Word from the Author: Guh.

Dedicated to baka bakashi, for whom this fic was written.

Disclaimer: Like I said in Part I, Chapter I.

The Trust 'Verse - Part III

Reveal

Chapter II

They didn't keep secrets.

Was it really a secret if he'd never had cause to speak of it?

Was an omission a lie?

Naruto would surely think so.

It was late and these were the thoughts that raced around Sai's mind as he sat waiting for Naruto to return.

The moon was bright, a soft white light that bathed everything an eerie hue. Sai stared down at his pale, pale hands, turning them over and over, wondering if they spoke of his secrets—that weren't really secrets—except for how they were.

Things were better now, between Naruto and himself, if still a little strained.

But Sai was determined not to let kyuubi get the best of him.

And yet, everything he did never quite seemed to shake the feeling of malaise, both forbidding and forthcoming, that was slowly filling him up, sweeping into dark, empty crevices of his soul he hadn't known existed. As well as parts of himself he had no desire to acknowledge.

Worry was suddenly a constant companion, one that crept stealthily, hidden within the darkness that Naruto's love had not yet extinguished. Often, it wormed its way up from richly dank depths.

There were things he didn't speak of.

Like family.

Shifting uneasily, Sai perked up at the sight of blond on the horizon.

Uzumaki Naruto.

But the truth was… Sai had hated him long before he had ever even met him.

Because of family.

It was a good thing Sai was particularly gifted at the whole compartmentalization thing, or else, he'd probably be kind of schizo. With one part of himself loving Naruto beyond all measure, and another part of him loathing all that Naruto really wasn't.

Because in all actuality, it wasn't until he'd been able to distinguish boy from beast, that any positive feelings had been able to take root.

Ha. Root.

Another reason for misgivings. All those secrets, lingering in the dark.

But Sai was no longer an emotionless puppet. He was simply… Sai.

Even if he hadn't always been.

Sai thought about all that kyuubi represented for him. Even now. He felt such intense loathing for the thing inside his beautiful, kind-hearted lover that he abhorred dwelling on the thought.

And yet… it was as the fox had said. Sai was unable to accept it. Of course, he'd accepted the fact of its existence within Naruto long ago… but… to embrace it? To love it, and think of it with fondness?

Never.

But this was where he was torn; because if Naruto wished it of him, then, Sai wasn't sure he could hold onto his hostility.

And yet, he felt beholden to do so.

Because of family.

Because kyuubi was the one who had killed his parents, who had left Sai and his brother orphans. And this… this was something Sai had never, ever, told Naruto.

It certainly wasn't the easiest topic to slide into conversation. Not without making light of it, which Sai had absolutely no intention of doing.

After all, it was this single, life-changing event that had made Sai who he'd once been.

It was also the reason he'd learnt to draw.

During the demon fox's attack, his Nii-san's brain had been irreparably damaged. The medic-nin that had examined his Nii-san had diagnosed him with acute expressive aphasia, resulting in deficiencies in language comprehension and production.

His Nii-san could no longer speak nor write, though he could both read and sing beautifully. His ability to understand spoken language was sketchy at times. And in the end, the easiest way to have any meaningful communication between them had been through visual art.

Somehow, the ideas became clearer with time and practice, and it all just made more sense to his brother, when he was able to express himself by depicting images and visual representations, instead of words and characters.

And despite all the problems his Nii-san had faced, he had still managed to get Sai out of the orphanage, and into Root.

But for all this, Sai had been as blinded by the sheer intensity of his Nii-san's hate as his Nii-san himself, who, worse yet, had had no words to express those deeply antagonistic feelings.

Danzo had thought his Nii-san perfect. His inability to speak was a gift, the older man had often claimed.

Add to that his Nii-san's charisma, and his hatred, which had blazed unashamedly, powerful, destructive and most of all, compelling, from his Nii-san's eyes, and it was no wonder his brother had been a favourite among the faction.

All in all, his Nii-san had possessed a terrible sort of beauty. Many of their instructors in Root had always said so.

But could he share the memory of his Nii-san with Naruto? He had no idea how to, not when doing so would cause as much irrevocable pain as he knew it would.

But if ever Naruto found out from someone else, though from whom Sai had no idea, all that they were and have been and were to be would be tainted by this untruth, this… half-truth; an omission that was indeed a lie, upon which their lives had been built.

What would happen to the trust that Naruto so valued then?

†

Naruto woke abruptly.

