DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. (Though the OC's are mine!)

Webs of Deception

Chapter Twenty-One

Crooked Smile

Naruto walked around Konoha for at least twenty minutes before heading to the Uchiha Compound. Making sure that his anger that risen during the meeting with the Hokage had calmed down to a low simmer. He didn't need his anger to get out of control right now. He needed to be focused on what the hell's going on in his already screwed up life. This life that's slowly going further downhill as the days go by.

In a matter of a minute, he was walking up the stone path to Sasuke's house, a cool breeze blowing against his face in the process. The slightly cold night air didn't bother his naturally over-heated body as him as he watched his feet take each step. The sound that his feet made against the gritty concrete had him oddly hypnotized. This trance breaking once he found himself standing in front of the front door.

With breaking out of his weird fascination with the concrete and taking a deep breath later, he grabbed the cold handle and opened the door. Already feeling Sasuke's, Ruri's and Gaara's chakra signatures on the bottom floor in two different rooms. He walked into the alcove and took his shoes off before proceeding toward the dining room. Where everyone seems to meet in this house nowadays.

He stepped into the messy room with his mask and cloak off. Taking those items of clothing off as he walked through the house. He draped his cloak on the back of one of the kitchen chairs and placed his mask on the cluttered table.

Upon the blond's arrival, Ruri hesitantly greeted him. Not entirely sure if his anger was calmed down or not. Naruto pleasantly greeted her back and added, "Did you catch Shika up on what's happening?"

Seeing that her Captain wasn't breathing fire anymore, she relaxed and nodded her head in response. At that moment, Sasuke appeared in the entryway to the kitchen with a cup of tea in his hand. Leaning himself against the entryway frame casually with his hand holding his cup at mid-chest. While Gaara walked into the dining room the same way that Naruto entered. Moving past the standing blond and sitting down in one of the chairs across from Shikamaru.

"Good." he stated while he moved around the table to claim the chair directly across from Shikamaru. "It should take 'Tachi and the others four to five days to get to Yuugure. Meaning that's how long you have to decode--" Flinging his hand around to indicate the encoded stuff laying all over the place. "--all this."

The brunette lifted his head a dangerously slow pace and glared up at Naruto with the most feared sleep-deprived and coffee-induced look that seemed on the complete opposite polar universe than his usual lazy expression. "Because my inability to decode these troublesome pieces of shit is on purpose." he sneered sarcastically at the now cowering blond before him. The venom dripping from each word causing the blond to bring his hands up in front of him in mock/half serious defense. "I didn't mean it like that. I was just stating the facts."

Pure death stay on Shika's features for another moment before lowing his bloodshot eyes back down to his work. Naruto sighed in relief when that look from a scary house diverted from him and were now boring certain death upon the documents below. He turned his attention to mostly the other two of his team because he still was extremely nervous about Sasuke's presence. And this nervousness caused him to do anything not to look at those endless onyx.

He put a cheerful yet fake smile on his face and opened his mouth. But was interrupted before he even said a word by Shikamaru. "If you're gonna talk, go to another room."

And since he preferred not to re-direct that look back to himself, he stood and motioned the others to follow. Though he wasn't quite sure if Sasuke would. He might of followed him to the Hokage's office but that could have been easily dismissed by him being an Anbu captain and thinking solely of the protection of Konoha. From what threat he wasn't quite sure of. Okay.....maybe he hardly believes that himself but it's better than being a completely conceited person and thinking what he actually thought.

But to his surprise, when he turned back around to talk to his team, Sasuke was standing a short distance away still drinking on his tea in his hand. Naruto couldn't help the happiness that reach his eyes from this small action. It might have been something really small and possibly barely noticeable to normal people but rebuilding from complete scrap always starts in the smallest of ways. And this was a small thing that was barely noticeable but he notice it......

"Does any of you have any ideas on how a whole village of people can disappear without any beforehand warnings of an chakra surge?" he questioned the small group as he moved over to the couch and sat down. Running his hand through his hair in a silent showing of his tiredness.

