Chapter 25

Gaara and Sasuke stood facing each other. Glaring like there would be no tomorrow.

"Uchiha…" Gaara greeted venomously.

"Sabaku.." Sasuke returned with just as much venom and malice.

They were standing just outside the door that Naruto was sleeping in. He wanted to sleep with the others in the big room with multiple hammocks, but Tsunade and Kakashi insisted that he have his own room, with a lock on it.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke spat. Gaara didn't even bat an eyelash at Sasuke's angry tone.

"I'm here to wake up Uzumaki." Gaara answered calmly.

"Well I got here first so you can just go away now. Only one of us needs to wake him up." Sasuke shot back, and if he were a cat then his fur would be bristling dangerously. Gaara just ignored him and knocked on the door a couple of times. Sasuke clenched his fist but then calmed himself down. He didn't want to look bad in front of Naruto, like that time with Tsunade. The Uchiha wasn't even sure if Naruto would remember that event, or if the dobe would forgive him, but Sasuke would still be there for him.

Sasuke and Gaara waited patiently for a reply, but none came. Silence drifted heavily over the two, and Sasuke started to shift nervously. This time he knocked on the door, a little more loudly this time.

"Naruto?! You in there?" Sasuke called while he knocked a couple more times. Worry started to dig at him when there was only more silence. Gaara even seemed worried now.

Sasuke pounded his fist on the door violently, desperately seeking for Naruto's voice to sound from the door. Suddenly there were a couple of crashing sounds from the other side of the door, like as if someone tried to get up, but kept falling back down.

"Naruto! Open the door right now! This isn't funny!" Sasuke shouted, while he grabbed the door knob and tried opening the door. He leaned his shoulder onto it and tried forcing it open, but it was locked.

Gaara and Sasuke flinched when there was a loud scream. Naruto's scream. And suddenly everything turned red. Sasuke thought he might've gone colored blind for a second but Gaara apparently was seeing the same thing, since he was looking around curiously. Another scream sounded and Sasuke had had enough. He backed away from the door a little, the same time Gaara did. They looked at each other, and pushed away their rivalry as they nodded to each other and kicked the door. Their powerful kicks made the door fall off it's hinges and land on the floor.

The room was dark, but Sasuke still could only see the colors red. It was everywhere. Like as if everything was dyed in blood. The two teens ran to a familiar body that was thrashing on the floor. Sasuke saw that Naruto's face was twisted in pain and fear. Gaara's eyes widened as Naruto screamed in pain and started clawing at his skin. The boy was kicking blindly and he dug his nails into his arms to try and distract himself from the pain he was feeling on the inside. Kyuubi was shouting and roaring. Pleading to get out and kill. Naruto's blue eyes slowly melted into red. Just like what happens when Kyuubi takes over, but he fought against him. It was his body and he wasn't going to let Kyuubi kill anyone.

Blood started to drip to the floor as Naruto continued to dig his nails into his skin. Sasuke quickly grabbed hold of Naruto's wrists and pinned them above the boys head, so that he couldn't harm himself anymore. Gaara couldn't move, he just stared at the blood that littered the floor now. Naruto screamed again and arched his back upwards while trying to release his hands from Sasuke's grip. His spin cracked a little at how far up Naruto was arching. Sasuke quickly shifted so that he was sitting on Naruto's stomach and forcing the boy's back to go flat again. Naruto's legs kicked and lashed wildly.

Sasuke suddenly remembered what Naruiko had warned him and Tsunade only a few days ago.

FLASHBACKFLASHBACK

"So what's this thing you wanted to tell us?" Tsunade asked impatiently while tapping her foot.

"Okay… (Explanation about the ritual and yadda-yadda-yadda…) And that's what Shukaku meant. Naruto is Kyuubi's container until after the 'day of the red moon'. Kyuubi must also detach their souls right after then, because once the red moon comes, their souls start to join even more. Naruto will be in a lot of mental and physical pain while the moon is red. You must make sure that he is calm and unable to harm himself. Sasuke, do you understand this?" Naruiko asked, her eyes intense and serious. Sasuke nodded in understanding. Tsunade looked a little confused but she seemed to get the basic idea.

FLASH BACK END!!!

