Thanks for all the reviews everybody! I got to 100 and beyond! Now let's get to 1000! ha, ha, just kidding. Don't freak out, I wouldn't do that to you.

I know that appologizing for my extended abcence won't update my story on a regular basis, but I feel like I ought to. Sorry everybody. This chapter was a pain in the posterior to write and I'm still not happy with it. Anyway, a big thank you to my editor who worked me through it. Rikado! You're my number 1!

So here you all are, the forbidden chapter...not really, but here you are anyway.

Chater_19: War

Iruka was gone.

Kakashi had seen him off late last night. It hurt to watch his lover drive away, but he knew that it was better this way. Iruka wasn't trained to handle weapons and the detective knew that the brunette would want to stay by his side if he were in Konoha. That was just how Iruka worked.

He had work to occupy himself with, building up the concrete walls that surrounded Hockage tower. He and his men had worked through the night, but they had finished in those last few minutes when pre-dawn twinkled pearly grey. And then all they had to do was wait for the Akatsuki to arrive.

They didn't have to wait long.

It started with a bang. Not in the metaphoric sense, where everything is going the way you want it too. Konoha's first gang war was started with a very literal, very loud and very serious 'bang'. The body lying split open on the cold ground was evidence enough of that.

Kakashi pulled his attention away from what remained of the fallen woman and slapped another clip into his pistol. The constant crack of gunfire blurred together into one steady rush of white noise. But the flow was too constant for the detective's liking. The rate of exchange between his men and Akatsuki was too one sided.

"Don't waste ammunition." He spoke into the headset on his ear, rifling through the half empty duffel bag of ammo clips he and eleven, now ten, others had to share. "Pick your shots carefully. The Akatsuki have the advantage of supplies and I don't want you wasting bullets on the buildings."

His advice elicited a hail of hasty affirmatives from the fifty men under his command.

The number of shots decreased dramatically and Kakashi sighed in relief. He could handle trainees when it was time to handle them, but this wasn't the time to hold hands and coddle green-horns. Thankfully, it seemed the men Kyuubi had found were not completely green. They could take orders if nothing else.

"I'm not going to sit here forever, Kakashi, let me do something."

The detective ignored Kyuubi, choosing instead to peek over the barrier's edge. He jerked back quickly. Whoever was on the other side was gunning for him and wasn't worried about waiting. He wasn't going to be able to do any damage this way.

"Yamato," He spoke carefully into the microphone.

"I'm here."

The man sounded tired.

"I'm pinned down here. Can you get a look at the guy?"

"I can't Kakashi, I've got problems of my own over here."

"Roger, thanks anyway," The detective swore to himself. It couldn't be helped, he supposed. Yamato was dealing with his own Akatsuki.

"I'll do it."

"Don't worry about it." Kakashi waved the superhero's comment hero off. "Yamato can handle it. We'll use you later."

"As what: a last ditch resort?"

The detective ignored the man's last comment. He had more important things to do than coddle Kyuubi. He had a war to win.

.XX.

When the detective didn't answer, Kyuubi growled. He wanted nothing more than to grab the man and shake him until he understood. But he was miles away from the center of the city, safeguarding Shikamaru, so instead he shouted into the headset. "Look! I'm not going to just sit here and let you all get killed. I'm going to do my part."

Kakashi's sigh was interspersed with static. "You're doing your job by not getting in the line of fire right now."

The blonds' expression only hardened and he spat contemptuously. He knew Kakashi couldn't see his face, but he couldn't help his aura visibly darkening. "I'm not going to just sit twiddling my thumbs while everyone else is defending Konoha with their lives. Let me get out there."

"You really are an idiot," The detective whispered harshly. "You're the only one who's seen their leader and overheard them plotting to kill the Hokage. Shikamaru is the only one who witnessed the murder of those other gang members. You are both critical." He wished he could reach out and shake the blond. "Do you understand? Your job is to not get killed."

Behind flaming red eyes, compliance and stubborn pig-headedness battled for control. It was a battle that Kakashi could feel rather than see.