"I've been thinking on that....." began Ruri, "And I think I've come up with a logical explanation on why your foxes didn't sense the chakra far before the incident occurred."

Naruto gave her a clear look that said 'Are you going to tell us?' when she paused for a long moment. And with the fatigue that he was feeling, he wasn't in the mood for any kind of waiting.

"Do you remember when we transported some equipment into that high security village in Tsuchi no Kuni(1)?" She only went on again when she received a nod from her Captain. "We hand drawn the location of each building and we mark off the exact building that we wanted the supplies to be transported in. I don't see why they couldn't use the same technique. They could gather as much chakra as they needed without alerting anything of something happening and then they could transport the chakra in the area that they marked off."

Naruto mulled over what she said and nodded his absentmindedly, "That's good. How you'd remember that anyway? If you hadn't reminded me, I would of never remembered it."

A gentle smile formed on her features, "I believe your mind was slightly reoccupied at the time." Yes, it was definitely preoccupied with thoughts of a raven haired male. At that time, it was almost three weeks after the encounter with Sasuke when he was training under Orochimaru. And it took Naruto almost three months to get his mind back in order from it. So it's quite understandable that those set of memories would probably resemble blurs in time to him.

"Okay, one problem down. Now where'd they go?"

Silence followed this question. All four, including Sasuke, were contemplating on any technique that could accomplish taking a whole village full of people and putting them somewhere else. And there was already a silent understanding that a teleportation jutsu was a given possibility. There was no need to state it out loud.

A possibility popped itself within Sasuke's mind out of the complete blue. Causing his eyes to move from the floor, where they've been staring at for all of the silence, up to look at Naruto. His stomach tightening every time he laid his eyes upon the blond. Who had his head leaning against one of his hands and staring off into his own mind. Sasuke wondered if he should voice his possibility or if he should let his team figure something out. It wasn't like it was his problem or a problem of Konoha. He had no obligation to this team.

And he would actually believe this if he wasn't currently staring at Naruto and knew that he was the leader of Akuma. Why did he have to be so damn soft when it comes to the blond. Even if that most of him felt betrayed by him, he still didn't want to see him hurt or sad. 'Damn him.....Always making me weak.....'

This is the reason why his mouth spoke the words, "Godai Ryuuki(2)." These two words causing the three others to turn their attentions to him. Which he had to say wasn't that comfortable.

'God, I think I've been inside you for far too long because I definitely feel like a idiot right now. Why didn't I think of that to begin with!' announced Kyuubi to himself but being inside of Naruto, of course he heard him. 'Wait you know what he's talking about?'

'Of course I do! And you would of too if you let me teach you......ohh how did you put it.......'something that wouldn't be of any use to you in real combat'......yes I think that was your exact words. Now how do you feel brat?! Hahahahaha......!!'

'Shut up.'

'Hahahahaha!!!!'

Naruto ignored the hysterical fox laughing and rolling around in his cage as he concentrated on what Gaara was asking. "How to you know of that?" coldly asked the red head with his eyes narrowed at the raven.

Sasuke glared back at the shorter boy with slight contempt. "What does it matter to you?"

"It matters because Kages are the only ones who are allowed to know of that technique."

"Hmn." Sasuke grunted as he took a sip of his tea. "Is that so?" Smirking against the edge of his cup at aggravating the other male. He never liked him to begin with and aggravating him gave the raven slight enjoyment. A that little bit was better than non at all.

Naruto lazily glanced back and forth between Sasuke and Gaara. Knowing if he didn't put an end to this, that it could go on forever. Or end with a deadly battle. Either way it would aggravate him in some way. Though of course he could possibly fall asleep and miss the whole thing. But then he couldn't stop them from killing each other. He sighed deeply when everything just came out as a lose/lose situation.

"Can you two please....." he practically groaned out with some pleading underneath it. Wanting nothing more than to sleep right now. He didn't even care where, as long as his body got some needed rest. But unfortunately he wasn't blessed with the choice to sleep. There was just too many things to do and so little time in doing them. "Just tell me what this Godai thing is, so we can move on."

