Sorry it took me so long to update this. At least this chapter is extra long! And I really have no idea what happened, I've been going back and forth in my mind so much about what to write in it, and then today I just wrote whatever came to mind.

If you're wondering if this chapter is gay, then ya, it's hella gay.

Chapter 10: Sasuke's responsibility

xxx

Itachi was intrigued. They were currently making their way towards the Akatsuki hideout, jumping the thick branches of the forest outside of Konoha. Sasuke was silent slightly behind him, and Naruto was in front talking animatedly to Kisame. He had to admit that seeing them now, he was disappointed in himself for not having noticed the difference to his brother and Menma. On the other hand it wasn't exactly the first thought flitting through his mind that someone who in every way looked and felt like his brother would be an alternate version from a different dimension. To be fair, the only difference was in personality, and yesterday afternoon's annoyance on this Sasuke's face had been the exact same expression as his brother would have. On the other hand, their personalities were so far apart that it was hard to think of them as the same person. Naruto was more like Menma, in that sense.

When his brother and Menma came back, he had a feeling that if they were to stand next to each other with identical clothes and expressions, he wouldn't be able to tell them apart without his Sharingan, and even then it might prove difficult. He hadn't put much thought into the battle with the masked man afterwards, because while he knew the truth, he was also fairly certain that it wouldn't happen again and trying to make sense of it would be a waste of time. Perhaps he shouldn't have dismissed it so easily. It had been a bigger issue that Menma had used the Kyuubi to the extent of creating that much damage, and investigations had been focused on that instead. It would be interesting to question Naruto later, because while they were obviously the same age as his Sasuke and Menma, the difference in battle experience was easy to tell.

These two had a history behind them, and judging by Sasuke's reaction last night, it was not a pretty one. Putting that together with the fact that Sasuke possessed the Rinnegan, and Itachi couldn't even begin to fathom what he must have experienced to gain his power. Because he had power, and it showed in the way he held himself, in the air of determination that steered his every move. This Sasuke was someone who knew how to rely on only himself and his skills, with the exception of Naruto. Now that was an interesting part of his personality. While his brother was social to a default, this Sasuke preferred to keep his mouth shut and instead let Naruto be in charge of talking. The way they moved around each other suggested they trusted each other's skills with their lives, even. They must be teammates, he thought, even if that word wouldn't be enough to describe the deeper part of their bond. He could see it in the way Naruto looked at Sasuke, in the way they seemed to gravitate towards each other like mere teammates wouldn't do outside of battle.

He was sure that, whatever things Sasuke had seen, Naruto had shared. But there was so much he didn't know about them, and especially Sasuke didn't seem intent on sharing. Tsunade had told his parents to keep a close eye on them, because regardless of the fact that Naruto saved them last time, the reason they had needed it was him, as well. Minato might have reported that the masked man seemed to be out of the question this time, but that only made things seem more suspicious. Why were they here? And why did they feel the need to be so secretive?

Sighing to himself, Itachi recounted his mission within his head. Personally, he didn't think that Naruto or Sasuke knew any more of their reason for ending up here than any of them, but that didn't mean they could relax.

Something was bound to happen, sooner or later, and Itachi would rather deal with it before it got out of hand.

xxx

"This is it?" Naruto asked as they stopped in front of what looked like a really nice inn.

"Yep!" Kisame was grinning widely as he stepped up to the front door on the porch, knocking a few times on it.

"Were you expecting something else?" Itachi asked, evaluating Naruto's slightly surprised face.

"Umm, well, when you said hideout I kinda guessed on something a little less… obvious."

A glance at the frown on Sasuke's face told him that he seemed to share Naruto's view on it.

"Well, this is where we bring clients, not where we keep the secrets," Kisame laughed, winking at Naruto. "Plus there's no point in being uncomfortable, is there?"

The door made a creaking noise as it opened to reveal a clearly annoyed Hidan, who cast one look at Naruto and Sasuke and raised his eyebrows high.

