Psychic King: *twirling around in a circle* Whee!!!!
Sakura: *sighing sadly* It's no fair. She actually got better.
Naruto: *smiling* Yeah! Isn't it great?
Tenmar: *smiling* Sure is!
Sakura: *Glaring at them* What are YOU both so happy about?
Tenmar: *blushing* Well, in her reviews someone suggested that I get some action with Iruka...
Sakura: *shaking head* and you think she's actually going to do it?
Tenmar: *shrugging* Maybe. It's worth asking, right?
Psychic King: *looking at Tenmar's hopeful face* Uh, yeah... Well, sorry to say, not THIS chapter. But hey, sure, maybe next chapter. I mean, I've been meaning to make Iruka a more three dimensional character, anyway. Right now he just seems to follow Kakashi around... And Kakashi seems to follow him around, so...
Tenmar: *hopeful smile growing*
Psychic King: So, maybe.
Kakashi: *suddenly appearing, glaring at Psychic King* I forbid it!
Psychic King: *smiling and nodding, not really paying attention* Hai, hai. Whatever you say, Kakashi. *glancing at Naruto* But you ARE getting some action this chapter.
Naruto: *jumping into the air, fist raised* Hell, YEAH! *pauses, pondering* Wait, what kind of action?
Psychic King: *ignoring the question, looking to readers* Well, the long awaited day has arrived... I REALLY hope you like this chapter; I wrote it for all of you that review, who were so AWESOME last chapter. I usually think if I get about 8 reviews for a chapter it went OK, if I get less than 8 something is wrong with the chapter and if I get more, great. Well, last chapter I about DOUBLE my happy number of eight! You guys are WONDERFUL! MAGNIFICENT! I love you ALL! So, anyway, I am now giving you what I know you have been waiting ten chapters for. *grin* But I will warn you, there is a pretty dark scene near-
Sakura: *sighing in disgust* They're ABOUT to read it, do you REALLY need to tell them? *looking at readers* I think what she's trying to say is, she don't own Naruto or any of us, so her little stories ARE NOT real. Sasuke would NEVER touch that-
Psychic King: *ties a gag around Sakura's mouth* Yeah, whatever. Just enjoy the chapter everyone!!!!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Embrace of Solitude
Chapter 11
Sasuke took a little longer than he had intended to walk to the dinning room, where a large jumbled mess greeted his eyes. The table was covered with various puzzle games. Ganten seemed to be trying to convince Shikamaru to try a new game while Uzu seemed to be trying to distract the boy. "Ganten..." Uzu was saying, rolling his eyes. "Just because he beat you does NOT mean that you should take it as a personal injury." Glancing up, he smile. "Oi! If it isn't Sasuke-sama!" Uzu jumped from the table, which he had been seated on. He did a mock bow. "Tenmar says that dinner may be unfixable, but requests your supervision in the kitchen as soon as you were done 'composing' yourself."
Sasuke face went from blank to a dark scowl as he grabbed the red head by the neck and dragged him out of the room and into the kitchen. "Sasuke-kun! I think the dinner may be un-savable!" Tenmar said glancing up as the door swung open.
Ganten shook his head at his brother, giving him a nonverbal warning about talking to Sasuke right now.
"Then again, maybe I can figure it out on my own..." Tenmar popped his head back behind the large pot.
"Get over here." Sasuke snarled, tossing Uzu into a chair at the kitchen table.
Uzu allowed himself to be tossed good naturedly, trying hard to wipe the grin off his face.
Sasuke glared at him, trying to be intimidating, he placed his hands on either side of Uzu, leaning in close. "What did you tell them?"
Tenmar walked innocently around the large stove to stand next to Sasuke. "He really didn't say mu-"
A glare was shot quickly at Tenmar before Sasuke returned it to Uzu. "I asked him. WHAT did you tell them?"
Putting a hand over his mouth to hide his developing smile Uzu replied, "I only told Tenmar about the... position I found you and Daddy in."
Tenmar nodded as Sasuke backed away, face blank. "I think I deserved to know. After all, Naruto-sama is only a child and if you're gonna hurt him, as his oldest son, I think YOU deserve to know that I'll kill you."
Uzu nodded, face strait, eyes suddenly serious. "Yeah. You may be strong, but if you mess with Daddy I swear there will be no place for you to hide."
"I wasn't messing with anyone!" Sasuke replied, voice rising louder than he intended it to.
Naruto poked his head into the kitchen, followed by Sakura. "Is something wrong, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, stepping into the room.
"Yeah, Sasuke. You look like you just swallowed mud." Naruto walked in behind her, folding his arms behind his head and grinning.
