Hey Everyone! Kidlet350 here! Thanks for some of the reviews I got on that last chapter. I am positive of the plot line from here on out, so make sure you DON'T quit on me now! I am so thankful for all of you that have so far committed to my story so please, don't bail. I'll miss you all a lot if you quit now so keep reading! I'll try to make the chappies a little bit longer as well, so look forward to that too! Thanks!

Disclaimer: Meh… another disclaimer. Well, I guess this time I'll just stick with the usual "I do not own Naruto… Never will." Thing. Yeah. Thanks.

Chapter 9: Obsession

Sakura sat on her cot and looked over at the two boys who lay separately on their own cots. It had only been a few minutes and it appeared that both of them were already sleeping. Were they really that tired? Sakura wondered what it was that they did that could've caused them to tire so easily.

Oddly, she herself felt overwhelmingly tired all of a sudden so she lay down on her cot and rested her head against her pillow. Slowly, she dozed off into a dark, consuming sleep.

Naruto was sitting in a position so that his back was facing Sasuke. Sasuke ran up to him and put his hand gently on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto turned around, startled, and stared up at the boy who refused to remove his hand from his shoulder.

"Sasuke…" Naruto spoke quietly. "What do you want…?" he sounded sad… which was not a new thing for him recently. It broke Sasuke's heart to hear his tone though.

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something. To tell him he was sorry for always treating him so badly. He wanted to tell him that from then on out he would try to protect him and make sure nothing bad would ever happen to him. He wanted to express how horrible he felt for being so cold to the poor boy in front of him- but all he could manage to say was, "…" he couldn't even use real words. He choked on himself every time he tried to speak and he felt totally overwhelmed with emotions. He became nervous eventually and panicked that Naruto might turn back around and just walk away from him. Again.

But Sasuke was completely confused and tossed back and fourth when Naruto did something he never would have expected. Not even in a million years.

"I know what you're trying to say, Sasuke." He paused and closed his eyes, slowly moving in closer to his teammate. "Don't worry. I forgive you." He whispered. Immediately his lips lightly brushed against Sasuke's. Just when Naruto pulled away, Sasuke gasped. He was so nervous and confused, he felt like crawling into a tiny ball and rolling into the corner of the room. Naruto gently wrapped his arms around Sasuke for a few moments and whispered again, "I understand how you feel." Naruto peeled himself off of Sasuke and turned to walk away. Sasuke blinked a few times and then…

He woke up.

Sasuke cursed. He knew having feelings for somebody would cloud his mind. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes for a moment and then sat up. He glanced around the room trying to regain the memory of how he got in there. When he remembered, he glanced around again and saw Naruto, now facing Sasuke, eyes shut, sleeping soundly. He looked to the other side and saw Sakura also sleeping quietly. He shifted his whole body around and sat cross-legged on his bed facing Naruto. He rested his elbows on his knees clasping his fingers together to hold them up to his face.

He blinked again, gazing at the blonde's calm face. The one time he had ever seen Naruto so emotionless- when he was asleep. Naruto's eyelids were just barely shut. His mouth was shaped into neither a smile nor a frown. His whiskers twitched sometimes, but barely noticeable. Only somebody like Sasuke would notice the tiny movements Naruto's body made while he slept.

Sasuke thought about what he would say to Naruto and when. Naruto seemed so sad about something recently. Ever since the day Sasuke decided to walk Naruto home from the ramen shop, Naruto had acted as if every inch of happiness had been sucked out of him. His eyes were always glued to the ground and he never smiled once. Not even once.

Sasuke then remembered what Naruto had said to him on the bridge: "I've never had so many people… in my house… all in one day." Then he remembered the tears that flowed endlessly from Naruto's beautiful blue eyes. Maybe he shouldn't have gone to Naruto's house in the first place. Sasuke wondered why Itachi had gone as well. Itachi told him to stay away from Naruto. But what did he want with him? Sasuke cursed at himself in his head. He looked at the angelic blonde that lay peacefully on his cot. Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked away, a tiny smirk appearing upon his lips.

Damn that bastard-Naruto. Damn him for being so god damned adorable… Sasuke bit his lip and stood up. He walked over to the door and set his hand on the door knob. Just before he opened it, he glanced over his shoulder at Sakura who was still soundly asleep. He smirked at the sight of her squirming in her sleep. Then he turned his head to glance over at Naruto. Sasuke froze suddenly when he saw Naruto's eyes were open, and he was staring right at him. Sasuke removed his hand from the door knob and turned around. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked down smirking.