At last the man barked in displeasure and paced back to the lumpy couch, easing back against the tattered green material.

"I understand." He rumbled and Kakashi heard the underlying message. 'I understand, I don't like it, but I understand.'

Kakashi chanced another glance to the side, hoping that the guy had gotten distracted by another target. No such luck. He actually felt the heat of the bullet tear across the skin of his cheek. Too close.

.XX.

Naruto pressed his body deeper into the sofa, hating himself for it. He was supposed to be helping, that's why he came back: to protect Konoha, his friends, those he…he loved…

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru had tried playing Shouji with him once, but the attempt had ended in disaster. After that, the two men were content to ignore one another for the most part. Shikamaru seemed to have no idea how to interact with the enigma of a vigilante draped in tight black leather and Naruto didn't want his friend to figure out that he was…well, Naruto. This unfortunately made the hours drag by with nothing but a few outdated comics to read.

Naruto hated not doing anything because all he had to do was think and wait. And when he thought, his mind would always turn to…Sasuke…

He had searched.

He tried to ease the guilt in his chest with those words, but this time, like every time before, they did nothing.

Everywhere he could think of looking, he had gone: Sound, the raven's apartment, Leaf. The man had simply vanished. In the end, at the last possible moment before Akatsuki had begun their attack, Naruto had stood atop the highest building he could find. He had drawn in the scents around him, searching madly for that beautiful mixture of sheets and rain, clawing, begging Sasuke to be on the wind. But everything had swirled together and in his distress, his mind muddied with thoughts of the dying, he could find nothing.

Naruto toyed absently with his zipper while he tried to reason that it was all for the best. It was better that Sasuke wasn't here when this finally went down. The fact that he wasn't anywhere to be found meant that he was safe and out of the way. It was good that Sasuke wasn't here.

But it sounded so much like he was trying to convince himself. He wasn't. It was great that he couldn't find the raven; it was perfect that he was out of the way, wonderful that he wouldn't be in danger.

An earsplitting 'boom' rent the air. Naruto jumped as his ears rang, almost drowning out the garbled shrieks of whomever it was that had been hit. Almost…

The man in his earpiece cursed. He had tried to get a shot again, and was rebuffed. Apparently, whoever was on the other side was still waiting.

They were dying, they were all dying and Naruto was sitting here, under cover. This was the end, if they couldn't stop Akatsuki here, then it wouldn't stop with the Hokage, no one would be safe. Iruka…Sakura…Ino…Kiba…Hinata…Shikamaru…Kakashi…

Sasuke…

He had to stop this now. He had to protect…everyone. He knew that his duty was to Konoha, but now, more than ever before, the ravens' pale visage continued to plague him each time he closed his eyes.

Why was that man so much more important than the friendships he had made or the man who had raised him?

'No! Oh, Lord please! Not…ah! My leg, not my…oh Go-AH!'

Naruto jerked upright, the man's screams deteriorating quickly into incoherency, increasing in agony. The anguished cries died as suddenly as they had started, cold cruel laughter echoing in the background. And then a cool calm voice spoke over the radio in Naruto's and every other Cops' headset.

'This is the end for all who oppose me...run away puny creatures, or die.'

Red threaded across the edges of his vision and Naruto could feel his power bubbling up, a swirling roaring torrent that should have frightened him, that edge he had always held back from. But this time he was not afraid.

"Don't Kyuubi! Stay where you are. We can handle this." Kakashi screamed into his ear.

But they couldn't. If he didn't go, they were all going to die. Naruto opened himself up to the rushing flood of red; spread his arms wide, leapt…

…And drowned in power.

A voice that was subtly sweet whispered in his ear. His own conscience, he thought but it was tainted and twisted and sick. It crooned and soothed as his body became a writhing mass of explosive energy.

'Kill…kill…'

He could do that. He should to that.

Now.

.XX.

He was among them between one blink and the next. Sasori had time only to cry out before he was tossed aside, a rag doll in the middle of a hurricane.