Sending one last death glare to the raven, who didn't look like he had any intention on explaining anything, and began with an underlying edge to his voice, "Godai Ryuuki allows the caster to send any physical matter into the plane above our own. The caster summons and utilizes the chakra of the Five Elements to move the matter through the thin barrier to the higher plane."

"A higher plane?" Naruto questioned with an expression that said please explain. But Kyuubi beat the red head as he explained to his host, 'What he means by higher plain, is the astral plane just above this one. It's almost identical to this reality but things just appear differently than what they would here. Did you understand that brat?'

Naruto mentally glared at the grinning fox and stopped Gaara before he basically said the same thing as Kyuubi. "Never mind. Kyuu explained it to me."

A inquisitive eyebrow rose on Sasuke's face. "Kyuu? As in Kyuubi?"

'Damn, I forgot to tell him about the details on that.' "Yeah, Kyuubi. I'll explain about that later." he said while looking at Sasuke with his eyes saying that he would. And Sasuke stared right back and nodded curtly once he saw the underlining promise in them.

"If they were put in this higher plane, is there a way to see if they're there?" Ruri asked to the three males.

'Yesss!!!' Kyuubi yelled in Naruto's tired with a headache forming head. He lowered his now slightly throbbing head into his hands and groaned lowly in his throat. "Taichou?" he heard Ruri's worried voice. But he waved one of his hands at her to dismiss that worry and reassured her, "Nah, I'm fine. Just Kyuu yelling when I'm getting a headache."

Ruri's brows creased in a slightly angry scowl. "Kyuubi-san....." she spoke straight at Naruto, knowing that the fox could hear every word she said. "......I'm telling you now that you better lower your voice and stop causing Taichou problems at the moment."

Kyuubi growled at the girl and grumbled, 'Damn bossy bitch. It's times like this that she annoys the fuck out of me.'

Naruto chuckled and placed his hand behind his head. Not really wanting to tell her what the fox really said. "Umm.....he's quiet now."

'Liar.'

The blond's lame ass attempt at lying caused Sasuke to snort but not loud enough where it would be noticed by the female of the four. His noise of knowing resulted in Naruto giving a half-hearted glare toward him. But he could see that there was no maliciousness behind it and before he consciously knew what he was doing, his lip upturned into a half-smirk.

Naruto stared wide-eyed at the sexy smirk for a couple seconds too long. He mocked coughed to distract him from the smirk that he knew was silently mocking him and asked Gaara since a change of subject was in some desperate need. "So Gaara, do you know if you can see into this astral plane?"

'I know!'

'Shut up!'

"There is a way." Gaara said as Kyuubi growled once again but this time it was directed at his host. Gaara continued, not knowing of the blond's disagreement with his demon. "It's called Kokoro Ryuuki(3). It's an easy technique to master and hardly any chakra is needed to perform."

"What's it do?" Naruto interrupted the red head. Who glared at the blond for doing just that. Naruto gave a apologetic smile in return, which got Gaara talking again.

"Two people are needed for the procedure. One that will go into the astral plane and the other as the other person's anchor to this reality. The two performing this must have a connection with each other that will survive the barrier between the two planes." A pregnant pause followed. An unfamiliar gleam shining in his emerald eyes. "But once the one that enters into the astral plane, he should be able to visit the village and see if the villagers are there or not."

'Well, I have to admit that brat explained it good enough. Though I could of done it a lot better.'

Naruto resisted the urge to roll his eyes but instead of doing just that, he asked, "So why don't we do that? If this isn't the way they did it then we'll just have to move on to something else that comes to mind. But at least it's something to begin with."

"Hmn. I would suggest performing it now but I think it would be better if it's done tomorrow. You appear that you would possibly fall asleep during the process." stated Gaara with a smirk, waiting for Naruto to realize exactly what he said.

The blond nodded his head, "Yeah, that'd be--" He stopped his speaking and furrowed his brows. "Wait. Who said I was doing it?!"