"Sakura-chan, perhaps you should wait in the living room..." Tenmar shot the girl a strained smile, placing his hand on her shoulder and directing her tactfully out of the room. The door closed with a decisive click, and the rooms four occupants stood and stared at one another. Tenmar noticed with curiosity that Naruto and Sasuke both spent most of their time looking AWAY from each other, each glancing at the other and then looking quickly at something else. He sighed; it was obvious that HE was going to have to get the ball rolling. "So, how long has this been going on?"
"Nothing's going on!" Sasuke replied as the same time Naruto said, "Since just now." The two looked at each other, faces red. They looked away, and started speaking again.
"I mean... It's not any of your-" Sasuke began again, as Naruto said, "We weren't doing any-" Again both boys trailed off and stared once again at each other.
"Alright..." Tenmar sighed, looking at the ceiling. There was a huge possibility that he was going to regret this later, but... Placing a hand on both boys' shoulders he ushered them out the kitchen door to the back yard. "Well, dinner is ruined, and I'm eager to have Uzu try this ramen thing Naruto-sama keeps talking about, anyway. Why don't the two of you go pick some up for all of us? My treat, here's some cash." He sighed as he leaned against the closed kitchen door, looking at an irate looking Uzu. "What?"
"Why'd you do that?" Uzu asked accusingly, leaning against the table. "You practically FORCED him into that guy's arms!"
The tall blonde looked sideways at his brother, placing a hand against his face. "I don't know. It was obvious that they weren't ready to answer our questions yet, though. Hell, they haven't even asked EACH OTHER those questions yet. It isn't fair to tear them apart just because WE don't like it. I'm not even sure that I don't like it, it's just not..."
"What you expected?" Uzu finished, nodding, "Well... It doesn't matter. That guy's got too much of his head up his ass to notice a great guy like Daddy, anyway."
Tenmar shot his brother a rueful look. "I wish I were as certain as you that nothing was going to happen. Something about the way they were looking at each other tells me we're going to have two hormonal young boys on our hands."
"You're wrong," Uzu replied with a smile, opening the door to the dinning room, "I'd bet on it!"
Tenmar shook his head and smiled as he heard his brother exclaim, "Oh, God, not ANOTHER game... Fine, but this time I'm pla-" The door closing cut off the remainder of his words, but it was enough for Tenmar to know to head into the living room instead of following Uzu.
He found Sakura and Mina sitting on the couch, actually talking quietly to each other. Stepping into the room he shrugged, miracles DID happen. Well, it was not as if Sakura was a complete stranger, anyway. According to Naruto-sama, this girl was their mother's brother's daughter; that made her their cousin. Or maybe Mina was just coming out of her shell.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Naruto glanced at Sasuke as they walked side by side to the ramen place. Part of him realized that this was not a two person job and that he should send Sasuke back to his house and go get the ramen himself, the OTHER, more mature part of him realized what Tenmar was doing, sending them off together and wanted very much to know what would come from this walk together. "So Sasuke... Things were pretty weird back at the house, huh? What were they talking about, anyway?" He grinned, hopping to relieve some of the tension.
Sasuke glanced at the blonde next to him and grunted.
"I mean... What did they think, we were gonna jump on each other or something? I mean, YOU would never- WE would never-" For the second time that day Sasuke was grabbing his arm roughly, pushing him backward, off the road, behind a bush, onto his back. Naruto stared at the other boy for a moment, trying to calm his pounding heart. "What'd you do THAT fo-" And then Sasuke's mouth was covering his own, planting a hot, desperate kiss on the blonde. Naruto's eyes closed, wrapping his free hand around Sasuke's waist, pulling the dark haired boy closer.
Sasuke's head was swimming, his body responding before his mind had quite caught up; the only thing he knew for certain was that he was in control. When Naruto's hand found the bottom of his shirt and pulled it up, allowing his hand to caress the soft skin on Sasuke's back, even that thought disappeared. He pulled away, panting for breath. "Naruto..."
Blue eyes slowly opened and for once the blonde could not think of a thing to say. Hand still gently stroking Sasuke's back, he raised his head slowly to stare at the boy lying on top of him. Opening and closing his mouth soundlessly he tried desperately to say something, ANYTHING.
Sasuke smirked, leaning in again and capturing Naruto's lips in another deep, passionate kiss. Releasing Naruto's captured hand he wrapped his arms around the boy in a rough embrace. Rising from the kiss, but not pulling away, Sasuke kissed, licked, and bit his way to Naruto's ear, then down his neck.
Panting softly, Naruto finally managed to find his voice, "Sa- Sasuke..."
"Unh..." Sasuke grunted as Naruto's finger nails dragged across his back. He brought his lips back to the blonde's one last time before pulling completely away and sitting up. He racked a hand through his dark locks, trying desperately to clear his head. Breathing heavy, he glanced sideways at the blonde.
Naruto was not in a much better state than Sasuke, his heart was pounding a mile a minute and his breath was coming out in short gasps. "Wow." He looked at Sasuke and shook his head, sprawling out on the grass, "wow."
