I'm so proud of myself for updating this fast! Well, it's been pretty fast to write when it follows Results and the plot is already mainly there. Not that much is copied this time though:) I'll try not to copy a lot but some things do need to be here as well for explanatory reasons. But with this chapter we've already gone through the first 8 chapters of Results. Mm but there's sooo much left of this story we're not even close to the middle yet and it's already over 100 pages in word heh... :D
Warnings for this chapter: Since my best friend has a spider phobia I realized that if anyone else does, you probably won't like a scene in this chapter, as well as if you have a phobia for snakes. So, during Itachi and Gaara's scene, there will be a -x- before that scene and when it ends so you can skip it if you like. It's nothing that bad but yeah. Just so you know. I don't know much about phobias but I know it's not that fun to suddenly get it smacked in your face when you don't expect it. You won't miss much plot wise, Gaara just holds Itachi's hand for a moment and likes it obviously haha.
I had a competition today and it went great, my little horsies are so nice to me:D Well I didn't get any prizes but I feel like I've come a long way this year and it feels great. Let's see if my exam panic will start soon or if I'll write more this weekend... I'm on a roll.
Chapter twelve: Someone to save you part II
xxx
-October 23rd, 2012-
After giving directions to the driver, Sasuke spent the short trip to work in deep thought. He'd left one car at the office two days ago after his argument with Itachi, and therefore had decided to take a cab so he could drive it back. Usually he hated this type of arrangement, but right now he was too distracted. His morning had been… overwhelming. He'd woken up, felt smug over having Naruto in bed with him, which was something nice to tell about his personal life for once. It was just that somewhere during the time between getting up and actually waking up his mind had decided to let all inhibitions go and accept that he had feelings for Naruto.
He wasn't sure if he was feeling excited or freaked out. It was one thing that he felt very comfortable with Naruto already, that he was just a tiny bit desperate for something real, and another thing to actually fall for someone in just a few days. This wasn't like him. On the other hand, Naruto was so unlike anything in his life that maybe it wasn't that weird.
Thinking about the way Naruto acted before he left brought a fuzzy feeling to his stomach, and he clenched one hand around his carefully ironed suit jacket, not even noticing he might be wrinkling it. What was he supposed to do? He'd already accepted the fact that Naruto was important, that he had already changed him in some ways. In the state he was in right now, starving for affection even though it pained him terribly to admit it, Naruto was gaining control over him too quickly and his heart didn't seem too worried about it. So should he just go with the flow for once and be a little reckless?
He was sick and tired of always having to act perfectly controlled, every action, every spoken word feeling monitored and meant for someone else's benefit rather than his own. It wasn't what he wanted, wasn't what his 18-year-old self had dreamt of. Letting go could mean ending up hurt, but how bad could it be compared to what he'd already been through…
He paid the driver, squaring his shoulders as he stepped out. There were two choices he could make regarding the way this press conference would go. He could lay low and not reveal too much besides the fact that he was dating Naruto, or he could go all out and bet everything on Naruto sticking around.
The fact that he was even considering a future with Naruto in it made the decision for him. He'd never been one to back down from an opportunity to get what he wanted, and at the moment he wanted the blond man waiting for him in his apartment, consequences be damned.
Clearing that up made a sense of calm settle over him, and when he stepped into the lobby in the impressive Uchiha building he smirked. All the people pretending to have a reason to be there had stopped to stare at him, as if they were surprised he'd entered even though they'd clearly been waiting for him. He strode confidently through the room heading towards the elevators, ignoring the people around him but noting with satisfaction that they were all seemingly dying from curiosity, and perhaps also from nosebleeds. Once inside the private elevator he checked his appearance in the mirrors, finding himself to still look slightly disheveled from the make-out session they'd had before he left but expectedly hot. He hated when people gossiped about him but today they could talk all they wanted about his break-up and mystery lover, he'd set things straight at the conference later. When the doors opened he almost walked into his secretary who was apparently on her way down, looking like she was in a hurry.
"Oh! Mr. Uchiha, I was just about to come down and meet you!" she said while blushing heavily because of the slight body contact she'd felt.
"Hn" was Sasuke's only reply as he walked past her in the direction of his brother's office.
She ran after him, almost tripping in her ridiculously high heels as she struggled to keep up with him.
"Um, your brother wanted to speak with you before the conference" she continued lamely.