"Bad dream?" Sai mumbled into his shoulder, still half-asleep.

Naruto hesitated before truthfully answering, "I'm not sure yet."

Sai hummed slightly in question.

"Don't worry about it," Naruto whispered fondly. "Go back to sleep."

Naruto watched as the tension drained out of his lover, were it that he could relax as easily himself.

Sai had seemed strangely troubled tonight, but when he kept quiet about whatever it was that was bothering him, Naruto had found himself oddly reluctant to pry.

We don't keep secrets, Naruto steadfastly reassured himself.

Sai would tell him when he was ready.

Just like you're planning to tell him about Iwa, a niggling part of Naruto's mind archly mocked.

Naruto firmly quashed the thought and once more tried to force himself to relax, but the half-remembered images of his dream filled him with dread and quite effectively prevented him from doing so.

Instead, he lay there, staring at the ceiling, listening to the even rhythm of Sai's soft and sleepy exhales wafting gently against his shoulder.

†

Sai had been feeling strange for days now. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was coming; something that would change their lives forever.

"Do you believe in an afterlife?"

Naruto blinked. "Yes. Why?"

"Just wondered," Sai answered slowly. "We've never really talked about it before."

Naruto eyed Sai warily, "Death?"

"No," Sai denied softly, shaking his head, "our beliefs, about how life was created, how things change, evolve, go on, even after death."

"Why now?" Naruto asked, his expression concerned.

Sai shrugged elegantly. "I was just working on a piece, when I realized, I hadn't the slightest inkling as to how you would perceive it – what frame your mind would give it…" Sai trailed off, frowning slightly, "I don't like not knowing that about you," he finished, feeling almost… shy.

"And my views on the world as determined by religious doctrine would make you feel differently about me?" Naruto demanded.

"Of course not. And it's not a matter of religion, more… one of perspective."

"You think we see the world differently?" Naruto questioned, more curious now than defensive.

"Don't we?" Sai rejoined emphatically. "Though similar is not same, different does not exclude likeness."

"The sum of your memories and mine, although at times alike do not equate," Naruto agreed.

"Opposites attract," Sai smirked, moving in closer.

"Do you believe there's more to come, after death?"

"No," Sai replied frankly, his beliefs in direct contrast to Naruto's resounding 'yes.'

"Why not?" Naruto prodded.

"I believe," Sai began, "that this is all we have. That this is all we are, and that the value of a moment should not be diminished by the promise of greater things to come."

"Why do you?" Sai tossed back to Naruto.

"I house a demon," Naruto declared, deadpan, "if, as I believe, the universe hinges on the most precarious of balances, then where there is hell, there must be heaven. To which I belong… is another question entirely."

Sai frowned, before smiling to say, "Regardless of whether heaven wanted you or not, I'm sure, if that's where you want to be, you'd find a way to barge on in and make it your own anyway."

Naruto laughed, gleefully. "That does sound a little like me, yeah. And then I'd come pull you out from whatever stone you were hiding under pretending the afterlife doesn't exist so I could tell you…"

"…I told you so," they chorused.

Sai smiled softly, his heart filled to the brim with love for this man, "I'll believe it when I see it."

And with that thought, Sai realized that, for some time now, Naruto was the only thing he could see, and that kyuubi was only as relevant as Sai made him.

Suddenly, Sai felt lighter than he had in… well, quite some time.

Because whatever the future held, he knew now that he would never let kyuubi come between them.

†

Yujyou Bachi kneeled, head bowed obsequiously, as she reported to her Kage, who also just so happened to be her brother-in-law.

"We have intel that more children have gone missing from Villages at the borders of both Earth and Wind. Most of the children go missing for a few days and are returned physically unharmed, and only mildly shaken. None of them have spoken about any of what happened to them during the time they were missing, and," Bachi paused, "I fear it may be because they are unable to do so."

Gaara frowned, even as he continued looking over the charts, "What do you suggest is preventing them, exactly? An adapted or extended genjutsu?"

"If anything, I'd say it was closer to hypnosis, given there are no traces of foreign chakra in any of their systems and we have no reason to believe such effects would persist unassisted for as long as they have so far."

Gaara looked up. "Hypnosis?"

"Yes, Gaara-sama," Bachi affirmed. "It's not dissimilar to your tanuki neiri no jutsu, only the sleep- or trance-like state would be artificially induced by someone other than one's self, for the express purpose of creating a state of heightened suggestibility and receptivity to direction that would make a person highly susceptible to subconscious coercion."

