Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters and blah! So, nyah! You can't sue me now! (attempts to chuck demonic plushies at anyone who dares say otherwise)

Fragile Bonds

Chapter 9: A Blow to the Face

"You wanted to see me, old hag?"

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched before smiling contentedly. "Yes, I did. Congratulations on passing the jounin exams."

He rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "Hehe, yeah. I think the fact that I was already a jounin ended up in a bit of confusion, though."

She smirked. "Yeah, you brat. They kept me there for an extra half an hour to speak to me about it."

"That's how it is when you're Hokage, ne?" He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in a playful manner. "But anyway, what do you need?"

"Well, since you seem to like getting to the point," she began, folding her papers neatly before setting them in the center of her desk. "I'd like to give you a proposal."

"And that is…?

"A new mission."

His gaze shot up, a bright smile on his face. "You sound serious. Is it something tough?!" He swayed back and forth on the balls of his feet. "So, so? What is it?"

She grinned, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Well, your mission is to…"

Naruto stopped and pressed his feet firmly to the ground. 'It's that look… Damn it, maybe I should have stayed home!' He knew that look, and every time he saw it, he ended up doing something stupid because of blackmail or a threat to his career. 'Erp… it can't be that bad…'

"Your mission is to clear your apartment and mov-"

The blond's jaw dropped. He stood there, gaping at her before everything came crashing down on him. "WHAT? What do you mean?! I like my house, there's no way I'm budging out of there.!"

She winced and plugged her ears with her fingers. "Shut up! You're going to make my ears bleed! I haven't even finished."

He sighed and plopped himself on the cushioned chair across from Tsunade. "Some mission," he grumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing! Nothing! Just give me the details already. I have places to be," he said, remembering that he was supposed to meet his genin team later that day.

"Hmph. Anyway, as I was saying… you are to clear out your apartment and move in with someone you know," she said. "I will be telling you who you will stay with." Naruto watched with an expression that screamed "I don't give a damn!".

"And how long is this?"

"One month."

Naruto slumped down in his chair even further. "Fine, whatever." He stood up to leave. He grumbled and threw quiet curses at Tsunade.

'What kinda crap mission is this? It's not even a freaking mission! But then if I refused her, she'd probably just murder me,' he thought. He reached for the door handle when a question struck him.

"Oi… what's the reason for this mission anyway?"

Tsunade looked up, her hair falling forward and framing her face. "Hmm, well that's a secret. Besides, in this case, I don't need to give you a reason."

He fumed and gripped the door handle, his knuckles turning white before thrusting it open. "Fine!" He stormed down the hallway.

She snickered before shouting out. "Oh, and Naruto!! You'll be staying with Uchiha! And don't bother asking for a change!! IT'S FINAL!" Loud screams were heard coming from the hallway. She sighed and leaned back in her seat, smirking. "I love this job."

"And that's how it went."

Beads of sweat rolled down the side of Iruka's face. Tsunade seemed rather pleased with her 'brilliant plan', but he was fully aware of their past rivalry and he was pretty sure it wasn't any different now. In fact, it could be worse than ever. "Hokage-sama, I understand that you're doing this for Naruto's own benefit, but…" he hesitated. "A-Are you sure this is the best way to go about it? I mean, those two have never really gotten along! Even at the Academy."

Tsunade tapped her pen against the desk thoughtfully. "I'm aware of their relationship, but I really don't care." A frown marred her pale visage.

The brunette sighed and lowered his gaze to his hands. "I also understand," he began. "That you are aware of the change in Naruto." Tsunade closed her eyes and rested her head in her palms. "Don't blame yourself."

"I know, I know. It's just that I wasn't even aware that he was suffering. I knew of his past troubles with the villagers because of the demon, but I thought that he was okay with that." A tear slipped through the cracks in her fingers. "I just wish I could have helped him."

