Rivals or Lovers?

Chapter 3 : Living Arrangement

Synopsis : Even though the boys don't like the decision Hokage made, now they must decide at who's place they'll move, Naruto's Apartment or Sasuke's House.

Pairings : Sasuke x Naruto (Soon to come I promise)

Other Pairings : Undetermined for now

WARNINGS : Will contain SHONEN-AI, in other words, boy loves boy. If you don't like then don't read.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION :

- Would be good for you reviewers to have read up to Manga Volume 20, since I start the story from there.

- Tsunade is now the 5th Hokage and already is in the village

- Takes place after Naruto, Sasuke and Jiraiya encountered Uchiha Itachi for the first time in Konoha Village. And when Naruto and Jiraiya brought back Shizume and Tsunade to become the 5th Hokage.

- And Naruto might be a bit OCC at sometimes, since he's kinda depressed so you've been warned

JAPANESE WORDS

- Baka = idiot -

- Arigatou = Thank You -

- naruhodo = I see -

- Iie = No -

- Chikushou – Damn it / Damn

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-- RECAP ---

--- Inside the Office ---

Jiraiya stood behind his student on the left side of the office, while Kakashi stood behind his two students, Sasuke and Sakura on the right side of the office. Both senseis stood behind their students with hands resting on their shoulders.

Tunade walked in as she stopped and turned around to face both small parties in the middle of the office, as she couldn't help but take a look over at Naruto from time to time.

Although Sasuke didn't show it, he sneakily looked over at Naruto and had a more close look about his wounded hand, but then noticed how Naruto couldn't look at his rival in the eyes.

"What the hell happened after I was defeated?" Sasuke asked himself when the voice of Tsunade caught his attention

"As you both know, Konoha has been on alert ever since the invasion of Orochimaru and the sand-ninjas as well as the appearance of Uchiha Itachi. We lost many of our ninjas as the others are still recovering." Tsunade started to explain, hands placed on her hips

"Your point?" Sasuke coldly asked

"Orochimaru wants you Sasuke, for reasons we don't know. Uchiha Itachi wants Naruto, for reasons unknown as well. I have no Anbu to spare to guard you, and I have no intention of making you move in with your teacher, Hatake Kakashi." Tsunade continued

Each time Tsunade spoke the name of his older brother, a sudden rage filled Sasuke, as his Sharingan appeared without him actually summoning it. Kakashi felt the boy tense up at the name being mention as he gently caressed the boy's shoulder to calm him down.

On Naruto's side, the blond couldn't focus much on what the female sennin spoke of, as the only thing that ran through his mind was to get out of there and go train until he couldn't think of anything anymore.

"What I'm trying to say boys, is that you're both living alone in your apartment and house, which makes it even more dangerous for you to be compromised. And so I came to the only solution possible for the moment." Tsunade continued as she took a deep breath and crossed her arms

"Is that why you asked me earlier about me not living alone anymore?" Naruto mumbled

"Hai, the solution most fitting for both of you, is to live together, under the same roof, as roommates, for your own safety." Tsunade finished as she awaited the outburst from the blond boy

------

"NANI!?" Both boys yelled out at the stupid but yet logic solution the fifth Hokage had come up with.

Jiraiya and Kakashi's hands reasted on the boys, while their expression was simply shocked and then disgusted that she would even suggest such a thing.

"There's no way that I'm living under the same roof as dobe" Sasuke told the Hokage as he glared at the blond

"Too bad, you both don't get to decided rather it happens or not. All that you both get to choose are where you'll be living" Tsunade told them seriously so they would not object to her decision

"Sasuke-kun and Naruto under the same roof, ARE YOU CRAZY!?" Inner Sakura shouted in her head.

"You must understand that this was the best solution available to us, besides, you're on the same teams, it should make it easier to work together after a while." Tsunade commented as she was well aware both boys glared at her

"Is it because of the fox?" Naruto asked which caught him the immediate attention of Tsunade, the sennin and his sensei.