"Were any of the children—?"

"No," Bachi replied firmly. "None were taken from Yujyou, although there do seem to be a disproportionate number of boys both being taken, as well as being returned later than their female counterparts. Although some of my sisters have made their worries known to me, it is still just talk, when they make mention of bringing their girls closer to Sand."

"Perhaps precaution is warranted," Gaara stated. "Yujyou is nomadic by nature. It may be safest, that they do so. And as you know, they are always welcome here."

"My thanks, Gaara-sama," Bachi smiled sharply, as she tended to do. "I will let them know. Now," her smile sharpened further, "I'd best go check on my own little bumblebees, and see that they've been as sweet as honey for their papa."

Without waiting to be dismissed, Bachi stood, bowed and left.

†

Gaara watched as Kankurou's wife exited his office. He'd heard no incident involving his two adorable little nieces. Then again, he too tended to pay them a visit after returning from having left the Village. He could only imagine that Bachi's compulsions would be even stronger than his own.

Gaara was particularly fond of the woman his brother had fallen for. It was interesting though, because her Clan was an offshoot from the Aburame, who still resided in Konohagakure. Historically speaking, Aburame at one time had been a border clan. During one of the Great Wars, the Clan had splintered into Aburame, not all that different then as today, and Yujyou, both because of ideological and physiological differences.

It was, in some ways, a history not all that different from that of the Hyuuga and Uchiha Clans.

Although, that's right, he really mustn't forget; he'd been reminded often enough, most frequently by a swift elbow to the side from Kankurou: Yujyou was a tribe, not a clan. Bachi would have him by the balls if she heard him call Yujyou anything other than its 'proper' designation. Still.

Gaara leaned his elbows against his desk, intertwining his fingers under his chin as he pondered the recent abductions. This sort of thing happened far more commonly amongst the civilian population, with money and ransom being the primary motives for such occurrences. It was rare for Hidden Villages to target the children of other Hidden Villages, to the exception of rogue entities. But as such, seeing as no demands had been made before the return of the children, it was unlikely that the matter fell within civil jurisdiction. And as far as Bachi and her team's reports went, the children's lack of memory suggested at least some degree of shinobi intervention, meaning there was a high probability that the perpetrator was either missing-nin or even some other more distinctly organized group, perhaps along the lines of Akatsuki.

If such were the case, the question would thus become, but to what end?

The problem was Gaara really couldn't imagine any good alternatives, though perhaps worse yet was the fact that Gaara wasn't entirely sure there were any effective means by which he could put a stop to it.

And Gaara hated not being in control.

†

Today, his favourite calligraphy brush broke.

Sai stared down at the random blots of black splayed across the previously spotless scroll, like a spindly blood splatter, already the colour of old death. Some of the ink had splashed onto his hands, one spot even making it as far as the crease of his elbow, looking like a single drop of black sweat caught in the juncture between bicep and forearm.

With practiced motions, Sai cleaned up the wayward ink and then the brush before inspecting it. It was worn with age, the lacquer faded in parts and completely effaced in others. He could see upon closer inspection, little ellipses where he had habitually placed his fingers for the last however many years he'd used the thing. And there it was; a tiny hairline crack, most likely a defect in the original wood from which the brush had been created, which had over the years been weakened by frequent pressure, until breaking point.

Sai supposed at least it was a clean break; he might be able to fix it still.

Setting the brush aside, Sai eyed the rest of his brushes. There was something Sai had always wanted to do, but which he had never gotten around to. He felt almost as if his brushes were reminding him of the fact, especially now that he and Naruto had a little time.

Smoothing his fingers over the others, he let the idea blossom in his mind.

He really had been waiting to do this for too long.

No time like the present, and with that thought, Sai stood, taking the case of brushes with him.

†

Naruto looked up with a half-smile at Sai's approach. "Hey," he greeted softly.

"Hey," Sai smiled back.

Naruto's eyes flickered down to the dark wood case in Sai's hands. "Were you planning on painting in here?" He asked, eyebrows raised. "I put some of the paper you left out into that drawer," Naruto added, nodding his head to indicate which drawer he meant, before looking back down at the stats he was going over.

Naruto started slightly at the feel of horse-hair against the nape of his neck. Baffled, Naruto looked at his lover who was poking him in the neck with one of his calligraphy brushes.

Naruto blinked, "What are you doing?"