Iruka smiled lightly. "I think he'll be fine. Just give him some time," he said, standing up to leave. "Naruto… don't think of him as being lost." He walked out, shutting the door behind him with a soft click.

"Jiraiya said the same thing. Maybe I am overreacting." She laughed. "You just had to sneak your way into my heart didn't you, you little brat." She closed her eyes and smiled sadly. "Because... you're just like them."

The mission had been even more irritating than usual and all of them were getting impatient. Especially Reiji.

"ARG! Damn you, you crazy cat! I HATE THIS!" Reiji ran out of the house, the back of his white shorts ripped to shreds, revealing a nice pair of bright blue boxers. The small, brown cat launched itself at his left leg. "BAD kitty! BAAAD! AAAH!"

Sachiko's eyes almost popped out of her head. "Reiji!" She jumped forward and grabbed the cat that had latched itself onto the boy's leg. "No! Let go!" Sachiko pulled the cat and successfully tugged it off of his leg. Unfortunately, it decided to go for her hair instead. She screeched. "MY HAIR! Sensei!!"

"Wha?!" Naruto sat up and slammed his head into a branch above him. He rubbed the top of his head and lazily watched the scene before him. Sachiko was screaming at the top of her lungs, a small brown… thing… was attacking her now messy blue hair, Reiji was trying to yank it off. And Daisuke, who had just come out with some food, dropped it and ran towards them, helping Reiji. "Holy crap," was all the blond could say. He leaned forward slightly to go help them, but remembering his previous mission with a strange brown cat, he decided to stay put. "Erm… well, if they can't handle that, then they're never going to be able to get anywhere."

Daisuke continued trying to carefully pry the cat off of her head without ripping her hair in the process while Reiji ran off yelling something involving water. Seconds later, Reiji came around the corner with a long hose, aiming it at Sachiko. He smiled evilly, his emerald eyes shining.

Daisuke stared at the brunette. "Reiji, what are you… ah, shit." He jumped out of the way as a strong spray of water bombarded Sachiko.

"EEK!!" The cat hissed and jumped off of her, retreating back to the house. She fell to her knees. "I. Never. Want. To. See. Another. Cat. Again. In. My. LIFE!!" She growled out each and every syllable. She craned her neck towards Reiji. "Reiji?" She smiled sweetly.

The boy stood there, reveling in the fact that he had thought up a brilliant idea to get the 'demon cat' away. "Yeah?"

'This is it! Maybe she'll reward me with a hug or maybe something else.' He cackled within his mind.

"GET ME A TOWEL!!"

"Eep!" He jumped and ran into the house.

Daisuke dusted off his black shirt. "This is ridiculous. What kind of missions are these?" He sat down on the grassy hill by the large mansion. They had been assigned to take care of a cat owned by a rather loud woman.

Sachiko whimpered at the sight of her hair, squeezing out the water from the blue strands. Reiji came running up the hill, tossing her a white towel. She smiled and thanked him, toweling her hair. He looked around. "Hey, where's Naruto-sensei?"

Daisuke sighed and pointed up towards the tree behind them. "There." Reiji ran past him. The dark-haired boy raised an eyebrow when he noticed a tear in the back of Reiji's shorts. He slapped his forehead. "You moron. Why don't you go change your damn shorts before anything else!"

He turned and glared at his teammate. "Shut up! I will later!"

"Whatever. Walk around like that then."

A light blush crept into his cheeks as he realized how ridiculous it probably did look. Of course, he wasn't going to lose in an argument with him. "Fine, I will!"

"Go ahead. Just don't yell at me when you get insulted."

"I don't care!"

Sachiko looked from both boys and sighed. "Do you guys have to fight over everything? Sheesh. It's okay, Daisuke. He'll live. I don't think anyone's going to be looking there anyway. Or, I hope so," she said, smiling at the two.

"Oh, I'm not too sure about that. There are a lot of strange people around, you know?"

