Disclaimer: I own nothing, damn it all. I don't own Naruto, belongs to Kishimoto-sensei.


Even in the darkest hour
There is still the possibility
Of a brighter tomorrow

Chapter 25

Sasuke opened his eyes to the daylight pouring in the room feeling well rested, but there was still a nagging feeling of unrest and weariness that he wasn't accustomed to as a shinobi. He turned his head to look over his shoulder at Naruto who had pulled him to him in his sleep and had his arms wrapped around his stomach holding him in place with his back against the tanned and broad chest. Sasuke took a deep breath and focused his eyes on the wall as he allowed himself to relish in the feel of the warmth Naruto always surrounded him in when they were near one another.

There were times when he asked himself why he loved the blond, but there were also times when he asked himself why Naruto had chosen him. He wasn't perfect, and he knew he was moody and a bastard at times. He also insulted Naruto countless times and Naruto, to him, was better than that and deserved someone that would treat him better. He also wondered at why Naruto was so driven to give up everything for him, especially with Naruto knowing all too well what kind of baggage he carried with him.

But even after all the times he tried to push him away, tried to kill him, all the times he had to have hurt Naruto, he still continued to pursue him. Naruto still remained driven to bring him back to Konoha, or just to be with him as he had said he would leave Konoha behind for him. He constantly had to fight to keep him close to him whether it be away from the snake sannin, disappearing into an enemy village to wither away in his own pain, or his ancestor wanting to take his life and the sharigan from him.

Now, after all the obstacles they had been through, after all the effort Naruto had put into helping Sasuke pull himself together and find himself again they had a virus coursing through their veins that was slowly killing them both. Sasuke knew that to obtain the Mangekyo Sharigan that there was a price to be paid, he had avoided the first part that required you to kill your best friend, but the second was unavoidable. Once the second level of the sharigan was activated then the cells that every one of the Uchiha were born with were also activated. It was a matter of cellular structure and it was as though they had been implanted with the virus prior to their birth . . .

Sasuke tensed and he brought his hand up to his face and covered his eyes with it. Naruto shifted on the bed and pulled him closer his nose nuzzling his neck, Sasuke fought to focus on his train of thought at the feel of Naruto's warm breath brushing through his hair and the skin on his overly sensitive neck. He let out a low hiss when Naruto kissed his neck softly and found that he lost his train of thought completely from the feel of those lips on his neck.

He grunted and pried Naruto's arms from around him and sat up on the bed. Before he could stand Naruto was already sitting up on the bed behind him and had wrapped his arms around Sasuke's waist. Sasuke turned his head when Naruto rested his head on his shoulder, "Morning Sas'."

Sasuke sighed, "Morning baka."

Naruto huffed and tightened his hold on him, "You never were a morning person."

"Hn," Sasuke replied before he pulled at Naruto's arms to release him and made to stand again. Naruto let him go and watched him walk towards the bedroom door. Naruto turned on the bed and tilted his head at him, "Sasuke?"

Sasuke stopped just before opening the door and looked at him over his shoulder. He turned fully to look at Naruto upon seeing the concerned look in his blue eyes, still hazed from sleep. Sasuke glanced at the dresser then back to Naruto, "Shower."

Naruto grinned and leapt from the bed and ran to the dresser against the wall in front of the bed. He hurriedly opened drawers and pulled out clothes for him and Sasuke not bothering to close the drawers before he stood with the clothes in his arms and quickly made his way to the door. Sasuke opened the door and waited until Naruto stepped out into the hall before he exited the room himself and then followed Naruto to the bathroom. He supposed it would be the best time to clear his mind, he did need a shower and he had been feeling a slight bit of guilt from the way he'd been acting towards Naruto lately, not to mention watching the blond saunter to the bathroom was already making blood rush through him.

Iruka looked up at the ceiling from in front of his stove in the kitchen where he was fixing dinner. He smirked knowingly upon hearing a rokus in what he knew was the bathroom and set back to cooking breakfast. He jumped slightly when Kakashi wrapped his arms around him from behind to plant a kiss on the shell of his ear and whisper, "What are you smirking about?"

Iruka smiled and continued flipping the pancakes he was cooking while he leaned back into Kakashi and said, "The two of them upstairs."

Kakashi grinned behind his ever present mask, "Hmm, they are making quite a bit of noise, we could take the time to do the same."

Iruka laughed, "I have to make breakfast Kakashi."

"Breakfast can wait, besides it's going to be cold by the time they finish."

Kakashi stepped back pulling Iruka with him and had him turned around and leaned back against the stove in seconds. Iruka was about to say something but found that impossible with Kakashi's lips over his own. When he tried to pull away and make a comment about breakfast burning, which Kakashi expected, Kakashi had entangled his hands in his hair and held him in place.

Iruka moaned into the kiss at the feel of Kakashi's tongue parting his lips and forcefully exploring his mouth. Iruka then smirked and slowly moved his left hand up Kakashi's side which in turn made Kakashi deepen the kiss and press him up against the stove more. Iruka trailed his hand in between them to Kakashi's chest and ran his thumb over the nub of Kakashi's nipple eliciting a moan from his lips and a chance for Iruka to break the kiss.

He side stepped and turned to face him once he was away from him and Kakashi smirked at him from where he was now leaning against the stove. Iruka grinned, "You made me burn the pancakes."

Kakashi smirked beneath his mask, which he always was blindingly fast at replacing when they weren't in their bedroom. "I planned to cause other things to burn."

Iruka smiled and moved towards him again reaching around him and turning off the burners on the stove. He backed away slowly and once he stood in the doorway of the kitchen he looked over his shoulder at Kakashi, "What other things would that be?"

Kakashi smiled and followed after Iruka to their bedroom making sure to close and lock the door behind them.

Outside the stirring household there were a few civilians walking through the street, late teens to early twenties and all male. They seemed to be looking for trouble and three of the five of them were tossing and catching rocks in the air. The one at the front of the group said to the others, "Isn't the demon and the traitor staying with the soft hearted teacher and the Hokage?"

The one to his left behind him nodded, "Yeah," he tossed the rock in the air and caught it again. Two of the males were heavy set and muscular and fit the description of a brute to a 'T'. The other three were of an average build and height and they all looked as though they were disgusted by what the leader said next.