"And where does it look like I'm headed?"
She would never cease to annoy him, but sadly she was the only one who'd put up with him for longer than two months. He kept walking, ignoring her flustered mumbling, and finally reached his brother's office. Not bothering to knock he opened the door and slammed it shut in his secretary's face, not caring in the slightest about her muffled squeak.
Itachi looked up, and raised his eyebrows at the transformation that took place on his little brother's face. Sasuke had looked annoyed the first two seconds, but then something impossible happened. His features morphed into an almost shy smile, and he stopped at the door with his eyes cast down. Itachi had to pinch his arm to believe that this wasn't a crazy dream. He stood up from his chair and went over to Sasuke, not really sure what the hell was going on. When he stopped a few steps away, Sasuke raised his head and suddenly Itachi had an armful of little brother. He was shocked, but Sasuke just held him tight and buried his nose in his neck. Just as he was about to react and return the hug Sasuke let go of him and instead just gripped his upper arms, beaming at him. Sasuke was beaming at him.
"Who are you and what have you done to my brother?" he asked. And he meant it seriously.
But Sasuke just laughed at him, which turned into concern when he took in his brother's expression.
"Itachi, are you okay?"
"I'm not sure. I was kind of expecting a more… sinister Sasuke. What happened?"
Sasuke laughed again. Itachi was painfully reminded of the time when Sasuke was just a small child. He would always wear such bright expressions, enthusiastically bothering his older brother and forcing him to smile in return. He missed those times.
"I'm in love!"
Itachi stared at him. Sasuke had the exact same happy and shining expression as when he'd come home five years old and told Itachi about the new friend he'd made. That friend had turned out to be a stray cat that their father had gotten rid of once he'd heard of it.
Sasuke was just as shocked as Itachi had been when he in turn was hugged tightly, but he returned the hug, and for a few minutes they simply stood like that. When they let go again, Itachi was smiling too.
"Am I correct in thinking that you're talking about that blond guy you just met?"
Sasuke nodded and his cheeks tinted a faint pink.
"Well, I definitely want to meet him if he's able to cause such reactions from you" Itachi said and poked Sasuke's cheek.
Sasuke flicked his hand away and glared at him.
"He's mine. So if you're going to meet him you'll have to be nice or I'll cut your hair off while you sleep."
Itachi couldn't help but chuckle.
"You haven't threatened me with that since you were fourteen and I found your secret stash of porn magazines." Then he furrowed his brows in confusion. "But why would you have had straight porn?"
"Hn" Sasuke smirked. "Those were just for show so you wouldn't look for the gay ones."
"Right. I don't think I want to know."
Sasuke rolled his eyes and went past Itachi to sit on his desk, something he knew his brother hated. But Itachi followed him and sat on it as well, earning a surprised look from Sasuke.
"What I really want to know though is everything about this guy" he said once he'd made himself as comfortable as you can get on a desk.
"His name is Naruto and he's really pretty and crazy good in bed and yesterday he moved in with me."
Itachi was part amused at the fast pace Sasuke said this in, and part worried.
"He moved in with you? Aren't you going a little fast?"
"I think we're going too slow." Sasuke said this with such certainty that Itachi had to smack him.
"Even lovesick an Uchiha thinks things through first" he said slightly reproachfully. Sasuke smacked him right back.
"Of course I've thought things through" he said in an arrogant voice.
"Of course" Itachi echoed.
"Don't make fun of me" Sasuke complained and kicked his polished shoe.
"Hey, you're going to leave a mark if you do that!"
"You're so gay, Itachi" Sasuke snickered and earned himself a harder kick in return.
"Well you would know" Itachi said pointedly.
Sasuke just shrugged and inspected his own shoe for marks. There was a slight pause before Itachi continued talking.
"Bring him on Saturday" he said, and Sasuke looked surprised.
"Really?"
"And since you ditched me last time lunch is on you."
"Hn. Isn't lunch somehow always on me?" They were both smirking at each other, enjoying the playful banter immensely.
"I seem to recall paying once or twice" Itachi replied innocently.
Sasuke was just about to retort when there was a knock on the door and both their secretaries peeked inside.
"It's almost time to meet the press" the male one said in an unemotional voice. Sasuke had always found him a bit creepy.