"You're awake already, I see." He said to Naruto who blinked a few times. Naruto didn't reply for a while. Then he looked down at the ground, still lying on his cot. Sasuke almost gave up hope and turned around to head out. He put his hand back on the door knob and was about to open it when Naruto finally said something for the first time since they were at the bridge.

"I have been. Since we got here." He answered. Sasuke froze and left his hand on the door knob. Once again he was surprised when Naruto spoke again. "Um… Sasuke?" he asked quietly and hesitantly.

Sasuke released his hand from the door knob but he didn't turn around. He closed his eyes and hung his head. "Yes, Naruto?" he replied, trying his hardest not to sound sarcastic or annoyed.

Naruto paused and closed his eyes. A few cold tears escaped from his eyelids before he continued. Sasuke could tell he was crying by the tone in his voice. "Why…" he began.

"Why… do you hate me?"

Sasuke gasped and his eyes shot open as wide as they would go. Slowly, he turned around and faced Naruto. He felt tears wash over his eyes as he gazed sadly at his beloved teammate sob quietly. He looked so sad and helpless, lying there, alone, cold, and miserable.

"Naruto…" he began. "I…" he tried as hard as he could to let the right words come out. A tear rolled down his cheek. Just one. One lone tear that would not be followed by another. "I could never hate you." He choked out.

Naruto paused, trying his best to believe the words that was just given to him. "Then… how come you make it seem like you do? Always glaring at me when you have the chance… always calling me names when I didn't do anything wrong."

"I-" he stuttered, which was a rare thing for Uchiha Sasuke to do. "I'm sorry." That too, was an unusual thing for him to do.

"And then you come to my house like I invited you, and then sneak away acting like you never came? Why didn't you say something?" he asked.

"I didn't know how you would react if I did." He blurted out. He almost smacked himself in the head for saying it. There was an extremely long pause. Naruto breathed to himself slowly. He opened his eyes and stared down at the floor.

"Why did you come, anyway?" he asked him. His voice was quiet and Sasuke had to listen carefully to hear what he was saying.

"I…" he stuttered again. This was an on-going thing that had been happening to him and he knew it would have to stop eventually. Or at least, he hoped. "I don't remember." He lied. He couldn't tell him the truth right there.

"I see." From then on, Naruto kept his mouth shut. If Sasuke actually didn't hate him, he didn't want to make him hate him for always arguing with him. He stared at the floor, eyes totally lost in confusion. That is, until Sasuke walked over and sat next to the blonde, on his cot.

"Say, Naruto…?" he began to ask.

Naruto looked up questioningly, eyes the same as before, quiet, alone, sad. Sasuke continued.

"Who… else went to your house yesterday?" he asked. Naruto flinched and Sasuke knew it couldn't be good. He already sort of knew it was Itachi, but he just wanted to know for sure.

"It… it was no body." He lied. Sasuke knew it was a lie too. He stared into his eyes with a gaze that bribed Naruto to tell the truth. It was sort of sad yet hungry expression that consumed Naruto's emotions.

"Please tell me… I won't share it with anybody else. It'll be our little secret." He bribed.

Naruto shook his head and closed his eyes tightly. "No. I can't tell you." He told him, eyes still shut.

"Can't… tell me?" Sasuke was puzzled. He sat up straight. He still knew exactly who it was who visited Naruto, but why he couldn't tell him was beyond his knowledge.

"I can't tell you. He'll hurt me…" Naruto's words shocked Sasuke to no end and he stood up from Naruto's cot. He walked over to the door for the final time and opened it.

"It's alright. I understand." He told Naruto as he walked out the door. Naruto curled himself up into a tiny ball on his cot and closed his eyes, trying as hard as he could to get himself to fall asleep. Though, many images of Sasuke's older brother flashed into his mind and he could not concentrate on getting to sleep. All he could think about was when the next time the cold man would pay him a visit again. He hoped that the answer was never, but deep down he felt as though he was watching him right then and there. Watching his every move.

A thing like that could drive somebody crazy…

Sasuke closed the door behind himself and walked further down the hall, away from every body else. Just a few minutes later he stopped walking when he noticed that there were no more doors on either side of him nor were there any more lights. He could still see, but he knew he wouldn't be able to for very long. Thus, he turned around and started to walk back. The corridor smelled dusty and Sasuke practically sneezed after every sigh or deep breath he took.