Gaara's smirk widened only an centimeter to show that this was quite amusing to him. "Who else would be appropriate besides yourself and Uchiha."

Naruto's eyes widened incredibly as those words repeated themselves in his mind. "What?!" he exclaimed automatically. While Sasuke damn near choked on his last bit of tea at the red head's comment but managed to keep his composure in the end. Turning his full glare at the shorter male for even suggesting it.

"Yes, that would make sense. Out of us, Taichou and Uchiha-san are the ones with the deepest connection." This comment resulting in a blush appearing on the blond's cheeks and his eyes averting to the ground. Ruri turned hers to Sasuke and looked at him straight into his onyx. "Uchiha-san, do you trust Taichou?"

The glare of Sasuke's charged from a death glare to something of surprise as he redirected his gaze to Ruri. The question repeating over in his mind. 'Do I trust Naruto....?' He didn't know. No, that was a lie. He did know. Because it's the same answer that Naruto subconsciously presented to him when he didn't tell him anything that was going on.

His gaze moved from Ruri to Naruto, who had his head awkwardly bent low and intently staring at the ground. The tenseness he saw in the blond's body indicated to him that he already guessed what his answer would be.

"No."

Naruto's eyes closed at the admission, trying to push back the guilt and pain that came with it. He already suspected that the raven didn't trust him and he couldn't really blame him. He could only blame himself because he was at fault that everything was like it is. But it still hurt in it being vocally confirmed. And he couldn't stop those feelings from making themselves known because he wanted the raven to trust him. Even if it was just a little.......

Ruri's features formed into a form of sympathy and averted her eyes. Feeling slightly sorry for her Taichou but also knowing that Sasuke had all right to not trust the blond at all. He had every reason not to. And he's still yet to find out about the most important thing that she's almost sure could break the two apart completely. She let out a heavy sigh and lifted her eyes back up to look at Gaara. "Well, is trust a necessary requirement? I mean, they still have a connection with Taichou being Uchiha-san's Abikaasa."

This caught Naruto's attention--which he's thankful for--out of his self loathing real quick. "Abi what?" Looking confusedly between Ruri and Gaara for an answer that seemed wasn't going to get answered. Because Ruri merely waved it off with her hand and continued on, "So the connection is still there even if trust isn't."

"I believe it would be fine." Gaara said with the unfortunate knowledge that those two were really the only ones among them that were acceptable in doing this. Non of the others really had that kind of connection. If Neji was still here, him and Neji would most likely be able to proceed with it but since he wasn't, they had to go with the two that would probably like to keep there distance from each other. Only if they knew how close they would be getting in performing this technique.

Feeling like he wasn't going to get out of this, Sasuke asked, "What does this technique entail?" Letting the information that Itachi didn't inform Naruto about Abikaasa's settle in the back of his head to think about later.

A cruel glint appeared in Gaara's emerald eyes. "That Uchiha will be explained once the time comes to perform it." Finishing it with an equally cruel smirk. Which in turn resulted in Sasuke sending the red head a glare that screamed the most bloodiest death upon his being.

Ruri coughed a couple of times to hopefully stop the silent battle going on between the two males. "So do we have a plan?" she asked to mostly her Captain for approval. Who nodded his head in agreement, "Unless we're proved wrong after we do this. Then we're back to square one. Until then it's best if we look through as much of that information we stole just in case it is Ouroboros." As saying this he got up on his feet and made his way to the dining room while running his hand through his tousled hair.

Gaara was the first to follow the blond with Ruri lagging behind for a moment. Her soft purple orbs focused on the raven, giving a gaze like she was calculating something in him. It was slightly disturbing to Sasuke when all she was doing was staring and nothing else. At least with a fan girl they actually did something else; like squeal until your ears bled, or bounce to show off how full their breast were, or at least they drooled. But she did nothing.

A growl rumbled deep in the pale throat. "What?!" Sasuke asked shortly. He could only stand someone that was particularly standing in front of him, staring at him like that for so long.

