Shukaku: Okay, sorry for the late update here but I've been kinda busy.
Sasuke: Yeah watching the wheather all day long.
Shukaku: Shut up, teme, I always watch the wheather this time of year.
Itachi: For those of you who don't know hurricane Ike is heading towards Texas where Shukaku lives.
Shukaku: Hey, that was my line!
Naruto:... I wanna do disclaimer!
Disclaimer: Shukaku does not own Naruto.
Claimer: She does own Lin and Marcus though.
Sasuke weakly slid into bed next to Naruto who was lying on his back at the moment. Tsunade had suggested he do so to help ease his constant trembling and suppress the worst of the pain. The Uchiha had now been awake for almost 48 hours with no break in sight!
"Back off, Kyuubi," He growled at the kitsune who'd slipped into the room in fox form. The red eyed man switched forms and glared at his master's little brother.
"Don't tell me to back off, Sasuke!" He snapped back, pulling his lips back to show his canines. "Naruto is my little brother; I'm allowed to see him!" Sasuke watched Kyuubi wearily; he was in no mood to have other people near his pet. The fox shifted forms and slipped under the canopy, jumping onto the bed next to his brother. He nosed the blonde's side and whimpered softly at him.
"Kyuubi-niisan….?" Naruto rasped in a low voice that was barely recognizable. The fox whimpered again and licked the teens hand reassuringly. "I'll be fine, niisan," Kyuubi yipped and licked his hand again before leaving. Naruto groaned as soon as the door closed and Sasuke swore low, he'd been fighting back the pain just to speak with his big brother.
"Naruto, its okay just let it out now," He whispered. The pain was lasting longer and longer, it was now up to seven minutes. The blonde screamed and twisted against Sasuke who had snatched up a tie and placed it in his mouth. 'It's getting to that point,' He thought as he struggled to restrain his pets' limbs. 'Before the next attack I'll do it,' Seven minutes later, Naruto stopped screaming and lay limp in his master's arms.
"I have to go," He panted. Sasuke helped the fox out of bed and into the bathroom, remaining outside as his pet did what he had to do.
"Are you okay?" The fox sort of nodded but Sasuke knew he wasn't okay at all. He lifted the boy with a grunt, either Sasuke was getting weaker or Naruto had definitely gained weight. "You can barely eat but you're getting heavier," He muttered. The blonde gave a sheepish grin at the comment. Sasuke left Naruto get comfortable again before he went around collecting some stuff; he cringed when his eyes fell on the chain leash Kyuubi had given the blonde. 'It'll have to do,' He thought grabbing up an old collar. "Naruto, please understand that what I'm about to do is for your own safety as well as my own."
"What are you going to do?" His red rimmed eyes widened when they fell upon the ties and collar.
"Those painful spasms are getting too strong for me to control and it's getting harder for me to restrain your limbs whenever they happen. I didn't want to do this until the very end but…… I'm sorry. I have to tie you down, please don't be angry." The fox began to tremble, were the spasms that bad? The Uchiha was careful not to tie the ties too tight on his wrists and made sure to keep the collar loose on his left ankle as well. He found some extra ties and knotted them together so they could be tied to the bed rails along with the chain leash. "It had to be done, forgive me," He brushed a lock of blonde hair away from his face (A/N: Sasuke will be slightly OOC for a while).
"I don't care as long as it keeps you safe," He smiled lightly. The Uchiha said nothing as he hooked an arm around his pet's waist to comfort him a little and turned his head away from the blonde so he didn't have to look at what he'd done. His glazed over eyes found the blue pill, so far he'd resisted using it but now he didn't know if he could stop himself from giving it to Naruto after the next wave.
'I may have to,' He thought bitterly. 'I haven't gotten any sleep for the past two days and it's starting to show and I've also missed school too. I'll have a lot of make-up work to do,' Sasuke was shaken from his thoughts when he felt the first tremble of pain from Naruto. He held the small waist tightly as the fox began to shake and placed a tie in his mouth. Soon the blonde was struggling against the binds on his limbs, tossing his head this way and that as he desperately tried curling into a ball. Sasuke heard the sound of cloth tearing and cursed, Naruto wasn't just getting heavier, he was getting stronger too.
That's when it happened. As if in slow motion, just as Sasuke turned his head to see which limb had broken free, Naruto's hand came down on his cheek. Sasuke jerked back and covered his cheek, cursing low at how badly it stung. The fox's struggling ceased when he saw the blood seeping from between his master's fingers.
"Master Sasuke, I didn't mean to harm you!" He sobbed as the pain faded. The Uchiha only shook his head as he wiped away the blood.
"You had no control over it," He muttered removing the tie from his mouth (A/N: It sort of slipped out when he was twisting around). He quickly bandaged the cuts and snatched the pill off the nightstand. "Do you want the pain to stop?"
"Y-yes," He answered in a small voice. Sasuke turned to him, eyes hidden behind his bangs and held out the pill for him to see. "What is that?"
"It'll make you sleep for a while, just until tomorrow," Sasuke bit out. "You won't feel anymore pain," The fox continued to stare at the blue capsule in his master's hand. "Do you want to take it?" The blonde nodded, he would do anything to end the pain. The Uchiha bit his lip as he held Naruto's head up and placed the pill in his mouth. He gave his pet some water to wash it down with and lay his head back down to wait for it to take effect.
"I feel funny," Naruto mumbled trying to blink away the haze at the edge of his vision.
