Chapter 12: Conflicts on a Water Drop 2

I'm beginning to lack ways to say thanks to my beta.
Thanks to my friend She-Who-has-no-name for her help with Japanese words.
Ibara, Ryû and Silk are mine, please do not use!

I'm late, sorry. I was busy and then I was sick and busy once again (sigh). And did you notice my incredibly new title? (bangs head on the wall) I hate finding titles.
Finally here is the chapter. I hope you will like it. Don't forget to review please.

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Ryû left the hospital without his father. Once outside he let his lungs enjoy the slightly cool air, the wind ruffled his hair like a family member would… he felt like he hadn't had any in years. Walking slowly toward his home he tried once again to find words to appease his mother, knowing perfectly well that everything would be useless.

He made a slight detour so he wouldn't pass in front of the Jis' ramen restaurant, he didn't want to see Ibara or his parents, not yet. He remembered the first time he had met Ibara's parents, he had wished they would adopt him. He had felt so guilty for even thinking of such a thing when his mother and father were still alive. What an ungrateful brat he was.

He slid the door open and went to the bathroom. Shaking a little, he stood in front of the mirror. He hadn't yet looked at himself. The bandages were still on but the medic-nin had told him he could take them off. Carefully he unwrapped his eye and his chest, never letting his hands out of his sight. Once the bandages were a puddle of white at his naked feet he simply lifted his head and stared.

His skin had been mangled. The scar ran from above his eyebrow to his chin and then from his collarbone to above his nipple. It wasn't a thin line like Kakashi's scar, not at all; it was jagged and bigger. It was obvious that it hadn't been made with a blade. Kisame had been right, the Samaheda didn't cut, it shaved.

He felt the need to run his finger over it, until it was engraved in his brain. Strangely he wasn't sad and didn't think he was disfigured. In fact it added something to his charm… maybe it made him look older? He smiled at his reflexion and cupped his injured eye. This was the proof of his actions; of his choice… it was like a trophy. He would never hide it, never.

When he found his mother she was looking at the falling night through the glass door, silent and immobile as a statue. Her useless legs were covered with a blanket, her hands folded on top of it. She had lost weight. It was to be expected, she barely ate when he was away.

"You are back, sweet life. I heard you were given another mission before coming back. How did it go?" she asked in her sweet voice.

"Someone…" it had been his father but she didn't acknowledge his existence, not even when he was giving her news of her son. As she started to turn Ryû stopped her, resting his hands on her shoulders. There was nothing to see outside but the creeping darkness and the life slowly falling asleep.

"Father lied," he felt her tense, "I was in the hospital," she was struggling to turn and he hardened his hold.

"Ryû! Sweet life! What happened? Who? Who dared!" her voice was frantic, laced with venom; her nails were digging in her armchair like claws.

Ryû could easily picture the alienated look on her face, the way her beautiful features had twisted in hatred; her lips curled to show teeth, the small trail of saliva bordering her lips, the dilated irises. He simply let his fingers massage her bony shoulders, waiting for the initial shock to wear off.

"Mum… I betrayed our promise. No, don't move. Listen. You sacrificed yourself for me, to protect me, to keep me safe. It was your choice because you love me, right?"

He felt his mother fidget but she wasn't trying to see him anymore. He had never asked. They had never talked about what had happened. He just had apologized countless times.

"Yes," she whispered.

"I found people I love, people I want to protect even if I have to die."

"N-no," murmured his mother, struggling once again, Ryû just kept talking, unfazed.

"Even if they'll hate me for it, even if they will cry for my loss. I chose to protect Silk because it was unthinkable to just stand there and see her die when I knew I could do something. Mum, I'm sorry," he said, stepping in front of her, letting the dim light illuminate his injuries.

At first she was silent, just staring at him, as lifeless as a statue. Then soft sobs began to erupt from her, her chest shaking as she hiccupped. Crystal tears ran down her cheeks as her face contorted in sadness to finally let out a heartbreaking scream as she reached for his face, sliding off her wheelchair as she tried to get close to him. She fell on her knees, clutching his pants, still screaming and crying as she hugged him, her paralyzed limbs awkwardly bent under her.

Ryû didn't move. He couldn't, not when she was like that, not when she was breaking him. He let her yell herself hoarse and when only sniffles could be heard he dropped to his knees, taking her in his embrace and rocking her gently, as if that could make it all better. He almost felt relieved when she moved away to run her fingertips on him, it was deliberately slow and a harshness that hadn't been there before was reflected in her eyes, still leaking tears.

"They don't deserve it," she growled, voice broken from overuse.

Ryû hid his mother's head in his neck and laid down on the floor, keeping her nestled against him; to keep her warm, to show her he was still here, to appease her and… to evade her face. He had wounded her.

"They are important, she is important, mum…" he whispered.

She was mumbling words he didn't want to hear and so he just held her tighter and closed his eyes. He hadn't noticed he was crying. He had never cried in front of her since the accident. A cold hand swept his tears.

"Mother will make it all fine."

"I'm so sorry," whimpered Ryû.

He truly was for hurting her, but he would never go back. It was too late anyway. Now he was free from all the promises… he would just do his best not to hurt her any more. He would never again take the risk of losing everything. He had always had the power to act and now he would.

When Tokage went home, he settled on the couch. He didn't want to see them. His wife clinging to his worthless son or even if she was alone, her grief-stricken face. Annabelle never acknowledged him and now even Ryû had pushed him away from his life…

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They were sprawled on the floor in the middle of the living room, where Naruto had finally tackled Sasuke to give him his so called treatment. The raven was smirking as he looked at the ceiling to soon have sky blue eyes peering into his, a comfortable weight resting on him.

