Three times when Sasuke kept a secret for the wrong reason, and one when he did it for the right reason
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I don't own, you don't sue.
Pairing: NaruSasu. Or SasuNaru. Or both.
Thanks as always to the reviewers and to Kantayra (you should all go give a try to her Sasori/Deidara fic Flesh and Blood because it's GOOD – funny, witty, nicely plotty, and in a few chapters it'll be HOT).
The strange sharingan swirled in Sasuke's mind every time he looked at Itachi. Had he seen wrong, maybe? It had all gone so fast, and Sasuke had been half-hidden at the time… Maybe he had imagined it.
Surely, if his brother had developed a new technique, he would have told their parents. He never boasted when he achieved another step toward greatness, never brought to himself the kind of attention that would have made it so easy for Sasuke to burn with resentment. Instead, he was always calm, not exactly humble but… it was as though every big thing he did were only a planned, normal step toward his goals. Sasuke could do little more than admire him, and hope to equal him.
Still, now that their father had started showing more interest in Sasuke, the last thing he wanted was to bring to light yet another way Itachi was greater than everyone he knew – greater than he was.
He kept thinking about the strange sharingan, kept wondering what it meant, kept watching Itachi in hope to see it again, but he didn't tell anyone about it. Even after, he never did.
…
Panting, Sasuke let himself fall to the ground and looked up at the tree in front of him. The first mark slashed the bark at about ten feet; the most recent one was almost twice as high. He'd get to the top, eventually, but this was taking longer than he had expected.
A muttered curse brought his eyes to the tree on his right. Naruto's first mark was much lower than his, but his last one almost reached as high as Sasuke's. Even as Sasuke watched, Naruto ran up yet again, and gained another half inch.
When he reached the ground again, he rested his hands on his knees to rest a little. He wasn't even panting all that hard, Sasuke realized with part annoyance, part envy. Where his teammate found this much stamina, Sasuke didn't know.
"What are you looking at, bastard?" Naruto snapped, straightening up again.
With some difficulty, Sasuke got back to his feet and tightened his fingers on his kunai.
"I'm looking at nothing, dead last."
Naruto glared. Sasuke smirked. Taking a deep breath, he launched himself at the tree again. He'd never admit it even under torture, but as time passed his disappointment at having been placed in a team with Naruto was slowing fading. He found himself challenged by Naruto in ways he would never have anticipated, and their rivalry only helped both of them improve. And improving, becoming better, stronger, faster was the only thing he wanted.
He almost felt sorry he'd never be able to thank Naruto for his unwitting help, but he had a reputation to maintain. He couldn't exactly go around and admit he was starting to like the idiot.
…
Sasuke could feel eyes on him—on his neck. He tugged on the collar of his t-shirt restlessly. A glance at his companions showed he was fooling no one.
Sakura knew what was there, and what had happened. He could see the pity in her eyes, the fear, and regret already that she had promised not to tell anyone. He would be surprised if she held on to that promise for very long.
As for Naruto… There were questions in his eyes, no doubt there. Ever since they had come out of that damn forest, he had been throwing little frowns at Sasuke, sometimes even looking like he was going to say something. Every time, Sasuke turned away. He had no desire to explain himself. It was bad enough that Sakura knew. He wouldn't be able to bear it if Naruto started looking at him as though he were a broken.
He wasn't broken. He wasn't ill, or weakened, or anything else. And if the seal burned and hurt every so often, it didn't matter. He'd take pain over pity any day; he'd had too much of the latter already.
…
"We've got a mission," Naruto informed Sasuke, and they left together. "What did you two talk about, then?" he asked once they had reached the street.
"Nothing much," Sasuke replied with a shrug. "You know, just catching up."
Naruto bit his lip rather than accuse him of lying. Sasuke hadn't been back to Konoha for a full day, and already he was hiding something. He hadn't changed one bit, Naruto thought, not for the first time, but for the first time the idea left a bitter taste on his tongue.
