Bleach addiction makes this so much harder to write. But somehow, I got inspiration last night....so it's one of my longer chapters.

Anyways....

Thanks to my AMAZING reviewers: Mitsu-Aya33, Nime. Lee, FallenHope-Angel, TrenchcoatMan, grey-shadow-horse, mangamaniacgurl, Doomforyou, GaiaSolo, and Diamonds-r-4ever-so-am-i


and remember....

I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto.

ON WITH THE CHAPTER!!!!!!!!!!!!

thoughts

japanese

'silent communication'

Naruto had been unable to stay in the dorms. He'd managed to contain himself for a bit, resisting the urge to pace, to run, to move, just until Sasuke had finally given up. Until the daark haired boy retreated, slinking back to his bed, realization hitting that nothing would be forgiven, not yet at least.

The moment he'd heard Sasuke's breathing even out, and sensed the other was asleep, Naruto was gone. He didn't care how long he'd been awake, or that he was currently in pajamas. Secrecy was thrown to the wind as he moved to the nearest window and leapt outside, landing to the hard ground below easily, with an ease that reflected years of practice. The moment he hit the ground he was running, near flying as he shot across the ground, shifting to the trees, avoiding branches that whipped around him with a speed only shinobi could hope to master.

He knew he'd lost far to much control today, just between the 'spar' with Sasuke and now. The Kyuubi had been to close to the surface, influence growing stronger as the demon struggled to take control. Resistance had become to difficult for Naruto as he struggled to control himself, and with Sasuke beneath him, with no way to escape, the demon had been pleased to take the window of opportunity. Now at least, it was placated, content for the moment to rest inside his mind with no comments, pleased that Sasuke had listened for once. The demon was glad Sasuke was sorry, it was one step closer to his goal, to make the Uchiha realize just what had happened, not just physically but psychologically, emotionally. The demon wanted Sasuke to pay, to feel the pain he'd caused.

But for now, it's temper was under control, something the blond was grateful for. Had the demon been any angrier, control could've easily been lost in a much more dangerous, public spot. He knew no accidental death would be over looked, even in private, and that he and Shino would be the prime suspect. No one needed any more excuse to prove it was him. Besides, had it not been there, Harry, Ginny or that Draco kid could have gotten in his way. And as much as Naruto didn't like killing civilians, the lack of a true emotional tie to them, would make it that much harder to control the Kyuubi's actions towards the wizards.

It would only be worse if Shino got involved.

Before he could consider the many ways Shino could get in the way, Naruto lurched to a stop, slightly clawed fingers digging into tree bark to steady him.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear, he decided, nodding ingreeting to the shinobi who stood calmly on a thick tree branch, leaning against the tree trunk. "Hey Shino, what's up"

"What happened earlier?" The reply was calm, and Naruto didn't believe it for a second.

"Oh...you know, nothing much."

"'Nothing much'.....is what caused the Kyuubi to surface?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Umm....well...." Shino said nothing, merely watching Naruto, waiting "Ok! OK! I got pissed, happy? He was acting like I couldn't understand, like he knew everything! Sometimes it's like he wants to be a wizard! I think he wants to be one more than he wants to be a shinobi! Sometimes I don't think he even wants to come back! It was like he didn't care anymore, like he was so much better, I couldn't take it!" Chakra surged with his anger, and the branch he stood on snapped with the increase. Cursing, Naruto moved to the branch Shino stood on, still furious. "He said he was a monster, he acted like he was realy sorry, at first! But he didn't prove it, he did nothing at all. Just acted like nothing had really changed. So I reminded him just what had changed....or at least....Kyuubi did." He paused, "Apparently Sasuke got the message....he...apologized, said he's sorry....but he acted sorry before. How the hell do I know he means it this time."

"You won't. People lie all the time, Naruto, in normal situations, in stressed ones. The only time they tend to not lie...is after a long interrogation. Unless you plan on locking up Uchiha and using force to get the answers, you won't be sure."

"Well the what the hell am I supposed to do?"

Shino shrugged slightly, "It's your choice, not mine." He pointed out, "You can take his word and trust him, or you can choose not to and force him to try and prove himself. Of course then you'd have to figure out how he'd prove himself. If you remembered you've been born to kill enemies from a place we don't know if we can get back to, you'd need time to cope. He's fought a war here as well, Naruto, he's formed new friendships as well, and those are strong as well. If they weren't, he wouldn't have fought for them, would he? And you can't expect him to just abandon his friends, can he. Leave them for us and suddenly we'd be under suspicions. The time he spends with us alone is already more than he should be. His friends could easily get fed up, demand he picks one group, or starts remembering they exist." He pointed out "And when it's put that way, who would you choose?" Naruto remained silent. "Good. You see my point then."