"How are you feeling?" asked Naruto, stroking the pale cheek and brushing their foreheads to check his temperature.

"Better," replied Sasuke, licking Naruto's nose when he moved and then catching his lips in a languid kiss. "But I will need another dose after diner," he stated, giving a shy smile as Naruto grinned.

"Ok, let's cook then!" yelled Naruto, looking a lot like Lee jumping with the power of youth, or maybe lust…

Sasuke threw him his briefs and slid into his, he still had his yukata half on. The moron hadn't even taken the time to undress him properly. Swinging his hips and whistling to himself, the blond went to the kitchen, starting to heat the water for his ramen.

The raven grabbed the scattered clothes and dropped them in the laundry basket. He smirked as he found Itachi still in it, licking its still wet fur that was poking out at weird angles glued by the water.

"You brought this on yourself," he reminded him as he received an angry look from the cat.

"Meow!" protested Itachi as Sasuke unceremoniously dropped the dirty clothes on him.

Fighting to get out, Itachi finally dug his head out and jumped from the basket with a sleeve still attached to him. He prissily stepped out of it, shaking paw after paw as he walked. Sasuke snickered and grabbed him, using a towel to vigorously dry him, almost losing it as Itachi now looked like a porcupine.

Hissing and angrily shaking himself, Itachi went back to licking his fur compulsively to try to regain a bit of his perfect looks. Sasuke was going to leave when he felt something cold in one of his hidden pockets. He had almost forgotten.

Kneeling, he coaxed Itachi to sit on his lap and pulled out the small necklace Kisame had given him. Gently he wound it around the cat's neck, making sure it wasn't too tight. Troubled Itachi scratched a little, sniffed it and tried to bite it to finally ignore it.

Not saying a word Sasuke sneaked in his brother's room, hoping Naruto hadn't seen him. He didn't want to make him worry for nothing. He opened the cupboard. The Akatsuki coat even if torn and bloody was still there, with all of his brother's belongings. Caressing the crossed leaf forehead-protector, Sasuke put down the mist-nin one next to it. He jumped slightly as he felt Itachi rub against his leg, purring.

"Don't expect me to buy a shark and call it Kisame," he warned Itachi.

Naruto had settled on the kitchen table, chuckling as Sasuke gave him an annoyed look when he entered the room.

"So what are you going to cook?" asked Naruto as he saw Sasuke open the fridge and stay rooted to the spot.

Miraculously their fridge had food in it. Shino had given them some fresh food before he left. Kiba had shrugged at this but Sasuke had been grateful. Naruto thought it was really nice.

"I don't know. I don't feel like cooking," replied his lover, still contentedly gazing at the fridge.

"Ramen?" offered Naruto, starting on his.

The raven shook his head and pulled out some vegetables. He was going to eat cold, he nudged Naruto's foot that was resting on his chair and sat, not acknowledging the fact that Naruto was sitting on the table with his legs spread in front of him in nothing but bright yellow boxers.

He began to peel his mushrooms, taking off the stems since he didn't like them, and presenting them to Naruto who picked them up with his chopsticks. Naruto had been really amused when he had learned that Sasuke disliked mushroom stems. Come on, who could like mushrooms but not the stems? They tasted the same! Regardless of Sasuke's quirks, he had made a habit of eating them; it was one of their little rituals.

Once they had finished eating Sasuke cleared off the table and dropped everything in the sink. The dishes would wait for tomorrow. He was too tired and had other ideas in mind. Naruto eyed his lover as he stood in front of him. He gave him a cocky smile, half expecting to be kicked off the table. He yelped as he was shoved on his back, still on the table, Sasuke's hands on either side of him.

"Doctor, I need my medicine," huskily drawled the raven.

Naruto wondered how just one sentence could make him this hard. He purred as Sasuke set him free, teasingly trailing his hands on him. This was rare, Sasuke wasn't one to give blow-jobs. Well, maybe because Naruto was always pretty fast in fucking him into the floor… he loved watching him yell and shout in pleasure.

"Dear, make sure not to get addicted," he gasped as Sasuke licked his tip.

Dark irises settled on him and kisses were sprinkled over his face. After a slow kiss that didn't lack passion and left them breathless, Sasuke sternly answered, "I'm afraid it's already too late."

Naruto's eyes widened at the admission. He smiled as warm happiness flowed in him. It was always complicated and subtle but it was there, all the time. And now Sasuke was becoming more open, barriers slowly crumbling.

"Sasuk-" he began but yelped and hit his head on the wood as the lips that had been hovering over his sensitive skin latched onto him. Damn Sasuke was good! He was overtaken by the sensations surging through his body. He jerked his hips forward but found that Sasuke had gripped them so he stuffed his hands in the silky strands, pressing. The nimble tongue playing him was driving him nuts and soon he was releasing in his lover's mouth, feeling him gulp down. Worn out Naruto glanced at his lover to see him drink some water.

"Bastard," he groaned.

"You know medicine always has a bad taste," replied Sasuke teasingly before giving him a peck.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Landing heavily on her legs, Silk let go of Gouzie who had already started to claw at her. She doubted that whoever was after her would try to kill her cat and Gouz was intelligent enough to be on her own. Stuffing the two forehead protectors in her shorts' pocket she tightened her hold on her katana.

Not waiting to see if the golden-eyed thing was following her she dashed for the closest safe place, her senseis' house. Running as fast as she could she concentrated so she could become intangible if the need arose. At this late hour there wasn't a living soul in the streets. Some lights were still on in some houses, people enjoying the late evening, oblivious of what was happening just outside their doors. Only when the outline of the Uchiha district came into view after she turned a corner, she glanced over her shoulder.