Sai smirked, "I was actually thinking of expanding my artistic pursuits by varying my media."

"Uh," Naruto began.

"I want to paint a masterpiece," Sai proclaimed, in all seriousness. "I want you bare," he explained, "I want to scribe words of adoration onto your skin; I want to adorn you with pretty pictures and wordless images that speak well of my affection."

Naruto cleared his throat, glancing at the figures he was meant to be reviewing. "Now?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes, now," Sai stated, a hint of steel in his voice. "Or are you otherwise engaged?"

"No," Naruto said quickly, setting the papers aside, "not at all."

"Good."

Naruto watched as Sai set down his brushes, his smile broadening. With all of his usual grace, he slipped his shirt over his head, and tossed it at Naruto.

Naruto caught it deftly, even as the soft material smoothly shifted between his fingers.

It was Sai's turn to raise his eyebrows. "Why don't you put that down," he suggested, moving closer to tug at the buttons of Naruto's pants, "and do something about your shirt."

Naruto dropped Sai's as he scrambled to pull his own off.

With that out of the way, he helped Sai liberate him of his trousers. Naruto then reached for his lover's, only to have Sai swiftly dance away, heading once again over to where he'd set down his brushes. Plucking one from the box, he brandished it adeptly, beckoning Naruto over with his free hand.

As soon as Naruto drew near, he found himself being kissed quite soundly.

Breaking away, Sai murmured, "Now lie down."

Obediently, Naruto moved to comply.

"Wait," Sai commanded, causing Naruto to freeze, his muscles tensing to hold him in place. Sai slinked over, only to flip Naruto onto his back.

"Oomph," Naruto grunted, as Sai slid on top of him none too gently.

Naruto stared up at his lover, "Now what?"

"Now, I have to look for imperfections on the surface of the canvas," Sai expertly explicated, as he laid his brushes by his side and began to run his hands lightly down the length of Naruto's neck. Sai's fingers paused briefly at the thrumming of his pulse, tactilely noting its heightened rhythm, before continuing on their journey. They brushed delicately over strong shoulders, traced tenderly his clavicles, and danced a path along both arms, pausing again at every point where his heartbeat answered their call. They mapped the tattoos encircling his wrists, entangled themselves with his own fingers, and pulled his arms up, trapping his hands by his head. And then they pushed his hands higher still until his torso was pulled taut, muscles just beginning to ache.

"Hold," Sai instructed, releasing his arms, obviously admiring the arch of his body.

Naruto did as he was told, holding the pose, regardless of the slight discomfort. Silently he questioned Sai with a look. Why exactly am I doing this? His eyes asked.

"Just stretching my canvas," Sai answered, impertinent.

Naruto snorted.

Sai's fingers returned to his chest, stroking along the grooves of muscle, carefully caressing the lines of his ribs. Moving up, they stopped, then circled in.

Naruto gasped, as Sai pinched.

"Dare I call this an imperfection?" Sai mused, leaning forward to lick soothingly at the reddening skin.

Naruto thrashed slightly, his mouth parting as Sai pinched the other, his free hand dragging down to press firmly against Naruto's length.

Lifting his head, Sai gazed steadily into Naruto's eyes as he licked a path from one side of his chest to another, his hand squeezing gently. "Surely, this is no imperfection," he exclaimed, his hand now moving in even strokes.

Naruto absently noted his body curling in towards the pleasure, Sai's demand that he hold still already forgotten.

A somewhat pitiful sounding whine escaped his throat as Sai let go and leaned away from him. But before he had time to even voice his displeasure at Sai doing so, he was being kissed senseless.

And then he felt it.

His eyes went wide as he stared down at his own naked chest where Sai's brush dragged across sensitive skin. But his lover wasn't using ink. In the wake of the brush Naruto could see, and feel, lines of chakra, seeping into him. He shuddered, as Sai continued to write verses that Naruto vaguely recognized. He could feel each character being etched into his skin, like echoes of power, of Sai.

Naruto trembled at the sensation, his breathing heavy and open-mouthed. And then the brush dipped lower still, and it was as if he was being engulfed in chakra.

"Sai," Naruto choked out, his hands snapping from where they lay above his head, to grip his lover's thighs hard. He couldn't help it as his hips bucked upwards. But Sai was already preparing him, thank Kami, even as he kept on teasing him up and down and in spirals; the pleasure growing almost painful as threads of chakra were superimposed one atop another, like a tortuous web of rapture.

