Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! BooHoo O_o

A/N: Sasuke gets his ass handed to him.

I'm so sorry for the long wait. I'm a horrible person, and if I ever make you wait that long, feel free to throw cars through my window o,o
Anyone go to Anime Detour '10? :D

Read on my minions!

"Naruto…"

The name was molasses as it escaped his mouth and he savored the flavor of it as it passed his lips.

Before, it could've been a mistake—his mind playing games or a trick of the light. If either of those were the case, it would explain why the blonde had acted the way he did at the morning assembly. That had to be it, because said blonde would've never blown him off, been so rude, at any other time. There was also the option that Sasuke was merely delusional—which would explain his current thoughts of a pleasant, well-mannered Naruto.

Before, all of that had been possible. Commons misconceptions.

Now, however…Now, the real thing was before him. Just beyond his reach, if only for a second, was the sun-hued hair, kaleidoscope eyes, and golden skin. He was too real to be any fabrication of Sasuke's mind. This time the young Uchiha knew that was the truth before him. And he had to grasp the truth as soon as possible.

Sasuke took a staggered step and in a moment he was making his way across the dorm commons. It seemed as if everyone simultaneously made to stand in his way, forcing him to push and shove through the dawdling students. The blonde, walking with a brunet who Sasuke recognized (or would've if he wasn't in a one-track state of mind) as Neji, disappeared around a corner and from his sight. Just a few paces away from the turn, a body abruptly blocked Sasuke's path.

The dark-haired teen let out a low growl and slowly raised a glare to the redheaded man. Artfully shaped golden eyes looked down at him from their two-inch advantage, amusement and something dangerous hidden within the strange wisps of red that ran through them. The man obviously had foreign blood mixed in him, if his facial features and slight accent was any indicator.

"Uchiha, right? We've been looking for you every where—thought you got lost for a while there. Don't worry; it's happened to a lot of Konoha kids today,"

Obsidian eyes narrowed.

"How rude of me," The redhead chuckled, holding out a hand, "I'm Kyuubi, a third year and the dorm head here,"

Sasuke ignored him and tried to step around as he peaked over the redhead's shoulder, trying to find a glimpse of blonde in hopes that Naruto had returned, but came up with nothing. If he didn't go now, he would lose him. And Sasuke would've gone, if not for the man who had stepped before him, yet again, apparently tracking the Uchiha's movements.

"So, I'll show you to your room and—"

"Could we do this later?" Sasuke snapped, interrupting Kyuubi. "I'm busy,"

"You can't be busy unpacking or anything, since you don't know your room number. That's why we'll go do that now," Kyuubi chirped in what seemed to be a cheerful voice, though underlying annoyance could be detected.

Sasuke slowly clenched and unclenched his fists as he took a deep breathe. "I have to go meet some…friends,"

"You have friends?" muttered the redhead under his breath. Sasuke shot him the famous Uchiha glare and Kyuubi grinned, "Well I'm sure your 'friends' won't mind if we take care of this first, ne?"

At this rate, he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. "Naruto…" He groaned to himself, quiet enough that no one else heard. Unfortunately, Kyuubi did. The smile immediately slipped from the redhead's face and was replaced by a dark look that matched his tone.

"What do you want with him?"

"Excuse me?"

"What do you want with Naruto?"

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow, "None of your business,"

"If it happens in my dorm, it's my business,"

He scoffed.

"Especially when it involves my little brother,"

He froze. "Naruto…?" No, no, the dobe was an only child. "Nice try, he doesn't have a brother."

"Che, cousin or brother—whatever. Relationships remain the same no matter where the blood is," Something sparked within Kyuubi's golden eyes. "Though it doesn't really matter who I am, does it? What matters, is who you are, and I know exactly who you are, Uchiha,"

"What's that supposed to mean?" growled Sasuke. This crackpot, whoever the hell he was, was really starting to piss him off. He just kept getting in the raven's way. Brother, Cousin, Uncle!—at the moment, Sasuke didn't give a damn as to what relation the redhead had to Naruto, all he wanted was to find the dobe.

Besides, if Kyuubi had wanted him to believe that they were 'cousins' in the first place, he could've come up with a better lie—the two looked nothing alike!

He glowered at the young Uchiha. "Stay away from him,"

Sasuke disregarded the redhead, the little patience he had finally running out, and pushed passed him. He'd already wasted enough time playing around, now he needed to find Naruto. As he stepped passed Kyuubi, however, he felt his blood run cold and thoughts similar to that of frail prey in the wilderness crossed his mind. Kyuubi let out a feral sound and just as Sasuke felt he would be snatched back by the angry redhead, he heard an indignant squawk come from the very same man.

The dark-haired teen quickly exited the dorm commons and turned down the hall, sparing only a glance over his shoulder at the strange sight that was now occurring. Protests of Kyuubi ("What the hell are you doing, Itachi?! Let go of me! No—No, you're letting him get away! So help me god, if he lays a hand on Na—where the hell do you think your grabbing?!"—followed him as he went and he thought that for once in his life, his elder brother had been of some use.