"Well damn, you weren't kidding when you said they were copies. And what the fuck is up with all the orange?"

"There's nothing wrong with orange!" Naruto defended himself with, crossing his arms and making Itachi reevaluate his earlier assumptions on Naruto's maturity level.

"Everything is wrong with orange," Sasuke muttered, and Naruto sent him a scathing look.

"Whatever kids, you better get in here, Deidara's getting bored waiting."

Itachi put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, urging him inside.

"When is Deidara not bored?"

Hidan grinned, glancing at Naruto and Sasuke before throwing Itachi a meaningful look.

"You sure you wanna have that talk in front of your little bro?"

Throwing his head back, Kisame let out a cackle, bumping Hidan's shoulder as he moved past him. Itachi could see the slight confusion on Naruto's face, Sasuke looking as stoic as ever. Maybe letting them meet all the Akatsuki members at once was a bad idea.

When they got inside the large common room, filled with couches and armchairs and small tables, bookcases lining the walls, Itachi heaved a sigh as all inhabitants zoned in on the two youngest ninja. It seemed like everyone was present, and he noticed Naruto slowly counting the faces before pausing at Yahiko. His blue eyes widened slightly, then darted between him and Nagato, both of them lounging on a puffy couch in front of a large fireplace.

"Are you sure they're not Menma and Sasuke and you're just pulling our legs?" It was Sasori that had voiced the question, sitting perched on a bar stool in one corner of the room and sipping on a drink, where there was an actual bar set up.

"Drinking already?" Kisame asked, heading over to him and sitting down heavily on the stool next to him. Ignoring Sasori's look of disgust, he grabbed the red-haired man's glass and downed it in one go. "That's some weak shit you're drinking," he commented, before shrugging and leaning over the counter to grab a bottle.

"Oi, answer the question, yeah?" Deidara called, leaning on the back of the couch where Yahiko and Nagato were sitting. His blond hair fell loose, and he was the only one not currently wearing their standard black cloak with signature red clouds, instead in dark blue lounge pants and a thin sweater.

Itachi was taking careful note of Naruto and Sasuke's reactions as they listened to what was said. Naruto seemed to be a little overwhelmed, of what he couldn't tell, but he had unconsciously stepped closer to Sasuke. While Sasuke appeared casual, his narrowed eyes gave away the intensity with which he gathered information about them.

"Maybe we should have a small introduction," he suggested, and Yahiko gave a big smile and got up from his seat.

"Sounds like a good idea! Hey guys, I'm Yahiko, supposed leader of these grumpy old men."

"Who are you calling old, yeah!" Deidara yelled, eyes flashing in anger.

"Who are you calling a man?" Konan mumbled from her place in an armchair next to a serious-looking Nagato.

"Yeah, who are you calling a man? Not Deidara I hope," Kisame added from behind his bottle, causing Deidara to flick his hair theatrically.

"Considering the size of your dick I would shut up if I were you, yeah," he retorted, looking rather pleased with himself as Yahiko rolled his eyes at the two newcomers.

"Please ignore them," he said, smiling at Naruto's red face and Sasuke's look of distaste, his words all but drowning in the cheerfully shouted "You love my dick!" that Kisame sent Deidara's way.

Hidan left his spot next to them to head over to another couch, joining the until now silent Kakuzu. When Yahiko pointed out each member to Naruto and Sasuke, it was surprisingly difficult to determine which of them they knew from before. Besides the obvious surprise at seeing Yahiko, Naruto's face was a polite mask as he greeted the rest. Sasuke didn't bother doing anything other than stare.

"Did you have dinner?" Yahiko finished by asking, humming in thought when Itachi shook his head. "Well, Itachi why don't you bring Sasuke with you and cook something up?"

Kisame snickered at this, and Itachi really thought he needed to lay off on the laughing. Or drinking, perhaps.

"It might be a good idea," he answered carefully, noticing how nervous Naruto looked at the prospect of being left alone with all the other Akatsuki members. "Naruto, why don't you brief them on how you and Sasuke ended up here? I've got clearance from Tsunade-sama to tell them."