And then he was being rolled; practically boneless with pleasure, he let Sai do most of the work.

Naruto felt a soft chuff of laughter against the back of his neck, and realized he must've said that last bit out loud. Eyes half-lidded, Naruto smiled blissfully as Sai pulled him flush against himself. Sai kissed a trail across Naruto's shoulder as he pressed in.

Naruto inhaled deeply at the slight burn, forcing himself to relax on an exhaled breath. Adjusting, Naruto shifted, impatient as always. Sai rocked gently, as he laid kisses on Naruto's neck.

Quickly enough, Naruto began to push back, dictating the pace of their rhythm, wordlessly telling Sai to hurry the fuck up.

Entirely used to this, Sai did exactly that, speeding up. Pleased, Naruto moaned encouragingly, causing Sai to allow his thrusts to become no longer quite so gentle.

Hitting the angle just right, Naruto gasped and then came in a rush of blinding white as soon Sai ran his fingers along the lingering lines of chakra on his cock.

Panting, Naruto kept pushing back, meeting Sai's thrusts, until Sai reached completion. Warmth spread deliciously inside him.

Satisfied, Naruto turned his head to be kissed. "Kami, you're good."

Sai laughed, probably at the inanity of Naruto's comment. "I know," Sai replied smugly anyway. "You too," he added after a pause, which made Naruto smile widely, knowing full well what Sai had meant when he said that.

"I love you," Sai whispered, the words, after all this time, finally slipping easily off his tongue. "Forever," he promised, sealing his vow with a kiss as he scrawled his name on the nape of Naruto's neck with his tongue; the touch infused with chakra imprinting it there.

"Dude!" Naruto squawked at the tingling sensation that bordered on a burn. Slapping his hand against the spot, Naruto turned to stare accusingly at his lover, who lay still splayed atop of him, the angle only serving to make his neck ache even more. "Did you seriously just brand me with your name?"

Naruto felt more than saw Sai shrug, "I told you it was something I'd been meaning to do."

"I thought you meant…" Naruto trailed off, his cheeks tinting slightly.

Sai smirked, and this time Naruto could hear it in his voice more than anything else, "That too, of course. But this was the icing on the cake."

"I'm glad you think so highly of yourself," he huffed.

"That's right, sweet cheeks," Sai quipped.

Naruto shrieked indignant as Sai pinched said cheek, swatting at him ineffectively as a result of his post-coitus stupor.

Eyes growing serious, Naruto focused his gaze in on the delicate skin of Sai's inner wrist, in such close proximity thanks to Sai's arms being braced on either side of him. He stared intently at the translucent swath of skin, before he reached out to gently rest his fingers against Sai's steady pulse.

There was a slight flare of chakra and when Naruto removed his fingers…

Sai cracked up laughing.

"What?" Naruto pouted.

"Oh, Kami-sama," Sai wheezed, "seriously. A fishcake? That's the keepsake I get?"

Petulantly, Naruto traced his fingers along the spiral, "If you really don't like it…"

Sai snatched his wrist away from Naruto's grasp, clutching his arm against his chest.

"No," he said. "It's mine now. You can't take it back."

Naruto flashed Sai a grin of pure happiness over his shoulder, tiredness quickly following in its wake. "Yeah," Naruto murmured sleepily, flopping back onto his stomach to snuggle in, "you're stuck with it."

Sai half-smiled, half-winced as he felt his nose prickling sharply at the sudden rush of tears he felt just behind his eyes. If he held Naruto just a little bit tighter than usual, Naruto made no comment on it; merely tightened his hands on Sai's arms were they encircled him as he hovered at the precipice of sleep.

†

Gaara glanced to the side as Naruto and Sai entered through one of the windows to the Kazekage's tower office. Inclining his head in acknowledgement of their presence, Gaara added, "I see you're continuing to be a bad influence on others."

Naruto laughed, "If you don't want people coming in through the window, you shouldn't leave them open."

Gaara looked pointedly over at the open door.

Naruto shrugged, "Hey. What can I say, I like having options."

Shaking his head, Gaara summoned Bachi, who walked into the room as regal as ever, genuflecting before standing and turning to greet Naruto and Sai.

Gaara smiled as Naruto immediately bounded over to her and pounced, enveloping his sister-in-law in a crushing hug.

"Hey there, sweet thing," Gaara heard the blond say, in a suggestively lascivious way. Gaara almost laughed as both Bachi and Sai rolled their eyes in perfect synchronicity.

