Author's Note: Hello? Anyone there? I hope people are still reading this story…

Warning: YAOI (Content will be more explicit in later chapters), some swearing, suggestive content.

Disclaimer: I do not own 'Naruto' or any of the characters from the anime/manga.

Bold and Italics flashbacks

The Art of Fabrication (cont.)

("TAoF" – JD01)

By: Nine1991

Chapter 11: Discoveries

He watched as the seal swirled, swirled and faded, seeping into the timbers of the door it was placed upon. And as there was nothing left but the plain inelegance of simple door, ready to open at his own will, he felt a sudden sense of excitement washing over him.

He shouldn't be this excited, not really, considering how ridiculously easy it was to crack the seal. One would think that the entrance to the Third Hokage's personal records chamber would house a much more complicated safeguard. He couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed when he realized that all it took to unlock the door was a slight alteration to the method he had used to unlock the main entrance. But even then, he was here! He was close! It all came down to this, didn't it? All the hints and the clues, fragments of broken information, until this point in time where he could finally receive a straight answer.

He glanced down at the unraveled scroll in his hands, his eyes skimming over the words written there –

[In order to insure that the weapon does not rebound against Konoha, it has come to the council's decision that rules are to be ingrained into the weapon from infancy. This method should insure that maximum information is retained. The rules that all council delegates have agreed upon are as follows –

That the weapon must obey all orders issued by the council and by the Hokage.

That the weapon may not harm any citizens of Konoha, unless stated otherwise by either the council or the Hokage.

That the weapon –

A creature, Sasuke had thought when he first read that particular scroll. So that was what Konoha's so-called ultimate defense was. Not some powerful jutsu or some solid weapon of mass destruction. It was some kind of creature. He had frowned then, the over-imaginative part of his mind conjuring up a picture of some dungeon deep underground Konoha where a monster lay, caged and chained, waiting to be unleashed upon the village's enemies at the Hokage's call. His memory clicked onto the few mentions of the Kyuubi no Youko that he had come across in previous documents, and realized that perhaps that over-imaginative part of his mind wasn't completely far off. Was it possible that Konoha truly had some kind of demon under its control?

He rolled the scroll up and slipped it into his pocket, then pushed the door open with a cautious hand, the hinges creaking eerily from lack of use as they swung slowly forward. Sasuke stepped fully through, and paused as he took a moment to fully take in the room he had walked into.

It was nothing grand, or even remotely special in any way. In fact, the room was very much similar to the main chamber, and had there not been a large, framed painting of the Sandaime hanging squarely in the middle of the opposite wall with an elegantly engraved number 'three' underneath, he would never have thought that one of Konoha's great Hokages once occupied this room. He stepped to one of the shelves lining the side of the room, running a gloved hand wonderingly over the smooth surface which supported various documents and scrolls, appreciatively taking in the clean, dustless condition of the furniture. The room must have undergone one last cleaning before it was sealed away, never to be opened again until almost a decade later, by his own two hands. He frowned slightly as he drew back, forcing himself to snap things back into perspective. He was on a mission, hardly the time to be dawdling and soaking in the atmosphere.

Sasuke made his way to the far end of the shelf, where he began to swiftly rifle through the stacked papers and scrolls, his hands efficient and yet gentle as he handled the old and sometimes brittle documents. It was not in his intentions to damage any of the records. If there was one thing he knew, it was respect. His high upbringing had taught him that, and, even though he was stealing information, he wasn't about to make a mess of it.

He scanned the shelves, briefly skimming through a scroll in each section for any mention of the Kyuubi no Youko or Konoha's defense mechanism. 'Defense mechanism,' he inwardly mused, 'They sure named it to sound intimidating. As if it was a complicated jutsu or weapon.' He snorted. If his hunch was right, then Konoha's ultimate defense was actually a mere guard dog.

His breath hitched as his eyes passed and immediately focused back onto a phrase he had skimmed over.