Still looking dubious, Naruto nodded slowly.

"Awesome! Come join me, yeah?" Deidara called, waving Naruto over as he headed for the bar.

"Umm, I'm underage," the younger blond stammered, and Itachi couldn't help the corners of his lips curling upwards at that.

Ushering Sasuke towards the kitchen, Itachi felt like there was at least one difference to Naruto and Menma, and he had to admit he preferred Naruto's response. It was like seeing a slightly more innocent version, he supposed. As far as he knew, anyway.

Entering the large kitchen, he soon put Sasuke to work, chopping up vegetables. Deciding to forgo the cloak, he folded it across a chair and instead found a plain, black apron to tie around his waist.

"I hope you don't mind fried chicken and vegetables," he asked Sasuke, initiating conversation.

"Don't be surprised if Naruto only eats the chicken," Sasuke muttered in response, a concentrated frown on his face as he neatly cut some leek.

"Oh? He doesn't strike me as a picky eater."

Sasuke snorted, and Itachi felt that his suspicions had just been confirmed. Talk about Naruto, and Sasuke's defenses lowered considerably.

"You cook for him a lot, then?"

Glancing at him, Sasuke still seemed a little wary however, so Itachi smiled reassuringly over his shoulder as he stood by the stove.

"It happens."

"He does seem like he's a bit of a danger in the kitchen though, considering what he told me last night."

This time, Sasuke actually looked amused.

"He's more annoying than dangerous," he said, putting the leech into a bowl and starting on the carrots. "And he eats more than he helps."

"Well, he's got a healthy appetite at least. Should I make some noodles with this, then?"

Sasuke shrugged, and Itachi took it as a yes. It wasn't much of an effort to cook some, anyway. Rummaging through the cupboards, he calculated his options. He could keep talking about Naruto, which may or may not give him any useful information, or he could risk it and ask something more serious just to see Sasuke's reaction. However, as he mulled possible questions over in his mind, he noticed a flare of chakra coming from the living room. A quick glance on Sasuke's face confirmed that it was, indeed, Naruto's.

"What is that damn moron doing," Sasuke muttered under his breath, pausing in his chopping.

There was the faint sound of clapping hands reaching them through the thin walls a few moments later, and Itachi cocked his head in a curios gesture.

"What technique is he showing?" He could feel Naruto's presence split in five, figuring he was using clones to show whatever it was.

"It's not a technique," Sasuke sneered, continuing his chopping, a little less composed now.

Itachi raised an eyebrow, but Sasuke had thinned his mouth into a line and seemed done with talking. Letting the carrots fall into the bowl as well, Sasuke stood up to retrieve the onion from the counter. Just as he reached for it, his eyes widened for a moment before his head snapped towards the direction of the living room. Two seconds later he was striding out of the kitchen, Itachi blinking at his back for a second before hurrying after him.

xxx

No, Naruto had not appreciated being left alone with Akatsuki. Sure, it was cool that they were good guys here, but Deidara throwing an arm around his shoulders and offering him a drink he promised was alcohol free wasn't really making him comfortable. Not that he showed it, though.

"So, Naruto, why don't you tell us how you ended up here?"

It was Yahiko speaking, looking casual as if it wasn't strange to have a guest that mysteriously appeared from a different dimension.

"I'd tell you if I knew," he said, taking a small sip and finding the drink to be very tasty. "We were just practicing teleporting and somehow ended up here."

"You must have skipped quite a few years ahead if you're already at that level," Sasori quietly commented, sitting on Deidara's other side.

"Naruto told me he's still a chuunin," Kisame offered, and Naruto could feel his cheeks heat up angrily.

So what if he was still a chuunin! He could beat everyone's asses in here anywa- Taking a calming breath, he figured Sasuke wouldn't be too happy if he just blurted that out.

"I'm a bit of a special case," he mumbled, slouching a little and taking a few gulps, hoping they weren't going to keep questioning him. He couldn't believe Sasuke left him alone like this!