She waited for a couple of seconds before responding to him, "I know that Taichou is the one at fault in the situation between the two of you and I know that trust is extremely hard to regain but......I just hope that one day you'll be able to forgive him." And with as random as it came, she was finished and followed the same path as her other two teammates.

'Forgive......'

It rang through Sasuke's mind like a echo in a cave, unwillingly repeating itself within it's confines as he stood there. But to allow this form of sentiment to let himself get close to the blond again. He thought maybe he could forgive to a certain degree but to forgive completely, he didn't think he could do that any time soon. Because the hurt and betrayal was still fresh--still deeply embedded to forgive so easily.

But the real question that made him wonder in the far corner of his mind was--Does Naruto even want his forgiveness?

Even with everything he's seen and heard from the blond, he wasn't completely convinced that Naruto even wanted anything from him like the way he secretly wanted from the blond. He just wasn't convinced either way. And he didn't want to make the same mistake like he's done in the past by assuming things wrongly.

Which brings him to the solution that he's come up with--to wait. Wait and see how things turn out.

But knowing his luck, everything will turn out unpredictably......

Naruto sat--cross legged--on the floor in the middle of the living room. Boxes, folders and photographs littered the floor around him in a jumble mess. He chose to go through the boxes with all the photographs taken of the Jinchuuriki and Akuma. Hoping and praying that he could somehow make a connection with whoever was taking these pictures.

It seemed far fetched even in his mind that he could remember every single person that was around when most of these pictures were taken. But he was willing. Because some of these pictures were taken at such a close distance that he feared there was someone within the small circle that knowns of Akuma's identities who was betraying them. And that was something he wouldn't risk in keeping alive.

But obviously his mind was not at its full potential because everything seemed a little fuzzy and slightly blurry from his mind trying to drift off to sleep while he was still in a sitting position. His did not want to stay open even if there lives depended on it. Nope, they continued to droop and the feeling of his body slowly shifting sideways was vaguely even noticed as his mind drifted deeper into unconsciousness.

His subconscious mind didn't even help him with trying to stay awake. Because every time he would drift off, the only thing he dreamt of in the momentary lack of control was Sasuke. Which made him want to coax deeper into sleep, so he could taste and touch what he hasn't been able to do sense Sasuke cut himself. And he was longing so badly to have that body pressed above him again. Even if it was only in his mind.

But when his body felt the sensation of falling, he snap back into awake-fullness by stopping his body with his hand. 'Damn my automatic reflex.....' Straightening back up, he rubbed his tired eyes and then with those same hands, ran them through his hair in an attempt to keep him from dozing off. He refocused his hazy attention back at the pictures sprawled before him.

The action of almost falling over asleep caught the eye of Sasuke. Who was sitting on the room on the other side of the room with no knowledge that he's willing to divulge on how or why he was looking through boxes and folders also. But besides that, Sasuke looked over at Naruto at the sound of his hand hitting the floor and watched as the other's weariness showed through his mask that he tried to force to the forefront. But failed miserably in sustaining it.

'I wonder how much sleep he's gotten?' he asked himself out of curiosity and nothing more. He would never admit anything other than curiosity. So the reason why his eyes were still on the blond and paying close attention to every movement that occurred with his body was merely curiosity.

Curiosity only.

Hmpf.....he knew he was lying to himself but right now he didn't care. He'd rather be in a little rut of self-denial and deal with his curiosity that way. It made the betrayal he felt for himself a little less prominent for doing what he was doing.

"So how did you and Itachi meet?" Sasuke asked out of the blue to stop his curious staring.

Naruto had to blink a few times and wonder if he even heard Sasuke's question. It could of easily been his tired mind playing a weird game on him. He turned his head and looked into the onyx that didn't seem to stop staring even with his question asked. But now it gives him a real reason to give his attention like he was.

"Did you ask me a question?" he asked groggily just before he had to suppress a yawn with keeping his mouth firmly shut.

"Hmn."