"Well then we'd better go and prepare" Itachi said and stood up to smooth out nonexistent wrinkles in his suit. Sasuke mirrored him and they both followed the secretaries to the company's press room.
xxx
The first time Sakura had met Sasuke, they were around fourteen years old. She'd known, the way you can only do when you're that age, that Sasuke was the man of her dreams. In hindsight she could only pity herself, and wonder why she'd spent so many years pining after a guy that never wanted to be hers. Even so, the fact remained that she'd spent all that time being in love with him, and trying to let go was difficult. If only her parents hadn't been so influential, if only they hadn't been able to convince Fugaku that she was a great prospective wife…
It was still difficult to shake off the image of Ino's wide eyes as she'd all but forced herself inside Sakura's room Sunday afternoon to tell her what she'd heard from Chouji. Sasuke was gay? It explained so much, yet nothing at all. All things considered it was at least a relief, to know that it wasn't her specifically that Sasuke disliked but her gender. Well, maybe Sasuke didn't like her as a person either, but his exaggerated indifference could at least be explained. And, probably, the hickey she'd seen had come from another guy and not one of her rivals like she'd thought.
More shocking than the fact that Sasuke played for the other team was that it was Naruto he'd gone to after their break-up. She'd known Naruto slightly longer than she'd known about Sasuke, meeting him through Ino. In some ways it felt as if the two of them being together meant two separate worlds had collided inside her mind and now she was struggling to make sense of the mix. And Naruto had even had a crush on her! The world was too small, but she was going to take advantage of it.
She'd almost come to terms with things, but she felt she needed some sort of closure, needed to see reality with her own eyes and not just hear about it. Therefore, knowing Sasuke was currently at a press conference at Uchiha Corps, she was headed towards his apartment hoping to find Naruto there. They hadn't met for years, not since Sakura's parents decided to give a possible engagement a real shot and told her not to hang around second-rate people anymore. She'd gladly forsaken everyone except Ino for the sake of her reputation, knowing only the best was good enough if she wanted to be part of Sasuke's life.
Just thinking about everything she'd missed made her throat hurt. She could have spent these years being happy instead, heck Sasuke could have spent these years happily dating guys instead! Even so, she didn't feel like it was entirely her fault. He could have said something, and she wanted to know why he hadn't, wanted to know the reasons behind his actions. And seeing how Sasuke was about as talkative as a clamp, maybe she'd have better luck with her old friend.
She swallowed, smoothing out her clothing in the light wind as she stepped out of her car. Ino had told her she deserved better than Sasuke, but the same went for Naruto in case Sasuke hadn't changed his behavior in the past few days. Not to mention Naruto hadn't been the smartest or most well-behaved person when they last met, and Sasuke sure deserved someone that was up to his standard.
She just needed to know.
-October 21st, 2012-
They'd stopped by Gaara's apartment first, Itachi exchanging his suit jacket for a faded dark red sweater and black down vest. He complained that it felt weird, to which Gaara responded that he'd fit in great where they were going and no one would notice the dress pants. Gaara chose a green hoodie with a leather jacket together with the plain jeans he already wore, not sure if it annoyed or pleased him when Itachi told him it made him look ten years younger. He spent the rest of the trip smirking at Itachi's suspicious glances, feeling great. He had to admit that while his objective was to make sure Itachi didn't decide that it was now too much trouble helping him on the case, he was actually looking forward to spending the afternoon in his company.
"You can't be serious" the dark-haired man said once they'd arrived, voice torn between apprehension and wonder.
"Dead serious" he answered, watching Itachi tuck a few strands of hair behind one ear, lips thinned and brows slightly furrowed. "I mentioned fresh air, didn't I?"
Itachi's eyes bored into his skull as he bought two tickets from the woman in the booth by the entrance, but the other man let out a small sigh when Gaara pushed him through the gates, signaling defeat.
"Come on, where do you want to start? There's a map over there."
Itachi trudged after him, hands in his pockets and gaze sweeping over the area. There were a few wooden buildings in yellow and red, and right in front of them was a small waterfall falling from the cliff that cut off the rectangular entrance area.
"We need to go up first, then it should be fine to just wander around…" Gaara mused, memorizing the location of the animals he wanted to see.
He hadn't been to the zoo in ages, but not much seemed to have changed.
"You seriously want me to spend my afternoon looking at animals" Itachi stated rather than questioned, looking at the information board as well.
"Correct. I wonder if the bears are hibernating yet?"