He tried not to think about it as they did that stupid D-rank mission. Even though Sasuke didn't complain, Naruto could tell that he was annoyed at being given such a low-rank assignment. It was a waste of their abilities to have them do such silly things as herding cats or pulling weeds, but the underlying message was even clearer for it. A ninja couldn't leave his village for years and expect to be welcomed back with no hard feelings. Sasuke was probably lucky not to be in a cell.
At least, Naruto thought once they were done and had made their report, they would have a lot of free time. Missions like these wouldn't take them long. Without a word, he led the way toward the training grounds. Sasuke didn't ask why they were going that way, as though he already suspected.
"What did you tell Sakura?" Naruto asked as they were coming close to the grounds.
"Nothing much."
This time, Naruto didn't try to contain himself anymore. "Liar."
Sasuke's lack of reply only reinforced Naruto's certitude.
"Do you know what I was doing while you were telling nothing to Sakura? I was working on getting you your clan's property back."
Still silent, Sasuke looked at Naruto. His expression was at the same time strange and intensely familiar. Naruto couldn't figure out why Sasuke would be so detached about getting his home back.
"She said she'd have the papers for you tomorrow," he insisted, trying to draw a reaction from Sasuke.
Sasuke looked away and nodded. "Thank you."
"If you want to thank me, tell me what you were saying to Sakura that you didn't want me to hear."
They had reached the training grounds. Naruto stopped and, after taking a few more steps, so did Sasuke. He turned back to Naruto and gave him an almost apologetic look.
"No."
Without warning, Naruto attacked, throwing his fist at Sasuke's face. Sasuke dodged and attacked back. Back and forth they went, tacitly keeping the sparing match to taijutsu.
"If I win," Naruto said after a couple of minutes, "you'll tell me."
He expected Sasuke to snort or roll his eyes. Instead, he asked, never breaking the rhythm of his attacks: "What if I win?"
Naruto ducked and threw out his foot, finally landing a blow on Sasuke. "What do you want?" he asked, grinning.
Sasuke rolled his shoulders and launched yet another series of blows. "I don't know. Let me think about it."
On and on they went, fighting with hands and feet but no chakra. Naruto's confidence grew with each passing moment. He'd always had more stamina than Sasuke. It was only a matter of time before Sasuke started slipping—just like this, in fact. Sasuke's round kick left him off-balance, and Naruto took the opening, sending him to the ground.
"I know what I want," Sasuke said, panting. "I want a talk with the Kyuubi. Just him and me."
Naruto was so surprised that he allowed Sasuke's leg to hook behind his. Before he knew it, he was sprawled on the ground and Sasuke had rolled over him, pinning his hands above his head and immobilizing his legs with his knees.
"I win," Sasuke said with a faint smile.
Naruto wanted to protest and call him a cheater, but he found himself suddenly captivated by the sight of Sasuke's mouth slowly coming down toward his. He licked his lips in anticipation, but rather than kissing him, Sasuke rolled off him and lay on the grass next to him.
Breathing hard more from the almost-kiss than their fight, Naruto tried to get himself under control. His mind was roiling and he wasn't sure what he wanted to know most – why Sasuke wanted to talk to the Kyuubi, or why he had stopped before kissing him.
"Do you know ANBU is watching us?" Sasuke asked out of the blue, his voice no louder than a whisper.
Naruto locked his hands behind his head. "I saw him, too," he said. In truth, he had suspected something of the sort would happen. Tsunade and the Elders had agreed too easily when he had volunteered to be Sasuke's guard. "I bet he's here for me just as much as he is for you."
Next to him, Sasuke sat up, leaning back on his forearms and frowning at Naruto. "Why would they watch you?"
Naruto shrugged, looking up at the clouds passing over them. The sky was slowly darkening. Night would start falling soon. "Because of the Kyuubi? Because Akatsuki wants me? Because not even ten days ago I ran off without permission?"
