"May I speak with you, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka looked up from his work. "Sure thing, Uchiha-san, but first, do you mind helping me bring some materials to the supply room?"

"Not at all."

There wasn't much to bring, a small stack of papers and some slides for an old projector. Iruka could have easily carried it by himself. Uchiha kept his thoughts to himself, not bothering to bring up unnecessary comments.

They walked in silence down the hall to the third floor. Iruka walked with his hands behind his back slightly behind him. Sasuke didn't complain. For his purposes, he had to try to be civil.

Iruka opened the supply room for him, though Sasuke could have done it himself. "After you," the teacher said.

Sasuke entered followed by Iruka who closed the door behind them. "I hope what you wanted to talk about wasn't about the class registry again, Uchiha-san."

"I wouldn't dream of upsetting you again, Iruka-sensei." His words almost sounded sincere if it weren't for the mocking gaze he aimed at Iruka. Sasuke set the material on the large wooden table meant for material preparation. "It's a more personal matter."

"I see. I would be happy to help you if I can." Iruka's smile was obviously fake though there was some satisfaction that Iruka was in an uncomfortable position. Sasuke could care little for an ant underneath his boot.

"I wanted to inform you that I will be out of school for a week or so for work on the mainland. My photographer and crew will be returning to their main studio after today."

Iruka's smiled a fraction wider, showing his happiness at the news. "I see. Students should be diligent in their work after all; however, don't forget about your studies either. Midterms are in two weeks after all." Iruka took a box down from the shelf. "Though, you should inform your homeroom teacher about things like that as well as the principal."

"I would, but I am unable to find Kakashi-sensei and Tsunade-san is out of town, or so I hear."

"That is true. Hatake-sensei is hard to find," Iruka agreed, opening the box. It seemed to be filled with old papers that were laminated. "I will inform them of your absence."

"Thank you, Sensei. There is one other thing." Sasuke moved to the other side of the table. "Uzumaki-san will be coming with me."

Iruka's hand stilled. "Did you ask his guardian? I was told by Jiraiya-san that he would be out of town for a few days."

"Uzumaki-san is currently living with me. It was Uzumaki-san's decision to accompany me and take on the same work as me."

"I see. I see." Iruka reached underneath the papers. "Let me make a note to remind myself to tell Tsunade-san."

A quick flash of metal was the only warning. Picking up the nearest item on hand, Sasuke used a textbook to block three knives aimed at his heart. The knives cut threw the material like butter, stopping at the hilt.

Sasuke threw the text back at Iruka who dodged.

The book crashed into the boxes behind him, knocking several items off the shelf, but Iruka wasn't deterred, already armed again with shuriken. He threw them at Sasuke with deadly accuracy.

Lacking anything to block, Sasuke caught them with his right hand, in between his fingers.

"Now, now, Sensei, attacking a student isn't very professional of you," Sasuke kept his polite smile, but his eyes were looking down on the teacher before him. He dropped the shuriken, each one hitting the floor with a soft clang.

Iruka put distance between them, as much as the room would allow without trapping himself. "You think I wouldn't attack after hearing you're taking one of our children?"

"One of your children?" Sasuke smirked. "Is that so? Because Uzumaki-san didn't know about my kind, and I can bet if I asked, he wouldn't know about you either, Iruka-sensei."

"Every person on this island is under our protection," Iruka growled.

"I'm sure they are. That's why so many of your youths keep entering my house on dares. Or how ghouls run around with guns under your noses. You are doing an excellent job." Uchiha's words were dripping with sarcasm, not once losing that annoying fake smile.

"That is none of your business!"

"No," Sasuke agreed. "It's not." Turning his back to Iruka, he implied that Iruka posed no threat to Sasuke, that he wasn't worth his time or effort. He could feel the man bristling behind him.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

"I came to deliver a message of my plans, as per the agreement with Tsunade-san. I've done that, now it's time for class." Sasuke explained it in a way that sounded like he was explaining it to a rather slow and ill-tempered child.

"Do you think you can get away with this, here? Running around as you please?"