The red haired Akatsuki tried to push himself up, he reached for a weapon, but it was no use.

He grunted once as the first steel pipe sank home. But there was no pain. He supposed that his body would register that later, after his endorphin levels had dropped back down to normal, if he lived that long.

Insane laughter echoed distantly in his ears, accented by the high-pitched pop of gunshots. It was only right, he supposed as he tried to flex ineffectually. His comrades would not let this monster live since it had attacked one of their numbers.

But the pops continued, far longer than they normally would have. And there were no triumphant exaltations; no begrudging congratulations and no one came over to see if he was still alive.

And then the second pole pierced his chest, flooding his thoracic cavity with a viscous mixture of crushed bone and blood. It was then that Sasori realized the truth.

He was going to die.

The finality of it struck him. The irony of his fate shook broken laughter from his icor stained lips. He, the man who lived for eternity, who begrudged every passing second, he is the one who will die before his time.

His chest hurt now. Blinding sheets of agony covered him, scalding and biting cold; both at once. At the same time, a tingling numbness had settled in his fingers. He could no longer move his arms. He could no longer move his legs. It should have frightened him, should have made him scream and cry for his mother. But he was not afraid.

Somewhere in the distance, beyond the blackness which had seeped over his eyes, he could hear gunshots still popping. His comrades were still running around like ants, trying to stay alive; like him.

He was going to die, but he was not afraid.

Sasori closed his eyes for the last time, a faint smile tracing his dead lips.

Eternity stretched wide before him.

.XX.

He was lost in the moment, the struggle, the blood and screams and gunshots. He couldn't see them, but he could feel them, taste them, smell them…Kill them…

His senses overflowed, spiked and he floundered in the maelstrom of power that was Kyuubi. This was what he had feared? This is what he had turned from? This was the key to destroying Akatsuki…Hebi…anyone and everyone in his way. This was everything he wanted, needed.

He heard himself roar. It sounded far more animal than human. It should have woken him up, should have terrified him. But it did neither. He felt empowered, strengthened, delighted.

The first Akatsuki fell with ease, pierced by a pipe, jagged and cruelly barbed where it had been shorn away from wherever it really belonged. Kyuubi didn't care about little details like that. If the other man's death was painful, so much the better. He deserved every ounce of suffering and punishment that could be matted out; a token retribution for all the horrors that he had committed.

The hero of Konoha had driven his second in merely for sport and spite. And because he loved the way the red-headed man would unconsciously gurgle and thrash, his hands gripping ineffectually against the iron pinning him to the ground.

And then he was on the ground, his face upturned to the overcast sky. A face blotted out the sky and then the round point of a gun muzzle was descending.

It was in that moment, as Naruto watched the gun slow to a stop inches from his face, that time seemed to slow…slow…slow…

He watched with fascinated horror as the Akatsuki's finger moved to the trigger and gently, almost sweetly caress the shaped metal. He was going to die. But in the end, he wasn't thinking about how much he hated the man above him. He wasn't hoping that his death would mean something. He wasn't wondering if Iruka or anyone else was going to be all right. In that split second between life and death, Naruto saw one face, one perfect pale face in his mind's eye.

Sasuke…

.XX.

"Uzumaki," Naruto, risked putting his hand out first. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto."

His hand was encased by sturdy white fingers. They were slender, but surprisingly strong.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Every time he'd seen Sasuke, at 'Leaf', at 'Sound', taking a walk down the street, the man had been by himself. There had never once been a companion, or a friend, or a family member, not a single time, never.

Pity swelled inside Naruto.

"Oh, come on Sasuke." Naruto's grin was irksome and filled with a certain ignorance that was also amusing. "I know that you like me, at least a little."

"What if I said that you were right?"

"Naruto," Sasuke's response was stern, demanding. "Ask me properly."

The fingers clasping his back tightened further, if that were humanly possible. And then the raven was being embraced, in the literal sense. Arms had reached around to wrap across his chest. A strong, well-muscled torso was being pressed fully against his back, a soft cheek lain upon the top if his spine.