"Don't fight it," Sasuke stroked his hair as he closed his eyes. A few minutes later he checked the blondes pulse and found what Tsunade had said to be true; he could barely feel his pulse or see his chest rise. 'Sleep well, Naruto,' He released the binds and tossed them aside. It was only then that he noticed Naruto's growth, if they'd been standing up he'd just barely be at the Uchiha's chest. 'I'll go speak with Kyuubi about getting him into some new clothes.'
Xxxx
"He's grown that much in just two days?" Kyuubi smirked; if this kept up he'd be taller than Sasuke by the next day.
"Yeah and he needs different clothes," Sasuke forced back a blush. Why was he reacting to the thought of his pet having his clothes changed?
"Too scared to do it yourself?" The fox raised an eyebrow at him. The game was continuing without either of the older boys having to do anything.
"No, I just rather have you do it since he's your brother, Kyuubi," He snapped.
"You're embarrassed is that it?" This time the blush won and rose on his cheeks. "That's understandable," He shrugged lazily. "Alright, I'll change his clothes, though I hope you don't mind if I put him in some of your old clothes."
"I don't care, just do it," He glared at the fox who only smirked as he headed to the younger Uchiha's room. 'He and aniki are up to something, I just know they are,' He recalled everything that had happened up till now but only became confused, none of it seemed to connect in his mind. He sighed to himself as he slowly followed after Kyuubi; he didn't feel like walking in when his pet was nearly naked. Sasuke let his tired mind drift as he walked; he soon began to picture Naruto naked…. 'Stop right there, Uchiha.'
He stopped in his tracks and stared ahead blankly. Sure he'd seen the blonde naked before but he'd been smaller and still child like. Now he was taller and less child like, he couldn't possibly think of him like that now! He shook his head angrily to rid his mind of such thoughts and continued to his room.
"You made the right call, otouto," Itachi muttered from the door to Sasuke's right.
"I know I did, Itachi, but did I make it at the right time?" He shoved his bandaged hands into his pockets and glared at the floor.
"Tomorrow night is the last night you have to see him like this." The elder Uchiha moved to stand in front of his brother. "Everything will be back to normal tomorrow," He saw the younger boy stiffen.
"Nothing will be 'normal' about tomorrow, aniki; Naruto probably won't be the same as he was!" He withdrew his hands from his pockets and clenched them at his sides.
"His body may be different but that's all."
"Not just his body, Itachi, his emotions will change," Sasuke glared at him. "He will no longer act like a kit! The Naruto I know is gone now, he'll be different, he'll…!" The young Uchiha finally broke down, after two long days he'd reached his mental and emotional limit.
"We will deal with things one step at a time, little brother," Itachi rubbed his back in slow circles. "I promise you everything will be just fine."
Xxxx
Kyuubi looked up when Itachi entered the room carrying his little brother, he instantly noticed the boys tear stained cheeks and realized what had happened.
"He finally reached his limit," Itachi sighed laying Sasuke beside Naruto. "I think he's beginning to realize that his feelings are more than just friendly and that their relationship is about to take another turn."
"It's about time," Kyuubi snorted. "I knew he liked Naruto the first time he held him. He's been denying his feelings for a long time, Itachi-sama, too long if you ask me."
"We are no longer the masters of this game, love; we'll let them continue at their own pace."
"Just when it was about to get really good too," The fox pouted as he followed his master. 'Oh well, I guess he's right, the game was taken out of our hands on Naruto's birthday. I guess that means Naru-kit and Sasuke have become the masters of the game intended to get them together.' He smirked, 'I can't wait to see how the rest of this plays out.'
Xxxx
Sasuke awoke that night with a pounding headache. He rubbed his throbbing temples in an attempt to ease the pain and took a sip of water. The raven lay back and stared at the ceiling as he recalled the dream he'd had.
Sasuke's Dream
Naruto smiled at his master as they played outside, they were kids again. Sasuke laughed as he chased his pet in a game of tag, he was it and had yet to tag Naruto. The 16 year old Sasuke watched the scene play out with a blank expression; he was going to miss his pets' childish antics. The image suddenly shattered and was replaced by an image of his pet writhing in pain, desperately clinging to his master as wave after wave of pain surged through him. This image shattered as well and Sasuke was surrounded by darkness, the only light came from him and the small blonde in front of him.
"Master, don't be sad, I'll always be me no matter what," He assured. "I may look different physically and sound different but it's still me. Yes, I may lose my childish behaviors but that doesn't mean you should think of me as an entirely different person okay?"
"Please don't leave," Sasuke reached out a hand towards him.
"I have to go," The blonde slowly turned away. "I'll see you soon, Master, and remember that no matter what happens, I'm still me."
Reality
That was around the time Sasuke woke up. Had Naruto truly talked to him? Was it possible that the fox had found a way to communicate with him through his dreams? He looked at his sleeping pet, somewhere inside him was his inner child whom Sasuke knew would never truly leave, the fox himself had said it to him.
'I'll see you soon as well, Naruto,' Like when they were little, Sasuke draped one arm over his waist and fell asleep, though he was used to doing this when Naruto was in fox form.
Shukaku: Again sorry for the late update. As Itachi and Sasuke both stated I have been tracking Hurricane Ike as it approaches the Texas coast. I probably won't update for a while after this because power is expected to go out for a while so just be patient and bear with me on this. So all Texas based fanfiction writers please stay safe this weekend, especially if you are riding out the storm like I am. If you know someone from Texas and you know they are riding Ike out please wish them luck, thank you.
Itachi: R&R