"All four of them fagots seem to proudly announce that their lovers are male. Didn't the council print something saying that those close to the Hokage and future Hokage were released from are alegations or something?"

"Yeah," the one on his right answered, "that's what it said. They also printed some announcement about making the demon the hokage."

They all stopped in front of Iruka's house and glared up at the building. The leader scoffed, "It's because of those two clans, the council gives them so much sway over the choices and the demon manipulated both of those clans. Before we just had to put up with them looking down on everyone and now they vote to have a demon as the leader of our home. On top of that we will now have two faggots as Hokage."

They all nodded to his words and grumbled 'yeahs' were heard throughout the group. The leader tossed the rock in his hand in the air and caught it then he threw it at the front window shattering it and it hit something else inside breaking it as well. He smirked, "All of them are shinobi but it doesn't look like they were able to stop that from happening."

The brute that stood to the left of him grinned, "That's because they aren't allowed to attack civilians." He threw the rock he had in his hand, one that was as big as his large hands into the window on the second floor, once it went through the window a yelp was heard from the room and the brute smirked as well, "They can't dodge rocks all that well either."

They heard a few shouts from the house and exchanged glances and then they all laughed as they turned and ran down the street, the last one carrying the rock throwing his through the other window at the front of the house as they went. Their leader had given him a rock that had a paper bomb attached to it and they all were filled with satisfaction at the sound of the bomb going off inside the house and blowing out a few windows as it did so.

Meanwhile, inside Iruka's house Kakashi and Iruka were seated on the floor of the dining room coughing from the smoke and debris in the house. Kakashi glared outside from where the rock had come and if he wasn't certain that everyone was okay he would have gone after those responsible. Luckily the bomb had been low grade and had only damaged the bedroom and the stairs right outside the bedroom door. Other than the windows at the front of the house and wherever the rocks had been thrown inside here wasn't too much damage.

He rose to kneel next to Iruka who was still coughing and grimaced at the cuts and scraped that were most likely from the windows shattering. He and Iruka were luckily wearing at least their boxers and pants and Kakashi wasn't too concerned with the fact that he was currently maskless. Iruka looked at him through teary eyes from the smoke and debri finally clearing up, "Is everyone alright?"

Naruto's voice carried down to them from the second floor, "We're both alright, are either of you hurt?"

Kakashi looked up at Naruto and his grimace deepened at seeing his hand on his forehead blood seeping through his fingers and already running down the left side of his face. Sasuke stood tensely next to him with a look that promised death burning in his black eyes. Kakashi stood and pulled Iruka to his feet, "We're fine, you should take care of that gash Naruto."

Iruka looked up at Naruto at those words and then to the ruined stairs that prevented them from being used. He sighed and would have jumped up to the second floor had Kakashi not have grasped his hand. Iruka looked at Kakashi and in that matter of seconds Sasuke had already turned and headed for the bathroom pulling Naruto behind him.

Kakashi sighed, "I guess we should get this cleaned up and try to have breakfast before I head back to my paperwork."

Iruka nodded and turned to go the kitchen, "You should report this."

Kakashi followed behind him, "I will once I find those punks who did this."

They gathered a broom and dustpan along with a few trash bags and the trash can before they headed back to the remains of the bedroom. Nothing in their room had been spared other than a few pairs of clothes hanging up in the closet. Once they cleaned up what they could and threw the remains of clothes, papers, a few burned scrolls and the sheets and blankets from their bed into trash bags Iruka set to trying to sweep up the glass from the floor while Kakashi got dressed.

When Iruka left his room to check the rest of the house he saw that Sasuke was picking up the remains of both of his lamps in the living room. He was fully dressed in his black hoody and pants and his long hair was brushed back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck, but his spiky at the back of his head refused to be tamed as much as his long bangs refused to stay held back in the hair tie. He jumped when Naruto suddenly appeared next to him and took the broom and dustpan from him before leaping onto the second floor.

Kakashi was in the kitchen eating a plain pancake while he leaned up against the counter when Iruka decided to set to finishing breakfast. Iruka shook his head at the sight and took out a plate and handed it to Kakashi who took it with a grin.

Naruto and Sasuke joined them in the dining room once they finished cleaning up their room and the living room and the four ate in silence. Iruka frowned at the bandage on Naruto's forehead and the blood that was seeping through it that indicated that the gash was a nasty one.

Once they finished with breakfast Naruto leapt up and offered to do the dishes with the enthusiasm of a child and Iruka was grateful for his cheerful attitude as it made him smile. When he insisted that he could very well clean his own house and was grateful for their help Naruto just laughed it off and said it was the least they could do to help.

Kakashi stood up and kissed Iruka briefly before bidding them farewell. Sasuke excused himself and made to go back upstairs. Iruka stood from the table and decided he would help Naruto clean the kitchen after telling Kakashi to have a good day.

Sasuke stopped just before he was going to head upstairs when Kakashi's gaze was felt on his back. He expected the words Kakashi spoke, "Can I have a word Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke turned and gave a curt nod to which Kakashi led him outside the house and closed the door behind them. Sasuke squinted his eyes at the brightness outside and had to let his eyes adjust before he looked at Kakashi and moved to lean back against the front of the house to the right of the front door.

Kakashi knew he would have to start the conversation and so he said, "I was told that the two of you were in the Uchiha district yesterday. I know that you can't very well walk through much without activated some sort of trap or jutsu so I know you both had to of used countermeasures to actually be able to look around."

"It was the home of my clan, as an Uchiha the traps don't activate unless I step foot in someone elses' home or the military police building."

"The scrolls Naruto found were fake I presume?"

"Hai, but I showed him where the real ones are."

"The scrolls will most likely require the Sharingan to translate as well."

Sasuke nodded, "Hai."

"Which means it would be in your best interest to allow me to assist you with translating them. Do you know if there is really a chance at a cure?"

Sasuke was silent for a moment and his gaze looked past Kakashi as he answered, "No, but from what I heard of the virus and intelligent those in my clan were, as well as informed I highly doubt one will be found."

Kakashi nodded, he had come to same conclusion, but he truly hoped that a cure would be found. Sasuke's gaze returned to him, "You're not an Uchiha and you have the Mangekyo."

Kakashi nodded once more, "Hai, that was the reason I decided to name a successor, I wanted to wait until he found you and made his decision on whether he would accept and stay in Konoha."