I've never done anything like this before..." The Uzumaki said. "I…would like to try…with you."

Naruto trembled as Sasuke's tongue continued to skim and play with the inside of his mouth. This was nothing like his first, sloppy, fumbling kiss of eight years ago. This was unique, fresh, clean and new. He'd expected heat, expected domination and subjugation by submitting himself to this man. But that hadn't happened. He wasn't being forced, or coerced. In fact, the raven-haired man had given him every opportunity to walk away and now, when he had Naruto at his mercy, he took nothing more than the blond was willing to give.

Realization made his knees weak. This kiss, this man, was seducinghim…

"I was content with things…looking for that one missing component in my life, but happy with how everything had worked out…And then you happened." Naruto reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "And now…I'm not sure if I can handle anything like this right now, I'm not sure if you're that missing piece. I don't know if I should even try to keep you here with me, if I'm just tempting fate. I need to figure out if I should just cut my losses and walk away before I get hurt again."

"I understand Naruto," The brunette's voice was detached, but strangely, Naruto found comfort in this man's rough words, was soothed by the gentle rumbling baritone pouring into his ears. It was just as reassuring as one of Iruka's hugs.

"You want to know if I fit with your life. Then do. Do whatever you feel you have to. I won't stop you."

"I was six when my parents were killed." The raven said.

Okay, so that was probably a little unfair. The brunette wasn't so terrible; a tad…stoic, and he could be controlling, but the man was…

Yes, alright, Sasuke was kind!

Naruto couldn't stop himself from speaking. Everything he had stored up and hidden was threatening to spill out in one great untidy rush. This man, with whom he had already shared Ichiraku's, his secret, seemed to inspire emotions in him that he hadn't known he was missing until now. He wanted to tell Sasuke everything, but not because of any force acting on him, but because it was Sasuke and if anyone could understand him, it was this man sitting before him.

Silence overwhelmed the tiny corner booth where they sat. But it wasn't uncomfortable this time. Naruto felt as though if he never moved from where he was now, with nothing but Sasuke look at, touch and talk to, he would be content.

"I'm not going to see you for a while, am I?"

"No," The raven answered at length.

"Oh," The Uzumaki looked down at his boxes, not sure if he was relieved or miserable. . No, he decided. He wasn't happy that Sasuke was leaving for who knew how long. He wasn't glad that he was getting a break from the man. He wasn't thankful that the only time he would ever have to see this man's face again, was when he told him 'so long and thanks for all the fish'. He wasn't excited.

He was sad.

Naruto unbuckled and grabbed the raven. Two kinds of silk slid and pressed into the pads of his fingers, the skin of Sasuke's jaw and the thick jet black ribbons of the man's hair. And then a third silk was pressed to his lips as he pulled the man closer.

It was awkward at first. He could feel the boxes on his lap starting to slip as he leaned his body further towards Sasuke. But then he felt the raven's fingers pull the packages off his lap and lay them on the floor. And he was free to push closer, to slide his mouth back and forth against the Uchiha's.

This too was his choice; not something Sasuke had asked of him. This was his.

It wasn't until the car had disappeared from view that Naruto realized what he had done.

He had kissed Sasuke, but it had been…he didn't…wasn't sure he could explain what had happened. He had intended it to be a quick good-bye, four lips shaking hands, but somehow, somewhere the message had changed.

The kiss had started as nothing more than a brush of lips, a soft constant contact, but it had become so much more by the time they parted. The blond had felt something, a shipment he had accepted delivery for. But didn't know what that shipment held. He couldn't identify the foreign roiling churn in his chest as he watched the tail lights disappear in the throng of morning traffic.

But through the alien tumult, one emotion remained constant.

He was sad.

.XX.

The answer seemed so simple, too simple to be true. Why did this man matter to him? But a better question: when had he fallen in love with Uchiha Sasuke? And why did it have to be now that he was going to die?

