Author's Notes

Sorry for the delay, I promise next chapter would be faster lol. Thanks for reading. Also a great big thanks to my wonderful beta, NikkiCross, for her great work on the chapter. Enjoy.

Naruto bowed back to the maid that offered him the drink. He still wasn't used to being treated like royalty – unlike the man opposite of him. He spared the room they were occupying a look and his eyes glittered. The room was made into a deep blue sea décor; the effort of playing with cobalt was visible, and it was a perfect combination of quirky and inviting. The blend of textures such as the concrete coffee table, leather sofa, and soft velvet punch-button chair all around him created an edgy juxtaposition. While the palette of blue, tan leather, grey and black was striking and sophisticated it gave an urban, metropolitan feel. Naruto liked the living room design to say the least.

Sasuke kept his cool, signaling the maid off with his hand while nonchalantly sipping at the hot chocolate he was offered. Naruto felt his mouth twitch into a smile – it was a little cute to see the proud Sasuke so into hot chocolate.

"What?" the raven snapped.

The curt question made the blond shrug. "Nothing, I just never took you for a sweets loving guy."

The young sensei rolled his eyes and defended the beverage. "No one hates hot chocolate."

"Well," the blond grinned. "You're right about that."

"So why were you following me?" Sasuke asked, the question piquing his interest.

"You really don't let up, do you?"

"Not when I am not answered directly." Sasuke put the mug down and scrutinized on the blond. "What are you hiding?"

Naruto took a look around at the beautiful room, evading the orbs prying him for answers. He wanted to stay silent, but somehow he felt he'd maxed that card out. The blond's train of thought was about to take flight again when a loud thud redirected his attention. Sasuke had somehow fallen off his armchair. By a strike of comedic wonder, the smart male had fallen head first into the ground. Baffled by what happened, Naruto was beside him in a second.

"Are you okay?"

The raven-haired male propped himself on his knees and nodded, clutching his head. "Yes, I just got dizzy. Nothing big."

Naruto's brows furrowed together as he helped the male to his feet. "Yeah, probably all that sugar you're ingesting."

"People faint from hypoglycemia, not hyperglycemia you idiot."

"Say what you want," Naruto said haughtily. "I blame the sugar."

The teacher pulled his hand free and returned to his seat. Naruto watched him go as he didn't like the way he was being treated with but allowed it to slide. This time though, he chose to sit in the chair closest to the other. Feeling like he wasn't stable enough to be left alone, Sasuke simply rolled his eyes at the gesture.

"So," Naruto was first to speak this time, "This is your house?"

Sasuke paused his motion and nodded. "…Yes."

"You're rich?" the curious blond asked.

"I have enough."

"So, rich." he deadpanned.

The raven haired male scowled and corrected the path of the conversation. "I didn't bring you hear to discuss my financial situation, I want to know what's happening with you. Why are you behaving so strangely? We have never interacted in anything. Our lives were separate, but over night you show this interest in me. What happened? Why are you so intrigued?" When Sasuke saw the other's mouth start to move, he added quickly. "I'm sure I'm not the only person out there who's in school and gives lessons elsewhere, so you can't use that excuse."

Cringing at the rebuke that was stolen from him, Naruto hummed. "Why do you want to know so bad?"

A thin black brow was raised. "Why do you want to hide it so bad?"

"You know, there's this saying 'ignorance is bliss', have you heard of it?"

"I don't like being in the shadows." Sasuke shrugged off his words.

"Even if I told you the truth," The blond teen started. "You won't believe me."

Sasuke took hold of his hot – now slightly cooler – chocolate and countered, "You'd be amazed what I can believe."

The blond stayed silent after that. In fact, he couldn't think of anything more to say, and continuing to evade resulted in nothing. He knew that Sasuke was the key, but would telling him pay in anything? If he were to open his mouth and blurt the truth, chances are, he'd be called a lunatic or Sasuke would think he was dodging him again. However, a small part argued that a positive side might shine, Sasuke might believe him. So then what? What if he believed him? Does that mean he'd be closer to answering the mysteries that he was faced with? Give answers to the riddle of his time?

The voice inside that rotted for telling Sasuke answered, a maybe.

Naruto ruffled his hair. He really didn't know what to do, but one thing was clear; he had a choice. To tell and sound insane, or to keep Sasuke in the dark but potentially spare himself from an insane asylum. He spared a glance at the raven-haired male, but it didn't help. He had nothing. Naruto couldn't read anything from that poker face; the handsome man before him wasn't giving anything away. Naruto realized that it was all him now. There was a line, and he had to decide whether to cross or not. Sighing, he made his decision. He decided to trust Sasuke; decided to trust the same teen who had shared his heart with him that first night, and he would do it again – even if this wasn't his Sasuke.

Hopefully, this won't come biting him in the ass. Filled with optimistic thoughts, Naruto started.

"Hmm… okay. Fine, I give up! I'll tell you. I'm deciding this because I'm tired of overthinking everything. And maybe, just maybe, you can even help me."

Sasuke sipped attentively at the cold chocolate and urged, "Carry on."