This immediately earned him a slap behind the head by the sennin as Tsunade was prepared to scold the boy for mentioning the word in front of the two genins, while Kakashi stayed silent and paid close attention to the two students before him.

"Itai!" Naruto yelled out as he stepped away from the sennin and rubbed the back of his head where he had been hit, while Sasuke and Sakura stared at him confused.

"What does a fox have to do with this dobe?" Sasuke asked as he was utterly confused.

"Listen Naruto, this is because of what happened earlier, and it's for your protection ........" Tsunade started to explain but Naruto quickly interrupted her.

"In case you didn't know Hokage-sama, people have been threatening my life ever since I was born! With those two freaks after me it just makes the list longer. So if you don't mind, I'd rather stay alone in my apartment, since I've never really lived with another human being." Naruto said coldly to the Hokage as he shocked the others with his words.

"Naruto ........." Kakashi let out as his eyes widened because of his student's sudden outburst.

Naruto stared and kicked the ground, when he finally decided that he should leave even though their meeting wasn't quite over. The moment he passed by the sennin, this one grabbed the boy by the arm and forced him to face the adults present in the office.

"We're still not finished brat" Jiraiya hissed as he looked down at his only student.

"I'm just fine the way things are, and it's not like it's going to change anything anyway, so leave me alone" Naruto yelled out in anger as he gave a pull on his arms and freed himself form the sennin's hold.

"Where are you going!?" Tsunade yelled out.

"Ask the pervert" Naruto coldly replied as he shut the door behind him as he left.

Silence consumed the room, as the adults exchanged worried looks, and this, Sasuke quickly noticed.

"What's with the looks?" Sasuke bluntly asked.

"Don't worry about it Sasuke-kun" Kakashi said out his name playfully

"Jiraiya, what did Naruto mean by you would know?" Tsunade asked as she locked her eyes with the pervert sennin

"My bet is, that he's going straight to the training grounds to get his mind off things. I only hope he's not stupid enough to use Rasengan again........" Jiraiya trailed off as Tsunade looked away

"So that means Naruto isn't going to live with Sasuke-kun anymore?" Sakura asked with a shy voice

"Iie, my decision stands, even if you don't agree with it. Sasuke, since Naruto isn't present, I'll let you make the choice of whether you'll move in with him, or if Naruto will move in with you." Tsunade repeated herself as she walked back to her desk.

Sasuke took a step forward as he prepared to object to the Hokage's decision when a pair of hands placed themselves on his shoulders and stopped him form moving any further.

"I will not change my mind. The situation is only temporary. Besides, I'm only asking you to sleep and live under the same roof, and not sleep in the same bed. You're a ninja, deal with it. Once your decision is made, make sure to inform your sensei first and then Naruto." Tsunade warned the boy as she sat down at her desk and took a pile of papers and started to sign them.

"Thank god that Sasuke-kun doesn't have to sleep in the same bed, that would be so wrong and disgusting!" Inner Sakura yelled out as she waved her fists around

"Come you two, we still have 2 missions to complete today." Kakashi informed his students as he slightly pushed them on their backs in the direction of the door, while Jiraiya prepared to follow as well.

"You stay." Tsunade said with a firm voice and pointed at him.

Jiraiya sighed as he closed the door in front of him and turned around to face what seemed to be a very angry Hokage.

"What is it now?" Jiraiya asked with an annoying voice.

"His change of behavior, it worries me." Tsunade told him as he sat back in her chair and her eyes fixed on the window.

"You're not the only one. The fact he mentioned the fox with even his teammates present......... He's getting careless ........." Jiraiya trailed off.

"I want you to keep a very close eye on him. He's more vulnerable than ever. If Itachi comes back for him, he could use this to his advantages and I'll let you think of the rest." Tsunade let out as she looked back at the sennin.

"Hai....... I'll go check on the brat if you don't mind." Jiraiya stated as he grabbed the doorknob.