Clearing his throat, Gaara spoke, "While I hate to break up this joyous reunion…"

Right away, both shinobi and kunoichi moved to stand at attention before him, their expressions appropriately serious.

"Bachi will bring you both up to speed on the situation," Gaara instructed. "She knows far better than I what's been going on of late."

Bachi nodded to Gaara, before shifting to address Naruto and Sai. "As we already explained, we've been having a lot of disappearances recently, and not just us. We only just learned, based on an approximate time line that the first abductions occurred in Water, followed by Lightning, Earth and Wind. As such, we have reason to believe that the children of Konoha will be targeted next. Whoever it is that has been kidnapping children appears to be doing so in a nautilus-like pattern, one spiralling in towards Konoha. What this possibly means, we can only speculate. But as you know, we cannot assume anything."

"And you're telling me that none of the kids has ever been hurt?" Naruto inquired, the look in his eyes nevertheless grim.

Bachi shook her head slightly, gnawing at her lip a second, as she obviously thought how best to answer the question. "There are no… visible indications of violence. At the same time, the fact that the children themselves do not even seem to remember the incidences is… concerning."

Naruto and Sai glanced at each other.

"What exactly is it that you wish us to do?" Sai asked, the cadence of his voice as soft as Gaara remembered it.

"While there is no substantive evidence to support the theory, we fear this might have something to do with Sound," Bachi replied.

Naruto sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes narrowing barely a beat later. "Orochimaru is gone," he stated, a sliver of frost in his normally warm voice.

"Yes," Bachi replied, her voice pitched to soothe. "Though I'm sure you've seen snakes thrash about violently, having cut off their head."

"Not a decade later," Naruto grumbled, in evident discontent.

"I would've sent a team from Sand," Gaara explained, "but if, and I stress, if it has something to do with Sound, I figured you would be far more capable of handling it."

"Well, I've certainly got the experience," Naruto laughed bitterly.

"I'm sorry," Gaara apologized gravely.

"Don't be," Naruto waved him off. "I'd have made exactly the same call if I'd been in your position." Naruto smiled a little more normally, "Soon, my friend, sooooon~"

Gaara blinked as Sai bopped Naruto on the back of the head.

"ITE! What the hell was that for?" Naruto demanded, squatting and holding the back of his head.

"For implying that you were going to usurp Gaara," Sai smirked at Gaara.

Naruto looked at Gaara with wide eyes, "I didn't mean it like that!"

"Indeed," Gaara replied stoically, lifting a hand to hide his smile.

"Saaaai," Naruto whined, poking his partner on the butt. "Stop making people think I'm trying to take them out!"

Gaara raised his eyebrows at this comment, which seemed to imply Naruto had gotten into trouble for this before.

It was Bachi who intervened this time, solemnly interjecting, "If you'll follow me, I'll show you the data we've collected up to this point."

Waving his arms about, Naruto bitched a little more at Sai as they followed Bachi out. Pausing by the open door, Naruto called back over his shoulder, "Thanks, Gaara."

"It's the least I could do," Gaara murmured in reply, returning to his seat.

While he didn't exactly like the idea of sending Naruto out into the field, Gaara had to admit that Naruto was the best man for the job.

All Gaara could really do at this point was pray that it wasn't Sound.

For Naruto's sake. There were just too many bad memories.

†

Nari awoke with a gasp. Frantically, she tore herself free from her sheets, and scrambled out of bed. Slipping into a robe, she grabbed some weapons, put on her shoes and was at the door when Makoto sleepily called, "Nari? What are you doing?" from the futon next to her own.

"I need to see Iwa," Nari explained, rushing over to quickly place a kiss upon her twin's forehead. "Go back to sleep, Makoto."

But Makoto was already awake. Sitting up, she demanded, "What happened? What did you see?"

"I'll explain later," Nari said urgently. "Please, just, go back to sleep."

Makoto looked dubious, but lay back down anyway. "You promise you'll tell me what's going on?"

"Of course," Nari promised.

Nodding, Makoto closed her eyes. "Then go."

Nari didn't need to be told twice.

†

Iwa woke to the sound of someone almost banging down his door. Senses straining to detect any hint of a threat, he drew a kunai from under his pillow, got up and made his way over.

Relaxing as he recognized Hyuuga Nari's chakra signature, he opened the door to find his former team mate and best friend dressed in little more than a colourful silk robe, haphazardly tied with a hideously clashing obi, and what appeared to be her favourite pair of pajamas, the ones that were pale blue with cute little kittens on them.

