I guess this is another slow, long chapter... I wanted to write about Hashirama and Madara's story but we'll get that in the next chapter I guess... this chapter is more for some silent suffering lol.

Oh, and as for Charasuke's name, the chara part comes from chara chara, which is a way to describe people who are flirty and easy going, possibly wearing cheap-looking clothes and they're also likely to cheat. Well there are more definitions to it, but basically it describes a person like Sasuke in RTN. So yeah I didn't come up with it on my own, for those of you who might think so, it's the "official" name given to him by the Japanese fandom.

Chapter 20: You know you're best friends when…

xxx

Sasuke woke up with the lingering, vivid images of a dream he couldn't quite remember, and the feeling that he was much, much too warm. He thought Naruto had been in the dream, but it's not like that was very unusual. And he usually dreamt, though it was rarely pleasant. The amount of times he'd felt envious of Naruto's simple ramen dreams…

He frowned as his sense of touch slowly reached his conscious thoughts. Naruto was basically pressed up against his back, and he himself was lying uncomfortably close to the edge of the bed. Half turning and propping himself up on his forearms he almost squashed Naruto's face, there was that little space for him left.

And there was a pale arm resting across Naruto's side.

His alter ego looked like he was enjoying himself, snuggled up to Naruto's back with his cheek pressed against it and a happy look on his face. It took all of Sasuke's willpower not to reach out and fling him across the room.

Gritting his teeth and contemplating how to deal with the situation, Naruto interrupted his thoughts with a small whine, his right hand blindly reaching for Sasuke's t-shirt and taking a secure hold of it. Sure, this wasn't the first time he'd woken up with Naruto fairly close to him, but he had to admit this was a rather new detail.

Heaving a sigh, still feeling a bit out of it like yesterday, he settled for pushing the offending arm away from Naruto before releasing the grip on his shirt, and then got out of bed.

In the doorway he paused, checking if he would need to actually move his counterpart to the other side of the bed, but he managed to do that all by himself as he rolled around to find a more comfortable position. Naruto was frowning, and Sasuke supposed he would wake up soon.

Well, served him right to wake up like that.

Down in the kitchen he found Itachi and Shisui finishing up their breakfast, talking quietly with each other until he joined them.

"Good morning," Shisui said in a bright voice, looking far too awake for Sasuke's taste. "So are you Sasuke or Sasu-chan?"

"You can't tell them apart?" Itachi teased him, but Sasuke only shrugged and sat down to eat.

"Hmm, not when they're dressed like that," Shisui answered, nodding his head towards Sasuke's simple blue t-shirt that he'd borrowed from the other Sasuke.

"Well, if you look at their faces, you'd know that Sasuke here is usually blank while my little brother would be most definitely pouting."

Not exactly what Sasuke wanted to hear in the morning, but he couldn't bring himself to feel offended. Shisui laughed, however, and the sound sent a shiver of memories through his mind. Instead of making him feel angry or upset, however, it was a pleasant memory that resurfaced. One where they'd all been playing around as Sasuke had been very little.

He swallowed the lump forming in his throat and instead reached for the tea pot. Mikoto's prepared breakfasts were a lot more traditional than he usually ate himself, but he liked it. It was another thing that made him remember his childhood, and he wondered how it was possible that their cooking could be so similar even though they were from completely different dimensions.

"So, did you sleep well?" Itachi asked him, though there was an underlying sense of amusement to his words, that had Sasuke narrow his eyes in suspicion.

"I guess."

He wasn't sure of what to say. The whole previous evening he'd felt as if he was somehow trying to adjust, because before his hospital visit he'd felt torn between pretending nothing was weird and feeling like he wanted to break something just to get out of this illusion of normalcy, but right now everything just felt…

Like this was how it was supposed to be.

It didn't bother him to be around all his dead relatives, at least not in a painful way. It was still a bit strange, and sometimes he had to adjust to the fact that they looked much older than he could remember. It was, however, decidedly nice. It was nice to come down and find Itachi and Shisui in the kitchen, it was nice to know that probably tomorrow he'd be able to work at the police headquarters again, it was nice to know that in the evening, he could join Mikoto in the kitchen as she cooked if he wanted to.

He glanced at Itachi when he didn't say anything else, noticing how Shisui was trailing his fingers over the back of his hand with a small smile on his face. Quickly he looked down into his tea again, embarrassed to have witnessed something that most definitely had to be an intimate moment. Weren't they a bit shameless, acting like this in front of others? Though, they'd acted much the same last night at dinner, and no one had reacted to it. Well maybe his counterpart hadn't looked too happy but he hadn't been happy in general anyway.

Taking a sip of the almost cold tea, he fought down the heat invading his cheeks. He didn't know why it was affecting him now of all times, but he hadn't found much time to contemplate his discovery of their relationship earlier.