"Kami help him" Tsunade let out as Jiraiya exited her office.

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*Training Grounds*

Naruto continued to go deeper within the training grounds, knowing that he would be left alone by his so called teammates and sensei, as well from the other genins and the adults that always treat him badly. A moment of peace is what he needed after the stupid solution, to him, that Tsunade came up with.

He came to a stop when he found a good place where he could train, he needed all the elements and the space if he was not going to hold back. To his left there was a noticeable river, that seemed to separate the big trees that were on the other side, from where he stood, where there was a certain amount of grass and dirt only. The only trees start were near the river were at least at 15 meters away from it, which gave enough space to have a ground battle if he wanted to.

Throughout all this amazing space and perfect place for training in all elements, they were a few giant rocks all gathered up, right in the middle of the river as well as on the sides.

"Perfect place to get my mind off things and be alone." Naruto told himself as he walked up to the river.

Naruto then placed his hands together to perform one of his favorite Jutsu. The famous Kage Bunshin No Jutsu that he had learned when he stole the sacred scroll from the third Hokage.

About two dozens of Naruto clones appeared in front of the original, as Naruto took a serious look and gave out the orders to them on what they would do.

"Listen up, I want you all to use what we all learned against me so I can become stronger! So use stealth, team up, do everything and try to defeat me ok?" Naruto yelled out .

"Hai! This is going to be fun!" The clones replied as they looked at each other.

The 24 clones separated in two separate groups as they disappeared from the original's sight. One group headed to the right side, as the other hid in the trees on the left side.

As the minutes passed, Naruto waited for the first wave of attacks to come when he heard a tree branch crack and fall from its tree. He immediately turned around and saw one of his clones falling down from it.

"Now that was stupid" The real Naruto let out as he seemed discouraged by his clone

The moment the real Naruto said that small sentence, he heard running footsteps coming form behind him. He turned his head as fast as he could to only capture a glimpse of another clone with his fist pointed at the real one.

Naruto grabbed the fist in his own hand as he then grabbed the attacking clone by the pants to flip him over to where the falling clone had landed. Both clones collided and the 'poof' sound was heard as the smoke appeared to then vanish, showing that those two were now defeated.

"Nice way to make a distraction while the other one attacks from behind." Naruto spoke out to the forest, well aware that the other 22 clones are listening.

--- In the trees ---

A number of 5 clones were crouched and hidden in the trees, as they whispered among themselves a way to defeat the original one.

"We are just clones, everything we know he knows." One of them whispered to the rest of the group.

"Then do something unexpected." Another replied.

"Like what?" Another asked.

"Work as a team. He probably won't expect all five of us to work together. Make him think only three of us are working together while the other two will wait for him at this position and then attack him form above, where he won't expect it" The fifth clone suggested.

"I like that plan." the first one said with a grin.

"Then let's go kick some butt!" Another spoke out a bit louder

--- Ground Level ---

Naruto stood in the middle of all the elements surrounding him as he paid attention to the sounds and movements around him, like the perverted sennin had taught him while they were away from Konoha.

"They're taking their sweet time..." Naruto thought as his eyes scanned the trees.

To his surprise, three more clones simply appeared before him, with grins on their face, as Naruto was a bit confused but curious to what they had in mind.

"You're going down." The middle clone teased the real Naruto as he showed a thumb pointed to the ground.

The other two clones charged forward, kunai in hand and a battle cry, the third clone only charged a few seconds later than the firs two. Naruto took out two shurikens and threw them towards the two attacking clones, which they easily evade.

Only 5 meters away from the real Naruto, the two clones stopped, as they faced each other instead, and reached out for the other's hands and crossed their arms as their hands gripped each other, waiting for the third clone to arrive.

"What are they doing?" Naruto asked as he looked a bit confused.

The third clone jumped into the air as his right foot landed on the other two clone's hand. The two clones used their strength to lift the third one's body towards the real Naruto.