Uchiha had grabbed the handle to the door, noting that Iruka had locked it when he wasn't paying attention. Really, humans should act like the cattle they were instead of causing endless problems.

Tilting his head, so that he could see Iruka, he replied. "Yes," he said matter of factly. "This is my island after all. I only let you stay here because I never thought I'd be back." He tugged the handle sharply, breaking the lock on the sliding door. "However, since I am, let's try to get along, shall we?"

"─ey…..Hey….. Hey bastard! Are you paying attention?"

Sasuke was pulled out of his memories, lazily zoning in on Uzumaki who was inches away from his face. The boy must have been calling him for a while. Despite the annoyance in his voice, his brow was creased with concern.

"If you want another kiss, all you have to do is ask."

It was fascinating how fast Uzumaki moved, rivaling that of a vampire. His face was flushed as his mouth worked wordlessly, unsure of what to say. It was refreshing to see. Sasuke hadn't seen a man be that flustered over something as simple as a kiss for almost sixty maybe seventy years.

He should have left it at that, but Uzumaki's reactions made Sasuke just want to keep teasing him if just to relieve his boredom. "I thought you had a girlfriend. Don't tell me you haven't even kissed her yet."

Uzumaki's face turned a brighter red, confirming Sasuke's theory.

"That's none of your business, bastard!" Uzumaki yelled, gaining some attention from those around them. "I just wanted to tell you, Lianna has our outfits ready."

Uzumaki was sulking about the shoot. Honestly, Sasuke was surprised Uzumaki was going along with it; although, no one ever denied Deidara. If he wanted to do a shoot a certain way, he would get it done. However, Deidara was kind enough to assuage Uzumaki's worries by promising him that they would never reach print. Today was just to see if Uzumaki could do the work. Looks were part of it but being able to relax in front of the camera and being able to pose naturally was another story.

It would probably be Uzumaki's first and last shoot. During the briefing of what was going to be done, both Sasuke and Deidara had noticed Uzumaki's lack of self-confidence veiled behind his complaints. While it was not a surprise for Sasuke, who had witnessed the gossip and mistreatment around Uzumaki the short time he had been with him, Deidara was more impatient, unable to comprehend how "such a beauty" could have such low self-esteem.

In the end, he threatened him to grow a backbone with an aura that could scare even Sasuke if it had been directed at him. To Uzumaki's credit, he took it well. He was only mildly off-balanced rather than soiling himself like so many other humans and a few immortals had done. That ability to handle such dangerous situations calmly earned Deidara's respect, for about two seconds before he moved on to yelling at his subordinates to get everything ready.

Sasuke and Uzumaki went with Lianne to the changing room.

Each passing minute, Uzumaki's mood soured, muttering to himself about his luck and how he would rather do this with a cute girl for a partner. Thankfully, his complaints only lasted about 15 minutes. Lianne was a skilled hair and makeup stylist as well and had them prepared in record time.

With a single compliment from Sasuke, the girl beamed. She had turned at a young age of 13 or 14, and rather recently. She had not yet outgrown the young teen behavior even after 20 years as an immortal. The problem with turning the young was that mental development and maturity became heavily stagnated at the age they were changed at. An immortal who acted with child-like tendencies could threaten the exposure of their kind. Thus, it was frowned upon to change anyone deemed a child.

Of course, throughout history, that number changed. A 15-year-old 500 years ago would be more mature than a 15-year-old in the present. Today, 16 for girls and 18 for boys was the standard as both stopped growing around that time. Recently, talks about changing the age have started again.

That wasn't to say that a young immortal couldn't mature, it just took a very long time to change. An immortal changed at the age of 7 could have the wisdom of an elder after a 1,000 years, but an immortal changed at the age of 20 could reach that wisdom in half or even a quarter of the time. Since there wasn't much change in mental development after a certain age, there was no sense in waiting after reaching adulthood, but some still chose to wait if they had the option.

"You are cute, Sasuke-chan. Very cute," Lianna smiled at her handiwork.

The sound of Uzumaki's snicker could be heard somewhere behind him as Sasuke politely corrected her. "You should use handsome. Not cute."

