Disclaimer: Not mine. Plotline is though – so no stealing!

A/N: hi y'all. Back again. Hmmm not sure I like this chappie at all. O well. Too tired and lazy to redo it. Thanks again to all my reviewers – you guys force me to update. Hahah otherwise, I'd start it and then forget about it... and it would sit and collect dust. That'd be sad, no? so BIG BIG thanks for ur wonderful reviews!!

Noniechan: no.. I probably won't put a lemon in the story... not sure I can write a decent one yet.. hahah remember – this is only my first fic! Ever!! Lol but thnx for ur support!!

Thank you to ghostninja85, jenniyah, Renn, Dragonheart, Iceheart19, Kitty Meow, Poprice, Gisela, and Anime Lass too!!!! You guys are awesome!

The Legend of the Thiasa: Chapter 4

Naruto felt panic rising up in him. What the hell just happened? Frantically, he reviewed the events over in his mind. He had tried to kill the Avian soldier and somehow, even though he had intended to apply a lot of force, something had prevented him from doing so. The blade had slid harmlessly off of the black-haired boy's throat. He clenched and unclenched his hand. It felt fine. Then why couldn't he hurt this boy? What was wrong with him?

He glanced down once again at his left wrist. Smooth skin, pale and unmarred, met his vision. Involuntarily, he shivered. This wasn't right. How had the cut healed so fast? And without leaving a scar too. He was starting to get freaked out.

Naruto transferred his wide-eyed gaze to the enemy in front of him. The strange boy was still standing there, staring at his own wrist and hand, apparently feeling as much shock and confusion as the blonde. His eyes shifted. Black eyes connected with blue.

Sasuke tried to force his frozen mind to work. Something about what just happened struck a chord within him. There was something he was missing here – something that would explain what the hell just happened. Shaking, he stumbled over to the nearest tree and leaned against it for support. A quick glance at his opponent showed that they probably weren't going to be fighting again any time soon. His forehead creased as his mind slowly recovered from the shock and kicked into high gear.

Something was nagging him in the back of his mind. He was sure he knew the explanation to all of this... he just couldn't put his finger on it. Damnit! If only he could remember. Suddenly, he wished Itachi were there. His brother would know what had happened – and know how to deal with it. Sighing, Sasuke ran his fingers through his hair and let the dark strands fall around his face. He could feel the blonde's gaze on him.

He closed his eyes and forced himself to relax – to let the solution drift up to the surface of his thoughts. He pictured his mind as a placid lake, clear and smooth. It was a method he had adopted early on in the Academy and though he mostly used it to restrain himself from killing all his fangirls, it worked well for clearing his mind and allowing the most important thoughts to rise to the surface. Breathing deeply, he felt his muscles loosen and his chaotic thoughts gently faded away.

"What the hell are you doing?? You can't fall asleep on me like that!" Sasuke's eyes snapped open as he glared at the annoying blonde.

"I was THINKING. Now, shut up and let me find a way out of this." Sasuke retorted. Eyes halfway closed, he caught a glimpse of the boy opening his mouth again. "And don't you dare interrupt."

Inwardly, he sighed as he restarted his calming process. What had he gotten himself into? Smoothly, Sasuke slipped into a relaxed state. A minute went by in silence.

"OH FUCK!" Naruto flinched at the sudden outburst. Sasuke had pushed himself away from the tree rather quickly and there was a definite wild panic in his dark eyes as he stood there, swaying slightly. "OH FUCK OH FUCK...ooh..." Sasuke lowered his voice to an unbelieving whisper.

Naruto patiently waited a couple more seconds, hoping that the boy would explain the situation to him, but Sasuke continued to curse and mutter under his breath. Finally, Naruto snapped.

"What the hell!!!" Naruto lunged at Sasuke and caught hold of his shirt. "Tell me what the fuck happened! Why can't I hurt you?? What are all these damn sparks? Why the hell am I healed?!" he growled.

Hesitantly, Sasuke spoke after a few seconds. "You aren't going to like this..." he took a deep breath. "Why don't we sit down?"

Grudgingly, Naruto let go of him and plopped himself down on the soft grass. Sasuke joined him and gathered his thoughts as to how to break the news to this boy. Surprised, he suddenly realized that they still did not know each other's names.

"What's your name?" he blurted.

Naruto, still fuming, raised an eyebrow. "Naruto." He hesitated a split second. "Umino Naruto."

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke." An awkward silence.

Abruptly, Sasuke sighed heavily. "Naruto, how are mates chosen in your clan?"

"I'm not that sure. I never asked, and no one ever told me," came the surprised response.

"Well, I'm going to assume that it's the same for the two clans. Basically, if two people like each other, they begin a courtship. Sometimes, this courtship lasts for weeks, sometimes for years. Eventually, if the two feel confident enough about their relationship, they will usually ask their friends, family, and mentors for their opinions as to whether the two are suited for each other or not. If the feedback is positive, the two will perform a mating ceremony." Sasuke paused, feeling very uncomfortable. He wasn't used to talking so much and on such an odd subject too. He breathed deeply before continuing.