The moment the third clone was now in the air, kunai in hand, ready to stab Naruto in a vital point, the other two clones quickly separated and withdrew a kunai as well and charged forth.

"Interesting." Naruto thought as he grabbed a kunai as well.

Naruto managed to block the attack of the third clone easily, but he still had the other two to deal with. Naruto managed to push back the third clone, just quick enough to block the attack of the two remaining clones.

"You left an opening." The other clone let out with a grin.

While Naruto was too busy to defend against the second clone, the first one took advantage of the situation, as he managed to cut the shoulder of Naruto and then proceeded with a kick in the stomach, which sent Naruto flying back and hit a tree.

Naruto was on his knees, but managed to stand up, despite the minor set back that he just been beaten by his own clones. The three clones gathered close to him as they prepared to make another attack, when Naruto saw a few leaves of the tree above him fall from it.

Naruto immediately looked up to see 2 other clones coming down from it, to attack him. Naruto wasn't quite sure what to do since he was trapped in all direction when he remembered the river to his right.

"The river!" Naruto told himself as he placed his hands together to gather chakra to his feet.

The two new clones hit hard on Naruto as the dust and soil was lifted up in the air, creating a thick cloud of smoke where the impact occurred. In a few seconds the three other clones waved their hands to dissipate the cloud of dust to only seethe two new clones and no Naruto.

"Where the hell is he?" One asked while the new clones were tapping their butts to get the dust off.

The sound of water attracted their attention as all heads and eyes stared at the river.

"He must of escaped to the river" One clone spoke out

"Hey why don't you give us some help ne?" Another yelled out as the remaining 17 Naruto clones popped their heads out of where they were hiding.

All the clones gathered to discuss their plan of how to trap the real one. After agreeing, 6 clones jumped into the water to retrieve the real one.

---Under The Water ---

Naruto made no movements as he needed to save up his oxygen. He knew the more he moved the less time he could remain under the water and think up a plan to get rid of the clones.

He then looked above him to notice 6 figures swimming towards him, as he realized, perhaps hiding in the water wasn't such a good idea. After all, Kakashi had made the same mistake the first time they took a C ranked mission.

"I might of made a mistake..." Naruto thought as he started to move away from the approaching figures.

The 6 clones swam closer to their target, as they finally caught up with him. The clones grinned, as each of them grabbed a leg and arm, while the other two pulled him back to the surface.

--- Near The River ---

The 11 clones that were left behind stared at the surface of the cold water, as the shadows in them seemed to become darker and closer. 7 heads popped up from above the water as the real Naruto struggled to get out of their grip.

The clones brought him out of the water, as he could not find a way to get out. The clones approached him and all grinned.

"Maybe you should of just made 12 bunshin instead of 24" One of the clones spoke out

Naruto's anger started to build up, as he found himself staring at his right hand, and then smirked at the clones.

"What's so damn funny?" Another asked

"Don't underestimate me" Naruto said as he opened his right hand and chakra started to swirl in the middle of his palm.

The clones all took a step back, as those that had him in place slowly retreated their hands, and had a shocked expression on their face from the great ball of swirling chakra that the real Naruto had conjured up once again.

"Rasengan!" Naruto yelled out as he charged at the dozen of clones who stood before him, but without forgetting the remaining 6 behind him.

The Rasengan made it's damage, as the clones vanished in smoke, but a long trail of soil rose from the ground upon the impact of the attack. It could clearly be seen where the attack had been made, since along the way, it punctured a few trees and rocks.

Naruto kneeled to the ground, as he knew this took a lot of chakra, but as well his hand had still not recovered from him recklessly over using the Rasengan the day before.

Naruto's bandages that covered his wounded hand were now tainted with the color of blood. Naruto carefully held his wounded hand in his other one as he stood back up to face the remaining 6 clones.

"Is that really all you got?" Naruto asked while he was still catching his breath.

The clones seemed surprised, as they charged forth again and try to defeat the original.

