[[Sasuke's POV]]

Over the weeks since my stay at Naruto's house; no matter when I went out with him or by myself, I felt as if the hairs on the back of my neck would stand up on their own. I couldn't pinpoint the reason which left a lingering anxiety swell up in my mind. It was like a dark cloud of unease followed me, waiting to strike if I made a wrong move. I had to think, why? Was this just me not wanting to be found out again? No, while that was a concern it wasn't the kind of thing that would feel this way. This was different, dangerous.

I tried remembering that day, the shadow that seemed to move on its own. Nothing has been there, or at least I hadn't seen anything. Just thinking about it made involuntary goosebumps appear on my arms. Clearly, something wasn't right there. Were we being watched? Who would care about a couple of teenagers anyway? Faintly an image of Naruto flashed in the back of my already muddied thoughts. Did someone want Naruto since he's a host? My chest felt tight and seized up, the idea was stupid, and I need to get it out of my head.

I hit myself "Stupid. What are you thinking"? I continued walking towards the training grounds, trying to push everything out of my mind.

[[Naruto's POV]]

"I dunno I guess he just seems distracted lately" I voiced my concerns over a bowl of Ramen, Sakura sitting across from me. It had taken a while for us to talk about it together and I still felt bad about that day, though she says it is all fine. For a while she seemed to think hard, making me anxious about what ideas she was creating about it all.

"Did you say something stupid again"

"To be fair, we said worse things before we started dating"

"Yeah you two don't hold back." She agreed.

"Anyway, why do you think it's my fault. Can't he just be sulking on his own?" Sakura's signature rage briefly peeked itself above the surface of her placid face,

"How could it not be your fault? You're loud, annoying, clumsy, annoying, an idiot..." she pointed to each one of her fingers to count all of my supposed flaws. I couldn't help but bite back,

"Sasuke is temperamental, annoying and weird all on his own!" I got a smack on the arm for teasing him

"Don't talk about him like that" I could nearly see straight up her nostrils the way they flared up.

"Alright, alright. Geez, you don't have to hit me."

[[Kakashi's POV]]

"Can we go on another mission now?" The barrage of complaints began immediately after gathering.

"It's not up to you" the bickering had started,

"But I want to go!"

"Just shut up already, you need to focus"

"Aren't you bored of training every day?"

"No, I'm not, because I'm not an idiot."

The banter went back and forth as I could only watch in exasperation, Sasuke seemed uninterested, though was watching from the corner of his eye. After a few more minutes of holding my head up in my hands I was not sure if I could take it anymore, and seizing a moment of silence I interjected,

"Are you done?" They looked at me sheepishly as I continued "Because you wouldn't let me start, I couldn't show you this". Their eyes followed the file I pulled out from my vest, Naruto's expression changing to one of gleeful surprise. Sakura on the other hand, went dark.

"You were complaining for NO REASON! IDIOT" The outburst was followed by the deafening flaps of wings as all the birds in the immediate area tried to escape the hostility emanating from her voice. Sakura had raised her hand to give Naruto a swipe over the head but faltered when she caught the glace that Sasuke had swung in her direction. Sputtering she managed to say "A-Anyway listen to Kakashi Sensei next time".

Naruto had prepared himself for the blow. When it never came, he opened the eyes he had squeezed shut; Sakura flushed as he looked over, and Sasuke acted as if nothing had happened.

Raising my eyebrows at the momentary dynamic shift, I felt like I could continue,

"As I was saying, we've been asked to investigate some uh, mysterious deaths."

"Mysterious how?" The question coming from Sasuke was the first time he spoke today,

"The reports say that a farming village has been targeted by something. Their animals are turning up dead, but with no visible injuries."

"What could do that?" Naruto scratched his head, thinking out loud.

"Well, that's what we need to find out."

"Oh, right." I shook my head as I watched him grin at Sakura who rolled her eyes at how he could be so senseless. I pleaded in my mind "please make this easier than last time."

[[Naruto's POV]]

"What do you think it is?" Sasuke shook his head, not knowing either. He was waiting in the corner of my room as I packed for the trip we were about to take as a team. He watched silently, occasionally looking out of the window. Seeing this I thought that I was taking too long, and he was getting tired of waiting. I tried to pick up the pace, but I could not contain the excitement.

"I can't wait to leave"

"Just stay alert. We've never gone to the outskirts towards the Iron Country."

"It's just some missing cows" even thought I was excited I still was bitter that we couldn't have higher ranked missions, we were chuunin after all.

"Something is making them go missing" Even though I hate to say he's right, he was right. Perhaps it is a rogue ninja fighting for survival after getting kicked out of their own village. Maybe, it was a feud between farming families, or –

"Hey, hello, are you done?" I had zoned out thinking about the possibilities.

"Ah I suppose. Let's go then" Sasuke pushed off the wall that he had been nonchalantly leaning on and grabbed his pre-packed bag in one motion. Seeing how easily he picked up his own bag, mine suddenly felt too heavy.

"Hey carry mine too"

"Carry it yourself" he refused immediately.

"Carry it yourself" I mimicked behind his back,

"What?"

"What, what. I didn't say anything." My forehead burned at the sudden flick it received from Sasuke's strong fingers. Holding back stinging tears I whined,

"Why did you flick my head for. ?" I looked at him smirking, what a jerk.

"What'd you flick my head for" he copied what I had done earlier, meaning he had heard me. I scowled, even when he's being an asshole I couldn't help but like when we laughed.

"This is becoming a habit for you" I mumbled angrily. Before he turned back towards the door I decided to be a little shameless as payback.

"I think you might have given me a concussion. Look at the welt! It's huge! Don't you feel guilty" He shook his head, so I continued "So mean, how could you hurt my precious brain. You should kiss it better" I pointed at it. Thinking he'd scoff at how ridiculous I was being made me unprepared when he reached out a hand to pull my head forward. I was momentarily frozen as his lips pressed gently on the spot that I was still pointing to.

"Better?" Seeing my mouth slightly agape as he pulled away made him snicker as he turned to leave again. Damnit, that jerk won again.