"As you are not of the Uchiha clan you ended up having a few more years than is expected."

"It did take a while for the virus to effect me at all. Fortunately it gave Sakura-chan a chance to truly research the effects and develop medicines to help with the side effects of the virus. It took Tsunade-san to point out why exactly I felt more than just drained from the massive amount of chakra it takes to use the advanced techniques and next level of the sharigan."

Sasuke met Kakashi's eye at that, Kakashi was openly telling him a weakness he had and that alone said more than either of them would say openly. It meant that Kakashi trusted him with his life and saw him as a comrade and from the serious look in his eyes he had confirmed Sasuke's thoughts. Then the moment was broken by Kakashi grinning and saying, "I should get going, you two should take the next few days to rest up while you have the chance."

Then he was gone in a puff of smoke and Sasuke stood there for a moment thinking on how long it would take to translate the scrolls and how much time it would take from them to use the sharigan that excessively. He stood up straight and turned back to go inside deciding that he would try and convince Naruto to go back to the Uchiha district once they talked things over with his friends he was certain would be paying a visit since it was obvious the civilians knew where they were.

By lunch Iruka's house was full of Naruto's friends including a very temperamental Sakura that took residency on the couch leaving Sasuke to stand. Sasuke growled low in his throat as he stood leaned back against the wall in the farthest corner from everyone else in the crowded living room. After Naruto had explained what happened that morning to Lee, Tenten, Shino, Hinata, Sakura, Shikamaru, Temari and her two brothers who were here because of the recent announcement of Naruto being elected to become the next Hokage, and Konohamaru and his two friends he went on to talk about how they were both unable to train and accept missions for a unknown amount of time.

"I understand not being able to go out on missions and all, but why do they have to tell us we can't train as well?"

Sakura huffed and looked at him with her usual annoyed expression while she absently massaged her stomach with her right hand; "Because both of you are still in need of some rest. If you try to train and strain your chakra levels even more then you will never heal."

Naruto huffed, "Yeah but still, now I'm going to be bored as hell all the time."

"That says a lot about your current relationship," was Kankuro's reply. Sasuke glared at him and Naruto absently rubbed the back of his neck, "Nah, that's not what I mean. I'm used to either doing missions or training is all."

"You could use your free time to entertain Sasuke-kun," Temari said with a meaningful look at Shikamaru which Sasuke understood to mean that she was trying to hint at their current status together. Sasuke's eyebrow twitched at the indication at his and Naruto's part and the fact that she had used the statement to try and point something out to Shikamaru. If Sasuke knew anything he knew that Shikamaru was lazy and intelligent, but he couldn't peg him to be all that enthusiastic about much of anything.

There was a knock at the door and Sasuke took the chance to leave the room and walked to the front door before anyone else could get up to try and answer it. He opened the front door to see Choji and Ino standing there with smiles on their faces.

"Hello Sasuke-kun!" Ino cheerfully said to him and Sasuke felt a vein in his forehead begin to throb at the suggestive way his name rolled off her tongue and the heated look in her eyes. He stepped out of the way to allow them inside, "Living room."

Chouji nodded, "Arigato Sasuke-san."

Sasuke gave a slight nod and closed the door behind them once they walked inside. He wanted nothing more than to go up to the bedroom and take a nap to try and avoid further torture of having to be present in the room with all of Naruto's friends. There were a few he didn't mind all that much, such as Shikamaru and Hinata, and he knew Sakura well enough to be able to handle her temperament most of the time. But as for everyone else, he couldn't really care less and wasn't going to try and socialize. But as he headed back through the house and was about to head upstairs Naruto had grabbed his hand and pulled him back towards the living room.

"No you don't teme," he whispered to him before pulling him back into the crowded room. Sasuke noticed that Sakura had moved to sit in the chair and the couch was empty with exception of Hinata. Temari was seated on the floor leaning back against the entertainment center next to Shikamaru. Lee had moved over to sit on the floor against the wall where the window used to be. Gaara sat in the same place as before right next to him.

Kankuro and Shino were seated on two chairs they had brought in from the kitchen not that far from where Gaara and Lee were. Shino gave up his chair to Ino once everyone greeted her and Chouji. Ino carried the chair over to sit next to Sakura and Choji sat down next to Shikamaru on the floor. He seemed to unaffected by the fact that Lee and Gaara were within reach of him and that Temari had half heartedly glared at him.

Konohamaru was sitting on the floor between his two friends in front of the couch after having moved the coffee table out of the way to make more room for everyone. Naruto of course had taken advantage of the space on the couch and pulled Sasuke over to the couch and sat down next to Hinata. He pulled Sasuke down next to him and Sasuke wanted to set the room on fire for having everyone silence themselves and look at him once he'd been forced into the living room with Naruto.

Sakura broke the silence, "So, how about one of you tell us why Tsunade-san has ordered the majority of the medical team down to the lab and why you two were suddenly interested in paying a visit to a place everyone assumed would be the last place either of you would want to go."

Sasuke scoffed and leaned back into the couch, "Hn."

He felt Sakura's glare on him but shrugged it off, Naruto glanced between him and Sakura and sighed, "Sakura-chan, you should take that up with Baa-chan and Kakashi-san."

She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, "Do you really take me for an idiot? I took it up with them and they told me to take it up with the two of you. Right now you have all of us in one room and I'm pretty sure that Iruka-san knows just as much as Kakashi-san and Tsunade-sama. But none of us know anything and they refused to tell us what was going on."

Hinata nodded, "We were present for the discussion of Hokage, but there was something else that took place."

Shikamaru sighed, "We know somethings up, Tsunade-sama was recently here and she spoke to you. So that means something other than what we know is going on. She only makes house calls when it is a matter that she has any say so in."

Sasuke tensed upon feeling Gaara's gaze on him and he set to not looking his way and alerting him to how much it unsettled him to have the Kazekage's gaze set on him so intensely. Naruto turned his head to glare at Gaara having sensed Sasuke tensing beside him. "Something you want to say Gaara?"

Sasuke was only partially surprised by the bitter tone of Naruto's voice, he knew Naruto was protective and possessive after all. Gaara glanced at Sasuke who was now watching both of them. Everyone in the room had tensed at the tone of Naruto's voice and the intense glares the two had focused on one another.