He glanced at Sasuke. His eyes were wide in surprise. "You did?"
"We got news about you," he explained, "and they wouldn't let me take a team there when they heard you were with Akatsuki."
"So you ran off?"
"So I ran off," Naruto confirmed, unable to suppress a smile. "So it would only be fair if you told me what you told Sakura after all I've risked for you."
Sasuke's frown deepened. He passed a hand through his hair, pausing for a second when his fingers met the metal of his forehead protector. He looked upset.
"You still want to be Hokage, don't you?" he asked, almost biting the words.
"Of course," Naruto replied, wondering what he was getting at.
"Running off… that had to ruin your chances."
Naruto's smile twisted into a goofy grin. "The old hag fixed it for me. I owe her. And you owe me." He paused, sitting up to look Sasuke eye to eye. "Sasuke…what did you tell Sakura? She looked upset."
Sasuke shook his head slowly. "You can't put your dream in danger again. Not for me. Not because of me." He looked almost angry now, though Naruto didn't think the anger was directed toward him. Suddenly, he asked, "Do you care about what ANBU sees?"
Naruto frowned in incomprehension. "What?"
"Do you care if they see me kiss you?"
Once he understood, the answer was surprisingly easy. "No."
Sasuke launched himself at him, and this time he didn't stop until their mouths met, their tongues picking up the fight. Holding on to each other, they rolled back and forth on the grass until they were both out of breath – until they were about to show their guard a lot more than a kiss. Breaking apart again, they lay side by side on the warm grass.
Eyes closed, Naruto allowed his heart to calm down, and then called out, "Hello, Sai!"
Sasuke grunted. "Of course it had to be him," he muttered.
Naruto wasn't sure whether he sounded more annoyed or jealous – though why he'd be jealous was a mystery.
Quiet steps in the grass brought Sai closer, and when Naruto looked up an ANBU mask was peering down at him, head tilted to one side.
"Hello, Naruto-kun. How did you know it was me?"
Naruto smiled. "It looked like you. And I had a feeling you might volunteer for this."
Behind the mask, Sai's eyes turned to Sasuke. "You got your special person back. I was curious."
Sitting up, Naruto laughed. "Did we satisfy your curiosity then?"
"I can't say I expected…" He gestured, seemingly at a loss for words. That was something new for Sai. "…this. I've read that sometimes this comes out of friendship, but it was… surprising."
Sasuke huffed. Naruto looked at him, catching only a glimpse of his annoyed expression before Sasuke stood and started walking away. Naruto stood as well, frowning. He kept an eye on him even as he asked Sai:
"Are you going to tell Tsunade about… this?"
Sai hesitated before answering. "No, I don't think that's part of what they wanted to know."
Sasuke froze at that and looked back. His eyes were ice. "They? You mean the Elders? And Danzou, too, maybe?"
Sai did not reply. Naruto looked from Sasuke to him and back, unsure of what was going on. When Sasuke turned away and started walking again, Naruto hurried after him, intending to ask what he meant. Sasuke didn't leave him time, however.
"Is he your friend?" Sasuke asked, trying – and for once failing – to sound detached.
"He's one of my friends, yes."
"Do you trust him?"
Naruto thought about it for a second. "For the most part, yes. He's got strange ideas of what's right sometimes."
Sasuke fell silent. Naruto noticed then where they were headed, and he started worrying.
"Huh… Sasuke? She said tomorrow."
Already, Sasuke was tearing off the tape that barred the entrance of the Uchiha district.
"I'm just a bit early, that's all."
Without another word, he stepped into the quiet street. Naruto watched him go, then looked around him and back. He couldn't see Sai, but he had no doubt that the ANBU was close by, watching their every movement. Maybe he wouldn't tell Tsunade about the kissing – not that Naruto cared either way – but he would definitely report this. Sighing, Naruto followed Sasuke, easily catching up with him. If the old woman got mad, better to give her two targets, including one she was too fond of to punish too harshly.