A/N:

Alright! Five readers! I'm on a roll! xD

Oooooooooooook. I've got about twenty bajillion ideas, and can't wait to play them out. But I'll hold back. I don't want to rush this story. That never leads to good things.

But I will respond to the reviews. Hehe.

♥Raven

Chapter Two: Your Protection

Sasuke was rather irritated with himself. He didn't know why, but he continuously drifted

in and out of consciousness. Every so often when he'd wake up Naruto would be gone and he'd try to sit up, only to be sent back down by an odd weight on his left shoulder. Though Kakashi had cleared away the seal, he said there would be a weight left over due to his inability to reseal it. From his position on the bed he'd look around as best as he could, only to see that Naruto had gone outside to talk to visitors. He'd drift off again, then wake up to see Naruto next to the bed again, smiling as he saw his teammate's eyes open.

After about ten of these round-about processes, he opened his eyes to a dark room. "Naruto?" He whispered, still not having gained control over his voice. A blonde head shot up from the side of the bed, grunting and blinking quickly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's alright!" Naruto said quickly, rubbing his eyes and brushing hair from his face. When the spikes began to die out and the hair started to fall, it could be honestly said that Naruto had lovely hair. The same was often said of Sasuke on the random days he chose to wear his hair in a pony tail or was to lazy to spike it, but that was not very often. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore. And heavy." The genin tried to reach up to his shoulder, just to feel for the mark, but even his right arm was heavy. Mainly because of the lack of use.

"Then don't move you idiot!" Naruto pushed down on Sasuke's struggling arm, maintaining a sense of gentleness as he did so. "You'll just hurt yourself even more!" Sasuke growled and Naruto lifted his hands quickly, despite the fact that he knew Sasuke was in no condition to hurt him.

"I'll be fine." Sasuke started to sit up, cringed, and plunged back down.

"Uh-huh." Naruto crossed his arms, leaning back roughly into his seat with a 'humph'. Sasuke didn't respond, just turned his head away with a scowl. This made Naruto feel a little bad. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm just worried about you." He laughed. "And so is Sakura. If she's not following Kakashi or Iruka begging to know what she did wrong, she's begging me to let her see you."

The Uchiha laughed lightly, turning his head back. "Lovesick fool." He said, all to sickeningly aware of Sakura's affection.

---

When it came time for Sasuke to finally leave the hospital, his left arm still bore a large weight and had to be supported with a sling until they could find a way to either reseal or remove the curse. Naruto hadn't gone home once over the course of the three days Sasuke was in the hospital, and Iruka had brought him clothes and towels so he could shower. So, as Sasuke left, so did Naruto.

And then, the fan club. "Sasuke-kun!" Lead by Ino, a hoard of shinobi ran at the dark haired genin, waving their arms madly. Some even wiped 'tears' away from their eyes. "Sasuke-kun, I'm so glad to see you're alright!" Ino said pathetically, still trying to swoon the Uchiha.

"Yeah! We thought you'd have to lose your arm! The doctors said they had a hard time lifting it onto fresh pillows!" Kiba yelled from toward the center of the pack. So it wasn't just Sasuke who felt the weight? And how in the hell would Kiba know what the doctors thought?

"It's alright. It'll be healed soon." Neji said, trying to avoid throwing 'fate has good plans for Sasuke' in to the mix.

"Not if that demon fox stalks around him!" Came a yell from the milling crowd, causing a few people to stop and look around in search of the source.

"Yeah! He's the whole reason Uchiha-kun was hurt!" Came another.

"Why does such a smart boy hang around such an abomination?"

"It's pity, I'm sure!"

"To have pity for a demon. Uchiha-kun must truly be a great person!"

"Even so, the demon is what got him injured! His pity should've run dry!" Most of the crowd stopped, yelling things and spouting agreements. It went on for a few minutes before Naruto screamed.

"Shut up! All of you!" He slapped his hands to his ears and pushed through the small group of shinobi, running as fast as he could to his home. It wasn't his fault! The demon was sealed inside him when he was so young, he couldn't have done anything to stop it! Sasuke balled his good hand into a fist, screaming as well.