"So…" The blond trailed, trying to think of a good way to commence before sighing a good couple of times and officially beginning his tale. "I'm not who you think I am… well, I am, but I'm not. I am Uzumaki Naruto, yes, but… of a different age?" At the weird looks, he tried again knowing he wasn't making any sense. "I may sound like a crazy person but I'm not. I'm not the Uzumaki Naruto of this timeline, I came from the future."

"…From the future?"

The confusion was apparent. The blond knew he hadn't gotten across the other clearly, so he tried a third time. "Okay, listen, I was a normal twenty six year old salary man, and although I was fired, I lived a normal life. Then one day, I met 'you'." Sasuke blinked at his words. "Well the 'you' who looks so much like you. To make this easier, we'd call the version of you whom I met in my timeline 'Sasuke-A' and you well, you," Naruto chuckled. "Sasuke-A, when I met him, he was battered in an ally outside my apartment building. I looked after him and we developed this sense of closeness. I still don't fully understand it, but he was warming up to me and I liked that. I liked him… and I think he liked me back, too."

The blond took a rest, recalling the days he'd spent with Sasuke. His Sasuke. Naruto's face regained a sense of comfort and he found the footing he'd lost.

"And?" The Sasuke before him urged a continuation, not liking the way he was being left out.

"And one night, you left something in my apartment. A black box. I touched it and I fainted. When I woke up, I was back in time as my seventeen year old self in my old house and my old neighborhood. No one around me seemed to have had the same experience as me. I thought that God was giving me another try to redo my life, to make it better, but then you appeared," Naruto paused and took a breath. "In the same image of the Sasuke I knew. I realized you were my teacher and my classmate. Honestly, I have no recollection of you ever existing. I tried thinking back to my old school days, but it comes blank. That's why I thought that maybe you also came from the future. Maybe you were Sasuke-A, but we were having different experiences. Just because I reverted back to my old body, that doesn't mean you should do too. However, a lot of stuff isn't explained. If you were Sasuke-A, you should remember me, or at least sense me…"

Naruto trailed off. He finished his tale on that notion; feeling like this was territory he didn't want to venture into. The thought that this Sasuke was his Sasuke made a lot of questions come flying through his head, and Naruto didn't have the power or the energy to entertain them. The raven stayed silent, and Naruto gave him time to register this, praying the other didn't count all this as crazy talk and call the Looney den on him. Finally, after much time had passed, Sasuke opened his mouth and asked something unexpected.

"Okay, let's presume the things you said were the truth; that still doesn't clarify everything. Why did you kiss me? Your story doesn't highlight that we were in any romantic relations."

"…I think we would have, had nothing happened to me." Naruto added rather quietly.

Sasuke took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He ingested the pieces of information given to him, bizarre as they may sound. His emotions were troubled, and a lot was going inside him. Thoughts that, if the person in front of him knew about, would send him running out the door. Something in Sasuke took pleasure at that reflection, and quickly he hushed his demons and concentrated. In the story that he had been told, there was one thing that he was sure had happened; traveling from the future. The blond wasn't lying. He was one to know. Sasuke realized he shouldn't show his cards so early in the game, so he twisted his features into a frown.

"You don't have to force yourself to believe me," The blond loudly spoke, seeing Sasuke's expression. "I know it's crazy, heck! If it hadn't happened to me, I wouldn't believe me!"

Sasuke looked him in the eyes and said. "It's not a case of believing you or not. I don't think you are lying to me. You honestly believe you came from the future, so I can't tell you that you didn't, but this is still impossible."

Naruto didn't like the words. It felt like Sasuke was telling him he had a mental illness where he believed stuff that hadn't happened.

"I don't like where you're going with this."

Sasuke stood up and called for a man to come – apparently the butler – and Naruto rolled his eyes at how rich the teen in front of him was. Gesturing to his guest, Sasuke asked the butler to arrange a room for him to stay at, and with that, Naruto was apparently staying the night. The blond man sighed. He still didn't know what was happening, but hopefully, telling Sasuke the truth was something good… even though the first reaction he got sent shivers down his spine.

Naruto yawned and rubbed his eyes. He watched as he was dropped in front of his school gate, the driver paid him goodbye before leaving. The previous night was like an illusion to him. After he finished his conversation with the black haired teacher, he was escorted to a room in which he was too tired to do anything but sleep. He'd phoned his father about sleeping away, lying that he was at Gaara's. He sent the redhead a message to lie if his father was to contact him. He knew his best friend would do that for him in a blink of an eye. When he woke up, he found a clean change of clothes waiting for him. A maid brought him breakfast, and when he inquired about Sasuke's whereabouts, he was given a reply of uncertainty.

Needless to say, he didn't meet the teen. Looking at the school, the blond sighed and walked inside, heading to his classroom. The first to greet was none other than Gaara.

"What happened yesterday? Where did you go?"

Naruto smiled, fixing his bag over his shoulder. "Good morning to you too, sunshine. I was at a friend's house…"

"You should have told your dad that."

"He doesn't know him and I didn't want to go through details," Naruto hastily explained. "Thanks for covering for me."

The redhead returned to his headphones, seemingly bored with the conversation now. "Anytime."