"You were never a good liar."

Naruto flinched beside him as though those words had a hidden meaning. Sasuke looked at Naruto questioningly and felt anger burn in him when Naruto refused to meet his eyes. Naruto sighed, "It's not that important, we're just trying to figure out the truth is all."

Sasuke glanced at Sakura to see if she would accept Naruto's answer, of course from the glare she had focused on both of them he took that as a no. Shikamaru sighed from across the room and said, "It must be something worrisome then."

Temari glanced at him before glaring pointedly at both Naruto and Sasuke, "In that case you should tell us already. We're already worried and if it is something we should be worried about then you should tell us."

"Friends do tell their friends if something serious is going on with them," came a soft spoken reply from Shino. Kankuro nodded, "Exactly, all of us care about you so just tell us already Naruto."

Sasuke cursed the lurch in his gut at Kankuro's words hating the fact that he had subconsciously hoped that Naruto's friends had developed some amount of concern for him. Ino replied to Kankuro's words, "We care about both of you, plus, all of us have been through a lot together and we shouldn't be keeping secrets from each other."

Sasuke knew Naruto was going to give in when he sighed and said, "Yeah, but Baa-chan wanted us to keep it to ourselves for a while."

Sakura scoffed, "That old woman . . . with you not telling us and all of us knowing something is going one it will only make all of us even more stressed not knowing what it is. Especially those of us who are medical nins'. Don't you think my mind would end up thinking of all these horrible things that could be worse than whatever it is that is going on with both of you?"

"Well, we do now know it is something that is effecting both of you and it will only be a matter of time before we figure out what it is. Best to fess up now instead of letting us figure it out." Shikamaru replied helpfully, at least it was helpful to Naruto, Sasuke wasn't in the mood to go through all the gasps and emotional reactions from the females.

Since everyone in the room seemed determined to find out what it was they weren't telling them and it looked as though Naruto was struggling with whether or not to say anything he decided to get it over with. He looked at Sakura and ignored the uneasiness that had stirred in him when everyone was once again watching him.

"Parasite," was all he said before he got to his feet and left the room. No one stopped him and he fought down the disappointment he felt at that as he headed for the kitchen. He felt as though he needed to do something to shake off all the nervous energy and the anger he still felt in the pit of his stomach. He waited for the sound of the gasps and then the rushed and upset voices that started to ask Naruto question after question. Once the noise had returned in the living room he set to making a quick lunch for everyone that was there just to keep himself busy and try to keep him from thinking too much about how hurt he felt about no one really saying they cared about his well being.

He was angry with himself for expecting any of Naruto's friends to give a damn about him, why would they? He had almost been the cause of death to four of them, had nearly killed Naruto twice, had attacked Sakura, had left the village, never once acted as though he cared about any of them, and he was an Uchiha if that wasn't cause enough for animosity from them or anyone else in the village. Sasuke looked down when a sharp pain course through his right arm and cursed at seeing he had shattered a cup in his hand. He picked up the pieces from the floor and threw them in the trash can tucked away in the pantry and walked over to the sink.

He turned the hot water on and held his hand under the water while he pulled the pieces of glass from his bleeding hand. He winced upon feeling an even stronger pain run through his right arm to continue through his entire body and fisted his hands on the counter top to wait for the pain to pass. Damn phantom pains. He had to wait a few minutes for the pain to subside enough for him to stop shaking from it and turned off the faucet and opened the drawer to his left to take a towel and dry his hands. Once he finished with that he glared at his still bleeding hand and threw the towel down on the counter heading for the bathroom.

Sakura finally calmed her nerves from what Sasuke had said and felt a lump form in her throat from the hurt look in his eyes. If it wasn't for how well she knew Naruto and had learned to see beyond the defenses he put up she was certain she wouldn't have see it at all. Everyone had started exchanging words between themselves and Chouji and Lee were asking Naruto how they knew and whether they knew how they had ended up with the virus. Hinata had cut in to explain that it was an unspoken, but still known fact that any Uchiha that had been able to obtain the second level of the sharigan were known to end up with the virus.

Ino was asking her what the virus was and it seemed that most of them had no idea what it was exactly or how deadly it was. So between her and Hinata they explained that virus ate away at a persons' chakra and that it was spread through alien chakra exposure on a high scale, which mostly meant that only shinobi could catch the virus. They both also explained that as long as no one fought someone with the virus in a high level battle that required a large amount of chakra use that it couldn't be spread.

Within the hour and a half it took to explain everything and answer questions Sakura was certain Sasuke had managed to disappear into his and Naruto's room and that no one would be seeing him for the remainder of the day. She was surprised when Sasuke came into the room again, his right hand in his pocket and he looked at Naruto and said, "Lunch."

Naruto grinned and leapt up from the couch completely ignoring the question Lee had asked him on whether it was true the Mangekyo Sharigan had ended up creating the virus. Lee looked a little put off that Naruto had ignored his question and hadn't said anything to him at all before leaping to his feet and leaving the room but he shrugged it off.

Naruto came back into the room carrying a large tray with rice balls and tofu cakes on it. He grinned at everyone and said in his usual loud and cheerful voice, "Oi, Sasuke made lunch for everyone."

Sakura smiled at the shocked looks on everyone's faces and thanked Sasuke when he came into the room carrying a tray with tea cups and a generous sized tea kettle on it and set a tray fit with lunch and a already fixed cup of hot tea on her lap. He set the other tray on the coffee table next to the one Naruto had carried and turned to leave the room.

Sakura said over her shoulder, "Ne, Sasuke-kun, could you help me get to the dining room?"

He glanced at her and asked, "Why?"

She smiled and made to stand up to which he took the tray back from her and helped her to her feet with his free hand. She straightened her clothes, "I just need a few minutes to breath, it's too crowded in here."

Naruto glanced over at them and Sasuke noticed the grateful gleam in his eyes when he smiled at Sakura. Sasuke let go of her and left the room with a, "Hn," and Sakura followed him at smiling back at Naruto. Once they were in the dining room and Sasuke had set the tray down on the table for her Sakura took a seat at the table. Sasuke went back to the kitchen and she heard him washing some dishes so she ate her lunch in silence but was determined to talk to him.

