Yeah, yeah, we know the deal. At this point, I'm winging it with the story, and you can tell. I'm not even attempting to edit as I go along. D:
As the hooded doctor led me through the more refined areas of the castle, I could not help but wonder why the castle seemed so empty. "Where is everyone?" I asked while gracelessly stumbling over a low velvet chair in pursuit of the other man.

"Outside," Itachi replied. "Where we're going right now."

"Why are they outside?"

"They desire a glimpse of the child, Uchiha Sasuke."

I barely caught a smirk crossing his lips.

Finally we arrived at what seemed to be the end of our journey; we found ourselves standing behind the exit to the castle. A deep maroon velvet framed the doorway in loose decoration. Golden spikes rose from about the obvious path to meet brilliant glittery ropes of the same color.

With only a stare from the doctor, the door slowly swung open.

My mouth shaped itself into an "O" of awe. It was lucky I had not taken my medication, or I would have suspected the doctor had literally opened the doors with the telekinetic force of his mind. And that hordes upon rows upon crowds of people were actually surrounding the entrance to the castle. Oh, that such a strange hallucination hath crossed my mind; I should give myself a kick in the rear.

But, alas, I didn't get the chance to kick my own ass. This was real.

Standing at the split of the crowd was the fair and rich nobleman, Uchiha Sasuke, his hand reaching out towards me, his dark eyes always calm and slick with lack of color. The sudden noise of other humans roaring in my ears nearly caused me to faint. Shaking my head, I missed the doctor as he gently took my hand in his larger one and led me towards Sasuke.

The cries of women and men alike echoed about me. "Why would Lord Uchiha do something so dangerous!" "Oh, good lord, is that the psycho Lord Uchiha chose?" "But what are those markings on his cheeks?" "Look, the doctor is leading that psycho by the hand because it is the only way to placate the monster." "I do hope he gets locked in a dungeon and dies!"

Shamefully, I lowered my head and scurried after the doctor as he picked up speed. I felt tears sting my eyes and painfully restrained the urge to bawl in submission. It wasn't fair, I thought. I hadn't done anything to hurt them, had I? Yet the aching in my chest told me I had.

I wanted to tell them to stop. "How ugly is he! I bet his mother wrapped him in a cage and threw him to here only for that!" I wanted them to stop. "He deserves to be shot right here and now, the hideous beast!" My fist clenched. I wanted to force them to stop; strike a regret within them; make them feel as I felt. "Oh my, I hope Lord Uchiha shoots him for us!"

Oh, the colors and vivid detail I could see already.

Then a gentle voice called out to me.

"It's all right, Naruto."

A hand had done itself to tenderly cup my cheek and raise my chin to meet the carrier's eyes. It was Sasuke-- with a face softer than any I had seen within the span of my memory. Brushing his fingers across the left side of my face and finding the roots of my blond hair, he pushed me towards the carriage behind him.

"Do not touch him."

I heard the command not directed towards me as I daintily entered the carriage and seated myself upon the plush seats of the roofless car. Sasuke then boarded, seating himself uncomfortably close to me so that our thighs were touching. He is unbelievably warm, I thought sheepishly. Itachi seated himself next to the driver.

"You cannot dictate my actions, little brother," Itachi said in apparent response to the previous command.

I was caught by surprise once again. "Brother?!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, as though threatening to burn a hole into Itachi's back. "Would you like me to send you back to the castle, brother? The deal was that I help you out of the castle and you allow me to release one prisoner."

"So it was. Do not fret, little brother, for I do not plan to interfere with your piteous acts of charity."

"It's is not charity. Men are not animals, brother. They should be treated as free."

"You are the one who treats them as though they are animals locked up in a zoo. What do you plan to do with the little one after you bring him home? Release him into the wilderness?" Such cold siblings they were.

Sasuke was silent.

"And another thing. The people of this town. They will no longer address you by the name Lord Uchiha. From now on, I shall be the only Lord Uchiha in this family. Is that clear, little brother?"

