A/N:

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell…It's taken me long enough, eh? Hehe. I know. I've been kinda pathetic. But alas! I am posting!

Good news about Lunchbox--I'm having it fixed at a local shop, and it should be done sometime around the middle to the end of next month. Not much to say about a system recovery…I dunno if I'll be able to pitch in for one of those…but I can always just start fresh on my stories, right?

Speaking as for fresh ideas…I haven't really had any that seem too great. Yes, I'll try to twist them in here and there…but you can't hate me if you don't like them. I'm still exploring what the public wants and what I'm willing to give. Hehe.

Raven

Chapter 5: Blind

Naruto stared at the closed door for a while, not sure exactly of what Kakashi had wanted him to do. Needless to say he'd just scared one of the toughest people known to the village senseless, and now he was expected to bring him back? Not exactly his thoughts of peaceful recovery.

Before he could really realize what was happening a kunai whizzed past his face, nicking slightly at the edge of his ear. He spun on his heel to see Sasuke sitting up, his hand out-stretched from throwing the knife.

"You're not still the Kyuubi, are you?" He asked, moving his hand back to the open drawer beside the bed. In it were three more kunai, probably stored there should anyone ever try breaking in or something.

"What do you think, moron! Of course not!" Sasuke's glare hardened and Naruto realized that now wasn't exactly the time to pick a fight. Sasuke was obviously still shaken and it wouldn't be wise to provoke him. "Sasuke…" He started moving toward the bed, only to have another kunai fired at him.

"Why the hell did you summon him, Naruto!" Sasuke rose from the bed, clutching the last two kunai in one hand. "He's a demon! He can't be trusted!"

"You needed help, Sasuke! And you wouldn't let me close enough!"

"So you asked him? So you asked a demon to take over your body, knowing full well that he'd do more damage than good?"

"Just listen to me--"

"You had to practically kill yourself to stop him! You're just lucky he healed you, for whatever sick reason! Either one of us, or both for that matter, could--"

Naruto punched the wall behind him, leaving a large hole and silencing Sasuke. "He saved your life, damn it! The worst thing that could've happened would be me ending up dead, and that demon rampaging around! The least you could do is thank me!" Naruto turned sharply, knocking down the door and disappearing down the hall. Sasuke stood transfixed, staring at the hole before turning his eyes to the window, where Naruto could be seen disappearing into a mass of trees.

Sasuke growled, throwing one of the kunai at the wall just above where Naruto's fist left it's mark. "Damn, Naruto."

---

Three days passed, Sasuke healed, Sakura's emotional strength seemed to have recovered, and the two sensei had come to terms with the fact that neither of the students wanted to be counseled. They had a hard enough time admitting anything went on let alone talking about it.

Naruto, however, was missing in action. Literally no one had seen or heard from him in that three day period. The lights in his house remained off, and no sounds of any kind left it. The windows were all shut and locked, the blinds drawn, and the door was locked as well. Kakashi couldn't transport himself into the house using any form of jutsu, and merely beating at the doors and windows did nothing.

Sakura, the naturally worried one, checked his house every day. She'd start out yelling taunts and what not through the door, pounding away furiously at it. Then as time passed she'd end up begging for him to come out, fearing for his health if he didn't. It'd always end up with Kakashi stopping her before it got too late and sending her home.

Sasuke on the other hand, managed to hide any signs that he cared. He'd just shake off the subject of Naruto whenever it arose, and if he could he'd avoid passing the blonde's home. It was almost like he was embarrassed of the way he'd treated the other boy.

"He's just an idiot." He'd say sometimes, hoping that'd cover for his feelings. Kakashi, however, didn't buy it. He stared over the table in disbelief, watching as Sasuke finished off his tiny glass of water.

"An idiot, maybe, but he did risk his life for you." He said, pushing a cup of tea toward his student.

"But he also risked my life!" Sasuke retorted, refusing the tea and turning sideways from his sensei.