-.-.-

Naruto's heart pounded from the sight and his head throbbed in time with the organ, bringing on a migraine. A nauseous feeling twisted his stomach, and the moment he walked out into the courtyard with Neji, his legs gave out and he collapsed against the dorm building

His breath parted his lips in heavy gasps as he rested his head on the brick wall behind him. He squeezed his eyes shut to keep himself from seeing what the sight of the Uchiha apparently did to him: The knocking of his knees and the trembling of his hands.

He hated it.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered why he hadn't reacted like this earlier, at the assembly. It was probably because only now were things beginning to sink in, and the reality of the Uchiha's presence had finally broken him. He nearly laughed at himself. He was supposed to strong and resilient; he had told himself that after three years he was over it. Lies.

"Naruto?"

The blonde cracked open his eyes to see a concerned looking Neji crouched before him, brow furrowed. "Are you alright?"

He tried to force a grin, but his attention was seized by something—rather someone—near the courtyard entrance. Embarrassment washed over him. He felt the need to crawl into fetal position and hide in a corner, or at least toss himself off Tokyo Tower—either one worked.

This was ridiculous—he was ridiculous. Sitting her like a broken-hearted girl. He was Uzumaki Naruto, damnit! Some day he would be the president of Japan (1) so he couldn't be so weak now!

Resolve hardened and common sense (the miniscule amount that he had) returned, the blonde smiled brightly and he stood up, "Gomen ne, Neji, I'm just a little tired. Late night, ya know?"

Neji nodded slowly, suspicion lacing his features. Nevertheless, he got to his feet, brushing dirt from his pants as he did so.

"I'm gonna go grab a soda, but I'll meet you back at the room. Then we can start 'Uzumaki Naruto's Outstandingly-Amazingly-Mind-Blasting—Yes, mind-blasting—Tour!'"

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Neji inquired, shaking his head with a small smile. "You seem to have a bit of brain damage,"

"Oi!"

He chuckled, "I'll see you at the room, then,"

With that, the brunet turned and headed down the path that wrapped around to the front of the boys' dorm. Naruto watched until his friend was completely out of sight, then turned around violently just as a dark-haired teen stopped before him.

"What do you want, Uchiha?"

-.-.-

Gaara stalked through the halls vehemently. Patches of carpet burned under each footstep he made and flames licked up the burgundy walls as he passed—or at least that's what would've happened if he was the demon that everyone claimed him to be.

In truth, the redhead was a level-headed person most of the time, he only came off as a murderous psychopath—which could was due solely on the fact that he hardly (if ever) smiled. There was a simple reason why he didn't smile, however: There were few things to smile about. Just like there were few things for him to get angry over. Simple as that.

But now, his temper really was coming into play. As he came into the dorm commons, Gaara did a quick sweep of the area with icy aqua eyes.

No Naruto.

With a suppressed curse, he continued on his search.

Twenty minutes ago, when Gaara had gotten away from the headache that was his green-spandex-clad (2) roommate, he had gone over to check up on Naruto—only to find his room empty. Since then, he had searched high and low, in every nook and cranny, for the blonde. He had checked everyone's room—even Sai's, which was a risk in itself—, but still came up with nothing.

And that's when the paranoia set it.

Yes, as aforementioned, Sabaku Gaara was a level-headed person most of the time. Those were the key words. In the times that he was not in a calm state, it was usually because of a certain blue-eyed nutcase who could cause a drastic change in his demeanor (for better or for worse) at any given moment. Currently, it was a 'worse' moment.

The redhead mentally groaned as he slumped against the wall, dragging his hand through his hair in frustration. It wasn't like Naruto to just up and disappear—though he was quite unpredictable and could hardly stay put for more than a half hour—and it certainly wasn't like Gaara to get so worried (nor was it good for his health).

"This is the second floor of the dorm, mostly second years stay here and…"

Gaara looked up as the pair of students made their way down the hall. He recognized one of them as a brunet in his homeroom class, but had never seen the other. Then it clicked…

The redhead pulled himself together, resisting the urge to bash his head against the wall for his stupidity, and began making his way back toward his room. He'd forgotten completely about the tours their principal had demanded them to give, and the embarrassment of nearly having a meltdown just because of it was enough to make him feel as if he were making the walk of shame through the hallway.

As he went he wondered if he would have to give his roommate a tour as well. The answer was obvious, but there was no way in hell was going to take that 'youthful'—he shuddered—freak around the entire school on his own. Perhaps he could get Naruto to come along—surely, he had to be done by now—he always seemed to get along with people; But Gaara knew it hadn't always been that way.

As he passed the window he glanced out into the open courtyard and stopped in his tracks. His eyes immediately landed upon Naruto who stood but a floor below, shouting something at the dark-haired teen who stood before him—the same one from the morning assembly. But more specifically, his attention was drawn to something wet that caught the light on the blonde's scarred cheek.

A guttural snarl passed his lips.

-.-.-

"See, that's your problem, Uchiha, you're so goddamn selfish!"

Sasuke couldn't organize the rapid flow of the emotions that flowed through him, but he could pinpoint a few. Helplessness. Pitiful. Utterly broken. He had never felt such things, but as he stood in the courtyard of Gensoka High School, the emotions seemed to numb his body.

