Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Sorry for the cliffhanger last time, minna! I just didn't wanna write anymore for that chap XD I mean, I know.

I love you, Xaayp:Hearts:

Check out "Just like Heroin" if you haven't yet. Yes, I advertise all the time XD

Day 2 part 3- Nothing

The sirens of an ambulance pulsed through Naruto's head as he stared up at the sky. He could feel his heart beating in his ears, and the blood pouring from his wounds. But no matter how injured he was, or how numb he felt, he had to get up.

"Sasuke..." he took a deep breath and rolled over, the shallow water a dark red in color. He arms shook as he pushed himself up, Why is the water so red...? he looked down at himself, cuts and gashes bleeding through torn clothing. He knew that if he looked this bad, Sasuke was doing much worse.

Crawling forward, he looked up, his vision blurry.

Sasuke was lying in the middle of a large patch of jagged rocks, his arm bent in an impossible position, his chest unmoving. His skin was tainted with blood and his eyes were wide open, the pupils flickering between red and black every second. He looked dead.

"Sasuke...!" Naruto fell down by Sasuke, his bloody arm reaching out to touch his lover's cheek. He tried to tell himself this wasn't happening... that since Sasuke was already dead, he couldn't die again. But with the condition the raven was in... it seemed as if it were possible.

The ambulance's sirens still blared as it parked on the lower road closest to the creek, men rushing out of the vehicle. But before they could reach them, they froze. The entire area froze and faded into pitch black.

"It seems you don't want Sasuke to stay with you as much as I thought you did," Kyuubi's smooth voice interrupted the silence of the foreign world, "doing such foolish things..." he walked around them, inspecting the damage Sasuke had caused himself.

Naruto's stiffened, but didn't move to get back up.

"Did you know that even the dead can die again?" he chuckled, "but once that happens, they disappear. No ghost, no spirit... nothing. By you not being careful, you've just caused that to happen to him," he bent down next to Naruto and watched Sasuke's flashing eyes, "he believes he can just heal these wounds... but he can't. He'll soon fade away."

The blond quickly shoved himself onto his knees, ignoring the pain shooting through his body. He went to attack the angel, but a clawed hand immediately went to his throat, tightening and constricting like a snake. Dark red eyes met dangerous dark blue.

"You killed him once, and now you're killing him again," he smirked, "I don't think you should get angry at me, you should get angry at yourself. You claim to love him... yet you hurt him so much."

Naruto's body wet limp and he just let himself be held by the throat, his wounds oozing drops of crimson blood. What Kyuubi was saying was true...

The orange-haired male laughed darkly, his canines peaking out through pearly lips, "But dear Naruto-kun, convince me that you love him," he licked his lips, "what would you give for him? Your body, your life, your soul?"

Naruto gripped the angel's wrists, "I--"

"Speak up."

Blue eyes closed tightly, "I'd give everything!"

Kyuubi purred, "Would you, now? Then I look forward to the day when I will steal everything from you," he dropped the blond back into the water. Turning to look at Sasuke, he smirked, "don't tell him I was here or I'll take him away now. I just came to fix a few things... and to see you," his eyes glinted as he stared at Naruto, "my, you're so easy to break."

Naruto shook as he lay in the water, the liquid reaching his ears.

"I'm not doing this for you..." Kyuubi's eyes became shadowed as the darkness disappeared and time reversed itself, Sasuke's and Naruto's bodies healing and going back step by step until time came to a stop; to the scene before Naruto went to talk with Sai.

Then it was as if the play button was pushed.

Blue eyes widened and Naruto looked down at his hands as he stood at the back of the bus, tourists in a line in front of him, ready to exit. He swallowed and blinked back the the threatening tears.

I'm doing this for me... I love watching your actions as your days together come closer to their end, Kyuubi's voice echoed inside of his mind.

As the rest of the group left the bus, he stood still, then ran forward; down the aisle and out into the forest area, "Sasuke!" he called frantically. Looking around, he spotted the raven leaning against a thick tree, his arms crossed.

Sasuke turned and glared at the blond, "Aren't you supposed to be with Sai, right now?"

Naruto stopped his steps, "W-what...?"

"You two seem so close, I just thought that maybe you'd rather be with him. Hn, I think he'd make a better lover, too. He's not dead," he growled.

He's acting like...

xXxXx

"Don't tell him I was here."

xXxXx

... he doesn't remember...

Naruto ignored the glare and dark voice, moving to wrap his arms around firm shoulders. He buried his face against the crook of Sasuke's neck, He might not remember... but I can't get the look of his face out of my head... he looked like he was suffering so much...

"I'm sorry..." he tightened his hug, "I'm a horrible person, aren't I? Just leaving you for someone I hardly even knew..."