[-the Kyuubi no Youko's power in order to protect the village, but only as a last resort. However, I refuse to allow any further conditioning, for doing so may prove damaging to the mind of the weapon-

He frowned in slight disappointment when he realized the rest of the document contained information that he already knew. Even then, he felt a small surge of excitement. He was on the right track. He was so close! This proved that the Sandaime was in charge of whatever creature Konoha had possession of, the feared weapon that was the reason he was sent to this village in the first place. He placed the scroll back in its spot on the shelf, his fingers smoothly skimming over the rest of the documents in that particular section, only to get increasingly frustrated as mentions of the Kyuubi no Youko remained minimal, only a phrase here or there but no actual in depth explanation.

He frowned as he stepped back, his arms falling tensely at his side as he took a couple of deep breaths to reign in his irritation. To come so close, and yet find nothing. He was at his wit's end. He had been so sure, so confident that the information he needed was to be found in the Sandaime's personal records. What will he do now? It wasn't as if he could break into the Godaime's records. He wasn't conceited enough to believe that he could pull off such a stunt and escape without arousing suspicion. The seals and locks on the current Hokage's personal chamber were bound to be even more complex, and the fact that the Godaime Hokage herself probably visited it regularly…

No. It just wasn't possible.

Sasuke ran a hand through his inky black hair and heaved a frustrated sigh. He'd come so far. He was ready to finish this mission. So completely ready. He wanted, no, needed to go back. Needed to leave this place. Needed to leave this village.

If only to stop seeing things in shades of orange, blue and gold.

Gold.

Sasuke blinked.

Gold.

He narrowed his eyes. Sasuke took one step forward, reaching out a tentative hand towards the bottom shelf where, in the darkly shadowed, almost inconspicuous corner, a sliver of rich yellow gleamed imperceptibly. His fingers met hard surface – something smooth, something metallically cold – and he firmly gripped the object's side, dragging it out of its concealed position and into the dull, yellow-orange glow of the torches.

It was a box. A beautiful, ornate box that seemed to be made out of pure high-quality gold. What else could explain its shine, its impressive luster? But what made it truly beautiful wasn't its colour or even its shine. It was the intricate design etched into the top lid – the growling fox framed by its nine swirling tails, eyes of fiery ruby ablaze as it seemed to stare back at Sasuke, malicious intent as clear as day.

And Sasuke's breath hitched. Not because he was in awe of the amazing craftsmanship that was clearly put into the object in front of him, but because, deep in his gut, he realized that this was it. This was what he had been searching for. Almost half a year of working undercover, half a year of tedious searching, and this was it – the end, the finish, the finale!

It was almost over.

And had Sasuke not been a proud Uchiha, his hands would have shook as he placed them both on the lid, hooking his thumbs under the slightly protruding edge and lifted.

His eyes stared dispassionately at the sight in front of him, his hands slowly splaying flat on either side of the open box.

For in the aforementioned box, its interior lined with rich, red velvet, was nothing but a small dip in the bottom cushioning…

…the only sign that there had once been something there.

-LineBreak-

'This wasn't…there should've…everything was supposed to be over!!'

A fist went flying and embedded itself deep into plaster. Sasuke ignored the jarring pain that jolted up his arm as he yanked his hand roughly out of the wall, all his senses focused on that boiling mass of anger and disappointment deep in the pit of his stomach as he strode angrily to the bed, sitting himself down none too gracefully. His breathing was ragged as he fought to leash in his rage, his hands clenching tightly onto the blankets beneath him as he gazed dispassionately at his slowly whitening knuckles. Deep inside he knew he was being irrational, that all this was just a little set back and didn't warrant such an outburst, but still…

Pressure on his lips as soft ones touched his.

The soft quilt was hurled across the room, rippling in its descent through the air until it gathered into a small pile in the corner. Sasuke buried his face in his hands and groaned, his fingers scraping harshly through his scalp as if to physically wrench away the memory. He took a deep breath and sighed, removing his hands from the vicinity of his head and scooting himself farther onto the bed, splaying himself on the comfortable mattress. He felt himself instantly calm down as the subtle scent of earth and soap and a hint of ramen assaulted his senses, and when he caught himself purposefully taking deeper, longer breaths, he gritted his teeth and rubbed a hand tiredly over his eyes.