"Mother has some work to take care of today, but she said there's lunch for you in the fridge, and gave us some strict orders to make sure you get some rest."

He nodded in acknowledgment of Itachi's instructions, unable to resist feeling slightly happy for the care she showed for him. Sure, Naruto had been fussing over him for the past year, but it wasn't the same.

"Well, Itachi and I are off to do some training, but-"

Shisui's words were interrupted by a loud shout from upstairs, followed by even more shouting and eventually the stomping of feet coming down the stairs.

"I guess they woke up," Itachi mused, and Sasuke didn't have time to ask if he'd peeked on them earlier because Naruto showed up in the doorway, his eyes screaming murder as they zoned in on Sasuke.

"What the hell you bastard?!" he screeched, looking almost comical with a terrible bed head and wrinkled clothing, a few red marks on one cheek from sleeping on it. "I can't believe you left me with that guy! Do you even know what he's capable of?!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, because no, he certainly couldn't think of any way he might be a threat to Naruto.

"He's a pervert!" Naruto hissed, and by now Shisui was doubled over with laughter, Itachi trying hard to hold back from joining him. "He could have done anything to me!"

"I wasn't aware you needed protecting," Sasuke told him drily, turning slightly to look up at him since he now stood as close as possible without actually climbing onto the chair.

"You- I-" Naruto's face was a flaming red as he searched for words, one hand grabbing the front of Sasuke's shirt to halfheartedly shake him. "That wasn't the point!"

"Then what was the point?"

Honestly, Sasuke was amused against his better judgment. Naruto looked too flustered not to be, and soon let go of Sasuke's shirt to throw his hands in the air in exasperation.

"We are so not sleeping in his bed again!"

Letting out a quiet snort, Sasuke returned to his tea as Naruto pulled out a chair and plopped down on it with an angry huff.

"So, Naruto, it's nice to see you again," Itachi interrupted the younger ninja's sulking with, and Sasuke rolled his eyes when Naruto looked slightly embarrassed.

"Uh, yeah, good morning." He hesitated a little, then scratched his neck. "Sorry for calling your brother a pervert."

Shisui laughed again, humor twinkling in his eyes.

"Don't worry about that, he inherited it from a certain someone."

Sasuke almost choked on his tea as Itachi swatted Shisui's teasing words away with the flick of a hand. Naruto looked almost as shocked as he did but recovered almost immediately, joining in on the laughter. Glancing to the side at Naruto's face, Sasuke was again struck with that feeling that this was how things were supposed to be. Naruto laughing as if he had no worries in the world, together with his brother and cousin. It tugged at his heart, reminding him that things could have been like that, if it weren't for…

But no, he pushed those thoughts away, focusing on the present instead and the faint warmth blooming in his chest. Shisui had gotten up to clear out his dishes, placing a sweet kiss on top of Itachi's head, something Naruto apparently missed because he was busy poking Sasuke in the side.

"Seriously though, you could have woken me up," he muttered, and Sasuke tore his eyes from the affectionate smile gracing Itachi's lips to meet Naruto's put out look instead.

"You could have woken up by yourself when I got up."

Naruto jutted out his lower lip, showing his displeasure.

"Fine, but it wasn't funny to wake up and think you were dead or something."

"Why would you think that?" Sasuke asked with a frown.

"Well," Naruto started, looking annoyed now, "because I couldn't feel you there even though I saw you, it was creepy."

Sasuke blinked, realizing that Naruto was talking about that pulsating beat that connected them. So that was why he'd been so irritated by Menma, most likely. He looked like Naruto but felt fake since he didn't have Naruto's presence.

"Don't do it again," Naruto sighed, and scooted his chair closer so he could lean his head against Sasuke's shoulder.

Not that there seemed to be a reason for it, but Sasuke couldn't bring himself to push him away. Instead he sipped on what remained of his now definitely cold tea and listened with half an ear to Itachi and Shisui discussing which training ground they were going to use.

A couple minutes later –during which Naruto had stolen one of his egg rolls claiming he didn't look like he was going to eat it anyway– his supposed lookalike dragged his feet into the kitchen.

"Morning," he mumbled, sending a scathing look at Naruto that didn't seem like it was actually meant seriously.

"Slept well, Sasu-chan?" Shisui asked him, not bothering to hide his grin.

"Shut up."

His hair looked wet as he ran a hand through it, and Sasuke supposed he'd taken a shower.

"Of course he slept well, he was clinging all over me when I woke up!" Naruto burst out, upon which 'Sasu-chan' rolled his eyes before hiding behind the door to the fridge as he searched for something.

"No need to scream like a little baby," he drawled as he came back in sight, holding a carton of milk. "Besides, shouldn't you be used to seeing this face when you wake up."

