Crouching on top of the Konoha village wall, Sasuke turned back to look at his village one last time. At the moment he didn't feel any grief or regret; only the adrenaline rush of escape. He thought about leaving prior to tonight, but didn't get the willpower to until now. He had to admit it, he was hurting; Naruto had never taken him lightly before, and now he didn't think he could stand this new turn of events. Lying in his room before he left, he thought over and over the pros and cons of leaving, only to conclude that maybe leaving would be best, for him and Konoha as a whole.

Checking to make sure no guards were watching, Sasuke jumped down lightly, feet barely making a sound like a cat's paws, and padded softly through the surrounding forest. Though it was well past midnight, and no guards were watching; Sasuke was still on full alert. He knew the moment Uzumaki woke up, he'd be after him, probably with backup; but he figured that wouldn't be until morning and he'd be long gone by then.

As Sasuke got further into the thicket of branches and trees, he crouched on a tree branch and began to make a plan. Naruto was no joke. He was an ANBU now and was soon going to have his own squad. But Sasuke was no joke either. Though he could only be at a chuunin level in the village, EVERYONE knew that he was actually at ANBU level, the best of the best; especially the Hokage. She would sometimes send him on closeby missions with Naruto's group, using his skills and sharingan for the good of the village. He decided for his plan that he would have to isolate Naruto from the pack, leading him ahead. He needn't worry about the others, they couldn't keep up. He would then promptly try to beat him unconscious, then make his hasty retreat.

Sasuke closed his eyes as he had second thoughts, then opened them up again as he quelched them and continued to run.

It took five minutes into Sasuke's running when the sound of following footsteps invaded his thoughts. "What the..." He muttered quietly aloud. Sasuke stopped briefly and heard the sound stop for a second, before a rabbit shot past him. 'Oh' Sasuke thought heart hammering, yet he continued running. Mind foolishly put at ease after seeing the bunny,he paid no attention until he heard the steps again, only this time heavier. His mind raced as he rounded a treetop and looked down, hoping to see if a thief or animal was following him. He waited a few moments before exhaling and turning back around, only to have his face meet a tan fist.

The punch that was dealt to Sasuke was so powerful there was a loud boom as he hit the ground."What the hell!?" He yelled out, only to see a pair of bright flashing red eyes staring at him. "Naruto..." He began, astonished and stunned that the man found out he was gone so quickly and caught up to him so fast.

"Sasuke..." came the low voice, almost sounding like a growl. Sasuke barely had time to sit up on his elbows before Naruto came up to him and grabbed him by the collar. "Baka" Sasuke ground out, eyes reflecting the same red as Naruto's. "Let me go. Now." The only reply Sasuke recieved was a definite deep growl from Naruto. "Fine then..." He stated as he reached up and knocked the wind out of Naruto by punching him in the him keeling over Sasuke stood and extended his fist, only to find it caught in Naruto's hand.

In the next instant, Sauke's body was slammed into the trunk of a tree 30 feet away from where he at once looked up to see Naruto's eyes gleam,with the familiar red aura surrounding him, it was clear even from so far away. "So" Sasuke muttered. "Kyuubi is making his appearance tonight." Within a split second, Naruto was inches away from his face; but fortunatley his sharingan caught it, and he dodged, promptly using his fire technique. Sasuke jumped back as Naruto turned and used his shadow clone;now Sasuke had 3 Naruto's to deal with. He saw numbers 2 and 3 come from opposite sides, and grabbed number 2's leg, throwing him like a shotput into number 3. The sheer force of energy caused them to disappear.

Finally, it was just Sasuke and Naruto, heaving breath for breath while glaring each other down. Sasuke glanced at the sky, it was almost sunrise.

"What the hell is your problem,Teme?" Naruto asked between gasp. Sasuke managed a little smirk.

"Nothing. I just decided last night I never wanted to see you again."

It grew deathly silent in the forest at that moment. Suddenly, Sasuke felt it; he was going to use it. Rasengan. Sasuke continued to smile as he saw the blue orb glow brighter, and began preparing his chidori. He was tickled pink at how much power they were emitting at that moment. He noted how the rasengan was much more powerful than it was the first time they fought like this, but his chidori was also. Pulling back their hands, both shinobi charged at each other. In the same instant, the ominous big black orb appeared as they drew closer.

Once inside, both Sasuke and Naruto looked determined to finish the other off, when a memory appeared before both of them.

"I want to stand next to Sakura-chan!" the hyper little blonde yelled.

"Ugh! Get him away from me" the dark haired-boy murmered.

"Sasuke!Sasuke!" the pink haired girl called out. The blonde's mouth dropped as he glared at the dark haired one, thus having him turn away. The blonde turned in disgust as well. The teacher stood back with a grin.

"Cheese!" The man exclaimed behind the camera, taking the picture of the little group.

Naruto's eyes snapped open. "Can't...." he murmered as he pulled back. In the same instant, Sasuke did as well. Though no contact was made, the black orb grew until it sucked back into itself, pulling Sasuke and Naruto with it. For an instant, they were almost nose to nose, just staring; then just as quickly, the orb exploded outwards, flinging Naruto and Sasuke in opposite directions.

