Disclaimer: I don't own nor have I contributed to Naruto in any way! Nope! None!
Sky-eyed Kitsune: Some veeeeeeeery unexpected happenings in this chapter! Please keep in mind that NARU AND THE GANG ARE 18!
Reviewer Replies-
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Sry I'm not replying to all of you, but I feel like I'm about to cry after writing this chapter! T.T
Inspiring Songs:
"Who Knew" by Pink
You took my hand, you showed me how
You promised me you'd be around
Uh huh.
That's right.
I took your words and I believed
In everything you said to me
Yeah huh.
That's right
If someone said three years from now you'd be long gone
I'd stand up and punch them out, 'cause they're all wrong
I know better, 'cause you said forever
And ever.
Who knew...
Remember when we were such fools
And so convinced and just too cool
Oh no.
No no.
I wish I could touch you again
I wish I could still call you friend
I'd give anything
When someone said count your blessings now
'fore they're long gone
I guess I just didn't know how
I was all wrong
They knew better
Still you said forever
And ever
Who knew
Yeah yeah
I'll keep you locked in my head
Until we meet again
Until we
Until we meet again
And I won't forget you my friend
What happened
If someone said three years from now
You'd be long gone
I'd stand up and punch them out
Cause they're all wrong and
That last kiss
I'll cherish
Until we meet again
And time makes
It harder
I wish I could remember
But I keep
Your memory
You visit me in my sleep
My darling
Who knew
My darling
My darling
Who knew
My darling
I miss you
My darling
Who knew
Who knew
Chapter Six: Who Knew
"SASUKE WHAT DID YOU DO TO NARU!?"
Sasuke grimaced as he walked into his house, Naruto unconscious in his arms as Itachi screamed at him.
"I didn't do anything," Sasuke said defensively. "Naruto showed up after the game and got cornered by someone Kyuubi knew."
Itachi stopped his inner panic attack and nodded.
"Oh…ok," he said lamely.
Sasuke placed Naruto on the couch in the den gently, and turned to Itachi.
"Can you watch him for a second? I have a feeling he might not wake up soon, so just in case I need to find the key to the guest room," he said.
Itachi nodded and Sasuke left the room.
Itachi let his eyes skim over Naruto, searching for any injuries or scratches, when he saw a bruise on his face with a smudge of dirt on it.
Itachi leaned forward and brushed the dirt away gently with his thumb, and his eyes widened when he pulled back his hand to find it the same tan color as Naruto's skin.
"Cover up?" he mused. He brushed his other thumb over the opposite uninjured cheek and found it also a new color when he looked at it.
Itachi gasped and winced as something suddenly whipped forward and grabbed his wrist in a bone crushing hold.
He blinked when he saw Naruto glaring at him with red eyes, a strong grip on his arm. Itachi's mind suddenly clicked.
"Naruto…you're Kyuubi?"
Naruto looked a bit stunned as he let go of Itachi's wrist and his eyes faded back to a sky blue.
"Itachi?" Naruto said. He looked around. "Where am I?"
"You passed out. Sasuke brought you to our house to recover," Itachi said. "Apparently you had a run in with someone Kyuu-…I mean, you used to know."
Naruto's eyes grew wide.
"Itachi, please don't tell Sasuke," he said quietly.
"Why not?"
"Because…because I don't want him to look at me the way everyone does when they see Kyuubi. I don't want him to know."
Itachi sighed.
"I don't think it would really matter to Sasuke," he said. "Sasuke likes you…a lot. I don't think that being Kyuubi would change--"
"Please Itachi!"
Itachi sighed again.
"Fine, fine. It's your secret to tell anyways, not mine. Go back to sleep Naruto. Sasuke will be back down in a minute to take you to the guest room."
As if on cue Naruto's eyes dropped to half mast as his mind became fuzzy again.
"Thanks," he breathed as he passed back out onto the couch.
Itachi heard the sound of rushing footsteps and Sasuke walked into the room a bit agitated.
"I can't find it," he grumbled.
He sighed.
"He'll just have to take my bed I guess," he said as he walked over to the couch and picked up the blonde in his arms gently.
"Where will you sleep?" Itachi asked as he watched his brother walk back upstairs.
"That's what sleeping bags were made for."
Itachi grinned as Sasuke went upstairs with Naruto. He reached into his pocket and smiled fondly at a little gold key.
Naruto panted as he ran forward, the heavy snowfall half blinding him if not for the streetlights guiding his way in the night. He wasn't very strong for a fourteen year-old, but he could definitely run.
Naruto's legs burned, aching for rest, but he couldn't until he reached Otogakure fields. Haku was meeting that gang there again.