He tapped himself on the cheek mockingly, which made Naruto flush angrily. He would have probably shouted again if Sasuke hadn't kicked his foot. It was way too early for them to start bickering, in his opinion. If he just flat out didn't enjoy Naruto bickering with someone besides himself was irrelevant.

"Tch, Sasuke you better come sleep in my room instead, this pervert isn't trustworthy," Naruto announced as he leaned back with crossed arms, and Sasuke almost commented on the numerous questionable magazines Naruto kept in his apartment back in their dimension.

"Good," his alter ego grunted and sat down after having found some cereal as well.

"Aww, the three of you are so cute together," Shisui cooed, laughing at their insulted expressions. "Anyway, we were thinking of a nickname for you, Sasu-chan. We need a way to separate you."

"Call me Sasu-chan and I will hurt you."

Naruto snickered at that, but hurriedly shut up when he received a death glare for it.

"Hmm, it needs to be something catchy…" Shisui mused, ignoring that the death glare was now directed at him instead of Naruto. "Sas? Sasu?"

"How about pervy Sasuke," Naruto muttered, sticking his tongue out when the death glare switched to him again.

Sasuke was extremely happy that no one seemed to consider a new name for him.

"We could always just put a suffix to his name," Itachi suggested, smiling pleasantly as he leaned against the counter. "Sasuke-kun maybe?"

"Why are you giving me baby names?" the alternate dimension Sasuke complained, groaning with chin in one hand. "And why can't he get a nickname instead!"

Shisui's eyes flickered between the two of them a few times, an amused smile tugging at his lips.

"I wouldn't dream of coming up with a cutesy name for someone who can knock out the kyuubi with one punch."

"You guys suck."

"Sai told me once that nicknames should refer to a personality trait or looks," Naruto offered, humming in thought. "So… I think I'll still go with pervy Sasuke."

"I'm not listening," 'pervy Sasuke' whined, stabbing into his rice with his chopsticks.

Shisui slapped his hands together, looking like he'd just solved every single problem in the world.

"I've got it!" he exclaimed, a wide grin threatening to split his cheeks. "Let's call you Charasuke! It's pretty similar, and it totally fits!"

Itachi looked at him questioningly, then understanding lit up his eyes.

"Ah, you mean because of his constant flirting? Well, he certainly dresses for the part."

'Charasuke' was gaping at them now, looking torn between anger and indignation. He settled for closing his eyes, snapping the innocent chopsticks in half as he tried to calm down.

"I hate you guys so much," he gritted out, and Sasuke couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him.

It wasn't the nicest nickname anyone could have come up with, but on the other hand, if what he'd heard about him was true, he supposed it did fit. He was wearing the same garishly purple short-sleeved shirt as last night, open at the front to reveal his black t-shirt and Uchiha fan necklace.

"Oh come on," Shisui argued, "You can't deny that between the two of you, one is definitely the serious type while the other is the easy-going, talkative one."

Charasuke didn't comment, he simply glared at anyone who dared to meet his eyes and continued stabbing his rice before eating it. Naruto was holding his hands in front of his mouth, snickering again, but Sasuke smacked the back of his head lightly to make him stop.

"Aren't you supposed to work?" he asked, Naruto pouting at him as he rubbed the imaginary bruise.

"I don't start until lunch."

"Oh, that's right, you're working for Iruka now?" Itachi asked, looking interested.

"Yep, I'm gonna help out with the kids and clean and stuff."

Naruto didn't look particularly sad over this fact, and Sasuke figured the orphanage must have been a nice place. They'd talked once about how it would have been a lot better if they hadn't been forced to grow up alone, though Sasuke couldn't really say that having other kids around him would have made Itachi's actions any less painful. Naruto certainly hadn't deserved the treatment he got by the village, though he wasn't very keen on talking about it the few times Sasuke had touched the subject.

"Hey, that reminds me. Did we ever ask you what you do for a living back home?" Shisui asked, and Sasuke had to rack his brain to remember if they had.

Naruto had said something about it to Tsunade and the others in the meeting room, but he didn't know if she'd told anyone who wasn't there.

"Umm," Naruto answered, scratching his neck and looking slightly uncomfortable.

Knowing him, it was probably because of the awkward fact that Sasuke wasn't currently a ninja.

"Naruto is the Hokage's second assistant," Sasuke replied in his stead, letting out a snort when Naruto blushed at the others' impressed looks. He'd decided that referring to Naruto as Hokage-in-training was a bit unnecessary, and the other didn't disagree with his choice of words.

"Really? That's impressive," Itachi said, smiling at him. "But are you sure you should be working for Iruka, in that case? There must be something you're more qualified for."

"It's fine," Naruto waved him off with, "I don't mind. It's nice to take a break from all the paper work."

"But," Shisui started, observing him. "Doesn't that mean bad news for Konoha? I mean, their Hokage assistant suddenly disappearing like that…"

Staring down at the table, Naruto bit his lower lip as the atmosphere in the room tensed.