She blushed, nodding her head quickly and apologizing.

"If you two are done messing around, get your asses out here. I don't have all day!" Deidara's foul language could be heard over the commotion of the studio.

Uzumaki started complaining again, leaving the room first, and Sasuke followed after giving Lianne a kiss on the cheek for a quick farewell.

Naruto nearly collapsed onto the chair once Deidara gave him permission to take a break. It wasn't natural to be able to stand or sit still for such long periods of time. Then there were all those orders.

Turn your head more.

Give me a smolder.

Turn your body 3 degrees.

Don't smile so brightly.

He didn't understand how anyone could do this for a living. Plus, the position he was forced to do….

Naruto's face turned red in embarrassment, placing a towel over his face, hoping he could forget. There was no way he was looking at the results. He couldn't hold a candle standing next to Uchiha and would people really buy pictures like the ones he had just posed for?

"Just stop thinking about it, Naruto," he muttered to himself, wearily dragging the towel off his face.

One more thing was bothering him. At first, he thought it was his imagination, but as the shoot kept extending due to Naruto's inexperience, Naruto began to notice more and more.

The employees were staring at him.

Not from hunger like before. No, this time it was a gaze Naruto was familiar with. It was the same eyes as the townsfolk. As he sat in his chair, he could feel someone glaring at him. He felt the urge to curl into himself, away from such eyes.

Suddenly, the eyes were gone, and in its place was Deidara's all too innocent smile. "You were fabulous today."

The snort of derision Naruto gave could not express all of Naruto's doubts. "Yeah, right. I was so bad, I have people glaring at me."

Deidara raised an eyebrow. "You saying I don't have an eye for talent?"

Clearing his throat and looking away, Naruto replied, "So, are we done for today?"

"As soon as you return the clothes." He handed him a manila folder marked 'photos'.

Grudgingly, Naruto took the folder. "Thanks."

Deidara's hand patted his shoulder. "See you next week, Naruto-kun," he waved over his shoulder, crushing Naruto's hopes that this would be his last job.

With a heavy sigh, he pulled himself out of his chair. Maybe if he hurried, he'd be able to steal some food from the buffet table before it was cleaned up.

School was a stable and predictable pattern in his life. At least that's what Naruto liked to think. Rarely did anything drastically changed from his routine while he was at school and Naruto could handle that. He craved a stable point in his life right now with all the craziness that had occurred within the past week. So when he stepped out of the town car the next day, the extra attention took him by surprise.

On a normal day, everyone would be keeping his distance from him, specifically the students outside his class. They wouldn't even look at him if they could help it and would only gossip if they thought he was nowhere near them.

Today wasn't the case. The moment he stepped out of the car there was a crowd of students staring and whispering excitedly. At first, he thought that maybe it was because Uchiha was beside him.

Uchiha had quite a few fans outside their class. Just the day before, he had received 4 love letters, all which were never opened and thrown away upon being received. It wasn't unusual for him to be stopped by a female student if Naruto wasn't nearby. If what Tobi had said about Uchiha was true, it was no wonder why Uchiha tended to stay nearby, only disappearing at odd intervals.

Today, however, the attention was definitely on him. One girl even blushed looking at him.

As always, however the rest of the student body treated him, his classmates had the opposite reaction. If normally the rest of the school gossiped and avoided him, his class tolerated him and interacted with him to a certain extent. Not as friends, but as acquaintances at the very least. Now that the school was giving him they're undivided attention, his class seemed to be doing a lot to ignore him. Even Sai had not come by to harass him.

The moment he walked into class, the atmosphere felt unbearably cold.

"What's gotten into them?" He asked Uchiha, taking a seat at his desk.

"Don't know," Kiba dragged his chair to Naruto's desk. "They've been weird all morning."

"Maybe they've realized idiocy is contagious," Uchiha quipped, earning a glare from both Kiba and Naruto.

Sakura walked over to them with disapproval on her face, slamming a magazine onto Naruto's desk causing both boys to jump at the loud sound. "Is there something you want to tell me, Uzumaki-san?"

