You know what...I'm only posting this chap for Momo-chan and Fei-sama. They're the only ones that are faithfully reviewing my story, and if it weren't for them, I wouldn't have made it this far. Absolutely no other reviews! I'm sooooo sad... oh well. Anyway, thank you, Fei-sama and Momo-chan! I love you guys!

Chapter 14: A Time to Relax

Kimimaro sat bold upright, eyes widening in shock. Suna…sand…the sand…it couldn't be.

"You're not saying we're going to visit Gaara?" Naruto perked up.

"Yeah, you know him?" Kimimaro nodded.

"I fought him after you left to chase after the Uchiha." Naruto grinned.

"So then you two should get along well!" Everyone tilted an eyebrow at this comment. It was Neji who spoke.

"Knowing the personalities of both people, I assume the battle was supposed to be a fight to the death? It is unusual for two people who tried to kill each other to get along so well." Naruto smiled knowingly.

"You tried to kill me, right Neji? Sasuke tried to kill me. Kimimaro tried to kill me. Even Gaara tried to kill me, and we all get along just fine, don't we?" Neji looked away, jaw working furiously.

"We get along with you because you changed our lives when we fought you. Knowing Gaara, he might feel some animosity towards Kimimaro. After all, Kimimaro did come very close to killing him." Kimimaro gave a wry chuckle.

"I was detained by my illness." A light dawned on Naruto's face.

"Speaking of your illness, how are you feeling now?" Kimimaro looked incredulously at the blonde.

"You could have asked me that many times before. Actually, I've gotten rid of most of it, and I should be completely well by the end of next week." Naruto smiled cheekily.

"That's good. I'm glad." A sudden rumble cut through the air and Naruto grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"I'm a little…hungry…"

The others got the hint, and Neji quickly proposed an outing to Ichiraku. Naruto yelled happily and dragged the three others from the room and out the door, narrowly dodging a blow from a very peeved Tsunade.

At Ichiraku

"Oji-saaaaaaaan, I'm baaaaaack!" Teuchi ducked as half his pots came clattering down with a terrific ruckus. Naruto chuckled awkwardly.

"Eh…sorry Oji-san…." Ayame removed her earplugs and helped her father clean up the mess.

"It's okay, Naruto-kun. I see you brought some guests today. And some very good-looking guests too." Naruto grinned.

"Yeah, you've met Sasuke and Neji right? Well this is Kimimaro. He's gonna be staying in Konoha for some time." Ayame nodded in greeting at the Kaguya.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Now make yourselves comfortable while I prepare the ramen."

Teuchi came up and started taking their orders. Naruto ordered miso chashu Ramen, then looked over at Kimimaro, curious to what kind the Kaguya liked. Kimimaro looked a little lost, so the blonde hopped over to see.

"What would you like, Kimimaro?" Kimimaro looked confused.

"What is ramen?"

Silence ensued. Immediately everyone in the booth ducked and covered for dear life.

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT RAMEN IS!" Ayame tightened her hold on the pots which threatened to spill their contents.

"I've never eaten it before," Kimimaro ventured hesitantly. Naruto's eyes curled upwards into a foxy grin, and he grinned knowingly at Kimimaro.

"Okay, you might want to start with the bland ramen first, then work your way up to the most elaborate of ramen choices, so we'll just start with plain Miso ramen." Naruto hollered everyone's orders to the old man, and began digging into his own while Ayame prepared the other orders.

Once everyone had eaten, Naruto snuck a pleading look at Sasuke and Neji, who quickly averted their eyes and shook their heads. Naruto's eyes were extremely dangerous to those unused to them. Knowing this for a fact, the kitsune turned and captured Kimimaro's gaze, putting all the sparkle and shine he could muster into his pupils. Kimimaro gasped and stiffened, completely mesmerized by the sapphire spheres, and when Naruto turned his head to the sun letting the light catch his eyes, the Kaguya's nails practically ripped open the edge of his stool from trying to retain what was left of his composure.