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*Team 7's Meeting Place *

The team of two genins had successfully completed both D ranked missions given to them without much trouble, although it would of taken a lot less time if a certain blond ninja would have been present.

Sasuke leaned against the tree, hands crossed, while Sakura kept ranting about the day and how Tsunade's solution was propitious, and now Kakashi was reading that perverted book once again, earning him immediately a glare form the pink haired girl.

"Kakashi-sensei! Will you ever stop reading that thing?" Sakura yelled out at him, as she pointed at the book in his hands.

"You'll understand when you're older Sakura-chan. But since we did the missions today, then I suppose you both can go home. As for Sasuke, be sure to warn me of your decision before going to Naruto." Kakashi told his students as he closed his book and put it back in a pocket form his Juunin vest.

"Were you all serious about Naruto and Sasuke? Because from an idiot like him to move in with someone as cool as Sasuke-kun, it would ...." Sakura started when she was cut off.

"Sakura, don't talk in Naruto's back, especially when he isn't present." Sasuke interrupted her with a cold voice

"But Sasuke-kun ...." Sakura protested but Kakashi interfered.

"I think today has been a hard day on everyone. So I suggest you all go home and get the rest since tomorrow we do have other missions to accomplish." Kakashi reminded them.

"Whatever" Sasuke let out as he started to walk away form the meeting place.

"Wait Sasuke-kun, don't you want to go get something to eat?" Sakura asked getting her hopes up as always.

"I have better things to do" Sasuke replied as Sakura could no longer see him.

Upon hearing his answer, Sakura leaned a bit forward, depressed once again, since no matter what she tried, Sasuke always refused, the only difference their was today, was Naruto wasn't around to then ask her.

"Won't he ever notice me?" Sakura asked herself.

"Get some rest ne?" Kakashi placed a hand on his depressed female student before he disappeared in smoke to report back to Hokage.

Sakura sighed as she then walked back home, rejected by her all time crush yet again.

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*Hokage Chambers*

Tsunade signed off some more papers when a certain silver haired Juunin entered her room.

"Ohayo." Kakashi waved at her.

"Any news?" Tsunade bluntly asked.

"I'm pretty sure the boys will stay at the Uchiha Residence." Kakashi replied.

"What gives you that idea?" Tsunade asked a bit curious of the answer she would receive.

"Naruto's apartment for one is too small for both boys, and the best choice is indeed Sasuke's place, so they wouldn't be invading each other's personal space too much, since they are both loners. And with Naruto's recent behavior, it would also be best for him as well." Kakashi answered with a warm tone of voice.

"I agree, and I suppose the little brat won't tell you first but go directly to Naruto then?" Tsunade asked but already knew the answer, but still wanted to confirm it.

"Most likely. Those two, seem to have a few issues that haven't been resolved yet concerning Itachi, so I was thinking of perhaps checking up on Naruto to ....." Kakashi started but Tsunade knew all too well where this was going.

"Iie, I asked that Jiraiya look over him from now on. I know that you're his sensei on a team, but Jiraiya knows the boy in more ways than you do, and I heard you refused to train the boy to train his rival instead. Although Naruto doesn't show his true feelings, I'm sure he was hurt. The fact Jiraiya caught him under his wing and trained him, is what helped him pass through those exams when you simply neglected him. Until I change my decision, Naruto remains under Jiraiya's supervision and care. Now go read that perverted book or get some sleep." Tsunade commented with a serious and yet angry voice to the teacher.

Kakashi remained silent as he knew she wasn't half wrong about the things that actually happened.

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*Sasuke's House*

Sasuke entered his dark and cold home as he sat down on a chair to think more clearly of the recent events that took place.

"Something's up with dobe.... And he still needs to answer me why the hell Itachi was after him....." Sasuke kept all these thoughts in his mind until he decided it was time to have a talk with his rival.

Naruto stood back up as he walked out of his house and locked his front door before he headed out for Naruto's apartment.