The finger pulled, squeezing off the shot and Naruto watched the bullet emerge, shrouded at first with a cloud of flame. But as the fire died, the projectile refused to fade away, but continued its ponderous journey towards the center of Naruto's forehead.

He was going to die.

Iruka was going to be mad. He was letting everybody down. Even though he got one, would it be enough to tip the scales and let Kakashi win?

But even in his final seconds, Naruto could feel guilty for checking out a little early. He had let them down, he had let down Sasuke…no!

Time shifted in the other direction, going into fast forward. The bullet slammed home, embedding itself deep into concrete. Blood splattered, bone fragments showered onto a thick black coat, the stains hidden except on the red clouds where the dye was renewed with Kakazu's own juices.

Naruto was up, tossing the second body from him and crouching low, eyes roving for his next target.

But he was alone.

The Akatsuki were gone.

The blond felt the adrenaline hit. The force of it literally shook his system. His legs quivered and he knelt in the leaking remains of the two Akatsuki he had torn apart and the one still writhing and screaming in pain.

Kakashi was there, speaking to him, patting his shoulder. But his words were nothing but incoherent murmuring. His voice faded in and out as reality began to sink in.

It was over. He had beaten the Akatsuki. He had survived. He had…fallen in love.

Sasuke…

And in light of that final revelation, their victory here meant far less to him than it should have.

He had fallen in love.

With Uchiha Sasuke…

.XX.

Kakashi was shaking Kyuubi, trying to get the man to respond. He was furious that the blond had disobeyed his orders. But Asuma had just confirmed that Shikamaru was alright and the Akatsuki were gone…he supposed he couldn't be too hard on the young man. He wasn't police trained anyway.

"Hey, idiot, you actually managed not to get killed. Congratulation, you did it. That Akatsuki leader would be a bigger fool than you to ever come back to Konoha."

They had taken the third gang member into medical custody, pending incarceration and trial. Konoha would have its justice.

But in an instant, the leather of Kyuubi's jacket had disappeared from under his fingertips. The superhero had gone, maybe for good. The detective sincerely hoped that Konoha would never need such justice ever again.

"Come on everybody." He said to those who still remained. "I want your reports on my desk tomorrow morning in triplicate. In the mean time, let's get this mess cleaned up."

.:xXXx:.

In the cool dimness of his apartment he sat. The bed underneath him creaked once when he shifted his weight and was silent.

Naruto had long since shed his leathers. He wore a pair of dingy sweats and his skin. His sad blue eyes traced the straight lines of his phone, its black screen. He was waiting for something, what exactly he didn't even know for certain. The raven had eluded all his searching, it was absurd to think that now, at last he would come to him on his own.

But when the short, sharp taps on his door cut through the silence, Naruto's heart sped up. It was absurd. It was purely fictional to think that Sasuke would be the one standing at the door, only hours after the blond had realized that he was in love with this man. He still could hardly believe it himself. He never would have imagined this for himself, this fate, this destiny was so foreign. But it felt so undeniably right he could no longer question his budding emotions.

How would he tell Sasuke?

His footsteps faltered and the tapping echoed for a second time.

His hand stretched out, his fingers grasped and wrapped around the knob.

The handle turned and Naruto pulled.

Sasuke stood, framed in his doorway, waiting.

The raven reached out an arm, his beautiful, pale fingers threading through Naruto's sunshine locks.

"You're safe."

That was all he said. That was all he had to say.

Naruto pulled the raven inside, wrapped himself around that wonderfully strong man and let the world go.

He felt Sasuke's arms tighten around him, the fingers in his hair stroking and smoothing tenderly. He felt…so much…love…

"Here…"

Sasuke's voice sounded strange, like he was trying to keep something back, but when Naruto looked up at the raven-haired man, his features revealed nothing.

"I brought you something."

A/N: and I'm still not pleased with this chapter at all, but I spit something out because I didn't think I would be able to get past it otherwise. I promised that I would finish my stories and I will. So there.

Review! Please! Tell me if this chapter absolutely failed and I need to go back and add something, or take something out, or...something...

Anyway, until next time.