"Damn it, you! Don't you think he's been through enough?" The now murmuring crowd silenced, looking to the prodigy with pained expressions. "You weren't even there when the attack happened! You don't know anything!" He gritted his teeth. "Naruto wasn't even there when the sound ninja attacked me. But he was the first person to come and help me! Get your information right!" The light murmur silenced, the group of genin standing before the Uchiha trying to figure out if they should glare at the mass of people, or if they should look in shock to their fellow genin. He shook his head angrily, pushing through the crowd and walking fast-paced toward Naruto's home.

When he actually made it there, the blinds were all closed and there was no light even so much as poking out of any of them. He growled lightly under his breath, pounding on the door with his good arm.

"Go away!" Came a voice from somewhere on the first level.

"Make me." A silence. Footsteps started toward the door and it creaked open just a bit and a bright blue eye appeared in the opening.

"What?" Naruto asked quietly, not wanting the other to notice his slight hiccup. It was far too obvious to hide, however, and the dark haired genin quickly heard the choke of previous tears in the other's voice. "I don't need your pity."

Sasuke grinned, but it faded slowly as he felt the sting of Naruto's rage. "I didn't come to offer pity." He started to push at the door, bracing himself for a press back from the blonde. Much to his surprise, the door opened easily and Naruto headed in to the front room.

The blonde yanked off his jacket and head band, throwing them where ever they'd land. All that was left was his fishnet top, his loose hair, and his pants. His sandals had long since been discarded, even before Sasuke arrived. "You want something to eat? I'm making ramen."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Naruto glared. It was odd to see him in such a bad mood. "Sure, I'll have a bowl." He looked to his feet as his teammate grunted, moving quickly in to the kitchen.

It wasn't long before he caught himself looking around the front room. It wasn't much of a home; a mat on the floor, a radio, a couple tables. There was a small window in the back, but it had been boarded up from the inside. The kitchen, from what he could see, was a complete mess of ramen bowls with a stove, sink, and small counter. The walls were cracked and the ceiling was starting to curve down. It was like the world was set out to make the boy's life miserable. The stairs were cracked and bent, and the entire place was dark. It made him feel bad for living alone in the large Uchiha homes.

Naruto continued to frown, exiting the small kitchen with two bowls in hand, a pair of chopsticks in his mouth and another resting in a bowl. Judging by the broth running down his chin, Sasuke could guess he'd been to anxious to wait for the miso. He shoved the bowl with chopsticks at Sasuke. "Eat up." Sasuke stared for a moment as Naruto plopped onto the mat, then followed suit and sat next to him. "Why did you come?" He finally asked, swallowing a thick ball of ramen. "You said you weren't here to offer pity. So then, what do you want?" Sasuke finished a slurp of noodles, staring forward at his crossed feet before resting the chopsticks on the edge of his bowl.

"Those people said some terrible things." He finally answered, twirling the tips of his chopsticks through his broth slowly.

"So? What's new?" Naruto asked, trying to hide behind the thin mask of pride. "It's not like you have an obligation to care."

"I know I don't." Sasuke said slowly. "I just choose to." Naruto felt a stab of guilt. It was terrible the way he was treating Sasuke, and all the Uchiha wanted was to make sure he was alright. "I don't want to see you so sad. You're just not the same without your smile." Naruto fought against the corners of his mouth, willing them not to form a smile. "I want to be your protection."

Naruto lost the battle. Though the smile wasn't his usual cocky grin. Instead it was calm and gentle, glad he had someone to count on. They sat in silence for a while, finishing up the last of their ramen. "Sasuke? Will you stay with me?" Naruto finally asked. He saw the other genin's bowl was empty, and didn't want him to leave.

"Always."

---

Sasuke ended up spending the night. Both wouldn't openly admit it, but they were each plotting up new excuses so that Sasuke wouldn't have to leave, and so that Naruto wouldn't have to make him.

'The crowd will be rather angry...they might come after you.' Was Sasuke's first.

'They might think you've gone bad, hanging around me and all. They could attack you on your way home.' Was Naruto's.

And quite a few more followed after that. It all eventually lead to Sasuke pulling out the spare mat and blanket. He pulled off everything but his boxers, sliding under the blanket and turning his back to his teammate. "Night."

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked, doing the same but facing his teammate instead.

"Yeah?"

