I might have suffered from writer's block the past days, but at least I managed to update pretty soon anyway! I hope this explains a tiny bit more about Akatsuki, but mainly it's a bit of a build-up. I do love Nagato though, as you might notice in this chap.

Special thanks to Debbie for checking it through before I posted! It really turned out different from how I imagined it at first... well, I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 11: Night talk

xxx

"So, we messed up a little, huh?"

Itachi had just returned from Sasuke and Naruto, and now shrugged at Yahiko's grimace.

"I'm fairly sure Sasuke didn't trust us to begin with. I'll make them some dinner and we'll see tomorrow. But I still think they don't know why they're here."

"Obviously they don't," Sasori said, tapping a finger against the bar counter. "I doubt Naruto is good enough of an actor anyway. Maybe we should have waited it out."

"They're meeting with Obito tomorrow, it's not as if it's possible to simply wait. For all we know, they'll be back in their own dimension this time tomorrow."

Itachi gave Konan a contemplative look. While he, of course, hoped for the best, he had his doubts that things would be that simple. Especially since the both of them seemed to be from a dimension that was a lot more complicated than this one. Most likely their appearance here meant something big was going on, because something in Itachi's gut told him so, and he usually trusted that feeling.

"I will bet my next paycheck on them staying," Kakuzu surprisingly said, slouching on the couch and removing the grey fabric and forehead protector that covered his head and most of his face. "They've got no clue, but someone or something wants them here. You don't move through dimensions by mistake."

"Oh? And when the fuck did you become such an expert on dimensions?" Hidan mocked, sprawled out next to him.

"You are all missing the point here."

Everyone turned to Nagato, who looked serious as always. Itachi smiled at him and sat down on the table in front of Hidan and Kakuzu, figuring they'd be talking for a while. Nagato was very good at reading other people, often seeing things that the rest of them missed. He even managed to surprise Itachi now and then.

"They're both very strong. Sasori's poison works better the less chakra a person has to fight it, and Naruto seemed both to be aware of himself acting strange and reacting heavily to it. Sasuke has the aura of someone who has seen death and defeated it. Then there is the fact that Sasuke's chakra was spiking like that when he held Naruto, which means Naruto should have felt uncomfortable considering its intensity, but instead he looked calmer and reassured."

"So you agree that they're doing each other?"

Yahiko sent a glare towards Kisame for interrupting.

"Sasuke mentioned he could kill each of us in ten seconds, and I don't think he was bluffing," Nagato continued. "We were underestimating them. Itachi, you should have said something when you arrived."

Itachi sighed, playing with a few loose strands that hung around his face.

"Sasuke could sense that Naruto's chakra was acting up, without even making a visible effort to check. Yes, we did underestimate them, but they took great care seeming to be of regular level, if you count out the teleportation techniques. Neither the Hokage nor my parents or Menma's have mentioned anything strange about them. Sasuke hinted at a tragic past, but I didn't get much out of him now either. I suppose I let my guard down, forgetting what it means that Sasuke has the Rinnegan."

"Well, you know your mission, Itachi. Keep an eye on them," Yahiko told him with finality.

"Hey, are we just going to ignore the biggest issue here?"

Turning to Kisame with a raised eyebrow, Itachi was sure that whatever was about to come out of the large man's mouth, it was somehow going to be connected to whatever transpired before he and Sasuke arrived on the scene. He was very curious to find out what happened.

"There's nothing else to discuss," Yahiko said, sounding tired now. "We'll need to proceed carefully, so I suggest you keep whatever bothers you to yourself."

"Did you all forget why we started this organization in the first place?" Kisame sounded accusing, and Itachi tried to hold back a small smile. "Naruto is obviously in the closet. You saw the technique he pulled, right? If that kid is straight, then I'm not into bondage."

"Kisame, Naruto and Sasuke's relationship isn't something we can meddle in," Itachi said, knowing all too well that if Kisame was given free rein, then Naruto was going to get a rather intense lesson on the wonders of embracing his possible love for male anatomy.

