Shukaku: Yay, another update! I think I am making a new record for myself, this is the most updates I've done in such a short amount of time.

Sasuke: -eye twitches- How long are you going to torture me like this?

Shukaku: For as long as I want to!

Sasuke: -grabs a kunai- I am going to kill you! -chases her around-

Kyuubi: While they try to kill each other I'll do disclaimer.

Disclaimer: Shukaku does not and never will own Naruto

Claimer: Shukaku claims two characters in this story, I shall not tell the names for she will kill me if I do -looks around- There names are Lin and Marcus.

Sasuke groaned as he sat up, how long had he been sleeping? He got up and shuffled over to the window, pushing aside the thick black curtains to look outside. The Uchiha shielded his eyes from the suns glare, it was sun set and the sky was a brilliant red color as the sun blazed down behind the horizon.

"You're finally awake!" He turned at the sound of Naruto's excited voice. The blonde fox sat on the chair across the room; from the looks of it he'd been asleep there for some time. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay," He sighed releasing the curtains. The room grew dark but Sasuke could still see Naruto's big blue eyes staring at him. The Uchiha snapped his fingers and the main lights flickered on almost instantly. Naruto gave him a curious look and cocked his head to the side cutely. "I don't like bringing it up but…. That stupid kiss is bothering me," The fox's face flushed a faint pink and he shifted uncomfortably.

"It's been bothering me too," He mumbled. With a long sigh, Sasuke pushed the canopy aside but didn't move; instead he motioned for Naruto to enter. The fox hesitated at first but reluctantly slid from the chair and darted past Sasuke to jump onto the bed. The raven released the canopy and climbed onto the bed, not looking at Naruto who sat at the end of the bed, his palms on the bed between his legs.

"First things first: why have you been avoiding me?" Naruto looked away childishly. "Do you even have an answer?"

"I have an answer!" He blurted loudly.

"Then say it, Naruto," Sasuke fought the urge to shake the young fox.

"I-I don't want it to happen again," Was he talking about the kiss? "It made me feel strange, I got really confused and scared," Sasuke heard his voice crack. "I didn't know what to do; my mind told me it was right but my body….. My body didn't like it and I almost felt dirty." The Uchiha's eyes darted to Naruto's face which was moist with tears now.

"Come here, Naruto," It was a command. The blonde sniffled and crawled to his master who was still not looking at him. "Is that why you have been avoiding any physical contact with me?" He nodded slowly, "that's such a stupid reason." He finally looked at Naruto with soft eyes. "It was an accident, Naruto, it won't happen again. Even if it does it will probably be another accident okay?" The fox wiped his eyes and smiled, Sasuke rubbed his head, when Naruto smiled it made him want to smile too.

He easily lifted Naruto's small frame and set him in his lap, he kept one hand on his waist as he studied his pet. "I think you're growing a bit," The fox's face lit up and his tail swayed excitedly. Naruto's clothes were definitely a tad tighter on his body and they were also a few inches shorter on him. Sasuke lifted his hand from his waist and delicately touched the blonde's jaw where the fading bruise still taunted him.

"It doesn't hurt anymore," Naruto murmured drawing Sasuke's attention away from the bruise. The raven said nothing as he quietly slipped both arms around his small waist and pulled him against his chest, burying his face in the mass of blonde spikes. "Master….?"

"Stop calling me master," He grunted sternly. He knew Naruto wouldn't listen but it was worth a try. The two sat like this for some time, just listening to each others light breathing. Sasuke shifted and lay on his side, his face still buried in the blonde's hair as he closed his eyes. Naruto began to shift forms but stopped when his master tightened his hold on him. "Don't change, sleep like this for once," The fox gave an uneasy whimper but said nothing more.

Xxxx

Itachi looked at the clock and sighed, it was time to let his brother out of his room.

"I hope they resolved the avoidance issue," Kyuubi muttered as he followed his master.

"If not then they will stay there another day," He smiled wickedly. He unlocked the door to Sasuke's room and opened it, slightly surprised to find the light on. He noticed that neither boy was visible and realized they were in bed already. 'Good, that's one day down and one obstacle down as well.' His mouth twitched, 'I wonder how long you can last, Sasuke?' He snapped his fingers to turn the lights off, closed the door and headed back to his own room with Kyuubi right behind him.

Xxxx

Sasuke awoke early in the morning as usual but for some reason he didn't feel like getting up, instead he just wanted to sleep in. He inhaled deeply as his eyes drifted closed and exhaled slowly. His brows came together in momentary confusion, whose scent was that? He realized it was Naruto, well Naruto's human form to be exact. The kitsune boy had actually stayed in human form, even though he never slept near Sasuke in that form.

Something felt off though, Naruto's body temperature was different, was he possibly sick? No, of course he wasn't sick, his body temperature was supposed to be different from his animal form temperature. Sasuke consciously pulled Naruto's small body closer and noticed he was shivering; the raven nearly cursed aloud for telling him to stay in human form. The Uchiha carefully shifted his body and pulled the covers over them before situating his body. He pulled Naruto close and curled his body around the blonde's protectively.