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*Where Naruto is*

Naruto panted hard as he defeated the last clone on the battle field. Naruto fell to his knees as he had trouble breathing due to his over use of his chakra. He had maintained 24 Kage Bunshins for over an hour now, and used the Rasengan when he shouldn't of.

After a few minutes, his breathing returned to normal as he then gripped his wounded right hand to notice the damages. Many thoughts crossed his minds as he felt a few rain drops that fell form the sky.

"Guess I should go home and get some rest...." Naruto told himself as he found the strength to stand up on his feet.

As Naruto prepared to head back to his apartment, he noticed how he felt he was more heavy, when he realized that his clothes were all wet from his excursion in the river. His pants were mostly covered in dirt and had a few cuts here and there, while his shirt remained only wet.

The rain started to come down lightly at first as Naruto knew better than to run back to his apartment. He decided to simply take his time to get back at his place since he was already all wet, besides, this could wash off the dirt and blood from his clothes.

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*Naruto's Apartment*

Sasuke had finally arrived to Naruto's apartment as he reached out to knock on the door.

"What the hell am I suppose to tell him?" Sasuke thought as he stopped himself from actually knocking on the door.

Sasuke thought of the answer he would give Naruto when he simply shook that feeling off and knocked on the door itself. A long moment of silence occurred, as Sasuke stared coldly at the door, waiting for someone to answer.

"Where the hell is that dobe?" Sasuke asked himself as he knocked harder on the door.

As the minutes passed, Sasuke figured that Naruto wasn't home, but then the Uchiha didn't come all the way to this place to turn back without having a conversation with the blond boy.

Under normal circumstances, Sasuke would of waited outside but then it started to rain. Sasuke sighed as he prepared himself to return home to evade being soaked form head to toe, when he remembered something about Naruto. Nauto always forgot to lock the front door.

"The idiot forgot to lock his door as usual." Sasuke told himself as he turned the doorknob and entered the apartment.

Sasuke flipped the switch to turn the lights on, as he remembered to close the door behind him and wait for his rival to return home.

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*Konoha Streets*

The rain came down hard, as Naruto walked through the empty streets of Kanoha, arms wrapped around himself, feeling both the cold, the wetness and the pain emitting from his right hand.

Naruto slowly continued to walk as he was barely 10 minutes away form his apartment when he suddenly stopped advancing, his eyes widened and his body started to shake.

"It's your fault my little brother had to die ......" The familiar voice of Itachi resonated many times through the silence of the street.

Naruto's eyes scanned the whole area when he finally concluded it was his mind playing tricks again. Then again, he was exhausted and went over the limits of his own body while training intensively for the second day in a row.

"My mind is playing tricks on me ... I gotta get away from everything before I go crazy ..." Naruto told himself as he continued to walk towards his apartment.

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*Training Grounds*

Jiraiya stood in the middle of what seemed to be a battlefield, and despite the rain that kept falling, this did not seem to hinder him in any way.

"What the hell is going through that boy's mind?" Jiraiya asked himself as he looked to his right to notice a toad.

"Yo! You should have a real conversation with the brat you know? If this continues, he might actually kill himself." The toad spoke out as he hopped around the battlefield to examine the damages more closely.

"Then let's not waste time here. He must of returned home by now, so let's go take a look there." Jiraiya informed the toad as this one followed the sennin without too much hesitation.

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* Naruto's Apartment*

--- Inside Naruto's Apartment ---

Naruto opened his front door as he finally entered his lonely home, while he carefully closed and locked the door behind him. He had yet noticed that a certain dark haired boy was standing in his living room, with his arms crossed.

"What took you so long?" Sasuke spoke out.

Naruto froze in place, as he leaned his head towards his living room to see Sasuke leaning against the wall and staring at him.

"How the hell did you ..." Naruto started to ask as Sasuke quickly interfered.

"Baka, you never lock your door." Sasuke replied as he uncrossed his arms and walked towards the blond boy.

Naruto turned to face the gaze of Sasuke, as he completely forgot about his clothes and his wounded hand on the moment, but even so, this did not go unnoticed by the Uchiha.