Sasuke actually blinked in suprise, his anger and jealousy subsiding.

"You're not... horrible," he sighed and put a hand on Naruto's head, "look, what I said earlier, I didn't mean it."

"Yes, you did," Naruto whispered, but smiled, relieved that Sasuke hadn't pushed him away, "but I probably would've said it too if I were in your shoes," he pulled back and grinned brightly, trying to make things better. He didn't want to think of Kyuubi, he didn't want to think about Sasuke's pained face as he was dying for the second time, and he didn't want the raven to be mad with him.

Sasuke was still a bit mad, but he knew the blond hadn't meant any harm in just chatting with Sai, "We have a half an hour before the tour's over, let's go see the onsen," he took Naruto's hand.

Still grinning, Naruto nodded.

Iori stared at the both of them as they walked away, then looked over at the far away street, a flash of orange and red disappearing into the sky. He didn't blink once as he walked over to his sister, "Ino-chan, I saw the demon," he said calmly.

Ino looked away from the springs and down at her brother, "A demon?"

"The one who wants to make Naruto's spirit friend disappear."

xXxXx

Ikue called for everyone to get onto the bus, her smile gentle as she saw Sasuke and Naruto talking and laughing together as they approached, "I knew they would make up," she whispered to Ino, the girl wiping sweat from her face on a towel.

"Yes, yes, you always know, Mom," she rolled her eyes and climbed aboard, Iori and their father behind them.

Sai stepped around the bus and smiled to Naruto, "I hope to see you again, Naruto-san."

Getting pulled from his conversation, Naruto stiffened and laughed nervously, "Y-yeah, sure, sometime soon," he then bowed slightly to the tour guide and went onto the bus, Sasuke following behind, tossing Sai one last glare.

The both of them took their seats and Naruto leaned his head on Sasuke's shoulder, sighing loudly, "I can't wait to get back to Ino's house, I'm exhausted and my feet hurt like hell," he yawned, "and I wanna take a nap before we pack for the airport."

"Hn, you get tired too easily," Sasuke smirked.

"Che, Teme, I'm mentally fatigued."

"From what?"

Naruto stuck his tongue out, "None of your business."

Sasuke gave him an irritated expression and crossed his arms, "Maybe a promise of a soothing and pleasurable bath might get you to tell me?"

"Mmmm maybe, all depends if it's really that good or not," Naruto laughed lightly and closed his eyes, the rays of the evening sun warming his skin. He desperately wanted everything to stay like this forever...

xXxXx

After they had arrived home, both Naruto and Sasuke has chosen to take a quick shower before getting ready to leave. It was around six in the evening, and their flight wasn't until ten, so Naruto'd be able to take his desired cat nap.

Sasuke stepped out of the bathroom first, a light blue towel around his waist, his black hair soaked and in shaggy waves down to the middle of his neck. Clear drops of water rolled down his smooth chest and rode a trail down his stomach, stopping at the bellybutton and dripping to the floor. He walked across the hall and slid into their room, Naruto following after him, his hair wet and hanging down to reach mid-ear.

The blond held down a yawn as he bent down to dig through his bag, grabbing a pair of long boxers. Pulling them out and tugging them on, he used the towel that was around his waist to dry his hair.

"I'm soooo tired," he complained, tossing the towel across the room and plopping down onto their large sleeping mat, "just two hours isn't going to be enough," he whined.

Sasuke slipped his towel off and began drying his hair as well, "You can sleep on the plane, too."

"I know, but those seats aren't comfy," he pouted cutely and tilted his head to the side, watching his lover put on a similar pair of boxers. Before he could say anything else, there was a soft knock on the wooden panel by their door, Ino standing there.

"Iori-nii wanted to talk to you," she pointed to her little brother who was beside her, clad in a loose, black yukata. He stepped into the room and Naruto swore he felt the temperature drop a few degrees. He laughed nervously.

"U-Um, hi, Iori..." he gulped. He'd never really been comfortable around the small boy when no other member of the Yamanaka family was around. The last time the child was with him without his parents or sister, he had just stared at the wall behind Naruto, his eyes moving as if following someone.

Iori didn't say anything, he only sat down on the bedding, his legs crossing indian style. He looked over at Sasuke, "I would like to speak to you as well."

Sasuke raised a brow. On the bus ride home, Naruto had talked a bit about his past with Ino's family, going into detail about how the father was the most of the four, how the mother always gave hints of the future happenings as if it was just casual talk, and how Iori loved chatting with spirits and freaking the shit out of him. But he'd also said that Iori was a brilliant kid. He was apparently much smarter than his classmates, and understood a lot more things about life and the afterlife than any other kid his age.

Sitting beside Naruto, Sasuke got into a comfortable position, noticing the scared look on the blond's face, Che, he's probably scared a ghost'll pop up.