What was this? Was this an obsession? He really didn't know, didn't want to know. He had only wanted to get this mission over and done with and get back to his one goal in life. After all, he was still out there, roaming free.

He had no time for distractions.

Unconsciously taking one last deep breath, Sasuke pulled himself into a sitting position, looking over to the side where the gaping hole caused by his fist stood out quite obviously in the wall. He mentally set a reminder to buy some materials to patch it up, thankful that Naruto was sent out on an overnight mission and wouldn't be coming back until that evening.

He reluctantly got up from the bed, slowly making his way over to where the blanket he had previously flung lay in a rumpled heap in the corner of the room. He bent over and gathered it up off the floor, folding it neatly in his arms, and was just about to turn around to place it back on the bed when he paused. He slowly got down on his knees, putting the blanket he was holding to the side as he crouched down, leaning over to take a closer look.

There was a small, almost imperceptible break in the wooden floorboards, a crack so faint that he would never have noticed it if he wasn't already up-close. His brows furrowed as he leaned even closer, his sharp eyesight taking in how the panel in the corner jutted out ever so slightly, the faint dents along the border giving the impression that it had been wrenched up on more than one occasion.

For a moment, curiosity warred with sensibility, and it was a full second before he found himself reaching into his weapons pouch and pulling out a kunai. He slid the tip of the blade into the edge of the jutting floorboard and, maneuvering it like a lever, shifted the panel enough so that it lifted clean off the floor. Putting his kunai down, he used his hands to wrench the wood until it came free from the surrounding panels, revealing a hollow compartment about one foot deep. From his vantage point, he could make out a rectangular object, and with only a millisecond of hesitation he reached both hands in a pulled it out.

It was a box, plain and simple in design, and a completely inappropriate part of Sasuke wondered if he was going to stumble upon secret boxes all day. He brushed a thumb over the bare wood of the lid, noting how it was actually very clean regardless of how much dust was accumulated in the hole in the floor at which he had retrieved it from. It looked plain and insignificant, not at all like the lavishly decorated box he had found in the Sandaime's chamber, but then again…

He lifted the lid, fighting down the amused idea that what if there was nothing in this box either, and blinked when he realized that he needn't worry. It so happened that the box did hold something, many somethings to be exact. Relatively small, rectangular papers were piled, face down, in the box. And it wasn't until Sasuke took the pile out and turned it over did he realize that the 'papers' were actually photographs.

Photographs of Naruto.

A younger Naruto.

And before he knew it, Sasuke found himself leafing through the photos, completely unaware of the gentle smile slowly blooming on his face as he flicked through the blonde's childhood memories. There was one with Naruto and the old man – Sasuke's eyes widened as his gaze snapped to the framed photograph that sat on top of the blonde's bedside table. The same elderly man whose portrait he had seen on his previous little excursion to the records chamber! The old man...the old man was the Sandaime? Naruto knew the Sandaime at a personal level? He ran a hand through his inky-black hair. Well, the dobe truly was full of surprises.

He flipped the next photograph over. At the ramen stand this time. Naruto was perched on top of a stool, his bottom barely on the edge of his seat in his excitement as the stool itself was balancing precariously on two legs. He had an arm thrown casually around – and Sasuke paused as he ruffled through his mind for the right name – Iruka, a grin on his face that threatened to rival the sun, his other hand brought up in a perky peace sign. Iruka was smiling, although he seemed slightly distracted as his eyes were trained, not on the camera, but on Naruto's awkwardly balanced stool.

Another picture, also at Ichiraku, included Naruto enthusiastically slurping up the most humungous bowl of ramen Sasuke had ever seen, the old man that was the shopkeeper smiling jovially from behind the counter as he seemed to be placing another (equally large) bowl beside the blond.