"What owes me the great pleasure of having Uchiha Sasuke in my apartment?" Naruto asked sarcastically as he tried to hide his true emotions as usual.

"As much as I hate saying it, you're moving in with me. So I came here to tell you this." Sasuke replied with a neutral tone as his eyes locked themselves with Naruto's bleeding right hand.

Naruto's eyes widened as he really never thought the rest of the old hag's plan wouldn't actually happen with his previous outburst.

--- Outside his apartment ---

Jiraiya had caught up quickly on Naruto's trail as he peeked inside the house through the living room window. Under normal circumstances, he would of entered but he was entertained to why the Uchiha was there in the first place and how that this little conversation might actually help Naruto.

"Good thing his apartment isn't sound proof." Jiraiya thought as he pressed his ear against the lower part of the window and his eyes observed the scene and conversation.

--- Inside The House ---

Naruto erased the feeling of surprise as he simply leaned against the kitchen counter, and rested his elbows on it as well as his back.

"So now that you told me, get the hell out of my apartment." Naruto ordered with a serious tone.

"What's with the attitude Naruto?" Sasuke asked as he stared at the blond and then back at his very noticeable wound.

"None of your business. So leave." Naruto repeated himself.

"I'm not leaving until you answer my questions." Sasuke informed the blond as he grabbed Naruto's right wrist. "First of all, you're going to explain why the hell your right hand is wounded." Sasuke glared at the boy and demanded an answer out of him.

Naruto panicked a little as he violently yanked on his wrist to get out of his rival's grip and pushed him away from his own body. Sasuke stepped back a little as his head faced the floor as he slowly regained his standing position.

"Mind your own damn business you bastard! Just both of you leave me alone! You and Itachi ..... Just leave me alone ....." Naruto trailed off as his voice went from angered to become some what sad.

Upon hearing the name of his older brother, Itachi, mentioned, Sasuke's head shot back up as the next thing Naruto knew, he was punched on the left cheek, as his entire body hit the floor pretty hard.

--- Outside ---

Jiraiya quickly started to panic upon seeing the scene in front of him as he decided perhaps it would be a good time to interfere before things get worse.

"Damn that boy..." Jiraiya thought as he headed for the front door.

--- Inside ---

Naruto laid on the ground face first, as he placed each hand beside his face and pushed himself to his side as he no longer had the strength to actually fight back against his rival, when he felt yet another firm grip against his shoulder.

Sasuke had forced Naruto to lay on his back as the Uchiha kept him pinned to the ground, each hands pressed with a great force on each of the blonde's shoulder.

"You bastard get the hell off of ...... me ....." Naruto trailed off when he looked into Sasuke's eyes.

Naruto stopped struggling, as his eyes widened as he felt that those Uchiha eyes were stabbing his entire body. Naruto's eyes suddenly went blank as those red and murderous eyes seemed to pierce his very soul, just as Itachi did at that time, when he hurt Sasuke and he was helpless to aid his rival.... His friend...

Sasuke panted ...

His lips moved ...

But Naruto couldn't hear any of it ...

Sasuke shook the boy harder to get a reaction ...

But Naruto remained silent ...

Naruto stared at Sasuke's Sharingan ...

It was the same look...

The same Sharingan...

The same murderous intent...

For that short moment ...

In Naruto's mind ...

Right now ...

Sasuke wasn't Sasuke...

But his older brother...

Itachi ...

Jiraiya finally entered the room, as he rushed over the two boys, and placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke locked eyes with the sennin as he understood that this one wanted him off his only student right now.

Sasuke didn't argue, as he slowly pulled himself off the blond that remained still as his body started to shake a little. Jiraiya kneeled down as he brought Naruto into a sitting position and looked into the boy's eyes.

"What the ....?" Jiraiya let out as his own eyes widened.

Naruto's eyes ...

Naruto's eyes were ...

His eyes showed two emotions ...