Hidan laughed from his spot on the other side of the room, flipping through a magazine but lowering it to eye Naruto's clothes again.

"Yeah, he's gotta be special if he gets away with wearing an orange jumpsuit," he snorted, looking at Kakuzu for support but frowning when he only received a disinterested look.

"I think it looks cute," Konan chimed in, and Naruto wasn't sure anymore if he was blushing in anger or embarrassment.

He did feel slightly warm, though, and downed some more of the drink to cool off.

"I just picked it so people would notice me," he said, blinking in surprise at the admittance.

The others looked startled as well for a moment, but then Kisame threw his head back to let out a roar of laughter.

"Oh man, at least it works," he wheezed out, and Naruto was about to retort when Deidara patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"Don't mind them, they've all got a warped sense of fashion anyway," he said, flicking his hair back again and boring his eyes into Kisame's. "Especially when it comes to underwear."

Naruto was trying to sink into the cushioned stool, darting his eyes between the blond that held him in a secure grip and the larger, shark-like man. Yes, he'd heard a lot of strange things while travelling with Jiraiya, but listening to Akatsuki debating taste in clothes was not something he ever thought he'd experience.

"We're getting off topic here," Yahiko told them, easing the sudden tension in the room. "Do you have any enemies at home? Anyone like the masked man, that could have an objective for sending you here?"

Naruto slowly shook his head, not liking how everyone, especially Nagato, stared at him with evaluating looks.

"No, the villages are on friendly terms, and no one would be stupid enough to attack us now."

"But doesn't it make sense then, to do it like this?" Sasori asked, and Naruto had to admit it was strange to see him like this and not inside that big puppet of his. He could see the resemblance to Gaara, somehow…

"But that would mean that either, the enemy knows how to enter this dimension, or the enemy is from here and somehow managed to get them here as well." It was Konan that had raised her voice. "There could be a version of the masked man here, too. I'm just not sure what he'd get out of these versions of Menma and Sasuke, though."

"Umm, I doubt that because the masked man was Obito," Naruto blurted out, again wondering why the words had left him unasked for. "I already told Minato, so…"

Everyone looked surprised at this, and Yahiko scratched the back of his neck in thought.

"Well, I doubt it's Obito… It wouldn't make sense anyway."

"Yeah yeah, what does it matter?" Kisame asked, drinking from a bottle now. "We'll figure it out later. I'm more curious to know if he's a virgin."

"What the fuck?!" Naruto had all but yelled, standing up to give Kisame a horrified look. "Why would you want to know that?!"

"Kisame, just once, could try not to seduce our guests?" Yahiko complained, running a frustrated hand through his spiky, orange hair. "Naruto is way too young for you anyway."

"Plus, Sasuke probably has dibs on his ass anyway, yeah!" Deidara added, giving Kisame the finger when he glared at him.

"I'm not gay!" Naruto piped up, frozen in Deidara's hold, wild-eyed and trying hard not to freak out.

"Naruto, no one in here is particularly straight, so you don't need to feel forced into pretending," Konan gently told him, which was the opposite of helpful.

Naruto was not questioning his sexuality, no matter what Sai said! He and Sasuke were best friends, and that was it. Yeah, nothing else, because anything else would be…

A thought struck him, and he clung to it like a lifeline. He hadn't gotten much chance to try out his reverse harem technique since the war, because no one wanted to practice it with him, not even Konohamaru. Or rather, he didn't really want to try it on the girls, because it would feel weird. But if these guys were gay, he'd know if it had improved, right? Because then he wouldn't need to think about Sasuke, and maybe they'd stop asking him weird questions and he could teach them how to do it instead.

"Umm, want me to show you one of my coolest techniques?" he forced out, grinning wide. "You're gonna like it, definitely!"

If there was one thing Naruto was good at, it was to take advantage of people's perverted side. It had always proven helpful when he needed to distract them, and for some reason, he seemed to be talking against his free will, and Sasuke was going to beat him up anyway so he might as well get all these people into a bloody mess on the floor and sneak off to the kitchen to get it over with.