Why wouldn't Haku just ignore them and run away? Because Haku wasn't a runner. If that gang wanted a fight, Haku would give them one, regardless if it was five to one. Naruto prayed to God that Haku's older brother Zabuza had showed up to help him.
Naruto's eyes widened and he willed his legs on faster as he saw the Otogakure High building come into view.
He ran through the deserted school parking lot and across the main entrance, stopping when he reached the snow covered field behind the school.
All the breath left his body as he saw Zabuza face down in the snow, limp and unmoving. Beside him were two other bodies Naruto couldn't identify, but knew they were from that gang Haku was meeting.
Haku stood in the middle of the field splattered red with blood, cuts adorning his body and his clothes ripped. He panted where he stood, facing three more gang members. Haku was unarmed, his weapons and special needles used to deliver quick blows buried in the red snow.
"HAKU!!!" Naruto cried.
Haku turned and a man in front of him lunged forward, skillfully throwing a knife at the brunette.
"Haku, look out!" Naruto shouted, running forward.
"Naruto, don't!" Haku said, but his plead went unheard as Naruto stepped in front of him, making a shield with his body, and took the blow.
He fell back when the knife pierced the front of his left shoulder, clutching it.
"Naruto!" Haku cried, kneeling in front of his friend.
"Haku, look out!" Naruto screamed.
His friend didn't turn as a shot echoed into the night, and he fell limp onto the snow.
Naruto's breaths came in shaky inhales and exhales as he gazed at his best friend's limp form, the snow around him melting into crimson red.
Naruto leaned forward and turned his friend over with his uninjured arm, and tears began to well up in his eyes as he saw the bullet hole in Haku's back.
He tried to scream, but nothing came out but a choke.
He heard a click and shifted his eyes up to look into the barrel of a sleek black handgun.
"Ne, maybe we should let him live?" a voice said.
"No. There can't be any witnesses," the one holding the gun said, Naruto too afraid to look up and see his soon to be killer's face.
Naruto turned Haku back over again, bowing his head over the brunette and touching a hand to his pale and still warm cheek.
Everything blacked out as another shot fired.
"HAKU!"
Naruto bolted upright where he lay in Sasuke's bed, panting quickly.
Sasuke turned abruptly from where he sat scribbling at his desk when he heard Naruto's cry shatter the silence in his room.
"Naruto, what's wrong?" Sasuke said, sitting down beside the blonde on his bed. He gasped a bit as Naruto tugged him forward by his shirt and began crying into it.
Sasuke blinked down at the bundle of gold clinging to him, and he cautiously placed his arms around Naruto, embracing him tightly when the blonde pressed into Sasuke's warmth at the touch even more.
"S-Sasuke!" Naruto cried. "H-Haku, he's….the gun….I couldn't protect him!"
"Shhh," Sasuke hushed, rubbing Naruto's back up and down with his hand comfortingly. "It was probably just a nightmare Naru-"
"It wasn't! It really happened…all those years ago……it happened…"
Sasuke swung his legs over onto the bed, keeping a hand on Naruto, and laid down next him. He held Naruto close against him, the blonde placing his hands on Sasuke's chest and snuggling closer to him as he wept.
Sasuke weaved his hand through Naruto's golden locks, drinking in what Naruto had said.
Who was Haku? Why did he need to protect him? What…what did a gun have to do with anything?
Sasuke decided not to press it, and for the next hour (or hours…he couldn't tell), he lay there with the blonde, holding onto him tightly as he cried.
Sasuke talked to him softly to comfort him. He spoke about his life, his family, his interests, anything else to get Naruto's minds off his troubles.
Naruto spoke now and then about his own interests, and Sasuke found that they were alike, and yet complete opposites.
Sasuke felt warmth spread throughout his body, a reaction that he had been having towards Naruto a lot lately.
"I think…I think I'm in love with him…" Sasuke thought, burying his face in Naruto's golden locks. He felt the warmth engulf him again as those words rang in his head, and he was sure of it.
He was in love with Naruto.
He didn't care if his brother was a gang lord. He didn't care if Naruto was sometimes loud. He didn't care if they argued. Sasuke didn't know how, but the blonde had wiggled his way into his heart……………..and he needed to let him know.
"Naruto," Sasuke said quietly. "I-"
"Hey Miss Murder can I, hey Miss Murder can I, make beauty stay if I take my life? Whoa oh oh…"
Naruto reached into his pocket and took out his cell phone.
"With just a look, they shook, and heavens bowed before him. Simply a look could break your heart. The stars that pierced the sky; he left them all behind. We're left to wonder why he left us all….behind."
"T-Temari," he said, about to flip it open when Sasuke took the phone from his hands.
