Why didn't anyone tell me it's been two months since I last updated this. I'm terrible and I have too many other things to write and too many things to do other than writing and well, I have no idea when I'll have time to update this again. I'm very sorry but there are more fics than this and more to life than writing (sadly). I hope you can be patient. I promise to write lots and lots during summer.

Special thanks to evakaname for helping me out with this chapter, I'm still not sure it's good but you can be the judge of that. And well, I'll apologize for the cliffhanger right now so no one needs to be surprised.

Chapter 16: Losing control part II

xxx

"Does she always have to nag so much? It's not like she would have read through the report last night anyway."

Sasuke shoved his hands down the pockets of his loose pants, pouting slightly when Menma only shrugged in response.

"Well you're in a good mood today," he remarked, raising an eyebrow in turn when Menma sent an annoyed look his way. "At least we've got the day off."

"Didn't you listen? We have to see Naruto and Sasuke and apologize." The last word was said with contempt, as Menma rubbed his face tiredly. "Honestly I'd rather go on another boring mission."

"Are you really that upset about what happened last time? I mean, shouldn't you be kinda grateful towards him, without his help we'd all be pretty much dead."

Menma only produced a dismissive noise.

"Tch, you're so childish. I get it's embarrassing to have been tricked and used like that for evil stuff but…"

"Did you actually want something or are you just going to annoy me?"

Sasuke shrugged, then winked at a couple cute girls who walked by. Maybe he should ditch Menma and get laid instead, he was starting to feel irritable just being in his presence.

"I wanted to get some training done, but if you're too distraught…"

"Why, you don't even help out in fights, so what's the point?"

Stopping dead in his tracks, Sasuke glared at Menma's back. So what if he'd avoided the one fight that occurred during the mission, that occasion had been Menma picking a fight with a local gang and not part of the instructions.

"Having each other's backs on a mission doesn't mean getting each other into fights," he muttered, but knew arguing was pointless.

"Whatever, I don't feel like sparring without a challenge today. I think I'll go seek out Hinata or someone."

Ignoring the uneasy feeling in his stomach at hearing that, Sasuke scoffed and crossed his arms.

"Like I care, it was just an offer but sure, I've got better things to do anyway."

Then he promptly turned on his heels and walked back in the direction they came from, despite not being where he was headed at all. Not that he'd decided what to do, but he certainly wasn't going to put up with Menma when he was in one of his moods. There were no calls for him to wait, or come back, and he clenched his jaw but held his head high.

In the end he went home, finding Shisui lounging in the living room.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, slumping down next to him.

"Wow, what a friendly greeting. I can just feel the love here."

Instead of replying, Sasuke only sank lower in his seat, staring glumly at the TV screen where a ninja cooking show was in full throttle. Currently it seemed like they had to complete a dangerous maze filled with traps before the rice got overcooked.

"Itachi's back too."

He perked up a little at hearing that, sending a questioning – and decidedly more friendly – look towards his cousin.

"Well, you know with the elections coming up fairly soon, and the whole thing with Naruto and the other Sasuke arriving…"

Sasuke snorted. The other Sasuke. It was such a weird feeling to hear it said like that.

"What's he like, anyway?"

"Nothing like you, that's for sure," Shisui chuckled, but quickly stopped when Sasuke glared at him. "Alright maybe he's a little bit similar. I haven't really met him so, you'll have to ask Itachi."

Deciding to wait for his brother to show up, Sasuke tried to focus on the show as he waited. He had to admit he didn't know what to think about the whole deal. Meeting Naruto again, now that was interesting because he knew that Naruto was strong and seemed like a nice, happy-go-lucky person, which had definitely thrown him off a little last time. He was much too expressive and dorky to be mistaken for Menma though, and he really wondered how they'd all been fooled. Though, who really expected some alternate reality version of someone turning up? At least this was a nice distraction from the rest of his life.

"Sasuke, it's good to see you again."

Rolling his eyes at his brother's words, Sasuke tilted his head to see him as he appeared behind the couch.

"Nothing's holding you back from visiting more often," he accused, but it didn't come out very threatening.

"Isn't work a decent excuse?" Itachi replied with a vague tone to his voice. "So, I heard you stayed over at Menma's place last night and met Naruto."

This effectively caused Sasuke to thin his lips, and defiantly cross his arms.