He started to walk a little bit slower and fixed his eyes on the cold green floor of the corridor. He… still thinks I hate him… he thought for at least the hundredth time since he left the room. I thought I… What did I do wrong…? Sasuke thought about everything he had done to Naruto in the past. Then he remembered all of the name-calling and teasing he did to him and took back his own thoughts. He thought that maybe he should consider being nicer to Naruto. Then maybe Naruto would not be so sad all the time and Sasuke could possibly see Naruto's true smile -the smile that actually emitted happiness. If Sasuke could be the one to coax Naruto's honest smile for the first time, then maybe Sasuke could make his relationship with him stronger.

Sasuke sighed and peeled his eyes off of the floor. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked above one of the doors to see where he was. 337, he thought. Wow… he had gone a lot farther than he thought he had gone. Sasuke shrugged and continued down the corridor.

Another minute went by and soon enough he found his way back to his team's room. He put his hand on the door knob but just before he opened it, he was startled by the obnoxious sound of someone screaming his name.

"AAAAHH! SASUKE-KUUUUUUN!" he heard the repulsive squealing in his ears. He cringed at the thought of what he would see if he turned around, so he just stood there and allowed the annoying girl pounce all of her weight onto his back. He winced just as he felt her weight.

A girl the same age as Sasuke with long, light blonde hair and blue-ish-green eyes jumped practically on top of the annoyed Sasuke. He grunted loudly and she pouted.

"Aww, Sasuke-kun. Not happy to see me?" Ino waited for the reply she wouldn't get. "Oh. Fine." She said with a pout. "Well, maybe you will be next time… that is… your room is right across from mine…"

"Don't even think about it." He snapped. Ino's expression changed and she hopped down onto the floor.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun. You know you want t-" she was cut off.

"I said no."

Ino pouted again. "But… Sasuke-kun! I can't sleep at night if I don't have something… or someone to hold onto!" she whined.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Oh how I wish Naruto was here to save me from this horrifying situation right about now… he thought in anguish. "Don't you have teammates of your own to 'hold onto'?" he suggested.

"There is no way I'm snuggling up to one of them!" she snarled quietly, hoping they wouldn't magically appear behind her. Sasuke turned the door knob to his own room and opened it. Just as he closed it, he heard Ino say behind him, "Oh well. I guess I'll just try tomorrow night…"

The door was finally closed and he sighed of relief. Finally free from danger! He walked over to his cot and pulled out a notebook and pencil he accidentally left in his back pocket.

oO. In Room 201 .Oo

Shino lay on his cot and looked up at the ceiling, thinking. It was unclear exactly what he was thinking about because he never showed any emotion. His jacket always covered the lower half of his face and he never took off those sunglasses… not even at night.

Hinata sat on her cot with her back leaning against the wall, hugging her knees. She was most likely thinking about Naruto.

Kiba on the other hand was pacing around the room, scratching his head. He sighed and sounded irritated. "This sucks…"

Hinata looked up. Kiba looked at Hinata when he saw her move in the corner of his eye. He smirked. "Being stuck down here, I mean." He looked away and started pacing again. "I'm really not looking forward to staying down here… we don't even know how long we'll be stuck down here either!"

"Kiba-kun, please calm down. We'll be fine." Hinata spoke quietly, as usual, and her face slightly turned a bit red. Kiba sighed.

He walked over to his cot and sat on the edge of it. He looked over at Shino who hadn't said anything for a while. "Hey Shino…?" he asked.

"What is it?" Shino replied, sitting up. He adjusted the position of his sunglasses and looked over at his teammate.

"Oh… Well it isn't really important but I have kind of a personal-ish question." Kiba stated oddly.

Shino raised his eyebrows but Kiba could barely notice because the sunglasses were in the way.

"Well, uh… Why don't you ever take those sunglasses off?" He asked. Shino didn't reply. He stared at him (or at least as far as Kiba was concerned). Kiba continued on trying not to make himself sound dumb. "Well… you don't take them off when it's already dark at night and then you wear them while you sleep… he was about to continue when he trailed off."

Shino stared in his general direction and didn't reply with even a grunt. Kiba noticed this and immediately stopped talking for fear he might have insulted his teammate.

"Sorry… I guess I'll just uh… go… out… here…?" he said while walking to the door. Shino's head followed Kiba around the room. When Kiba put his hand on the doorknob, Shino rolled over and lay on his cot. Kiba removed his hand from the doorknob and walked back over to his cot. He lay down so that his back faced Shino and Hinata, who separated the two.

"Forget I asked." He said.

Hinata looked back and forth at her two teammates who both faced away from her. Not knowing what else to do, she turned over onto her side and slowly dozed off.

oO. In Room 202 .Oo

"How'd it go, Ino?" Shikamaru asked the blonde girl as she walked back into the room.

