Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters are the properties of Masashi Kishimoto. No profit is made off of this fan-fiction story. Any additional original characters located in this story are designated at such and belong to the author, Jae (Dae T. Angel).

A/N: And I'm back! We're so close to the end, y'all. I can hardly believe it. Some of you may notice a little makeover to my pseudonym. Worry not, it's still me. It was just about time I let it grow with me. As always, thank you all so much for the reviews, kudos, love, and encouragement! The messages you send me and the overall love you readers have for this fic are truly what keeps me revisiting this story. I'm amazed each and every time. Thank you!

—.&.&.—

XVI.

Forgive Me 'Cause

Sasuke's strategy of playing on Naruto's emotions was backfiring in the worst way possible. Not only had he miscalculated Naruto's reaction to his inveiglement, but he had miscalculated his own reaction to Naruto's response. Now, this misstep was leading him down a path that alluded to a lot of uncomfortable emotions he thought he had left behind.

Naruto was still holding his hand after whispering those disarming words, fortifying what seemed like a crusade to chip away at Sasuke's animus. Sasuke felt exposed. He was not expecting to be made this vulnerable.

He took his hand from Naruto's grasp, making sure to close his expression off further; then stood up and walked back over to the items he had unloaded. He collected them again and wordlessly strode to his bedroom. He did not look back at either Naruto or Kanaye.

Twenty minutes slipped by before he trusted himself with reemerging from the room. When he did, he found Naruto and Kanaye seated at the table—Kanaye perched in his father's lap while the older blond held open the book Sasuke had given the boy and read out loud with him. In the kitchen, another Naruto was chopping up vegetables and transferring them to a simmering pot on the stove. The scene was … unexpectedly nostalgic. It made Sasuke think back on a time when his brother would read with him as his father read the paper and his mother prepared their meal.

He paused.

This was not his first time witnessing Naruto and his son go through such an ordinary routine, but it was the first time it made him think of his own family. Perhaps it was a side effect of his shaky composure brought on by Naruto's words, or the ever-lurking anxiety that sat at the edge of his thoughts the longer he stayed in a place tied to so many haunting memories. He could not be sure, but it did manage to shift something in his perspective.

For all of Sasuke's strategizing, the flaw in his plan lay in the type of behavior he was expecting from Naruto. It was clear that the other man's priorities had changed. Naruto had a family, and his own degree of loss attached to it. All this begged the question: Was lust really the emotion Sasuke should have been gambling on?

Sasuke sighed, reevaluating the goal for his mission and bolstering himself against the sadness of thinking about his long-gone family. He straightened, then turned to the Naruto in the kitchen.

"When you're finished here, we need to talk," he said.

Naruto gave him a questioning look but nodded and said: "Sure."

.—.

By the time they had all eaten what Naruto had prepared, it was a little after noon. Throughout the meal, Kanaye had chatted enthusiastically about what he had learned from the book so far and had asked Sasuke a volley of follow-up questions. Feeling a bit altruistic, Sasuke had patiently answered each one. When they were finished, Kanaye implored Naruto about going to the Hyuuga estate to tell his friend Chiyo all about it.

Naruto had glanced over at Sasuke to gauge any opposition to the idea, but Sasuke gave none.

It was the new normal for Naruto to escort Kanaye to the Hyuuga's without Sasuke monitoring them. Since Kanaye had been officially registered as a denizen of Konoha and an Academy prospect, Sasuke was not worried about Naruto running off. He doubted the other man wanted the fallout from that repeated action to potentially affect his son. Also, he needed Naruto to feel comfortable enough to let his guard down. He had noted Naruto's peculiar sleeping habits since that first night at the compound, and though Sasuke had not caught him supposedly sleepwalking again, the blond's restlessness pointed to something else he was trying to hide.

"I know the way by now," Kanaye stated as he strapped his shoes on from the front door's entrance area.

"That might be the case, but Konoha isn't like back home. Not enough people know you yet to tell me what you get up to when I know you're goofing around," Naruto responded.

"I'm not gonna goof around!"

The duo continued their back and forth as they exited the house. As the door shut with a soft click Sasuke looked over his shoulder at the other remaining occupant of the common area.

"You've become pretty liberal with your use of clones," he said to Naruto. The blond was at the sink drying dishes.

Naruto turned toward him and shrugged his shoulders. "It's easy to fall back into the habit especially since Kanaye's gotten comfortable with them," he said.

He stacked the bowl he was drying, then set the kitchen cloth aside. "Besides," Naruto continued, "they make this whole single parent thing a lot more manageable considering I don't have my usual support system around."