"What's it to you?" he asked, knowing that his brother knew he and Menma had something going on even though they'd never talked about it, so he'd rather play dumb.

"Well, I'm supposed to be looking after Naruto and Sasuke, so it'd be bad if you had a fight."

"Well we didn't."

"Yet he ended up running over here without shoes on…"

"We were just teasing him a little. How was I supposed to know he's a total virgin?!"

Shisui burst out laughing, and Sasuke felt his cheeks heat up a little. He didn't think they'd been saying anything too bad, had they? To be honest he'd been really horny so he hadn't been thinking too much about the fact that Naruto was there again. He was good looking, though.

"Please try not to aggravate him in the future," Itachi sighed, coming around to stand slightly in front of him. "Especially the other Sasuke. You should tell Menma that, too. Compared to them, you might as well be Academy kids."

Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke tried to find out if Itachi was joking or not, but found only seriousness. Were they really that strong? Naruto sure hadn't looked strong.

"Fine, I'll be nice if he's nice."

"Just be nice period," Itachi corrected him, and Sasuke let out a frustrated sigh.

"I'm not an idiot," he said.

Menma was the one who got into unnecessary fights, anyway.

xxx

They spent another hour discussing what could possibly have caused them to teleport into this world, and Naruto had to admit he was grateful when Tsunade said their time was up – for today, at least. Most of his relief probably stemmed from the fact that Sasuke was acting strange, and he was more than a little worried about it. Especially since Sasuke was the type of person who wouldn't complain unless he really thought he was dying, and maybe not even then. Still, it was possible that he'd been reacting to the retelling Naruto had been doing like he'd said, but something just didn't sit right with that explanation.

Glancing at Sasuke as they slowly walked from the Hokage tower, he could clearly see the annoyance expressed on his face. When he'd infused some of his chakra into Sasuke, it had been obvious that the other was a bit of a mess emotions-wise.

"What?" Sasuke muttered, not bothering to look at him.

Biting his lip, Naruto wasn't sure what to say. Sasuke rarely liked it when he worried about him, but even Tsunade had told him that because of his reactions so soon after the whole deal with the sage powers being blocked, they both had to go through a thorough physical and psychological examination. As much as he'd try to insist they were both fine, Tsunade seemed impossible to sway. Well, maybe it wasn't so bad to have a check-up, he just didn't like the thought of someone poking around in his brain. He'd never had an appointment like that, and all he could think about was Ino's mind techniques. They wouldn't actually look into their minds, would they? Because then they'd find everything out about Sasuke and-

"Oi, I'm talking to you."

Naruto blinked, then pouted stubbornly.

"Well I didn't hear you," he said, placing his arms behind his neck and trying to wave off all the worries as he stared up at the cloudy sky.

"Evidently. I asked if this was about the clan marriage thing."

"Is what about the clan marriage thing?"

Sasuke sighed, closing his eyes for a moment as if in physical pain.

"Forget it," he sighed, but Naruto immediately protested.

"No! Tell me, I'll listen this time, promise!"

A tired glare formed on Sasuke's face, and he let out another sigh before pausing in the middle of the street.

"Something's bothering you. Just spit it out."

So he'd been caught. Sasuke rarely asked about his feelings though, and he couldn't help a tiny smile. That is, until he remembered he'd been busy worrying about Sasuke which he'd rather not tell.

"What do you think about the check-ups?" he asked instead, figuring it was plausible enough that Sasuke wouldn't pry.

"I don't think it'll show anything. Orochimaru should have noticed something when I was at the hospital in that case."

"I guess…" He was dying to ask about Sasuke's behavior at the meeting, and why he seemed so sure nothing was wrong.

"You really don't care about the inter-marriage thing?"

Okay, Naruto was starting to get really concerned now. It was one thing to react negatively to memories that were brought up, and a completely different thing for Sasuke to suddenly feel talkative and not just ask questions, but do it with a very curious expression on his face.

"Umm…" was all he could produce as he tried to think of what to say. In a way, it was fascinating to watch Sasuke's facial expression go from curious, to questioning, to annoyed. In another, it kind of freaked him out. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Other than people asking me that way too often, yes, I'm fine."

"U-huh," Naruto said, narrowing his eyes and leaning a bit closer to inspect Sasuke's eyes. Maybe he could see if he was drugged or something.