Two sharp golden eyes meet her mauve ones, glinting in the night still just above the floor. Was it an animal? No, no animal could use kunais. But it was slithering on the ground in fluid movements like a snake or rather a lizard. It advanced in zigzags with bent arms, each holding a kunai. She could see the glint of the steel, and a huge tail-like thing following in its tracks, scraping the floor with its dead weight. What the hell was that?

Silk sped up, her breath coming in puffs in the winter night, the cold burning her throat and lungs. Half closing her watery eyes, she crossed the arched entrance to the Uchiha district. She dived into the main street. It was the fastest way. Her heartbeats started to become even faster and the cold suddenly became harsher. She could hear her steps echoing in the silence, only broken by the howling of the wind. The trees' lurking shadows seemed to cling to her and slow her down. Behind her she felt the burning eyes of her predator.

I should hide, she thought, frantic and breathless. She had forgotten. Forgotten why taking a detour was so important when visiting Sasuke-sensei… the ghosts. They were still here and it was their anger that made her shiver and sucked her strength. No lights burned in here because there was no one to light them anymore. She wasn't supposed to disturb their peace.

Stumbling against a wall, Silk put a trembling hand on her breast, trying to calm down and to regain enough strength to reach her goal. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped her katana. At her feet there was a white outline, almost like a second shadow… a fallen human, a witness of what had happened. She was standing on the exact spot where an Uchiha had fallen under Itachi's blade.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke was reading on the couch, his eight cats scattered on him. Itachi proudly stretched on the raven's shoulder. Noisette and Plume resting on the couch's back. Fifi nestled on the right arm and Réglisse on the left one. Iris was on the right leg and Cheyenne on the other one and finally Tigrou between Sasuke's legs, just under the book.

Naruto would have tried to find a nice spot between them had he not just discovered a very interesting thing. Sasuke's photo album. He wanted to open it, peer into his lover's past but he didn't know if he had the right to and asking would inevitably bring up delicate memories. He heard a loud snap that nearly made him jump. He hadn't done anything but he was already feeling guilty.

"Come here," ordered Sasuke, as he dropped his book on the floor.

Naruto carefully put back the family album but froze has he heard a loud sigh.

"Bring it, moron."

Grinning sheepishly Naruto gave the album to Sasuke. He looked as the raven took it with precious care and brushed off Tigrou and then the other cats as he laid on his back. Itachi hissed and left the room. Sasuke threw a slipper at him just to piss him off. Naruto couldn't help but grin at that and then smile warmly as Sasuke held his head up and glanced at him. Settling down he let the raven rest his head on his lap. He was really a lucky moron.

Opening the album against his bent knees, Sasuke slowly turned the pages. It started with his parents' wedding. It was full of life. It was so strange to see a small Sasuke, especially a lively and smiling one. It reminded him of what he had seen under Sasuke's Mangekyou curse, especially since most of the pictures were of Itachi and Sasuke together; it seemed the youngest one always stuck by his older brother. Naruto couldn't help but make fun of some very compromising pictures and even succeeded in making Sasuke tell him stories.

They were now nearing the last pages of the album. Naruto wished it was longer… he had never had a family album. He only had two pictures, one of Sakura, Kakashi, Sasuke, and him, their team's picture, and of course, one of his team. His team… Damn. He still hadn't fully digested the news.

"You're in here too," mumbled Sasuke, kissing Naruto's knuckles.

"Huh?" replied the blonde, brushing off tears.

Sasuke sighed and flipped through the last pages. Naruto's eyes widened. There were only pictures of the same tombs, year after year. The Uchiha had stopped living after the massacre and only the graves of his clan decorated the family album. Finally he reached the end, where two pictures were facing each other. Team 7 and team 5. Naruto hadn't known, but he was part of a family album after all.

"We will take tons of other pictures, ok?" he asked voice trembling slightly. "And you have to take one with team 5 too," he added and felt Sasuke tense.

"You're not angry?" inquired the raven, tilting his head to make eye contact.

"Why? Because you took my team so that I could still see them? Because you quit Anbu for my sake? How could I be angry with you? It's not as if you stole it," reassured Naruto, flattered that it meant so much to his lover.

Sasuke snorted and turned to look at the closed album. "Liar."

"It's ok. I swear. It's just like Gaara becoming Kazekage before me. I don't have a problem with it," reassured Naruto, distractedly running his hands through the soft strands.

"But you're angry. I can feel it, Naruto," pointed out Sasuke.

Naruto slid his finders under Sasuke's neck, tilting his head so they were face to face.

"I'm not angry at you. I promise. I just… it hurts to have them taken away from me because I'm a demon holder… If only I hadn't been dumb enough to use the Kyuubi against the Akatsuki," said Naruto, sadly.

So that was it. He was fuming at the council and… at himself. He actually thought he deserved the punishment.

"Why can you forgive other people's mistakes but not yours?" wondered Sasuke.

The blonde stared, blinking and then smiled, bending toward Sasuke and…

"Hey! You bit my nose!" exclaimed the raven, jerking up in surprise.

And then they were fighting each other, rolling off the couch on the floor, in a mess of limbs, the cats flinging themselves into the fray.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Silk bit her lip and stepped out of the ghostly outline leaning heavily on the wall, hoping she wasn't losing too much time. Worried, she peered to her right on the direction where the thing pursuing her was coming from and nearly screamed. Dried blood. Under her fingertips, a streak of blood, some of it chipping off the wall and sticking to her skin. Was she going to repaint the wall with freshly spilt blood?

The sound of steel against pavement made her jump back into action, it was getting closer! She wanted to close her eyes; she didn't want to see the broken lanterns, the discarded wrecks of stalls. It was as if she was violating a cemetery.