Sasuke could hear the undercurrent of melancholy in Naruto's voice as he said this. It made him frown, and he could not help the sliver of spitefulness it piqued in him.

"You could have had that support here if you'd stuck around," he said.

Naruto glanced back at him, exasperated. "Are we still on this?" he asked tiredly, with a hint of irritation. "I don't know what else you want me to say to make things better, but it's not fair for you to keep throwing it back in my face. I miss my family, Sasuke, and I'm also sorry I left here. I can do both."

"I'm not looking for anything from you except honesty, Naruto," Sasuke said, standing up from the table so they could be eye-level with one another.

Naruto folded his arms and leaned back against the counter; his demeanor indicating that he wanted Sasuke to elaborate.

"I'm going to be very frank with you," Sasuke added, "the reason why I'm the one you were released to is that Hokage-sama believes you'll be forthcoming with me. The Council wants you locked away where they can keep an eye on you, but Tsunade is attempting to be humane about this. It doesn't matter if you're reinstated as a chuunin again. What matters is that you're deemed loyal, and that can't happen if no one knows why you've been gone for the past eleven years."

"I've already answered all their questions with Jiraiya," Naruto said with a frown.

"That's not enough."

"Why?" irritation had crept back into Naruto's voice. "What else could they possibly want to hear? I didn't defect to another shinobi village. I didn't know enough to divulge any information of value. I just left because I didn't want to be here anymore."

Naruto's last remark jarred Sasuke unexpectedly. It triggered something deep within him that had been buried under years of neglect.

"Was that because of our fight?" Sasuke asked tightly. "Did you not want to be here anymore because of what I'd said to you back then?"

This question had privately eaten away at him for over a decade. After those initial few years of searching for Naruto, Sasuke had shoved it and his guilt down into the darkest places of himself, and now it had surfaced again, threatening to gnaw at him once more.

"What?" Naruto asked, seemingly caught off guard.

"You disappeared a couple of months after you and I fought in my apartment. Don't you remember that?" Sasuke replied.

"I…," Naruto paused, then sighed—looking off to the side. "…Yeah, I remember," he finished, gaze becoming distant. He looked as if his mind was suddenly elsewhere and not focused on their conversation.

Sasuke's rising guilt and anxiety rippled at this aimless response. Was that all Naruto had to say? Sasuke's expression fell into deeper vexation as he tried to stave off the familiar feeling of anger.

"Then answer the question. Was that the reason why you left?" He knew the chill that had entered his voice was not helpful. He just…

At his side, his hands clenched with frustration at how much he was struggling with this exchange. He should be more composed than this. It was not helping his strategy of being more diplomatic.

Naruto's stare refocused on him accompanied by a grimace. He hesitated, looking down, before saying, "It wasn't the only reason, but yeah, that fight was part of it,"

The tightness that had been gathering in Sasuke's chest seemed to constrict two-fold. Guilt slunk its way through his ribcage, weighing down his lungs to stifle his breath. There were so many things he wanted to say at that moment, but all he could manage was: "I … see."

Naruto pressed his lips together in a wordless response—he did not look up. The disappointment hovering in his expression appeared to echo through the cavern of silence that suddenly formed between them. Sasuke unclenched his fists and looked away shamefully. This was not how he had pictured this discussion going.

The sound of Naruto taking in a deep, resigned breath broke their awkward lull. He unfolded his arms, turned back to the sink, and said: "Yeah, well. Whatever—"

"—I'm sorry."

Naruto paused.

"I'm sorry," Sasuke repeated, allowing the weight of Naruto's admission to settle on his shoulders. He glanced up to see the blond looking at him in a dazed manner. It made Sasuke feel more ashamed. He thought—much like when he had found Naruto's letter—about how maybe all this could have been avoided if he had not been stubborn and had apologized sooner. He thought about his brother and his family and the things that could have happened differently but would not. And he thought about his anger and what it had left him with.

A steady stream of contempt for his own actions seemed to wash away the remainder of the resentment he held toward Naruto.

"I'm sorry for hurting you, Naruto," Sasuke said earnestly. "I should have never said the things I said."

Naruto simply stared at him, face lax with bewilderment. His mouth opened slightly as if to say something, but nothing came. He just stared and stared.

Sasuke grimaced, shifting uncomfortably under his gaze. He took a step toward the kitchen, prepared to say something else.

That was when Naruto's breathing suddenly stumbled into short, harried breaths.