"Ever heard of personal space?" Sasuke snapped, pushing his face away. "Actually, don't bother answering that."

Fascination won over freaked out, and wide-eyed he decided to see just how talkative Sasuke was feeling.

"Alright, tell me about the whole marriage thing!" he told Sasuke, grinning as he watched Sasuke roll his eyes before starting to talk in a haughty voice.

"It's this stupid practice the old clans have. I told you earlier, it's to keep the bloodline intact. They're more concerned about breeding the best offspring than-"

Sasuke snapped his mouth shut, looking uncomfortable. Naruto could see his jaw clench as he pushed his hands down his pockets, most likely balling them into fists judging by the tense muscles in the arm closest to him.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Well, that was a new sentence in Sasuke's vocabulary. Naruto would know, considering he'd been basically the only one holding conversations with him since he returned, and if Sasuke didn't want to talk he always reverted to insults. Maybe it was time to freak out again.

"Hey, Naruto, Sasuke!"

Interrupted by Sakura's shout, they both turned towards her as she came running.

"I was just on my way to see if your meeting was over! How are you feeling, Sasuke?"

If looks could kill, Sakura just might have shriveled up right then and there. Instead she faltered, sending Naruto a questioning look but he only shrugged. He was fairly sure that telling Sakura that Sasuke was acting moody and strange wouldn't help the situation very much. On another occasion he might have done it, if it actually was just one of his moods.

"Anyway, some of us are gathering up to have a little practice tournament, you want to join? I'd love to see you fight!"

"Why not?"

Naruto froze at the words coming out of Sasuke's mouth. Wait, what?! A second ago he'd seemed pissed that Sakura was there! Warning bells started ringing in Naruto's ears, but before he could come up with an excuse, Sakura had made a happy noise and promptly led them towards whatever place they were supposed to meet at while talking animatedly about past tournaments. Apparently, Menma held the record so far for most wins.

Not that Naruto cared. He was much too busy trying to come up with a foolproof excuse for Sasuke not to join the fight. Suddenly, that medical check couldn't come fast enough.

The training field wasn't more than simply a field, with a couple of standing logs scattered to one side for practicing kicks. Most of what Naruto supposed was the usual gang had gathered, lacking only Neji and Shikamaru. Oh, and the other Sasuke, as well. Menma, however, was busy sparring with Chouji, both of them too engrossed in the mock fight to notice their arrival. The others only gave them a quick greeting before focusing on the fight again, even Hinata, thankfully.

"So the rules are that we each draw a number, which is the order we get to fight, and the winner stays while the loser has to sit out the rest of the tournament."

"So technically the first person to enter could fight everyone and win?" Sasuke asked Sakura after her introduction as they stood next to the others to watch.

"Yeah, which means you're at a disadvantage if you're first, and have it easy if you're last. But it's easier to keep track of whose turn it is, and it's just for fun anyway."

Sasuke only hummed at this, apparently oblivious to Naruto's concerned eyes.

"Well it'll be interesting to watch!" he said, hoping Sasuke would get the hint that they weren't joining in the fighting, but the only response he got was Sakura giving him an encouraging smile.

Watching Menma and Chouji instead, he didn't pay that much active attention and instead let his mind wander at first. It had only been a minute or two however before Sasuke elbowed him in the side, hissing at him to pay attention and interrupting his thoughts of what to do if Sasuke decided he'd like to have a go after all. Maybe it was safer if he and Sasuke had a spar to show off a little. He didn't want to think of what might happen if Sasuke got to fight, say, Hinata for example. But after rubbing at the forming bruise he sighed and decided to humor Sasuke if he thought it was so important.

The field had actually been painted with white in a wide circle, he noted, marking the area for the fights. He supposed stepping outside was one way of losing. The interesting thing was that everyone seemed to watch the fight so intently despite Sakura's words that it was just for fun. Both Chouji and Menma held their own pretty well, though Naruto could see a rather large number of openings to use that neither seemed to catch. He supposed they were holding back for the sake of the game.