"You're still a dobe." Sasuke snorted, looking down as he straitened his shirt.
"Yeah? Well, you're a bastard." Naruto replied airily, twirling a blade of grass around his fingers. He glanced over to see Sasuke smirking at him. "What?"
"Nothing." Sasuke replied, standing. He reached a hand down and yanked Naruto to his feet. For a moment the blonde was intoxicatingly close, but with some feelings of disappointment he moved away.
"We should get the ramen and get back before they start to wonder what we were doing." Naruto grinned, and Sasuke noticed that his lips were slightly swollen and a brighter pink than normal. He turned away from the blonde, forcing himself to look anywhere else. 'WHY did I do that?' was the only thing running through his mind as he turned and walked back to the road.
Naruto's thoughts must have been mirroring his own because after a few moments the blonde said quietly, "Sasuke... NOT that I'm complaining, but why?"
"Because." He replied shortly, glaring at the ground.
"That's not exactly the kind of answer I was looking for." Naruto said after a moment of thought.
"I don't want to talk about it." Sasuke growled, trying to intimidate the blonde into dropping the subject.
Naruto refused to let it go. "Well, I DO."
Sasuke sighed and stopped walking, glaring at the boy. "I just DID. I wasn't THINKING, I didn't plan it, it just happened." Noticing that other people in the road were staring at them Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him once again off the road into the field behind some trees, a forest looming next to them. That should be private enough Lowering his voice he hissed, "I don't KNOW why I did it, just like I don't know why I feel... Argh!" The dark haired boy let out something between and growl and a grunt, pinning the blonde against a tree.
"Sasu-" Naruto started, but the other boy shook him, a dark look in his eyes.
"I don't know why you have this affect on me. Sometimes when you're around I feel so frustrated, like my skin's trying to crawl off. When you're not around I feel angry and tense and all I can think about is what you're doing. I don't know why I get so angry when I see you getting along well with Sakura, when your eyes soften as you talk about that woman-"
"What woman? Illia?" Naruto asked, confused.
Sasuke ignored him continuing, "I don't know why I constantly want to touch you. And I don't know why I enjoy this so much." That said he grabbed the blonde's hands, pressing them into the tree, he kissed the boy again.
Naruto stared wide eyed, allowing the kiss, allowing Sasuke to have control. It didn't help that he DID know why he was feeling all these things, it didn't help that he knew how strongly he felt about Sasuke, because knowing was not any comfort, it didn't provide any end to the questions that kept popping up. He wondered ruefully if Sasuke didn't really have it better by never feeling this sort of thing before. It also didn't help that every time the dark haired boy kissed him, every time Naruto WANTED his kiss, a feeling of betrayal stabbed into his heart. In some parts of his mind it really WAS only yesterday that he was a married old father of four and Sasuke's rough, passionate, confused kisses were so different from the soft, loving ones that Illia gave.
Sasuke must have noticed that he did not have the blonde's full attention because he suddenly released Naruto's hands, gruffly pulling the boy closer, tighter until it was almost painful. One hand wandered up, grabbing a handful of the thick, soft hair. As Naruto's mouth opened in surprise he took the initiative to deepen the kiss, allowing his teeth to bite softly on the other boy's lower lip.
Naruto felt his eyes close as thought fled from his mind and he allowed his body to simply react to the feelings welling up inside of him. The feelings of guilt dropped away. His body felt more alert, more alive as the animalistic part of his being took over. Breathing in though his nose it wasn't only Sasuke's and his own scents that he could smell but also, as if it were a physical aspect of both of them, he could smell their excitement, their passion mingling together, but there was something else, too. The stench of another person hung in the air and listening he could hear the slight, almost inaudible breathing of a third person watching from the woods. With the fury of an animal interrupted when about to mate Naruto pulled away from Sasuke, glaring into the woods.
Not eager to allow the kiss to end, but unwilling to admit it, Sasuke stepped away from Naruto, thrusting his hands into his pockets and looking away. He glanced back in surprise when he noticed the uncharacteristically dark aura around the blonde, who was sniffing the air and glancing about in the forest. Sasuke was forced to take a step back in surprise when his eyes reached Naruto's face. His normally clear, happy eyes looked almost red, (that had to be a trick of the light, right?) and his face was contorted in a rage Sasuke didn't even think the blonde boy was CAPABLE of.
"I know you're in there, bastard." Naruto half-spoke half-growled into the forest. "Kentaar's stench is all over you. GET OUT HERE, NOW!" The last was said at nothing short of a roar. Sasuke glanced around. Naruto must be imagining things; he couldn't detect anybody, not even an animal, in the forest.