Naruto sat on his assigned seat, his eyes were searching the classroom for Sasuke's presence, but there was nothing. First period, then second and third were done and the black haired male didn't show. Naruto scowled. How convenient it was that he'd skip when the blond wanted to meet him most. When recess came – after fourth period – his phone vibrated in his pocket. The blond picked it up and arched a brow at the odd message, it simply read,

'Rooftops. Now.'

Puzzled and a little bit curious, Naruto excused himself from his friends' company and headed to the roof. He flung the door open and took a step inside. The strong air blew at his hair, and Naruto had to close his eyes for a second at the bright sunlight. From the corner of his eye, he saw the silhouette of the person centering his current universe.

Marching towards the other male, the blond scowled at him. "You have my number?"

Surreal black pearls looked up at him. Sasuke put his phone back to his pocket and answered the intruding male. His voice was as calm and soothing as his posture. "I do."

"I thought we don't know each other."

"We don't," Sasuke commented. "I got your number on my own."

Naruto chose not to comment on that and asked, "Why did you skip?"

Sasuke allowed the air to play with his hair, giving Naruto a nice picture to save to memory. He gazed at the sky and answered softly. "I had more important things to tend to."

"…So? Why did you ask me here?"

The black haired male took Naruto's hand in his and directed him to the other side of the roof. The area there was quieter than their previous location – and less airy. He sat them down on the concrete floor and started talking.

"I need you to listen to me and understand what I'm about to say clearly. I hate idiots, but I hate repeating myself even more. So, I am going to only say this once." Sasuke spoke, evidence of annoyance visible in his tone.

The blond rolled his eyes. "Alright. What's wrong?"

"You didn't come from the future. That assumption of yours in incorrect." The teacher clarified. "You came from another world. A parallel universe to be exact."

Naruto blinked two times, he twirled the words inside his head and after a minute of silence asked. "…A parallel universe?"

"Yes. I know this because your presence disrupted the flow through this one. Henceforth, the Uzumaki Naruto that should have been alive is no longer. You two being together in the same universe causes a disassociation. You took his place causing the universe to expel him. Your universe is void and this one is full. The balance is disturbed."

It was like listening to a machine talking. Sasuke gave the information with no emotion behind them. As if he was reciting a chapter of a poem he'd memorized very well. Naruto was shocked to say the least, and his brain went to the bad habit of asking millions of questions and doubting everything that was told to him. What other Naruto? What universe? He came from the future, didn't he?

Upon seeing the dumbfounded look on the blond's face, Sasuke sighed.

"Even though I don't like repeating, you don't seem to understand me very well, so I'll explain it again. Listen."

Feeling distinctly like a fish out of water, Naruto nodded.

Shuffling through his back pocket, the Uchiha brought out a newspaper and gave it to Naruto. An article was highlighted in yellow, and the blond presumed he was meant to read that. In black capital letters, a small article was printed. It spoke of an unfortunate car accident involving a certain teen, a hit and run one. Naruto's eyes went wide upon seeing the image printed in there. The article mentioned how brutal the hit was, and that his death was quick and painless. They had no name, only patterned facial features, and dental records were mysteriously unavailable so no one was able to identify the poor soul. Naruto's eyes flashed to the written date. It was the same day he'd come to this universe.

"You see, this article is for the Uzumaki Naruto of this world. Like you noticed, he died the day you came here. This world refused the presence of two similar elements, and unfortunately, his fate was sealed when he was met with a deadly accident."

The blond looked with disbelieving eyes at the other. "This… this doesn't make sense."

"It does." Sasuke annoyingly stated. "I just explained it to you. You can't be that stupid. Here, for the last time, I have a theory. The black box you touched was a portal, connecting this world to your world, and probably to other worlds as well, but who knows. This world called out to you for some reason – hauled you to it. Without your knowledge, you took over Uzumaki Naruto's place. Right now this world is balanced, Uzumaki Naruto."

"But that means there's no Uzumaki Naruto in my own world."

Sasuke stood up, he looked at the vast sky before him and commented. "Who knows, maybe you coming here caused a hole in yours, so another Uzumaki Naruto of a different universe might be sucked to your own, etcetera."

Naruto tried to digest the theory but there were so many holes to count. "This doesn't explain anything. Why did this world chose me? Why kill its Uzumaki Naruto and not me? If the worlds were in perfect balance, my existence shouldn't be here... and," his eyes scrutinized on the black haired male having finally realized something else. "Who the hell are you?"

A smirk showed on Sasuke's face and proudly, he declared. "Took you long enough to ask."

An observer.

That's what Sasuke told him he was. Naruto bit at the cold ice cream in his hands. His teeth complained, but right now, he wanted something to cool the inner thoughts in him. Sasuke didn't elaborate more and didn't answer any other questions he had. He simply played his piece and left. Now, Naruto was faced with a choice; he could believe the black haired male or disregard him completely. Actually, he was more comfortable with the idea of coming from the future. It was better than coming from a parallel universe.

Did this universe have parallel universes? Can something so unbelievable be believed?