Honestly he wasn't too happy about seeing Menma again after last night, and it still felt a little weird to look at a copy of himself that clearly wasn't a clone. Menma had taken off his tank top and now wore only his dark pants and arm protectors, sweat trickling down his brow causing Naruto to wonder if he'd defeated several others already. Chouji seemed less tired but lacked speed compared to Menma, so it came as no surprise to him when after a few well-aimed kicks, Menma managed to bring Chouji to the ground.

"Your turn, Ino!" Lee exclaimed cheerfully, giving the shy girl a firm clap on the back as she timidly entered the circle.

"I'll get you next time," Chouji complained to Menma, who only smirked at him before mimicking Ino's bow in greeting.

"No one's beaten Menma for ages," Sakura informed them, arms crossed and looking slightly annoyed by that fact. "He's gotten too cocky."

Sasuke snorted at this, and Naruto felt inclined to agree. After all, if they were all holding back he thought it was weird no one slipped and used more power to actually win. He remembered Menma as pretty strong during their fight, though, so maybe it was just a general rule not to use actual force that everyone actually kept. Which would be the opposite of when he and Sasuke sparred, they always managed to go overboard somehow.

"I could beat him blindfolded, with my hands tied and asleep," Sasuke answered, sounding a little disappointed over this fact.

"Not if he actually fought like he meant it," Naruto pointed out, but to himself he silently agreed. Sasuke wasn't the kind of person who bragged so at least if it was this level of fighting he might be right. "What are the rules, anyway?"

Sakura had raised her eyebrows at Sasuke's words, but now seemed to collect herself again and quickly counted them off her fingers.

"No chakra use, only taijutsu. You lose if your back hits the ground or if you step outside the ring. Other than that, you can do pretty much whatever."

"Really?" he couldn't help but ask, wincing as Ino was flung out of the painted circle to roll several times on the ground before finally stopping. It had been an easy move to block but she must have missed it, or Menma was doing something more than the simple grip it had seemed to be.

"Yeah, I mean there's no point not fighting at full force, right?"

Sasuke clicked his tongue.

"I thought you said you had problems last time, dobe?"

"Hey! We were both in kyuubi mode, okay? He used this technique with some masked summons that could fight, they were pretty damn hard to beat."

"Ooh that's right, I forgot you two already fought! Wouldn't it be fun to have a rematch?"

Staring at Sakura, Naruto thought that no, that wouldn't be much fun. Well maybe under other circumstances, but not after last night and with Sasuke needing to be kept under close watch.

"Hn, Naruto would beat him in a second," Sasuke said, and Menma must have heard him because he started walking towards them, head tilted to the side with narrowed eyes.

"What was that?" he asked, carelessly wiping some sweat off his forehead and not even sparing Naruto a glance. "You think being from another dimension gives you the right to act all confident?"

"No, but if that was you fighting at your best, I worry about the future of this village."

Everyone fell silent as Sasuke calmly met Menma's angry glare. At least he was calm, though Naruto thought it was much too early to relax.

"Dammit, Sasuke, we're not supposed to pick fights, remember?" he hissed, taking a hold of Sasuke's wrist but being shrugged off as Sasuke jutted out his chin and spoke again.

"You've got some nerve throwing a guest out of your house in the middle of the night, but I don't mind knocking your ego down a peg or two."

Mouth gaping, it was all Naruto could do to stare at Sasuke. Okay if he was acting strange because all the stuff happening since they arrived was finally getting to his head, but what the hell?!

"He decided to leave all on his own," Menma argued, stepping a little closer and trying to stare Sasuke down. "I just needed my bed back, he could have slept in my parents' room or something."

"Why, can't sleep if you're not in your own bed? What a great ninja," Sasuke taunted, which served to snap Naruto out of his momentary stupor and tug at Sasuke's arm.

"Really, Sasuke, no harm done so let's just drop it," he said nervously, much too aware of everyone staring at them with apprehension.

He had no idea what was wrong with Sasuke that kind of made him act a bit like his younger self, but he certainly didn't trust him to hold back in a fight at this point.

"No harm done?" Sasuke asked, his voice smooth as silk but sending shivers of danger down his spine that everyone else must surely feel as well. "I believe there's harm done if someone runs all the way across the village without shoes on, just to get away from you. Then again, it might just be the smell."

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, placing his hand on his chest in an attempt to make him listen. "You're not acting like yourself, okay? Menma, just ignore him, I'm taking him to the hospital."

"Don't baby me, Naruto, I'm perfectly fine."