When Naruto awoke, it was morning, and he was in the medical unit in Konoha hospital. He tried to speak but all that came out was a low groan of pain. He looked to his right and saw what looked like Sasuke laying down sleeping, most likely unconscious. He turned his head back to the ceiling, head throbbing. He was about to close his eyes again when a very angry Tsunade came in. First she attended to Sasuke, checking his vitals and such, not even sparing a glance Naruto's way. Naruto used the oppurtunity to try and bury under the covers and fake sleep.

"Too late brat, I know you're awake." Naruto cringed as he sat up and looked sheepishly at his hokage.

"Hahaha" he laughed meekly. "I wasn't trying to fake sleep baa-chan, if that's what you were thinking..." He was cut off by one flick of Tsunade's wrist. She reached for the curtain seperating Sasuke and Naruto's beds, then turned to him.

"What the hell were you two doing?" Tsunade asked in a forceably controlled tone.

Naruto tried to explain, then gave up and looked down."No, you look at me." Tsunade ground out. "Not only were you and Sasuke almost 40 miles away from the village, but you were both passed out and beaten to pulps!" Naruto started to say something but was cut off. "Oh, and you may be wondering 'How did she know where we were?' Hmm... let's just say this little stunt you pulled using rasengan and chidori woke up every damn shinobi in Konoha, causing a mild panic, which I had to dissipate. Oh wait, Don't tell me you thought the two most powerful techniques in Konoha wouldn't be noticed?" She said with a sarcastic grin. Naruto looked down again. "Oh, and when I sent the ANBU to find you, you were found 5 miles away from each other. The explosion sent you into a tree trunk, but our little friend here got the short end of the stick and hit a large, sharp rock mass. Now you tell me Uzumaki Naruto. What do I tell people now? They think Sasuke's gone crazy again and I have no iota of a clue why this occured."

Naruto glanced up."It's not his fault Hokage-sama." He tried to find the words. "He was just...angry, with me." Tsunade let out a snort.

"I've seen you two angry at each other Naruto. He spits in your ramen, you send him on missions to the country dump." Naruto looked at her questioningly.

"He spit in my ramen?" She rolled her eyes.

"Listen to me Naruto..." Tsunade said softly as she sat on the bed."This is no longer fun and games. The council is demanding an explanation. If I can't give them one..." she cut herself off, Naruto looked down.

"He's jealous." Tsunade raised a brow.

"Jealous?"she stated.

"Ya..." Naruto began. "Of Sakura and I." Tsunade looked over at Sasuke.

"He's jealous of you for getting Sakura?" Naruto nodded a vehement no.

"No it's..."

"Naruto!" The blushing pink haired girl called to him.

"Sakura" Naruto began, a little wary but happy to see her. Tsunade stood as she turned to leave.

"Alright, thank you Naruto" She began as left.

"No, wait. Baa-chan!!" But she was already gone. Sakura pounced on Naruto, raining kisses on his brow.

"I was so worried about you."She stated as Naruto blushed.

"Thank you"

She peeked over at Sasuke's bed, unable to see him by the divider. "So I heard about what happened. Why would Sasuke do something like that to you?" Naruto shook his head.

"It's ok"

Sakura grimaced. "No it's not. I don't think he's safe to live with anymore Naruto."

He smiled up at the girl. "So what should I do?" He asked with a smile. "Move in with you?"

She blushed and lightly slapped his hand. "Not until we're married Naruto it will only be a few more weeks!" She said with a giggle.

Sakura stayed with Naruto the rest of the day until evening, then finally decided it was time to go. "I'll see you later." She purred as he grabbed her hips and pulled her in.

"How about now? Do I get my goodbye kiss?" She smirked then brought his head in. At first their lips just touched before he deepened the kiss, loving the feel of her mouth. They stayed like that for a while before she unexpectantley grabbed his butt and
said.

"I gotta go. Save this for later." She said while placing a condom in his hand.

He waited until she left to do his solitary conga line dance. "YES!", then quickly cupped his mouth. 'Shit! Sasuke!' He quietly walked over to the divider and opened it, only to see the man's back turned to him in sleep. His happiness slowly deflated at the sight of the man. He didn't know why, but he felt kind of guilty."Good Night Sasuke" Naruto murmured, going back to his bed and shutting the divider.

Sasuke awoke to the sound of Naruto and Sakura deep in conversation. "I love you" the girl murmered, and he heard it replied. He rolled his eyes and wandered back to sleep, only to wake up again. "Not until we're married Naruto it will only be a few weeks!" Sasuke listened intently as the voices were replaced by soft contented moans and didn't know when his face grew hot and vision blurred, but he hated his weakness now more than ever. When he finally heard Sakura leave and the happiness Naruto was exuding, his tears came even harder. When Naruto opened the divider he was suprised the man couldn't hear the beating of his heart. Suddenly he grew dizzy, and just remembered he was holding his breath when he passed out and the sweet relief of a dreamless sleep took over.