Ladies and Gentlemen...(if there even are any guys reading this lolz) ...CHAPTER 40!!

Hey if you are a guy, tell me! it'll be very interesting to know if im catering to more than just rabid fangirls like myself. XD

hm...the roman numeral for 40 looks funny...but I know its correct...right? Ah well. On with the story!

"Are you serious? You're bringing that fox back with us…?" He questioned. Naruto nodded.

"Yup! I'm calling it Ku-chan." Naruto declared emphatically. He cradled the baby fox in his arms and it was still, putting up no struggle whatsoever.

"Let's go!" Naruto exclaimed next, urging at Sasuke as if he were the one that had been holding them up.

"Hm…alright Naru-chan…I don't understand it but…" He didn't finish his sentence. "Come on…we've got to go." He said softly, putting aside his issues with Kyuubi's hold on Naruto in favor of seeing Naruto happy. Naruto nodded.

"Hold on." He paused to take the carry pack off of his back and unfastened it, carefully putting the fox inside and leaving the top open so it could see. He put the pack back on and took Sasuke's hand again.

"Alright let's go…The Anbu you ditched probably gave a really bad report back home. No one knows we're okay."

Chapter XL

Home

Day turned to calm, slightly chilly twilight, and it seemed that the time had flown by. Strong, fresh aired breezed wafted through their hair as they traveled steadily through the canopy of the forest; they hadn't touched the ground in hours, not even when briefly stopping for momentary breathers. Speaking of which, they seemed to need them more frequently as the evening wore on. It was extremely obvious to Naruto that Sasuke was running low on energy. They stopped for the second time in the past hour when they reached a thick branch on a conveniently large tree. Naruto curiously watched as Sasuke leaned against the trunk of the tree. He watched Sasuke's face, and realized that as soon as Sasuke detected he was looking, every ounce of fatigue vanished. He came all the way over, standing close by as Sasuke stood up straighter.

"You're okay, aren't you?" Naruto asked, letting his hand linger along Sasuke's back and shoulders. Sasuke sighed heavily. He wanted to say yes, but he couldn't lie—Naruto would know anyway. He chose not to say yes or no.

"We have to get back…come on, let's move…" He murmured, but as soon as he stood up, Naruto's hands were on him, holding him back.

"No don't! You seem like you're out of chakra…is that it?" The blonde exclaimed, coming closer. Sasuke smiled a little, reaching up and fingering a few strands of Naruto's hair.

"Seems like it…" He at the same time unconsciously fingered at the fabric of his shirt, over his stomach.

"Hold still." Naruto ordered when he'd noticed.

"Naruto that's fine, I let them finish healing me." Sasuke said hurriedly as Naruto sat him down, about to inspect the place where Sasuke had been wounded.

"Well if they finished…you still should've had to take recovery time…Did you?" Naruto questioned. Sasuke shook his head slowly, closing his eyes.

"No…I didn't have time for that. I had to find…you…" Sasuke said, but his voice grew quieter with each word. Naruto shook him by the shoulders, and he moved onto Sasuke's lap, straddling him.

"Sasuke? Sasuke!" Naruto called, leaning into Sasuke's face closely. Sasuke didn't open his eyes, but he leaned forward, resting his forehead on Naruto's shoulder and finally falling still.

"Hey…Naru-koi…get me home, okay…?" Sasuke murmured at nearly a whisper. Naruto sat there for a while, a little unnerved, and fearing that more was wrong with Sasuke than he was letting on, but he did try to remember that Sasuke had a far lower chakra capacity, especially with all of the cautions he was given by his Anbu superiors. Naruto sighed and looked around at the darkening forest.

"Hm…I guess I remember the course Sasuke was following…I guess I'm pretty much forced to remember…" He turned his attention back to Sasuke, whom he was still straddling. Smirking a little he bounced in Sasuke's lap.

"Sasuke…you even look good knocked out." He tenderly brushed the hair out of Sasuke's face and kissed the unconscious Uchiha's slightly parted lips, then stood up carefully, his feet still on either side of Sasuke, then pondered how he would carry both Ku-chan and his sleeping fiancé.

"With Ku-chan on my back in the supply pack, Sasuke can't ride there…" He took off the pack and gently lifted the baby fox out with one hand.

"Okay stay…stay." He pleaded, putting Ku-chan down on the branch. Luckily enough, Ku-chan did not move. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and bent to lift Sasuke, immensely thankful for the many tails he had, because it was surprisingly easy to maneuver Sasuke onto his back without falling off of the branch. Now standing up with Sasuke riding on his back, Naruto looked down at the ground.