Once again she stumbled and screamed as steel dug in her right heel, warm blood running down. A tribute to the dead that she might be joining soon? Twisting around, she barely escaped another blow aimed at her back. She staggered backwards, using her katana to keep her balance. Almost white hair concealed the face, only revealing furious golden irises, and then in a flash of movement, it used the kunai to turn sharply. Silk felt the tail, or whatever it was, sweep off her legs and she fell on the dirt, scratching her elbows. Rolling she prevented herself from getting stabbed, using her katana as a shield. The thing was so agile and fast! By sheer force of instinct she kicked the kunai's handle, sticking it deeply into the ground.

Scratching her knees as she hurriedly got on her feet and ran. She never got the chance to look closely at her pursuer. It was human for sure or at least half-human. She was now limping because of her injured heel and feet. She wasn't wearing shoes. Her feet were bloody. Would Sasuke-sensei be angry that she had dirtied this place with her blood?

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Ow! Fifi easy!" yelped Naruto at a particularly ferocious bite.

Sasuke shook off his small assailants, petting them but wincing as he saw how his arms had been scratched and bitten. Note to self: never let the cats join them. Moulding chakra he was going to use Sakura's healing jutsu when Naruto caught his arm.

"Wait. Don't use your chakra. You need it to heal," reminded Naruto, concentrating chakra in his hands and sending it through Sasuke's body to erase his wounds.

The raven crooked an eyebrow, frowning. Naruto almost asked what was brothering him when it registered in his mind. He wasn't supposed to know how to do that because if he did… the sex therapy wasn't necessary, since its purpose was to send chakra into Sasuke's body.

"Oops."

Sasuke slapped his face with his palm, hiding a smirk. Such a moron. Grabbing him by the collar he kissed him. Both broke again and twisted sharply toward the door.

"Killing intent," murmured Naruto.

Sasuke was already on his feet, katana in hand. As they reached the front door they heard pleads and feeble tapping.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Just a bit more. She could see the lights! Only a couple of steps, she could do it! Collapsing on the door, she hit it with her palm.

"Please! Please!" she choked, breathless and so very tired, her feet raw.

The door opened immediately and she felt hands close around her waist, her face resting against a warm chest. She gripped the yukata tightly. Sasuke-sensei. She yelped as she was pushed into the house, whistling noises signalling that kunais and shurikens had been thrown her way. Then the clash of steel against steel as they were discarded, and the loud clank of the weapons falling on the floor.

Naruto had already located the thing attacking them and radiating such a powerful killing intent. Rasengan in hand he was ready to swoop on it but it had already escaped; only leaving behind the image of two golden eyes.

"What the hell was that?" he asked dumbfounded.

"I have no idea. It looked strong," replied Sasuke, closing the door and hoisting Silk up in his arms, bridal style.

She blushed bright red, feeling uneasy. She hoped that she wasn't bothering them too much, but theirs had been the closest safe place. Her nervousness went up one notch as she was carefully put in the bath tub.

"I-I'm sorry I left blood on the main street," she stammered, fidgeting with her sensei's yukata.

"It doesn't matter," he shrugged, breaking lose from her hold and pulling out a towel, some bandages and healing supplies along with some clothes.

"Naruto, I'm giving her one of your T-shirts as a nightdress," he stated, closing the door behind him, leaving Silk alone in the bathroom, obviously in a hurry.

"Make yourself at home!" screamed Naruto.

Silk smiled and undressed, cleaning herself from the dirt and blood. She hoped Gouz was ok. She would retrieve her tomorrow and go back to her life. But why had this thing attacked her? She could hear her senseis whispering and moving about in the house, maybe making sure it was safe.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I sent a bird to Tsunade-baachan," said Naruto as Sasuke came back from his round of the house; he had put up all the traps. "Who the hell would want to kill her? A rain who wants her back? But why now? Or someone from Konoha? Maybe it was because she's our student? Was she really who they were after?" Naruto went on, pacing around the room.

Sasuke gingerly sat on the couch, eyebrows frowned slightly.

"No, it would have attacked us… it wanted her," stated the raven, following Naruto's movements and beginning to feel sick.

"But why? I mean, she hasn't done anything! She's just a kid and," the blonde trailed off seeing Sasuke holding his head. "You ok?" he asked concerned.

"Yeah, just tired. I'm not fully healed yet, remember?" he replied, letting Naruto sit and take him in his arms.

Tanned hands gently brushed the burning forehead and pushed chakra to counteract the poison. Sasuke leaned, eyes closed, moaning at the relief it sent. It was alright to let go here, it was safe.

"Hum… I… er…" came a timid voice from the door.

Naruto grinned at the sight. Silk was swimming in the oversized orange T-shirt that clashed with her mauve eyes and dark brown hair. She looked so cute with her slightly lost expression and her death grip on her katana, just huggable. Sasuke had tensed a little, fingers closing on Naruto's arm, opening an eye to finally calm down, even if he wasn't as relaxed as before. Naruto was impressed that he let Silk see him like this. They really had a strong relationship for him to allow her to see him in this private situation. Wait. Silk in the house… realization dawned on Naruto, he couldn't have sex with Sasuke if she was here! Nooo!

Patting the spot next to him, Sasuke beckoned for her to come. She sat as close as she dared to him, not knowing where to rest her eyes. Was she really permitted to be here? She had never seen them act this intimate, not this freely.

"What happened?" pressed Naruto.

Silk explained as much as she could the events that had led her to come seek refuge. Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a perplexed look. They would have to study the traces left by the attacker to have a better idea of who it was.

"Well, it went away. Let's go to bed. We'll investigate tomorrow morning and discuss it with the Hokage," proposed Naruto, clapping his hands together.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After showing Silk to her room, Sasuke made a last check of the house and rejoined Naruto in bed, sliding under the soft covers and letting the blonde cuddle up to him.