A different setting this time. By the training grounds, Sasuke presumed. The cheerful blond was situated in the midst of his group of friends – always the brightest, always the happiest. The photo seemed to catch the blond mid-laugh, the vivid twinkle of his blue eyes obvious even when put down onto paper. Even Sasuke allowed himself a small smile as the absolute Naruto-ness of the picture.

The next picture made Sasuke pause. For a minute, he wondered why Naruto looked so much older in this photograph, and it was only when he sat back and took in the whole picture did he make sense of the situation. No, the person in the picture wasn't Naruto. Naruto's hair wasn't as long, his jaw not as strong. And he never recalled Naruto having a female acquaintance with flaming red hair. And then there was that little bundle in the lady's arms, the bundle that showed a small, slumbering infant head crowned by tufts of golden hair…

Sasuke shook his head roughly. This might not be what he thought at all. It could be a coincidence…

And he flipped the photograph around, hoping for some more information, perhaps an explanation. The words he saw written there in Naruto's chicken-scratch handwriting caused all emotion to slip from his face.

Dead centre of the blank reverse side of the photograph were six words. 'Namikaze Minato' was scribed on the very top, below that the name 'Uzumaki Kushina'. And at the very bottom, as if added on later as an afterthought, were two meekly written words – 'And me'.

Namikaze Minato

Uzumaki Kushina

And me.

That woman was Naruto's mother. And the man, he knew that man. He had, after all, done his research prior to his mission. And the man was looking at the bundle in the woman's arms, with an expression so full of pride and adoration that it could not be mistaken for anything else. And his features…so similar. It was completely obvious.

And he, Uchiha Sasuke, was a fool.

"Well, a couple of villagers found me abandoned by the gates early that day, just before the Kyuubi attacked. So everyone kind of believed that I was the cause of the Kyuubi attacking the village. The older generation don't like me very much."

Sasuke numbly smoothed the pad of his index finger over the two bottom words, the crooked, childish writing that was so very familiar. And yet, he wasn't very sure if he wanted it to be familiar anymore.

And me.

And me.

And-

-me.

He knew all along. And even then…

"-villagers found me abandoned by the gates early that day-"

All lies, huh?

"Yo! Sasuke! I'm home!" The obnoxious voice range through the air, closely followed by the crash of a closing door. "Hello? Sasuke?" The sound of steadily approaching footsteps. "Bastard! Where are you? You know, the least you can do is welcome me back with a refreshment or something. Even your bitter-as tea will do."

The door was opened to admit Naruto into the bedroom, still decked in full – albeit slight grungy – ninja gear, a slight frown on his face as he realized that Sasuke was indeed here all along. "What the hell are you doing in my room, bastard?" Blue eyes widened as they veered off course. "What the hell?! Is that a hole in my wall?!" Naruto spluttered as he quickly strode over to inspect the obvious gaping cavity in the side of his room. "Damn it, asshole, baa-chan's gonna kill me!"

After ten seconds of cold silence and not even a patronizing 'hn' from his bodyguard, Naruto lifted his eyes from their intense scrutiny of the bedroom wall to fix upon Sasuke's unresponsive back. Well that…was certainly strange. He had expected Sasuke to say something, reply that he had just wanted to piss the blond off, or heck even flash him a smirk or a pissed-off grunt. He had been with Sasuke long enough to know that even though the Uchiha was supposedly about as emotional as a boulder, there was always some small, almost imperceptible reaction, whether that be a tiny twitch of the lips or a sharp glint in the eye. No, something was definitely wrong.

Naruto bit his lip, not quite sure how to go about Sasuke's weird behavior. He took a tentative step towards the figure sitting in the corner of the room. There was just something about Sasuke's stance that made him feel tense. Naruto tiredly rubbed the back of his neck with one hand as he stopped about a meter from Sasuke's back. He really had a bad feeling about this. "Are you okay? You know, if you had a valid reason for putting a hole in my wall then I'm willing to hear it ou…" He trailed off as something thin, white and square slid across the smooth floor towards him, spinning and spinning until it came to a wedged stop at his toes. He bent down to pick up the object, and when he flipped it around and brought it up to his face, his expression turned instantly blank.