The silence continued for a long moment, but then a slight, very soft rustling noise could be heard. A thin shadow, hands spread out to either side showing a lack of weapons, stepped slowly from the forest. "Magnificent." A deep, male voice called softly from the shadow. "I should have expected as much from Kentaar-sama's older brother."
Naruto stepped between Sasuke and the strange man in a protective manner. Sasuke felt his hackles rise, how DARE that idiot protect HIM? If anything, it was going to be the other way around. Crossing his arms haughtily Sasuke stepped to the side, bringing himself next to Naruto. "Who are you?"
The man ignored him, stepping closer to the angry blonde. "Truly magnificent, you are like a work of art. I can see why Kentaar-sama speaks so HIGHLY of you." He allowed a glance at Sasuke. "And such a strong partner, it will be a pity when Kentaar-sama kills you, little one. Of course, maybe I can convince him to let me play with you a little first."
Sasuke allowed an angry growl to escape his lips, preparing himself to charge the offensive man. He couldn't see the man's face, it was still hidden in the shadows, but he had a feeling the man was smirking at him. He would have attacked, but Naruto's hand had grabbed his arm firmly.
"What do you want?" Naruto growled, fighting against his desire to attack the man himself.
"Oh..." The man tisked sadly. "You won't let me bait you into a fight... No fun... No matter. I have a message from Kentaar-sama. It's..." The man patted his clothing a thoughtful manner. "Ah, yes, here it is." He pulled a bag from his back and threw it at Naruto's feet, its stench, which until now had been disguised, was now so strong even Sasuke had to cover his nose.
Naruto, hands shaking, bent down to pick up the bag and four heads rolled out, on each sat prominently the Konoha symbol Ninja head protector. Naruto shook in rage as he recognized one of the faces, a man he barely knew, but someone who had spent much of Naruto's childhood chasing the boy around and scolding him for his tricks. Naruto didn't even know the man's name.
Attached to one of the other heads was a note. It read simply, 'Older Brother, a small gift to remind you- I'm on my way. Next time it will be someone closer to you, I promise you that. I apologize for not returning their entire bodies, but I fed them to my pack. An interesting fact about wolves... Once they've tasted human blood they need more, it's like an obsession. Well, I'll be seeing you soon.'
Sasuke sunk to the ground, bile rising in his throat as he stared fixatedly at the terrified expression on one of the faces. "Bastard!" He growled, glaring at the place the messenger had been. But the man was no longer there. "DAMN!"
Naruto, still shaking in fury, managed to growl to Sasuke, "Go to the Hokage. I'll take care of him."
"IDIOT!" Sasuke snapped, grabbing at Naruto, trying to hold him back. There was no doubt in his mind that that man was powerful, powerful enough to kill both of them if he had wanted to. What made Naruto think he could catch the guy on his own, especially in his current state? But by the time his hand passed through where Naruto had been the blonde was already gone, out of reach, out of view. Sasuke cursed again, worry tightening his chest. Then he shook his head and ran to find the Hokage, or someone that could help, "That dobe better survive, or I'll kill him."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Psychic King: *glancing anxiously at the readers* OK... So be honest... What did you all think? *cowers behind the desk* I'll just wait here...
Tenmar: *walking by, reading a piece of paper* Um... I have to apologize for the shortness of the ending author notes, apparently Psychic King-sama is a little anxious about people's reactions to this chapter and can't think of much to say. Anyway, Naruto-sama and Sasuke-kun are both a little riled up right now.
Sasuke: *Storming in* A LITTE??? *looking around* WHERE IS SHE?
Tenmar: Um... If you mean Psychic King-sama, she has expertly hidden.
Sasuke: *looking around* She had to introduce that PERSON right after I finally get my hands on Naruto, didn't she? What happened to my romantic moment?
Tenmar: *Looking surprised* You wanted the moment to be... longer? I mean, the next step would have been... *blushing*
Sasuke: *glaring at Tenmar and stomps away*
Tenmar: *shaking head* Anyway... *looks back at audience* Please review and let Psychic King-sama know what you think about this chapter so next chapter maybe I can get my... Iruka moments... *blushing* And there was one more thing... *reading piece of paper from Psychic King* She wanted to know which of us original characters you like the most and which of us you like the least... Hum. That's a silly question, I mean, OBVIOUSLY you like me best, right? *smiles charmingly at readers and walks off*
Psychic King: *peaking from around her desk* Uh, hi! One more thing, now that everyone's gone. I got an e-mail from one of you readers mentioning that they might want to do some fan art (I'm not gonna name names because they might have changed their minds...) *pouting* But anyway, if ANY of you want to do some fan art and e-mail it to me, Hell YEAH! Feel free! I would be SO happy, as I have NO art skills. If anyone does the only thing I ask is that you send me a copy of the picture! Any questions or comments? E-mail me at Psychic_King@hotmail.com *waves to the readers* Bye! I'll update soon! I promise! Please review!