"You may leave, Ino-chan," Iori didn't look at his sister as he said that, his pale eyes staring ahead into Sasuke's. The raven didn't want to admit it, but the child seemed to be looking straight through him.

Ino huffed and stormed down the hall, muttering something about a bossy little brat who wasn't going to get dessert tonight.

Iori broke off his gaze from Sasuke and blinked slowly, moving to focus on Naruto, "At first, I didn't understand how your spirit became physical. Afterall, ghosts cannot gain flesh..."

Naruto blinked, then furrowed his golden brows, "Spirit? What're you--"

"Then I realized that what stood by your side was only half of a spirit. The other half must've been in Purgatory," he glanced at Sasuke, "I already knew a lot about Heaven, Purgatory, the Spirit World, and Hell... but I just recently found out that a being could be in two places at once."

Blue eyes widened a fraction.

"So the Sasuke here is in the false body he was given when he arrived in Purgatory," Iori stated, "but you would think that his spirit self would still be around you, correct?"

I was right, Sasuke thought, My other part was beside Naruto since the day I died.

"But it's not. That clearly shows that while he has been here, his spirit half has merged with him," Iori gave the both of them a heavy look, "making it easier for that demon to bind him to the Earth."

That demon... "How do you know about him?" Naruto asked.

Iori folded his arms over his knees, "I am used to otherworldly presences... so when the "incident" happened and reversed..." he gave Naruto a knowing look, "I was not effected. Sasuke probably was because the demon meant for that to happen."

"Demon? What're you talking about?" Sasuke interrupted.

"Nothing..." Naruto said softly, remembering Kyuubi's words.

"Forgetting that... I only came here to tell you of the spirit's merger into his false body, and that you shouldn't give the demon anything," Iori spoke in a calm voice.

Naruto stiffened.

The small boy stood up, the bottom of his yukata brushing against the back of his legs. He walked forward and bent down, his mouth by Naruto's ear, "Nothing will bring him back to life. Don't give everything up for something that can never happen," then he bowed to them and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Sasuke gripped the sheets beneath him, "What did he mean by a demon? And what're you giving it?"

Naruto hid his rising sadness beneath a sheepish grin, "Nothing. It's code for something completely irrelevent," he laughed nervously.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, not believing him. But he let it go, not wanting to start another arguement, "I see... Well, I think we should get into our clothes before we take a nap."

"Yeah, better to be dressed before we head out," Naruto grinned, trying to forget about Kyuubi.

xXxXx

Ino had her arms crossed as Iori stepped into the living room.

"What were you talking to them about?" she asked.

"Nothing that concerns you, Ino-chan," he stepped past her and sat with their mother on the sofa, not paying Ino any more attention.

She glared, "Brat."

Ikue moved her eyes from the television, "He told them of what awaits in the future."

"Partly," Iori added.

xXxXx

As Naruto lay sleeping in his arms, Sasuke kept his gaze on his bag, remembering the little fox statue he'd bought earlier that morning. He didn't know when to give it to him, but tonight didn't seem like the right time. Maybe sometime after dinner... and before sex?

"Mmmm," Naruto snuggled further into Sasuke's arms.

xXxXx

"You're seriously not coming?" Naruto whined as he, Sasuke, and Ino got closer to where they were supposed to board the plane.

Ino shook her head, "I'm going to stay here for a bit. You guys go ahead and enjoy your time together," she smiled, "I'll keep in contact, though. You know, e-mail, cellphone, AIM... spirits sent from my little brother."

Naruto twitched.

"It was a joke," she laughed and leaped onto him, "Oooooh, I'll miss you!" she pulled back and jumped onto Sasuke too, "and you too, Sasuke-kun! But don't worry, I won't miss your wedding! Call me when you figure out when you want to have it! Then I'll fly right back down there!"

Naruto blushed, but smiled softly, "You'll be the first one I'll call."

Ino gave them both a kiss on the cheek before waving good-bye as they boarded the plane.

Taking their seats, Sasuke sighed, still thinking about when to give Naruto his gift. Naruto only plopped his head down onto the raven's shoulder and closed his eyes, a loud yawn errupting from his big mouth. He nuzzled the thin shoulder and smiled, "Wake me up when we get there, ok?"

Sasuke muttered an "alright" before the lights of the plane went out, only small glowing lights lit above every row of seats left. The people in front of them were watching the flight movie (Snakes on a Plane), and there was a child and her grandfather behind them, the small child giggling as the old man tickled her.

He smiled at how peaceful things were now...

Knowing it wouldn't be like that for long.

Next Chapter- "What do you wanna do before you're hitched?" Kiba asked.

---------------- "See my brother's grave," Sasuke replied.

---------------- "Make an amateur porn video!" Naruto shouted.