"Oh come on, you saw the look on his face when he said he wasn't gay, yeah? The kid's clearly been taught it's wrong."

"See? When did we become such a money-grabbing bunch, huh?"

"Deidara, don't give him ideas. Kisame, I know one of our objectives is to spread awareness and acceptance among ninjas, but this isn't a regular kind of mission."

Kisame glared at Yahiko, and for a few seconds, it seemed as if the orange-haired man might lose.

"Don't make light of money," Kakuzu broke the silence with, and Hidan threw his head back to laugh.

"Okay, so what? Blondie wants to get into mini-Uchiha's pants, big fucking deal."

"It could be a big deal. They're both very powerful, and they are obviously important to each other. What if Sasuke is lead to believe that Naruto has been killed by the hands of one of the villages? Whether they are in an actual relationship or not, we can't dismiss that factor. Naruto has the Kyuubi, and we know how much destruction it caused when Menma was controlled to set it loose. Naruto might even have all of its chakra, for all we know."

Everyone fell silent, contemplating Nagato's words. Itachi wasn't sure what to think. Yes, Naruto had the Kyuubi, and Sasuke seemed powerful enough, but to be able to single-handedly take down an entire village?

"This is why it's important that we focus on the possible danger, and not Naruto being in the closet," Yahiko eventually said, ignoring Kisame's annoyance.

"But maybe if we help them, they'll think twice before attacking us, don't you think?" Konan asked, calmly adjusting the paper flower adorning her dark blue hair. "Itachi should try to get close to them, either way."

There was a mumbled agreement, and Itachi stood up.

"Well, I'll start by finishing their dinner," he announced, and headed for the kitchen once again.

He could sense Konan following him, but didn't bother to acknowledge her presence. Instead he got to work, re-heating the forgotten water for the noodles and contemplating the chicken he'd left half cut up.

"It's quite interesting how different he is from your brother."

Itachi shrugged, glancing over at Konan where she sat by the table.

"I'm not sure I want to know what happened to him. I'm worried enough that my little brother will end up hurt during a mission."

"Mm," Konan hummed, silent for a few minutes as he went about cooking. "What do you think of what Kisame said? You missed it, but Naruto did something he called the Reverse Harem technique, which was basically a few very pretty boys trying to seduce Kisame. It was rather… interesting to watch."

At that, Itachi turned around to give her a look of disbelief.

"Really? That must have been why Sasuke looked so disapproving, then. I don't really want to speculate over what their relationship is, though. But I get the feeling it's more than simple attraction."

"Well, obviously it's more than that. I know I only saw them together for a few minutes, but woman's intuition, Itachi. Those two are very important to each other. Kind of like you and-"

"Yes, I see your point. I wasn't disagreeing with that."

If Konan was giving him a knowing look, he promptly ignored it.

"How lucky that you were meeting with Obito tomorrow regardless. Of course, it could have been better to get some more info on them, but now we'll know faster if they can go home."

"Hn."

Itachi was not having this conversation again. Forcing his shoulders to relax, he ignored Konan as she continued to bait him.

"I mean, it's not like you don't see him a lot. Must be nice for your family that you're so close with him. He's got quite a reputation. Are you sure you aren't going to accept his offer to train for him?"

"You know he can only have one person working for him at the same time," he mumbled, letting the vegetables fall into the frying pan to join the chicken. "I'm quite fine working with Akatsuki."

"Oh? But I heard rumors he wouldn't mind two, considering it was you and Shisui."

Sighing through his nose, Itachi frowned and kept stirring.

"Then again, there are rumors that the two of you aren't on the best of terms…"

"What do you want, Konan?" he gritted out, not appreciating her words one bit.

"I just want to know what's going on. You were so happy until a year ago, bringing him over all the time, and now you refuse to even talk about it. We're worried about you."

"Find someone else to worry about."