Fear and Pain ...

TBC

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Phew! Third chapter finally written. I must say this story might be among the best I've written since it's my longer ever. I don't know but I just get the inspiration and it writes itself sometimes. So things are getting better since I've been concentrating more on this story and my other story which is a Gaara x Naruto couple. I've put aside my new Naruto stories for now so I can update weekly ( hopefully ) these two stories.

Thanks so much for reviewing, I got like 24 reviews for chapter 2! Continue the reviews cuz the story that has more reviews is the one I write before all the others!

REVIEWS

SevieisCute : That's what makes me continue, writing for those sweet people that like it you know?

Mkh2 : I know you weren't insulting me so don't worry about it ne? As for the yaoi and shonen-ai I don't jump into it like many other authors. I want to create the mood and develop it so characters don't' become OCC in one shot you know? Thank you so much for the kind words, it really helps me to continue.

Ookami Kage : I don't let them get to me too much just like the first few days. After that I say to myself screw you stupid flamer lol. Because people like yourself, is what helps me write more stories.

Dearest : yep my frist language is French, French from Canada that is, mostly Quebec lol. So my French is totally the opposite of the French in France. I update as fast as I can considering this story is always like 6000 to 8500 words per chapters when all my other ones are like near 3000 words instead. Hope you liked this part.

Nikkler : thanks for your support and I'm honored to be called one of your favorite authors.

Kisu : well you know what happens next now, but I have a few ideas for the next chapters...

Silverknight7 : I'm glad you review most my fics. Thanks!

Lydia*Blessing : Thanks for the compliment. Wonder what things can happy with both boys living under the same roof ne? ;)

Kirikouchan : I toally agree with you about those flames. I do laugh about it now saying they must flame because they can't do better than me and are simply jealous lol. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

Rubymoon17 : Thanks for such encouraging words. I'm hoping this fic will be among my best ones just like A New Path.

Dark Mimiru-chan : Well you got to see Naruto's reaction!

Iceheart19 : well Naruto's mask is slowly braking and he feels resonsable for sending Sasuke, his rival to the hospital. As for Sasuke, well he's still as neutral and cold or so it seems...

Shadow Eclipse : glad you loved it hope you liked this one too!

Cleoviper : well you were half right, he just didn't say much. But he reacted in a way I thought might be predictable a little ne?

Kari : I might take you up on the offer, and I'm glad to know people like this fic. Because I work my butt off to write them I even ignore my poor boyfriend to write these things lol.

Duochang87 : That's what I'm aiming for, Naruto's human and even with the little support form Iruka and all, he needs real loving attention. So he finds the only way to cope with reality is to train since nothing else comes to his mind during that time. Well unfortunately Naruto's apartment is too small, and since he wants to be alone I figured at Sasuke's place he'd still have the space he needs.

Someone : do you know how hard it is to describe Naruto's new look? I had no idea how to describe it as well as I pictured it in my head, unfortunately I have zero talent in drawing or else you'd all have a sketch to view lol.

Adilus : hope I didn't make you wait too long for the update but this story is the one that takes most of my time due to it's length .

Foamy and Foolproof : I updated as soon as I could and I'm glad to see youR'e back to review some of my stories. Hope you update some of yours soon as well cuz I like the one where it's Sakura's birthday.

Yasai-Chan : I'm getting better at writing and for the period well I'm trying not to forget them as much as I use to anymore. Thanks for the heads up, hope you liked this chapter

Arbil : Thanks for the compliment Arbil-san. And I agree with you many reviewers like this story I just hope that they all review and not just read and leave!

C.M Aeris Queen of Insanity : I really had a hard time picking out the right clothes lol. Glad you like them though.

Moonlight2 : Well Naruto's breaking down slowly and how will things go when he lives under the same roof as Sasuke, which I remind you, he looks a lot like his aniki ...

Next Chapter :

Sorry No Previews this time

Read and REVIEW!

Thanks to all who review until next time!

Ookima