Sasuke looked on in confusion as Naruto began mumbling "no" between each intake of air. Then, all at once, Naruto collapsed to the floor, hyperventilating.

"Naruto!" Sasuke rushed over and knelt beside him, grabbing his shoulders. Naruto's breaths were growing shallower.

"Naruto! Naruto, look at me. I need you to start taking slow breaths," Sasuke said as he shifted Naruto to face him. The blond's eyes were wild and unfocused. Soon, slow wisps of red chakra began to seep off of his skin as his pupils contracted into thin slits and his irises changed to a deep vermillion color.

For a moment, Sasuke watched this transformation in shock before his instincts kicked in and he activated his Sharingan. When he forced Naruto to look directly at him, he felt the unresistant opening of the man's mind.

The visual of the kitchen immediately gave way to the dimly lit surroundings of a wood. Sasuke glanced around, trying to orient himself.

"Shit!" was the gruff swear Sasuke heard as a white and red blur dashed past him through the trees. He locked onto this anomaly without a second thought and followed its trajectory until he finally burst through the tree line onto an outcropping of rock overlooking a ravine. His feet brought him to a smooth stop as he scanned the area for the thing he had spotted earlier. It was nowhere in sight; however, his attention was caught by the struggle happening a few meters ahead of him.

There was Naruto, with his back facing him, holding … another version of himself up by the throat. The tips of his fingers were melding into the skin of his victim.

Sasuke hesitated. What was he witnessing?

Without warning, a figure appeared beside the two Narutos, forcing them apart. The version of Naruto that had been the aggressor shouted in frustration and attempted to grab his counterpart again, but the newcomer—a bronze-skinned man with shockingly red hair—kicked him back; then shoved the other Naruto over the cliff. Sasuke snapped out of his stunned stupor on seeing this and reached out, willing Naruto's mindscape to stop the blond's persona from falling into the ravine.

"If you want him to wake up, don't you interrupt, Uchiha!" the stranger yelled.

The force of his words barreled against Sasuke's will, shunting him back and causing him to lose focus; Naruto's form continued its plummet down into the ravine.

Meanwhile, a long, bright red tail of chakra manifested from the stranger's body to whip forward and grab at the remaining Naruto. He tried to dodge, but the tail spiraled in the space around him, then snapped tight into a trap. Naruto struggled against his restraints.

"I keep telling you to mind your own business, you stupid asshole!" he snarled at the stranger.

"Gripe all you want, Noboru. This is still not your day."

The tail of chakra shot forward with Naruto in its grasp, detaching from the stranger as it did so, and delved into the trees. The shadows of the wood bulged momentarily before settling back into calm.

Sasuke—managing to refocus and maintain his foothold in Naruto's mind—ran to the edge of the cliff to peer down at the rushing waters of the ravine. There was no sign of Naruto's other self among the rapids.

He gritted his teeth and whipped around to glare at the stranger, Sharingan spinning.

"What did you do to him, demon?" Sasuke demanded.

The stranger—who Sasuke had finally deduced was the Kyuubi—gave him an irritated scowl while avoiding eye contact.

"I'm protecting him from himself. What else does it look like?" it scoffed.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes further. "What is going on?" he asked.

The Kyuubi rolled its eyes and turned away, waving him off. "I don't have time to answer your questions. I need to make sure the brat doesn't fall into another coma because of your meddling. Why don't you go be useful and check on his body?" it said, then faded with the surrounding scene.

Sasuke lunged forward, attempting to latch on to the afterimage of the Kyuubi's chakra and follow it further into Naruto's mind; but the energy dispersed in multiple directions, leaving him stranded in a silent void. He swore in frustration. Sasuke glanced around him to take in the nothingness. No clear thoughts were coming from Naruto to help guide him elsewhere.

He set his jaw and huffed out an aggravated sigh. He had no idea what had just happened, but for now, the Kyuubi had a point. Despite its arrogant barb, he did need to check on Naruto's physical body.

Sasuke allowed his mind to disengage from Naruto's as he released the Sharingan.

In an instant, he was aware of the kitchen again, this time with the weight of an unconscious Naruto in his arms. Sasuke placed two fingers to the man's neck to check his pulse. Thankfully, it was not sluggish.

He sat back on his heels for a moment and stared down at Naruto's slack features, frowning. His thoughts were rapidly breaking down each detail he had observed in Naruto's mind.

The two Narutos. The ravine and the wood. The Kyuubi.