"No, you're not."

Staring hard at each other, Naruto felt his heart race in his chest. Something was clearly wrong with Sasuke and it couldn't be good. In fact, Sasuke looked slightly feverish, and his heart beat almost as quickly as Naruto's underneath his hand.

"Back off so I can fight him."

"No."

"I don't need your permission."

"Well that sucks 'cause I'm not letting you fight."

"Would you stop that!" Sasuke growled, grabbing his wrist harshly and removing his hand. "I don't need you looking after me all the damn time, it's so incredibly annoying. Can I do anything without you hanging all over me?!"

Naruto stepped back as if stung, eyes wide in disbelief. Was this because of acting weird or did Sasuke secretly think that the whole time? He didn't want to think so, but felt the words twist painfully inside his chest.

"Sasuke, please listen to me," he said quietly, trying to read the frustration in Sasuke's dark eyes. He would say more, but Menma interrupted them.

"Not to interrupt your lover's spat or anything, but I don't have all day."

Sasuke was still holding his wrist, but now slowly lowered their hands as he met Naruto's worried gaze with concern.

"I didn't mean it like that," he said apologetically, his thumb brushing lightly over the inside of Naruto's bandage wrist before letting go. "We'll talk about this later."

As Sasuke walked over to the painted circle, Naruto found his heart racing with anxiousness and something else that didn't seem suitable for the situation at all. He could only turn to watch as Sasuke and Menma faced each other and bowed, his hand still slightly held up as he swallowed with some difficulty.

"Sasuke's acting a bit weird, isn't he?" Sakura whispered to him, and he nodded slowly.

He couldn't think of anything to reply with, however, so he helplessly watched as Menma initiated his first attack. None of the thoughts rushing through his befuddled brain seemed to make sense to him. It was easier to stay quiet and ignore Sakura, instead keeping his focus on Sasuke's smooth movements out in the field.

For someone who'd been worried about fighting without his Sharingan, Sasuke looked perfectly composed, bored even. As the minutes dragged on it seemed as if Menma's mood was drastically worsening. Sasuke stayed on the defensive, as if taunting Menma for being unable to even land a small hit. It would have been amusing under other circumstances, but Naruto felt almost sick with anticipation. Something was bound to happen with Sasuke acting like this, and he hoped the fight would end before Menma did something stupid to piss Sasuke off. The normal Sasuke had problems with his temper when it came to non-threatening situations, so Naruto didn't want to think what he might do when not in control.

Had it been a real fight he would have, ironically, felt less worried.

"I thought you said you'd fight me!" Menma tried to aggravate Sasuke with, putting extra force behind his punches. "Or is this cowardly dodging the only thing you've been taught?!"

A wrinkle formed between Sasuke's dark brows, and there was an almost sneer forming on his lips.

"You think dodging is cowardly?" he asked, then made a quick as lightning strike with his right hand that hit Menma right in the gut, causing him to almost double over from the pain. "If you can't dodge you can't retaliate," he continued, taking a few steps back and waiting for Menma to recover.

When the blond mop of hair rose it revealed a very pissed off Menma.

"I see how it is," he growled, and Naruto reeled back at the hateful look on his face. "You think just because Naruto defeated me last time, you don't even need to take me seriously. But you know what? You pack a weak punch."

Sasuke must have been surprised by his expression too, because he seemed almost hesitant at first to respond. Then his eyes narrowed in obvious dislike before his body shifted into a more proper fighting stance, compared to the relaxed one he'd had earlier.

"I really don't like you," he said, but Menma merely grinned at him, and Naruto had to wonder if Menma had really been used that time they fought or if he was just pretending to be nice.

A quick look around them however only showed concern, not surprise, on the others' faces. Probably Menma just had some serious issues about getting beaten. Basically, he felt as if he was watching two highly unstable guys who probably shouldn't be within eyesight of each other getting ready to fight for real. Biting the inside of his cheek he winced as Menma launched himself in a vicious combo of kicks and blows, forcing Sasuke to actually block them this time. Still, Sasuke looked as if he was merely blocking out of pity rather than any actual need for it, as if he was sparring with an irritating child. Menma continued to throw taunts at him, but Sasuke ignored him for now and instead responded to each and every move with precise grace.