"The last time I looked up the word 'abandoned', I was sure it didn't include having a happy family," came Sasuke's low monotone.

The blond tore his gaze away from the photograph in his hands. "What were you doing looking through my stuff?" Naruto asked, voice equally low, equally calm.

"Did you pick up your little story from one of your orphan friends?" Sasuke continued, ignoring Naruto's previous question. A hard edge crept into his tone. "Or did you make it all up yourself?"

"What the hell were you doing snooping through my stuff?!" Naruto was angry now. That bastard! How dare he…?!

Sasuke stood up and turned around, and it was the first time that day that Naruto saw his face. Lips were twisted into a sardonic smile, and there was a dark glint in Sasuke's eyes that Naruto had never seen before. Naruto didn't like it at all. That expression didn't fit Sasuke. "What, Naruto? You wanted a little pity?" And that bitter smile grew into something akin to an ugly grin, though it managed to look more like a snarl. "I pity you. Though I must have been a complete idiot to fall for your pathetic lies."

There was a whoosh of air and, in less than even a second, Naruto had pushed Sasuke up against the opposite wall, hands gripping painfully tight onto the dark-haired nin's shoulders. Pain lanced through Sasuke's back as he collided harshly against the wall, but it was of slight importance compared to the need to stare back into those angry eyes that seemed to burn with blue flame.

Naruto let out a low growl, his slightly sharp canines bared as he leaned even closer into Sasuke, as if daring the Uchiha to push him out of his personal space. "Shut the hell up," Naruto gritted out, "You have no idea what you're talking about."

Anger coursed through Sasuke, much faster and sharper than the pain had just moments before. Didn't know what he was doing, was he? Stupid, was he?

And Naruto let out a pained grunt as a knee imbedded itself strongly into his stomach. He staggered backwards, only managing to take a single gasping breath before a hard fist collided into the side of his face, the force so strong that he was thrown off his feet. Naruto crashed into the opposite wall, his body sliding down into a dazed heap on the floor.

Sasuke was breathing hard, his stony composure long since discarded. Right now, he only knew pain. Pain and anger. Pain and betrayal. "You're a rotten liar, Uzumaki." And he watched as Naruto lifted his head, groaning gently, eyelids fluttering open to reveal dazed, angry blue eyes. Two gazes locked. "But then again, you fooled me," his voice was harshly bitter, and Naruto felt each word like a knife, "So maybe you're not so stupid after all."

By all means, those words on any other occasion would have caused a happy, giddy feeling in Naruto, but at this moment, they just hurt. There was a twinge of pain in his chest that had absolutely nothing to do with the developing bruise on his back, and it fueled him to pick himself up, regardless of how his muscles seemed to scream in protest.

Sasuke watched as the blond slowly pulled himself to his feet, staggering slightly at one point, and Sasuke gritted his teeth when he had to forcefully stop his body from moving forward. Naruto's head was down, as if contemplating his feet, and Sasuke heard an incoherent mumble.

Sasuke frowned. "What?"

"I said," Naruto started, in a slightly louder voice this time, "I never told anyone."

Sasuke had to pause a bit before he realized what Naruto was talking about. "So you managed to lie to the whole village as well. Maybe you should get a trophy," came the snide comment.

Naruto ignored him, plowing on regardless. "They hate me, Sasuke." For some reason, he felt like he needed to explain himself, needed to make Sasuke understand. He didn't like that look Sasuke was giving him. He really didn't. Sasuke just needed to understand. "I didn't want to bring shame to his name. They didn't need to know."

There was a moment when all was quiet, and Naruto looked up. Did Sasuke get it? Did Sasuke understand?

"So you're not only a liar, but a coward as well."

Naruto's heart sank and the pain in his chest increased tenfold.

"It only proves that you're spineless, Uzumaki. You're a loser."