Sakura wasn't one to make a scene, so Naruto knew whatever it was, he was in trouble. With a glance at the magazine, however, Naruto forgot her entirely.

He snatched the magazine, his eyes wide with disbelief. This couldn't be happening. He had promised this would never get out.

Kiba, curious as to what caused Naruto's reaction, looked over his friend's shoulder to get a look. He too turned wide eyed at the cover. "Naruto-kun…I had no idea."

On the cover was one of the pictures he had taken yesterday with Uchiha. The most embarrassing one to boot.

The background consisted of black and red silk draped from the ceiling over a bed surrounded by white candles. Uchiha was lying on his back in a pair of tight black jeans low on his hips with the zipper partially undone. His hands were tied with handcuffs above his head, and his eyes stared into the camera, glazed over with fear and ecstasy, his lips slightly parted and wet.

Naruto was acting the part of a vampire. He was wearing a black, Italian silk shirt that was halfway unbuttoned with matching black slacks. One hand was placed next to Uchiha's head, while his tongue peeked out to lick the blood from the thumb of the other hand that had smeared the blood from the corner of his mouth to his lips. A hint of a fang was just visible from under Naruto's lip.

The scene was even more erotic for the fact that Naruto was only inches from Uchiha's neck and his eyes looked into the camera with lust as if the viewer had just disturbed Naruto from feeding. They held a sense of possession over his prey.

The mortification at seeing such a cover could not be described. Photoshop aside, and it had to be photoshopped because there was no way he managed to pull that off yesterday, Tsunade and Jiraiya were going to flip. Don't even get him started on the rumors this cover was going to cause.

"Hey man, it's okay if you're gay," Kiba patted his back sympathetically, but his jokes weren't helping.

"I'm not gay!" He yelled.

Uchiha didn't seem perturbed by what was going on, so Naruto rounded on him. "What do you know about this?!" He demanded, grabbing Uchiha by the collar.

"You know as much as I do, Uzumaki-san," he smiled. It just made Naruto want to rip that fake mask off.

Grinding his teeth, Naruto was about to drag Sasuke outside when the teacher came walking in on time.

"Settle down," Kakashi called out in a bored tone over Nara telling the class to stand and bow. With the teacher's appearance, Naruto was forced to take a seat as well. How was he going to explain this particular incident to Sakura?

"I have some sad news today," Kakashi said. "Gaara-kun will not be joining us for the rest of the year. He has transferred back to his home country due to personal reasons."

The news was more like a bombshell. Gaara had said nothing about returning home. He hated it there. Resented it even. Question after question ran through Naruto's head. He knew Gaara was going through something, but he had thought Gaara would have come to him in time. To leave without saying a word, hurt. He had thought they were closer than that.

No one particularly seemed upset about the news, and that in ruffled Naruto's feathers. Him he understood, but Gaara deserved better.

The oppressive atmosphere didn't lighten up even after class started. Kakashi even seemed to be paying attention to him more often than usual. There was nothing he could do about it. He sat there, bearing the unwanted attention while thinking how exactly he would get into contact with Gaara. He didn't know which country he had come from or his full name. Gaara had essentially dropped off the face of the earth.

As time went on, Naruto could only come up with one solution to his current dilemma, and he wasn't going to like it one bit.

"Hello, Sasuke," Deidara practically sang in French. From the tone of his voice, Sasuke was 100% positive he knew why he was calling.

"I must admit Deidara your resources are quite impressive. It's a shame you squander it over useless pranks," the French flowed fluently from his lips with little effort. It was comfortable and familiar. Only English was better suited for him than French, and it felt good to be using it again.

"Keep praising me, I like it," he laughed. "But it wasn't as big as you think. I only recalled and changed the cover for the shipment to that island. I call it 'Naruto's coming out party'."

"There was no need. I announced Naruto joining us to one of the underlings the day we came. I'm sure they were all aware of it before they saw the magazine."

"Perhaps, but don't you think this way is classier?"