"Do you think she will be ok? She seemed shaken," mumbled Naruto.

"Hn."

Naruto poked his lover in the ribs.

"What? You want to send her a bunshin transformed into Kakashi or what? She's a big girl," grunted Sasuke, burying his head in the pillow.

"Oh! Good idea! With or without clothes- er mask?"

The raven turned to his lover. Was he serious? Oh dear, he was!

"You perv," he accused, "you don't even know what's under the mask anyway."

"Horse teeth?"

Sasuke smiled remembering how Naruto had convinced him to try and trick Kakashi to see under his mask.

"Why don't you go sleep with her if you're so worried?" pointed out Sasuke.

Naruto grumbled between his teeth. No way was he going to go there or let her come in, he had a Sasuke to molest! Sighing and shaking his head in despair, Sasuke tried to come up with something. He wanted to sleep.

"Send her bunshin of people she likes if you want," he snapped.

"Yeah! One of you, one of me, one of Kakashi and mmm…." said Naruto excitedly, before tapping his teeth in wonder.

"One of Itachi. She likes him," murmured Sasuke.

"To help her sleep or scare her?" teased Naruto, groaning as he received a vicious hit in the ribs.

Chuckling he kissed Sasuke's nape, feeling him shiver and drift to sleep. It was nice to know Sasuke was able to joke about Itachi now.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sliding from under the covers was always hard. Naruto, even if he slept like a bear, would always try to keep Sasuke in bed, clinging, groping, and even going as far as pulling a retreating foot. Once out of the bed, the raven took a quick shower and got ready to start his morning routine.

He enjoyed the stillness of the house at dawn. The silence and the slight darkness made it so peaceful. That was when he absentmindedly performed his morning tasks, following a ritual of sorts. The wooden floor was cool under his feet, never creaking since it recognized him as its owner. Stretching a little he dragged himself to the kitchen surprised not to have been assaulted by hungry cats yet. He froze in the doorway.

Silk was in the kitchen. She had washed the dishes and was now making breakfast, cooking rice and slicing vegetables. The cats were eating next to her, Fifi rubbing against her right leg and Cheyenne trying to climb up her left one. With a half a smile Sasuke ruffled her hair, making her jump in surprise.

"S-Sasuke-sensei! I took the liberty to do some house work because I don't want to be a hassle and –" she started in a frenzy before shutting up as Sasuke lifted a finger to his lips.

Taking a knife he settled next to her to help. Itachi climbed on the counter and after receiving a glare, he jumped on the raven, draping over his shoulders, tail gently brushing his back in slow motions.

Naruto woke up to an empty bed but the nice smell of food made his stomach growl in agreement. Stretching, he deactivated all the traps, looking for traces of anyone approaching the house during the night but found none. The thing had definitely fled. He blinked as he heard a feeble meow.

Entering the kitchen Naruto found Sasuke and Silk working together in companionable silence and grinned. Giving a discreet playful slap to his lover's behind and mouthing a "you're a softy," he protected himself from any form of retaliation by presenting his buddy.

"Look what I found on our doorstep," he chortled.

"Gouzie!" exclaimed Silk almost snatching the cat form her former sensei's grip.

Naruto gave a shriek when his shield was taken away. He backed away immediately but wasn't fast enough. Veggie peelings were hurled down his shirt. Silk lifted her face from her cat's fur at the sound of yelping only to see Naruto-sensei gesticulating, arms scratching his back frenziedly as he hopped around. Perplexed, she turned to a smirking Sasuke-sensei.

"Don't mind him. He's a moron," he explained.

Once Naruto had taken out all the peelings they ate breakfast. During the whole meal Naruto tried to molest Sasuke playing footsie under the table while looking innocent until the raven couldn't stand it anymore and set Itachi on him. The blonde learned not to ever piss off Sasuke when Itachi was around. He had nearly lost a foot!

After Naruto had changed pants (Itachi had sliced one leg to ribbons) they went out to inspect the tracks left by Silk's aggressor. It was very strange. Grooves littered the ground, some at weird angles that proved the attacker had made a sharp turn. It was as if whoever it was had been dragging themselves by sheer force of their arms, using kunais as claws to move faster. You could also see were the tail-like thing Silk had mentioned had neatly swept the ground. Sasuke shuddered remembering his first meeting with Orochimaru when the man had been moving like a snake. But these tracks weren't those of a snake. They were more like a lizard's.

"Maybe this could lead us to the hiding place?" wondered Naruto.

"I doubt it, it looked cunning," replied Sasuke, crouching and inspecting the marks. The kunais hadn't left pieces of steel behind. They had to be top quality.

"I'm sorry," whispered Silk, trying to erase the tracks but seeing it was impossible.

Her blood and all theses scratches tainted Sasuke-sensei's memorial, because it was a memorial to have let this street as it was. It was unforgivable. She should have remembered. Sasuke-sensei's hand came to rest on her head, like this morning and he gave her a small reassuring smile.

"Uchiha-san," called an Anbu as he appeared in front of them.

Under the mask, sharp eyes landed on Naruto. "Isn't he supposed to be under house arrest?" wondered the man coldly, speaking of Naruto as if he wasn't there.

"We are in the Uchiha district. It's his home and I don't remember inviting you inside," he stated coldly.

Silk gave a start, feeling once again like an intruder, almost feeling her feet burn since she wasn't supposed to be standing there. She turned as she felt a playful tug at her kimono, Naruto-sensei was grinning at her.

"You are welcome here. Do you think he would have let you inside otherwise? He can be really clear when he wants to," he reassured, pointing at the anbu who was fidgeting in discomfort.