They moved much slower than he was used to seeing Sasuke, though of course he didn't have his Rinnegan to speed him up to a barely visible shadow. Menma didn't seem to think he was slow, however, growing more and more frustrated each time Sasuke responded to the kicks and aimed fists the same methodical way someone might do when going through well-known exercises.

Naruto did love watching Sasuke in action. There was just something enthralling about the way he moved his body, and the intense look in his eyes as his brain was always five steps ahead, calculating his opponent's moves. He loved seeing the little glares he'd give whenever Naruto managed to get the upper hand, and the superior quirk of lips when he gained it back. Sparring with Sasuke was great, and watching him was a rare occurrence that Naruto always enjoyed.

But something was off this time, and Naruto couldn't shake off the fear that threatened to creep up his spine. He concentrated on evaluating Sasuke's form, but found nothing strange in the way he fought. There was that same flush on his face as before, though, as if he had a light fever. Even so he didn't seem affected by it, nor did he seem tired or imbalanced in his actions. If anything, he looked one hundred percent concentrated on the fight.

Then, as Sasuke crouched on the ground before sweeping a leg out wide in a half circle to trip Menma, he felt it.

Thump, thump, thu-thu-thump, thump, thu-thump…

Sasuke's life force wasn't beating in its usual steady rhythm, and Naruto's throat constricted painfully until he thought he might choke. What was happening?! He needed to stop the fight now!

Before he could move, however, Sasuke apparently got tired of playing with Menma and decided to end the fight on his own. His body moved in an almost blur as he first sent Menma flying into the air, then followed up with a series of strong kicks that had to be painful to receive.

The move had appeared effortless, but as Menma landed on his back and coughed, Sasuke seemed to be panting harshly all of a sudden. Running before he realized it, Naruto soon skidded to a halt in front of Sasuke and gripped his shoulders, searching his eyes for any clues as to what was going on.

"What?" Sasuke asked, clearly irritated, but Naruto was too busy staring at him.

His eyes were wider than normal, pupils big and round, and Sasuke was having trouble focusing properly. This close he could feel the alarming unevenness to the beat of his life force more strongly, and hear the strain to his breaths that definitely shouldn't be there. He didn't know what to do. Something crazy was happening to Sasuke and when he found out who or what caused it, he'd go to hell and back to make sure they suffered.

"Sasuke, we need to go to the hospital," he said, trying to keep his voice reasonable.

"Don't be stupid," Sasuke told him, prying his hands off with some difficulty. "I didn't even hit him that hard."

"No, not him, you!" he shouted in frustration, thinking that maybe he should just teleport instead of argue.

"What, running away, are you?" Menma asked angrily, wiping some blood off his nose and glaring hard at them when Naruto turned his head. "The fight isn't over."

"This was such a waste of time," Sasuke muttered, flicking his hair irritably. "You're not even good enough for a warm-up."

Naruto groaned, about to tell Sasuke to shut up since he wasn't helping when a highly familiar chakra flared to life behind him. Spinning around he was faced with none other than Kurama, though not the friendly Kurama he'd gotten used to the past year. No, this was just like when they had their fight, and he could relate more to the description of the bijuu being mindless chakra beasts now.

"Try beating me now!" Menma called down from his position on top of the fox's head.

I'm not impressed, Kurama snorted inside Naruto's mind, but he was too busy with the whole situation to bother listening.

"Menma, stop it!" Sakura called, sounding scared. "You're not allowed to do that inside the village!"

The others were backing away, watching the huge chakra entity with dread as it opened its snout to roar up at the sky.

"This would go smoother if I had my katana," Sasuke calmly stated, and Naruto startled at hearing his voice, almost wanting to laugh at the ridiculous situation.

"What?! You can't fight him, Sasuke!"

"Why not?" Sasuke was frowning, but his eyes were still strangely wide, and his fingertips twitched when he pushed a few bangs to the side. "He's not even half as strong as you."

"That's not the point!"

Shrugging, Sasuke stepped past him and towards the kyuubi, giving him an irritated glance when his shoulders were grabbed again, this time from behind.

"That's it, we're leaving," Naruto decided, but hadn't expected Sasuke to disappear in a puff of smoke, leaving a log in his stead. "Oh, crap," he whispered to himself as he saw Sasuke running towards the giant fox, cursing himself for not noticing.