She wasn't all that surprised by the taste of Sasuke's food, it was unigue and she could tell he'd made it from scratch. Naruto tended to cook when he was stressed about something saying that it helped him take his mind off things and clear his head, she could picture Sasuke doing the same thing. He finally came back into the dining room with two cups of tea and set one down on the table in front of her without a word or even looking at her.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura began once Sasuke sat down at the table. He took a sip of his tea and she sighed, "Thank you for lunch and the tea, it was really wonderful."

Sasuke looked at her as though she had stated the obvious, "Hn. What do you really want to talk about Sakura-chan?"

"I know you plan to do something about this, you were never one to sit back and let things just happen to you."

"It doesn't matter that it's happening to me or that now everyone knows that. I have had this virus since I was born, it's hereditary in the Uchiha clan. What matters is that now Naruto has the virus as well and that a cure be found to save is life."

Sakura was silent for a few minutes and Sasuke was surprised by her angry reaction and the sharp tone of her voice when she finally replied with a heated glare at him; "You think it doesn't matter that you are dying as well. What about Naruto, do you think he will be able to handle you dying? How do you think it will make him feel? How do you think it will make those that care about you as well feel?"

Sasuke sighed, "Sakura-chan, you don't have to act as though you care about what happens to me for his sake. Naruto has always been the one that matters. He has all of you to help him through it should I die before he does."

Her glare intensified, "Sasuke, do you honestly think no one cares about you just as much as we care about him? And if you think he will be able to handle losing you, you're an idiot. He refused to believe that you were dead when everyone was telling him to give up on you, to let you go. I'm not all that oblivious to either one of you anymore and I could tell that if he had listened to everyone and given up on you he would have died. He went for months living in a haze, he was like a zombie . . . This is about both of you because both of you mean everything to me and it would tear both of you up if you lost one another. You would lose yourselves and it would be as if both of you died should either one of you die."

Sasuke looked at her and watched as her glared faded and she sank down in her chair on the verge of tears. He felt his stomach twist from her hurt expression and the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. He sighed heavily, "Sakura-chan, I highly doubt there is a cure."

She looked up at him, "What do you mean?"

"If there was my clan would have found one in all the time they had to do so. The virus originated from my clan and they weren't exactly a young clan."

She sighed, "I had already assumed as much, but we have more resources at our disposal with which to find one."

Sasuke smirked, "It would seem that Naruto's optimism has rubbed off on you."

"If only it would work that way with you."

"Hn," he stood up and gathered the dishes from the table and took them into the kitchen. Sakura took a deep breath and then said softly, but loud enough for him to hear her, "He was right you know, about what he said about you."

Sasuke came back into the dining room, "Which is?"

"He always kept telling us that you were stronger than any of us could comprehend . . . "

Sasuke cut her off, "Strong?" He laughed a humorless laugh, "He truly is an idiot at times, if anyone is stronger than anyone else could comprehend it would be him."

Sakura nodded, "Oh I agree with that as well, everyone has greatly underestimated the two of you for a very long time. I always noticed that both of you were strong, but I never would have believed you'd become as strong as you are. I mean that in more than just terms of your strength as shinobi, both of you have been through so much in your lives and yet here you stand, still unbroken and still able to move forward."

Sasuke was silent for a moment and when he replied Sakura was caught off guard by the sincere look in his eyes and the seriousness of his tone; "The only reason we still remain unbroken and able to move forward is because we have each other."

At just that moment Sasuke was tackled to the ground by a grinning Naruto who was laughing as he held Sasuke to him while Sasuke tried to recover from the air that was knocked out of his lungs from hitting the floor with so much force and having a blond idiot on top of him. Sakura was laughing at them and Sasuke finally managed to sit up and lean back on his elbows.

"Dobe," he growled dangerously and Naruto looked at him with his shit eating grin but didn't move from where he now straddled Sasuke on the floor. Sasuke shoved him off of him and got to his feet, "Shouldn't you be tending to your guests?"

Naruto jumped to his feet, "Nah, why would I do that when there are two of my favorite people hiding from the party by themselves in the dining room?"

"So that the plan to hide from the party remains successful," Sasuke said through gritted teeth. He closed his eyes for a moment to force down the phantom pain that suddenly wanted to course through him, his frustration at being tackled, and the wave of exhaustion that followed it. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides as he forced down the pain that felt like fire sizzling through his veins and when he opened his eyes he glared at the concerned looks on Sakura and Naruto's faces.

The two exchanged glances before looking back to him. Sasuke brushed past Naruto in irritation and set to washing the dishes Naruto had brought into the kitchen obviously right as he had walked out, there was a door leading to the living room. Sasuke hissed from the burn of the soap on his previously injured hand and would have taken the bandaging off before but hadn't thought to do so. He'd been too lost in his own thoughts and the stress he felt from how much worse he had started feeling after a few hours of being awake today.

He flinched when Naruto said his name softly from behind him before slipping his arms around his waist. He mentally cursed himself for not even sensing Naruto walking into the room. Naruto rested his head on his shoulder and Sasuke felt his eyes focus on his hand, he growled and moved one arm from around his waist the seize his hand before Sasuke could pull himself away from him.

Naruto turned him around and kept him pressed back against the sink, "What the hell did you do to your hand teme?"

Sasuke scoffed and tensed when Naruto's grip tightened and his chin was seized by the other hand to make him meet Naruto's eyes. "What happened, were you angry and smashed something or put your hand through something?"

Sasuke finally met his eyes fully, "Hn."

Naruto sighed and his released his hand but still held his chin, his thumb caressing his jaw line. "What's wrong?"

Sasuke grimaced and brought his hands up to push Naruto away from him by his chest. Naruto stepped back and looked after him as he walked out of the kitchen, Sasuke stopped in the doorway, "Nothing, just tired."

Naruto sighed, "Liar," but Sasuke kept going and Naruto glanced back at the dishes in the sink. He set to washing them deciding that maybe Sasuke needed some time to cool down, he had been having a conversation with Sakura and had seemed tense. By the time he finished the dishes and returned to the living room Sakura and Hinata were the only ones still there.

Both women looked up when he came into the living room and smiled at him. Hinata said softly to him as he sat down in the chair, "Is something wrong Naruto-kun?"

Naruto stared at where the window used to be, "Yeah, but I don't know what it is."