"Doesn't seem too far away…but I don't want to risk you hurting yourself Ku-chan…and my hands are full, I have to hold Sasuke up." Naruto pondered his dilemma carefully, then finally managed to sit himself down on the branch, his feet dangling. He had complete confidence that for some reason, Ku-chan would listen to him like a trained pet. He didn't understand why, but he chose not to think about it too hard for now. He knew there were a lot of things that he could find out back in Konoha about what exactly was happening with Kyuubi, the tails, and exactly why he was okay after sprouting nine of them.

"Sasuke's pack… if you just climb up here on Sasuke-san and get in his backpack…" Naruto leaned toward the little fox, pleading with it with his eyes. "Please know what I'm saying…" He begged. It only took a few seconds of staring before Ku-chan moved, and Naruto chuckled lightly at the little foxes tiny claws on his shoulders. Soon they were ready to go.

"I'll do what Sasuke said, and not make any stops…Besides, I don't know exactly how long I'll be able to travel—these tails could be draining me slowly for all I know."

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It was lonely in the woods, but Naruto found himself moving very quickly, ignoring the surrounding darkness as well as his own steadily increasing worries about the Kyuubi demon. He knew that he was obviously giving off Kyuubi's vibes—hence the pack of foxes that had followed him, he supposed. He still didn't understand the technical reasons for that. Running all night seemed to be rather easy for him, and when the sun had long since risen and Sasuke still slept soundly, Naruto felt it safe to assume that he wouldn't be waking up, and that he needed some type of medical attention.

"I just have to make it to the Konoha gates…then everyone will see that we came back, and Sakura and Kakashi will come…and Sakura will help me take care of Sasuke now…I hope." He kept a steady pace, trekking through fields and fields of grassy hills. He knew that he'd long since returned to the Fire country, but Konoha was directly in the center, and he still had a considerable ways to go.

"Sakura…Sasuke-kun said that the Anbu were sent by Sakura and Kakashi…doesn't that mean she's a part of our team again? And…will she accept that me and Sasuke are together? What if she sees the tails…and then just thinks that I'm a danger to him and everyone else…and that I shouldn't be with him…" Naruto took a shaky breath and shut his eyes for a moment, but then immediately looked back up, shaking away the fear and uncertainty.

"I can't even worry about that now…Sasuke's more important…and the clone is more important. They shouldn't do anything without us there, Sasuke probably already knows more about it than they do." Naruto told himself aloud.

"And I'm not afraid of the village…they won't reject me. They'll see the tails, but then they'll see that I brought Sasuke back too and…they won't be afraid of me…they won't! I know it…"

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"Well Sakura…today is it. Its been 48 hours, so I'm going to assume they need some assistance getting back here." Kakashi told her from across the table. Sakura looked at the clock on the wall.

"8am…" "It's still early, they could still make it back really soon." She suggested. Kakashi stood up, fully ready to travel.

"Well then if they were going to, I should meet them on the way then, shouldn't I? I'm feeling they might need the assistance. So you're coming too." Sakura stood up from her chair.

"Alright…" She quietly agreed, and followed Kakashi outside as they headed toward the village gates.

"I can't lie to myself…I'm scared to confront Naruto…I mean I think he'll be happy I'm back with the team…but…Sasuke really is his boyfriend…his fiancé…" She sighed repeatedly heavy sighs, drawing peculiar glances from Kakashi ahead of her.

"I can do this…I can deal with this. They'll both probably need my help." The closer to the village gates they got, the more it seemed that something was happening that they didn't quite know yet. When they were in sight of the gates, Kakashi began to move faster.

"Come on." He said simply, and Sakura ran after, dodging through people in the streets in an effort to keep up with Kakashi's fast pace. The gate had a gathering of villagers at it, and shocked gasps and a sense of questioning met Sakura's ears as she got closer. Kakashi had perched himself on the column of the gateway, and Sakura pushed through the people.

"Excuse me…Please let me through…please move!" She exclaimed after awhile, and managed to push herself to the front. Her gaze froze, fixed on the pathway, and on Naruto, who wasn't very far off at all. But all she could see were the tails behind him. Nine very real fox tails waved along behind Naruto, and Sakura could feel even Kakashi's shock, without even looking up at him.

"What's going on? What's happening? Should we let him in looking that way?" Both Kakashi and Sakura heard that comment, and similar murmurs through the group of onlookers as the hesitance and apprehension thickened the air with every step Naruto took.