Ignoring Itachi's discouraging look, Gaara started walking towards the escalators that would bring them to the animals, the sun still warm against his face.
"Is this some kind of therapy thing? I'm not in need of therapy, I just need people to stop arguing with me."
"Well you're in the wrong company, then" Gaara said, turning so he was moving backwards on the escalator and facing Itachi. "The more you resist the longer I'll keep you here."
Itachi opened his mouth, but apparently thought better about it and decided to stay silent for the time being.
"You said you were going to listen, so why not listen to the animals? They don't know what the word 'stress' means."
"You're going to bullshit through this, I just know it" Itachi muttered, but his mouth twitched into a faint smile. "But alright, you managed to kidnap me a second time so I suppose I better do what you say."
"I did not kidnap you last time" Gaara objected, continuing to walk backwards for a few meters as they'd reached the top.
"Close enough."
Gaara simply gave him a deadpan look, but the fact that Itachi was starting to relax made things a lot easier. As nice as Itachi usually was, he had a feeling that he wasn't a person you wanted to have working against you. Once they'd passed a couple of the animals he seemed to relax even more, an easy-going expression on his face even if he still talked like he was against the whole idea.
"Look" Gaara said at one point, stopping in front of an enclosure that contained a few bare trees and a shelter with one side completely open.
"I see a moose" Itachi commented drily, leaning against the fence in a casual pose.
"Yeah."
"Amazing."
"It's eating."
"Fascinating."
"Those tourists seem to think so. It probably is if you've never seen one before."
"Well, I've seen one before."
Gaara sent an irritated look in Itachi's direction.
"I'm getting the feeling that acting like that is your idea of fun."
"It's a lot of fun when Sasuke's around."
Itachi smirked, then straightened up and watched the moose instead.
"My father took me hunting once, some friends of his invited us. We didn't find one as big as that, but it was still impressive."
"I see" Gaara said, noting Itachi's expression change from relaxed to tense during the sentence. "Let's move on, I want to see the reindeers."
-x-
The sun was already low in the sky when they'd finished their round, a lot of the animals sleeping and nowhere to be seen. It didn't break Gaara's generally good mood though, and even Itachi started to obviously enjoy himself once they'd reached the aquarium. Even better was finding out that Itachi had a huge dislike for reptiles, and Gaara enjoyed himself immensely at Itachi's expense by pointing out and clinically describing the different lizards and snakes they passed. The crocodiles weren't much fun, and instead they lingered by the end with the spiders. There was both a tarantula and a boa that you could pet, and while Itachi happily petted the spider he refused to even look at the snake.
"Come on," Gaara urged him, "it's harmless. See? I'm touching it just fine."
"I don't see you touching the spider" Itachi countered with, which of course had Gaara moving his hand to caress a hairy leg.
Itachi sucked on his lips, narrowing his eyes at Gaara's innocent expression.
"You don't have to touch it but I promise you it'll be fine."
The caretaker in charge of both animals nodded, looking bored. Most likely he had to put up with these kinds of things daily.
Itachi slowly moved his hand, placing his fingers over the edge of the snake's glass container. Gaara started petting it to show him it was fine, giving him an encouraging shoulder bump.
"I really don't see what I'll gain from touching it."
"Experience? It's good to challenge yourself now and then."
Itachi raised an eyebrow.
"Not to mention you can get high on the adrenaline, get some of that frustration out of your system."
Itachi looked scandalized, and Gaara tried to swallow down a chuckle. It had been too long since he had this much fun. The fact that he'd barely slept the past days probably helped make things seem funnier, as well.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that" Itachi eventually told him, eyeing the snake with hesitation.
Feeling reckless, Gaara reached out and took a hold of Itachi's hand, lifting it and guiding it towards the animal. He didn't feel any resistance, but Itachi's eyes were screaming 'uncomfortable'. He lowered it somewhere around the middle, gripping a pale finger and stretching it out to touch the skin.
"The scales are dryer than I thought" Itachi remarked, a little startled but apparently fine now with Gaara slowly moving his hand over the snake.
"Told you it was fine."
Gaara couldn't help but feel smug, ignoring the slight heat breaking out inside his stomach.
"Hn."
-x-
They ended their visit at a café, the traditional atmosphere cozy but the prices not worth it in Gaara's opinion. And, seeing as he was the one dragging Itachi along, it was of course he who had to pay.