"A technique? Like, taking off your shirt?"

Naruto ignored Kisame's comment, and instead walked into the middle of the room. He probably shouldn't overdo it, and there wasn't much space anyway, so he figured that four clones would be enough. Clearing his throat, he hesitated for a second, hoping it would work so he didn't have to simply run off.

"I call it the Reverse Harem technique," he announced, gritting his teeth so he wouldn't blush when several of the room's occupants snickered at the name. "Why don't you come up here, Kisame, I'll show you it can defeat you in a second!"

It was a stupid challenge, and he briefly wondered what the hell was wrong with him, but Kisame grinned and joined him.

"Alright," the blue-haired man said, "Give me your best shot, straight boy."

Naruto scowled at him, lifting his hands in the familiar hand sign.

"You're lucky I'm not gonna use force to defeat you with!" he snapped back, and quickly put the technique into effect.

The result was… not what he expected. Sure, Kisame didn't look like he wasn't enjoying having five naked guys clinging to him, private parts covered in smoke, but he sure wasn't fainting from a nosebleed.

"Pffft, you've got guts! But you guessed my type completely wrong!"

Naruto pouted, both he and his clones crossing their arms with frowns on their faces.

"Oh my," he heard Konan murmur, and too late he realized that the smoke had disappeared.

"Whatever! As if I want to know your type anyway! I just wanted to distract you!"

Everyone was chuckling or looking amused, but Naruto stubbornly kept the technique in place, not caring one bit that he and his clones were naked. He wasn't displaying his own body anyway.

"It's going to take something a lot more depraved than a few pretty boys standing around naked," Kakuzu said, and Naruto suddenly felt like this was an extremely bad idea.

"Well, you get points for effort, yeah? I'm not complaining," Deidara snorted, starting to clap his hands, the others cheerfully joining him.

Making strangled noises, Naruto changed back. He was starting to believe Sasuke in doubting his skills at diplomatic meetings…

"What a… straight technique," Hidan drawled, waggling his eyebrows at him.

Naruto was mortified. Here he was, in the middle of a room filled with Akatsuki, people he had killed, and they were all grinning suggestively at him! He could feel anger bubbling up within him, his entire body feeling so hot now, and he almost tripped on his own feet as he took a step towards the doorway.

"Ah," Sasori said,"I think the poison is wearing off."

"The what?"

Naruto squinted at Sasuke, instantly relieved that he was there. He took a few more stumbling steps, giving in to numbness when Sasuke caught him underneath his armpits. Sasuke's chakra surrounded him, crackling sharply, and he hoped it wasn't because he'd found Naruto goofing off.

"Relax, he'll be fine, he'll just sleep for a couple of hours."

The voices around him sounded distorted, subdued, and he fought against heavy eyelids to see clearly.

"Yeah, 'm fine…" he mumbled, Sasuke's face slowly coming into focus as he bent his head upwards at an awkward angle, because he was staring into his eyes for some reason. "Too close," he added, pushing at his chest weakly, wondering if he was going to burn up because Sasuke was just too warm.

Sasuke was talking again, but Naruto couldn't have understood the words if his life depended on it. Sleep was tugging at the edges of his consciousness, and he thought, well, he'd always wanted to fall asleep in Sasuke's arms anyway…

xxx

Sasuke was trying to decide who he should kill first. Maybe Sasori for apparently having poisoned the dobe, maybe Itachi for seeming perfectly fine with it, maybe himself for letting Naruto out of his sight.

"Sasuke, relax," Itachi told him, placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezing it.

He didn't react. He was pinning Sasori down with his glare, holding Naruto's now limp body, thinking it was typical idiot behavior to be happily snoring in the midst of the enemy.

"Sorry about that, Sasuke," Yahiko said, "We were under orders from the Hokage to question you. We weren't expecting Naruto to react so heavily to the aftereffects."