Sakura: *sighing sadly* It's no fair. She actually got better.
Naruto: *smiling* Yeah! Isn't it great?
Tenmar: *smiling* Sure is!
Sakura: *Glaring at them* What are YOU both so happy about?
Tenmar: *blushing* Well, in her reviews someone suggested that I get some action with Iruka...
Sakura: *shaking head* and you think she's actually going to do it?
Tenmar: *shrugging* Maybe. It's worth asking, right?
Psychic King: *looking at Tenmar's hopeful face* Uh, yeah... Well, sorry to say, not THIS chapter. But hey, sure, maybe next chapter. I mean, I've been meaning to make Iruka a more three dimensional character, anyway. Right now he just seems to follow Kakashi around... And Kakashi seems to follow him around, so...
Tenmar: *hopeful smile growing*
Psychic King: So, maybe.
Kakashi: *suddenly appearing, glaring at Psychic King* I forbid it!
Psychic King: *smiling and nodding, not really paying attention* Hai, hai. Whatever you say, Kakashi. *glancing at Naruto* But you ARE getting some action this chapter.
Naruto: *jumping into the air, fist raised* Hell, YEAH! *pauses, pondering* Wait, what kind of action?
Psychic King: *ignoring the question, looking to readers* Well, the long awaited day has arrived... I REALLY hope you like this chapter; I wrote it for all of you that review, who were so AWESOME last chapter. I usually think if I get about 8 reviews for a chapter it went OK, if I get less than 8 something is wrong with the chapter and if I get more, great. Well, last chapter I about DOUBLE my happy number of eight! You guys are WONDERFUL! MAGNIFICENT! I love you ALL! So, anyway, I am now giving you what I know you have been waiting ten chapters for. *grin* But I will warn you, there is a pretty dark scene near-
Sakura: *sighing in disgust* They're ABOUT to read it, do you REALLY need to tell them? *looking at readers* I think what she's trying to say is, she don't own Naruto or any of us, so her little stories ARE NOT real. Sasuke would NEVER touch that-
Psychic King: *ties a gag around Sakura's mouth* Yeah, whatever. Just enjoy the chapter everyone!!!!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Embrace of Solitude
Chapter 11
Sasuke took a little longer than he had intended to walk to the dinning room, where a large jumbled mess greeted his eyes. The table was covered with various puzzle games. Ganten seemed to be trying to convince Shikamaru to try a new game while Uzu seemed to be trying to distract the boy. "Ganten..." Uzu was saying, rolling his eyes. "Just because he beat you does NOT mean that you should take it as a personal injury." Glancing up, he smile. "Oi! If it isn't Sasuke-sama!" Uzu jumped from the table, which he had been seated on. He did a mock bow. "Tenmar says that dinner may be unfixable, but requests your supervision in the kitchen as soon as you were done 'composing' yourself."
Sasuke face went from blank to a dark scowl as he grabbed the red head by the neck and dragged him out of the room and into the kitchen. "Sasuke-kun! I think the dinner may be un-savable!" Tenmar said glancing up as the door swung open.
Ganten shook his head at his brother, giving him a nonverbal warning about talking to Sasuke right now.
"Then again, maybe I can figure it out on my own..." Tenmar popped his head back behind the large pot.
"Get over here." Sasuke snarled, tossing Uzu into a chair at the kitchen table.
Uzu allowed himself to be tossed good naturedly, trying hard to wipe the grin off his face.
Sasuke glared at him, trying to be intimidating, he placed his hands on either side of Uzu, leaning in close. "What did you tell them?"
Tenmar walked innocently around the large stove to stand next to Sasuke. "He really didn't say mu-"
A glare was shot quickly at Tenmar before Sasuke returned it to Uzu. "I asked him. WHAT did you tell them?"
Putting a hand over his mouth to hide his developing smile Uzu replied, "I only told Tenmar about the... position I found you and Daddy in."
Tenmar nodded as Sasuke backed away, face blank. "I think I deserved to know. After all, Naruto-sama is only a child and if you're gonna hurt him, as his oldest son, I think YOU deserve to know that I'll kill you."
Uzu nodded, face strait, eyes suddenly serious. "Yeah. You may be strong, but if you mess with Daddy I swear there will be no place for you to hide."
"I wasn't messing with anyone!" Sasuke replied, voice rising louder than he intended it to.
Naruto poked his head into the kitchen, followed by Sakura. "Is something wrong, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, stepping into the room.
"Yeah, Sasuke. You look like you just swallowed mud." Naruto walked in behind her, folding his arms behind his head and grinning.