The blond's head moved slowly in a nodding motion, letting the all but one syllable run through his mind and then letting it travel down through his body. The vibrations of the other's grunt fascinating him to some odd extent. "Mind repeating the question again." Not really remembering the question at all because he's not really in his right mind when he's tired like this.

Sasuke resisted the strong urge to roll his eyes. So instead of doing that he settled on glaring at the blond because he hated to repeat himself. Even if it was to Naruto, it still annoyed the hell out of him. "I asked, how you and Itachi met?"

"Oh." was the other's unintelligent reply. Which caused the urge to roll his eyes to become more prominent.

Naruto lowered his head into his hands, his fingers rubbing his eyes again as he tried to gather his scattered and slightly perverse thoughts. "Ummm......" he began without actually thinking of how he was going to begin. It took another moment before his hands lowered and began saying, "Well, we met shortly after I left the village. The council sent a team of umm...four Anbu after me to probably ensure that I'd never come back." A yawn unwillingly escaped his mouth before he had time to suppress it. "It didn't take long for them to catch up.....I wasn't really like I was in much of a hurry."

'I was more of a wreck than anything.....' he thought truthfully.

The gray clouds above the land distributed rain upon the ground. Falling in sheets of chilly liquid that fell and pattered with each drop. A young boy walked in stiff steps through the forest, the bright blond that plastered to his forehead contrasted with the colors of nature and the solemn atmosphere of the surroundings.

Though the rain didn't seem to reach the boy's mind as tears leaked from his eyes that were covered by limp strands of hair. Blending with the rain that continued to fall like pebbles upon him, soaking his clothes through to his body. And yet it didn't cause him to hurry his steps in the slightest. No, his body didn't seem to feel anything other than the numbing pain that ran through him--consuming him--drowning him.

'Kit....I think it would be good if we moved slightly at a faster pace.' Kyuubi tentatively spoke to his breaking host. Not wanting to upset him further than he already is. If that was even possible.

But the blond's steps continued ever forward at the same pace, each one being followed by a squishy sound when it made contact with the soaked ground. There was no destination for him because he had no place that he could call home anymore. That was taken from him. That and the one thing that made him feel something--that actually made him happy.

They took him away from him.

'And where would we go?' he asked without so much of any emotion in his mental voice. So blank that it was, that it made the fox flinch ever so slightly. 'There's no place for us.....' The utter lostness that the demon felt from his Kit kept him quiet. He wasn't used to his Kit feeling so......painfully empty.

There was nothing left. Everything in him was suffocating under the growing pressure that was killing him from the inside. Causing his spirit to crack and chip away with each step he took away from him. He tried to take deep breaths in and breath them out slowly to ease the pressure but it never did. It couldn't. Because it was his heart's bleedings that made it impossible to do so.

He barely felt Kyuubi tense within him before the fox announced, 'Kit, get a move on! Shinobi are coming right at us! Konoha shinobi!' But by the time Kyuubi was done the group was already standing calmly behind him.

"Demon!" one of the shinobi yelled. Causing Kyuubi to growl dangerously low and Naruto to stop in his steps. He stood calmly in place for what felt like forever before he moved one foot and then the other, turning slowly around with dull blues facing downward.

Kyuubi's growl grew in intensity when he found out that there was four Anbu ranked shinobi standing before his host. Each one holding a threatening stance and that body language said that they were ready to attack his Kit. Naruto felt Kyuubi's chakra increasing in his body to a point of control. And he welcomed the oblivion that came with this.

Reddish orange chakra seeped out of the blond's body, filling and heating the atmosphere around. One of the Anbu shinobi chose to attack before the chakra could get out of control. And when he was a couple of feet from the boy with a kunai aimed at his neck, Kyuubi's chakra flared out. Sending the shinobi flying back and colliding with several trees in his path.

Naruto's head lifted inch by inch, revealing blood red eyes underneath dripping strands of blond and a feral snarl spread across his features. All the while, with low growling emitting from his parted mouth, showing his sharpened canines. "Let's see how strong you are now....." he growled at the them before attacking in an animalistic manner.

