Sasuke stood at the gates the next morning alone. He was meant to meet Jiraya and Naruto here at eight but it was now eight-thirty and neither man had shown up. If it hadn't been for all his training as a genin with Kakashi showing up constantly late, he wasn't sure how he would have reacted. But, as it was, he had developed a renowned level of patience.

The minutes continued to tick by. Ten minutes shy of nine o'clock Jiraya popped into existence next to him. "Ready to go?"

Sasuke frowned. "But Naruto --" Sasuke had been about to say that Naruto wasn't there yet, but Jiraya cut him off.

"He's right over there," Jiraya said, nodding toward the shadow of the outside of the gate. "Aren't you supposed to be good? You should have seen him when you arrived." Sasuke grunted non-commentally, hurt that Naruto hadn't come over to talk to him.

~~~With Naruto~~~

Naruto had been standing at the designated meeting place when he had seen Sasuke coming around the bed. He was contemplating what to say to him after how he had rudely deserted him at the hospital. He didn't know what to do. In the end, he had simply acted impulsively and moved to a place he knew Sasuke wouldn't look for him.

He moved into the shadows and held perfectly still, knowing that people tended to see what they expected to see. He knew the key to remaining unseen was being motionless. Without his bright orange clothes which he had abandoned a few years ago, he was almost guaranteed invisible.

He closed his eyed and leaned against the wall, trying to decipher the strange, painful feeling he had felt when Ino had --

The only emotion that could possibly compute was jealousy, but to Naruto it didn't make sense. He had never had a claim on Sasuke, he had never attempted to, so he had no right to condemn Ino for attempting to stake a claim.

He was still trying to figure everything out when Jiraya and Sasuke approached him. "You ready to go Naruto?" Jiraya asked cheerfully, not oblivious to Naruto's tension, but trying to ease it.

"Hm," Naruto hummed, moving from his place against the wall to follow them. He still had his eyes closed and Sasuke marveled at how he could move instinctively so gracefully. Abruptly he felt a bitter rush of hate for the annoying blond haired nuisance who had interrupted his confession to Naruto last night.

They had been walking for some time when Jiraya finally broke the silence. "So Naruto, Tsunade tells me that you haven't yet confided completely in Sasuke." Sasuke turned his eyes to Naruto with shock and betrayal written all over his face. Naruto looked horror struck. "You know that doesn't help teamwork any. It's better to get it out in the open," Jiraya continued. When Naruto remained silent he pushed harder. "Come on, boy! We're wasting daylight."

Naruto was silent for a few more minutes before coming to a conclusion. "Sasuke, I didn't keep anything from you that would hurt you. You know I wouldn't do that. Or at least, I hope you know." Naruto looked at him and seeing that he had no idea what to say to that, he prompted. "You know that, right Sasuke?"

In truth, Sasuke didn't know. He had no idea. He gestured helplessly with his hands. Naruto's eyes flash with sudden anger. "Well you should know!!! I would never keep something important from you!" 'Or at least,' Naruto amended in his head, 'I would never keep something that would be important to you from you.' Naruto had every intention of keeping his feelings for Sasuke safely away from him. He knew they would be of no matter to Sasuke anyway.

"Then what does he mean?" Sasuke asked, effectively bringing Naruto back to the conversation at hand.

Naruto sighed. "I assume that he's talking about my father. I don't know why such knowledge to promote or condemn teamwork, however."

'Promote or condemn?' Sasuke thought. 'That does sound like it should be in Naruto's vocabulary.'

'Kit,' Kyuubi growled, 'you're slipping again!' Naruto didn't dignify that with a response.

Jiraya shrugged. "That's part of what I was talking about, but not the main part." Naruto shot him a confused and questioning look. "I think it's time you let your mask fall for good."

Sasuke fixed Naruto with a hurt and questioning gaze. Mask? Could he have fallen in love with a false Naruto?

Naruto stared at Jiraya for a few seconds before turning his gaze to Sasuke. Sasuke had no idea what Naruto saw on his face but it seemed to give him resolve. "Okay," he whispered. "Sasuke, please don't be mad at me. At least here me out."

Somehow, Sasuke managed a numb nod. Naruto released a sigh of relief. "I guess I'll start with my dad." He took a deep breath. "Do you recognize the name 'Namikaze' at all?" Sasuke thought a minute but came up with a negative. He shook his head. "How much do you know. . ." Naruto hesitated; clearly this was difficult for him, "about the Yondaime?"

"You—You're the son of the Fourth?" Sasuke asked breathlessly.

Naruto nodded. "He wanted me to be looked at as a hero," Naruto whispered. "He wanted me to be seen as the person who was protecting everyone."

Sasuke was silent for a minute. Then, he asked just as quietly, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to look at me any differently," Naruto whispered. To that, Sasuke had no response.

Seeing that Naruto wasn't going on, Sasuke prompted. "Mask?" he asked.

Naruto glanced around helplessly. "I don't . . . I'm not . . . I . . ."

Abruptly, Sasuke grew angry. "You're pretending to be different than you are! The person that I thought was my friend doesn't exist!" Sasuke wasn't asking questions; he was making accusations.

"No!" Naruto yelled abruptly. "You've got it wrong!" He made an effort to work his volume down. "I just. . . I'm smarter and better than I make myself come across as. Okay?!?"

Sasuke took a deep breath to calm himself. "You don't pretend to be a completely different person?" Naruto shook his head. "Why did you do it?"

Naruto cocked his head. "Do what?"

"Pretend."

"I became who the villagers wanted me to be. Someone who couldn't possibly pose a threat to them." Sasuke took a deep breath, shocked at the horrible decision a young Naruto had been forced to make. It hurt him somewhere he couldn't place that he hadn't been there to help him.

They lapsed back into silence as they continued onward.

The entered a small city at the border of Fire Country at dusk. "We'll spend the night here," Jiraya said. "I need to get some research done." Naruto had snorted at that, but Sasuke hadn't understood.

After getting two hotel rooms, one for Naruto and Sasuke and one for him, Jiraya took off. There was an awkward silence between the two after Jiraya left until Naruto cheerfully suggested they go out. Somehow they ended up at a small bar.

Undoubtedly, it was Naruto to break the silence. "I didn't keep any secrets to hurt you. I hope you know that now."

Slowly, Sasuke nodded. "I do."

Naruto smiled. "Good." He got up from the table they were seated at and headed for the bar to refill his drink. The boys shinobi headbands signified them as legal adults. Three girls that had been eyeing the attractive blond since he and his companion had walked in pounced. They swarmed him as he reached the bar.

Sasuke's vision became tinted red. Maybe it was the slight buzz from the alcohol he had consumed or maybe he was just tired of hiding it, but he too pushed away from the table and moved towards the bar. He grabbed Naruto and pulled him away from the three girls and lightly pushed him against the wall.

"Teme, what the --" Sasuke cut him off. He took advantage of Naruto's mouth being open and slid his tongue into his mouth.

A/N: This took far, far too long, I know. I was going to end it before they entered the town, but I figured you deserved a treat since I made you wait.

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I don't own Naruto!!