He snorted at his thoughts, much like coming from the future. This had a very small chance of being true. He felt a headache form and deceived himself into believing it to be a brain freeze from the ice-cream. Making a right turn, the gate to his house looked back at him. Naruto unlocked the door and walked inside. The house smelled nice, his father's cooking filling the vicinity. Smiling, he decided to put all this thinking to the back of his head, and went to the kitchen to greet his dad.

"Dad. Something smells nice." Naruto greeted.

"Naruto, I didn't hear you come in. When did you get back?"

Minato beamed at the sight of his son, he covered the meat stew he was preparing and sat down on one of the kitchen chairs. Naruto released a loud sigh and banged his head on the kitchen table.

"Just now. Dad, I want to ask you something. Is there something different about me? Like… I'm not myself lately or something?"

Minato blinked at his son. He put a hand under his chin and commented. "Is this a new stage you're going through or something?"

"No… I just dunno," he let out an aggravated sound of frustration. "Everything's a mess!"

"Well, to be honest, you did change," The older blond man smiled at his son, trying to lift his spirits a little. "You became a little bit more focused. You feel more hmm…. Sane?" Minato sniggered a little before turning back to check his stew.

Naruto pouted to his dad. "Daaaaad, be serious!"

"I am. You're more logical and reasonable. Your emotional fits have decreased. You're more thoughtful now. You're still as messy as ever, but you listen when I ask you to do things. I don't need to repeat myself… a lot." Minato chuckled. "You're still my son. No matter how much you change, you'll always be someone I'm proud of."

The teen hated how Sasuke's previous words came to ring at his ears. He wasn't the Naruto of this world. Those words and that warm look, all these genuine emotions weren't directed at him… how sad. His dad wasn't his dad. His dad was still dead underground in his own universe. The blond shook his head, relinquishing the thoughts. When did he decide to believe what Sasuke had told him?! The feelings he was experiencing, the warmth that was provided for him. His eyes locked with his father's and Minato gave his messy blond locks a ruffle, before he went back to making the salad.

Yes, that affectionate hand wasn't fake. This was his father. Those were his friends, this was his hometown. He wasn't from another universe or anything; he was from this one! That something his heart was sure of. Naruto decided to believe in that!

Dinner was fast to finish, he ended up doing the dishes, and Naruto blocked thinking until he was done with that small task. The sound of the doorbell being rung had him wiping the water from his hands before tending to it. The joyful face of his old childhood friend made something in him feel ease. Naruto welcomed the pink haired female in and excused himself bringing her something to drink.

Sakura fixed her frilly black skirt and made herself home. Actually, she meant to come over sooner, but her schedule had kept her busy. It's been a while since she was inside the Uzumaki household, but it was still as welcoming as ever. The nice aroma – from the candles Minato-san loved to put around the house – filled her nose. She really missed hanging out here. Her jade eyes looked at her friend as he came from the kitchen, holding a tray with two glasses of what appeared to be orange juice. Naruto presented the beverage with a smile, and she took a sip.

"Sweet, just how I like it." She commented happily. "You remembered."

Naruto mimicked her smile. In his memories and until recently, his Sakura loved orange juice. She would always preach at him the health benefits of the drink, and the blond had learned to always give a deaf ear to her claims. "Never forgot."

"But did you squeeze it yourself? Somehow I find that hard to believe." The beautiful female teased.

Naruto shrugged. "Dad did a while ago. You were in luck that we have it."

"Figures." Sakura giggled. "You weren't cut for the kitchen since young. Remember when we were in fourth grade and you tried to blend me those pineapples? The results were catastrophic!"

As if to highlight her words, a memory flashed inside his head. He recalled a younger version of Sakura yelling with tears running down her eyes, he'd tried to blend said fruit but his shirt caught in the blending machine. A hospital visit was soon flickering to memory. Naruto smiled. He still had a scar where the blender had hit; it was one of his life's trophies. He considered himself Sakura's hero for a long time, and that memory – when she was bawling her eyes for him – highlighted how important he was to her. Naruto had some dark times in college and Sakura's presence always soothed it.

The blond gave her a smile. "Yeah, I remember."

The pink haired female looked her friend up and down and sighed. She summoned up her courage and started.

"Look Naruto-kun, you might not know this and, I'm not sure if it's alright to tell you now that I've rejected you – but you are… my hero, my knight in shining armor. I'm always brave because of you. I don't fear or get scared to try new things, to fall in love; because I know you'll always be beside me. You protect me and treat me like I'm a gem. This feeling, you have no idea how much I cherish it. I want you to know that this thing, this friendship we have," She took hold of his hand. "It's a two way street. I'll always be here for you, no matter what… so, trust me."

She patted the rough, tan hand she held. Naruto felt something spark at her words, his heart throbbed and an image of the Sakura he knew flashed in his head. His doctor of a friend was always sharp, her instincts were dead on, and he couldn't hide anything from her even if he tried. Naruto had underestimated her younger version. A soft smile showed on his lips as his eyes looked straight into hers.

"How did you know there's something wrong?"

"I know you, Naruto-kun. You can lie to everyone but not to me. At the beginning, I thought you'd come to me by yourself, but you didn't. I figured you needed someone to remind you that you're not alone," She beamed, showing her beautifully aligned teeth. "So here I am, telling you straight out, you have someone on your side, so please, don't carry everything alone. Allow me some of your burden."