"I was sent to make a report about the attack and study the tracks and-" he trailed off under Sasuke's stony expression. He cleared his throat and walked away calmly, a little too fast to be normal but still giving the illusion.

Naruto took pity on the poor guy. Standing he dusted his clothes and shook his head.

"You're such a prick, Sasuke," he pointed out.

Sasuke lifted an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"Who gave him the right to enter and start pestering us? I'm the head of the Uchiha clan," retorted the raven.

"The ass of the Uchiha clan you mean," teased Naruto, a vein popping on Sasuke's face as his jaw twitched slightly.

Silk couldn't help but giggle. Sasuke grabbed her by the shoulder, pushing her gently in front of him, ignoring Naruto.

"Hey, hey where are you going?" whined Naruto, going after them.

"We have to study the rest of the tracks," replied Sasuke, passing the Uchiha district's entrance.

Naruto took a step out but yelped as a kunai nearly chopped his feet off. Today just wasn't his leg's day! He glared at his bastard of a lover, the one who had attacked him and was now smirking evilly.

"You are under house arrest, Naruto. Mind your toes," he said, waving him off as he left with Silk and the anbu.

"You bastard! I will have Itachi for lunch as retaliation!" he threatened, grinning.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They didn't find any clues as to who the aggressor might had been. The Hokage ordered a protesting Silk to keep living with Sasuke until they knew more about the matter. During the trip back to the Uchiha household Silk didn't open her mouth once. She kept staring at her shoes.

She felt like an intruder. She didn't want to impose on her senseis, especially after they had just gotten out of the hospital. They didn't understand what it was like for her. How uneasy it made her feel because… she knew she was going to like it. She was going to get used to having people around her. She would take care of the cats, help out in the house and look at Sasuke-sensei and Naruto-sensei bantering. She was going to feel safe and happy. She was going to feel at home and then everything was going to be taken away. She would be sent back to her small apartment, to live on her own with Gouz as her sole companion. She didn't want to taste this kind of happiness because loneliness would just be bitterer afterwards.

Naruto was taking a nap when he heard people in the house. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes he dragged himself to the garden, from where the voices where coming. He didn't feel Sasuke's presence, so who were the intruders? They had better not be anbu sent to keep an eye on him.

"I told you she was head over heels for me!" bragged an all too familiar voice.

"What makes you say that, Ryu?" answered Ibara, always the one to have to suffer Ryû's blabbering.

"Didn't you hear? She said I was sparkling!" chortled Ryû, poking his friend's ribs to make his point.

Naruto chuckled to himself, some things never changed…

"I would have said the same. What you did was awesome," pointed out Ibara, receiving a pout.

"Ibara… you sure you're my friend?" grumbled the blonde, sulking.

"Well technically I'm your handyman," reminded Ibara, looking fondly at his comrade.

"You know I hate you."

Shaking his head at his team's antics, Naruto stepped on the fresh grass of November. Fortunately it wasn't too cold, being near Suna gave them some advantages.

"Naruto-sensei!" greeted Ibara and Ryû, turning to him.

"Hey there, what are you doing here?" wondered Naruto ruffling Ryû's hair, eyes stopping a moment on the gash across his face and chest. He had changed clothes; he was now shirtless, wearing only a green vest.

"Sasuke-sensei asked us to wait for him here," replied Ibara.

Naruto felt his heart leap in his chest. Sometimes his lover was too nice to be true, so nice it hurt. Sasuke had gathered the team in the garden. Since Naruto couldn't go to them, couldn't even see them train, Sasuke had brought them to him.

Feeling warm and happy, he reached out to ruffle Ibara's hair and his fingers met with fabric.

"Eh?"

"It's no use Sensei. I don't have any hair," grunted out Ibara, glaring at him, tugging on his beret until it was hiding his eyebrows. Naruto grinned sheepishly.

Sasuke chose that moment to appear with Silk. Her eyes immediately darted to Ryû. It was the first time she saw him awake. Making fast hand seals Sasuke invoked Manda, who appeared in a puff of smoke.

"I will need your assistance for training," greeted Sasuke, petting Manda.

"With those brats?" sneered Manda.

Sasuke beckoned Naruto to explain the situation and gave the kids some privacy by going to get some stuff for their training. Manda curled up nearby pretending to sleep but in fact he was listening closely. He wondered how things would go.

Silk walked up to Ryû, unshed tears shimmering in her eyes. Trembling she reached for his hand and squeezed it. She lifted her head after staring at the long gash on his chest and opened her mouth just to have Ryû put a finger on her lips.

"Don't say 'thank you.' We are a team!" he grabbed her shoulder. "I'm free now. You have the life that was offered to me," he smiled. He had passed his mother's life on to her. "Take good care of it. Thanks for always trusting me even if I put you in danger and for freeing me."

Silk nodded numbly, wrapping her arms around Ryû. She had been so scared for him. He had thanked her! She had always and would always follow him because with him she felt useful and she knew he would never let her down.

"From now on, I will protect you," stated Ryû, breaking their embrace to look at her.

Ibara pulled out a handkerchief to blow his nose as discreetly as he could. Naruto, who had been spying on them with Sasuke, rubbed his eyes and Sasuke snorted. Ryû gave a wink to Ibara and the thumbs up, as if he had just pulled off the coolest act ever and seduced Silk. Manda swallowed him.

Their training started after Manda spat Ryû out. He had been nearly eaten a second time for being a nuisance when he found out that Silk was to live with Sasuke because she had been attacked. Naruto thought Sasuke was going to burn Ryû to a crisp when he had proposed to sleep with her to keep her safe. They soon remembered why it was better to have Naruto as a sensei. When I'm done with you sleep will be the only thing you will have strength for. Those words had never been truer.