The kitsune felt his heart pounding in his ears as he approached, and already, so many pairs of eyes had seen him coming from a distance; he was a target. He could see Sakura at the front of the crowd, and Kakashi on the railing above them, but it seemed not to matter. His footsteps grew heavy as he got within earshot, and a few people had backed away, and some even left entirely.

"Sasuke said that they loved me…Most of them won't be afraid of me…Right? Sasuke I wish you would wake up so I wouldn't have to do this alone…" Naruto all but stopped about 20 feet away, right where he could clearly see everyone's shocked expressions, even Kakashi and Sakura's.

"Nar—Naruto…?" Sakura said hesitantly. "You've…you have…" she paused, and Naruto clenched his jaw, and just focused on walking straight ahead, pushing away recurring memories of his childhood rejection as he did so.

"I know…" he said flatly, managing to keep his face expressionless, and the group of onlookers parted a path as he walked through the gate. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and so he stopped, avoiding eye contact as he gently knelt on the ground, lowering Sasuke in front of him after taking off Sasuke's supply pack, which had Ku-chan in it.

"Please…someone say something…someone just help!…I am not Kyuubi…I'm not dangerous…" He pleaded in his mind as he clutched the pack to himself, Ku-chan peeking out of it being his only comfort for the moment. He had closed his eyes, attempting to somehow escape from the staring spectators that way, but it was no use. It was beginning to feel like he were 5 years old again, and he could feel the stares boring holes through him, even though he wasn't looking. The silence became unbearable, and just as he was beginning to think he was completely alone, before he even looked up to try to defend himself out loud, Kakashi had dropped down beside him.

"Everyone calm down. Naruto's obviously himself, and he clearly needs medical help." Kakashi said, crouching beside Naruto, giving a reassuringly bright smile, which of course Naruto could even detect from beneath Kakashi's mask. He sighed with visible relief, looking up at Kakashi.

"I don't know—what's going on—" he started to apologize for the tails' appearance, but Kakashi shook his head, seeing that Naruto was visibly shaken.

"Doesn't matter, Naruto. You aren't the Kyuubi." Naruto heard footsteps, and Sakura had knelt across from him, beside Sasuke, and she gave a feeble smile.

"I'm glad you're safe…Is he alright?" She asked hesitantly, and Naruto could tell that she was attempting to feel out whether it was alright for her to ask about Sasuke, if he was already taken... He knew that they both knew that was a silly caution to take, but understood how it might be awkward to ask.

"He's…he needs some help, but I'm sure he's okay…" Naruto answered quietly, still sorely feeling the eyes of the villagers around them in a wide semi-circle. But soon, it became increasingly apparent that Sasuke was right about what he'd said all along; the remaining on-looking villagers of Konoha weren't condemning him with their stares, they were supporting him.

"Just relax Naruto, and don't worry we'll fix things. You don't have to do anything else." Kakashi was saying, keenly observing that the blonde was beginning to look slightly more pale than usual. As Naruto let his psychological guard down, he seemed to grow more tired by the second, and Kakashi's voice seemed distant as Naruto realized that his view of Sasuke's sleeping face was blurring. Kakashi smoothly took the pack and Ku-chan from Naruto as Naruto fell unconscious on the spot, and when he did, all nine tails ceased their ominous movement. Kakashi lifted Naruto himself, ignoring the murmurs of shock that had washed over the surrounding onlookers.

"Oi…the tails add about 50 pounds.." he commented lightly. "Sakura, grab Sasuke and we'll get these two to a hospital. Naruto so we can see about how this is happening…and Sasuke so he can presumably gain back his chakra loss."

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Sasuke woke up extremely slowly, the fogginess in his mind steadily chased away by the burn of daylight reflecting from the stark white of hospital walls and ceiling. Without thinking he bolted upright, his hand reaching for his kunai pack before he then realized where he was, and that his kunai weren't there. He shortly realized that he'd startled Sakura and Ino by his bedside, and he stared at them as if they were strangers for a few seconds before gradually calming himself.

"Sasuke-kun?" Ino questioned, leaning toward him.

"Are…you ok now?" Sakura asked timidly afterward. Sasuke raised his hand to his head, feeling a bit dizzy, but quickly searching his memory from what went on. "Naruto…Naruto got us back…" He said after a short time. Both girls nodded, but didn't say anything else, he noted.