Pulling her through the doorway he hugged her tight. Her chakra signature wasn't the only thing he'd immediately recognized; the disruptions in its flow told him she'd most likely Seen something. The panicked look in her eyes and the tremor of her hands only confirmed it.

"What's wrong?" He asked, gently brushing a lock of wayward hair behind her ear.

"I saw Naruto-san," she whispered against his shoulder.

Iwa tensed, and felt as Nari did the same in response. Forcefully relaxing, he bid her, "Tell me what happened."

He felt the shudder that ran through her. "Nari?"

"I don't know!" She cried, her voice scratchy with tears. "Iwa…"

"What do you mean you don't know?" Iwa growled, trying but failing to keep his voice modulated to calm and soothe. Nari didn't really seem to care though, as she stared right through him.

"I couldn't see clearly," she whispered, remembering. "It was dark, and there was fire; I could smell fear. It felt so cold, Iwa. Like I was freezing inside, even though everything around me seemed so hot."

"You said you saw Naruto-san," Iwa prompted, his heart rate already picking up a notch, even as his stomach plunged.

Swallowing, Nari cleared her throat. "Yes. The only thing I caught a glimpse of briefly was Naruto-san…" she trailed off.

"Well?" Iwa demanded.

Nari looked away, "He appeared to be unconscious… and he was covered in blood."

Iwa's jaw clenched.

"Has it happened already?" He asked, unable to avoid the stern inflection of his tone.

Nari blinked, her eyes refocusing on him. "No," she said firmly. "It hasn't happened yet."

"I need to do something," Iwa said, releasing Nari from his almost crushing embrace. "At the very least, we need to report this to Tsunade-sama."

"Okay," Nari exhaled shakily. "Okay."

Iwa took hold of her shoulder. "Are you sure?" He asked, concern filling his voice. "They'll know."

Iwa watched as Nari closed her eyes tight. "This is Naruto-san, we're talking about. I can't let anything happen to him, not if I can help it." Nari opened her eyes to look at him. "I won't let anything happen to him."

What Iwa really heard though was, I won't let anything happen to you. Iwa grasped her hand in his and squeezed gratefully.

"Plus," she added on a sigh, "they probably should've been told a long time ago."

Iwa smiled tightly at that. "Come on then," he said.

And they were off, heading towards the Tower.

†

Tsunade did not sleep much. A few hours here, and few hours there. With the amount of nightmares she'd lived through, both real and illusory, she really couldn't say she missed it all that much.

Most nights she spent on medical experiments, mostly on the interaction of various chemical components; some nights she spent drafting hypotheses to test, some nights she tested them. Tonight was thankfully one of the former, and it was at about three in the morning that a guard interrupted her to announce that Iwa wanted to see her.

Not entirely unusual, given that this was Iwa. But curious, she nodded at the guard to let him in.

What she didn't expect to see was Hyuuga Nari in tow.

"To what do I owe the honour?" Tsunade asked, reclining in her chair.

"Tsunade-sama," Iwa began, before, as he often was wont to do, letting the bomb drop. "Nari is a Seer, and Naruto-san is likely in danger."

Tsunade stared, looking from Iwa to Nari, who stood a half-step back and behind her protégé. "A Seer," Tsunade echoed faintly.

At this Nari stepped forward and bowed. "Yes, Tsunade-sama. I've had the Sight for as long as I can remember. Tonight I Saw Naruto-san, he was unconscious and covered in blood…" she stopped speaking, and collapsed.

"Shit!" Iwa exclaimed, managing to catch her before she face-planted on the floor. "She hasn't had a waking trance in years."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed as she remembered where she had heard the terminology last.

"Please tell me you did not show her those scrolls," Tsunade said.

"Of course I didn't," Iwa replied smoothly, cradling Nari's head gently. Just as Tsunade started to relax, he added, "I just gave her access to the archives."

"You WHAT?" Tsunade screeched, the cup of sake she'd just picked up shattering in her grasp.

Iwa didn't even blink. "She needed to know."

Tsunade stood, wiping her hand on her robes. "That is a complete and utter breach of protocol," she seethed. "You were not authorized to grant access to others."

"Actually," Iwa replied. "Ibiki-san gave me authority, under a wide discretionary grant for research purposes."

Tsunade scowled, "Even so, I should have been informed."