"The mating ceremony used to be very complex and difficult, but over the centuries, it has become more refined and simple. Almost anyone can perform it now. But, the biggest mystery about the ceremony is that somehow, it will chose people who are meant for each other and bond them. That's why there is no such thing as a broken bond or a regretted bonding."

Impatiently, Naruto interrupted. "What does all that have to do with anything?"

Sasuke turned slightly to stare at him. "Naruto. The ceremony is performed by slitting the left wrists and holding the wounds together. The sharing of one's lifeblood with the person one is destined to mate with, triggers the bonding."

Naruto stared back, uncomprehending. "So?"

Sasuke growled in frustration. Just how stupid was this boy?! "Don't you get it?? We've accidentally performed the ceremony. We're bonded. We. Are. Mates. For. Life."

Horror spread across Naruto's face as the implications of their situation dawned on him. His mouth opened and closed uselessly, as he was left, for once in his life, speechless. Stupidly, he realized why Sasuke had wanted him to sit down. As the initial shock wore off though, he recovered his voice.

"No fucking way! Shit! What are we going to do now?? I'm too young to be bonded! What am I going to tell Iruka? Why am I bonded to a boy? You're Avian! You're a freaking BIRD! How the hell could an Avian bond with a Canis?! What the hell have you done?!?!? How - "

"Shut up! I don't know any of these answers! And I haven't done anything! WE did!!"

Naruto calmed down a bit. Inside though, he was still panicking. Today was definitely not a good day. Wait. Maybe he was dreaming. Yes! That must be it. In a few minutes, he'd wake up in his familiar bed to the familiar sound of Iruka yelling at him and the familiar smell of breakfast. Yes. That's exactly it. He would wake up and none of this craziness would have happened. He wouldn't have killed anyone, he wouldn't have fought Sasuke, he wouldn't be bonded to Sasuke. Hell, he wouldn't even know Sasuke. Excellent. Having made sense of all this, Naruto started nodding to himself.

Sasuke watched, annoyed, as Naruto lapsed into silent thought. When he started nodding though and looking smug, Sasuke decided he couldn't take it anymore.

"What are you smiling about?" he said coldly.

"I've figured it out, see. You are a dream! HAHAHAH! Only a dream!! Once I wake up, everything will be perfect once again. I just hafta get out of this retarded dream-"

"What the hell are you talking about – this isn't a dream!" Sasuke fumed. Anger crept in and he sent a punch to Naruto's head. A second passed before he realized what was wrong. His fist lay an inch from the blonde's head as if it had met with an invisible barrier. Gritting his teeth, he tried forcing his fist forward, only to discover more resistance. Sasuke felt tiny waves of nausea run through his body as his arm shook with the effort. Naruto grinned at him in obvious nonchalance, still thinking that it was all a harmless dream. The nausea quickly grew stronger as Sasuke continued to try and hurt Naruto. Pain wracked his body and blackness started creeping in around the edges of his vision. With a snarl of frustration, he finally gave in and withdrew his fist. Immediately, the pain disappeared.

His anger faded, to be replaced with genuine confusion. What was going on? He reached out for Naruto once again, hesitantly. Gently, he placed a hand on his arm and shook it.

"Naruto, this is not a dream. I'm real. This is real. So snap out of it."

"Prove it," Naruto laughed.

Clamping down on his anger, Sasuke replied through clenched teeth, "I hear Avian sentries flying this way. Hurry and go back home. When you do wake up in the morning, if the cuts on your upper arm are still there, then you'll know that this isn't a dream. And once you know that this is real, try asking around about the consequences of bonding. Meet me at Miehra Lake tomorrow morning at noon. Now, go."

Naruto nodded happily as he stood. "Bye, Sasuke!" he said before scampering off into the woods.

Sasuke stared unhappily after him for a second or two. What exactly had he gotten himself into? Shaking his head, he forced himself to put the recent events aside and think only of his duty. Quickly, he shifted and launched himself into the air. He had lied – there were no sentries coming, he had just wanted to be rid of Naruto so he could think alone.

From his vantage point in the air, he could see the small figure running through the trees with his keen eyes. Turning his head slightly, he caught sight of the former battlefield. It was littered with carcasses - bird, canine, and human. He couldn't tell who had won this battle and in a sudden burst of despondency, he didn't really care. Changing his course, he headed westward to the Tower. Sasuke just wanted to go home.

Naruto awoke slowly. In his hazy mind, he remarked to himself that he just had a very interesting dream. It was insane, actually. Naruto snorted softly to himself. Imagine! Being bonded with a boy! And not only that, but an AVIAN boy too! Thank goodness it was only a dream. His mind becoming clearer now, Naruto moved to stretch lazily as he yawned. A sharp pain shot through his left arm when he tried to raise it. Surprised and curious, he pushed back the sleeve of his PJ and turned his head to the left. Shock ran through his body as he stared at the dark maroon slashes descending down his arm. What the hell? Numbly, flashes of yesterday's events rushed back to him.

"Naruto!! Get up!" Iruka's holler came through the thin curtain. "It's already 11!"

