building. Repeating the same process as before, they stepped into the meeting room. This time, the occupants were dressed more casually and seemed to be in better moods. Ino and Choji were looking maps on the computer screens; Ten Ten was in a deep conversation with Neji, a thick stack of papers in front of them. Gai was thankfully nowhere to be found, having done his daily youth speech and departing to go on a nature hike. A new woman was sitting down at the table. Having light brown spikey hair and bangs that fell on both sides of her face, she was talking to Shikamaru. They seemed to be bickering.

Curiously, Iruka looked at her. Nudging the taller man beside him, he tilted his head up a bit to talk to him.

"Who is the new woman? I'm sure she wasn't here yesterday."

Kakashi followed his gaze and nodded.

"She wasn't here before, but that's Temari. She and Shikamaru are close work partners. They're like an old married couple. She complains about him being too lazy, he complains about her being too bossy…..Although they look like they go out, whenever you ask either of them about it, they deny it and go on a rant about why. The thing is that they are never far from each other and have never been seen dating anyone. Quite the couple."

Iruka watched as the woman, Temari, pointed at Shikamaru's computer and crossed her arms. Shikamaru then rolled his eyes and dutifully typed out something. A look of surprise crossed his face. Typing quickly, he leaned closer to the computer and cocked his head.

Ino spotted Iruka and walked over to him. Handing him a cup of freshly brewed coffee, she hugged him.

"About time you decided to show up. Unfortunately, not much has happened. We managed to infiltrate the airport's database and hacked into the security cameras and found the one for plane 7. It's a bit graphic, but if I had a son, I'd want to see it. I took the liberty of preparing it for you and Kakashi." Nodding over to a lonely laptop, she turned back to the brunette. "…..The plane didn't just go missing. Something else happened."

Walking back to Choji, she left the shorter man. Iruka downed the rest of his coffee and threw the small white cup away. Feelings his hands faintly shake with a sense of dread, he nervously rubbed his scar and marched over to the laptop. Kakashi followed in suit, his face tense. Sitting up straight in the chair, Iruka clicked the play button. Kakashi pulled a chair from another table and sat down next to him.

The video was rather grainy and hard to see properly. It was set in the back of the plane, giving a full view of the cabin and the passengers. The camera taking the video took pictures every two seconds and would put the pictures in a sort of slide show; it had no sound. Making out a gray Naruto, Iruka felt his heart clench. He missed his ray of sunshine. The blonde appeared to be trying to get the stewardess' attention, but to no avail. The stewardess seemed to be smitten with a dark haired person sitting further up, who never paid her attention.

"Is that Sasuke?"

"Yeah, that's the brat. I'm assuming that's Naruto?

"Yes, that's him."

The gray Naruto began to sleep and pretty soon, the gray Sasuke twisted around and began to throw things at the sleeping blonde.

"Maa, that's unusual."

"What is?"

"Sasuke acting…childish. He usually never breaks from his cold persona. I haven't seen him act this way since he was young, before he was involved with the family business."

"Oh. Well, he set off Naruto. Oh no, he better not trying to get in a fight. I strictly warned him not to."

"Sasuke vs Naruto? Interesting. Let's see who wins….Oh shit."

"…Oh fuck."

At once, the front of the cabin erupted in flames and the cock pit swallowed up in bright light. Iruka let out a breathy, "Oh no…" at the sight of Naruto being thrown against the plane wall. His heart began to beat erratically in his chest when the blonde didn't move. Feeling his palms go clammy, he rubbed them on his thighs. He watched nervously as Sasuke clambered over to the unconscious man and tried to wake him.

"Naruto, get up. Please get up."

Terrified, he watched with a small sense of relief as the smaller man woke up and got to his feet. The plane was nearly engulfed in flames.

"Oh shit, they need to get off immediately!"

The normally calm and well-mannered Iruka was now frantically watching as the teens tried to find a way off. Kakashi was surprised to hear the brunette cursing. He understood, though. Seeing the kid he had raised and watched over in a dangerous and deadly situation had his nerves on edge and his muscles tense. He wanted to help, but attempting to help the past was fruitless. His pale hands clenched and unclenched as he saw the raven searching for something. A parachute. Good thinking, Sasuke. Use it to get to safety. Come one, just put on the fucking parachute and jump off! Anxiously, he noticed that the teen seemed to be struggling to breathe and stand up straight.

Horrified, Iruka saw the teens become distracted by something. Sasuke walked over to the back, passing past the range of view of the camera.

"Wait, where is he going?! The plane is a going to crash!"

"I don't know. But whatever it is, it must have been worth wasting precious moments."

Seconds later, Sasuke shot out of the bathroom area and slammed into Naruto. A millisecond later, the whole area exploded into a blinding flash of light. The camera became full of static and began to go dark. The last picture was of Sasuke using his body to protect Naruto. Going to black, the film stopped, the image fading out.

Iruka rubbed his nose scar, his hands shaking even more. Taking a deep breath, he turned to the silver-haired man.

"Let me get this straight. The plane not only went missing, but was bombed? Did that son of a bitch from yesterday do it; the one that called in?!"

Kakashi stared down at his hands. "It would appear so." His tone was unusually quiet. Sasuke protected the blond? He used his own body to protect a stranger he just met? Something is weird. He would never do that.

"…..Are…are they okay? Is that it?" Iruka felt numb all over his body. With this new knowledge, all he gained was a new level of worry for Naruto.

"Unfortunately that's all Shikamaru could find. The last blast destroyed the camera."

Ino had come back. Seeing the tan man now pale and more worried had her wanting to sooth him.

"Actually," Shikamaru's voice spoke up, a barely perceptible modicum of excitement hidden in his tone, "It seems I may have found a little more. "