Yells of jutsu's, roars and crashes, contact and sickening tearing of flesh, screams and howls of pain and various other sounds resounded through the area for what seemed like hours until it became nothing but the sound of the rain pattering from the heavens.

And there Naruto stood......with his head bent low in the middle of the bloody carnage sprawled around him. And as Kyuubi's chakra calmed and settled back within his host's body, the blond's physical characteristics morphed back to what he was naturally born with. The blood that stained his being washed away with the rain except for the blood that stained his clothes and the blood that continued to flow from the various wounds on his own body that he received from the vicious scuffle.

His dull blues were now dominant and staring at the ripples each rain drop made in the puddles below. He stared without blinking, even with the water leaked into his eyes, until his body swayed from exhaustion. The past two days and the stress of using Kyuubi's chakra has taken its toll on his mind and body. Resulting in him collapsing to the soaked ground with an audible splash from the puddles of water that's accumulated from the heavy rainfall.

Through lidded eyelids, blurry vision and hazy mind from blood loss; he vaguely felt the presence of two people approaching him. The sound of the squishy footsteps stopped right beside his body and his vision flooded with black and red.

And before he descended into the darkness of his consciousness. His ears heard one of the presences say, "Well, it looks like Kyuubi took good care of them all! Damn and here I wanted to cut them down myself!" And the other responded with a very familiar, "Hmn."

"And when I woke up about a week later, it was only me and 'Tachi in a cave. He said that he took care of Kisame, his partner at the time, while I was out....."

Anger built in Sasuke's chest and his eyes flashed red at the memory of Kakashi telling him that those Anbu were part of the blond's search party. 'Search party my ass!' He was far beyond pissed that the council would go so far as to go through all that in hope of succeeding in getting rid of the blond permanently. The fact that Itachi was the one that saved him didn't even cross his 'I'm pissed and will ultimately slit your throat' road. Because at least someone did. Or else a body actually would of came back to the village and he didn't want to think how he would be if that happened.

And then there was Kakashi. The suspicion that's grown since the revealing that Naruto was still alive had suddenly spiked a couple of notches. Because what if he knew? What if he was a part of this extravagant scheme of Naruto's fake death?

Naruto sensed the murderous aura radiating off of the raven and he suspected it was because of either himself or Itachi.....or both. He nibbled on his lip nervously and hesitantly went on, "At first I didn't recognize him and when I did I screamed like girl." His hand lifting and rubbing the back of his head in remembrance as he gave Sasuke a sheepish albeit uncertain smile. Sasuke snorted softly at the image of Naruto screaming like a girl and pointing blatantly--like he thought he would--at his brother.

The sound from the raven caused Naruto to visibly relax. "I seriously thought he was gonna kill me for sure. But he explained some things......though I'm almost sure that he left certain things out......" murmuring the last bit to himself because the older Uchiha's explanation of the Uchiha massacre was always a little sketchy. Even when he re-asked about it, he never gave any more information than he already given him.

"And you believed him?" How could Naruto believe him so easily when he, himself, barely believe his brother's words now.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders in a kind of a defeated way. "Why not?" Revealing a little bit of his attitude that he felt back then. "I had nothing else to lose......"

Something winced in Sasuke's body at the emotions floating in the other's sapphire depths. Seeing the loss, sorrow and emptiness that time gave him. And those feelings he could clearly understand without any doubts in his mind. Those things became a natural part of his life and to see the other having such things too. It made him doubt once again what Naruto wants out of all this......

".....and he only had one thing to gain." Naruto continued with only a two second pause. "One thing?" the raven automatically questioned as he forcibly pushed his other thoughts to the back of his mind for the time being.

"The Kyuubi." Naruto made clear in a lower voice, then asked with his voice back to normal. "Have you heard of the Akatsuki?"

Another urge to roll his eyes was forced into submission as he narrowed said eyes at the blond. "Who hasn't." he said in more of a statement manner than a question.

