AN: Not me coming out of the shadows with another installation for anyone that wants to read it.

Disclaimer: Don't own

Minoru sighed as he examined the palm of his hand. Specifically, the chakra burn that wasn't healing. It was an angry pink after washing the dishes, making it stand out in stark contrast. He frowned. It had been easily a week and for some reason the burn wasn't healing. If anything, it looked more irritated. He channeled the smallest amount of chakra into his hand and grimaced at the way it stung.

"Are you okay?"

He looked over his shoulder and found Naruto at kitchen entrance, possibly because he felt his chakra spike. He noticed how the cerulean eyes moved to his hand and then back up to meet his, "Yeah, I'm okay," he answered with a smile. The older man was unconvinced and moved closer, gently taking his hand to have a closer look.

"Is this the same burn from last week?" Naruto asked, gently brushing his fingertips over the irritated skin and looked back up to meet the younger man's gaze.

Minoru sighed, "Yeah, it's strange, it should be healed by now, but for whatever reason it doesn't seem to be healing…I'm sure it's nothing to worry about though." He grimaced when Naruto gently applied pressure on the pink skin, "I can't even remember the last time I had a burn like this."

Naruto paused, his brows furrowing, his gaze moved from the injured hand to his husband, "How did this happen again?"

Minoru furrowed his brows in thought, "I was channeling chakra into a drawing, nothing out of the usual," He explained, noticing how the corner of the older man's mouth tensed into a frown.

"When do you think was the last time this happened?"

Minoru tilted his head, "Must have been years ago, back when I was still learning how to control my ability." He noticed how there was a beat of hesitation, and cerulean eyes studied his for a moment before moving back down to their hands.

"Let me test something," Naruto channeled the smallest amount of chakra to his fingertips, just above the angry pink skin. He clenched his jaw when Minoru winced in response, a flicker lighting the dark eyes, "Other than the burn, have you noticed anything else? Fatigue, dizziness, random aches?"

Minoru noticed how Naruto's jaw tensed. He could tell that brilliant mind was working through something. A thumb rubbed his wrist in a soothing gesture. He searched the cerulean eyes when they met his, "I guess…I've been more tired than usual…" he hesitated, "What is it?"

Naruto looked at the burn, gently touching the edges of it with his fingertips, "…Does it hurt to transfer chakra?" he moved his gaze back to the younger man's and noticed how the dark brows furrowed slightly.

"Kind of…" Minoru started, "But I just thought it was because of the burn…but now that I think about it…it was before then…" He hesitated, "What is it?" He asked gently, "What are you thinking?"

Naruto unintentionally swallowed, "I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but I do think we should get you looked at." The pale hand in his moved to hold his.

"Naruto," Minoru said gently, earning him a concerned look, "What are you thinking?" The older man hesitated, his jaw tensing again, and the hand holding his tightened its hold slightly. His demeanor was off. It was too serious for Minoru's comfort. This was the Naruto that was trying to stay calm and collected even though he had a bad hunch about something.

Naruto frowned, "For whatever reason, it seems like your chakra channels are not…functioning the way they should be." Minoru gave him a confused look in response. "I'm worried that…" he sighed, his brows furrowing, "There might be some damage. From what we know, transferring and channeling chakra shouldn't cause you harm," he turned the pale hand in his, the pink angry skin making him frown, "This shouldn't be happening."

Minoru swallowed. Naruto had a point. It made sense when these kinds of injuries occurred when he was still learning and inexperienced. But they shouldn't be happening anymore. He knew where this was going, and the apologetic look in Naruto's eyes confirmed his suspicion. He sighed in defeat, "We have to go to the hospital."

Sakura's hands hovered over Minoru, a light glow emitting from them as she conducted her examination. Emerald eyes darted to his face when she noticed a hitch of breath. She didn't say anything. She glanced at Naruto who met her gaze from where he stood near the wall of the exam room, and then to Kakashi who stood closer to the exam table. She finished her examination and gave Minoru's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "You can sit up now."

Minoru sat up, ignoring the way his head swam. He sighed as he swung his legs over the edge of the exam table and met Naruto's gaze, and then his dad's. Both of them had a look on their faces that he didn't like. He furrowed his brow and looked at Sakura, "Why does it feel like everyone knows something that I don't?"

Sakura opened her mouth to say something but sighed instead. She looked at Kakashi and then back at the nin on her exam table, "Minoru…it seems that your chakra channels are not healing as they should be." She hesitated at the confused look Minoru gave her, "Let me start again. Whenever we use our chakra, our channels are what is used to move it to different parts of our bodies. Every time we use those channels, there's a recovery period. Some may need more time to recover than others. Some may have more chakra to produce and use than others. All of that varies and depends. This is why it's important to rest to avoid depletion, without proper rest and recovery, those channels can become damaged," She explained, "However, for you…" she started, thinking of the best way to explain, "Since your ability allows you to withdraw chakra that isn't yours…you're introducing a foreign energy that you then convert. And vice versa." She glanced at Kakashi, who met her gaze, and then back to his son, "However…this sort of transferring and manipulation…can lead to chakra contamination…"

Minoru blinked at her, "Contamination?" he repeated, and the pink haired kunoichi nodded. He looked at his dad who seemed to be in thought, "So then…" he started and looked back at Sakura, "What does this mean?" There was a silence that followed what he thought to be a simple question. He looked at Naruto and cerulean eyes met his. He swallowed at the serious look the older man had, "What does this mean?" He repeated, moving his gaze back to Sakura.