"It wasn't my secret to tell," Iwa staunchly defended.

Sighing, Tsunade rubbed at her brow. "Fine, whatever. I honestly do not care." Almost as a non sequitur, she commented, "We haven't had a Seer in an age."

Iwa nodded, "It's been several generations at least."

Tsunade eyed the girl, as her eyes rolled back in her head. "How accurate are her visions?"

Iwa shrugged. "It varies. She says some things never come to pass, or do, but not at all how one might expect, and that sometimes trying to prevent things only ends up making matters worse." Iwa exhaled sharply. "She commonly calls them notices to get your crap cleaned up, seeing as most of the time, she gets them after the event, or for things where there's really nothing you can do except deal with the aftermath."

"And this one?" Tsunade queried.

Iwa frowned. "It hasn't happened yet."

"The Valley of the End," Nari gasped, her eyes snapping open.

"Go get Hyuuga Neji," Tsunade commanded. "Now."

Iwa leapt into action and out a window, as Tsunade silently cursed; Naruto and Sai should have been in Sound by now. Who knew if a team could intercede in time?

Nari lay on the floor of Tsunade's office, staring at her with eerily blank eyes.

Turning away from the sight, Tsunade penned a note and sent it on its way to Sand.

The Kazekage needed to know about this.

†

Naruto hummed, as they made their way through thick bushland.

"What do you reckon that song is?" He eventually asked Sai, on about the fifth loop. "I've had it stuck in my head all week," Naruto complained good-naturedly.

"Once more?" Sai requested, listening intently as Naruto hummed the tune again. "Isn't that the theme song for the latest movie, Icha Icha Tactics?"

Aghast, Naruto exclaimed, "It is not!"

"I'm pretty sure it is," Sai insisted, as he kept moving.

"Guh," Naruto said. "There's no escaping the damn thing!"

"It's a legend," Sai proclaimed dramatically, "a legacy!"

Naruto groaned.

"It is legion," Sai called, posing in a triumphant stance mid-air.

"Oh shut up," Naruto replied as he flipped from one tree to the next. "It's porn," Naruto gripped. "Plain and simple."

Sai smirked, "You say that as if such ideas are mutually exclusive. But quite to the contrary, the Icha Icha serialization has been commended for its tasteful handling of various awkward and intimate situations, and it is nothing if not worthy of such titles."

"You've been going drinking with Kakashi-sensei again, haven't you?" Naruto demanded, deadpan.

"Kakashi's dedication to sobriety is at times slightly disheartening," Sai replied by way of explanation. "He seems like the type that could use getting a little… shit-faced, is the term, isn't it?"

Naruto snorted a laugh. "Somehow I think I prefer it when you just say 'inebriated.'"

"So, perhaps a little inebriation would go a long way for him," Sai amended.

"Perhaps," Naruto agreed, thinking on the last time he'd seen his sensei absolutely shit-faced, as it were. Naruto would very much have liked to have joined him, but by law, was prohibited from doing so, which was really, probably for the best.

Shaking off the darker thoughts that were bound to follow that train of thought, Naruto added, "Well, if it's not one vice it's another."

Glancing skywards, Naruto nodded towards a nearby clearing. "But enough about Kakashi-sensei's immorality, we should stop; it's starting to get dark."

After a quick survey of the land, they set up camp.

They ate and joked around, Naruto stealing the occasional kiss between bites of food, their guards mostly down, not entirely of course, but neither were they on high alert, seeing as they were technically still within Fire Country.

One moment they were laughing, the next, they fell silent.

Naruto could feel the prickle of someone watching him, as if that someone's eyes were boring into the back of his neck. Naruto was certain Sai sensed it too.

Naruto shifted his weight to the ready. Battle instinct already on the rise, he drew chakra into the palm of his hand, only to freeze as kyuubi suddenly and violently stirred within him.

Then everything went dark.

†

"Kazekage-sama," the shinobi prompted, sketching a bow as he held out the vermilion scroll in his hand.

The colour gave Gaara pause; it was sealed with the Hyuuga family crest. Carefully putting aside the brush, he reached for it, deftly unsealing it with practiced motions.

The missive was short, but the implications were far-reaching as they dauntingly stretched before him.

They're missing, it read.

Gaara stood.

†

To Be Continued.

Another Word from the Author: So, as usual, all I ask is that you give me your thoughts, oh, and your patience. Sorry about the wait~ :3 Hope you all enjoyed~