Quickly he ran after him, thinking that he really should have just put a teleportation mark on Sasuke whether he liked it or not for occasions like this. And what the hell was up with Menma?!

Three tails came swooping down but Sasuke avoided them easily as Naruto neared him. He considered creating clones, but Sasuke would probably notice and simply cut through them. Dammit, why did Sasuke have to be such a difficult bastard! He jumped over another tail, gritting his teeth when Sasuke just barely avoided getting hit.

Want some help? Kurama asked, but Naruto shook his head. They were too close to the village to risk an actual fight at full force. Menma should be able to be reasoned with as soon as he reached him. If only those annoying tails would stop trying to beat him into the ground!

Sasuke seemed to have a bit of trouble as well without his Sharingan foreseeing the tails' movements, which made it possible for Naruto to catch up with him fairly quickly. Still, Sasuke avoided his touch so he couldn't teleport them away, and didn't stop until they paused directly in front of the kyuubi's head.

"Seriously, this is a bad idea!" he yelled, throwing a look upwards when he heard Menma laugh.

"What happened to your powers, Naruto?!" his supposed alternate self shouted, grinning wide as he held on to the kyuubi's fur at the top of its head.

Ignoring him, Naruto turned to reason with Sasuke again, but he'd barely opened his mouth when Sasuke rolled his eyes and heaved a long-suffering sigh.

"If you think I'm going to let him off easy you're wrong," he said, holding his gaze, and there was something flickering in there that made Naruto's chest squeeze uncomfortably.

"Well?! What are you waiting for!" Menma called down to them, tails creating roaring winds around them but for now not trying to hit them.

"But why," Naruto pleaded, one more nonsense answer from pulling at his hair in frustration, or knock Sasuke out himself and drag him to the hospital by force if he had to.

Sasuke however seemed confused by his distress, giving him a weird look before switching focus to the fox above them.

"Something just feels wrong about him, can't you feel that? It pisses me off."

And with that, Sasuke quickly went through the all too familiar hand signs before a high-pitched, chirping noise filled the air along with the crackle of lightning chakra.

Too shocked to even try to stop him, Naruto simply stared after him as he kicked off the ground, jumping between the tails as Menma shouted excitedly. He felt as if time had slowed down, as if all noises were subdued, his body numb as his brain struggled to keep up with the information provided by his eyes. The fox shook its head and charged straight ahead, heading for Sasuke who didn't change course. Electric blue reflected in blood red eyes a second before they clashed, Sasuke's Chidori slicing through the animal's nose before it exploded in delayed, powerful bursts of chakra.

The shockwave was bad enough that Naruto had to shield himself with his arms, his feet sliding a bit on the grassy ground. As soon as the first one had blasted past him, however, he blindly ran towards Sasuke's rapidly beating life force as if it was a beacon in the dark. He vaguely noted Menma falling not far from him, another wave of chakra hitting them as the rest of the kyuubi's body blew apart.

Ouch, Kurama thought, but provided the chakra needed without complaint as Naruto threw the golden extension of his arm forwards to catch Sasuke.

His body hung limp in Naruto's enlarged hand, and it was with a sinking feeling in his gut that Naruto closed the distance between them. He already knew, but seeing Sasuke's unconscious face now was no better than it had been two days ago. Carefully he cradled him in both arms, hardly noticing that there were still golden flames of chakra licking his body.

"I fucking told you!" he yelled, struggling to rein in his emotions in order to concentrate on teleporting. "Damn bastard!"

He's an Uchiha, Kurama informed him, as if it would make things better. You know they never listen.

"Fucking shut up and do something useful instead!"

Gritting his teeth, Naruto tried to force down the lump in his throat threatening to choke him as Sasuke's face turned paler than usual, his breathing shallow as if in pain. If his sage powers weren't useless now he could have healed him in a second!

Kurama sighed, but teleported them anyway. He'll be fine, dying now would be much too embarrassing for him, anyway.

Naruto didn't appreciate the comment, but soon forgot it in order to explain to a terrified nurse that Sasuke needed help right fucking now or he'd tear the building apart brick for brick until he found a doctor.

It got the point across.

Next chapter we'll find out what's going on with Sasuke. Don't worry he's not dying or anything. And we'll also get to see what was up with Menma... I hope you liked the chapter!