Shukaku: Here's chapter 2, I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I no own.

10 years later

Sasuke sighed as he stared up at the clouds, it was nearly the end of the day and he'd been out here since he got home from school. A lot of things had changed from when he was five, Itachi had become more distant from the family after getting Kyuubi and it only got worse when their parents died in a freak accident two years later. Itachi and Kyuubi had raised Sasuke and Naruto; they sent Sasuke to school so he could continue his studies and sent Naruto to a school for pets up until he was ten.

'Naruto….' Sasuke bit back a soft growl. The fox had embarrassed him in front of his friend Shikamaru when he finally transformed into his human form, he hadn't known how to control it then and he also hadn't known how to transform with clothes. 'Might as well go in before Kyuubi comes to drag me in.' with a long sigh the Uchiha got to his feet, grabbed his jacket and school bag and headed inside.

"So, you finally decided to join us?" He ignored his brother, tossed his school things aside and headed upstairs where he knew Naruto was awaiting his return.

"Naruto, are you in here?" He asked once he closed the door. Immediately an orange blur raced towards him, ears perked up, tails swaying with excitement. The bundle of fur stopped before him, sat down and transformed into human form.

"Welcome home, Master," Naruto was a good two inches shorter than Sasuke due to the fact that he was still growing. Mentally the kitsune was 14, physically he was only 10 or 11 (Naruto is almost 15 like Sasuke; he's a few months younger). A few years back during a routine check up with Tsunade, she explained why Naruto was so small at his age. She told him that it was due to a lack of nutrition as a kit; even Iruka's constant care didn't make up for it. She also told him that the fox would eventually catch up and grow to his proper height.

Sasuke allowed himself to smirk, when he was about 12 he went to Kyuubi's shoulder, now the fox was as tall as Itachi, maybe an inch taller.

"So what did you do all day? Sit here and wait for me to come home?"

"Yes and how was your day?"

"Boring," He sighed as he moved to the bathroom. "Naruto, you really must get out of the house during the day, it isn't healthy to sit around inside like you do." He rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, turned the water on and washed his face. Naruto handed him a soft towel to dry his face and stepped back, his soft blue eyes gentle.

"But I like it inside and besides, Shikamaru's pet, Neji the tiger…. He really scares me." Sasuke turned to look at the shorter boy. In animal form Naruto was strong enough to knock him over, possibly even pin him down if he wanted to. In human form he was no stronger than maybe an 8 year old because of his growth problem.

"Then go outside with Kyuubi, how can you get bigger if you stay inside doing nothing?" He looked over the smaller boy, eight of his nine tails were gone, his soft ears stood straight atop his blond head while his pointed human ears were where any normal humans would be. The young boy always wore the same 

thing, a pair of pale green Capri's with a light pink tank top; it was his favorite outfit besides the silk pajama's he used from time to time.

"Are you hungry, Master Sasuke?" Because of his training, Naruto referred to Sasuke as 'master' even though he repeatedly told him not to. The raven nodded slowly, Naruto dipped his head politely and darted away to retrieve some food. The young Uchiha loosened his tie, unbuttoned his shirt and flopped down on the large king sized bed with a heavy sigh. Soon Naruto returned with a tray of food.

"I have your –"He stopped mid-sentence. The blond stumbled forward, nearly dropping the tray when he did; Sasuke immediately darted forward and caught him and the tray. "I-I'm sorry," His fox ears fell back.

"It's okay," Sasuke sighed as he set the tray on the bedside table. The raven quickly looked over Naruto; it was then that he noticed the flecks of blood on his left foot. "Come sit over here, right now." The young fox limped over to the bed and sat down on the silk comforter, his ears still flat on his head. Sasuke knelt down and gently examined the boy's foot.

"What kind of trouble did you get into this time?" He muttered under his breath. The wound looked new and it was a bite wound of all things!

"I was outside today, with Kyuubi," He started in a low voice. "We were at the park when Sai came out of nowhere and bit me. Kyuubi scared him off and cleaned the bite."

"Why did you lie to me before? You said you stayed inside today," Sasuke growled as he got the first aid kit from the bathroom. The Uchiha cleaned the wound and bandaged it so it wouldn't be open to infection. "You should stay off that foot for a while."

"But what about…." He trailed off; he knew Sasuke could take care of himself.

"You've done enough, Naruto, you deserve the rest," The raven pet everything away and changed into a pair of gray sweat pants and a sleeveless white shirt. He ate the food Naruto had brought him and settled into bed, sighing when Naruto scooted away. "It's okay, you may rest here tonight," For the first time in a long time the fox lay in bed with him. "Why do you not sleep here these days?"

"I don't know," He curled into a ball.

"You have no reason to fear me," Sasuke sat up and looked at the fox. "Have I ever hurt you, Naruto?" Blue eyes turned to look at him; he shook his head. "Then why do you not sleep here?" He shrugged his small shoulders.

"I'll have Kyuubi speak with you in the morning," With that he lay back down. Naruto whimpered softly as he shifted into animal form, curling into a ball with his nine tails spread out.

Morning

Sasuke's eyes fluttered open, it was still sort of dark out but he was used to it. He found Naruto in animal form curled up next to him; with a faint smile he stroked his head and got up. He got his school clothes and headed into the bathroom to shower.

