I was taking a little break from writing fanfiction and took a vacation with my family, gomen! But when I came back, I noticed that the Naruto section was being overrun by het pairings! And with that, I jumped onto the comp. to give you guys the next chappie!

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Sasuke jogged as fast as he could without looking rushed. Sakura and Kakashi trailed loosly behind, following the silent Genin. Sasuke really couldn't get the look of panic out of his mind's eye. Naruto had really looked panicked.

It was more than just the villagers throwing rocks at him...Naruto wouldn't have gotten scared over such a thing. Maybe this has happened before. What could the villagers have done to that fox?

Sasuke rounded a corner, glaring pointedly at one villager.

"Which way did the large fox go?"

The navy-haired ninja stood levely, looking every bit the rumors said about him. The villager looked about to protest but taking a second look at Sasuke he seemed to change his mind. Without saying a word, the villager pointed to an open door at an apartment towards the end of the dirt road. Other villagers turned to stare at Team 7. Murmers flowed through the group, though none saying a word out loud for the team to here.

Sasuke seemed to glare out of the corner of his eye. Then looked to the open door to a somewhat run down apartment. He strode toward it, stopping at the swinging door. Studying it, he took note that the scratches on the door weren't there for decoration, nor the large claw marks littering the living room.

Kakashi seemed to appear behind Sasuke, the pink-haired ninja floating behind Kakashi. The silver-haired ninja ran his hands along the door and walked in, the navy-haired boy following close behind.

Sasuke took note that the place was a mess. Ramen bowls and instant ramen packages littered the entire room. Ramen bowls sat everywhere, chopsticks and a little bit of ramen still left in them. Old milk cartons were scattered amongst the ramen. Sighing, Sasuke pushed a package out of the way with his foot and carefully made his way down the hallway, so as not to scare the fox further.

Sakura was staring at the place in what could only be placed as disgust. How could Naruto live like this? You couldn't even sit down on the couch....

Kakashi wasn't very surprised but remained where he was, stooping his tall frame to pick up the closest bowl to him and take it to the kitchen, which proved to be a bigger trash heap than the living room. Sasuke could handle Naruto. The tall Sharingan user was met with a towering stack of ramen bowls in the sink. Blinking with his only visible eye, Kakashi sized up his foe before deciding it wasn't worth it and stacked the bowl ontop of a plastic bowl on the table.

Sasuke steathily made his way down the hallway, peaking into each room. Not one of these rooms contained the oversize fox. One open door caught Sasuke's eye, hidden behind a corner. Approaching, the ninja gripped the side of the door and leaned around the corner, peering into the room.

Obviously this last room was Naruto's bedroom. Out of all the rooms, this one was definately the most tidy. The only thing out of place was a stack of blankets, two reddish eyes shining from amongst the pile. The tower was shaking all but violently, small whining sounds emitting from it every few moments.

Sasuke sighed before walking the rest of the way into the room.

The tower of blankets shivered, a lone tail poking out one of the ends before tucking back into the blankets. All Sasuke could really see of Naruto was the shiny black nose and an ear. Apparently, Naruto had attempted to dive into the blankets, rearranging them to cover his entire body. Sasuke could arrive at this conclusion through the fact that the frantic claw marks dissapeared about seven feet from the bed.

Calmly, Sasuke moved towards the bed, making sure as not to send the fox into a panic.

How should I get him out of here? It doesn't seem like he wants to move....

He decided on just trying to convince dead-last to come out. Delicately, Sasuke reached his hand out to the ear, stroking it, feeling the fox tense at the contact.

"The crowd is gone now, you can come out, they won't attack you." Sasuke persuaded, looking into the fox's reddish eyes.

Almost shaking its head, the fox curled into a tiny ball, eyes and ear dissapearing from view.

"Kakashi and Sakura are waiting to see if you're okay," Sasuke paused, realising that neither of them were there to help, "Why don't you come out and we can sort out what we are going to do with you."

His words caught up with him and he thought about it. What WERE they going to do about a pony-sized fox that the entire village was nervous about? He couldn't just leave the fox here, something was bound to happen and it wasn't like Naruto knew how to fend for himself like a normal fox...

Sighing, Sasuke decided he would ask Kakashi-sensei about it when he got Naruto to come out and tugged lightly on Naruto's ruff of fur.

"Oi, dobe, are you coming out or not? I'll make sure the villagers don't throw stones at you...." the words came out of Sasuke's mouth before he could stop them. Blushing a shade of pink that was so light you really couldn't see it, Sasuke gave a small tug on Naruto's fur again.

Naruto's ears perked forward at the declaration. Did Sasuke really mean that? He would make sure they left him alone? The blonde haired boy doubted it but the look in the navy-haired boy's eyes when he looked at him proved he was serious, if not embarressed. Giving a small yip, he cautiously stepped out of his little cocoon and stood himself infront of Sasuke.

The fox had a look on its face that plainly said it was ready to go. Sasuke didn't hesitate in walking out into the hallway, but he did have a smile on his face as he shoved his hands into his pockets and strode down the hallway with the demon fox pacing behind him.

Kakashi's one eye turned to a slit as he smiled when the duo made their way into the room.

"All ready to go?" the silver-haired ninja asked, motioning towards the door.

Sasuke nodded but Naruto seemed to realise something and turned back around, trotting back into his room. Before Sasuke could follow, Naruto had returned, a small fox plush held carefully in his mouth.

The fox stuffed animal was a reddish tawny color, the eyes a deep red hue. Black stockings [1] made their way up to the plush's elbows. The black ears were larger than that of a normal fox and pricking forward in interest. Surprisingly, the fox was in pretty good condition, no tears or fake eyes, besides the fact that it looked much loved.

Sasuke stared at this show of weakness. Normally, Naruto wouldn't have brought out the toy while he was there. That 'attack' must have shook him up somewhat....

Naruto didn't seem to notice the lack of response from his teammates and sat down on his haunches to wait for Kakashi to tell him where he was staying. All of his five tails wrapped themselves somewhere around his front paws.

I, too, wonder where he is staying.....Not many people will take him in. Sasuke wondered to himself.

I hope Kakashi-sensei doesn't stick him with me, my mom will throw a fit.... the pink-haired shinobi mused.

As if reading their minds, Kakashi smiled again.

"I believe Naruto should stay with Sasuke." the Jounin ordered more than suggested.

At least than I can be sure Naruto is safe He snickered to himself as he walked out the door, leaving three rather surprised ninjas.

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[1]-Black stockings as if on a horse, not stockings as in a garment.

GOMEN! I have been so lazy.....It's horrible! Combine that with what other authors call a "writer's block" and this story was almost toast! FORGIVE ME! And then the fact I don't even come out with a long enough story is just downright horrible to my readers. I have just been having a hard time lately. I've taken in a lotta birds (4) and all of them have died for the reason they came to me (hit by car, attacked by dog, etc.). Even my precious Gray died recently...so ya. Hope you guys enjoyed the story.