Naruto lowered his head and looked seductively up at Kimimaro, lush lips curving in a sultry smile. They parted, and a single word was spoken.

"Onegai?"

The husky tone of voice the blonde emitted sent the Hyuuga and the Uchiha into throes of bliss while Kimimaro, the main recipient of the gaze, nearly fell over backwards from the sheer intensity and cuteness contained in that stare. Naruto inched his way closer to the Kaguya and arched his back, eyes still scintillating in the light of setting sun. He leaned forward until he was nose to nose with Kimimaro, eyes glazed with desire and lust as he tilted his head to the side. When he spoke again, Kimimaro felt the brush of his lips on his, and the mere sensation sent the Kaguya spiraling into a world from which he wished he would never return. A thin sheen of sweat glazed his skin, and Kimimaro's poor, tattered psyche could only send a few (perverted) thoughts flickering through his mind, most dealing with the way Naruto's lips had oh so gently brushed his.

"Kimimaro….. I'm out of money, so could you….would you please pay the bill?"

The Kaguya vaguely registered the extremely high price of the bill somewhere in the foggy mists of his unfocused mind, but his hands had a will of their own and immediately darted to his wallet stashed safely in the folds of his yukata. They fumbled for the wallet; Kimimaro ended up dropping said money purse three times before extracting the desired money and laying it on the counter with trembling hands. Sasuke and Neji bowed their heads in silence. Another poor sap had fallen prey to the captivating hypnotic power of Naruto's eyes.

Naruto whispered a "thank you" and leaned even closer. Kimimaro gulped and tilted backwards, tottering precariously on one leg of his stool. As the kitsune closed in on the Kaguya, Kimimaro bent over backwards even farther, nails scrabbling on the counter as a last resort to keeping his balance. A slow evil smile spread across the blonde's countenance as he closed the gap separating the both of them.

There was a resounding crash as the stool supporting the Kaguya finally gave in and tumbled unceremoniously to the ground. Kimimaro clamped his eyes shut as he felt his world turn upside down, but his fall was halted when Naruto deftly caught him before he connected with the ground. It was then that he noticed he felt a soft sensation somewhere below his nose and above his chin. In fact, it was oddly on his mouth.

Kimimaro slowly opened an eye to observe Naruto's eyes a mere millimeter away from his. They were closed as well….that was strange. And there still was the matter of that pressure on his lips. It was then that Kimimaro's frazzled brain realized that he was being kissed.

Kissed. He, Kimimaro, supposedly the most unemotional organism alive was being kissed by the object of his desires. He, Kimimaro, was being kissed by none other than Uzumaki Naruto. He, Kimimaro, was actually liking this kiss. He liked it a lot. In fact, he liked it more than any other sensation he had ever liked before in his past history of liking sensations. Which wasn't a remotely long history, for Kimimaro did not usually respond to any sensation whatsoever. That and the fact that he was vaguely aware that everyone was staring and Sasuke and Neji were glaring sharp, pointy, and other extremely explosive objects in his general direction.

Naruto finally let up and grinned expectantly at the Kaguya. Kimimaro remained poised in his stool, eyes glazed with a dazed look. Slowly the red in his complexion turned to scarlet, then crimson. Naruto counted down on his fingers.

"Three….two….one…" And as expected, Kimimaro toppled over backwards, a huge geyser of blood gushing from his nose. He hit the ground and twitched spasmodically, hyperventilating on the floor. All three boys stuffed their fists in their mouths and tried with all their might to keep from laughing, while trying to pry a shocked and thoroughly dumbfounded Ayame off the floor. Still amused, they hauled Kimimaro's comatose body off to Naruto's apartment, trying desperately to stave the flow of blood.