Sasuke struggled to keep Naruto's hands pinned above his head. Naruto seemed a lot stronger all of a sudden, and even Sasuke was having trouble holding him down. The older teen bent his head near the boy's ear so that he could whisper in it. He said calming things and he tried to get Naruto to relax, but the boy just wouldn't listen, or couldn't hear him through his own screaming. Sasuke snapped his head towards Gaara urgently.

"Gaara!" Sasuke called, getting the redhead's attention.

"Go get Sakura and Kakashi down here right away!" Sasuke commanded. Gaara nodded and left, not caring right now that Sasuke had just ordered him to do something.

"Naruto… please… I need you to listen to me! Calm down… you can get through this… Kyuubi can't control you! Naruto!" Sasuke said to the thrashing boy. Though Naruto's bucking and struggling was getting weaker. Sasuke was worried that he was weaking because of blood loss, because Naruto's blood seemed to be everywhere, though it was hard to tell, since all he could see was red!

Naruto abruptly stopped moving. His breathing was shallow and weak. The boy's body just went limp. Sasuke's eyes widened and he couldn't stop his body from shaking slightly, and his eyes watered.

"Naruto..?" Sasuke asked slowly.

Just then, Sakura, Gaara, Kakashi, Sai, Naruiko, and Tsunade burst into the room. They didn't even give a second thought about the knocked down door.

"What happened to him?" Sakura asked in her caring, nurse voice.

"He just started thrashing and clawing at himself. There are cuts on his arms." Sasuke informed her, but his eyes never left Naruto's bloodshot ones.

"Where did you say the cuts were?" Sakura asked as she inspected the arms.

"Right over th—" Sasuke stopped talking when he saw that the claws marks that were just on Naruto's arms were gone. The blood was still there, but the gashes were completely healed.

"But… they were right there…" Sasuke whispered, shocked. While the raven-haired boy was distracted with his thoughts, his grip on Naruto's wrists loosened. He gave out a small cry when he was suddenly shoved backwards. He looked up to see that Naruto was standing, hunched over. Naruto lifted his head to stare at Sasuke with bloodred eyes. Sasuke flinched at how much malice was held in those eyes. Sakura and everyone else backed away from them fearfully.

"Hello Uchiha…" Naruto purred as he neared Sasuke. His movements were graceful and fluid. Sasuke knew that this wasn't Naruto he was looking at anymore. It was Kyuubi. Sasuke picked himself off the ground quickly and took a defensive stand. He cursed in his head for leaving his sword in his room. Of course he knew that this was still Naruto's body and he didn't want to hurt him but it would be nice to have a weapon with you when a demon is coming towards you, killer intent written all over him.

Sasuke braced himself as Kyuubi lunged forward. The demon aimed for the boy's face, and Sasuke attempted to block it with crossed forearms, but what he wasn't expecting was Kyuubi suddenly changing position and kneeing him in the stomach. Sasuke went flying backwards into the wall behind him, denting the wood outward. He tried to get back up but he was hit backwards once more. He fell to the ground on his back. Sasuke coughed and panted to try and bring air into his lungs, but it was very painful to move his chest. Sasuke was afraid that he had broken a couple of ribs.

He tried to get up, but a heavy weight on his stomach kept him down. He looked up to see that Kyuubi had settled himself on top of him; hands on either side of his head, and legs straddling the middle of his body. Kyuubi smirked down at him. Sasuke gulped loudly at how close their faces were. It may be Kyuubi, but it was still Naruto's body, and Sasuke couldn't help but blush.

Kyuubi chuckled.

"Get off of me." Sasuke groaned out through clenched teeth.

"I don't think I will" Kyuubi said smugly while sliding his backside backwards, so that it stroked against Sasuke's body. The raven haired boy's breath hitched, but he made no other sound. The demon chuckled while rocking his hips forward once he was near Sasuke's growing erection.

"And I have the feeling that you don't want me to get off either."

Sasuke glared at him and tried to shove the smaller off himself, but when he tried to lift his arm they were just pinned back down. His ribs started to hurt even more and he started gasping for breath.

"You sick bastard… Give Naruto back!" Sasuke shouted, and as if on cue, Sakura and Kakashi snapped out of their frightened state and lunged to help out Sasuke.

Kyuubi growled and hissed at the two pirates that grabbed hold of him. Kakashi and Sakura gripped tightly onto the strong demons arms, while Sasuke slowly lifted himself off the wooden floor. He winced at the pain in his chest and gently wrapped an arm around where it hurt. Sai came up next to him and made sure that Sasuke wouldn't fall again.