The three turned around. Naruto was wearing his jounin outfit, but a black cloth was still tied to his forehead. The Konoha headband was still nowhere in sight. Daisuke grunted. "Strange, huh?"

Reiji nodded. "You mean like you?" Sachiko smacked him over the head.

"Don't say that, stupid!" She whispered.

"Let's just go. I don't want to be here right now."

The three nodded and picked up their backpacks, running down the path to catch up with their teacher who had walked ahead of them.

"Naruto-sensei! Wait!" Sachiko called after him, gasping for air when she finally reached his side. Reiji and Daisuke had fallen behind, quarreling again over something. She stopped and waited. "You guys, can't you just stop that already? I swear, you guys argue over everything. And I mean everything." But her words fell upon deaf words since the two continued their bickering.

"Shut up, you bastard!"

"Whatever."

Naruto closed his eyes, frowning.

The noise didn't stop.

"I'll beat you! Just you watch!"

He dug his fingers into his palms, trying to ignore it. It didn't stop.

"You wish… moron."

He held an arm out, blocking their path. "Shut up, you two!!"

Reiji squeaked and jumped back. They stopped. Sachiko gasped and both she and Daisuke took a step away from him. "S-Sensei?"

Naruto's eyes widened. "I'm sorry…" he held a gloved palm out, staring at it. He sighed and looked up at a sky of different colored leaves. "I'm just frustrated, but seriously," he said, turning towards Daisuke and Reiji. "You two really need to stop that. You're teammates. So act like it! Arguing over nothing gets you nowhere. Trust me, I know what it's like."

The three relaxed slightly, realizing that he was back to normal. Reiji felt slightly guilty. It didn't occur to him at the time, but he finally noticed that the blond had been stressed all afternoon. "What happened?" he pressed.

"It's nothing. Just stressed out about a new mission."

Daisuke raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean you'll be gone?"

Naruto laughed. "You sound excited about it!" Sachiko chuckled lightly. "Well, too bad for you, but no… I'm not going to be gone. I can still torture you. Hehehe…" The dark-haired boy rolled his eyes.

"I never said anything about wanting you to leave," he mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Ah, so you WANT me to stay then! I never knew you loved me so much!"

Daisuke's eyes twitched. "I never said that either…"

Naruto sighed and ruffled his raven hair, much to the boy's dislike. "Just no fun." He picked up the pace, leaving the three trailing behind, expecting them to catch up, but they didn't.

"I still don't buy the cheery attitude," Sachiko mumbled, tying her frazzled, blue hair into a low ponytail.

Reiji nodded. "Yeah, that was kinda freaky. He usually never gets mad like that." The three continued walking in silence when Reiji was struck with a 'brilliant' idea. "Hey, hey! I have an idea!"

Sachiko stared at him. "Hm?"

"Why don't we follow him?"

"Forget it."

"Blah! Like Naruto-sensei said, you're no fun. Come on!" He jabbed Daisuke's arm repeatedly. "I want to know!"

The dark-haired boy slapped aside his teammates hand and sped up slightly. "It's not like it would work anyway. He'd sense our presence within seconds."

Sachiko sighed. 'It sounded like fun, but… he's right. Noo!'

"We can always make up an excuse!" Reiji fought back.

"Oh? And like what?"

"Err… well, when I think of one I'll tell you!"

Daisuke smirked. "Exactly. We have nothing. There's no way I'm getting involved with this, so just drop it."

"Phase one… executed."

Reiji nodded. "Phase two… executed."

Sachiko and Reiji squinted through the leaves that hid them from view. There was something going on with their teacher and they were determined to find out exactly what that something was. Which leads to why they were now hiding in a tree that gave them a clear view into the window of someone's room. Now, if only they could find out whom the room belonged to.

They had managed to complete the first to phases of their mission. Phase one: track and locate the subject. After an hour of running around the entire village, they smacked themselves in the head and headed for the place that their subject would most likely be at; Ichiraku.