Naruto groaned. Squeezing his eyes shut stubbornly, he called back, "Five more minutes!"

"No! Don't make me come in there!"

Naruto groaned loudly again. Something nagged at the back of his mind. He furrowed his brows, thinking hard. What was it he had to do...? His eyes widened as he remembered suddenly that he was supposed to meet Sasuke at noon. Shoot! He was supposed to research about bonds too!

"Arrgh!" the blonde growled as he forced himself to leave the warm bed. Stupid Sasuke. Stupid bonds. He changed quickly and stumbled into the main room where Iruka sat, reading a book.

"About time," he grumbled. "Honestly, I tried waking you 7 different times and – HEY! Just where do you think you're going?!"

Naruto paused guiltily, halfway out the door. "Um... I just want to see Shikamaru. Y'know... tell him about yesterday's battle." Inwardly, he squirmed at the lie and hoped that Iruka would not notice the blush that was slowly creeping up on his cheeks.

Thankfully, his father was too preoccupied with his book to notice. "Ok then, as long as you're back before nightfall. Just because you fought your first battle doesn't mean that you can ignore all the usual rules, y'know. You still need to..." the rest of his words were lost as Naruto bolted out the door and into the relative safety of the empty corridor.

Heaving a sigh of relief at his escape, he started walking to Shikamaru's house. He hadn't lied about that part at least. Shika was probably the smartest person he knew – he hoped that his knowledge extended to the matter of bonding and mates. Plus, another great thing about Shika was that he was too lazy to be curious. Which was perfectly fine with Naruto at the moment. His feet carried him on the familiar route and soon, he found himself outside of his friend's home.

"Shika!" Naruto called. After a minute or two, a spiky brown head appeared from behind the curtain.

"What?" came the surly response.

Naruto grabbed his wrist and forced him outside, where he proceeded to drag him down the hallway towards the nearest outside exit. Finally, they emerged through the hidden door into the hot midday sun. Immediately, Naruto threw himself down on the carpet of grass and motioned for Shika to do the same.

Grumbling, Shika sat. "What did you want?"

Naruto grinned. "Is there anything wrong with just wanting to hang out?"

Shika sighed and waited patiently. He had known Naruto for a while now and he never wanted to 'just hang out'.

A moment or two passed. "ACTUALLY. I was wondering what you would know about lifebonds." Naruto said casually.

Shika was surprised. That was certainly... random. Maybe Naruto had finally found a love interest. He shrugged. "Well what do you want to know?"

Naruto thought about it for a bit. "Well... I already know about the bonding ceremony... Are there any ... um... nuances to being in a bond?"

"Yeah," the brown-haired boy responded. "There are several. First of all, the development of a bond is generally divided into two parts – with the first being shorter and the second being for the rest of a person's life. The major thing about bonds is that the bondmates share telepathy. Also, strong emotions are sent across the bond, which is why if one mate is feeling bad, the other will also feel bad. Most people think that it's because of this aspect of bonds that mates always die together. This emotional and mental bond starts in the first stage and spans the second. During the first stage, the mates will feel a strong desire to be near each other. When they part for a long distance, for any reason, during that time, they feel an ache in their chests that grows exponentially when it's ignored. It wears off when the second stage starts. Generally though, that part's not a problem, since newly bonded couples are so in love, they never leave each other's side anyway."

Shika snorted lightly and looked curiously at Naruto. "Why do you want to know all this anyway?"

Naruto turned red. "Ah.." he stammered.

"Never mind," Shika smirked inwardly. He knew it. It was probably some girl.

"Anyway, another major thing about bonds is that mates cannot hurt each other physically. Nobody knows how exactly it works. They can hurt each other emotionally, but as they share emotions, it's not usually worth it. In the second stage, they also start to blend their dislikes or likes together." Shika tilted his head and thought. "That's about it, really."

"Thanks a lot Shikamaru! I owe you!" Naruto grinned. He stood up. "I have to go now though, I'm late for a meeting." He turned to go.

"Wait. One last thing." Naruto turned back and met Shika's serious gaze.

"There is no known way to break a bond."

Naruto stared, a sinking feeling starting in his stomach. "But... what if somebody doesn't like their bondmate?" Or even KNOW their bondmate? He added silently.

Shika yawned slightly. "That's impossible. A bond only forms between people who are MEANT to be together. Ultimately, Kyarae chooses mates - not us."

Shakily, Naruto nodded at him, turned and ran out in the direction of Miehra Lake.

TBC

Preview:

"Shit! You said it wouldn't rain!" Naruto yelled over the noise of the downpour. "Now what do we do?"

Sasuke grabbed Naruto and dragged him into the relative safety of the trees. There, he shook his head violently, sending droplets of water everywhere, before he answered. "We'll wait until it stops and then we'll go back, dobe."

As soon as he finished speaking, a loud crack filled the air. Both of them whirled around and stared, horrified, as the bridge was finally overwhelmed by the rising waters of the river. With a second magnificent crack, the entire thing collapsed into the rushing river, taking with it, the two boys' hope of getting off the island.