Sakura sighed, "The two of you need counseling, seriously. I feel like I'm trying to keep you two from killing one another again."

Naruto looked at her, "What are you talking about?"

"Sasuke has always been moody Naruto, you know that. Right now I can only guess he's angry at what Kankuro said, he may have even felt a little hurt by it. Not to mention, there seems to be something going on with him, as though he's trying to hide how bad he's feeling. I spent enough time with the two of you to be able to tell when either of you were in pain or out of it, my experience as a medical ninja have only increased the amount of things I notice about people."

Naruto felt guilt wash through him, Sasuke was in pain and feeling hurt and he hadn't even noticed it, well he had noticed he was hurt by what Kankuro said . . . but he hadn't noticed he was in any physical pain. Sasuke had said he was feeling better today . . . Kyuubi interrupted his thoughts; You obviously are an idiot at times. When will you learn to listen to your instincts better, I could have told you he wasn't feeling any better today if you hadn't of tuned me out all day.

Naruto grimaced, "Damn it," he got to his feet and looked at Hinata and Sakura who seemed to be looking at him questioningly wandering what was going on with him. "Hinata-chan, would you mind checking on his condition, I would ask Sakura but . . . "

Sakura glared at him, "Just because I'm pregnant doesn't make me incapable."

Naruto waved his hands in front of him, "No, I didn't mean that . . . Sasuke would skin me if I let you do it. And I can bet he will kill me if I ask him to let me take him back to the hospital."

Hinata nodded and smiled kindly, "I wouldn't mind Naruto-kun, as long as Sasuke-kun doesn't."

Naruto nodded with a grin, "Thanks Hinata-chan." He turned and ran from the room and they heard him call out Sasuke's name as he leapt up to the second floor. Sakura looked at Hinata, "He really can be clueless at times."

Hinata giggled and nodded, "Hai."

Sakura's hand went to her stomach when she felt the baby kick, luckily her bladder had been spared this time. Hinata smiled at her, "May I?"

Sakura smiled brightly at her and laughed as she nodded, "Of course, why would I deny my baby's aunt?"

Hinata reached over and placed her hand on Sakura's stomach, using a small amount of chakra she was able to tell that it was a boy. She smiled up at Sakura as she pulled back, "Have you thought of a name for him yet?"

Sakura shook her head, "No, not yet, I was thinking of letting Naruto and Sasuke-kun name him."

They both jumped upon hearing a loud crash upstairs and Sakura let out an exasperated sigh at hearing Naruto yelling insults at Sasuke followed by insults from Sasuke.

"Dobe, I don't need a damn check up!"

"The hell you don't teme! I know something is wrong with you!"

"The only thing wrong with me is you bothering me and waking me up!"

"You can't sleep all day, you should be able to be awake for more than a few hours at a time."

"I was just released from the hospital, it's normal to feel tired."

Naruto growled, "Teme, why do you have to be so damn difficult! If nothing is really wrong with you then why in the hell are you so adamant about refusing a check up!"

Sasuke glared at him, "Because baka, I know there is nothing wrong with me."

"The hell you do, you're not a doctor or a healer!"

"It's my body damn it and I say nothing is wrong with me. Both of us have a virus dobe. Do you honestly think we're supposed to feel one hundred percent fine?"

"No, but it shouldn't be effecting you so much so fast!"

"Baka, I told you that I've had this damn virus for years, it isn't fast."

Naruto growled and stomped across the room to where Sasuke was now sitting up on the bed glaring intensely at him. Sasuke had his right hand fisted in the sheets and the pillow ready to be thrown in his other hand. Naruto glared back at him, "Just let Hinata give you a check up, I want to make sure nothing other than the virus is effecting you."

Sasuke threw the pillow at him which Naruto grabbed out of the air before it could hit him. Sasuke got out of the bed with a low growl, "Fine."

Naruto sighed and put the pillow down on the bed and walked over to the door and held it open. He knew better than to walk out first knowing Sasuke was likely to slam the door in his face and lock him out of the room. Sasuke walked through the door and leapt down onto the first floor. Naruto felt his anger disappear when he noticed Sasuke stumble upon landing and he was standing next to him in the next few seconds catching his elbow and helping him stand up straight.

They walked to the living room and Sasuke sat down in the chair while Naruto took a seat next to Sakura as Hinata got to her feet. Naruto trained his eyes on Sasuke, who was pointedly refusing to look at him. Naruto couldn't help the urge he had to smile at the pouty and pissed look on Sasuke's face. Sakura looked to be suppressing an urge to giggle as Hinata stood in front of Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun, are you sure you don't mind?"

Sasuke looked at her and his expression softened slightly, "Hn."

Hinata nodded and slowly placed her hand on his chest to make sure of his heart rate and chakra flow. Her eyes and expression remained blank even as she felt worried at his quick heart rate and the dangerously low amount of chakra he had. His blood pressure was low as well adding to her concern. She pulled her hand away from his chest and turned to Naruto and Sakura, "Was he given any medication he was supposed to take?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, but I have no idea where he put it. I went to get it this morning and he must have put it somewhere."

Sasuke glared at Naruto, "I put it where all the medicine goes dobe."

Hinata turned back to look at him, "Have you been taking the medication Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke looked away from her, "Hn."

Sakura glared at him, "Sasuke-kun, you have to take the medication Tsunade-sama gave you otherwise you'll never get better."

"I don't need drugs to recover."

Hinata glared at him which caught everyone off guard, but Sasuke made sure he didn't show that she had startled him. She said in a serious tone of voice, her voice surprisingly louder and firm than he'd ever heard it, "You have to take the medication Sasuke-kun. If you don't you will just worsen your condition."

Sasuke scoffed but didn't reply or argue with her. She kept the same tone of voice, "If you don't you'll most likely be the cause of your own death. Your chakra is dangerously low and your blood pressure and heart rate are bad as well."

Naruto glared at Sasuke at that, "Teme, you better listen to her."

"Hn," was Sasuke's reply, there was a hint of annoyance in his tone even with the monosyllable.

"Stubborn bastard," Naruto growled low in his throat before standing up and walking over to Sasuke's side, "It isn't going to hurt to take the medicine."

Sakura nodded, "It will only help you Sasuke-kun."