Manda, Sasuke, and Naruto took turns training the kids. It was time they all developed their special abilities and strong points. Ibara was learning water jutsus and how to combine them with his blood with Sasuke. They had agreed that he would need to carry some blood supplies in order not to faint from blood loss during a fight.

Silk was practicing her fencing with Naruto, also concentrating on being able to turn intangible whenever she wanted. Later they would train her so that only certain parts of her body became intangible and to see if it was possible for her to make someone intangible by holding on to them.

A nervous Ryû was left to train with Manda for his chakra control. It didn't make sense to Naruto and the others why Sasuke had chosen for Ryû to concentrate on that; Ryû had always been the one with the best control. Nevertheless they hadn't said a word; all trusting there was a motive behind it.

For lunch break they all ate Ibara's mother's cooking. Ibara almost begged them to help him. Mrs Ji had only cooked for her son, but she made enough food to feed at least six people.

"You need to regain your strength, egg! You lost so much blood!" she had argued.

Sasuke had a bad feeling when he came back from bringing some water. The other four were chuckling and grinning a little too cunningly for his taste. He had been right. A while later he was ambushed by the three genin. Ibara and Ryû clung to his arms as Silk made the victory sign while Naruto took a picture of them as a team, Sasuke harboring a deep scowl.

They switched trainees twice until Sasuke had trained all his students. They were barely able to stand, hiding behind Naruto who was silently begging Sasuke to halt the training with puppy eyes. They took a short break. Ibara volunteered to go with Silk to fetch some of her belongings. Naruto agreed since it wasn't too late yet.

Sasuke was laying on the pier, arms crossed behind his head. Ryû silently approached him and sat down, legs dangling above the water. It was strange how the scar made him look older and gave him a depth that he hadn't had before.

"Sensei?" called Ryû, not looking at him.

"Hn?" replied Sasuke, wondering what he wanted to talk about and why he had chosen him. If he wanted compassion and niceness Naruto was better suited.

"I'm useless to the team. I'm the one who comes up with strategies but that's it. Ibara and Silk are clever enough do it themselves. Even if I help them as much as I can… it wouldn't do much. I'm the weakest of the lot," began Ryû, seriousness and realism evident in his voice.

Sasuke kept silent, unmoving but his attention sharply tuned to his student.

"And I can't really risk my life, not like Ibara and Silk… I mean, I'm ready to die for them, but not for the mission… because I don't have the right to die," continued Ryû, still not facing his sensei. His shoulders were a little tense, as if expecting a blow.

The Uchiha lifted an eyebrow at those words, but simply waited for Ryû to continue.

"You see… my mother… she's in a wheelchair and she's… a little… only I exist for her. She doesn't recognize anyone, not even my f-father. I suppose you can say she's crazy," he said with a dry laugh.

Sasuke hadn't missed Ryu's slight misstep on the word father and how unwillingly he had used the term "crazy" to describe his mother. Once again, he gave no words.

"It's all my fault. She lost her sanity and the use of her legs to protect me. I don't want her sacrifice to be for nothing, so I can't just risk my life. I promised her."

That Sasuke could understand. He also knew that telling him it wasn't his fault his mother was in that state wouldn't help him. That was something he had to understand on his own, or something his father should tell him… even if Sasuke doubted he ever would.

"But, despite all that, I want to be useful. I want to protect people. I need to get stronger."

Sasuke smirked at those words. They reminded him of someone…

"If I'm strong enough I will be able to help more without risking my life. I will be able to protect people without saddening them with my death. Isn't it worse to die while protecting someone? I mean, it will hurt them so much… I... I always wondered why I was more worthy than her to live. Dad is so sad. He hates me... I don't want to die protecting a loved one because I don't want them to feel guilty," he explained, playing with his hands on his lap, finally peering above his shoulder to look at Sasuke.

Sitting up, Sasuke brushed off his clothes. The guilt of staying behind, the need for power. He would grow up well. The boy understood suffering even if he was still too clumsy with relationships. He needed power but didn't crave it. His heart wasn't tainted by revenge.

"You are a coward, a show-off and a brat," started Sasuke, seeing Ryû flinch at each word. "But you will make a wonderful medic-nin," he ended.

Ryu's head snapped up, eyes wide. "A medic-nin?" he repeated, startled. That was again something his father would dislike, but he knew who he wanted to follow, Sasuke-sensei and Naruto-sensei.

"Yes. That's why you need to control your chakra perfectly in every situation," Ryû gaped a little. Sasuke-sensei had already given some thought to his case, even before he spoke to him.

"For medical ninja attack is secondary. What is important is their ability to guess their opponents' attacks and evade them. You cannot afford to die because if you do, who will take care of the team?" explained Sasuke, smirking as he added, "you even have to flee if necessary. Sounds perfect doesn't it?"

Ryû gave him a bright smile. He would have jumped on him hadn't he been sure he would get hit.

"You need power?" asked Sasuke, voice cold and deadly serious.

"Yes," breathed Ryû, feeling this was important.

"Why?" inquired Sasuke, eyes drilling him on the spot, red eyes with spinning comas.

"To protect my team, to protect Silk and my loved ones," he assured.

"That's all?" pressed Sasuke, Ryû shivering under such an intense gaze.

"Y-yes," he stammered.

"I will give you power," stated Sasuke, getting up and walking away.

Just before leaving the pier, he stopped. Ryû felt his heart thundering.

"Ryû, you are growing into a fine ninja."

The blonde let his head drop, tears running down his cheeks. He had never hoped for so much.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ibara and Silk could see the apartment now. Silk had poured her heart out to Ibara, explaining how uneasy it made her to be staying with their senseis. Ibara had tried his best to reassure her. He pointed out that Sasuke would have kicked her out if he didn't want her in his home and that both their senseis seemed to love her a lot, Sasuke being particularly fond of her.