It hurt. It truly did. Hurt like salt rubbed into an open wound. Hurt like fire licking the skin. It burned. Sasuke didn't understand. Wouldn't, it seemed. Didn't want to.

He didn't have to.

And as the hurt fueled his previously set aside anger, Naruto's fists clenched and he lunged. Sasuke wasn't prepared as a swift swing caught him right in the jaw and he staggered backwards, only to stumble again as a successive swing struck his right cheek bone. "Fuck you," Naruto snarled as his fist lashed out again, this time only scraping the skin as the Uchiha seemed to gather his senses, "I hate you, bastard! I hate you!!"

Sasuke dodged the punches, putting himself out of the path of those deadly fists. For his lack of height, Naruto definitely made up for it in brute strength.

But they were in a relatively small room, and the fact that their fighting was anything but controlled only added to the probability of a mistake. So when Naruto's fist missed Sasuke's perfect nose and imbedded itself into the plaster of the wall much like how Sasuke's had done earlier that morning, the dark-haired nin knocked away the blonde's oncoming punch with his forearm and used that moment of vulnerability to aim a fist right into the side of Naruto's cheek. "Fucking moron," Sasuke gritted out from between clenched teeth as he let his fist swing again, "The feeling's mutual," and he swerved around, positioning himself directly behind the blond with an arm locked against a tanned throat, "I hate you too."

Naruto growled, a low guttural sound from the base of his throat that was more animal than human, and struggled violently against the pressure tight at his neck. But Sasuke's grip was strong, and it only tightened the more he thrashed around. Then there were hot breaths against his ear and Naruto gritted his teeth. "Did you hear me, loser?" Sasuke's voice was a harsh, raspy whisper, each of the following words clearly enunciated. "I…hate…you."

From his vantage point, Sasuke wasn't able to see Naruto's eyes flash a momentary blazing red, but he did feel how a foot was suddenly rammed painfully into his right knee, causing it to buckle and the grip against the blonde's neck to falter. Naruto used that split moment to twist around, and Sasuke was met with a hard elbow crashing into the side of his skull.

He rolled backwards, until he was a considerable distance from the blond before getting up on his feet as fast as he could, his skull throbbing fiercely and his senses slightly woozy. He was sure that if he had brought his hand up at that moment to feel that excruciating spot on his scalp, his fingers would come away dyed a bloody crimson. He focused his attention across the room where Naruto stood in a half-crouch, intense blue eyes narrowed fiercely.

Threateningly.

And their bodies tensed, their eyes engaging in mutual understanding as they felt the silent countdown hanging over their heads.

…3…

Their fists clenched.

…2…

Their feet nudged wider.

…1…

And they both pounced, every muscle braced as they met in the middle of the room, skin on skin, bone on bone. Fists flung and arms clashed, pale skin on tanned, every hit painful. Every hit meant to hurt. Meant to cause pain.

And every solid punch and sweeping kick was received. For this was a fight of wills. All offense. No defense.

Sasuke grunted when the heel of Naruto's palm was slammed into his lower jaw, and he retaliated by throwing a hit of his own that landed with a satisfying thud on Naruto's temple. He felt that growing rage in the pit of his stomach burn, only intensifying as the fight wore on. He was angry. So very angry. Angry at the world. Angry at Orochimaru. Angry at this mission. Angry at his carelessness. Angry at Naruto.

Angry at himself.

And when Naruto jammed a knee deep into his abdomen and he stumbled backwards slightly, his feet entangled themselves in something and he slipped, felt his centre of gravity pull out from under him and his hands lashed out, reflexively grabbing onto the only thing closest to him which just happened to be Naruto. They both fell in a heap of tangled limbs, their grip slipping and sliding as the blanket under them slid smoothly against the wood of the floorboards.