"Of course."
Why had I followed the doctor so faithfully? Even after the motive to escape had been revealed and the plot so deviously unveiled? Perhaps it was something inside me leading me gently by the fingertips and pulling. It was not a conscious decision, I remember, simply because I don't remember. A boldness must have been stirred by my dislike for captivity. Whatever it was, it had brought me to the confines for the glorious Uchiha manor.

Women of all ages and stature-- most of them absolutely gorgeous-- greeted us at the door. Actually, I must correct myself. Greeted Sasuke at the door. Their numerous feet padded and scurried across the dirt road path while we had barely exited the horse-drawn carriage. Their cries were desperate ones-- of longing passion that struck me painfully in the chest for reasons I could not yet comprehend.

"Oh, Lord Uchiha!" one cried. "Who is this handsome man you accompany?" They instantly crowded around the man known as Itachi, their hands running about his dark robe decorated with bold red clouds with a feverish sort or worship. It seemed as though the object of their affections had instantly transferred from Sasuke to Itachi. And Sasuke didn't seem affected in the least.

As I thought about it, the two brothers were very similar in physical attributes. Cold eyes, dark hair. Then again, both were very quiet, polite, and cold. But Itachi was more open to the women (whom I found to be waitresses, maids, and indentured servants of the manor) than his brother. In all seriousness, Sasuke seemed to act completely different from when I met him. Maybe because of his brother, I thought.

"Would you like to stay for dinner, Naruto?"

I didn't consider that perhaps he was different only around me.
I was sitting at the table, sure, but I wasn't in any way included in the family. I was more ignored than the woman servants who served the food.

"May I be excused?" I asked, rising urgently from the fine polished chair as I instinctively looked to Sasuke for approval. The room was spinning around me at this point, and I could do nothing but hold onto the back of the chair until my knuckles turned white from the exertion. All around the table, the women and Uchiha brothers could do nothing but stare distastefully upon my discomfort. I slapped a hand across my mouth as I felt something like a sponge expanding within my throat. My eyes watered. I wanted to vomit.

Sasuke rose from his seat.

"You're going to need help."

He looked around at the servants. "One of you, escort Naruto to the restroom."

But none moved from where they were. Nothing but confused looks around the table --as though the idea of helping a sick man were so preposterous, and the idea of Sasuke suggesting it even more so.

"I'll go myself," I weakly said, bolting from the dining table, knocking the chair upon its side, and frantically holding down the expansion in my throat.

I had no idea where the restroom was, I realized. I could taste the discreet flavor of vomit at this point. I felt I could no longer breathe. I had no idea what in hell was going on, why this was happening to me.

I felt trapped. This was no better than my life behind the prison bars, listening to the dripping of water on the castle floors, chasing after a woman I could not possess, speaking to others through a barrier.

My eyes narrowed as they watered and almost spilled over. Not speaking to others through a barrier. Speaking to no one. No one ever visited my cell at the asylum. They would only snicker and laugh, or, if I was lucky, they'd pass by with expressions of pity written across their faces. No one ever visited me. I didn't have a family or friends.

No one ever visited me. No one.

Someone grabbed my arm. I turned around sharply, eyes widening at the sight of the one known as Sasuke.

"I'll help you," he quietly said, his voice like dark chocolate. I waited.

He turned his head towards the right wing of doors beside us, his grip never loosening around my arm.

"The restroom is over there. The third door on the left."

Practically fascinated, I looked back at his face.

He smirked at me. The word "beautiful" found itself in my thoughts. "Or don't you have to throw up anymore?"

A frowned adorned my lips. Flushing, I ran down the hall and jumped into the third door on my left.

Sasuke must've sighed and rolled his eyes at that.

"Left is the other way, stupid."
I wanted to throw up again. I wanted to do nothing more than vomit and hope this pain in my gut, this unsettling in my throat, to go away. Why was it hurting so much? Why was there a throbbing in my head that I had never felt before? As though something had been planted and rooted its talons inside my brain and was starting to make itself known by ripping whatever it found apart.