Just like that, it was all too easy to do. He poured his heart out. Told his story from the beginning 'till the end. It was so simple; the blond wondered why he hadn't done it before. Why didn't he tell his close friend from day one? If there was someone who would believe him without any conditions, it was Sakura. When his father died, she was there. When he failed subjects, she was there. When his heart was broken and he couldn't find the job he wanted, she was there. She was his family. He should have gone to her from the start.

By the time he finished his tale, he noticed how his hands were shivering. This didn't happen when he told Sasuke. Actually, at that time, he was very brave and his heart was strong. However with Sakura, it was different. She was too close to his core. Believing him… if she didn't do that, it would be something very hard to recover from. Right now, what he needed most was her trust and support. Being faced with the odd theory Sasuke had told him, he needed a foothold that told him this was his world.

Slowly he dared and looked up, from the floor to her clear jade eyes. Sakura had a look of wonder but there was no sense of disbelief. His heart was relieved for a second. The pink haired beauty gave his cold hand a squeeze and took her time processing his story. Finally she let go and gently gave him a hug.

Naruto didn't know how much he missed her hugs until he got that one. A feeling of safety, comfort and understanding washed over him. With soothing strokes, the long haired girl eased his back. Naruto allowed his anxiety, fear and restlessness to leave his body and surrender to Sakura's touch. Really, he thanked God she was in his life. No one understood him fully like she did.

The girl pulled ever so slowly and spoke to him in a quiet tone. "I'm sorry… you had to go through all this by yourself. I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun."

There was nothing for her to apologize for. It was on him. It was his fault he didn't tell her sooner, but Naruto knew that she was that type of person. Apologizing for his misgivings. He gave her a grin, reassuring, "There's nothing for you to be sorry about, Sakura-chan. I'm alright."

They released each other's hold and Sakura returned to the armchair she had been occupying. Having cleared the emotional part, she spoke in all seriousness.

"Let me say this first, I believe you. I had my doubts that something in you has changed, and as crazy as all this may seem, I do think you're more mature. It's surprising to know that you're not from this timeline… but the future," She trailed off, probably having a lot of questions piquing her attention. "How am I in the future? Do I have a boyfriend? Am I married?"

Naruto chuckled at his typical friend's behavior, in a teasing manner, he answered. "Do you want to know?"

"Yes, I do. No wait, I don't! Hmmm… no, no, I do," She played with her locks and groaned. "No, don't tell me. It's better I don't know. I'll just kill myself thinking about it. Let's focus on you."

The blond smiled at her and gave an answer to relax a part. "Well, I'm not sure if you should know about it or not, but if there's something I can say is that you're still very close to me. You always help me in the future. We are good."

Her face lit up in a smile, then suddenly she asked in all sincerity. "And Ino? Am I still friends with her?"

Naruto blinked at the odd question. "Why?"

"We just got into this huuuuuge fight, and she said she doesn't want to see my face again…" Sakura groaned before continuing. "She can be such a stubborn –"

Before his friend started a cursing campaign aimed at Ino, the blond interrupted. "You're still best friends."

Sakura rolled her eyes and cursed but the blond saw how glad she was inside. No matter what happened between them, Naruto knew that Ino and Sakura loved each other and considered each other's presence in the other's life crucial. Petty fights did nothing to severe that relation.

"So, Uchiha Sasuke huh?" Sakura smirked. "You fell for the hottie, just like all of us. I didn't know you went for looks. Oh wait," she chuckled. "I did know."

"Fell?" He raised a brow, ignoring her other remark.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?" She blinked back. "You said that in your story just now."

Frowning, he stated. "I hardly think I mentioned love there, Sakura –"

"You're bothered by him, you find him attractive, you've kissed him, you told him your strange story and finally you bonded enough for him to tell you some stupid theory that you've believed." She ended up with a smirk and teasing tone.

Sakura really liked teasing him. His mature friend was more in control of her teasing side than her younger version, he was assured of that. Sighing inwardly, he defended himself.

"He had strong proof to what he said."

"Yeah, a piece of paper that could easily be forged." Sakura countered.

"You think he'd do that?" His face turned into a scowl, not thinking that Sasuke would go to such length.

"Naruto, you told me he lives in a mansion and has a lot of money, right?" The blond nodded and she continued. "It's very easy to forge something like this if you have the right means, and trust me, he has the right means."

"I thought of that, but what would he gain from that?" Naruto questioned. "Why would he make me believe I'm from another world?"

"Okay, how about we look at this from another point of view," Sakura instructed, fixing the way she sat. "What if the Sasuke you met in the future was this time's Sasuke, and what if he was telling you all this to, I dunno, mislead you?"

"Mislead me from what? And if he was the same Sasuke, why didn't he just say so?" Naruto asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know, but Naruto-kun, it's strange. I mean no one in this world has the same face, height, name and behavior typical of another person. You said that they were similar down to the way they act, right? –"

"Yes, from the little time I've spent with him, he's similar to the Sasuke that I know."