Later that Night

Somewhere in the corresponding mansions of Uchiha and Hyuuga, both the Uchiha and the Hyuuga paced their floors with an aggravating pace. Both brows were furrowed, and both eyes were troubled. Naruto had offered Kimimaro to spend the night at his apartment, seeing that the Kaguya had no home of his own, resulting in another nosebleed (thankfully Kimimaro remained conscious) and a rather disturbing glint in the Kaguya's gem-cut eyes. Though Naruto still remained the clueless kitsune he normally was, Neji and Sasuke had noted the way Kimimaro had ogled Naruto (much like a child would stare hungrily at the latest deluxe banana split) and they hadn't liked what they saw. Both swore to beat the nightlights out of Kimimaro if said Kimimaro dared to lay a finger on their precious little blonde.

A sudden thought came to the both of them. Both Sasuke and Neji sat bold upright in their respective homes, eyes widening in horror. Suppose Naruto couldn't resist Kimimaro's advances. Suppose Naruto actually invited Kimimaro to continue whatever advances he was making on the blonde. Or suppose (at this, both the Hyuuga and the Uchiha winced and tore their pillows to shreds in anxiety) Naruto was the one making advances on Kimimaro. Now that would be a drastic catastrophe. A very drastic catastrophe.

Both Sasuke and Neji abruptly flung on their clothes and bolted out their doors, heading for a certain apartment which contained a certain blonde. Dashing quietly through the streets with all the grace of liquid mercury, the two boys flew to their destination with amazing speed, acknowledging each other's presence with a brief nod and accepting each other's intentions of seeing the blonde.

Peeking in the window, they could make out Naruto's still form, sleeping soundly in his bed. Relieved, they turned to go, but were halted abruptly by a shadowy form creeping towards Naruto's slumbering shape. They turned to see Kimimaro standing over the boy.

Both the Uchiha and the Hyuuga made their presence known to the Kaguya, watching him with a stern eye. Kimimaro showed no surprise at the sudden appearance of the two, accepting the fact that he was being watched with a slight nod. Turning back to the blonde, he ran a hand through Naruto's hair, stroking it gently before trailing his fingers down to the slashes on Naruto's cheeks. Neji and Sasuke slipped in the window and stood over the blonde, watching him intently. Kimimaro withdrew his hand and the three simply stood and watched Naruto sleep, content with his well-being. It was Sasuke who spoke.

"I must admit, I bear great respect for the dobe." Neji murmured softly in agreement.

"Yes, he has single-handedly managed to alter our lives when no one else could ever manage such a feat." The Hyuuga added. Kimimaro spoke up.

"I think it is….because Naruto has suffered far worse than we have, yet he has the amazing nerve to put on a cheerful disposition. I believe….once his attitude was just a mask, hiding his sorrow, but now, somehow, it has become a part of his nature."

All three shinobi nodded in agreement. Satisfied, Neji and Sasuke nodded goodnight to Kimimaro and headed back to their own houses. Kimimaro stretched, kissed Naruto softly on the lips, and headed to the living room to retire on the couch.

Somewhere Else

Kabuto gasped and panted with all his might. He had been running for three days straight. When Orochimaru's minions heard of his downfall, they mutinied against him, and it pushed Kabuto to his limits to keep them in check. When the shinobi proved too much for him, he ran, taking the soul bauble that contained Orochimaru's spirit with him. Following the Sannin's instructions, he had been making his way to a nearby destination for at least a week.

"Kabuto….have we arrived?" Orochimaru's silky voice came slithering from the orb. Kabuto clutched the bauble that was dangling around his neck.

"No….not yet, Orochimaru-sama. We have a fair distance to go." The sphere jerked in annoyance and the purple haze within shifted impatiently.

"I will have to wait then. Do be quick, will you, Kabuto?" Kabuto muttered an agreement, and continued his quest through the forest.

"Uzumaki Naruto…..Kyuubi…...I will come for you soon."

Once again, thank you Momo-chan and Fei-sama!