Disclaimer: Hot damn, if I owned Naruto, I'd never have thought up that LOVELY line about Naruto having an affinity 'for' Sasuke. :swoon: Shonen-ai goodness.

Chapter 7

"Sasuke." He narrowed his eyes as he stood in the doorway. His prey was still in bed, back to him, the navy blanket drawn up to his shoulder. Morning light poured in from the French window; the wooden sills casting a stark shadow. They formed a cross, splaying across the ground and snaking up onto the bed.

The was no reaction to his call.

"Sasuke." This time Orochimaru's voice was far more firm, bordering annoyed, "Get up now. You have school."

And still there was no reaction.

Hissing in annoyance the tall man walked around to the other side of the bed to get a look at his ward.

Sasuke's black eyes were blank and unfocused, face smooth and expressionless. For a moment, Orochimaru wondered if Sasuke was simply sleeping with his eyes open. This theory, however was soon dispelled as he placed a hand on Sasuke's cheek, earning a vague blink and the tiniest frown.

"Sasuke?" Curiosity genuinely piqued, Orochimaru knelt in front of the young boy. Those black eyes continued to stare at nothing. Slipping two fingers under Sasuke's chin, he pushed the head up on the pillow. He made no reaction to this, and gently, Orochimaru traced the teenager's lips with his thumb. A tiny knitting of the eyebrows was the only response.

Tilting his head to the side, the pallid man withdrew from Sasuke's personal space. He pondered bemusedly for a moment. Odd. This had never happened before. Standing, he briefly ran a hand through the boy's raven locks. He stalked across the room to the boy's desk, where a black phone resided. He picked up the piece of technology leisurely, dialing Kabuto's number.

"Yes, Sasuke-kun?" The terse answer was.

"Good morning, Kabuto."

"Orochimaru-sama? Why are you on Sasuke-kun's line?"

"Hm..." His golden eyes flicked over to the prone boy's form, "There's something wrong with him."

There was a pause on the other end, then, "Such as?"

"I'm not sure... Come over here and check him. He's hardly responding to anything."

There was an obvious puzzled tone, "I'll be right over." The line went dead. Orochimaru dropped the phone back in its cradle. He strode back to the bed, and after a moment, sat on the edge of it.

"You are quite the mystery, Sasuke."

"It's not medical. It's psychological." Kabuto stated coolly. "He's aware of what is happening around him, but he's seeing it as if it happens to someone else."

Orochimaru didn't bother to ask how this came about. He had a good enough idea. "How long will it last?"

"Who knows? I've taken basic tests—everything is normal. He's awake, just not 'there'. I say we see if he shakes it off by tomorrow morning and if not I'll take more full tests on him."

"Thank you, Kabuto. Stay here for the day, will you? I'll check his records for any anomalies." Orochimaru turned to leave.

"Perhaps he has been broken, Orochimaru-sama?"

The Snake smiled as he looked over his shoulder at the medic, "I'm convinced that this one won't break so easily."

A doll.

That was what he was.

Just as lifeless, easily manipulated; a toy for a power far beyond himself.

He watched as a bird flitted about at his window.

In the last mansion, there had been a small camellia garden. Camellias, Kimimaro had once said, were the most beautiful flower. He asked why. The only reply he received was a sad smile.

The bird was fighting with another bird.

Camellias... They flower early. They represent young strength. Is that why they are beautiful, Kimimaro?

A raven and—what was that?—a falcon or hawk.

Camellias are highly valued in Japan. Or is it young strength that is valued? Young strength... like...

What were they fighting over? Food?

Naruto. It wasn't normal strength. What made him face each day with cheerfulness? It didn't make sense... Nothing about that boy made sense.

The hawk swooped up, then darted back down, raking out its claws.

That boy. Why was he so strong? Was he a fool? Or was he...

Even through the glass he could hear the raven's cry as it was struck by those talons. He saw a bit of blood fall from the sky—wasn't the sky always raining blood?

(The moonlight refracted off the red-silver blade.)

A tear fell down his cheek.

The raven fell.

He blinked, jolted back as if by electricity.

The raven fell...

Squeezing his eyes shut, he suddenly felt as if his senses were rushing back. He took a deep breath and shook his head.

Somewhat numbly, he pushed himself up and ran a hand through his hair. What had happened to him...? Shaking his head again, he stood and, almost as though he were doing it automatically, walked out of his room, down the stairs, and outside. He didn't care that the hems of his sweatpants were getting damp—it had rained last night—and walked to the place under his window.

There was a small black mass, writhing amidst the grass, crowing weakly. For a long moment he stood above it, staring. He sank to his knees. It was such an infantile and childish curiosity. He reached out with one hand—

"That bird is wild, Sasuke-kun. It won't be friendly."

He rocked back on his heels and turned to stare at Kabuto.

"It's hurt." He said simply.

Frowning, Kabuto kneeled next to him. "It is." He agreed with a sigh. "Got cut up fairly well and broke his wing on the way down." He turned and saw a shadowed, but unmistakable, look on the boy's face. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. Very gently, he wrapped it around the bird and its eyes before picking it up, mindful of it's hurt wing. "He'll probably die."