He searched for an answer in Naruto's steel eyes—things once beautiful and majestic had now become cruelly distant and Sasuke knew that he was solely responsible for this. But he continued to search them as he was on the verge of mental panic. He needed to find the answer. The answer to…to…something! Something that would bring things back to normal, how they were supposed to be. Something that would fix the mess he had created and the foreboding feeling that hung in the air.

'Something' needed to fix the tears on the blonde's cheeks, the pained feeling in his own chest, and the past, where, apparently, he had screwed up.

"Alright, fine, if you want it to be like that then its ay-okay with me! We'll pretend like nothing happened and everything will go back to n—"

Naruto was suddenly cut off as he found himself roughly slammed against the wall, a pale hand wrapped firmly around his upper arm keeping him there. The blonde glared up at Sasuke who stood but a few inches away from him, his head lowered and his free hand resting on the bricks besides Naruto.

"That's your problem, Dobe! You don't know when to shut up. All you do is run your mouth and never give any one a chance to say anything, even when they're trying to apologize!" Sasuke hissed.

"What?"

"I'm sorry," said the young Uchiha, obsidian eyes finally meeting Naruto's. "I'm sorry,"

"Sorry?" The blonde asked, amusement threaded through his words. "And tell me, Sasuke," The name was bitter on his tongue, "what are you sorry for?"

"For saying…" he trailed off.

Cracked laughter bubbled from Naruto, "You've said a lot of things to me, Uchiha. Like that promise—remember that promise we made when we were, what, nine? Tcch, what a joke! I bet you don't even know what you're sorry for, do you?! So don't you dare. Don't you fucking dare give me your apology, because I don't want shit from you."

Sasuke's grip on the blonde tightened as he gritted out through clenched teeth, "Then why don't you tell me?"

Naruto glared at the raven and opened his mouth, undoubtedly about to start yelling, but stopped, his eyes wide at something over Sasuke's shoulder. "Shit," he grumbled as he lifted his sleeve to wipe furiously at the tears that had spilled down his cheeks.

He muttered something incoherent. Sasuke leaned in to here the blonde better but was suddenly knocked to the side.

-.-.-

Naruto knew it was bad when Gaara showed up, but he couldn't help but feel the slightest bit happier when he saw his redheaded friend—even if he had approached as if he were storming the seventh circle of hell and had then proceeded to nearly K.O. Sasuke (who had it coming, either way).

"Are you alright?" Gaara inquired, regarding him with cool eyes as he checked for injuries. He wiped a stray tear from the blonde's cheek with his thumb.

"I'm fine," said Naruto, feeling embarrassed, no matter the events that had just occurred. He hated crying, and he hated it even more when people saw him crying—though it hadn't been on his mind a few moments ago when he had been to busy hollering at Sasuke to notice.

"You don't look it," the redhead remarked.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "I'm fine,"

Obviously disbelieving, Gaara reached out to grab hold of Naruto's arm, intending on steering him back to the dormitory, but his hand went rigid when the blonde winced as Gaara grazed against his upper arm. In an instant, the redhead had pulled up the sleeve of Naruto's shirt and was staring at an already bruising patch of tan skin.

He turned harshly to Sasuke, who had just seemed to have gotten his balance back after having been shoved quite roughly, and questioned in a low voice, "What did you do?"

If Sasuke was anyone other than, well, Sasuke, he might possibly have peed his pants at the glare currently being shot his way by the murderous redhead. But being the Uchiha that he was, he merely matched the glare with one of his own, un-phased.

"Who are you?" spat Sasuke.

"He didn't do anything, Gaara, let's just go," Naruto said, trying to soothe the situation. It wasn't that he wanted to protect Sasuke—Hell no!—he just didn't want to sit back like some girl while Gaara took care of everything.

"What did you do?" The redhead said again as he stepped toward the Uchiha.

Sasuke frowned, "I didn't do anything,"

A fist smashed against his jaw and for a moment he was seeing stars.

"Gaara!"

"What the fuck did you do?"

Sasuke spit blood onto the ground, the incarnadine liquid staining the blades of the freshly cut grass. He hardly had time to look up before another blow came crashing down on the same spot, this one sending him to the ground.

"Shit, Gaara, what do you think you're doing?!" Naruto exclaimed as he began to tug away the ardent teen.

Sasuke cradled his tender jaw as he watched the retreating figures.

What the fuck was wrong with the redheads at this school?

(1)- Sorry Naru-chan but there's no such thing ~.~'

A/N: So we had…Crazy ass redheads (Gingers out there you are now obligated to review! xD ), growling, and midsentence interruptions.

Next Chapter: Possible memories explaining why Naruto is PMS'ing at Sasuke (even I was scared!) and classes start. It sounds more exciting than it is...I promise.

Next I'm updating NAW, then rewriting and updating Publicity (I mis-directed it and pretty much screwed myself first time around), and then I will start writing the winners of the poll (which is still open in case you want to tip the scales)

I slaved over a hot keyboard so review!