"Okay, this proves my point even more, say we are talking about two different people in the same timeline; they'd behave differently, even if they have the same face. Take identical twins for instance, they have the same feature, but they'd be distinct in their personalities, behaviors and mindset – let alone another person from another timeline. You see where I'm going with this? Chances of this being your Sasuke-of-the-future is up to eighty percent."

As he twirled the words in his head, they made sense. Something was still amiss, however. "And that twenty percent?"

"Margin of error. There's no such thing as perfect math in this world." She chuckled slightly. "Anyhow, for now try not to think of this too much. You should also not mention that you told me to him."

The blond furrowed his brows, already not liking that he's to keep secrets. "Why?"

She smiled. "I just don't have a good feeling about it. This is a person who went to high lengths to make an elaborate lie to and have you question the reality you're in. I don't think he'd take kindly to you telling everyone you know about it."

"But I'm not telling everyone I know –"

"Figure of speech, Uzumaki." She interrupted before a headache forms. Adult or teenager, Naruto was still Naruto.

Sakura's cell rung distracting her from whatever counter-comment her blond friend wanted to add. When the caller ID read 'Buta', her nickname for Ino, she excused herself to the backyard where Naruto was sure she'd bring her tsundere side out. Sighing, he started collecting the empty glasses and bringing them to the kitchen.

As he was making himself busy, his brain was thinking back to what Sakura had said. It made sense but there were still a lot of holes. If this Sasuke was the one from his timeline, then why hide it? It would save the both of them time to tell him. They would even come up with a way to reverse it –

His brain stopped the thought the minute it came about. Reverse it? Go back home? Did he want to do that? Sure, here he was having a hard time accepting everything, but he was happy. His father was alive, his friends were surrounding him and his world was beautiful. Could he dare give all this up to that lonely apartment where Sasuke sometimes comes by?

Here he could find Sasuke easily, be it at school, in the teaching center, or visit his gigantic estate of a house. There were many chances to get close to Sasuke, but if he went back, he'd be forced to just wait until the raven decided it was time for them to meet. Naruto sighed again. He'd decided not to think, as Sakura had advised against that as well, but his brain was finding it hard to comply.

His cheeks flared a slight red when he remembered Sakura's words. Falling for Sasuke. Had he really? He couldn't deny that the other was a treat to the eyes. He hadn't met Sasuke but a couple of times, after all. Could someone fall for another in a short amount of time? Wait, what was the appropriate time to fall? Besides, he knew nothing of the raven-haired male or his life. Could he love someone who was so vague and shrouded in mysteries?

Uzumaki Naruto slapped his cheeks, he needed to stop. Stop thinking. Stop. Stop. Stop.

He shook his head alongside slapping himself hard on the cheeks, giving a perfect image of insanity.

"Naruto, you alright?"

And the dumbfounded look on his father's face was a clear evident of that. Naruto sheepishly smiled while sniggering to himself awkwardly.

Locating Uchiha Sasuke proved to be harder than Naruto first presumed. It had been close to a week now, and he couldn't find a good chance to speak with Sasuke. No, scratch that. He couldn't even find Sasuke to begin with. The raven was avoiding him. It was clear. At first, Naruto passed it as him being paranoid, but when he tried actively pursuing and got nothing but dust, the blond was sure. Uchiha Sasuke was doing everything to avoid him.

Naruto had gone to his house and asked to meet the young master, but was harshly and rather rudely escorted out by strong looking guards telling him not to come again. He tried his luck at the teaching center, but the minute the lesson was finished the raven-haired teacher would vanish into thin air. He wanted to catch up at school, but Sasuke liked playing hooky. He was ditching the classes that he wasn't interested in and none of the teachers seemed to care. Naruto sighed as his interest in his current classroom matched that of Sasuke's.

Looking at the windows, he envied the class that had PE. He recalled how in school he disliked most of the science classes. He was more of an exercising-the-body-over-the-mind type of guy. He liked sports; liked track and basketball, to be exact. Sitting still and stuffing his head with info from books wasn't his thing. He graced the board a look and the chemistry symbols looked back at him. He sighed again. Rising his hand, in a loud enough voice, he requested.

"Can I be excused, sensei?"

The silver-haired male teacher known as Hatake Kakashi didn't even look at him. He lazily replied, continuing writing on the board. "No."

Naruto rolled his eyes at the answer and continued in an annoying loud monotone. "I need to go to the bathroom. I need to be excused. I can't take it anymore. Oh no, it's leaking. What to do? I need to be excused, oh god –"

A piece of chalk found its way to his forehead in perfect aim. Naruto and the rest of the class snickered at his sensei, before he got a bothered reply.

"You can leave if you solve this."

Kakashi wrote some complicated equation on the board. He was certain with Naruto's lousy record it would be very hard to be able to solve that. Naruto looked at the equation and groaned inwardly. He could easily solve it, but doing so would raise suspicions. He had to be back to his old personality after all, and back then, he couldn't solve that. Sighing, he tried something else, something that was closer to his teenager behavior.

"Sensei, you're being unfair, you know the only person here who can solve this is probably Neji. Don't play favorites now."

"I'm not. Neji isn't the only one. You should do it. It was on last month's exam."

Naruto cringed, he had no idea what the previous exam held, so he retorted in something he thought could have easily happened. "And you know how badly I scored."