"Itachi…"

An awkward silence settled between them, Deidara choosing that moment to walk in.

"Well you guys are looking cheerful, yeah."

"This stubborn boy refuses to talk about Shisui."

"Tch, good luck with that, yeah."

Deidara tugged at Itachi's ponytail, and he sent an irritated look over his shoulder.

"Lend me some of your shower gel, yeah? I'm all out and I didn't have time to go shopping."

"Can't you borrow someone else's?"

"But yours smell the best! Not like some stupid macho man, yeah?"

Rolling his eyes, Itachi relented. One of these days he'd buy Deidara a huge enough stash that he wouldn't come begging to use Itachi's all the time.

"Don't let Kisame hear you say that," Konan snickered, but Deidara only held out one of his hands with an outstretched tongue as he strutted past her.

"I'll be taking up Sasuke's dinner now," Itachi said, hoping Konan would get the hint and leave him be.

She did, but not without a concerned look sent his way. Itachi didn't care. It wasn't her business, anyway.

xxx

When Naruto woke up, it was dark around him. After a brief flash of panic, he could feel Sasuke's presence sleeping next to him. Wow, he really felt disoriented… Patting the mattress beside him until he found Sasuke's arm, he heaved a relieved sigh at the warmth that seeped into his palm.

"You're awake?"

"Shit!" Naruto had almost fallen off the bed, startled by Sasuke's question. "Don't scare me like that!"

"Dumbass."

Scowling at what he could discern of Sasuke's face in the darkness, Naruto crossed his arms with a huff.

"What's going on anyway?"

"We were sleeping."

Naruto threw a pillow at the bastard.

"I know that! I meant before!"

"Well," Sasuke started, sounding very much annoyed. "You were drugged in order for them to gain information on us, then you passed out with a fever and I dragged you to bed."

"Uh, okay."

The way Sasuke said it, it sounded like Naruto should be thankful he'd made the effort. The way Sasuke's body had tensed, however, suggested something else entirely.

"Well I'm feeling perfectly fine now, so…" Stomach making gurgling noises, Naruto rubbed it with a sheepish smile. "Besides starving, I mean."

"I'll go get you some food."

It took Naruto a second of gaping shock before the words really registered in his mind.

"What the hell?! I can get it myself! Don't treat me like some weak-ass sick person!"

Sasuke had stopped by the door, and flicked on the lights to give Naruto a good view on the patronizing look on his face.

"Bastard," Naruto growled, throwing off the covers and stalking over to join him.

"You were drugged, it's not the best idea to move around," Sasuke pointed out, and Naruto would have been happy for the concern if it weren't for the fact that he felt he needed to prove that he wasn't useless because of some sneaky people drugging him.

"Oh yeah? And you really think they'd be stupid enough to do it again?"

"Why are you being so difficult."

Naruto poked Sasuke in the chest, not entirely sure why he was, but not about to admit it.

"I'm gonna get food now, don't follow me."

Ignoring Sasuke's frown, he opened the door and quickly stepped out into the dark corridor outside. As he closed it in Sasuke's face, he thought that maybe it wasn't such a smart idea to try and find his way through an unknown house in the middle of the night. When Sasuke pushed the door open again, he crossed his arms and stubbornly stared at the opposite wall.

"God, you're a moron," Sasuke mumbled, making his way towards the stairs, Naruto reluctantly following.

On the way, Naruto had time to figure out what had happened before he passed out. Needless to say, he wasn't proud of what he'd done. Luckily he hadn't said anything that Minato didn't already know, and well, admitting he wore orange for attention might not be fun for his sense of pride, but at least it wasn't something Sasuke could berate him for. But really, what was up with all those personal questions! He really, really wasn't gay with Sasuke…

"There should be something in the fridge," Sasuke quietly reasoned to himself, opening it as they had entered the kitchen and turned on the bright lamp hanging above the table. "Looks like Itachi left some for you."