"Closer to a slap in the face perhaps." Sasuke mused, leaning against the shoe lockers. He was waiting for Naruto to come back after being dragged off by his girlfriend after classes. "Naruto isn't pleased by this either. Japan is not as open about sexuality as France is. You may as well have printed a nude photo."

"The body is a beautiful thing. If they can't recognize art when they see it, then they have no use but to be my dinner."

Sasuke noticed Uzumaki coming towards him, one of his cheeks bright red and swelling. "I have to go. Take care, Deidara." He hung up, just as Uzumaki stopped in front of him.

Uzumaki had a determined look on his face, so Sasuke waited for the inevitable question.

"Um, Uchiha-san…" he started.

"Whatever it is, the answer is no." Sasuke shot him down before he could finish, instead fishing out his shoes from his locker.

"How do you know if I even want something or not." Uzumaki whined which only caused Sasuke to look at him with skepticism.

"You never once used my name before, let alone use an honorific. Therefore, you want something. Or am I wrong?"

Uzumaki puffed out his chest, crossing his arms and holding his ground. "Alright," he said. "I admit it. I want something, but you could at least hear me out."

"Why should I?" Sasuke countered. "I don't get anything out of helping you."

"Can't you think of it as charity?"

Sasuke bent over to put on his shoes. "What is it then?"

Uzumaki didn't blurt out his request, in contrast with the way Naruto came marching over, demanding to be heard. He fell silent, biting his lip.

"Speak up, idiot, I don't have all day."

Sasuke's harsh words was enough to motivate him to ask, stopping Uzumaki from thinking too much on it and encouraging him to just act on his impulses. "Can you find Gaara, and then take me to see him?"

Once again, Sasuke was curious as to what relationship these two had. It went beyond friends, but it wasn't that of lovers either. Naruto seemed as concerned and protective over Gaara as Gaara was of him.

That aside, Uzumaki's request wasn't impossible, but Sasuke would have to call in some favors with people he rather not get involved with. "I can, but I don't see what I get out of it."

Uzumaki's lips thinned. They both knew there was nothing Uzumaki can offer to cover such a request.

"How about 1 million yen?" Hyuuga interjected.

Uzumaki, as predictable as he was, was ready to go on the defensive just hearing Hyuuga's voice. As the fledgling prepared a harsh remark, he was taken back by Hyuuga's appearance. He looked like he had crawled from the gates of hell. His skin was pale, under his eyes looked bruised, his left cheek was bruised, and his hair was out of its ponytail, frayed and tangled. Even his clothes looked a day or two old.

"Will 1 million do?" He asked again, his voice tired and defeated. "If you need more, I'll scrap something together. I just ask that you take me with you."

The hostility that had been temporarily lost found its way back into Naruto's being. "Why? So you can mess with Gaara some more? I've been wondering why he left, but it's because you did something to him, isn't it?" Uzumaki growled as guilt seeped into Hyuuga's expression. "What did you do? Blackmail? Frame him?"

Sasuke put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, stopping his advance before Uzumaki could lay his hands on Hyuuga. He didn't feel like stopping a rampaging, overprotective fledgling today.

"1 million is fine. Meet me at my house at 6 pm. I'm sure you know where my mansion is."

Hyuuga nodded though his mind seemed elsewhere. "I'll be there."

Uzumaki protested as Sasuke dragged him away by the arm. "Stop complaining. He's paying for you to see your little friend. The nice thing you can do is let him come along."

"But it's because of him that Gaara left. I just know it."

"And you're accusing him without any evidence. How is that different than the people who do that to you?" The comment caused Uzumaki to quiet down. "Go to the car. I'll be there in a moment."

Uzumaki looked ready to protest again but seemed to remember that he had asked the favor just a moment ago so left obediently without a fuss. Really, Uzumaki was much more trouble than he was worth. Especially since he was going to ask the person who would rather chew off his arm than tell him anything.

Sighing, he pulled out his cellphone. 1 million wasn't nearly enough for the headache this was going to cost him.

Please comment and/or let me know if there is a naming error. If this continues with no reviews, this will be the last update. Further updates will continue on AO3.