Naruto shrugged, and then nodded, "So what you're saying is I should give him a chance? And maybe....mingle with his friends instead of expecting him to hang out with us?"

"I never said that. It's your choice."

Naruto sighed, "You're no help."

"Of course I'm not. It's not my job to handle your problems, now is it?"

"Doesn't mean you can't help me out here though."

"I helped you get Uchiha up, helped explain everything to him, and left you two alone hoping I wouldn't find a corpse the next morning. I think I've done plenty.

Naruto snorted, "So you're going to abandon me here? Right when I need your help the most."

"I'm hardly abandoning you, Naruto."

The blond boy sighed, any tenseness around them from Naruto's rant had vanished. "Still....I could use some help....and you're useless."

Shino shook his head, "I'd rather not get into this more than I have already. You have far to much of a one track mind when it comes to Uchiha." He paused, "Listen to me Naruto, go back to your dormitory, go to sleep. Think about this, all morning long, then, you can act on what you decide. Until then, for once in your life, be patient."

Naruto groaned, but nodded, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll behave 'till lunch. Got'cha." He paused, surveying the bug user. "Get some rest yourself, Shino. When's the last time you slept anyways?"

Shino shrugged, "Thirty six hours....maybe. I've been busy."

Naruto shook his head. "Yeah, I can tell."

The next morning dawned cloudy and cold, hinting at the icy weather that would greet the castle within the next few weeks. Waking up, both Sasuke and Naruto were more subdued than they'd been since Naruto's arrival, unable to look each other in the eye. Just sitting next to the dark haired Uchiha, at the Gryffindor table, eating, or rather picking at his breakfast was somehow awkward. He knew Shino had been right about what he'd said the night before. Yes, Sasuke was at fault for what had happened before he'd been brought here. He'd been a traitor, needlessly cruel and foolish. He'd betrayed everyone, even himself, he'd hurt almost everyone in the village with the conflicts he'd caused.

But he also had been clueless. He'd fought a war here, made friends and enemies. Sure he'd lost the ability to think of his weaponry as an extension of himself, he'd lost all of his training in general. But, he also realized the other hadn't been hiding, just lost. It really wasn't his fault. The fault was on who or what had dragged Sasuke to this damn castle and erased or at least hidden, his memories. It was just so much easier to blame the Uchiha.

But how did he explain how he felt to Sasuke? He wasn't about to apologize, not for everything at least, but Sasuke also didn't deserve to apologize for everything that he'd apologized for. So he had to do something....right? Shaking his head lightly to clear it, Naruto sighed. He'd take at least one part of Shino's little speech to heart. He definitely couldn't expect Sasuke to abandon his friends, especially after bitching at him repeatedly for doing the same thing in Konoha. So that meant, he had one option left to do, bridge the gap he'd caused with Sasuke's friends.

"Alright guys....I got a question for you." Three pairs of eyes focused on him, "So.....what exactly is this Quidditch thing?"

He smirked to himself at the enthusiastic reaction Harry and Ginny gave. He'd done a good job.

Sasuke hummed to himself, incredibly confused with the days events so far. Naruto had been acting odd all day long, but he couldn't think of a reason why. The blond had been treating Sasuke like nothing had changed, like he was nothing special, nothing really that important. No...since they day had began, he'd been paying attention to Sasuke's friends more than anything. Asking questions, getting to know them, generally acting sociable. It wasn't like he'd ever been rude or snubbed them. He hadn't actively told Sasuke to stop hanging around his magical friends, Sasuke had just done it because of the odd allure the boy had. But now, Naruto wasn't really giving him a choice either way, because he was choosing to hang around him.

Well, mostly at least. They had a free period today, just after lunch, and for some reason, unknown to everyone (possibly even Shino, who'd refused to comment about it) Naruto wanted to hang out for a little one-on-one talk. Part of Sasuke hoped that it was about his impromptu apology, another part of him was terrified that it would be about it.

It wasn't something he wanted to explain his feelings on. It was something he'd done, but didn't want to repeat. But what else could Naruto want to talk about?

At the very least, lunch was almost done, and that meant that the wait would be almost over. No matter what the hell Naruto wanted to talk about, the situation would be done with soon enough. And then he could go back to balancing wizard friends and shinobi memories. Or trying to at the least.