Sasuke looked from the bundle held in Kabuto's hands to his eyes.

"Ravens are stronger than that."

"Do you know what woke him?"

Orochimaru's glance told him to continue.

"He wanted to help an injured bird." Kabuto smirked sardonically, "He doesn't like to see things hurt."

The Snake laughed dryly. "Rather childish of him. I thought he'd have grown up."

"There is nothing immature about ideals, Orochimaru-sama."

A slow smile spread across his lean face as he regarded his right-hand man, "I suppose that is true."

Sasuke gently touched the raven's back, trailing his fingers along the feathers. The bird turned its head to look at him warily.

Kabuto had long ago wanted to be a vet. How... ironic. He had known the proper amounts of tranquilizer to give the bird while he set the wing. Sasuke had watched in detached fascination.

"You'll fly again." Sasuke promised the raven.

"Sasuke... he misses a lot of school."

Jiraiya looked up from his laptop, where he was typing X-rated material. "Hm?"

"Sasuke. You know. Naruto's boyfriend. He misses school a lot, but he never really seems sick." Kakashi was frowning at a book written by none other than Jiraiya himself.

Jiraiya shrugged nonchalantly, "Maybe he likes to play hooky and his guardian doesn't care."

"If that were true, he'd probably tell Naruto that instead of saying he was sick or something came up."

"What are you getting at, Kakashi?"

The silver-haired man blinked, then rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry, that was just a mix of worry for Naruto, a student, and my habits as an investigator."

Jiraiya sighed, "That Yamato. Can't he just do investigations on his own and let you read my masterpieces?"

"He pays me. You don't."

"I thought you were above material things such as money, Kakashi."

"Nope."

"Hmph. What has Yamato been having you do that takes up so much time, anyway?"

"He got a lead on a big criminal. Everyone's working on it."

"Well good luck. Don't get shot. I need you to beta my new book."

"Your concern is overwhelming."

"Of course it is, Kakashi."

Sasuke sighed, looking blankly at a book without reading the words. It wasn't often he would sit in the backyard, but today he just wanted some fresh air, something that couldn't be done in his own room with sealed windows. He leaned back against the tree and sighed. It was mid-afternoon and he felt hungry, but he didn't feel up to the possibility of dealing with Orochimaru. If he was lucky, Kabuto would take pity on him and bring out a sandwich. Not likely.

Giving up, he snapped his book shut and casually placed it on the grass. The injured raven was now in a small cage that Kabuto had somehow managed to scare up. Apparently Orochimaru had not minded that there was a bird in the house. If Sasuke really thought about it, it was almost sickly amusing. He had found an injured animal and his guardian was letting him keep it. Like a child.

"Tch." Sasuke scowled as he ran a hand through his hair. He knew that was how Orochimaru thought of him: as a child. He knew he amused the older man. He knew Orochimaru thought his 'infatuation' with Naruto was cute. His desire to save the little raven was childish; his suicide attempts only showed he was spoiled. To Orochimaru, he was just an object that had no real free will. Sasuke's 'childish antics', as they had been called more than once, were just a source of amusement for the Snake and if they got out of hand, they would be stopped.

He was nothing. Not even human. He had realized this early in life. He had learned not to dream. Dreams were for fools. He acknowledged this idea, and then embraced it when Kimimaro died. Their dream of escaping and having a normal life died even before Kimimaro. Sasuke would not live a lie.

Then, Naruto... He was... just a game? The thought hurt with such intensity that Sasuke had to squeeze his eyes shut and grit his teeth. He felt his nails digging into his palms and forced himself to relax. Naruto... it couldn't last. Sasuke didn't like how his throat constricted at that thought, but forced himself to accept it. He could never have Naruto. (Had he been dreaming? He hadn't meant to.) Naruto, like everything else, was just a temporary distraction until Orochimaru deemed him a waste of time and got rid of him too.

So why did he keep playing the game?

Because you need to.

The answer came in Kimimaro's voice. Sasuke shook his head, eyes still closed.

"What's the need?" He murmured. He didn't get a reply. He couldn't say he was surprised. Kimimaro always wanted him to figure things out on his own.

"Sasuke-kuuuuuun!" Sasuke winced and half-expected his ears to bleed as a pink-haired girl attached herself to his arm as he walked to school.

"Good morning, Sakura." He sighed. He really didn't mind the girl, but she... really needed to stop clinging. She was like Saran Wrap.

"Why weren't you at school yesterday, Sasuke-kun? I was really worried."

"Busy. Could you let go?"

Sakura looked dejected as she released the unfortunate boy.

"Did I miss anything in Literature?" Sasuke found he always felt much more willing to speak with Sakura when his personal bubble was only minimally invaded.

"Not really. We just had to read a short story. Um... Sasuke-kun? Do you want to do anything after school?"

"Sorry. I'm doing something with Naruto."

"Oh. Alright. Hey, are you two best friends or something? You're always together."