I coughed harshly, vomit hanging from my lips like a disgusting sort of glue. My eyes could not avert from the sight of vomit inside the toilet, and, although I had been emptied clean, I still felt dirty as a gutter whore broken on the side of the dumpster. Hurriedly flushing the toilet, I washed my hands in the perfectly clean sink, painfully swallowed my saliva, and wiped my face clean from any evidence. I wondered if I should return to the dinner table with Itachi, Sasuke, and their servants as I threw the towel upon the rack and pulled open the bathroom door. Perhaps--

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked me almost irritably.

Despite my surprise, I shook my head quickly, an embarrassed smile adorning my previously dirtied lips. "It's nothing. Probably motion sickness. I hadn't ridden a carriage in a while." I felt disgusting. Completely disgusting. Why did it feel so bad?

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke sighed in exasperation and approached me. Of course he didn't believe me. "Whatever. Anyway, are you going to be staying?"

"Hm?" I blinked.

"Are you going to be sleeping here?" he elaborated, his dark eyes glinting with amusement at my delightful stupidity. Then, without waiting for my answer, he walked right past me, striding gracefully as swan. "Your room is over here next to mine."

He casually pushed open a nearby door. Inside was an almost empty room. Aside from a single pine wood bed covered in thick blue blankets and topped with a frilled white pillow, the room was nothing but empty space surrounded by white walls. Nervously, I looked to Sasuke. "And what's your room look like?"

He gestured to the door directly left of my own with a solemn look on his face. Hesitantly, I pushed it open, surprised at the sight I beheld. These walls were not white like my room. These walls were weighed down by a heavy maroon color. The bed was similar to my own, except it a top maroon curtain guaranteed to conceal anything that happened inside that bed. This room was much, much better than mine.

Sasuke must have seen the jealousy in my eyes, for he then turned to me and said, "Or you may sleep with me..."

I flushed deep red at the suggestive tone of his voice. "That's quite all right. I-I'll sleep in the other room... if you want me to." I mentally kicked myself at the additional comment. I didn't want to make it seem like I wanted to share a bed with that Uchiha prick! Why the hell did I say that?! Stupid, stupid Naruto!

Then Itachi entered the hallway.

"My little brother and little one," he greeted coldly.

I huffed at the nickname and did not notice the dark which now sheathed Sasuke's ebony eyes.

"I take it the little one will be sleeping in the guest room?" While Sasuke sleeps in the better room right next door, proving that our little Naruto is nothing more than an unwanted ornament? The unsaid words were resounding.

"No, Brother," Sasuke replied. "Naruto will be staying in the same room as I." When was that decided again? And was it just me, or did Sasuke get a hell of a lot more polite when his brother came along? "I plan to treat him no different than a member of the family." I almost winced at the intensity of his voice.

"So he'll be staying for a while then?" said the older.

"It's his decision," the younger said. I had a feeling it really wasn't.

"Then do whatever pleases him, little brother."

And with a last wave, Itachi turned on his heel and walked away again, servants popping their heads from different rooms in the hallway and running quickly after him. Sasuke and I were alone in the hallway.

"You don't treat your brother like family..." I mused aloud, earning a strange look from the dark-haired boy. "I mean, you say you're gonna treat me like a member of the family, but that really isn't saying much, is it?"

"...You're right."

Whoa. No one's ever said that to me before.

Sasuke turned to me, his eyes washed clean of any darkness, the same amused look on his face.

"I'll treat you much better."
Nighttime had arrived, and I could not help but frown at the confidence the Uchiha displayed in everything he did. I had been given a maroon set of shimmering silken pajamas to wear (unbelievably comfortable, by the way) and was now under the covers watching Sasuke jump and shuffle through what seemed to be a chest of expensive-looking clothes.

I ran a hand though my recently washed hair, tingly with cleanliness. "How are you, may I ask, supposed to treat me so well here... without being patronizing?"