"Probably. But they know I can take care of myself."

The others probably didn't notice, but Sasuke could hear how insecure Naruto sounded. Of course, if it was only Naruto who had disappeared, people would be upset and worried but they'd be sure of his return, once he'd settled whatever things were happening to him.

With Sasuke gone together with him, however…

"That's gotta suck, though. I can only imagine if Shizune suddenly disappeared with no trace," Shisui added.

"Are you really the Hokage's assistant?" Charasuke asked, giving him a look filled with doubt. "You don't really seem like one."

"Hey! I'm totally gonna be the next Hokage, so you can shut up!"

Sasuke sighed, rubbing a hand tiredly over his face. Things would be a lot easier if no one but a few people knew about their circumstances. Not that he could disagree with Charasuke, honestly. Naruto screamed anything but Hokage at moments like these, though Sasuke knew just how capable he could be if he wanted to.

"Sure you are," Charasuke muttered, Shisui chuckling at the exchange.

"Well, Hokage in line or not, if you don't take care of your dishes you'll get an earful from Mikoto," he warned him. "And what about you, Sasuke?"

Sasuke contemplated his options. Naruto had tensed again, staring at him, emanating worry like it wouldn't be a dead giveaway that something was up with Sasuke's current life.

"I've been a construction worker the past year," he settled for, glancing at Charasuke when he coughed up some rice. "Konoha needed some… rebuilding. I volunteered."

"Oh," Itachi murmured, exchanging a look with Shisui. "Did you have an earthquake or something like that?"

"Something like that."

"What do you mean something like that?" Charasuke asked suspiciously, side eyeing Naruto who was doing his best not to fidget.

"Well, let's not question them too much," Itachi reprimanded him, as if he hadn't been the one starting it.

"Hmph," was all Charasuke replied to that, ending the conversation.

A few minutes later, Itachi and Shisui left for their training, and Charasuke left with them to take care of some business of his own. Which left Sasuke alone with Naruto, who waited for the front door to close by sitting on his hands and jumping slightly up and down, much to Sasuke's annoyance.

"What?" he sighed when Naruto's mouth opened and closed with things he apparently wanted to say.

"I still think we should call him pervy Sasuke, you have no idea what they did to me!"

"Obviously because you never told me."

"Oh. Right."

Naruto was blushing again, and Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him. When nothing else seemed to come out, he got up to clean the table after them.

"I think they're dating," Naruto eventually admitted, tapping his fingers on the tabletop and seemingly finding something outside in the garden very interesting.

"Who?"

"Menma and the perv!"

"You should probably stop calling him a perv."

"Yeah but- Sasuke don't you have anything to say to that?! They're dating."

Sasuke shrugged, rinsing a bowl before placing it in the sink.

"So are Itachi and Shisui."

When he didn't hear anything besides strangled noises behind him, he turned around to find Naruto wide-eyed, hands clinging to the table.

"For real?!" he shouted once he found his voice again, Sasuke sending him a disapproving look.

"Yes. Aren't you the one who made fun of me a while back for not noticing when people are dating? I thought they were pretty obvious."

Muttering to himself about stupid bastards and no, it definitely wasn't obvious, Naruto crossed his arms and sank lower in his chair, trying to come to terms with the news.

"Doesn't it bother you even a little?" he whined after a minute or two, and Sasuke could feel his eyes boring through the back of his skull.

"Why should it? It's none of my business. If they're happy together, isn't that a lot better than what happened to us?"

Naruto fell silent at that, and Sasuke was able to do the dishes in peace. Of course, he wasn't as unaffected as he pretended to be. Charasuke sure had some nerve cuddling up to Naruto if he was actually with Menma. Sasuke had no patience for people who didn't respect their partner. If there was one thing his parents had taught him, it was that when you're a couple, you stand by each other through everything, be it life or death. And that meant being faithful to each other and not keeping secrets.

He didn't know the nature of either Itachi and Shisui's or Charasuke and Menma's relationships, but he couldn't see why Naruto was so bothered by it. Maybe it was the whole being related thing, and then of course the fact that it was Naruto himself though in an alternate world.

"I don't know, even if they might be dating, they kind of seemed like they weren't…" Naruto struggled for words, a frown on his face when Sasuke glanced at him. "Like, they were talking about, umm, you know, doing that with… Charasuke and Menma I mean. Like they didn't seem that close, and Menma was kind of… And Charasuke is totally a pervert!"

Naruto was babbling, and Sasuke didn't bother trying to make sense of it. He finished cleaning up instead, then leaned against the counter with his arms crossed, giving Naruto a questioning look.

"Are you done talking about it or do you need a minute?"