"Sasuke…I know you'll explain later but…how did Naruto-kun—get—" Ino paused in her question as Sasuke finally seemed to fully wake up, and he swung the covers back, getting out of bed. The girls stared from behind, both blushing slightly as Sasuke scanned his surroundings, shivering in the chill of the room, as he was shirtless.

"I'm not exactly sure how Naruto got the tails…or why he kept them for so long…and that's all I have to say. Where is he?" Sasuke asked, finally finding his top folded across the room. The girls glanced at one another as they got over the distraction of watching Sasuke walk around bare-chested, and Sakura decided to answer his question.

"They—told us Naruto was taken to somehow remove the tails?...Neji went with him." Sakura finished the last part more quietly, wincing minimally as Sasuke seemed to nearly freeze over. Ino giggled at the icy glare twisting Sasuke's expression, and stood up. "Come on Sasuke-kun, don't be so jealous, Naruto's your boyfriend not his." She said as Sasuke made for the door. "He said 'yes' to you." Sasuke's hand on the doorway frame fisted.

"Neji almost broke us apart once before. I can't help being jealous." Sasuke said with a sigh.

"He didn't nearly break you up, that's all in your head. Anyone with sense could see you're never breaking up…you're too busy screwing each other any chance you get to notice anybody's lame sabotage attempts." Ino debated with an obnoxious grin, but Sasuke ignored all further commentary, though the red flush brushing his cheeks was unmistakable.

"Hurry up, I'm wasting time." At that, Sakura and Ino got up. "Fine, fine, we'll show you where to find your Naru-chan. I'm sure he's fine Sasuke." Ino said. Sasuke sighed tersely. "I know…but it's first things first…I have to get to Naruto so we can go together to find the ANBU research team and our kid…" Sasuke continued walking, but Sakura and Ino had frozen.

"You…you heard what he just said, right? I'm not insane?" Ino whispered over to Sakura. Sakura said nothing, but her eyes were wide as saucers.

"I'm…I'm not sure…" She stared blankly at Sasuke's back until Sasuke stopped and turned around.

"Explanations can wait…let's go." He demanded dryly before jamming his hands into his pockets and turning to walk again. Both girls could easily tell that the Uchiha was still tired, but there was no making him rest any longer; he was already on edge enough as it was without trying to force him to sleep.

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The three rounded a corner to a long, wide corridor and Sasuke saw double doors at the end of it. Leaning with his back against the left door panel with his eyes closed, stood Neji. Sakura and Ino stayed at somewhat of a distance as Sasuke walked right up, and leaned forward on the right door panel trying to hear inside. He ignored Neji thoroughly, and the tension was nearly visible. Inside, Sasuke could hear Naruto, nearly screaming in some type of pain.

"Naruto…" he whispered, raising his forearm to lean against the door with, high enough so that he could rest his forehead on the back of his hand, and he stood, listening quietly and not saying a word. When Neji spoke after around 10 minutes Sasuke still hadn't budged.

"They said it's incredibly painful to remove even one physical chakra presence from someone's body…And Naruto has nine." Neji was saying. "There's an entire chakra specialist team in there…it's…almost like an exorcism." Neji turned his head to stare at Sasuke, who continued to stare at the door. When he didn't receive any feedback from Sasuke, he felt he should continue.

"He'd been in there for 15 minutes even before you came…" Neji stopped there, pausing to watch Sasuke's expression. After a few awkwardly prolonged seconds, Sasuke poised to speak.

"Did you hear any Anbu say anything about an experiment…?" He asked simply, his eyes closed as he continued to lean against his arm on the door. Neji rose an eyebrow and resumed staring straight ahead back down the hall.

"No. Nothing." Sasuke resumed total silence, that is, until they both heard Naruto quiet down, and there was stressed gasping within the doors. Neji and Sasuke both stood up straighter, and Neji turned around to face the door, much to Sasuke's irritation.

"You don't need to be here. Don't you have something else to do?" Sasuke growled, still keeping his eyes on the door. Neji glowered at the Uchiha, but still maintained his icy demeanor.

"I have good enough reason to be here. You're not the only one that cares about Naruto, even if you are his fiancé." Neji said dryly. Sasuke's temper rose sharply and he made a movement—then suddenly Kakashi was between them.

"Oi! Sasuke, I see you're awake and cheery as ever." He interjected. Sasuke coolly stared at Kakashi for a solid five seconds, letting the sensei know that his sarcasm went vastly unappreciated. He sighed and decided to let his issue with Neji remain uneventful for the moment, and refocused his mind to the tasks at hand.