Phase two: follow the subject. Once they had located the subject the three quietly followed him to his destination. It was as easy as stealing candy from a baby! Well, if you don't count the four times that he had actually spotted them. Luckily, they had managed to give him clever excuses like, "I dropped my wallet here" or "My cat ran away and I swear I saw it run by here!". Oh, yes. They were geniuses.

"What am I doing here…?" Daisuke slumped his shoulders. "I. Hate. My. Life." He smacked his head against the tree with each word.

"Shh! He'll hear us!" Reiji whispered, holding a finger up to his mouth.

After several tries at piquing Daisuke's curiosity, Sachiko and Reiji finally managed to drag him along on their so-called 'mission'. It's true he was curious about his teacher's sudden outburst earlier that day, but he wasn't going to let them know that. It wasn't exactly normal to run around poking into your teacher's affairs. Besides, it wasn't his business. So, why should he care?

'Damn Reiji into dragging me into this!' He scolded himself in the back of his mind. 'But… I could have just walked away.' He sighed . 'Damn my curiosity.'

There was a soft cracking noise.

Daisuke's head shot up. He glanced around. There was no one. He looked over to Sachiko and Reiji, but they returned the same confused glances. He was about to go back to watching for his teacher when he felt an arm on his left shoulder. He froze against the touch and instinctively reached for a kunai, but his hand was caught.

"Crap!" Reiji stood up, but slipped off, falling to the ground.

"Reiji!!" Sachiko screeched.

He twitched on the ground. "Ouch… That hurt."

Daisuke's eyes widened and he turned around slowly only to meet eyes of the deepest and purest blue. "S-Sensei," he whispered. He snatched his hand away and did a back flip off of the tree, reaching out a hand to pull up Reiji.

"I knew you three were up to something. Those excuses were horrible," he said, hiding his urge to laugh at their startled expressions. 'At least they were better than Kakashi-sensei's,' he thought. He sweat dropped. 'Those were just… awful.' He chuckled softly to himself.

"Erm, you see sensei… W-We were j-just trying to…" Sachiko looked down at her teammates. "Our teamwork!" She smiled. "Those two always argue over everything and we finally decided that we would practice our stealth together by following you." Her voice returned to normal as she gained confidence. "It was a practice mission!"

"Ah, I see." He nodded approvingly at the three.

Sachiko did a mental victory dance. 'Yes! He bought it!'

Reiji beamed. 'Go, Sachiko! I knew I always liked you!' Daisuke smirked beside him.

"Good job, you three," he paused and smiled at them. "That was the best lie yet. Actually, that was just about the only decent one."

All three's jaws dropped. Reiji swore inwardly.

Naruto laughed and knelt by Sachiko, tilting his head so he wouldn't hit the branch above him. "So, why were you guys following me? The real reason this time. No excuses."

Reiji fidgeted with the sleeves of his long-sleeved, dark green shirt. He shifted slightly in uneasiness. "Uh… well… you see…"

"I said no excuses."

Daisuke sighed. "Your outburst earlier. We were… concerned," he said, trying to piece the words together carefully. "So, we thought that if we followed you, we might have been able to find out something."

"I'm glad to hear that you were worried, but you shouldn't go poking around like that."

Sachiko hung her head in shame and Reiji looked away. They had been caught red-handed and they were feeling guilty. But Sachiko still wanted to know something.

"Um, Naruto-sensei? Whose house is this?" She pointed to the large house.

"Hm?" Naruto looked up. "Oh. This is where I'll be staying from now on." He thought of something. "Oh, and be sure to drop by a lot. I'm sure he'll like some guests." He rubbed his palms together.

'Hehehehe. He'll probably hack my head off, but he deserves it. Besides, if he's company, then I'm better off talking to a wall. These guys will be fun to have around,' he thought to himself.

Daisuke raised an eyebrow. "He? Who's he?"