They reached the street that led to their destination. They were still chatting when Silk pushed Ibara out of the way. Both landed smoothly on a wall concentrating chakra on the soles of their feet to hold on to the vertical surface. Underneath, two golden eyes scrutinized them. Under the dim and flickering lamp they could see that the creature was definitely human, albeit strange.

Long silvery blonde hair draped the person, even when held in a ponytail. The creature had her arms bent, kunai glinting in the pale and thin hands. Her eyes were so full of hatred that they made Silk wonder what she had done to deserve such abhorrence. This time the person was wearing a mask, a simple blank mask with some blue decorations. Silk could have sworn that it was an Anbu mask. With the little light they had they could see that the creature was clad in leather like material from the waist down with a spear at its end.

What Silk had now named Nami (1), it seemed only natural to give a name to someone who hated her with such intensity, was slithering furiously underneath scratching the ground, head crooked to stare at them.

"It can't climb, right?" wondered Ibara softly.

As soon as the words had left his lips, Nami backed away and tensing sent her tail flying above her like a scorpion. The spear dug into the wall and with the momentum the rest of the body lifted from the ground. Nami stabbed the wall with her kunais to keep her balance, using them to climb up the wall using only her arms.

"Holy cow!" whispered Ibara as they dashed out of their attacker's way. It was clear that the thing was only after Silk. The golden eyes never lost track of her. He was wondering how they were going to escape when a war cry resonated.

"Clear off!" came a scream as Naruto swooped down on Nami, Rasengan in hand.

Giving a shriek of frustration the creature jumped to the opposite wall climbing to evade the man. Naruto went after it, smashing the Rasengan on a wall, hearing part of it crumble under the impact.

Nami was already on the ground dashing on the street as fast as a lizard. Naruto was getting ready to run after her when a lazy voice called after him.

"Don't be so troublesome, Naruto. I'm supposed to keep an eye on you on your trip to the Hokage-sama. You're still under house arrest you know."

"Shikamaru, sorry, but I had to help Silk and Ibara! Did you see it?" asked Naruto, pointing at the spot where Nami had last stood.

"Yeah, we will report that to Hokage-sama while we're at it," replied Shikamaru, shrugging.

He beckoned a passing by ninja and ordered him to take Silk back to the Uchiha district. But Silk and Ibara were staring at the big hole on the wall and the destroyed residence behind.

"Er… Naruto-sensei?" asked Silk.

"Yes?" inquired Naruto.

"That was my apartment you just blew off…" she said, resigned. All her belongings had been buried under bricks.

"Oops?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke was still snickering when they got to bed, Naruto sulking at being made fun of. Silk had once again borrowed a T-shirt for the night. They would have to buy some clothes for her tomorrow since all her clothes were still buried and surely dirty, if not ripped.

Sasuke had been listening to Naruto's breathing for at least an hour, wondering what was keeping the blonde awake, when a slight nudge made him start. Not wanting to admit he had been aware of Naruto's mental turmoil and even less inclined to admit that he had been worried about it, Sasuke gave a grunt feigning sleep.

"Sasuke, you awake?" whispered Naruto, sliding his hands around the raven's waist and nuzzling his face in his neck. His breath tickling Sasuke's nape.

"Hn."

"You will have to do it," stated Naruto so low his lover barely caught it.

Sasuke went rigid. He couldn't be speaking of what he thought he was speaking of, right? Berating himself for being a paranoiac Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hands.

"What?" he asked, wishing to dispel the bad feeling lodged in his stomach.

"Kill me if Kyuubi takes over," replied Naruto, voice muffled.

Turning into their embrace Sasuke punched Naruto hard on the jaw, startling the blonde, who jerked upright, nursing his cheek. The raven sat up and grabbed Naruto's shirt in a fist.

Voice low and dangerous he growled, "don't even think of it. You're not going to turn into it and I'm not killing you."

Naruto snatched the hands away surprised by such a reaction, flattered too, but it had to be said. He waited until Sasuke was back in control, arms crossed on his chest, scowling and looking murderous but calm.

"I know you can, promise me… promise me you will," he pleaded, blue eyes not letting the dark ones escape.

"N-no," replied Sasuke, reaching for the blonde man and sliding his fingers in the spiky locks.

Naruto grabbed his wrists, thumbs gently caressing their crevice.

"I know I don't have the right to ask that of you… I know but… I don't know how it was for him," Sasuke shuddered, knowing exactly who Naruto was referring to, "but I don't want to live like that. I want to stay myself, so you have to."

He was greeted by silence, dark irises directed at him but looking into the void.

"You're the only one who can. You did it for Itachi. Do it for me too. Promise me," insisted Naruto, never letting go.

Kissing Sasuke gently, he embraced him and whispered in his ear, "you will never know what he wanted. If he ever fought the fact that he wasn't himself anymore… but what I want is for you to kill me if I go berserk. Promise me."

"… I promise," came the whispered response.

They laid down once again, Naruto holding Sasuke tightly. For once the raven was facing him, his face nestled in his chest. Naruto was almost asleep (his lover thought he was for sure) when he heard him, "I survived Itachi but I doubt I'll survive you."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

(1) Nami means "wave", "swell."

Please review!
Really do review, it makes me write faster and well, there are around 80 people on the alert list (thank you so much!) and very few reviews (puppy eyes).

I wanted to offer a fic of their choice to the first person who found out who was after Silk, but finally it became too obvious lol

Oh! If you want some NaruSasu smut I just published a fic with lots of it lol. It's called Bad Luck Comes in Threes. Thanks to those who already reviewed it (smile).

Next chapter: Living With Silk.