"What the hell," Naruto spat, flustered and looking anywhere but at him. "It's just weird, you can't deny that! I mean they're all guys, and-"

He stopped talking when Sasuke looked anything but amused, heaving a frustrated sigh before letting his forehead connect with the table instead.

"It's just weird," he repeated insistently.

"You can always ask them about it," Sasuke suggested, which earned him a doubtful snort. "Whatever, I'm going outside for a bit. Join me when you stop sulking."

Naruto let out a protesting whine, but didn't move from his spot. Stepping out onto the porch, Sasuke decided that Naruto was acting really childish about the whole thing. If two people were in love, it certainly wasn't any other people's business. If they were lucky to find someone to share their life with, who were they to disapprove of that? There were far worse things to be bothered by in the world.

Far worse people to be bothered by.

It didn't take long for Naruto to join him, however, and together they sat in comfortable silence until it was time for Naruto to head back to the orphanage for his first day at the job. Before he left, he gave Sasuke a long, contemplative look that he pretended not to notice.

"You're still staying at my place tonight."

"Alright."

Naruto seemed like he wanted to say more, but snapped his mouth shut again and turned to leave. Once he was gone, Sasuke wondered if going through a few exercises counted as resting. Deciding it did, he got up and started stretching.

The silence wasn't nearly as comfortable without Naruto there.

xxx

Charasuke hadn't planned on bumping into Menma. He'd split ways with Shisui and his brother, headed for the Hokage tower to request a mission. He could use some more money, as well as the distraction. If it happened to be an out-of-the-village mission, well, he wouldn't complain.

"Hey!" he called out as Menma passed him without so much as a look of recognition. "Don't be an asshole."

"I thought you weren't talking with me," Menma replied, but did stop and turn to face him.

"Maybe if you talked about something other than how good Sai is in bed I'd want to," he countered.

"No, I think you need the reminder that you and I are just fucking, and nothing else."

"I never said we weren't." Sure, maybe he wanted there to be something more, but clearly Menma wasn't interested in hearing it, and Charasuke tried his best to swallow the disappointment rising up like bile in his throat. "But that doesn't mean I like listening to it."

"You're jealous." Menma was sneering at him, and honestly Charasuke was a bit taken aback by the venom in his voice. "Why don't you go play with your other friends, I'm sure Sasuke and Naruto wouldn't mind a threesome with you if you beg them nicely."

Feeling something snap inside him, Charasuke reached out to grab the front of Menma's shirt, pulling him close enough for their noses to brush.

"I've done nothing but listen to your complaints all year, what the fuck is your problem?!"

"You think I care enough about you to share?"

Shocked, Charasuke took a few steps back, letting go of Menma. His head felt like it was spinning. Sure, he'd never honestly expected Menma to feel the same about him, but he'd thought they were at least friends. He thought they had something.

"I can't believe you. Were you just using me this whole time?!"

"Oh come on, like you don't fuck people just for fun."

"Not like this! I don't go on missions with them! I don't fucking say stuff to make them feel special!"

Menma made a pitying face at him, shrugging his shoulders indifferently.

"It's not my fault if you read too much into it. Poor Sasuke, all these fangirls running after you and the one guy you fall for doesn't like you back."

Charasuke didn't realize he'd tried to punch him until he stood with Menma's hand closed securely around his fist, a mocking tilt to his lips.

"As weak as ever. Maybe you should put some more effort into your training instead of spreading your legs for anyone calling you pretty."

"Fuck you!" He tried to punch, kick, scratch, anything he could to hurt Menma, ninja training be damned. "Fuck you to hell and back, you two-faced, lying, shitty demon!"

Menma slapped him. It wasn't that hard, but it certainly snapped him out of his rage.

"Get lost. You're just a spoiled brat, you don't know shit about me." Menma's voice was low, threatening, his face suddenly close and his eyes flickering red so quickly it could have been his imagination. "All you've got is a pretty face and a pretty clan name. I don't give a fuck about you so don't talk to me again."

And with that he let go of him, walking off with a stiffness to his shoulders that spoke of just how angry he was. Charasuke remained in his spot, drawing in shuddering breaths as his hands shook with the urge to run back after him and hurt him.

"You piece of shit," he half laughed, half cried, clenching his fists to steady them.

Now he really needed a mission out of the village. Trying to ignore the people staring at him, he took a deep breath and continued walking, faster this time and feeling like he'd explode any second. Luckily his fangirls didn't bother him and he reached the tower with no further incident, speeding into the mission room that was mostly empty.

"Hello, Sasuke," the girl he'd approached said with a smile. She was a regular worker there, even though she was a civilian. Which was good because he didn't want to talk to anyone who might notice he was upset and refuse to give him a mission.

"Hey, do you have any longer missions? Starting right away, preferably."

She frowned, her long, dark hair swaying slightly as she tilted his head in thought.

"Hold on, let me check something."