"Why do you care?" Silence. Sasuke really didn't know how to answer. Answer bluntly, like always? Or tell him the truth? But Sasuke honestly didn't know just what the truth was.

"I just do, ok?" Another silence.

"Thanks." Naruto smiled, noticing the slow up-and-down motions of the dark haired genin's shoulder as sleep over came him. "Goodnight."

---

The following morning was a rather tough one. Neither one wanted to get up, and when they did they found that they'd both, oddly enough, moved off of their mats to the space between them, their heads pressed against one another. Despite their inward feelings of comfort, their prides grew too quickly and they flew backwards, howling with embarrassment. "What the hell was that!" Naruto spat, rubbing at his forehead as if Sasuke could've passed off a virus.

"How should I know! It's not like I was awake to see anything!" Sasuke yelled back, glad that Naruto was acting like himself again. "It was probably just us moving in our sleep! We somehow ended up between the beds, and we woke up shortly after we adjusted to the body heat of each other!" He brushed off, having been snowed on by roof chips when he hit the wall flying back. "It's a natural human instinct. You feel the warmth of another person and grow comfortable! Your mind can't see who it is, so you wake up. It was just a shock to our systems to see each other at such close range."

Naruto said nothing. He knew Sasuke was right, but refused to admit it openly. Instead, he changed the subject. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Miso or Miso?" Sasuke joked, only getting another glare. This one was softer though, almost like Naruto was afraid of hurting Sasuke's feelings again. Sasuke picked up his clothes as they moved from the room, pulling them on slowly on his way down the stairs, leaving his shirt over his shoulder. The sling over his other shoulder was proving to be rather annoying, and the fact that he was starting to get used to it bugged at him. He would've taken it off, had Naruto not been so stingy about him getting better.

Naruto was already in the kitchen, stirring the ramen cups and recovering them, setting a small egg timer for three minutes.

"I made yours udon style." Naruto said, trying not to sound too cold. He was still in a particularly bad mood from the previous night.

"Thanks." Sasuke said, trying not to laugh, even lightly. With their ramen they returned to the mat they'd been sitting on the day before, Sasuke plopping down first this time. "We don't have any missions for a while, do we?"

Naruto's head shot up with a scowl. "How can you think about missions! You can hardly lift your arm!"

"So? I've been through worse!" Sasuke spat back. He'd have sprayed Naruto with ramen broth had he not the mind to swallow first.

"Like what? You rely on your hands for almost all of your attacks! And you can't very well use the Sharingan without making your injuries worse!" Sasuke scowled, unwilling to verbally admit his teammate was right.

"I'd still be able to–"

"Shut up! You're not going anywhere."

"What am I supposed to do then?"

"Stay here." Excuse number what...fifty? "I'll run over and get your stuff later. But until you're healed, I'm keeping an eye on you."

"And you can't do that while I'm at my place?" Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"It's either we stay here, or I stay at your place." Sasuke grinned. He stood, walking to the kitchen and putting his empty bowl in among the others.

"Fine then." He made his way to the door, struggling slightly to pull on his shirt. He finished and turned to a shocked Naruto. "Bring what you want."

"What's that mean? I'm coming to your place?" Sasuke ignored the question.

"See you in an hour, dobe."

---

It wasn't surprising that Naruto ran into trouble on his way to the Uchiha homes. Especially when it was figured out just where he was headed.

He's probably headed to poison the poor boy's mind even more.

I bet he's gonna try to kill him. Good thing that Sasuke is such a good fighter.

Should we stop him? We don't want him catching the Uchiha boy off guard.

He even had a little bit of a scuffle with an old man sweeping his shop steps. He had to move further into the road just to keep the man from beating him to death. It probably would've been smarter just to stay there and take a few hits, though, because as soon as he crossed the street a thick hand took hold of his elbow and yanked him in to an ally. Three more sets of hands took hold of him, pulling at his hair and scratching any flesh they got hold of.

"Where ya headed, demon? Off to the Uchiha houses?" One asked, pulling off the boy's head band.

"What ya plan on doing there, huh? Wanna rope Sasuke into a sense of security?" Another said, laughing.