"Would you stop thinking of yourself for once!" Sasuke quickly silenced, looking to his sensei in shock. "You could've died, yes. But Naruto made the choice to sacrifice his life to save yours. He unselfishly put himself on the line for you, and all you could do was put him down for it. If anyone should talk to him, it's you. And I think you agree with me." Sasuke said nothing. The silence dragged on for what felt like a lifetime before he pushed himself up, bowed to his sensei, then left.

He took the long walk home, his hands shoved deep in his pockets and his eyes watching the ground. He had been rather selfish…but it was just a cover, right? At least he knew now that no one had seen through it.

---

Two more days passed, and it soon became slightly evident that Sasuke was also worried about Naruto. Though he'd deny it if you'd ask him. He'd started walking past Naruto's house, looking in the windows. He started talking non-stop about his rival. Basically he'd taken a complete 180 from his attitude the previous day.

It was odd enough that the Uchiha had been acting so frozen to the world the previous day, but to now be aching just to talk to someone? It was almost like someone else had taken the boy's place.

Yes, it is quite understandable that Sasuke acted cold. It was just his personality. But to be so cold as to become defensive about even the slightest bit of Naruto-suggestion wasn't like him. And this new, almost caring Sasuke could almost be classified as creepy.

And it seemed that talking to people just made it worse. Every last one of them had told him the same thing: Go talk to Naruto.

"You two seemed to be such good friends. You'd defend him, he'd take care of you. But then all of a sudden you can't stand the kid? I can see why he's in hiding. He probably thinks the last of his protection turned against him." Tsunade said, sifting through some paperwork. Sasuke had gone to her as a last resort, hoping for some advice as to what he should do.

"The last of his protection?" Sasuke asked, browsing the decorative shelves in her office.

"Don't deny it, boy. You know he relied on you for protection."

"But why me? Why not Sakura or Kakashi?"

Tsunade lifted her eyes from the paper, sending Sasuke a 'give-me-a-break' kind of glare. "You must be kidding, right?" Sasuke's face remained puzzled. Tsunade leaned back and crossed her arms, staring at Sasuke silently for a while. "Think about it," She said finally. "You've got nearly unmatched skills. You've definitely got unmatched looks. You're pretty much perfect."

Sasuke stood in silence. At one point in his life he'd probably have agreed at the drop of a hat. But somehow a bit of that cockiness had drained out of him and he merely wanted her to state her point. They stared for a few minutes before Tsunade slapped her forehead in frustration, grumbled, then continued to work. "You truly are blind. When you figure it out I think you'll know what to do. Just go talk to him, ok? Now run along. I'm busy." Sasuke bowed, then turned and left.

Sasuke wandered the main market for a bit. He didn't stop to look at anything, nor did he so much as pay the stands a glance. His mind was in another place, and he finally worked up the guts to head in that direction.

He stood in silence in front of Naruto's front door. No sounds came from inside, no light came through the screens, and everything seemed too…dead. Feeling that something had to be assisting in Naruto's said 'disappearance', Sasuke reached out and touched the doorknob with his index finger. A feeling like that of being electrically shocked ran up his arm and focused in on the curse mark. He retreated his hand, gripping the small black dots. Obviously Naruto had set something into effect on the house, preventing anyone from entering.

Needless to say it'd take quite a bit of effort to get in. And now that he knew he couldn't touch the house without pain setting in, he figured there was no way he could do it on his own. He started to turn away when he remembered the conversation he'd had with Kakashi a few days before. "He unselfishly put himself on the line for you…". Feeling it was only fair, he turned back and stared at the door. Passing through it would only make the pain worse had Naruto set the curse right. He clenched his teeth tightly, balling one of his hands into a fist, and reached out to grab the door. The pain shot up his arm once again, causing him to shake slightly as he worked against the door.

To a person without Orochimaru's mark the pain would've been cut in half, enough to give them the sensation of sticking a fork in an electrical socket. That combined with a force against the door and windows would send any sane person in the other direction. But combined with it, it was like holding a down power line. None the less, Sasuke continued to press against the door. It finally started to move, and he was eventually able to squeeze through a small opening.