"Sakura-chan, perhaps you should wait in the living room..." Tenmar shot the girl a strained smile, placing his hand on her shoulder and directing her tactfully out of the room. The door closed with a decisive click, and the rooms four occupants stood and stared at one another. Tenmar noticed with curiosity that Naruto and Sasuke both spent most of their time looking AWAY from each other, each glancing at the other and then looking quickly at something else. He sighed; it was obvious that HE was going to have to get the ball rolling. "So, how long has this been going on?"
"Nothing's going on!" Sasuke replied as the same time Naruto said, "Since just now." The two looked at each other, faces red. They looked away, and started speaking again.
"I mean... It's not any of your-" Sasuke began again, as Naruto said, "We weren't doing any-" Again both boys trailed off and stared once again at each other.
"Alright..." Tenmar sighed, looking at the ceiling. There was a huge possibility that he was going to regret this later, but... Placing a hand on both boys' shoulders he ushered them out the kitchen door to the back yard. "Well, dinner is ruined, and I'm eager to have Uzu try this ramen thing Naruto-sama keeps talking about, anyway. Why don't the two of you go pick some up for all of us? My treat, here's some cash." He sighed as he leaned against the closed kitchen door, looking at an irate looking Uzu. "What?"
"Why'd you do that?" Uzu asked accusingly, leaning against the table. "You practically FORCED him into that guy's arms!"
The tall blonde looked sideways at his brother, placing a hand against his face. "I don't know. It was obvious that they weren't ready to answer our questions yet, though. Hell, they haven't even asked EACH OTHER those questions yet. It isn't fair to tear them apart just because WE don't like it. I'm not even sure that I don't like it, it's just not..."
"What you expected?" Uzu finished, nodding, "Well... It doesn't matter. That guy's got too much of his head up his ass to notice a great guy like Daddy, anyway."
Tenmar shot his brother a rueful look. "I wish I were as certain as you that nothing was going to happen. Something about the way they were looking at each other tells me we're going to have two hormonal young boys on our hands."
"You're wrong," Uzu replied with a smile, opening the door to the dinning room, "I'd bet on it!"
Tenmar shook his head and smiled as he heard his brother exclaim, "Oh, God, not ANOTHER game... Fine, but this time I'm pla-" The door closing cut off the remainder of his words, but it was enough for Tenmar to know to head into the living room instead of following Uzu.
He found Sakura and Mina sitting on the couch, actually talking quietly to each other. Stepping into the room he shrugged, miracles DID happen. Well, it was not as if Sakura was a complete stranger, anyway. According to Naruto-sama, this girl was their mother's brother's daughter; that made her their cousin. Or maybe Mina was just coming out of her shell.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Naruto glanced at Sasuke as they walked side by side to the ramen place. Part of him realized that this was not a two person job and that he should send Sasuke back to his house and go get the ramen himself, the OTHER, more mature part of him realized what Tenmar was doing, sending them off together and wanted very much to know what would come from this walk together. "So Sasuke... Things were pretty weird back at the house, huh? What were they talking about, anyway?" He grinned, hopping to relieve some of the tension.
Sasuke glanced at the blonde next to him and grunted.
"I mean... What did they think, we were gonna jump on each other or something? I mean, YOU would never- WE would never-" For the second time that day Sasuke was grabbing his arm roughly, pushing him backward, off the road, behind a bush, onto his back. Naruto stared at the other boy for a moment, trying to calm his pounding heart. "What'd you do THAT fo-" And then Sasuke's mouth was covering his own, planting a hot, desperate kiss on the blonde. Naruto's eyes closed, wrapping his free hand around Sasuke's waist, pulling the dark haired boy closer.
Sasuke's head was swimming, his body responding before his mind had quite caught up; the only thing he knew for certain was that he was in control. When Naruto's hand found the bottom of his shirt and pulled it up, allowing his hand to caress the soft skin on Sasuke's back, even that thought disappeared. He pulled away, panting for breath. "Naruto..."
Blue eyes slowly opened and for once the blonde could not think of a thing to say. Hand still gently stroking Sasuke's back, he raised his head slowly to stare at the boy lying on top of him. Opening and closing his mouth soundlessly he tried desperately to say something, ANYTHING.
Sasuke smirked, leaning in again and capturing Naruto's lips in another deep, passionate kiss. Releasing Naruto's captured hand he wrapped his arms around the boy in a rough embrace. Rising from the kiss, but not pulling away, Sasuke kissed, licked, and bit his way to Naruto's ear, then down his neck.
Panting softly, Naruto finally managed to find his voice, "Sa- Sasuke..."
"Unh..." Sasuke grunted as Naruto's finger nails dragged across his back. He brought his lips back to the blonde's one last time before pulling completely away and sitting up. He racked a hand through his dark locks, trying desperately to clear his head. Breathing heavy, he glanced sideways at the blonde.
Naruto was not in a much better state than Sasuke, his heart was pounding a mile a minute and his breath was coming out in short gasps. "Wow." He looked at Sasuke and shook his head, sprawling out on the grass, "wow."