Multiple snickers were heard from different areas in class. Apparently, everyone knew how lowly he scored. Kakashi rubbed the back of his head, getting bored. He wiped the problem and wrote a simpler one.

"Fine, solve this then."

Naruto grinned and walked to the front; he took the chalk and wrote a swift answer. This would do. His mental level should be close to this. A part of him objected on how he was seeing his teen self, but the blond knew that he was a lousy student, even in college that didn't change much. Getting the okay to leave, he was out of the class in a matter of seconds. Glancing at his watch, he had about half an hour before his class's ends. Next he had English with Kurenai. He cringed. More than anything, he hated Kurenai Yuhi's class. No matter what, that woman was vicious. He could still feel shivers from the previous class.

Yes, no ditching that one.

Walking throughout campus, his legs took him to the outside. He enjoyed the yells of whatever class had PE right now. Naruto glanced his eyes around and to his good fortune, he located the profile of Sasuke sitting on the big hill that shadowed the baseball court. Elegantly, he sat under a tree, his face buried in a huge reference book. It was hard to read what it was from his distance.

Feeling irritated that he was being given the runaround by this little devil, Naruto waltzed with sure steps to him.

"Uchiha Sasuke," The blond spoke with noticeable impatience, "You've been avoiding me. Why?"

Calm, black orbs looked up at him. Sasuke munched on the biscuit in hand and smirked. "Your timing is just bad."

"That excuse won't fly. Your thugs of guards kicked me out."

"I wasn't home."

"You don't stay after class –"

"My house is far. I need to leave early."

Naruto felt his irritation rise at the obvious cover-ups. The other wasn't even making an effort. "How about class here then? Why do you ditch!?"

"I don't. What they're trying to teach you monkeys I have already learned. In fact, I could teach some of the teachers here a thing or two."

Sasuke returned to his book, flipping over a page as if the presence of the other did nothing to hinder him.

"You expect me to believe that?" The blond put his hands on his hips, glaring down hard.

"It's up to you to believe what you want." Sasuke smirked.

"Well then, l'll start disregarding any crap that comes out of your mouth. You're a liar, Uchiha Sasuke."

"Suit yourself."

Naruto hated being ignored, but more than that, he hated being brushed off. He plopped down beside him and snatched the huge book from his lap, an act that – besides being very hard to do – put a lot of strain on his muscles. The raven raised one thin brow at his assailant.

Naruto put the book behind him then spoke. "Relax. You'll get it back after we're done talking."

Sasuke stayed silent, apparently waiting for him to speak his piece. The blond cleared his throat. His irritation and annoyance all vanished when his eyes locked with those black pearls. He really didn't like how his body was getting calm by the minute like this. It was weird. He cleared his throat again and tried not to think.

"So what I want to know is, why did you lie to me?"

"Who says I did?" Sasuke stubbornly continued asking.

Rolling his eyes, Naruto assured. "You lied. Full stop. Now why did you do it?"

"Uzumaki-kun, there's a difference between lying and manipulating the truth. I admit to the latter."

"You're kidding me, right? There's no difference. Sugarcoat it as much as you want, but lying is lying and you're still beating around the bush. Why did you do it?"

It was Sasuke's turn to roll his eyes. He stood up and started walking down the hill. Naruto followed, not wishing to be left behind again.

"Well, you insist on a reason, but I don't have anything like that. I was trying out an experiment and that's it. In my point of view, I did not lie to you nor did I ask you to believe what I said. You had options right from the beginning."

Naruto scowled at those words; the logic he was hearing was different from a normal person's. This individual probably lived a different life than his own, the blond concluded.

"What experiment did you want to do?"

"You said you're from the future. I wanted to see if I could play with you."

"Your concept of playing is... twisted."

The raven released a smirk that made Naruto's spine shiver. "Difference of opinions."

"So you wanted to see my reaction? If I'd believe you or not?"

"Yes, and the effect of that. Say you're truly a person from the future, if I presented you with a different reality than the one you think, would you believe that and relax knowing you've secured a fate away from death? Or would you deny it and search for your truth? It was interesting to see the results."

"What do you mean, 'a fate away from death'?" Naruto asked, feeling anger rapidly rising.

"If this world's Uzumaki Naruto had died and you had came in his stead, then the concept of death would no longer apply to you in a way, and you'd be living a life that doesn't end – well not by the universe at least."

Naruto's scowl deepened, he ignored Sasuke's theory again and urged. "And?"

"Well, you didn't believe me." Sasuke's face was devoid of emotions as he spoke this. "You refused the thought that the family you have, the friends around you, and the hometown you crave for isn't yours. Actually, I bet on you choosing to relinquish all those things and –"

Sasuke stopped himself speaking mid sentence, fearing that he'd said too much. He halted his steps and turned around facing Naruto. Coming closer, his face was only inches away from the other. A creepy smile showed on his features.

"A real hell or a false heaven, which do you prefer, Uzumaki-kun?"