"I don't see why you're complaining, I doubt you're short on money" Itachi commented, but Gaara shrugged at him.
"I dislike it when they overprize things, that's all."
Itachi hummed, taking a sip of his tea.
"Anyways, are you feeling better?"
The question felt awkward in Gaara's mouth, he wasn't used to talking about stuff like that. He just knew he had to make sure Itachi was at least a little more at ease than when he'd picked him up. He'd seen Itachi smile before and he wanted to see it again, selfish or not selfish reasons behind the wish.
"You don't need to worry about me, really. Having a fight with Sasuke always puts me in a bad mood."
"You two are really close." Gaara sighed, leaning his chin on his palm. "Must be nice."
"What about your brother? If you don't mind me asking."
"I used to be close with my sister, but when I moved in with my uncle she started living on her own and we drifted apart. I guess me and my brother never saw eye to eye, but we still talk. We don't celebrate any holidays together or anything."
Itachi hummed, nodding slowly. He poked at his apple pie, forearm supporting his weight on the tabletop and fingers drumming lightly onto it.
"Sasuke is everything I have. I don't know what I'd do without him." He looked up, holding Gaara's eyes. "He's been through a lot, and today I said some things he didn't deserve. I think I'm allowed to hate myself a bit for it."
They stared at each other, neither moving for a few seconds.
"I can't say I relate to the feeling, but if you mean that much to each other then probably you can apologize and it'll be fine."
Itachi sighed, picking up a piece of his pie but pausing before he ate it.
"Yeah, I guess that's true." He munched on the piece, frowning at nothing in particular. "I'm stalling because we have a press conference on Tuesday and I'm sure he won't like having to attend."
"About the company merge?"
"The failed company merge. Not to mention his private life, most likely. I was too annoyed to even ask about the guy properly. I didn't even know he was gay, what kind of awful brother am I?"
Itachi's morose expression didn't sit well with Gaara, who desperately tried to come up with something good to say.
"I'm sure he had his reasons for not telling you, it doesn't make you a bad brother."
"But he's supposed to trust me!"
Itachi's frustration seemed to finally leak out, his hands gripping the tea cup now and dark eyes upset.
"You're not trusting him" Gaara reminded him, and thought he might as well just shoot himself for saying it.
Itachi stared at him, face blank as he processed the words. He opened his mouth, closed it again, and licked his lips as frustration kicked in again.
"You think I'm doing the wrong thing by not telling him?"
Gaara shook his head, even if personally he did think so. But he'd never met Sasuke, and he didn't know Itachi's full reasoning.
"Whether it's wrong or right doesn't matter. Still, he doesn't know what's going on, and so obviously he might do things that could work against us. Keeping secrets is always complicated."
-October 23rd, 2012-
Gaara was watching the press conference, feeling slightly stalkerish. He'd taken an early lunch break, curious to see both Uchiha brothers together. Itachi looked the epitome of calm, all professional business and company president from his neat ponytail to the crisp expensive suit he wore. Gaara had to admit he liked Itachi better wearing casual clothes. It made him seem more approachable, but maybe in business that wasn't a good thing. He talked and talked, smoothly turning the failed merge into sounding like a well thought-out decision rather than the fact that Sasuke's fiancée happened to break up with him. It was impressive, really. It was a shame Itachi worked in business and not as a prosecutor.
The frustration Itachi had shown two days ago seemed completely gone, but Gaara knew it hadn't left because he'd gotten a distressed phone call in the morning. It seemed as if he'd reached the status of Itachi's number one person to go to when it came to problems which wasn't surprising, really, considering he was most likely the only one who knew what was going on besides the members of Itachi's board.
It would take a long time before Itachi got around to telling Sasuke, of that Gaara was certain. Well, it wasn't his place to meddle in his family business as long as they could solve things without involving Sasuke.
His attention returned to the computer screen when it was Sasuke's turn to start talking. The younger Uchiha brother seemed content as opposed to Itachi, amused for some reason by the first question if he was seeing a man. It seemed as if the mystery guy was more than just a fling, then. The next answer had him choking however, eyes widening and mouth opening in surprise. Did Sasuke just say what he thought he'd said? More importantly, was Itachi aware of this?
Uzumaki Naruto.
The name resounded through his mind, and memories of snow and blood and wheels spinning in air squeezed around his heart.