Naruto nodded, "Plus, if you refuse to take it on your own I'll find another way to give it to you."

Sasuke glared at him, "I'm not a child Naruto."

"Then stop acting like one Sasuke. Now isn't the time to let your pride endanger your health. Why haven't you taken your medication?"

He wasn't going to tell them he was lying through his teeth about the medicine. He knew that without it he would only get worse instead of better. But he didn't want them to worry even more about him from finding out that he still felt the same, if not worse even with taking the medicine. Naruto didn't need to force him to take it, he took it anyway.

Naruto sighed and knelt down beside the chair, "Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked at him, he was feeling more and more tired as the day went on and it was having an effect on his concentration. He hadn't even noticed Naruto had placed his hand over his own or that Hinata had moved back to sit on the couch until Naruto spoke his name. "What?"

"Are you really not taking your medicine or are you just telling us that so we won't be more worried about you?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth but refused to look away from Naruto. He assumed the Kyuubi had read his thoughts again and so replied, "Hn."

Naruto sighed heavily and interlaced their hands together on the arm of the chair while he rested his forehead on top of their hands, "Teme, why do you keep trying to hide things from me?"

Sasuke sighed at the guilty feeling he felt in his gut from Naruto's words. It's not as if I am doing it with the intentions to hurt you dobe.

Naruto looked up at him which confirmed Sasuke's thoughts on whether he was reading his mind or not. Naruto sighed, "Sasuke, don't you even pay attention to what anyone says? Everyone was just pointing out how keeping things from each other only caused everyone to worry that much more."

Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment, "I do pay attention."

Naruto glared at him, "Then why do you keep trying to brush off everyone's concern? I was already worried about Baa-chan's reluctance to release you from the hospital. And you've been rather moody lately and look more than just exhausted, it's as if you are getting worse instead of better and that worries me. Plus, if taking the medicine is doing nothing to help you and you are still feeling worse and worse, I want to know so I can try to do something to help you."

"You've done plenty."

Naruto growled, "That's not the damn . . . Argh . . . Sasuke, what the hell does it matter how much I've done or haven't done? If I don't make sure you're okay now then it doesn't matter how much I've done or haven't already done."

Hinata nodded, "He's right Sasuke-kun, right now is what all of us have to focus on. If you have been taking the medication and it isn't helping you at all then you need to go back to the hospital and find out if there is something that can be done to help you."

"What does it matter, I'm already dying," Sasuke said without thinking, he was feeling frustrated with everyone's concern. He regretted saying the words once they left his mouth, but refused to attempt to take them back. Damn it. Why the hell is she or anyone for that matter suddenly concerned about my health? It's not as if they or anyone else would be heart broken if I did just up and die within the next few days.

Naruto growled threateningly at him and Sasuke looked sharply at him. Naruto seized his chin and held it tightly, "Don't say or think that way teme. We do care about whether you live or die and it does matter because we want to keep you around for as long as possible. And if you still think that if you died it wouldn't matter to me then you are the one that is an idiot."

Sasuke made to jerk his head from Naruto's grip but Naruto only tightened his hold on his chin, his nails digging into his skin painfully. Sasuke grimaced, "Let go."

"No, never. You and me are stuck together and you have to live with that and with the fact that I want you to stay alive. It's selfish to want you to stay alive as long as possible because life sucks and is full of all kinds of pain. But you know what, I think that what we have is worth living for. Or are you having second thoughts?"

Sasuke flinched at the question, Naruto was still unsure of his feelings, he didn't trust that he loved him? Not that I've made it obvious or acted as though I did care for him as much as he makes it painfully obvious to me that he cares. He's right, I am an idiot, a fool. But he's a fool to think I want to force him to be with me when he could have anyone he wants.

"I know you love me teme, but this bullshit about you not deserving me and that I could find someone better has to end. I want to be with you because you're the best person for me, you should get it through your head that it's me that doesn't deserve you, not the other way around."

Naruto finally let go of his chin and sat back on his heels. Sasuke was looking intently at him. Why in the hell . . . "Baka. How do you figure that it's the other way around?"

"How do you figure that you don't deserve to be with me?"

"Hn."

"Uh uh, you started this, so tell me why you have been telling yourself that your not good enough?"

Sakura and Hinata had long since moved to the dining room, which Sasuke just noticed once again cursing his lack of concentration on the things around him. "Why would you, or anyone else, want someone like me? I have more than enough problems and being with me makes them your problems as well no matter how much I try to make them not so."

Naruto sighed, "Sasuke, you really are an idiot. I don't give a damn about the fact that you have problems, I was well aware of that when I admitted to myself that I loved you. I was always willing to take on the baggage that comes with being close to you, I wanted to be part of your life even with that. I've always wanted to be a part of your life and knew that in doing so I would have to accept everything about you. Your past, your sins, your mood swings, the cold way you can be at times. I have always wanted you to trust me with everything about you, everything that makes you who you are, to trust me with being a part of your life and allowing me to at least try and ease the pain you are always going through."

Sasuke sighed, "Naruto . . . how can you . . . look at everything you've already had to give up for me, why in the hell would you want to continue doing that?"

Naruto grinned, "Baka, because I love you. Have you ever stopped to think back to all the things you sacrificed, everything you've endured in your life? You are telling yourself that you're weak and you don't deserve to be with me when it's the other way around. Here you are, having taken all your pain into yourself and never wanting to burden anyone and yet you still continued living, you still moved forward."

"I was stuck in the past for more than half my life."

"And yet, in order to finally let your past go you had to leave and tried to cut your ties with me and everyone else to spare them the pain of caring about you should you die. Now you are doing it again, trying to tell yourself that you don't deserve to be with me and keeping the fact that you are feeling worse to yourself. Stop being so damn selfless and quit acting like no one cares in an attempt to push us away. If anything, you should know I won't give up on you or ever let you go."

Sasuke sighed and slumped in the chair, "Dobe."

"Teme."

"What the hell are you . . . didn't you hear what I said yesterday about there not being a cure and that the virus has had plenty of time to get the best of me?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I am going to just walk away. If we don't find a cure before one of us dies then both of us will die together."

Sasuke locked eyes with Naruto and felt warmth course through him at the serious and honest look in his eyes. "You finally become Hokage and you want to die with me should I die before you?"