Sasuke shrugged and nodded. Not a whole lot of people knew they were together; only a handful of the faculty (largely thanks to Jiraiya and Kakashi), and Shikamaru and Shino, and Kiba. Sasuke figured it was really no one's business, so he didn't tell anyone.

"You know, I never used to like Naruto," Sakura stated thoughtfully, "but, I dunno, he doesn't seem so bad anymore. He's still loud, though." She grinned at Sasuke, "Maybe you've knocked some sense into him?"

Sasuke snorted.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun, are you ready for the finals?"

"Hm?"

"Well, we've got them next week..."

"Aa... I'm sure they'll be easy."

Sakura gave an uneasy smile, "Right. Of course, how could they not be?"

Sasuke gave a little sigh and said, "You'll do fine, Sakura. You're one of the smartest kids in class."

Sakura blushed and looked at her feet. "Th-thank you, Sasuke-kun. Uhm... Will you... keep in touch over the summer?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Hn. I'll try." He had no intention to—for her safety—but a little lie never hurt too badly.

"That's great, Sasuke-kun! We should all get together; you, me, Ino, and Naruto."

Sasuke looked away.

"Yeah, we can try to do that."

"Ah... well, I've gotta go. Bye!" Sakura waved as she departed for her friends. Sasuke began to look for Naruto.

It wasn't long after Sasuke entered Naruto's home that he was pressed against the wall and kissed. He responded in kind, playfully fighting with Naruto's tongue. Naruto pulled him closer, weaving a hand into Sasuke's black hair and his other hand around the smaller's waist. Sasuke hesitated at the more intimate contact, but brushed it aside as Naruto kissed him more insistently.

A moment later, they moved to a more suitable place to make-out, also known as the couch. Naruto attacked a sensitive spot on Sasuke's neck with licks and bites, noting with satisfaction he was always able to get a reaction from the stoic bastard that way.

Naruto began to grind their hips together and Sasuke bit his lip, flushing, uncertain of the contact. Naruto's fingers began to clumsily unbutton Sasuke's shirt, sadly touching his too-visible ribs, not registering Sasuke's small flinch.

Breathing heavily, Naruto's hand tugged at Sasuke's waistband, but this time, he noticed when Sasuke gasped and instinctually shied away from the touch. Uncertainty stopped the blond, shifting back.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he met those deep eyes and said,

"Do you want this, Sasuke?"

"Do what you want with me." His voice held no emotion.

"What about what you want?"

"Does it matter what I want?" Those dark, infinite eyes stared up at him. They seemed empty.

"Yes. What you want means the world to me."

Sasuke's eyes closed.

"Do you want this, Sasuke?"

"No... Not yet."

He leaned forward and kissed his forehead. Eyes opened.

"You're not some tool, Sasuke. I love you too much for that."

"You shouldn't lie, Naruto." His voice held a flicker of uncertainty.

"It's no lie, Sasuke. I want for you to be happy."

Sasuke closed his eyes again and turned his head away. For just a moment Naruto thought he was crying.

"Will you... hold me?" His voice was small and timid.

"Of course."

Naruto shifted so he lay in front of Sasuke and wrapped his arms around his waist and tucked his head over the raven's. Sasuke buried his face into Naruto's chest.

Not a tool...?

Eventually, Sasuke fell asleep with Naruto's arms still around him. Naruto studied the sleeping raven. His shirt was still on, even though it was unbuttoned, and he could see his ribs—he could count them. Was... that normal? His mind flashed back to the gym locker room. While he didn't stare, he knew that none of the other boys were this thin. Did Sasuke not eat enough?

And...

What if he hadn't noticed Sasuke's discomfort? Would he really have let Naruto do whatever he wanted? Even though he wasn't ready? The guilt drove the fox up the wall; he should have asked before things had gotten heated. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

"Sleep well, koi." Naruto murmured, before leaving the couch and covering him.

End Chapter 7

Koi: (恋) Beloved. Because it's cooler to say things in Japanese.

What's wrong with Sasuke this chapter? Seriously, is there a name for his issue? Don't ask me where all that came from... (Was it too weird and random? I think it was.) He's just a strange kid... I think he might be a bit Borderline...

I'd also like to remind you all that Sasuke's school uniform has long sleeves and his casual wear has something to cover his arms. That's why Naurto hasn't seen Sasuke's scars. It wasn't really a detail I emphasized. Sorry for any confusion.

And I finally elaborated on Kakashi's part-time detective job. Yay. For the record, Yamato is not an OC. He's a character introduced in Part Two.

And if you can tell... I read too much Yami no Matsuei. I blame Muraki-kun.

One last thing! I try to avoid cluttering my story with author's notes (with varying degrees of success), so if you review and you aren't logged in and you would like me to respond or if you have specific questions, please leave your e-mail address in the box-thing. While I might not give you a flat out answer for the sake of the storyline, I'll maybe push you in the right direction or give a hint. I try to give replies when I can, and I always feel bad when someone that's not signed in reviews and I can't talk to them because they don't leave an e-mail, and I can't post individual replies each chapter because I've promised myself not to clutter up stories with my rambling. Like I am right now. Oops.