"A-he-he! I think I might have a chance with him now! He's acting like he is only trying to hide his affection!" she giggled and scratched the back of her head nervously.

Shikamaru smirked and replied, "That's great, Ino." He said half-sarcastically. Every time Ino said something about her finally being accepted into Sasuke's life, that actually meant that Sasuke had found yet another thing about her to be annoying.

Ino walked over to her cot and sat down. She glanced over at Shikamaru who sat on his own cot resting his elbows on his knees. He looked like he was deep in thought about something. But then again, when did he not? She then glanced over at Chouji, her other teammate and laughed inwardly when she saw him start to panic about just finishing the last bag of potato chips.

"You could always leave and get some more…" Ino teased.

"I want to but… Shizune-san told us we shouldn't leeeave!" Chouji whined.

"Hmm. That just occurred to me… I wonder if and when they are going to bring us any food. But if we can't leave then they can't come, right? Wait no, because they have to come to get Naruto when the time comes. But isn't that dangerous? Oh no! We're going to be stuck down here forever!" Ino screamed.

"Ino calm down. They aren't going to starve us." Shikamaru stated out of irritation from Ino's loud obnoxious voice.

"But-but…" Ino complained.

"It's called common sense. If they were going to starve us, then that would mean we would all die, right?" he asked.

"Um… right…?" she replied, unsure of where he was going with that.

"So… if they wanted us to die, then they wouldn't have sent us here in the first place." He finished.

"Oh… that makes sense." She replied.

Chouji interrupted the conversation. "Of course it makes sense." When the other two turned to look at him oddly, he changed the subject. "I'm hungry."

Ino slapped the palm of her hand against her forehead and sighed. Shikamaru chuckled and Chouji searched frantically to find something to eat.

oO. In Room 204 .Oo

"486… 487… 488… 489…" Lee counted aloud as he continuously trained his body through multiple push-ups, and practicing his kicks and punches. Tenten, one of his teammates watched him and chuckled at the sight of his enthusiasm. "493… 494… 495… 496…" he continued on.

Neji lay on his cot and looked up at the ceiling with his blindingly white eyes. (Get it… blindingly white eyes…? Okay sorry. Back to the story). He folded his arms and sighed, wondering just how long he was going to have to stay in that room. This was truly the most unexciting and boring mission he and anyone else had ever had to complete. While he sat there thinking, he heard in the background, "498… 49-9… 500! (pause for a quick breath) Okay! Running in place for four hours, non-stop!"

Tenten chuckled slightly. His hard work was so overwhelming; it was amazing he was still alive!

oO. Later .Oo

Sasuke read over what he had written. Originally he had no idea what he was intending to write about but he finally realized it when he read over it:

Random thoughts: I feel really bad that Naruto thinks I hate him still. I'm trying not to make it look like I do but I guess it just has to do with the way I look at him… I don't know. I'm probably over-thinking this. I should go out for a walk or something later when it starts to get dark. Then I might be able to think about it when he's not around so I don't get distracted. Hmm, I wonder if he noticed me watching him earlier when I woke up from that dream I had… he said he was awake but he looked so innocent and asleep. He must'vefallen asleep at somepoint. Why else would he lay there looking so adorable and innocent? Aah! What if he finds this and reads it! I should probably burn it or tear it up or something. Oh no! What if one day he finally decides that he loves me in return! That could be completely taken away if he found this and thought I was some kind of sick and twisted gay pervert… I'm not… I just can't resist him. It's like a drug. I don't understand how I can get so distracted by someone like him. He's just Naruto… but then again there are so many things about him that are just so… how should I put it? Amazing? No… Intoxicating? No… definitely not. More like… overwhelming. I don't know. I've just completely fallen into some sort of trap or illusion he's set and maybe one day I'll wake up and realize that I was just going through some odd phase. But… oh hell. I keep going into and out of denial. I know the truth though. I'd die for him. Hell, I did die for him once. Heh, I remember that. Well, I think I might hear someone outside. It's probably Shizune-san or someone like that bringing food. I don't know. I guess I'll just find out. Wow… how long have I been writing? This is starting to get long. It's funny too. I think I am over-thinking Naruto. This entire rant has been about him. Well, I guess it's worth it. Oh well. I should go see who's outside. Sasuke

Hehe there's chapter nine for ya:D Wow. Did you notice my amazing updating speed of doom? Lol sorry I'm being retarded again. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it so far. Don't forget to review too! winks at everyone Thanks!