"I bet you're gonna kill him." Said the third. One set of hands let go, the other two taking hold of Naruto's arms. The man who'd let go moved in front of Naruto, sending a meaty fist into his stomach. It was obvious that each punch was carefully aimed for the mark that sealed the demon inside him. He felt a small trail of blood run quickly from the corner of his mouth and began coughing, small bits of blood falling to the ground before him.

"Aw, did I hurt you dobe?" The two men holding him threw Naruto to the ground, laughing as he writhed and coughed. He wanted to shoot up and beat them, yelling at them to never call him that again, but he knew better. Doing that would just confirm their ill suspicions of him. But not fighting only made things worse. "What's wrong, dobe?" Naruto winced. "Too cowardly to fight, dobe?" The men, unfortunately, noticed.

"Look at that. I think you've offended him." One said, kicking him hard in the side.

"Oh, is that so. What, is Sasuke the only one allowed to insult you?" Another said, kicking him in the side of the face.

"Yeah. That's right. I am." All three men spun on their heals, all gasping simultaneously. Sasuke stood in the opening of the ally, glaring at each of the burly men.

"You can't tell me you're defending him." One said. "He's probably planning on killing you."

"I doubt it, dumb ass. If he was willing to kill me, why wouldn't he just turn on you all and slit your throats?" He nodded his head to Naruto's leg pouch, out of which poked the ring of a kunai. "He could've easily killed all three of you. So why wouldn't he? What's three extra murders to one?" None of them answered, each keeping their gaze off the groaning lump of Naruto on the ground. He was slipping between reality and unconsciousness, listening as best he could to the conversation around him. The last thing he could remember were a few rushed footsteps, followed by a pair of graceful steps. He was lifted, then he blacked out completely.

He came to in a large bed surrounded by many decorations and plants. Obviously a wealthy home. The sheets were black and a window was covered with deep blue drapes. He looked forward and saw a dresser against the wall and immediately knew where he was. The blue shirt with the white and red fan on the back hanging off the edge of a drawer quickly gave his location away. Sasuke's room. He started to sit up, only to receive a shooting pain in his stomach, sending him back down onto his pillow.

"And stay down." Came a voice from the doorway. Sasuke walked in with a large tray. On it was a folded hand towel soaking in a bowl of water, a tea pot, and two small cups. It amazed the blonde that Sasuke could carry such a heavy load in just one hand.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked, wondering if this was just a dream.

"Yeah?" Nope. Not a dream.

"What happened?"

"You got beat up by a group of thugs."

"And how did I get here?" Sasuke laughed, setting the tray down and plopping down next to the bed.

"How else? I carried you."

"With one arm!" Naruto tried to sit up again, but fell back with a surge of pain. "You could've hurt yourself!"

"Nyeh. Neji saw me beating the thugs up and came over to help." The Uchiha heir poured tea into the two small cups. "He helped me carry you back here."

"But you still faced three meat heads on your own, you idiot!" Sasuke grinned, taking a sip of his own tea. It wouldn't be fun for Naruto to try and drink laying down, so he'd let him get to it on his own.

"I was fine. I beat one over the head and the other three ran off." Naruto said nothing. He felt terrible for getting Sasuke into danger. If he'd just fought back...defended himself...he'd have been able to prevent any strain on Sasuke. But he was a coward.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke." He said finally, rolling his head over away from the Uchiha.

"Shut up, dobe." Naruto smiled. It wasn't that he was happy to be insulted, it was that he was happy it was Sasuke doing the insulting.

He turned his head to Sasuke. "Thank you."

A/N:

WHEW! Long chapter.

I just couldn't find a good place to end. So...I used my power as the author to corny it up so I could end it. Blech. ON TO THE RESPONSES! subject changing coward

to death101: Hehe. Thanks. I'm glad I could give you something to read over and...over.

to inuyasha92689: I'll try to update as consistently as I can, I promise.

to Red Asatari: Thanks. I try. Hehe.

to LoversPastForgotten: I guess you could say that. I'm starting out with a kind of cliche 'confused about their feelings' thing. I'm glad you're interested.

to blue-genjutsu: I'm glad. It takes me a while to figure out how I'm going to end things, and usually don't like them...so I'm glad someone does. Hehe.

Thanks guys! Keep the reviews coming!

♥Raven