Naruto accepted the bowl covered with some foil, mind still stuck on what had happened previously. Maybe it was just that Akatsuki in this world was made up of gay people? And they were trying to make him join? Either that or Kisame just liked to make fun of him, which wasn't impossible.

"Oi, are you just going to stand there?"

Snapping back to reality, Naruto flushed angrily. Holding the bowl tighter, he went over to the stove and rummaged around the drawers next to it to find a pot he could heat the food up with.

"To the right," a low voice told him, and managed to surprise him enough that he slammed a drawer shut on his finger.

"Owww," he whined, waving the finger around before sucking on it.

Sasuke ignored the new presence, opening a cupboard to the right and pulling out a small pot. Grabbing the bowl from where it now rested between Naruto's side and arm, he emptied it into the pot and turned on the stove.

"Thanks," Naruto said warily, eyeing Nagato as he stood in the doorway, wearing only a pair of sweatpants that rode low over his hips, dark red hair falling over his shoulders.

"No problem. Just let me know if there's anything you need."

Sasuke was still ignoring Nagato, having found a spoon and using it to detangle some of the noodles in the pot instead. To Naruto, it was so weird to look at Nagato like this. He looked healthy, not at all plagued and sick like Naruto remembered him. Well, maybe he'd looked a bit better during their fight in the war, but still. It was really nice.

As he sat down, Nagato joined him much to Sasuke's annoyance. Naruto could clearly sense the distrust emanating from his friend, but this was usual Sasuke behavior so he didn't feel like it was that bad. Not that the situation wasn't awkward, and he clasped his hands underneath the table to keep them from tapping against his thighs.

"And I'm sorry about earlier. We probably went about it the wrong way."

"Ah, no, it's fine," Naruto said, flashing Nagato a smile.

"It's not fine," Sasuke disagreed, still with his back turned to them as he stirred the food.

"It's fine," Naruto stressed, making an apologetic grimace towards the older man. "No harm done, right?"

From the corner of his eyes, he could see Sasuke's shoulders clench slightly, and he wished he could go over there to reassure him somehow. Sure, they were stuck in this not exactly ideal situation, but no one was trying to kill them, and it wasn't exactly strange that they thought they needed to take more drastic measures considering Sasuke's generally closed off and mysterious attitude.

"Well, I hope so," Nagato said, leaning back in his chair to sit more relaxed. "I feel that we misjudged you considering your age."

Naruto raised his eyebrows, wondering what he meant. Sasuke didn't react though, so he felt like it might be okay to keep talking a bit.

"Our age? But we're eighteen already."

"Yes, well, by our standards you're still fresh out of the academy. And Itachi told us you were still chuunin level, so I'm starting to think that either our systems of ninja levels are different, or you're special cases."

Sasuke had turned around by the middle of what Nagato told them, his dark eyes narrowed in contemplation.

"Do enlighten us on the educational system here," he said, and Naruto thought of discussions they'd had the past year.

The graduation and general teaching system for ninja was only one of many things Sasuke wasn't happy with.

"Alright then," Nagato said easily, turning his attention to Sasuke instead of Naruto. "You start around the age of five, but the real training doesn't start until you're around eight or so. Then by twelve, if you pass a certain basic level, you get assigned a jounin instructor in teams of three. Until the age of fifteen, you split your time between physical training with the jounin instructor, and special classes at the academy. The teacher and classes are all assigned depending on chakra affinity, fighting style, and what area you want to specialize in. For example, the medical field, intel, decoding, Anbu and so on. It's possible to take a little of each too, before you decide if you're not sure. You also complete D-rank missions together with your team. Then you take the chuunin exam, and if you pass, you'll be doing missions for about three years. Either with your team or with others, sometimes alone."

By this point, Sasuke looked so engrossed in the explanation that Naruto felt he had to get up and remove the pot from the stove, considering the smoke starting to rise from it.