Naruto purposely ignored the slight sarcasticness under the monotone of the other's voice. "Well, the Akatsuki were after the nine bijuu and 'Tachi and Kisame, luckily for me, they were in charge of monitoring and retrieving the jinchuuriki of Kyuubi no Kitsune. Which is obviously me. But that's not the point...." Running off topic a little with explaining about the motives of Akatsuki. ".......I chose to go along with him even knowing all this. But in the end he proved that he was telling the truth. So all in all, it worked out alright, sort of."

Sasuke still couldn't understand it. How Naruto could so easily accept Itachi even knowing that he held his life within those--thought to be--sadistic hands. But he's going with the fact that he's never been in that kind of situation and wouldn't know what he would do if he ever was in one like that. So he's pegging it that Naruto did it to survive and that he could understand. Survival. It's not like he hasn't done some......strange things to survive.

"Then what about Kyuubi? You said that you would explain later. Well now is later." quickly changing the subject away from his brother. There's only so long that he could talk or be around his brother before the attitude he's held most of his life--that he's trying his best now to suppress--for the older Uchiha came out.

Naruto groaned lowly with weariness filling it. "Yeah I know. Let's see, you should know the usual tale that was told, right?" A pointed look was his answer to an ridiculous question that he wasn't going to dignify with an answer. Naruto narrowed his eyes playfully at the other. "Alright alright, instead of destroying Kyuubi like many believe, the Yondaime captured and imprisoned him into a newborn baby with the Shiki Fuujin(4) seal. Though the consequence of doing just a seal was the Yondaime's life. Stupid old man....." Muttering the last comment to himself.

He knew the Yondaime was his father. Itachi told him a long time ago, since the older Uchiha knew Minato and his wife on an professional level. But he didn't resent the man for doing what he thought was right at the time. He couldn't possibly know what would become of the future. You want to know why......? Because he's dead! And dead men don't know shit!

"And you can talk to Kyuubi?" Sasuke asked, which interrupted the blond's thoughts. "Oh yeah, goes both ways! Sometimes he talks way too much." Quite relieved that the raven was taking the whole Kyuubi thing well. But it's not like Sasuke didn't know for two weeks that he was Kyuubi's jinchuuriki. And he didn't seem to care that much then. Since Sasuke even defended him from being called 'Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki'. 'That was nice.....' So, maybe he doesn't care?

"Is he talking to you now?"

Naruto shook his head, "Nope, he's asleep. The lucky shit."

A contemplative expression settled on the raven's features as he murmured, "Interesting...."

This--in a matter of seconds--had Naruto's relieved self becoming worried once again in fear that Sasuke might reject him like so many others have. He hasn't felt this kind of dread since he lived in Konoha. Having that constant underlining fear that one of the adults would accidentally let his secret out in earshot of one of kids his age.

He took a deep breath to try and stop the trembling that began in his body. "D-Does....." He shut his mouth for a second to mentally curse his stuttering. And after another deep breath to steady his words, he tried again. "Does that bother you? Me being Kyuubi's jinchuuriki."

Sasuke's eyes refocused back on the present and met the sapphire of the other's first thing. And as he stared into them, he could clearly see the fear of rejection in those revealing eyes. A fear that's he seen in the same eyes when they were younger. Deeply buried underneath the mask he wore but it was always there. "Why would it bother me? It's not like you're Kyuubi. You're just it's container."

And he watched.

Watched the fear disappear and only to be replaced with a unique happiness. A happiness that shined brightly in his eyes with a smile that matched perfectly with the two sparkling sapphires. He was memorized. And right now, at this very moment, he didn't care if he was betraying himself or not.......

Because he was going to enjoy this rare moment......and watch the happiness of his love.....

1)Tsuchi no Kuni-Earth Country

2)Godai Ryuuki-Five Element Projection

3)Kokoro Ryuuki-Mind, Heart, Spirit Projection

4)Shiki Fuujin-The seal that imprisons Kyuubi within Naruto