"A former teammate," Naruto said, jumping down from the tree. He tugged at the black cloth tied around his forehead. "But that's all you need to know. No more question. Go home!"

Sachiko sighed. "All right. Bye!" She waved and ran off, latching herself onto Daisuke's arm. Reiji waved as well and ran off with the other two.

Naruto returned the wave, watching them leave.

"I hope you didn't mean what you said by having those three over a lot."

The blond ran a hand through his sun-kissed hair. "Better believe it. Hey, hey," he waved his hands in front of him defensively. "You're not exactly wonderful company." He folded his arms and smirked.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Let's just get your stuff in the house. I don't want to be out too long." Naruto stuck his tongue out.

"I can see you doing that you know."

Naruto folded his arms behind his head. "Yeah, that's the point."

"Let's just go!"

"Hey, brat!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Brat…?"

Jiraiya folded his arms across his chest and leaned against a side of the entrance to his house. "Tsunade's asked me to inform you on Naruto's new mission. I'm here to give you the details."

'Naruto…' he thought.

"Wait, why are you telling me about Naruto's missions? It has nothing to do with me."

"Wrong!" he chimed. He grinned. "He'll be living with you for a month! Don't ask me about the reason, just cooperate. Besides, how bad can it be?"

Sasuke's eyes widened. "What?"

Jiraiya sighed. 'I thought this guy was supposed to be a genius.'

"You heard me. Naruto will be staying at your home for one month. That's all there is to it. Where he's sleeping, the food, everything… all that's decided by you two."

The raven-haired boy blinked before collecting himself. "Right… whatever. When does this… mission start."

"Today!" The sennin smiled and vanished within seconds.

Sasuke stared at the ceiling, his arms folded behind his head. 'I'm stuck with Naruto in my house. Now what am I supposed to do?'

"Oi, Sasuke!!" A loud voice shook him from his thoughts. He sat up and looked around the room. "SASUKE!!" He winced.

"Damn it," he hissed. "He's loud even from up here." He pushed aside his blankets and slipped out of bed, walking towards the bathroom across the hallway. He sighed and pushed his dark strands from his eyes. "What is it?" He could hear the water running. Sasuke pushed the door open. He glanced around and saw a tub filled with water. He froze at the next sight. Naruto was wearing a towel that barely covered his knees and was opening various cupboards looking for something. He could already feel the blood rushing to his cheeks and quickly spun around. "Y-You idiot! Why don't you put some clothes on?!"

"Hm? Oh, you finally got here. Geez, what took you so long? I swear, you've gotten slower or stupider over the years," Naruto teased. He'd never miss a chance to insult the other boy.

Even if he couldn't call him a friend anymore…

Sasuke clenched his fists and made a swift turn to throw back a witty reply, but immediately regretted his decision when he found Naruto standing merely inches away from him. His face began to heat up again and he lost his train of thought. He could only stare.

The blond raised an eyebrow. "Hello? Oi, Sasuke. You there?" He waved a hand in front of his face. And then, as if in some sort of trance, Sasuke reached forward and encircled his fingers around Naruto's wrists, pulling the smaller boy's body towards him.

Naruto gasped and stepped back, tripping over the edge of the bathtub. "Ah!"

He thrust an arm out to grab the only thing within his reach. Sasuke's shirt. He fell, dragging the other boy down with him. Sasuke's eyes widened as he tripped over the edge and fell in as well, spilling almost half of the water out of the tub. The blond slowly opened an eyelid and looked up. He blushed. Sasuke was hovering inches above him, his wet, blue shirt clung to him, outlining his slim figure perfectly. His lips were slightly parted and he was panting lightly and his warm breath teased the blond's exposed chest.