"It means…" Sakura crossed her arms, a serious look on her face, "If left untreated, it can cause chakra poisoning…which can lead to…" Minoru nodded at her unfinished statement. "Or permanent damage. Usually, treatment would mean a transfusion."

Minoru furrowed his brows, "What do you mean 'usually'?"

Sakura frowned, "A chakra transfusion acts a lot like a blood transfusion. In that you need a match. Like blood, recipients can't just receive from just anyone and can't donate to just anyone, unless they are a universal donor." She noticed how Minoru averted his gaze, she had a feeling he knew where this was going, "With your bloodline…"

"I can only receive a transfusion from my bloodline," Minoru finished. His head swam again and his skin prickled. He swallowed as he looked up to meet his dad's gaze when he moved closer.

Kakashi's gaze softened when he saw the flicker of chakra in Minoru's eyes, "We're going to figure something out, Minoru..." He trailed off and looked over at Naruto when he stepped closer.

"I have an idea," Naruto said slowly, "And I don't think anyone is going to like it." Sakura gave him a questioning look in response. He looked at Kakashi who returned it equally, giving him a hint that was possibly thinking the same thing. He looked at Minoru who looked at him with pure confusion. "Remember…that one mission where you took an enemy nin's chakra and you couldn't cancel it out?"

Minoru slowly nodded.

"Remember how…I took it?"

Minoru stared at him. Stared at his both brilliant and seemingly crazy husband, "You…you're not serious."

The look on Naruto's face told him that he was one hundred percent serious.

Minoru's eyes moved to Kakashi, to Sakura, and then back to Naruto, "How?"

Sakura interjected, "I'm sorry, what are we talking about here?"

"In the past, Naruto has used Kyuubi to withdraw chakra from Minoru," Kakashi explained. Sakura gaped, "And honestly, I was considering it, but wasn't crazy enough to say it out loud without first thinking it through."

Naruto scowled at Kakashi, "It'll work!"

Sakura put up a defensive hand, "How are you so sure?"

"Because -," Naruto started, his tone serious, "I just know."

Sakura wasn't convinced, "You said that in the past you took. This isn't just taking and canceling out, this is taking and restoring. How do you know that Kyuubi will be willing enough to give?" She shook her head, "Additionally, Kyuubi's chakra is still not his bloodline's –"

"He wouldn't be giving," Naruto interrupting gently, "You said that his chakra is contaminated…" Sakura slowly nodded, "He would be...uncontaminating."

Sakura gave Naruto a deadpan look, "You mean purify."

Minoru snorted. He couldn't help it. The situation he was sitting in the middle of was both unbelievable and ridiculous. "After all these years…" he said mostly to himself.

Naruto looked at his husband, at his down casted gaze. "Can you two give us a minute?" He asked gently. He exchanged a look with Kakashi and Sakura followed her former sensei out of the exam room. Naruto pulled up a stool to sit in front of the younger man and hooked a finger under Minoru's jaw, directing his gaze upward. He wasn't surprised to find the usual dark eyes illuminated with a soft glow.

"After all these years," Minoru repeated, his eyes stung with frustrated tears, "Mysteries keep surfacing." Naruto's expression softened in understanding, and a soothing hand cupped his jaw. "How do you know if this will work? What if it doesn't?"

"It will."

"What if it doesn't?" He swallowed, and ignored the way his voice cracked, "I know that in the past Kyuubi has helped me – and I am forever grateful for that – but what if it doesn't work –"

"It will work, Minoru," Naruto said gently. Illuminated eyes searched his as if trying to find an answer, "It will work." He brushed his thumb under an eye in a comforting gesture and smiled, "Trust me."

For some reason, that smile and simple words calmed him. For some reason, Naruto was confident, and he had to trust that. Minoru closed his eyes, leaning into the warm hand that cupped his cheek and nodded. Lips kissed his forehead. "You know," he drawled, "Opening his eyes to give his husband a lazy look, "This is possibly one of the craziest ideas you've had."

The confidence in Naruto's grin was blinding.

Minoru found himself pacing in the bedroom. He stopped when he realized what he was doing and pinched the bridge of his nose. Under Sakura's guidance, they agreed to take a week to prepare for the "procedure". Which mainly meant for Minoru to mentally prepare and for Naruto and Kakashi to explore different ways to do this "procedure". The anticipation made a knot form in his stomach which then made him groan. He hated this feeling. This feeling of a pending "medical procedure". This feeling of an "unknown". He sighed and looked up to find Naruto watching him from the doorway with a soft smile on his lips.

Naruto didn't have to ask. He knew the younger man well enough to know that he was feeling apprehensive about the whole situation. It had been a few days since Sakura's diagnosis confirmed his suspicion. And after a long discussion with Kakashi and Iruka, he was able to reassure them that this will work.

He tilted his head when dark eyes flickered at him. Minoru closed the distance between them and he instinctively took his husband into a warm embrace. He nuzzled the younger man when the dark head buried into the nape of his neck, "It's going to be okay." Minoru simply nodded against him. He pulled away enough to cup his husband's face and smiled brightly at him, "How about I make your favorite for dinner? Chicken stir fry?" The way Minoru seemed to have lighten up at the idea made his smile grow fonder.

Naruto moved to the kitchen after urging Minoru to rest, remind him of Sakura's orders for him to comply. He prepared dinner on auto-pilot, his mind working out technicalities. He paused, took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"You're putting a lot of trust into me, don't you think?"

"Give me a reason why I shouldn't."

Naruto received a low snarl in response.

"I know you care about him too."

"You seem to need to him, so by default…"

Naruto smiled, "You care about him," he repeated.

Another snarl.

Naruto opened his eyes and smile at the tingling sensation on his skin.