Itachi's brother was seeing the son of the man that might just possibly have been murdered by their father.
He needed a moment to let it sink in. Once it had, he should probably give Itachi a call.
xxx
Sasuke hadn't been too happy when he got home after dealing with the media to find Sakura in his apartment, having used his boyfriend as some kind of comforting shoulder to cry on. Sure, maybe it was a good thing she now knew what things had really been like, but he wasn't pleased with how Naruto seemed to think they were going to be able to get along from now on. To think the two had been friends when they were younger… Then why the hell couldn't he just have met Naruto earlier in that case?!
Despite his annoyance he'd forgotten all about it the moment they were alone and Naruto seduced him. He could really get used to having intense, sweaty sex every day. Cuddling wasn't horrible either, hugging Naruto's chest and feeling fingers combing through his hair making him feel drowsy and content.
"You never told me what you said at the conference today."
"Hn."
"Did you tell them you're pregnant?" Naruto tugged at his hair playfully.
"As if" Sasuke snorted.
"Then what did you tell them?"
"You can read the articles tomorrow" Sasuke said with as much of a shrug he could manage in his position, sounding like it wasn't a big deal.
"Bastard, I wanna hear it from you!" Naruto tilted his head up so he could look at him with accusing eyes.
Sasuke contemplated his choices for a moment. Whatever he did, Naruto would find out what he'd said anyway so there really wasn't a point in waiting. He just hated the thought of sounding like a total sap.
"I told them…" he started.
"Yes?" Naruto urged.
"I told them you swept me off my feet and carried me away like a princess."
Naruto looked at him, not knowing if he should laugh or say 'awww that's so cute'."
"Laugh if you want, at least it made them all shocked and gasping like you wanted" Sasuke said, obviously sulking over his not so cool statement.
"Oh no, it was a lovely thing to say." Naruto's voice was normal but his eyes were laughing and Sasuke pouted.
"Well if you're going to be like that I won't tell you the best part."
Naruto immediately got serious and begged him to say it. Sasuke acted highly offended for maybe half a minute before he relented.
"I said…"
"Gah stop stalling, Sasuke!"
Sasuke smirked, but then he swallowed nervously. He hadn't really planned for this, and he didn't know what Naruto's reaction would be. He wasn't exactly experienced in this area, and despite his confidence earlier that day it was one thing to accept his feelings and another to address them out loud. He looked into Naruto's deep blue eyes, at the moment filled with curiosity, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly.
"I said that I'm in love with you."
Naruto stared at him for a second.
"Are you…" he began but Sasuke interrupted him.
"I'm in love with you." He stared straight into those blue eyes, trying to look more confident than he felt and also trying to ignore the suddenly crazy butterflies trying to escape out of his mouth.
Naruto tried to say something but no sound came out, then he blinked and blushed darkly.
"Wow, no one's ever said that to me, like that before" he mumbled and shyly peeked at Sasuke. "Are you sure?"
"Don't ask if I'm sure" Sasuke said. "I'm an Uchiha, we're always sure." He smirked at Naruto and the blond smacked a hand over his mouth.
"You're too full of yourself" he said, but it was with amusement and possibly slight bewilderment. "But I'm definitely glad that you told me, it would have been totally weird to read about it."
When he didn't continue, Sasuke bit his lip and watched him with concern. Wasn't Naruto supposed to answer somehow? Naruto saw his worried look and chuckled quietly, moving his hand away from Sasuke's mouth and instead combing it through his hair again.
"Don't look so worried bastard, I'm in love with you too. I just didn't think you needed any more reasons to inflate your ego." He grinned and dodged Sasuke's punch.
"Idiot" Sasuke muttered, but then he lay down against Naruto again, snuggling into him and pulling the covers over them.
"You're not planning to sleep now are you?" Naruto asked, still amused.
"I'm planning to enjoy myself with my boyfriend thank you very much" was the haughty response.
Sasuke had closed his eyes and therefore missed the incredulous look Naruto gave him, before he too made himself more comfortable and closed his eyes. Enjoying themselves had actually sounded like a pretty good idea.
After this chapter we'll get a bit more focus on the other characters besides Naruto and Sasuke, I just felt that the foundation of their relationship needed to be addressed for now. But we'll see more of them as well:) I hope you liked this chapter! And poor Gaara got a bit of a shock... how do you think Itachi will react?