"If the Hokage wanted to ask questions, she could have done so herself," Sasuke answered, voice toneless and cold.

"It's a completely harmless substance, the worst he'll get is a fever," Sasori explained, seemingly unperturbed by his anger.

"I don't need to hear that from a puppet," he snapped back, hoisting Naruto up into a little more comfortable grip, basically hugging him to his chest.

"So, you do know us from your world?" Kisame asked, raising an eyebrow and leaning against the back of the couch where Yahiko and Nagato sat.

"I know enough to kill you in ten seconds each. Don't try something like this again," he threatened.

Itachi's hand was still on his shoulder, and while he understood why they would try to question them like this, it didn't mean he approved of it. Just another stupid ninja tactic. Interrogate when the subject isn't expecting it…

"Tch, I doubt you know all our weak points," Hidan baited him, and Sasuke turned to give him a frigid look. "I don't even have a weak point!"

"Don't make him try and prove you wrong, you idiot," Konan berated him, but Sasuke was done talking by this point.

"I doubt you got anything useful out of him anyway, he's smarter than that," he said, changing his grip so that he instead carried Naruto.

"I'll show you where he can sleep it off," Itachi said quietly, turning to walk out of the room again.

Sasuke followed him, glancing at Naruto drooling slightly. The stupid moron better not have said anything that put him in danger…

Upstairs, Itachi showed him one of the guest rooms, where a bed was prepared.

"I'm afraid you'll have to share," he said, but Sasuke didn't comment.

He simply dumped Naruto on the mattress after having pushed away the covers, and sent a backwards glance that told Itachi to get lost.

"You've got every right to be angry," his alternate dimension brother told him, and Sasuke ignored him again in favor of unzipping Naruto's hoodie so he could pull it off. "But you're a ninja, too. You would do the same if two strangers appeared like this."

"No," Sasuke disagreed. "I'd lock them up until I knew for sure they weren't a threat. Konoha is too trusting, but I won't complain about that. Next time though, think twice before you incapacitate Naruto and leave me able to make you regret it."

"You weren't supposed to have noticed, and he wasn't supposed to be affected like this," Itachi pointed out, and Sasuke dropped Naruto's sweater on the floor before covering his sleeping form.

"He's got a high fever."

"Usually the drug wears off after about twenty minutes and the only aftereffect is a slight dizziness."

"His chakra was all over the place."

Itachi looked surprised, as if he hadn't noticed. He probably hadn't, Sasuke realized, forgetting about how closely he and Naruto could feel each other's presence and any changes in chakra signature. He'd gotten so used to it by now that he didn't stop to think about it anymore.

"So that's why you noticed? You two must be very close."

"I'm not going to talk to you about anything personal. Which shouldn't come as a surprise, considering."

Smiling weakly, Itachi sighed.

"I'll bring some dinner up for you. There's a bathroom across the hall if you want to take a shower, towels are in the cupboards over there."

Sasuke stared at him, waiting for him to get the hint and leave. He'd like to be angry at himself in private. The fact that everyone here seemed so laid-back had evidently made him careless, and in his torn feelings over spending time with Itachi he had forgotten that Naruto was even more careless most of the time. When Itachi finally left, he stared at the closed door for a few seconds, turning back to Naruto when he made a noise in his sleep and rolled over onto his side. As long as they were here, it was Sasuke's responsibility to keep him alive.

Naruto was, after all, the one person he couldn't kill, and so he needed to make sure no one else did it either.

So, Naruto was drugged and passed out in Sasuke's arms, how romantic. Also yeah Naruto is still in denial... poor baby. Getting out of it won't neccessarily be better though... heh. So, Akatsuki is a rather perverted bunch of people, huh? Idk why I used Kisame so much. And to think that Nagato is my fav besides and he didn't say anything at all... Next chapter, promise. We'll be getting Obito next chapter, too. I think. Depends on how long it ends up haha... I wasn't planning on making Sasuke so sappy either, but oh well. Itachi ships it lol.