Naruto was trying his hardest to understand the person before him. It was weird. He felt like Sasuke was wrong but right at the same time. Well, trying to study him or whatever was something bad, yet he really didn't feel any malice from that act. It was like Sasuke did it solely to know where the blond's faith lied. The wind beside them blew, reminding them of where they were. Sounds of birds, rustle of leaves and the occasional noise from the crowd nearby were dimmed to the background. Naruto felt himself get drown inside the darkness of Sasuke's eyes.

Leaning forward, he wanted to touch his lips to the other but a pale hand steadied his shoulder and a nasty smile showed on Sasuke's face.

"Not the place."

"You…" Not being able to contain it in anymore, Naruto muttered. "Don't you feel this?"

Sasuke tilted his head inquiring. "Feel?"

A tan hand got hold of his own and brought it to a hard chest, the blond pressed Sasuke's hand against his chest, accenting his point with the beats of his heart. "This. This feeling. This desire. You don't feel it?"

"Your heart is throbbing fast," Sasuke closed his eyes, seemingly enjoying the feeling. "It's calming."

"You don't feel it, then?"

As soon as those words left his mouth, Naruto put his right hand on Sasuke's chest, trying to feel for his heart but there was nothing there. No beats or a hint of a throb. A small part of him was disappointed. Sasuke used his left hand and removed Naruto's hand from his attire. Calmly, he commented.

"I'm afraid the emotions you're seeking aren't here."

The tone was so sad that it cut through Naruto's chest. He furrowed his brows but didn't say anything. The sound of the bell ringing brought them back to reality. Sasuke went back to retrieving his reference book and started making his way to class. The blond felt the need to be by his side.

"I thought you didn't care what we monkeys are taught." He tried a teasing joke, trying to lift the previous lousy atmosphere.

"Yes, but Kurenai-sensei's classes are always enjoyable to attend. She strikes fear with the simplest of gestures. It's nice to witness."

Naruto shook his head. "You're weird."

"The pot calling the kettle black."

With that they made their way back to class, Naruto having more sets of unanswered questions than not.

"I need to talk to you." Naruto said not caring about any of the females surrounding Sasuke.

All the girls in the vicinity glared at him, and the blond cringed when Ino threw him daggers with her eyes. Still, he didn't mind; it was a chance he wasn't going to pass up. Sasuke was finally attending a class and not running the minute it was done.

"Naruto, wait your turn!" A brunette girl with hair done in two high piglets yelled.

"Yes! It's not always that Sasuke-kun attends!"

"Yeah, yeah! Leave!" Another chirped to back her two friends.

Naruto sighed as the crowd of females was about to throw him out of class, but before any of that could happen, the handsome prince spoke.

"Excuse me, ladies, I have urgent business with Uzumaki-kun. I can't be late."

The girls fawned over the raven and they made room for Naruto. Sasuke took his bag, Naruto's hand and bolted out the class. In a matter of seconds, the blond found himself running to the school's gate. He blinked.

"Why are we running?"

"I hate dealing with them."

A part of Naruto groaned. "The troubles of an ikemen."

Naruto saw Sakura from the corner of his eyes and she saw him, he flashed a grin and she blinked before her figure disappeared from his peripherals. Suddenly he felt himself get lighter, the earth beneath him started to move away and the walls he passed by decreased in height. Frowning, he looked beside him and apparently his hold on reality was dimming as he was… flying?

Yes, flying. Naruto's eyes went a little wide, he looked down, then up to the skies he realized was levitating. Not in a metaphorical sense, but as in an actual levitation. No scratch that. It was more of fast running, as he felt the ground every once in a while; his feet touching it at prolonged intervals. The blond felt confused as laws of physics as he knew them were starting to blur. They passed a crowded street and like water in a sieve and slipped through. Naruto looked at the male beside him and saw a cool face. Sasuke was still holding his hand, dragging him along this flying-running-jumping act they were doing. Feeling something in him wake up, the blond snatched his hand free.

That proved to be the wrong move, since he came crashing at the hard floor with strong force. His body ached as a sign of protest, complaining about the awful treatment it was given. Naruto nursed a bruised arm and glared at the source of his misfortune. Sasuke coolly looked back.

"What was that?" After much silence, the blond exploded. "What the hell were you doing?"

Sasuke seemed taken aback by this, and he looked behind him, disdain showing on his features. In a voice telling Naruto that Sasuke was as shocked as he was, he commented.

"I apologize, I didn't realize I was doing it."

"What?! That you were flying!?"

Grimacing, Sasuke corrected. "I don't fly. No human does. We were…jumping."

"You paused!" The blond pointed a finger at the raven. "You just paused!"

Sasuke averted his gaze and cleared his throat. He hadn't intended on doing that, his desire to escape those crazed girls made his cells act before his brain could command them. He hadn't realized that Naruto was accompanying him until the blond jolted his hand free. 'Focus.' He was losing that a lot these days.

"Are you alright?" Sasuke tried to change the subject, already cursing his actions inwardly. "You look battered."

Naruto just glared at him. Standing up, he dusted himself off and pointing an accusing finger once more, he demanded answers.

"Who the hell are you, Uchiha Sasuke? And this time, you won't get away from me that easily."

Sasuke rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time that day and in a low tone voice darkly stated,

"I told you, I'm an observer."

Thank you for reading, review and tell me what you think. ^_^