Sasuke then pulled out a hideous-looking doublet. Walking up to a mirror, he stretched the sleeves and seemed to model it for himself. "You are going to be my companion," he told me.

"That shirt is really ugly, and companion for what?" asked I, not the slightest thought of manners crossing my primitive mind.

"What do you suggest I wear then, and companion for me." He lifted an eyebrow as he looked at me. "As in friends?"

Friend was good. Quite good.

"You should wear some normal, ordinary day-to-day clothes. Are you dressing up for something?"

"You could say that..." he said, rummaging through the chest again, tossing garments of cotton, deep velvet, satin, and even silk, all across the floor. "I'm preparing to meet with a woman."

"A woman? I thought you were already married."

"It's been years since this girl last visited me."

"Who?"

"My wife."

I clicked my tongue. "...Interesting."

What an interesting man, that Uchiha Sasuke was! Was I slightly hoping that the Uchiha had been unmarried? Certainly I did not feel a tinge of jealousy shoot up my spine? Of course I had simply felt disappointed that I was the only bachelor in the room. Oh, how dreadful it was to be lonely. If only Sasuke were more like me-- single, romantic, and innocent as a butterfly. A beautiful, graceful, milky-skinned, curvy... butterfly.

Sasuke smirked at me.

"I don't love her, if that makes you any less jealous."

That took my by surprise. "Jealous? Wh-whatever do you mean?" I shakily questioned him. Looking down upon myself, I noticed I was holding the dark blanket of the bed a little too tightly in my lap. In fact, I found my feminine posture so intriguing, I'd failed to notice that Sasuke had sauntered over to sit on the bed next to me.

And he seemed to be coming closer to me. At an alarming rate, I must say.

And now he was straddling me... I was really getting sick of that smug smirk he always had on his lips, you know? Not that I'd protest or anything. It was just...

Those rich-people pants were really good-looking on him. Really, truly, they accentuated his legs. His face was accentuated, too, or maybe that was just because it was one inch in front of the end of my nose.

"Um... Wh-what are you doing?" I asked, honestly attempting to be as blunt and offensive as possible.

He leaned over, his breath pooling hotly in my eardrums as he whispered huskily in my ear.

"Remember, Naruto? I was told to do whatever pleases you..."

Whoa. That went straight to my penis.

Speaking of which, his hand was directly above what would be classified as "The Forbidden Zone." Placing a soft kiss on my ear, Sasuke said, "Feel free to ask if you want anything..." He then rubbed me swiftly, the maddening feeling of the warm behind silk eliciting a moan from my throat. And I don't know where my mind had gone at that moment, for I felt something feral awaken within me-- something I had not felt in years. The fact that I could not remember beyond three weeks ago helped the situation none.

But something told me I didn't want to feel this vulnerable before another human being-- especially this one.

"No," said I, gently shoving Sasuke away from me as I hid myself under the covers. The Uchiha looked confused for a moment. It was as though he was not used to rejection. I blushed furiously. "No, thank you, I mean... I'm a guest."

After burning his eyes through me like my innards hat just replaced my skin for a couple more seconds, Sasuke sighed and removed himself from my lap. "As you wish," he said almost sadly. He headed for the bathroom, bringing out a set of pajamas as he plopped down on the bed, his slumped back turned towards me.

I must have sat there drooling as he unbuttoned each button on his shirt and slowly (but agonizingly) removed it from his shoulders, revealing pale flawless skin that made me wonder if I sat in the presence of some sort of divinity. And then he noticed I was staring, and he gave me a smile-- a strange smile different than all those smirks he had displayed before. This smile was softer and, though this is merely a superficial judgement, a bit shy.

"If you desire anything, don't hesitate to ask me."

It seemed I was the guest of honor. But I could only hesitate longer because of that.
Spread the word: Naruto's pregnant (with Sasuke's child). That's why he couldn't beat Kimimaro, that's why Sasuke ran away, and that's why he's been looking chubbier in recent chapters. HO YEAH.