"Hm…Where's Ku-chan.. the baby fox in the backpack…" He asked simply. He knew he would hear it later from Naruto if he'd lost the little fox.

"Oh so it has a name, eh? Well Ino is playing with it." Kakashi said, pointing. Sasuke looked, and Ino was sitting cross-legged on the floor with the fox, making faces and baby voices at it while Sakura leaned down to peer at it curiously.

"Good…Naruto would kill me if you lost it." Kakashi, Sasuke and Neji all backed away from the door a few steps as suddenly it started to open. A few nurses came out of the large room, and then three Chakra specialists. A nurse remained in the doorway, her comforting smile easing Sasuke's nerves.

"Naruto-kun can have visitors now, so come on in and your sensei can explain to you what has happened." Sasuke watched as Neji left upon hearing Naruto's good report. With that, he was by Naruto's bedside in seconds, followed by Kakashi, Sakura and Ino. He leaned over Naruto closely, stroking the blonde hair, mildly damp with sweat, away from Naruto's forehead. The tails were utterly gone. Kakashi took a seat in the chair beside the bed as Sasuke sat on the bedspread, facing Naruto and watching him rest.

"So. I suppose I should tell you what I know. Naruto got back here with you apparently very quickly—he passed out a few yards from the gate after putting you down. Heavy chakra loss." Kakashi began. Sasuke looked up.

"How is that…Kyuubi doesn't run out of chakra." He reasoned. Kakashi rose a hand. "I'm getting to it, be patient! Naruto woke up before they started this whole tail removing process, and told us the story. It seems that Naruto has been communicating with Kyuubi in his thoughts frequently, and very easily; this is evidence of the seal, which is keeping them essentially separate, being weakened. I can only assume that it's due to the curse seal he's got?" Kakashi began to explain. Sasuke listened quietly, staring at the bedspread and his hand together with Naruto's.

"Naruto's possession by Kyuubi during the mission was different from the fully blown fox demon cloak because Naruto says he had more control over it. In other words, the demon cloak is caused by anger, but this was caused by another outside force—your curse mark—acting on Kyuubi's seal. I'm sure you're putting this all together now." Kakashi ended there, and Sasuke immediately drew the correct conclusion.

"My seal wasn't activated…the clone's was. Because the clone is my DNA. So Kyuubi and Naruto's physical separation was blurred because of the curse mark's reaction to the seal, and Naruto sprouted physical Kyuubi characteristics—the tails. Kyuubi used the fact that he and Naruto share thought waves, and controlled Naruto to kill…the clone. To stop the reaction." Sasuke's voice grew quieter and quieter as he continued, until the last sentence was barely above a murmur. Kakashi nodded silently, folding his hands in front of his face as he leaned forward in his chair, resting on his elbows.

"You're dead on, Sasuke." He glanced over at Naruto's sleeping form. "The tails were like parasites to his body. Sucked all of his remaining chakra and dispersed none of Kyuubi's in return." Sasuke watched Naruto rest, keeping a hold on Naruto's hand the entire time. "He'll wake up soon." Kakashi assured. Ino came up promptly.

"Yeah and…Sasuke? Did you say what we think you said in the hallway?" she asked, moving to look Sasuke in the face.

"What did I say in the hallway?" Sasuke asked, not too eager on explaining just yet. Sakura spoke this time.

"You said something about finding your…kid?" she questioned hesitantly. Sasuke only smirked slightly.

"I won't say anything until Naruto wakes up." He said simply, and Ino crossed her arms. "What? Sasuke you know this is crazy right? You mention something about a kid or whatever, that belongs to you and Naruto,and then just don't explain? Were you being figurative or what?" Ino complained, impatient and rightfully so. Sasuke ignored her; his thoughts were consumed.

"We really are too young to have a family…but…that won't matter if we do get to take care of the clone…it's not anyone's fault if there's a living human being as a result of experiments, and it's still human. No matter what…right?" Kakashi stood, breaking Sasuke's concentration.

"Don't get your hopes up Sasuke." He left, leaving Sasuke with that, and Sakura and Ino with question marks on their faces.

I wanted to fit so much more into this, the 40th chapter, but I suck at condensing things.

Also...I feel the need to put a juicy lemon in the next chapter, since I skipped out on properly writing out description in the cave scene. So don't worry, be happy!

and prepare for nosebleed. XD figured I'd give you something to look forward to.

-o0Kitsune0o-