She walked into an adjoining room that contained every ninja's personal mission file, though he didn't see why she'd need to check it. Usually they only used it for filing mission reports. When she came back, there was an apologetic look on her face, and Charasuke could just feel his day becoming worse by the minute.

"I'm sorry, you're not allowed to take missions outside the village for the time being. Hokage's orders. But here's the list with the missions still available today."

He stared at her, cursing two certain guys for showing up with such terrible timing inside his head. Who the hell did that old woman think she was, forbidding him from leaving the village without even informing him! Sure, she was the Hokage, but still. He really wasn't happy about it.

"Mission number thirteen taken!" a voice called out, and the girl quickly crossed out said mission on the paper before holding it out for him again.

He snatched it from her, scanning through it quickly. As expected, they were all D-rank, perfectly suited for the newly appointed genin who needed experience with handling clients.

"If you don't mind, could you do number eight? I'm worried Kyoko-baachan won't get any help with her groceries today, and she really needs them."

She gave him an expectant look, seemingly immune to his terrible mood, and with a sigh he nodded, listening to her instructions and accepting the shopping list and money envelope. It was better than nothing, at least.

He immersed himself in the task, pushing all thoughts of Menma and Sasuke out and instead concentrating on finding the cheapest deals at the grocery store. He'd gone shopping for a lot of grannies as a fresh genin, so it was like falling into an old routine. It helped. Even though he walked by the counter containing Menma's favorite cake, and all the drinks that he knew exactly what Menma thought of.

His eyes were stinging by the time he made it out of the store, loaded with two heavy bags. Maybe he hadn't expected things to go his way, but he had hoped. He'd hoped even though he'd pretended to flirt with his fangirls, had pretended he slept with them, too. And it didn't help that the few people he'd told had done the opposite of support him, instead telling him to give up. They were right, of course they were. He never should have gotten involved with that jerk…

Lost in his depressing thoughts, he didn't notice Sakura until she waved a hand in front of his face.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked, her bright smile morphing into a more worried one as she took in his expression.

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" he asked dully, dropping the bags to the ground since he didn't think she'd let him get away soon.

"I'm on my lunch break, it's an extra long one since I've been working overtime, and things were pretty slow today."

He really admired that Sakura was so sure of what she wanted to do with her life, not to mention she was very good at it. It made him feel so insignificant, standing there in the middle of a beginner's mission.

"That's nice," he forced out anyway.

"You look a bit upset though?" she told him, voice gentle, and he could feel his bottom lip betray him as it started quivering.

"I don't want to talk about it. I've got to deliver these."

She eyed the bags, not questioning why he was performing such a mundane task.

"I'll go with you, and then we can have lunch together," she decided, leaving no room for him to argue.

Not that he wanted to. Sakura was a very good friend, had been ever since they got placed on the same team. Though, she'd also been one of the people who had disapproved of him wanting something serious with Menma. She'd probably be happy to hear the news.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he picked up the bags again, listening with half an ear to Sakura as she chatted heartily with him the whole way to Kyoko-baachan's house, taking care of holding a conversation with the old woman in his stead.

Sooner than he'd liked they were squeezed into a tiny booth in one of the popular sushi restaurants, Sakura's look expectant as they waited for their orders.

"Is this about the other Sasuke?" she asked, and Charasuke almost snorted.

It both was and wasn't.

"I had a fight with Menma," he mumbled instead, figuring it was better to get it over with quickly.

She immediately got a disapproving look in her green eyes, and he could just tell she was cussing him out mentally.

"What did he do now?" she asked, biting her lip in slight hesitation before continuing. "Is it about Sai?"

He shrugged, not really sure that Sai was the problem. Sai was a good friend too, after all, much better than Menma had ever been.

"Sai don't know I liked Menma, anyway."

"Still, he's your teammate! He should know better!" She tapped the table, mulling it over, until she seemed to realize just exactly what he'd said. "Wait, what do you mean you liked him? You're giving up?"

He shrugged again, nails digging into his palms. He didn't want to start crying in public. The asshole didn't deserve it anyway.

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

"Well, damn," Sakura sighed, leaning back in her seat to take in his whole appearance. "And this was your decision or his?"

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

"His, then," she concluded. "I'm sorry, that must suck. I mean, you really seemed to like him."

"Well," he said, picking up his glass of water and inspecting it. "He can go shove something spiky up his shitty ass."

Sakura looked torn between amusement and disagreeing.

"You know he's got his issues," she reminded him, as if she hadn't told him that repeatedly over the past months. "It can't be easy carrying the kyuubi around."

"Sure, but that doesn't mean he can be an ass."

"No, I guess not." She thought for a while, as if evaluating him. He really didn't need her to turn medic on him right now. "You should probably avoid him for now."

They were interrupted by their food arriving, and Charasuke decided to eat rather than willingly continue the conversation. Not that he had much appetite. Somehow, it just felt like everything had been shit lately. Especially him.