"You're still a dobe." Sasuke snorted, looking down as he straitened his shirt.
"Yeah? Well, you're a bastard." Naruto replied airily, twirling a blade of grass around his fingers. He glanced over to see Sasuke smirking at him. "What?"
"Nothing." Sasuke replied, standing. He reached a hand down and yanked Naruto to his feet. For a moment the blonde was intoxicatingly close, but with some feelings of disappointment he moved away.
"We should get the ramen and get back before they start to wonder what we were doing." Naruto grinned, and Sasuke noticed that his lips were slightly swollen and a brighter pink than normal. He turned away from the blonde, forcing himself to look anywhere else. 'WHY did I do that?' was the only thing running through his mind as he turned and walked back to the road.
Naruto's thoughts must have been mirroring his own because after a few moments the blonde said quietly, "Sasuke... NOT that I'm complaining, but why?"
"Because." He replied shortly, glaring at the ground.
"That's not exactly the kind of answer I was looking for." Naruto said after a moment of thought.
"I don't want to talk about it." Sasuke growled, trying to intimidate the blonde into dropping the subject.
Naruto refused to let it go. "Well, I DO."
Sasuke sighed and stopped walking, glaring at the boy. "I just DID. I wasn't THINKING, I didn't plan it, it just happened." Noticing that other people in the road were staring at them Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him once again off the road into the field behind some trees, a forest looming next to them. That should be private enough Lowering his voice he hissed, "I don't KNOW why I did it, just like I don't know why I feel... Argh!" The dark haired boy let out something between and growl and a grunt, pinning the blonde against a tree.
"Sasu-" Naruto started, but the other boy shook him, a dark look in his eyes.
"I don't know why you have this affect on me. Sometimes when you're around I feel so frustrated, like my skin's trying to crawl off. When you're not around I feel angry and tense and all I can think about is what you're doing. I don't know why I get so angry when I see you getting along well with Sakura, when your eyes soften as you talk about that woman-"
"What woman? Illia?" Naruto asked, confused.
Sasuke ignored him continuing, "I don't know why I constantly want to touch you. And I don't know why I enjoy this so much." That said he grabbed the blonde's hands, pressing them into the tree, he kissed the boy again.
Naruto stared wide eyed, allowing the kiss, allowing Sasuke to have control. It didn't help that he DID know why he was feeling all these things, it didn't help that he knew how strongly he felt about Sasuke, because knowing was not any comfort, it didn't provide any end to the questions that kept popping up. He wondered ruefully if Sasuke didn't really have it better by never feeling this sort of thing before. It also didn't help that every time the dark haired boy kissed him, every time Naruto WANTED his kiss, a feeling of betrayal stabbed into his heart. In some parts of his mind it really WAS only yesterday that he was a married old father of four and Sasuke's rough, passionate, confused kisses were so different from the soft, loving ones that Illia gave.
Sasuke must have noticed that he did not have the blonde's full attention because he suddenly released Naruto's hands, gruffly pulling the boy closer, tighter until it was almost painful. One hand wandered up, grabbing a handful of the thick, soft hair. As Naruto's mouth opened in surprise he took the initiative to deepen the kiss, allowing his teeth to bite softly on the other boy's lower lip.
Naruto felt his eyes close as thought fled from his mind and he allowed his body to simply react to the feelings welling up inside of him. The feelings of guilt dropped away. His body felt more alert, more alive as the animalistic part of his being took over. Breathing in though his nose it wasn't only Sasuke's and his own scents that he could smell but also, as if it were a physical aspect of both of them, he could smell their excitement, their passion mingling together, but there was something else, too. The stench of another person hung in the air and listening he could hear the slight, almost inaudible breathing of a third person watching from the woods. With the fury of an animal interrupted when about to mate Naruto pulled away from Sasuke, glaring into the woods.
Not eager to allow the kiss to end, but unwilling to admit it, Sasuke stepped away from Naruto, thrusting his hands into his pockets and looking away. He glanced back in surprise when he noticed the uncharacteristically dark aura around the blonde, who was sniffing the air and glancing about in the forest. Sasuke was forced to take a step back in surprise when his eyes reached Naruto's face. His normally clear, happy eyes looked almost red, (that had to be a trick of the light, right?) and his face was contorted in a rage Sasuke didn't even think the blonde boy was CAPABLE of.
"I know you're in there, bastard." Naruto half-spoke half-growled into the forest. "Kentaar's stench is all over you. GET OUT HERE, NOW!" The last was said at nothing short of a roar. Sasuke glanced around. Naruto must be imagining things; he couldn't detect anybody, not even an animal, in the forest.