"I've got it," he said. "You're in no condition to talk right now."
Sasuke flipped open the phone and held it to his ear.
"Sasuke, no!"
"Hello?"
Naruto's eyes widened as he heard Temari burst into speech over the phone.
"Kyuu! Where are you!? You should have been back! Are you ok? Did something happen? KYUUBI, ANSWER!"
"This…this is Naruto's phone," Sasuke said slowly.
"Kyuu, what are you talking abo-"
Temari stopped dead.
"Uchiha!?"
"Yea."
"Why do you have Kyu-er Naruto's phone!?"
"He's not feeling well so I answered for him. He's right here, do don't throw a fit. Now, is this Kyuubi or Naruto's phone?"
"I-I-I-I-I…"
Sasuke blinked when the line disconnected.
Temari threw her phone against the wall and sat down on the couch, throwing her head into her hands.
"Naruto…I'm so sorry…"
Sasuke closed the phone and looked down to Naruto, staring back at him with anxious blue eyes.
A tear fell down his cheek, and Sasuke brushed it away delicately with his thumb, then raised an eyebrow as he pulled back his hand and found that his thumb was now a shade tanner.
He rubbed his thumb against his index finger, and the tan spread onto his index finger as well.
"Cover up?" he thought, looking back down at Naruto who had buried his head back into Sasuke's chest.
"Naruto's skin is perfect. What would he need to cover…?"
Sasuke's eyes widened as a thought popped into his head.
"No, that's ridiculous."
Sasuke shook his head.
"Then again…"
He looked back down to the blonde beauty next to him.
"I'll never know unless I…"
Sasuke took Naruto's face from his chest into his hands, the blonde's eyes shut tightly, and wiped at his tear stained cheeks, more tan melding onto his fingers as he did so.
Sasuke's breath caught in his throat when he saw a black whisker-like scar.
"No…it can't be. No, no, no….Naruto wouldn't lie!"
Sasuke removed the rest with his sleeve, not caring about staining it tan, and dropped his hand when he had finished.
On each of Naruto's cheeks were three black whisker-like scars, a small bruise on his right cheek.
"Just like Kyuubi…NO! This can't be true! Naruto isn't…"
Sasuke didn't finish his thought as he flipped Naruto over on the bed so that he was straddling him, and Naruto opened his eyes to look at Sasuke with a crushed sapphire gaze.
"Sasuke...what are you-"
Sasuke didn't answer as he lifted up Naruto's shirt.
Sasuke stared in disbelief at the bruise over Naruto's chest akin to Kyuubi's and the complicated pronged spiral tattoo around his belly button.
"Naruto is Kyuubi…Naruto is Kyuubi…Naruto is-"
"Kyuubi," Sasuke said aloud. (More like snarled.)
"Sasuke please, let me explain," Naruto pleaded.
"What, more lies that I don't know about!?" Sasuke shouted.
Naruto stiffened.
"I'm…."
Sasuke awaited an apology.
Naruto looked at Sasuke hard with his eyes.
"I'm not sorry."
Sasuke's face took on nothing short of shock.
"That's right," Naruto said. "I'm not sorry. I have my reasons."
"What, so you can pretend to be my friend when you're actually just some gang leader in disguise only using me to make money off of being a bodyguard!?" Sasuke cried, glaring intensely. "I can't believe you would lie! I told you things! Private things, just now that nobody knows about me! What was all that just now? Was everything you just said about your life and your hobbies and likes a lie too!?"
"Sas-"
"At this point I wouldn't put it past you!"
"Sa-"
"Damn demon Kyuubi!!!"
Naruto blinked, his mouth a bit agape as he stared into Sasuke's eyes, only seeing the raw hatred that Jiraiya himself held for him. "Demon"…that was Jiraiya's nickname for him.
Naruto shut his eyes tightly and grit his teeth as they almost seemed to become sharper. Sasuke leaned back a bit when Naruto opened his new crimson eyes
Sasuke winced as Naruto shot out his fist and punched him hard across the face. He cringed as he was shoved off the bed and suddenly found himself pinned against the wall, the eyes of Kyuubi boring into his own with loathing and…hurt?
"Sasuke…" Naruto said, looking down and biting his lip, not meeting Sasuke's gaze again.
"I…" Naruto's shoulders shook as he kept Sasuke firmly in place. "I want to kill you so bad right now…..Sasuke……but……"
Naruto lifted his eyes to look at Sasuke, and Sasuke's heart leapt into his own when he saw them blue once more and full of sparkling tears.
"I can't!" Naruto cried, as if scolding himself. "I can't! I just….I just can't! Dammit Sasuke!"