Finally, Naruto was done eating, and Sasuke found himself pushing his plate away. He hadn't been hungry all day, thanks to his nerves surrounding his new set of issues with Naruto. He'd managed to force himself to eat, a bit, if only to reassure the others he was feeling fine, just a little bit off. Of course, everything could change in about three seconds with the unpredictable blond around, not that he planned on telling Harry, Ginny and the others about that. Nope...that wouldn't be mentioned at all, whatsoever. Though he would have to think of a good excuse, after all, he still ached horribly from the night before.

Naruto caught his eye as he stood, and the two excused themselves quickly, walking almost silently through the hall. The moment they were outside, Naruto turned to him, a half-smile forming on his features. "Alright Sasuke, I decided we need a meeting. You get to pick the place."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment at the others increasingly odd behavior. Instead he merely lead the way through the hallways, opting not to go to the usual place of the Room or Requirement, but instead, selected the one time 'Detention Room' of last year. The room looked absolutely nothing like it had during the war, which was a bonus, but no one else would consider coming anywhere near the room. Waving his wand, Sasuke conjured two semi-comfortable looking chairs, that were in reality far more comfortable than they looked.

Sitting down, Sasuke sighed, looking the still standing Naruto in the eye. "Alright....what did you want to talk about?"

"It's about last night..." The other began, looking just a little nervous.

Shit. Fuck. Dammit. Just what he really didn't want to talk about. "What about last night.?"

"Well....when I....and Kyuubi were yelling at you. We mighta been a little harsh." Just a little? Sasuke wondered snidely, "Anyways...I guess we shouldn't have....well...yelled at you like that. Your friends here aren't all that bad.....and I guess it's not like you knew....We were just....well...pissed. Neither of us liked the thought of you sitting here with all your friends, having some fun, while we fought a war that well...you kinda caused." Sasuke flinched at the reminder, despite the fact that Naruto looked nervous, he obviously had no idea just what to say on the situation, and somehow, that was making the thought less painful.

"Yeah. I kinda forgot the fact you were fighting a new war over here. I mighta cared a bit more 'bout my friends than yours. And that was kinda wrong."

Sasuke shook his head, stopping the blond from what he was about to say, "Yeah. It was. But I deserved it. You might've been a bastard last night....but I was for...how long was it? Three years? It was probably a good thing you decided to rip me a new one when you did."

Naruto just rolled his eyes, leaning against a wall and slamming his fist against. "Damn straight you needed something done to you. Doesn't mean we shoulda said everything we did. Just most of it." He smirked, and it made him look just a bit more feral, "So, I think....since we're blaming ourselves...and each other...we need a compromise."

"Define compromise?"

"You...don't be a bastard. We'll work through all those lovely little issues you had before.....and continued to make. And...if you do that....I can...try to be more accepting of all this wizarding crap. And maybe, if you behave well enough....maybe....I'll help you get your chakra control back. It wouldn't be good for the last living Uchiha to get his ass kicked all the time...now would it?"

Sasuke snorted, secretly glad the majority of the tension around Naruto had dissolved. "I'd get my skills back with or without your help idiot."

Naruto's smirk only grew, he moved forward in a burst of chakra enhanced speed, easily knocking down the chair Sasuke sat on and pinning him to the wall by the throat. "Mmhmm....you just keep thinking that, Sasuke. I'll be sure to kick your ass every time you do." He released Sasuke's throat after a moment, looking pleased that the Kyuubi hadn't come out to play during their little talk.

Sasuke rubbed a hand over his neck, wincing, "Is it your life's mission to cover me in black and blue marks?"

Naruto smirked, his eyes lighting up slightly, "It wasn't....but now that you mention it....It wouldn't be a bad idea to make sure the rest of the world knows just how far the mighty have fallen."

Sasuke shook his head slightly, "So, when I'm better than you that means I get to repeatedly kick your ass?"

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Sure...you'll get that privilege. But only if you can handle it. Besides...first you gotta catch me." He flashed a smile. "Up to the challenge?"

"Always, moron."

"Good....but first things first. That Quidditch shit they were talking about sounds fun. And I...want more information."

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! My New Year's Resolution....write longer chapters. Harder than it sounds....-.-

But....I didn't do that bad a job this time around. So, questions, comments, issues?

I know I got a lot of mixed reactions about last chapter. I'd like to say this, in my mind...they really both...were wrong. And while this did just happen...nothings going to change in about two seconds flat. This will take time, but...something's gotta give eventually. They can't just hate eachother forever...ya know? But seriously....if you have commentary on anything about how stuff happened...tell me. I like to know. ^_^

Reviews are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!

See you soon!

~CP