Sasuke brushed the worried teen away and limped towards Kyuubi, who was glaring daggers at him. The raven haired teen moved his face right in front of the demon's, and growled in his face, "Bring Naruto back."

"Naruto's not coming back! This is my body now!" He howled triumphantly. Just before Sasuke could punch him, Naruiko came running in. She went in between them and slapped Sakura and Kakashi away. Kyuubi stood there, staring at Naruiko expectantly. She was glaring down at him and she had her arms crossed over her breasts.

"Kyuubi…" She warned. The demon sighed and closed his eyes. He lifted his hands up in a defeated gesture and stood there. Naruto's body went limp again, but Naruiko caught him before he hit the floor. She moved forward and placed him in his hammock gently. Naruiko moved the blanket so that it went to his shoulders and kissed him on the forehead gently. Sakura sighed in relief before turning and inspecting Sasuke's wounds. Sai looked around to see where Gaara had run off to, but he couldn't see the redhead anywhere. He shrugged and walked over to help Sakura bandage Sasuke's broken ribs.

"Now… make sure you don't move around too much. And I'd like you to get some sleep now. So go and get to your room." Sakura ushered, but Sasuke stood where he was. The pink haired girl sighed in defeat.

"Fine, you can stay with Naruto, as long as you at least relax and don't move!" She scolded. Sasuke nodded in agreement and limped over to the hammock. Sai went outside the room real quick to go into the closet on the other side of the hallway and grab two chairs from inside. He went back into the room and placed two chairs near the hammock, one right behind Sasuke. Said teen nodded his thanks and slowly sat down, while Sai sat in the other chair.

Sasuke buried his face in his hands and sighed deeply. His mind just kept replaying the event that just took place. The look of pain and fear on Naruto's face, the way he clawed at himself to try and get rid of the pain. Sasuke shuddered and cursed himself for not being there sooner, and helping Naruto calm down before this happened. Sasuke was glad that Naruiko was there to handle Kyuubi when she did. Things were getting out of hand. Sasuke looked behind himself to see if Naruiko was still there, so he could thank her, but she, Kakashi and Sakura had already left. Sasuke shrugged; he would thank her later. He moved his gaze to rest on the unconscious and motionless body of Naruto in the hammock. Sai chuckled softly all of a sudden, making Sasuke look at him curiously.

"I remember when you used to worry about me like this… I kinda miss it." Sai said, not taking his eyes off of Naruto. Sasuke stared at Sai for a while before replying.

"That was a long time ago. I was a confused and hormonal teenager; I didn't know how I actually felt about you then, but… when I'm with Naruto, I know what I feel for him, and it's really strong." Sasuke murmured. Sai nodded in understanding.

"I can see why though. He's just bundle of energy that you get attached to really quickly." Sai chuckled, and Sasuke made a small smile.

"And…" Sai continued, making Sasuke look back towards him.

"I think he makes a cuter Uke than you do…" Sai said in a serious tone. Sasuke stood up and threw the chair at him, while ignoring the pain that shot through his spine and chest. Sai ducked out of the way of the large missile and laughed whole-heartedly.

"You promised that you would never bring that up again! It was a one time deal! You know I hate being Uke! I was just curious at what it felt like…" Sasuke said with a small blush on his cheeks.

"Now, now… You made me promise to never bring it up in public, and I don't think a passed out Naruto counts as public, but whatever. And I didn't hear you complaining when I topped you. All I heard was "Oh Sai! Faster! Harder! Oh god Sai!"" Sai said in a girlish, and uke voice. Sasuke blushed even more.

"I never said any of that and you know it!" Sasuke shouted.

"I'll see you later Ja ne!" Sai saluted while skipping out of the room. Sasuke huffed in annoyance and sat down in the seat Sai was sitting in before, seeing as he threw the other chair across the room, and he didn't feel like walking over and retrieving it. Sasuke found himself dozing off, and before long he was asleep in the chair, snoring softly.

Naruto POV!

I groaned when I opened my eyes. All I could see was red. Everything had been stained a dark red, and it confused me. I was worried that I had died and gone to hell, but after I blinked a couple of times, the colors returned to normal. I sighed in relief but winced when I realized that I had a horrible headache. I sat up slowly and rubbed my temples to try and make the pain go away, but then all of a sudden I remembered everything that had just happened.