They scrabbled around, unable to find purchase as every time they managed to grip something or another their body would slip and they'd be left scrabbling again. It clumsied their movements. Finally, the result of lots of furious kicking and thrashing, Sasuke managed to shove the blankets out from under him and, not wasting even a second, gripped Naruto's arm tightly and hauled himself over the blond, straddling him. He locked Naruto's arms to the side of his body with his knees, putting his full weight on the harsh grip that he had on Naruto's tanned shoulders. The blond struggled valiantly, all the while shooting daggers with his eyes at the dark-haired shinobi above him.

Seeing the blond struggle within his grip caused a warm feeling to pool in the pit of Sasuke's stomach, but he ignored it, preferring to focus on that rage, that anger.

Naruto wriggled determinedly, but when he was able to tug an arm out from between the side of his body and Sasuke's knees, a vice-like grip encased his free wrist and slammed it down harshly against the floor beside his face. Naruto growled up at Sasuke, a gesture that Sasuke returned in kind. "I didn't," Sasuke snarled out, as his eyes narrowed dangerously, "I didn't need a fucking friend!"

Rage bubbled within Naruto and he bucked wildly, surprising Sasuke whose grip faltered, allowing Naruto to turn the tables and straddle him instead. Naruto pulled back a fist and Sasuke, having his arms locked at his side just like how he'd done with Naruto, closed his eyes and waited for the blow. There was a deafening crash! and Sasuke braced himself for the surge of pain…which never came.

Sasuke opened his eyes and turned his face to the side to see a tanned fist clenched on the floor beside him, a mini crater surrounding it. He looked up at Naruto, whose eyes were closed, lips quivering slightly even as his tanned face seemed to be schooled into a forced calm. Eyelids fluttered open to reveal dark blue eyes filled with resentment and anger.

Resentment and anger and hurt.

"I don't care," was the soft, raspy reply that came from Naruto's dry lips. And the blond lifted himself off of Sasuke, not glancing back even as he walked – a slight limp in his step – out the bedroom and out the front door.

Sasuke remained on the floor, even long after the front door swung closed and he was left alone. He lay there, in the silence he had once preferred so much, even as the day wore on and the sun began to set.

When the room was cloaked in inky darkness would he then pick himself up and drag his battered body to the shower. Afterwards, he would carefully disinfect the cuts he received from overly sharp nails and bandage the parts where a powerful tanned fist broke through the skin.

That night, Naruto slept over at Iruka's place.

Sasuke slept outside over on the roof of the opposite house. From there, he was able to watch over Naruto's sleeping form.

-LineBreak-

That night, even as Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto slept away from the Hokage tower, a dark figure crept silently through the village, scaled the tower walls before slipping noiselessly inside the Hokage's office.

-TBC-

-LineBreak-

I'm so sorry for leaving you guys chapterless for about a month. I really hadn't expected such a long break. But school's just started and I've been swamped with homework. Those of you in school would probably understand. I haven't by any chance lost any readers have I? Oh god, I hope not!

For those of you who're still with me and probably have the patience of a saint, please do tell me how you liked this chapter. Good? Bad? Absolutely crappy? I'm willing to listen to any point of view.

Plus I've got a horrible cold at the moment and I think reviews would really help me on the way to recovery (hint hint nudge nudge)! –waggles eyebrow-

Need I tell you guys how much I love you all?

Here are the replies to the reviews that I couldn't contact directly:

ddd: Thanks for your constant reviewing! You know, I don't think you've ever missed a single one of my chapters! Waaaahh, you're so awesome! Hope you liked this chapter!

Murasaki: Heh, I'm actually horrible at doing cliff hangers. I've read so many fanfics where the author leaves a really awesome and suspenseful cliffhanger and I've been left cursing in my seat because I'd have to wait for the next chapter to be put up. Unfortunately, no matter how many times I've fallen for cliffhangers, I've never actually learned the art of how to create any of my own. -sigh- Please do tell me any mistakes or points that catch your eye. I really love the fact that you're not afraid to comment on something that you think can be improved in my story. Er…does that make me a masochist? -scratches head-

no name: Lol. Short and sweet huh?

Signing out, guys!!

- Nine1991 -