Sasuke's eyes widened as Naruto abruptly leaned forward and crashed their lips together.
Sasuke stood there against the wall, frozen as Naruto caressed his lips against the younger Uchiha's softly, almost pleadingly.
Sasuke wanted to respond…god he wanted to….but he just couldn't bring himself out of his deep well of pride to do so.
Naruto pulled back and hung his head, releasing Sasuke.
Sasuke watched still and bewildered as Naruto threw open the door to his room and ran out.
Itachi looked up from his paper as he heard quick and loud thumping descending down the stairs.
He looked up and was surprised to see Naruto run down.
"Naruto? What's wrong?" he said.
Naruto didn't spare Itachi a two second glance as he ran to the front door and sped out, his golden locks hiding his face from sight.
But Itachi didn't need to see Naruto to know what had happened.
Itachi sighed and shook his head.
"What have you done, Sasuke?"
Naruto ran down the streets blindly, dusk falling fast with every stride and burn of his legs.
He didn't know how long he had been running for, and he didn't want to stop and find out.
"All this time…"
Tear streamed from Naruto's eyes, vanishing from his cheeks and into the air as he tore through the streets.
"If I had just known…if I had just known that opening up again would turn out like this…"
Naruto skid down an ally way, running into the darkness ahead unlit by the streetlights.
"Why did I let him in!?"
Naruto punched his fist into the brick wall ahead of him as it came to a dead end, his skin splitting open and red hot blood oozing down his sun-kissed skin.
"He's just like all the others. I………I HATE HIM!!!"
Naruto punched his other fist into the wall, marring more of his skin with cuts and blood.
Naruto let out a silent scream as he pressed his back against the wall, sliding down it to collapse on the ground.
He pulled his legs into his chest, burying his head in them as he cried.
"Haku….what should I do?" he whispered. "Haku….Haku….I need you!"
Naruto didn't flinch as two arms wrapped around him, and he felt the cold cement under him leave his body as he was picked up. He didn't need to open his eyes to know who it was.
"Gaara…" Naruto breathed.
Gaara cradled Naruto his arms with sad jade eyes, walking to the car that sat in gear by the sidewalk.
Gaara gasped as Naruto shoved him into his room, locking the door behind them.
The redhead looked up only to stare into two crimson eyes as Naruto crashed his lips against his own. He pushed his hands up against Naruto's chest, trying to pry him away, but couldn't keep from groaning when Naruto twined one had in his crimson locks and ran his hand up and down under his shirt slowly.
"Na-Naru…to….hn!"
Naruto moved down Gaara's neck, kissing his pale skin feverishly, nibbling now and then and licking the red marks he left.
"Naruto…you……this isn't right," Gaara panted. "You don't- hah – love me…AH!"
Gaara let out a short cry as Naruto's hand previously on his chest thrust down into his pants, gripping his manhood.
"You know you want it Gaa-chan…" Naruto said, his gaze half lidded as he tilted his head up and brushed his lips against the redhead's.
Gaara moaned as Naruto began to stroke him, all the while steering him towards the bed.
Gaara gasped as the room suddenly flipped and Naruto switched their positions as they landed on the bed, Gaara overtop the blonde.
He lifted himself up, but wished he hadn't as he saw Naruto's hair splayed out over the black covers, his red eyes gleaming sexily and his jacket half unzipped.
Gaara gulped as he felt his self-control dissolve away, and he screwed his eyes shut.
"Please, Gaara…"
Gaara opened his eyes again, shocked to see Naruto's eyes blue and pleading.
"Please Gaara, please!" Naruto said again. "Just make me forget him! Make me forget his face!"
Gaara's eyes widened a bit. He knew that the Uchiha had found out, but he never expected Naruto to…
"You loved him, didn't you?" Gaara asked softly.
Naruto shut his eyes tightly, the use of words not necessary.
The blonde opened them when he felt Gaara's lips wrap around his own in a kiss.
"Thank-you…thank-you Gaara…" Naruto thought as he clutched the front of Gaara's shirt, desperately kissing him back.
"I know this won't mean anything," Gaara thought as he removed his shirt and helped Naruto with his own. "As much as I want it to, it just won't."
Gaara's heart jumped when Naruto groaned underneath him as the redhead lapped at his neck.
"I love you, Naruto, even if you don't love me back."
Gaara slipped off his jeans, dragging Naruto's down as he kissed down his torso lower and lower. He flipped Naruto over as he removed them.
"If this is the most I can do to show you that…then it's ok."
Gaara dragged his bare body up Naruto's back, drawing out a groan from the blonde beneath him.
"As long as I'm with you, Naruto….it'll always be ok."