"Hey," Sakura said, placing a hand gently on his arm. "You'll get through it, I'm sure. You deserve better than someone like him."

Staring into his lap, he lowered the hand holding the piece of sushi he'd been about to eat. Those were just empty words anyway. He didn't have anything going for him, no special talents, no career in sight. Was it too much to ask for at least some luck with love?

"Maybe I should just date one of my fangirls," he tried to joke, but there was no feeling behind it.

"Sasuke…" Sakura squeezed his arm, rubbing her thumb over his bare skin.

"I don't get it! Why did he sleep with me in the first place if he hates me so much?"

Her eyes filled with empathy, and he averted his own again. It felt like his skin was crawling, his heartbeat speeding up painfully against his ribs. He didn't understand. Maybe that was the problem. Menma hadn't been on any of the teams, and had always been treated special, the opposite of Charasuke. He'd always been good at things, even if some people thought it was only because of the kyuubi. Sasuke had always admired him, and felt jealous as well. Maybe it really was like Menma had told him, the only thing he had going for him was a pretty face and no brain behind it.

"Sasuke, I can tell you're blaming yourself. It's not your fault, okay? You have to believe me."

Sakura was pleading with him, and he sent her a weak smile.

"Sure," he said, but she didn't believe it for a second.

"Look," she told him, forcing his chin up so their eyes met. "My lunch break is almost over, but this conversation isn't over. And don't you dare do anything stupid because you're upset."

"No problem," he muttered. "I'm not allowed to take missions outside the village anyway."

She frowned, then her features smoothened out in realization.

"Of course," she breathed. "Well, we've gotta talk about that stuff too. Now eat your food like a good boy so I don't have to worry about that, at least."

xxx

Naruto was exhausted. You'd think someone with enough stamina to fight a god wouldn't feel close to passing out after only six hours of work, but there he was, lying spread eagle on the grass with one child sitting on his stomach –or rather jumping up and down on it– and another pulling his arm, while a third was shouting at him from the swings to hurry up.

"Pway! Pway!"

Luckily, little Daisuke was the one jumping on him, too excited to form the word properly.

"Alright, alright, just give me a second," he huffed, though Yoshie wouldn't stop tugging his arm.

"You don't have time for sleeping!" she insisted, her braids flying around her head as she shook it, her tiny mouth pursed as she used her entire strength to pull at him.

She was surprisingly strong for such a small child, though Naruto shouldn't be since there were definitely kids in his dimension that could have killed him by that age. Heaving a sigh, he wondered how he went from cleaning duty to babysitting the two plus Natsuko. It didn't help that they all wanted him to do different things with them. He was only one person, after all…

Oh. Damn. Why was he so stupid? Groaning, he quickly formed the seal and created three clones, much to the amazement of the three kids. Though, all three clones sent him dirty looks before smiling brightly at the kids. One went to push Natsuko on the swings, another to practice kicks with Yoshie, and the third picked up Daisuke to play horse with him.

Which left the original to take a much needed break.

"You're not very strong, are you?"

The smug voice reaching his ears belonged to Mitsuru, and Naruto craned his neck to see him on top of the roof.

"And you're not very good at judging strength, are you?" he shot back, crossing his arms when Mitsuru made a back flip off the building to land next to him.

Damn. He hadn't been able to do one that well when he was ten. Sasuke probably had, though.

"Asuna needs help with her homework," the child announced, looking down on him with a pointed look.

"Uh, sure, what kind of homework?"

He really hoped it wasn't something difficult, though he pushed himself off the ground to stand up and brush off his pants. Iruka had given him work clothes, to wear whenever he was on duty. Apparently orange wasn't 'representative' of the orphanage, but he had to admit the dark grey pants and white t-shirt were comfortable. The shirt had two bright blue stripes on each sleeve, and a stylized tree on the back. It was supposed to refer to them nurturing the kids into becoming full-grown trees able to care for themselves.

It was a nice thought, he supposed.

"She's researching the differences in the political systems here in the Fire country compared to the Wind country."

"The what?" Naruto asked, wondering why the hell an eleven-year-old was doing stuff like that. He couldn't remember ever talking about political systems.

Though to be fair, he'd never been very good at listening.

"The differences," Mitsuru repeated, slower this time. "You do know what a political system is, right?"

"Of course I know!" Naruto replied indignantly, following him inside. "Okay I have no idea," he admitted once he'd looked over the two pages Asuna had written so far.

"Told you he wouldn't know," Mitsuru muttered to Asuna before sauntering off to do whatever it was the he usually did, leaving a slightly embarrassed Naruto with the politely smiling girl.

"It's okay, Naruto, maybe if I just try to explain it to you, I'll figure out what I want to write."

He nodded encouragingly, grabbing an armchair to sit next to her desk.