Wasn't the fox supposed to be locked away? How was it possible for the creature to interact so freely outside of its prison? And what had it meant when it said it was protecting Naruto from himself?

Was all this because Naruto was somehow harming himself?

"Naruto…" Sasuke grumbled, weary.

He took in a fortifying breath and maneuvered Naruto's body over his shoulder so he could carefully hoist him up off the ground. As he got to his feet, the sound of the front door opening snapped his attention toward it.

Stepping into the entrance area, the clone that Naruto had sent Kanaye off with shut the door behind it and leveled Sasuke with a flat look.

"Just so you know, I also made sure the kit got where he needed to be," it said surly. Then it mumbled, "Of course, there's now this mess. Such a pain in my ass." And dispersed in a wisp of red chakra.

Sasuke stared, eyes wide with surprise; but then his mouth settled in a grim line.

What the hell was Naruto not telling him?

—.o.—

Naruto jolted awake with a sharp intake of air. Something acute and pungent moved away from under his nose as he attempted to focus his vision and gather his senses despite the ringing in his ears.

"—Naruto."

Through the high-pitched din, someone was calling his name.

"Naruto," they said again; then a finger appeared in front of his face. His eyes followed it as it moved to the left; then center; then to the right. He blinked when it moved out of his line of sight.

"Seems like you're aware enough."

Naruto propped himself up from his prostrate position and shook his head. This seemed to abate the ringing.

With his head clear, he looked around; took in his surroundings; and found a wary-eyed Sasuke kneeling beside him.

"What..." he sat up more, absently noting the futon he had been laying on, "…what happened? How did I end up here?" He glanced at the sparse furnishing of the area, confused. Nothing was decerning in the space outside of a pair of swords tucked away in a corner.

"You're in my room," Sasuke clarified. He tightened the cap of a tiny vial of smelling salt he held and stored the bottle in the utility pouch at his waist. "And you're here because you passed out from an anxiety attack."

"An anxiety attack?"

"Yes, that's what it seemed like," Sasuke said. He was still giving Naruto a watchful frown.

"Then—shit!" Naruto swore as Sasuke's words sank in. He began scrambling up off the futon. "If I'd passed out, then Kanaye—"

A firm hand on his shoulder stopped his progress.

"Kanaye is fine. I had called Neiji and he'd assured me that Kanaye made it to the Hyuuga compound without incident." Sasuke paused. "The Kyuubi had also confirmed this via your clone when it had returned."

Naruto froze.

"What?" he asked, shocked.

Sasuke gave him a thin-lipped grimace before adjusting his posture so he was seated cross-legged by the futon.

"I need you to start telling me what's going on with you, Naruto," he said plainly. He had removed his hand from Naruto's shoulder and placed it on his own thigh. "Among a few things, I want to know why the Kyuubi can operate so freely within your mind, much less your clone?"

Sasuke was using a calm, direct tone. Naruto did not like being the target of it.

"I…," He began to say externally while in his mind he exclaimed: What the hell happened, Kurama?

What felt like an irritated emotion was projected at Naruto as Kurama replied, "A fallout from you not facing your fears, brat."

What the fuck is that supposed to mean—?

"Let's forego the lying. I had to use the Sharingan to enter your mind, so I know something is going on," Sasuke added sternly.

Naruto frowned. A part of him grew angry at hearing about this invasion of his inner thoughts. It only added to his mounting frustration of not understanding what was happening to him and what to do about it. Kurama insisted on being vague and now Sasuke was pressing him. This state of affairs was seriously threatening his tenuous hold on self-restraint.

"You…," he started to say in a low voice. "…It…" The more he thought about what to say, the angrier he became. "…This … fuck!" Naruto pounded a fist into the floorboard. He gritted his teeth, trying not to feel overwhelmed by the myriad of emotions that were crawling to the surface of his psyche. He was fed up. Fed up with not knowing what was happening to him. Fed up with feeling castrated by returning to Konoha. Fed up with feeling inadequate compared to who he was as a kid.

"I need some air," he said roughly, getting to his feet.

Behind him, Sasuke called out: "Naruto—"

"—I said I need some fucking air, Sasuke. If you have a problem with that, you can fight me." Naruto continued storming out of the room.

His feet took him out of the house and onto the deck where he stopped short of stepping off onto the dirt. He placed his hands on his hips and looked up at the bright afternoon sky.

What was he doing with himself? He had made all these resolutions on how he would handle his problems like a shinobi again, but he felt like he was floundering. When he was younger he would have just bullheaded his way through everything, screw the consequences. But here he was, facing things he couldn't punch or beat the shit out of, and he was filled with too much doubt to commit to being stubborn.