Just as he'd predicted, the pain sent through his body only worsened as he entered the house, making it rather hard to move around smoothly. He limped his way around the front room, looking for any signs of Naruto. There were plenty, as expected, and Sasuke made his way to the stairs. "Na…ruto? A-are…you here?" Sasuke said, his throat seeming to close in on itself. He wouldn't last long like this, so he rushed as best he could to find the blonde and to undo whatever curse he had on the house. It was strange that Naruto would go so far as to put a curse on the house…it was beyond Sasuke's knowledge that Naruto even knew how to set a curse.

Upon making it up the stairs, Sasuke could hardly keep himself standing. One eye was tightly closed, and half his body felt numb. Yet he could see a light coming out of a room up ahead, and he pressed forward, limping his way down the short hallway. He leaned against the wall next to the illuminated door, trying his hardest to stay conscious. "Na…Naruto? Open…up." His voice was pathetic and gravelly, gasps for air preventing a smooth sentence. Hearing no movement, he pulled the door open and slid inside, just as he had done when entering the house.

When he made it into the room he collapsed to the floor. A great pressure had lifted and the room felt free. He trembled lightly, a great amount of the pain having lingered over. It had started to take a toll on his muscles and it was obvious the genin would be out of commision for a few days. Naruto shot straight up, having been lying on the bed in the corner. "Sasuke? How the hell did you get in here!" Realizing an answer wouldn't be on it's way for a while, he got up and moved over to the Uchiha.

The dark haired genin had been through quite the struggle, and was now taking advantage of the down time. He'd fallen fast asleep and was unshakeable. One knows true effort when you work yourself to the point of passing out. Naruto sighed, picking the Uchiha up and setting him down on the bed. It was obvious Naruto had planned on staying that way for quite some time; most of the house had been brought to his bedroom. He went into the bathroom, the only other room in the house not under a curse, and wet a folded towel, returning to place it over the forehead of his rival. He pulled a stool up to the bed-side, sat down, and waited.

He laughed lightly, looking over the strained body in his bed. "Sasuke, you fool."

---

Probably around three hours passed before Sasuke returned to reality. He glanced around the room, hearing the sound of a shower running. He sat up, a cold towel falling from his forehead and into his lap. He stared at the wall ahead of him for a while, not noticing the shower stop and Naruto move into the door way, just finishing pulling up his pajama pants. He let the towel over his hair drop to his bare shoulders and smiled, moving over to the stool next to the bed.

"I have to give it to you. I don't think even Kakashi-sensei would be brave enough to work through that much pain." Sasuke said nothing. "Why did you come?" Still nothing. Naruto looked angrily into the side of Sasuke's head.

"Dobe." He said finally, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry." Naruto smiled, but didn't say anything. He quickly hid the smile, not wanting Sasuke to see it when he turned his gaze. "I really am."

"Why did you come?" He asked again.

Sasuke wanted desperately to tell him exactly why he'd ventured through the pain just to see him. He wanted to tell him that he'd missed seeing the bright blue eyes he knew so well. But, he couldn't bring himself to. "To see if you were alright." Naruto didn't entirely buy it, but he chose not to argue for the time being.

"Whatever the reason, you're not getting out of here for a while. Downside of this curse thing is that it lasts for a week, and there are two more days left of it." Naruto stood and moved to his drawers, pulling out some pajamas and tossing them at Sasuke.

"Why did you set this curse?"

"I wanted some alone time. And I knew that no matter what I said people would be barging in and what not, so I tried to keep that from happening. I figured I'd live in here for a few days, then get out. Didn't quite count on getting stir crazy."

"So you knew it'd last a week? That's why you brought your stuff in here?"

"No. I thought it was one of those curses where you can take it off as easily as you set it. I planned on only being here for three days. But when I checked the scroll a few hours ago, I found out I'd be stuck here alone for two more days. Didn't count on you showing up." Sasuke smiled.

"Lemme guess. No way of opening the windows without hurting yourself?"

"You saw how hard it was to open them from the outside. Try opening them from the inside." Naruto up-turned his hands, showing blistered palms and bruised fingertips. "More apparent physical strain. Not very wise."

By now Sasuke had managed to get up from the bed and had worked his way over to the bathroom. At least he'd have a few days to work up the courage to talk to Naruto about how he felt.