The silence continued for a long moment, but then a slight, very soft rustling noise could be heard. A thin shadow, hands spread out to either side showing a lack of weapons, stepped slowly from the forest. "Magnificent." A deep, male voice called softly from the shadow. "I should have expected as much from Kentaar-sama's older brother."
Naruto stepped between Sasuke and the strange man in a protective manner. Sasuke felt his hackles rise, how DARE that idiot protect HIM? If anything, it was going to be the other way around. Crossing his arms haughtily Sasuke stepped to the side, bringing himself next to Naruto. "Who are you?"
The man ignored him, stepping closer to the angry blonde. "Truly magnificent, you are like a work of art. I can see why Kentaar-sama speaks so HIGHLY of you." He allowed a glance at Sasuke. "And such a strong partner, it will be a pity when Kentaar-sama kills you, little one. Of course, maybe I can convince him to let me play with you a little first."
Sasuke allowed an angry growl to escape his lips, preparing himself to charge the offensive man. He couldn't see the man's face, it was still hidden in the shadows, but he had a feeling the man was smirking at him. He would have attacked, but Naruto's hand had grabbed his arm firmly.
"What do you want?" Naruto growled, fighting against his desire to attack the man himself.
"Oh..." The man tisked sadly. "You won't let me bait you into a fight... No fun... No matter. I have a message from Kentaar-sama. It's..." The man patted his clothing a thoughtful manner. "Ah, yes, here it is." He pulled a bag from his back and threw it at Naruto's feet, its stench, which until now had been disguised, was now so strong even Sasuke had to cover his nose.
Naruto, hands shaking, bent down to pick up the bag and four heads rolled out, on each sat prominently the Konoha symbol Ninja head protector. Naruto shook in rage as he recognized one of the faces, a man he barely knew, but someone who had spent much of Naruto's childhood chasing the boy around and scolding him for his tricks. Naruto didn't even know the man's name.
Attached to one of the other heads was a note. It read simply, 'Older Brother, a small gift to remind you- I'm on my way. Next time it will be someone closer to you, I promise you that. I apologize for not returning their entire bodies, but I fed them to my pack. An interesting fact about wolves... Once they've tasted human blood they need more, it's like an obsession. Well, I'll be seeing you soon.'
Sasuke sunk to the ground, bile rising in his throat as he stared fixatedly at the terrified expression on one of the faces. "Bastard!" He growled, glaring at the place the messenger had been. But the man was no longer there. "DAMN!"
Naruto, still shaking in fury, managed to growl to Sasuke, "Go to the Hokage. I'll take care of him."
"IDIOT!" Sasuke snapped, grabbing at Naruto, trying to hold him back. There was no doubt in his mind that that man was powerful, powerful enough to kill both of them if he had wanted to. What made Naruto think he could catch the guy on his own, especially in his current state? But by the time his hand passed through where Naruto had been the blonde was already gone, out of reach, out of view. Sasuke cursed again, worry tightening his chest. Then he shook his head and ran to find the Hokage, or someone that could help, "That dobe better survive, or I'll kill him."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Psychic King: *glancing anxiously at the readers* OK... So be honest... What did you all think? *cowers behind the desk* I'll just wait here...
Tenmar: *walking by, reading a piece of paper* Um... I have to apologize for the shortness of the ending author notes, apparently Psychic King-sama is a little anxious about people's reactions to this chapter and can't think of much to say. Anyway, Naruto-sama and Sasuke-kun are both a little riled up right now.
Sasuke: *Storming in* A LITTE??? *looking around* WHERE IS SHE?
Tenmar: Um... If you mean Psychic King-sama, she has expertly hidden.
Sasuke: *looking around* She had to introduce that PERSON right after I finally get my hands on Naruto, didn't she? What happened to my romantic moment?
Tenmar: *Looking surprised* You wanted the moment to be... longer? I mean, the next step would have been... *blushing*
Sasuke: *glaring at Tenmar and stomps away*
Tenmar: *shaking head* Anyway... *looks back at audience* Please review and let Psychic King-sama know what you think about this chapter so next chapter maybe I can get my... Iruka moments... *blushing* And there was one more thing... *reading piece of paper from Psychic King* She wanted to know which of us original characters you like the most and which of us you like the least... Hum. That's a silly question, I mean, OBVIOUSLY you like me best, right? *smiles charmingly at readers and walks off*
Psychic King: *peaking from around her desk* Uh, hi! One more thing, now that everyone's gone. I got an e-mail from one of you readers mentioning that they might want to do some fan art (I'm not gonna name names because they might have changed their minds...) *pouting* But anyway, if ANY of you want to do some fan art and e-mail it to me, Hell YEAH! Feel free! I would be SO happy, as I have NO art skills. If anyone does the only thing I ask is that you send me a copy of the picture! Any questions or comments? E-mail me at Psychic_King@hotmail.com *waves to the readers* Bye! I'll update soon! I promise! Please review!