Naruto watched Sasuke carefully. His eyes were closed. Naruto bit his bottom lip, resisting the powerful urge to touch the pale skin that was so close within his grasp. His fingers twitched and he lifted them to carefully, but Sasuke's eyes shot open and he grabbed Naruto's wrist. He looked at the small, tempting flesh beneath him, before looking into the boy's eyes. Naruto wanted to look away, to escape those eyes that seemed to see everything. His thoughts, his heart, his soul. Those piercing black eyes that used to seem devoid of all emotions. But he couldn't. A force stronger than his own will kept his eyes locked… trapped beneath those eyes.

Naruto gasped lightly when Sasuke descended upon him, kissing his neck. The slow movement of his lips gently caressed his heated skin. Sasuke lifted his head slightly and began trailing soft kisses up the blond's neck. His hands slid down from Naruto's wrists to his hands. He interlaced his fingers with Naruto's, slowly pulling them up beside the blond's head. Raven hair fell past his eyes as he pulled away to look into Naruto's cerulean eyes.

The sight of the smaller boy's almost dazed look and flushed cheeks becoming incredibly tempting. He leaned forward and finally claimed what he had been craving for. Sasuke threw down all control and gave himself up to his burning desires. He planted soft kisses on Naruto's lips, not wanting anything in return, but just needing to feel. He heard the blond's weak murmur of his name against his lips and was surprised when he felt the smaller boy kissing him back. It was bare, but he felt it and it was enough to stimulate his hunger.

Naruto reached up and slipped his hands around Sasuke's neck and pulled him closer, tilting his head to the side, allowing Sasuke to deepen the kiss. He found confidence and let his tongue dart out on the soft, pink flesh, as he coaxed Naruto's lips apart, begging for entrance. His mind soared when Naruto's lips parted for him. Naruto leaned forward, begging for more. Giving the blond what he wanted, Sasuke allowed his tongue to venture out, and sighed in satisfaction as he entered Naruto's warm mouth.

Sasuke released Naruto's hands, trailing one hand down to grasp his waist and lifted the other to gently caress the blond's cheek. In the midst of all this, reality slowly dawned on him. The soft flesh pressed against his lips, pleading for more. The tender touches that caused his body to react in the most sinful ways. The warmth that soothed his aching body. His aching heart. But at the same time… it hurt. It hurt because of the pain and betrayal that was buried within his mind that came from the very same person who also gave him those pleasures. And yet he wanted it.

"No more," he whispered. He wanted to fight against it. Against the strange sensations that coursed through his entire body, but it wouldn't stop. Sasuke continued his assault upon Naruto's mouth and body. He had lost his mind to his heart.

"No," he murmured weakly against Sasuke's lips. A single tear slid down the side of his cheek and was brushed aside by Sasuke's fingers.

I can't…

Naruto's eyes shot open. "No!" He pushed the figure above him with all his strength, sending Sasuke falling backwards. He slammed his head against the wall of the tub.

Naruto fell forward onto his knees, staring at Sasuke in shock. A thin stream of crimson trickled down the side of Sasuke's neck. He searched the dark-haired boy's obsidian eyes. The only thing he could find was remorse. What hurt more was that it was genuine. Naruto bit his lip, breaking the thin flesh. "I-I'm sorry…" He clutched his towel and ran out of the bathroom, ignoring the liquid dripping onto the floor. He just wanted to get away.

Sasuke watched the blond's retreating figure and touch a hand to his neck. He felt something warm and wet.

It was blood.

'When he's around, it's like everything's back to how it used to be. How it was before I left, before he left,' he smiled sadly. 'You're still going along with that façade, aren't you?'

He sighed. "This was my fault. Do you hate me now… Naruto?"

This chapter was really hard for me to write for some reason. I had to really think about what I was trying to say. School's so stressful. Oh well. Hope this mushy scene was enough for everyone who wanted it. Oh, and I hope there aren't too many errors. I should really be sending these to my beta reader some time soon, but for now... if there are a lot of errors... well we're stuck with them. (ducks out of the way of flying tomatos) Don't hate me!!

Well, let me know what you think!