An hour later, Iruka found him listening intently with wide eyes, and a small headache beginning to form at the onslaught of information Asuna rattled off.

"That girl is so clever," he commented when they were in the kitchen, Iruka asking him to pack away the groceries while he started dinner before finishing for the day.

Iruka sent him a surprised look.

"Well, she's doing the same homework as the others in her year. But yes, she is clever."

His smile was proud, and Naruto couldn't help but feel a slight churn in his stomach. No one had ever told him he was clever and smiled like that. In fact, he probably wasn't very clever when it came to academics. No one had ever given him homework like that.

"Who's her teacher?" he asked instead of replying, placing a couple of onions on the table, because he couldn't help but be curious since obviously it wasn't Iruka.

"Oh, in that particular class she's got Jiraiya."

Naruto dropped the bag of carrots he'd been in the process of unpacking.

"Who?"

"Jiraiya? Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, no of course not!" He shook his head a few too many times, because Iruka's eyes narrowed as they watched his reaction.

He fumbled with the bag he'd dropped, heart slamming against his ribs. He hadn't even thought of that, that Jiraiya would be alive in this world. Taking a deep breath he steadied himself, smiling at Iruka.

"Anything else you want me to do?"

"No, I think that's it for today. Are you staying for dinner?"

"I was thinking I'd eat with Sasuke… oh, that's right, I forgot to ask! Is it okay if he sleeps here a couple of nights? There's not enough space in his house at the moment."

Iruka raised a knowing eyebrow, and Naruto blushed furiously though he had no idea why he would.

"Alright," Iruka conceded, "But keep quiet, okay? I don't want the kids to hear something they're too young for."

Naruto was so mortified he couldn't even come up with a proper response, only squeaking out something that would hopefully be taken as a yes before floating out the door like he was made of water like Suigetsu.

He left his clones with the kids, figuring they'd dispel themselves when they were done. It took him almost ten minutes to recover from Iruka's suggestion, the time spent speeding through the village. He couldn't understand why he didn't just wave the request off with a laugh, since it was definitely an unfounded worry of Iruka's. They weren't like that.

And Naruto definitely hadn't caught himself thinking about what it would be like if it were like that during the day. It was all Sasuke's fault for acting like it wasn't a big deal if it happened! Before he'd been too worried about him to reflect on Menma and Charasuke's actions, but when he and Sasuke had sat out on the porch the memories came flooding back to him, and he couldn't help but feel a little curious…

But no, it was wrong! There was no way anyone would approve of it back home. Sasuke probably acted like it was fine because he was still a bit weird in the head after his illness. Probably. Maybe?

He shook his head to get rid of the stupid thoughts. He and Sasuke were best friends. Best friends can share a bed when there's no other option, right? Best friends can totally support each other by sleeping in the same bed. That's what best friends do, after all. Support each other.

Groaning in frustration he tugged at his hair, glaring up at the sky. If Sasuke wasn't so damn handsome he wouldn't have needed to look through all those magazines to find other people to base his reverse harem no jutsu on. It was unfair, Sasuke had always been good-looking, even when they were kids.

Maybe that was just it, he reasoned with himself. Everyone found Sasuke pretty, after all, so he shouldn't worry about it. He was just some otherworldly kind of good-looking that no one could be blind to.

Yes, that had to be it.

Pleased with himself, he slowed his rushed walking and whistled a little tune to himself, noticing his reflection in a shop window. Oh crap, he'd forgotten to change out of his work clothes! He hoped Iruka didn't mind.

Pausing, he eyed himself in the reflection. He didn't look so bad, did he? He did have fangirls back at home now, after all. Sasuke probably thought he looked as dumb as always, though.

Slapping his forehead, Naruto groaned again. Who the hell cared what Sasuke thought of his looks?! He sure didn't. Nuh-uh, definitely not.

He glanced at his reflection again, unconsciously flexing his biceps and blushing when he realized what he'd done.

You're the worst case of ignorant I've ever seen, and I'm a fox!

I have no idea what you're talking about, Naruto shot back, ducking his face and starting to walk again. He should probably hurry if he wanted to catch Sasuke before he ate Mikoto's cooking. He'd gotten some of his pay in advance, and he wanted to take Sasuke out to eat ramen because he hadn't gotten any for his birthday.

I give up, Kurama sighed, and Naruto scowled at nothing in particular.

Since when did a fox know anything about stuff like ramen, anyway.

I will never cease to be amazed by Naruto's ability to be so way off target when talking to Kurama. Kurama is definitely sasnar shipper number one, though.

So, Menma dumped Charasuke, Naruto has trouble not thinking about Sasuke's naked body, and Naruto was also lectured on politics by an eleven-year-old.

Also, this story is almost 200 pages long now. I can't believe it. Will it ever end.

Probably not.