"Fuck," Naruto whispered into the air. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

How was he supposed to solve this? Think, dammit!

Every option he could think of kept pointing to Kurama. It held all the cards in this situation. The fox knew what was going on both now and in the past.

Spurred on by a renewed sense of urgency, Naruto turned his attention inward. Kurama, you there? I need to talk to you.

A leery shift in his mind signaled that the Kyuubi was listening.

This needs to stop, Naruto projected. I need to know what's going on with me, and I need to know why you're suddenly able to control my clones. You had failed to mention anything about that.

There was a weighted silence before Kurama answered, "It wasn't relevant until now, but I have been able to influence your clones for years. The topic never came up because you haven't used them in sometime before returning here."

Naruto's brows furrowed at this revelation. How is that even possible?

"Brat, you have been pilfering the ambient residue of my energy to supplement your chakra since you were a babe. I have always had the ability to affect your clones in some capacity. The only difference now is that you've afforded me space in your mind and thoughts, so I can attempt more complex actions outside of just being a nuisance."

Tch, again, this all comes back to our deal, Naruto responded snarkily.

Kurama said nothing.

You have to know that I don't remember the specifics of that arrangement, right? At first you made me think it was just about saving me, but now I know you taking my memories was involved. I can't operate properly if you don't fill me in on what the hell is really going on, Naruto said, attempting to instill reason.

Kurama had to understand how insane this was. It had claimed that he needed to figure things out on his own but Naruto had nothing to work with. All he had were sleepless nights and an inscrutable dread that dogged him whenever he tried to remember.

The fox let out a mental huff, and in Naruto's mind's eye, he could see its tails flicking around it irritably.

"I know!" it groused. Another pause filled the space of their conversation before it spoke again, "I am well aware of the problem at hand, Naruto. When I had agreed to take your memories, it wasn't until afterward that I realized the quandary I'd introduced. I have been contemplating this issue for the last decade and I thought I had more time to figure it out, but then you ended up back in this damned village and everything has escalated. It was wishful thinking on my part that you would somehow use that fabled stubbornness of yours to surmount the problem."

Kurama grumbled but continued. "The reason why I have not been more straightforward with you is that I am concerned. If I give everything back to you, I fear that you will not be able to handle it and what is waiting for you will take advantage of that. I am already doing damage control for having given you back the memories of your fling with Uchiha. A foolish error I am now seeing."

Naruto took in a steadying breath and let it out slowly. The information Kurama had finally decided to divulge was … hefty. He turned it over in his head.

His eyes slipped away from the intermittent clouds above him down to the tiled rooftops of the compound's empty homes. The anger he had felt was quelled but he did not feel at ease. So, the reason I passed out is related to this, isn't it?

"Yes. That Uchiha brat triggers you in unpredictable ways, it seems," Kurama said.

Is it true that Sasuke saw what was happening in my head? Did he see you?

"He … did. He had used those insufferable eyes of his to penetrate your thoughts and had nearly disturbed the system I have in place to keep you safe, but I was able to catch him off guard enough to prevent any issues. We had exchanged words afterward."

Naruto ran a thoughtful tongue across his lower lip, musing. At least now, with what Kurama had told him, he no longer felt flat-footed.

Okay, he projected after a few moments of thinking. I'll handle this. Thanks.

Kurama seemed bemused by his words but it settled back into his mind without objection—remaining watchful.

Naruto drew his focus back to corporeality. Staring out at the expanse of the compound for several long minutes, he finalized his strategy for moving forward. He took in another deep breath, feeling calmer than when he had stalked out here; then glanced to the side over his shoulder. At the edge of his periphery, he saw Sasuke standing in the doorway of the deck entrance.

Naruto turned to face him.

Sasuke's face was neutral as he watched Naruto. His arms were folded and his stance was steady, but his eyes were searching. A few beats passed before Naruto decided to speak.

"Can I trust you?" he said bluntly.

A small crease knitted Sasuke's brows together.

"Can I trust you?" Naruto reiterated, hands still on his hips. "I need to know that who I'm dealing with is my friend and not some asshole with an ulterior motive or an agent of Tsunade. So, can I trust you?"

For a moment, Sasuke's expression did not detract from its thoughtful frown, but then he sighed.

"Yes," he answered clearly.

Naruto gave a resolute nod and let his hands relax at his side. A smirk crept its way onto his face, "All right then, teme. Let's talk inside."

—.&.o.o.&.—