I survived the 'day of the red moon'! And I hope the Kyuubi didn't kill anyone… speaking of which…

'Hey Kyuu-chan!' I called.

I heard an annoyed groan in the back of my head and then few muffled curses.

"What do you want Gaki… I don't feel too good right now…" He growled. I ignored his hostility and told him about what had happened.

"Oh jeez… I don't remember any of it. I just sort of blanked out. Sorry if I hurt you…" He sounded really sorry.

'It's okay Kyuu-chaaaan!' I sang. Kyuubi growled at the pet name, but I ignored it once more.

I snapped my head to the left when I heard a noise. It was dark in the room, but with my abnormally good eyesight, I could tell that I was in my temporary room the Tsunade had given me, and I could also see someone sitting in a chair next to my hammock. The person was snoring. I giggled when I realized that it was Sasuke. He must have been worried about me and stayed here to watch me. How sweet! Who knew the bastard had a soft side?!

I quietly crawled out of my hammock and tip-toed over to him. I grinned wickedly when an idea popped into my head, well actually Kyuubi popped the mental picture in my mind's-eye but whatever.

I slowly placed myself onto the taller boy's lap, my legs on either side of him and wrapped my arms around his neck. I blushed at the contact and hesitated, but Kyuubi kept cheering me on.

I placed my lips over his and watched as Sasuke's eyelids fluttered open to reveal drowsy, coal-black eyes. He seemed surprised at first but then he smiled when he realized that it was me, and that made me smile as well; knowing that he wanted me to kiss him and be near him. I slowly pulled away and smiled a small smiled, but it faltered when I saw that Sasuke was staring at me strangely.

"W-what?" I asked, but he didn't answer. He was staring at something on the top of my head. I shot my hands up and felt around my head to try and find what was wrong. All I could feel was my soft hair, but then I felt something different. It felt fuzzy and could actually feel myself touching it, and it twitched. I quickly climbed off of Sasuke lap and started running around in circles.

"Oh my god! What is it!? Get it off! Ahh!" I shouted, but stopped when I saw Sasuke was no longer staring oddly at my head but now it was my backside. I slowly twisted my next and spin to look behind myself and I could've sworn my eyes dropped out of the sockets at how wide my eyes got.

Twitching and thrashing wildly behind me was a long, bushy red tail. It also had a white tip on it. Okay now I have an idea what is on my head…

Normal POV!!!

Naruiko came walking into the room she was in before when she heard Naruto's yelling. But then she froze in mid step when she saw her Brother. He was running around in circles frantically with a fox tail waving around behind him and silky looking fox ears placed atop his head, and they were flattened back to express the frantic state he was in.

She suppressed a laugh when she Saw Sasuke sitting in a chair near Naruto. He seemed like he was daydreaming and then she saw blood slowly trickling from his nose. The Uchiha quickly wiped it away to try and hide the fact that he was just fantasizing about a certain cute blonde boy.

''What did you do Kyuubi!? I know this is your fault and I want to know what you did!!'' Naruto shouted in his mind, making the demon living there wince.

Uuummm… well… this can be fixed… Kyuubi tried to reassure the boy.

''Tell me!'' Naruto growled. Kyuubi thought hastily and then he sighed in relief when he finally remembered.

All he have to do is separate ourselves, using the last scroll! Kyuubi said confidently.

''And where, pray tell, is this scroll?'' Naruto hissed.

… Last time I saw it was when you rescued Shukaku… Uh-ohh… Kyuubi laughed nervously.

''What is 'uh-oh'?''

Uummm Well Shukaku might have the scroll, if he's still alive and the scroll wasn't destroyed, and we have no idea where he is… Kyuubi answered. Naruto sighed, his new tail drooping in sadness and he slumped to the floor.

''great… Now I'm stuck as a fox, human hybrid, and seeing how Sasuke reacted, I'm going to be the laughing stock of the whole ship. Not only that but you're stuck inside me until we find Shukaku… well I hope you find something fun to do while you're in me, because I 'aint going anywhere anytime soon.'' Naruto warned and chuckled at Kyuubi's groan.

Well this is going to take a while to explain to the others…