"Hypocrite. You would do the same thing and of course I would. Don't you know that the only reason I lived through that war was because I was determined to see you again, to tell you how I felt and convince you to be with me?"

"See, you kept on fighting, kept on living for me and I let myself become a lifeless shell of myself . . ."

"Sasuke . . . I . . . after the war . . . "

Sasuke watched the play of emotions swirling in Naruto's blue eyes and squeezed Naruto's hand still holding his own. Naruto sighed, "At least you remembered me after the war . . . I ended up forgetting about everything, I completely zoned out once the war was over."

Sasuke tensed, he hadn't heard about this. Why hasn't he told me about this before? Sakura's voice came over to them, "Naruto-kun, if you're going to tell him then you'd better be truthful. It had nothing to do with your inner strength, it was medically induced, the amnesia. I thought I pointed that out to you countless enough times for you to get that."

Sasuke looked over at her, "What are you talking about?"

Sakura made her way to the couch and sat down, Hinata came back into the living room as well with a fresh making of tea for everyone. Once she handed everyone a cup she sat down on the couch next to Sakura.

Sakura cleared her throat, "Sasuke, Naruto was very nearly killed fighting the commander to the enemy forces. He was the one that ended the war by killing that idiotic man. But Naruto almost didn't make it himself. He was in a coma for a while and we were all worried that he wouldn't wake up."

Hinata cut in, "Except for Sakura-chan, she nearly beat the hell out of anyone that tried to tell her to give up on him."

Sasuke felt a new respect for Sakura at Hinata's words. Sakura smiled at Hinata, "I wasn't the only one, all of rookie nine refused to believe what the doctors were saying, Tsunade-sama included. When he finally did wake up he had no idea who any of us were. He knew his name and where he was, but that was about it. It took all of us weeks of reminding him for him to finally remember our names. During the time following the war his memories slowly started coming back to him when he went through his own belongings and visited places where we all interacted."

"But I never could remember you. I always felt as is something was missing, as though I was forgetting something big and no matter what I did I couldn't remember . . . No one was helping me with that one . . . "

Sakura hung her head, "We were hoping that if he never remembered that he would be able to let you go and move on. I'm sorry Sasuke-kun, but I did agree with everyone else in regards to believing you were dead. No one had heard anything or seen you and . . . "

Sasuke shook his head, "Don't Sakura-chan, I forgive you."

Sakura looked at him with a smile and Naruto sighed, "I . . . it wasn't until someone finally said your name that I remembered . . . I read those scrolls, but I was reluctant to do so . . ."

"Tsunade-sama had just given you the scrolls and pictures of your parents then."

"It doesn't matter, I was still afraid to read them, afraid to remember as if I knew that it was going to hurt me to be reminded of the most important . . ."

"Naruto, even if you knew everything those scrolls wouldn't have been any easier to read. I can't even . . . "

Naruto squeezed his hand, "I know, but I still forgot about you and I'm sorry."

"Baka, you couldn't do anything about it."

"I shouldn't have forgotten in the first place.
"It wasn't your fault."

"Just like everything we have been through wasn't our fault."

"Hn. Some of it was self inflicted."

"You're such a hypocrite. You sit here and tell me that things aren't my fault and continue to blame yourself for things that you couldn't control or change."

"I was the one who made the choice to leave and chase after Itachi," Sasuke paused at the painful memories that tried to come to the surface. He took a deep breath and continued, "I was the one that willingly walked into the Snake Sannin's hands and then killed my brother. I also let myself fall into Madara's hands, twice, the second time almost cost me my life."

"Fine, you may have made most of those choices of your own free will. But you couldn't control what happened to you . . . "

"I could have prevented it."

"How?"

"By never making the choices to begin with, I should have stayed in Konoha and never of left."

"You were looking for the truth, you needed to find out why your brother did what he did because you still loved him."

"I loved the idea of him, I loved the Itachi that I knew growing up."

"Because you couldn't hate him, you never could anymore than you could hate me."

"I know that now, but that . . . "

Naruto grinned at him, "Well, that's all that matters then. Now," Naruto got to his feet, "time to take you back to the hospital."

"Naruto you," Sasuke was cut off by Naruto leaning over him and picking him up in his arms. Sasuke growled and tried to get Naruto to put him down. But in his current state of exhaustion added on to how much weaker he'd become due to his time spent in captivity, it was a vain effort. He hissed angrily, "Put me down, I can walk."

Naruto shook his head, already heading for the door with Hinata following behind him, "Nope, we've spent plenty of time arguing with you about it." He looked over his shoulder and called to Sakura, "Do you mind staying here to tell Iruka-san where we went?"

Sakura answered him from her seat on the couch, "No, just don't kill each other before you get there."

Sasuke sighed felt anger flare in him when Naruto walked out of the house once Hinata stepped in front of them to open the door. There were a few civilians walking through the street in and they were staring at him. Sasuke bit down on Naruto's shoulder.

"Ow teme, be nice."

"Put me down now."

"No."

Sasuke glared at Hinata when she started giggling behind them, "Naruto, put me down."

Naruto leapt to the roof of the house next door and Sasuke instinctively wrapped his arms around his neck. "Dobe."

"Teme, it's faster this way and you already wore yourself out today."

" I would have been fine if you'd let me sleep."

"You took three naps already today, you just thought you didn't."

"Because I never did," he said as he looked up at the sky. He sighed irritably upon noticing that it was nearly night now. He must have spent too much time not concentrating on the things around him to ever notice the day go by. He could have sworn that he'd been awake all day, he'd had breakfast, made lunch . . . he wanted to slap himself. He'd completely forgotten that he'd made ramen for lunch close to noon and then once again, it never even crossed his mind.

Why didn't Naruto say anything, now I'm sure everyone thinks I'm mental.

"You are mental, but it's not news to anyone."

Sasuke sighed, "Stop reading my thoughts."

"Stop thinking about things that don't matter. Who cares if everyone thinks you're mental? Besides, Sakura-chan and I have been trying to point that out anyway."

Sasuke shook his head in amusement and rested his head against his arm that was around Naruto's neck. The next thing he knew they were at the hospital, once again he hadn't noticed that he'd fallen asleep but it made him realize that Naruto was right, he was so out of it he never felt as though he'd fallen asleep or noticed it when he did.