---

When he emerged from the bathroom, the pajamas on with the top unbuttoned and a towel draped over his shoulders, he saw Naruto sitting on the floor, reading a small scroll to himself. Most likely the curse seal. "Found any loopholes?" Naruto shook his head, rolled up the scroll, and proceeded to throw it into the corner opposite him. He stood and stretched, making his way over to the bed. He pulled a mat out from under it, having just a bit of struggle; the mat was fastened to the underside of the bed, for just such an occasion. He tossed it to the floor, along with his pillow and the second blanket on his bed.

"How will you sleep without a pillow?" Sasuke asked bluntly, tossing it back to Naruto.

"I have a mattress. You have a mat. Big difference." He said, throwing the pillow, rather than tossing it.

"You don't have to cater to my needs, dobe."

"You're my guest, and I choose to. Take the pillow or I'll throw you out and lock you into the hall." A threat Sasuke knew Naruto didn't have the guts to follow through with, but he chose not to argue and set the pillow down. He laid his head against it and closed his eyes, falling asleep in mere seconds. Naruto didn't lay down. Just watched as Sasuke slept peacefully next to him. His expression softened and a calm smile crossed his lips. He leaned over and planted a light kiss on Sasuke's forehead.

"Good night, Sasuke."

A/N:

Whoot. Another corny ending. Perfect for another short chapter, eh? Ha. I'm so pathetic when it comes to writing.

Hehe.

Damn. A whole load of responses need to be made. --

To blue-genjutsuHehe. Yeah, it was helpful. I know, I know, it seems like I'm taking them out of one painful situation and putting them into another. It's like I don't want them to heal, eh? Hahaha. I just work better with a little emo situation-ness. But I do promise, Sasuke will get better. Oh, so much better. xD

To sAyUrI-aNbU: Hehe…ASAP…right…-- Gomen.

To Solar Angel: I believe I stopped due to the end of the chapter…O.o…I could be wrong. XD I hope I can keep your interest.

To kchan1: I'm just a black hearted person, eh? Hehehe. Thanks. I'm glad you like the story.

To Thyphy: Hehe, yeah. Not much. I'll get a little more in-depth with the description as to what happened later, but for right now I'm just gonna let Naruto and Sasuke get settled before I have either of them want to ask anything about that night. As for a law…I had no idea. You must realize, I jumped into Naruto-fandom through Shonen Jump magazine. So when I realized they played it on Cartoon Network, they were already on the Chuunin exams. I have no idea what happens before that, so you must forgive me.

To Sasuke2006: Hehe. Yeah, they're both too thick headed for one to accept being uke. To be perfectly honest, I haven't had anyone reseal the curse yet. So really, all hell could break loose. I guess it just depends on what kinda mood I'm in when I start on the next chapter…--evil laughter--

To FMA-lover16: Gomen gomen gomen! I was very selfish in making you wait for the next chapter. I'm glad you're excited for it, though.

To silver fox aka vashStumbling across is good! I'm glad you like it.

To Sonicfanatic: Ignoring it! Well I never. Hehe. I'm glad you like it. But somewhat brilliant? Nyeh…Too much credit. I believe the term is, 'satisfactory' xD

To flame gazer: I'm glad you like the first three. Hehe. I don't like them all that much myself, and I really wish I'd spent more time editing the fourth one…but the writer is always the biggest critic, no? And at least you're honest. I like honesty in my reviews.

To Inu-Chan-000: Oh don't die! Not only will I be a murderer, but I'll loose a faithful reader! I can't have that! Hahaha. I'll clue everyone in on what happened with Kyuubi later…I'm just gonna let Sasuke and Naruto get settled before any questions rise up between the two of them. If you don't mind me asking, what the other story is? I'm always looking for a good read.

Keep reviewing, peeps! And please please please suggest this story to your friends! Haha.

Just as an end note, I usually post updates on story progress and all that in 'journal' entries on my profile page. Feel free to check up there if things seem to be moving rather slow.

I'll try to hurry with the next chapters so I don't leave you all hanging again.

Hehe.

Raven