"These missions are mostly related to your area of choice, but also in order for everyone to get a basic proficiency in completing missions for the village's sake. At eighteen, or earlier if you show you've got the talent and maturity needed, you'll start specializing. Not everyone does it right at eighteen, but it's the general age. So that's why we didn't really count on you as experienced yet."

"And what mission levels do you complete before then?"

Naruto found a pair of chopsticks, choosing to eat directly from the pot as Sasuke and Nagato talked. This might have been the best thing that had happened since they arrived. While they had much to change and improve at home, it was more difficult than he had expected, and they'd mostly been focused on rebuilding the villages anyway.

"Below A-rank. If a B-rank mission is deemed as possibly dangerous, the jounin instructor must go with the team."

"So basically you wouldn't let anyone below the age of eighteen experience any life and death battles?"

"Of course not! What's the point in sending inexperienced, young ninja to a possible death when there are those with the skills and maturity to know what they're getting themselves into? You need a certain level of maturity to be able to make the right decisions. Though, there are exceptions, of course."

"Umm, question?" Naruto interrupted, chewing on his chicken and noodles and carefully avoiding the vegetables. "How do you know so much about Konoha, aren't you from Ame?"

Nagato gave him a surprised look, but nodded all the same.

"It's because most of the ninja villages use the same system. It's something Uchiha Madara, one of the founders of Konoha, came up with. To ensure that the younger generation isn't lost."

Glancing at Sasuke, Naruto could see the conflicting emotions dance across his face. Personally, the whole thing felt a bit surreal to him. It had always seemed normal that they would fight from such a young age, even though he was kinda sure the whole fight against Zabuza wouldn't have been allowed per se. Then hearing things about Itachi being Anbu as a mere child, and Naruto had thought they were old when they finally got somewhere in skill. In fact, ever since he graduated the academy, it had been natural for him that they would be put against strong enemies, would have to rely on themselves and the team to make it. If he tried to think about it from the perspective that Nagato now painted for him, then it must seem like a strange way of dealing with things.

Then again, for team seven, things had always been a bit extreme. To still have classes at this age… Naruto couldn't imagine it. A life without conflict, where you could calmly find something that interested you and work for it… Would it have made him weaker or stronger?

"I…take it you don't have the same system?" Brushing some of his red hair from his face, Nagato's perceptive eyes flickered between them. "Is it very different?"

Pausing in shoving food down his throat, Naruto waited for Sasuke to speak. He didn't know how much they could reveal without, well, without having to deal with the whole Sasuke-defecting-from-the-village thing and the wars.

"I would say that age doesn't matter so much as fighting skills," Sasuke eventually answered, voice low but gaze steady. "And neither does maturity."

Something hurt within Naruto's chest, as it always did whenever he could tell that Sasuke was thinking of the past and how different things could have been. All three of them were silent for a minute, Naruto forgetting about his food. He wondered how much Nagato could guess about their past just from that, if he could see the pain they would always carry with them.

"Eat, stupid," Sasuke broke the silence with, causing Naruto's eyes to snap up from staring down at the tabletop. "I'm not heating it up again just because you forgot about it."

Letting a tiny smile grace his lips, Naruto rolled his eyes and grabbed a piece of chicken with the chopsticks.

"Yeah yeah," he muttered, chewing noisily just to annoy him, pleased when Sasuke gave him a dirty look.

"Well," Nagato said, making a move to stand up. "I only wanted to apologize, so I think I'll go back to bed. We can always talk more in the morning, or Itachi can tell you whatever you want to know."

Naruto nodded, munching dutifully as Sasuke crossed his arms and silently waited for Nagato to leave.

"So," Naruto said once they were alone again.

"What?"

"That was a pretty good way of doing things, don't you think?"

Sasuke shrugged, looking at him pointedly until he sighed and continued eating. One of these days Sasuke needed to learn how to communicate better verbally.

I love writing Sasuke caring about Naruto in a bit of an aggressive way... So, next chapter, Obito and also Shisui! I was going to put Obito in here first, but then it turned out so long... heh.