Xxxx

Naruto's eyes fluttered open, he sighed softly when he realized it was barely sun up. He took a deep breath, his eyes widened as his master's scent filled his senses. It was then that he remembered what had occurred only a few hours ago. He relaxed into his master's embrace and snuggled closer to sleep, he didn't like sleeping in human form but if it meant being closer to Sasuke then it was worth it. Sure Naruto had slept in his masters arms when he was little but he'd always been in fox form and it was so much more different sleeping like this in human form.

He loved the feeling of his masters warm, powerful arms wrapped around his slightly cooler body and he liked how he felt so safe in his embrace. Naruto soon drifted into a peaceful slumber, his hands unconsciously clutching Sasuke's shirt.

Xxxx

Itachi raised an eyebrow at the empty dining room table; it was unlike Sasuke to sleep in, especially on a Saturday.

'Maybe Naruto's bad habits are rubbing off on him,' He chuckled to himself as he ambled into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Itachi-sama," A light female voice greeted him. The voice had a thick southern accent to it.

"Good morning, Lin," The said girl was at least 20 years old and stood a few inches shorter than Itachi. Lin was just a nickname that Kyuubi had thought of; her real name was Lena Bell. Her chest was some what average even though she had recently given birth; sadly the baby had been a still born. Her hair was sky blue and tumbled down her back, stopping at her waist; two short bangs framed her face. Her skin was darkly tanned from years of playing and working in the unforgiving Texas sun.

"What would you like for breakfast?' Itachi's eyes darted to her face where Lin's most noticeable feature was. Her right eye was a brilliant shade of green and her left eye….. Where her left eye should have been there was a scar in its place. Her eye lids were fused by the scar and the scar itself left strange patterns on her eye, Lin had told the other members of the mansion staff that it had been removed because of some disease but Itachi had doubted that. The woman had eventually confused that it had been gouged out as a child; she'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"The usual, Lin," She bowed and set to work on his breakfast. Feeling lazy, Itachi boasted himself onto one of the counters and watched Lin work. He admired her; she was a brave girl to walk around with that scar where it was. She had told him once that she didn't care about her appearance, she only care about doing her best and working hard. "How is Marcus these days?"

"He's doing very well," Marcus was her husband of almost two years now. The man had recently had a bout of the flu; it was only thanks to Kakashi that he had received treatment in time. The kitchen was once again silent as Lin continued to prepare food for the Uchiha. "Okay, enjoy your breakfast, Itachi-sama," She smiled and handed him a plate.

"Thank you, Lin, enjoy your day," He got down and left the kitchen. He bit into the toast as he set his plate down and took a seat just as Kyuubi entered the room in fox form. The kitsune was fairly big in animal form, big enough to take Neji and Sai on at the same time if he felt like it. "You're up early, Kyuubi," He commented as the fox shifted forms.

"Whatever," He grumbled sleepily. He plopped down in the seat next to Itachi and snatched a piece of sausage from his plate. "Is Sasuke still asleep?" He saw Itachi nod and grunted. "Either he's really tired or he's just being plane lazy."

"I'd say the latter, Kyuubi," He chuckled as he finished off the toast.

Xxxx

Sasuke awoke once again and this time he didn't feel like going back to sleep. He stretched his arms out and patted the bed beside him; he immediately went into panic mode when he realized Naruto was gone. He basically jumped out of the bed and flung himself past the canopy, the curtains were drawn back so the room was light. His panicked eyes darted around the room as he searched for his pet, where could he possibly be now?

"Master Sasuke, are you okay?" He jumped and turned around to see Naruto in the doorway, a piece of toast hanging from his sweet little mouth.

"Don't run off like that, Naruto, you nearly gave me a heart attack," He scolded the fox.

"I won't do it again but I couldn't help it," He took the toast from his mouth and chewed and swallowed. "I was really hungry and I didn't want to bother you because you were sleeping so peacefully."

"I guess I can't be mad at you," Sasuke shoved a hand back through his hair. "Hey, you're birthday is in two days isn't it, Naruto?"

"Yup, I'll be 16," He gave a wide smile.

"Why don't I take you out for the day? Just the two of us since I have to go back to school in two days," The fox's blue eyes lit up. "Besides, I think it's about time you got a new collar too."

"Yay, we get to see Iruka-san again!" The fox bounced around the room happily.

"Behave, Naruto, or we won't go," The blonde immediately stopped. He would have stopped eventually; he still had breakfast to finish. 'As long as he's happy, that's all that matters,' Sasuke smirked to himself as he got dressed. It was going to be a long day.

Shukaku: Sorry for the chiff hanger again, my mind just keeps doing that. -runs from angry reviewers- anyway plz R&R