'Master….' Naruto lifted his head with a soft sigh. 'When did things change between us? We were supposed to be friends not master and…. Servant!' He gave a low growl and jumped off the bed, being mindful of his injured back left paw as he limped out of the room.

"Naruto, what are you doing up?" The fox looked up to see Kyuubi in human form. "I see Sasuke took care of that bite for you," He allowed himself to smile. The older kitsune helped Naruto onto the couch and sat next to him. "Go back to sleep, it's too early for you to be awake."

With a soft mew the small fox curled up with his nine tails curled around him. With a wide yawn, Kyuubi shifted forms and curled himself protectively around Naruto's smaller form. After what seemed like only moments Naruto awoke to the sound of Kyuubi's threatening growls and yips. He was instantly alert and began growling alongside his brother.

"Is that any way to greet me?" Naruto stopped when the voice registered and began to yip excitedly. He wiggled free from Kyuubi and leapt into Iruka's arms giving his cheeks excited licks. "You certainly have a lot of energy these days, Naruto." Iruka laughed lightly.

"To what do we owe this visit, Iruka-san?" Kyuubi yawned as he shifted forms.

"I actually need to speak with Itachi about something," Kyuubi glanced up and saw he was serious.

"And what might that be?" Being the fox he was he wanted to know.

"Kyuubi, you're old enough to figure it out and if not then it's not my problem. Your species is far different than any other and the information I have is for your owner not you. His parents were originally supposed to tell him but they died before they could so it falls on me to tell him now."

"I'm hurt, Iruka-san," Kyuubi gave him a hurt look and pressed a hand to his chest. Iruka could only laugh and ruffle his spiky red-orange hair.

"Maybe Itachi will tell you if you behave," He teased the fox. The brunette set Naruto on the couch and headed for the kitchen where Itachi was waiting.

"Guess I'll have to get it out of Itachi-sama later," Kyuubi muttered to himself. "Come on, Naru-kit, let's go outside."

"I am not a kit, Kyuubi!" Naruto whined as he shifted forms.

"You're small enough to be one," Kyuubi ruffled his hair. "So I still think of you as one," Naruto pushed his bottom lip out in a cute little pout. The older kitsune stood and helped the blond stand, allowing him to cling to the baggy material of his pants as they walked. Just as they reached the door it opened revealing a rather pissed looking Sasuke.

"You're home early, Master," Naruto looked away. He knew he wasn't supposed to be up on his feet but he couldn't help it, he hated staying still. The two foxes moved out of the way as Sasuke stalked into the house, basically slamming the door behind him.

"Ah, Sasuke, you've grown quite a bit since I last saw you." The young Uchiha averted his eyes from the two brothers and looked at Iruka. "Don't you have school today?" He looked away and scoffed loudly.

"I got sent home because I got into a fight with Kankuro again," Naruto's eyes looked over his master. He saw a bruise forming under his left eye, a line of blood on his nose and chin and a bunch of angry red marks on his hands and even his throat.

"Kankuro got you pretty good today, little brother," Itachi commented with a smirk.

"This isn't half as bad as the ass kicking I gave Kankuro," He chuckled darkly. "He would've been a bloody pulp if Shikamaru and Gaara hadn't pulled us apart."

"One of these days Kankuro is going to make a come back and put you in the hospital," Kyuubi snorted earning a glare from the Uchiha.

"Well now, the gangs all here," The two foxes gave a startled jump. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to scare you two," He chuckled and wrapped his arms around Iruka's waist.

"Kakashi, how exactly did you get in?" Itachi raised an eyebrow at the man.

"The backdoor of course," He smiled from under his mask. "It was unlocked for some reason."

"Back door guests are best," Kyuubi gave a wolfish grin earning a glare from Itachi. Iruka got the meaning and blushed making the fox laugh. "I didn't mean it that way!"

"Could everyone please just shut up!" Everyone was suddenly quiet as they looked at Sasuke whose eyes were hidden by his bangs. "How can you joke about that kind of thing at this time?!" He jerked his head up and glared at the group. Naruto's ears fell back against his head; even though he hadn't done anything he was still ashamed for some reason.

"Sasuke, cool your jets already," Itachi growled at his brother. The two Uchihas' eyes locked and they glared at each other. Naruto took a deep breath and limped towards his master, he reached for his hand only to have it snatched away with a growl.

"Master Sasuke, please calm do – "He didn't get to finish his sentence. In his blind rage Sasuke turned on the fox and punched him hard, sending him across the room.

"Naruto!!" Kyuubi, Iruka and Kakashi rushed over to the blond who was struggling to sit up.

"You little idiot!" Itachi stalked over to his brother and glared down at him. "Look what you did to him!" Sasuke slowly turned his head and cursed himself; he clenched his fists and glared at the floor. His rage at being sent home again had blinded him and he had punched little Naruto, the fox was probably scared of him now.

"I'm sorry," He chocked back tears and ran to his room, slamming the door. 'I'm such an impulsive fool! He probably hates me now.'

Shukaku: Please don't kill me! Kill Sasuke, he's the one who hit him! Ph and the Back door guests are best thing, I have a plaque in the house at the back door that says that, and I'll explain the rest on my profile.

Sasuke: What?! You're the one writing this thing!

Shukaku: Blame him, not me! -runs for her life-

Itachi: While they are off being idiots I'll say the rest of this. Plz R&R