Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the Harry Potter series, or any of the characters. They belong to their respective owners.
Warnings: Out of character, boy x boy relationships, yaoi, language
Pairings: If you want to know, read and find out. I'll post a list in a later chapter, probably the third or fourth.
A/N: If you don't like boy x boy relationships, then don't read. This is my first fic so please be gentle with the flames. I'm open to ideas and if I use any that are suggested, I'll give credit to tthat person. I'll try to update every day, but school is evil and the teachers are demons that give mountains of homework so I might update every other day. During the weekends, I'll probably update at least two or three chapters. Please review.
'Call me cute and you die.' --Demon talking/usually the Kyuubi
'Stop reading my mind' --thoughts
"Shut up, stop talking." --speech
Chapter Two: A New Understanding
A pair of small tanned hands parted the branches of the bush, spiked blonde hair and a pair of large blue eyes were visible behind the small hands. "Found you. Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you." Gently, Naruto reached foward and carefully picked him up. He ignored the small cuts he received as he carefully withdrew the small cat from the bush.
As soon as Sasuke was entirely free of the branches, he began to struggle, trying to break free of the firm grip the blonde had on him. "I won't hurt you. Let me at least take you home so I can clean those cuts. I'll give you something to eat too if you're good." Sasuke gave up struggling and allowed his loud-mouthed teamate to carry him the rest of the way to the village.
He watched his surroundings quielty, noticing the slight glares the guards gave Naruto as he entered the village. As they continued to walk through the village, Sasuke noticed the hate and raged filled glares the villagers were directing at Naruto.
Twitching his ears, he picked up a few of the things they were whispereing. "Why won't it just die?" "It was all his fault that Sasuke-kun ran away from the village." "Poor cat, its probably going to be tortured." "Yeah, then the demon brat'll probalby eat it." His eyes wide, he looked up at Naruto just in time to see a rock sail past his head, grazing his cheek.
Rocks and other small debris soon came pelting towards them. Naruto kept walking, his usual wide grin plastered on his face. Taking a closer look, Sasuke realized that it didn't quite reach Naruto's eyes. As the projectiles grew bigger in size and the whispering became more audible, only then did Naruto quicken his pace. Reaching an apartment complex, he entered the lobby and walked past an older woman at the receptionist desk. She gave Naruto a look of pure hatred. When he reached the stairs, he tucked Sasuke more firmly into his grasp before he sprinted up the stairs all the way to the fourth floor.
Naruto had to run across each floor in order to reach the next flight of stairs. Sasuke stared at Naruto as he stopped in front of the very last door at the end of the hall on the fourth floor. Sasuke had expected the dobe to be out of breath, but the blonde boy wasn't even panting. Sasuke was completely shocked but quickly recovered as Naruto dug out his keys and unlocked the door to his apartment.
Thinking about it, he had never been to Naruto's place before. He knew where he lived, but he had never actually been inside the blonde's apartment before. Shutting the door behind them, Naruto took a minute to lock it. Counting, Sasuke felt his jaw drop. There were at least a dozen differnt locks on his door, ranging from deadbolts to the little chains that wouldn't allow you to open the door completely. Finished with the locks, Naruto took his sandals off before he padded down the hall to the living room.
It was small but it had a lived-in feel to it. There was a sofa, a large easy-chair, a coffee table, an end table with a lamp and a small TV in the corner. An open wall revealed a small table with a few chairs and just beyond that was a small kitchen, perfect for a single person. Two doors were on the back wall with a decent sized blank portion between them. The walls were a dark blue that matched the large throw rug on the living room floor. Before he could take a closer look at his surroundings, Naruto walked into the bathroom.
Carefully he examined his cut paws. "It's not too bad. I'll give you a bath then wrap your little paws up before I feed you." Still holding him, Naruto turned the water on. As the bathtub filled with water, he dug out a thick bluish-green towel that matched the tiles in color. Setting the towel aside, Naruto turned the water off before he searched for some soap and shampoo. "Sorry, but the water's going to be cold. I'll try to make this quick for you."
True to his word, the water was indeed cold. Sasuke growled in displeasure as the icy coldness penetrated his fur. Kneeling in front of the bathtub, Naruto squirted some shampoo into his hands and began to work it into his fur. Sasuke felt his body warm up as he realized that Naruto was giving him a bath. With one hand, he began to gently massage one of his cut paws, washing the dried blood and dirt from the wound. He did that to his other paws too before he rinsed him off.
Lifting him up, Naruto squeezed some of the extra water out of his fur before he bundled him up in the towel. Sitting down on the bathroom floor, Naruto began to rub him dry with the towel, a small smile on his face. Sasuke felt his heart melt as he looked at Naruto's smiling face. Once he was dry, Naruto pulled out a jar of ointment and a roll of bandages. Having Sasuke lie belly up, Naruto rubbed some of the ointment into the pad of each paw before he bandaged all four of them.
Cleaning everything up, Naruto stooped down and picked Sasuke up before he left the bathroom. Sasuke rolled his eyes when Naruto began to scratch him behind the ears, but he couldn't stop the purr. Sasuke opened his eyes when he felt something cold and wet hit his nose. Looking up, Sasuke was shocked to find sparkling blue eyes glistening with tears, a few spilling over to trail wet paths down his cheeks.
Hearing the small black cat purr, Naruto couldn't stop the wave of sadness that swamped him. He desperately wished he could keep the small animal, but Naruto knew that if he did he would only feel worse when the cat eventually left. Naruto would never be completely alone with the Kyuubi no Kitsune sealed inside him. He had first learn of the demon fox's existence when he was four.
It was late winter and the villagers had thrown the usual rocks, rotten vegetables, and garbage at him. But because it was winter, the things they threw at him were frozen. One viciously thrown rock had hit him in the temple, leaving a small gash that bled slowly. Seeing the blood, the villagers threw more things at him. Seeing a group of men approach him with menacing grins on their faces, Naruto ran away and ended up in the forest just outside of Konoha.
The group of men had followed him and now the five surrounded him. They had beaten him, cracking a few ribs and breaking his left arm. Nearly every inch of his body was bruised or bleeding, sometimes both. They had then each taken a turn in raping him. Before they left, one of the men pulled out a kunai and sliced the whisker marks he had on his cheeks. They were now red as they bled, his tears mixing with the blood making a redish trail as they slid down his cheeks. They left him alone in that clearing, the last thing he saw before he blacked out was the starry night sky.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a tunnel. Pipes adorned the walls and the steady dripping of water echoed around him. With nothing better to do, Naruto stood up and began walking along the dim tunnel. He thought that the villagers had dumped his unconcious body into the sewers. A few minutes later he came to a large room, the back wall drawing his attention immediately. The entire length of the back wall held the bars of a cage that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. A piece of paper with the kanji for 'seal' held the cage doors shut.
Edging closer to the giant cage, Naruto tried to see into the inky darkness. A giant pair of red eyes with slitted pupils blinked open in front of him. He fell back in surprise before he crawled foward to get a closer look at the cat-like eyes. For what felt like hours, Naruto stared into the large eyes. A large paw shot out through the bars, stopping shourt of clawing him. Naruto blinked as a giant scarlet fox came into view.
It had nine tails that swayed behind it, and he could now see that the large fox was lying down. Naruto stared back at the fox's face, noting that its lips were curled back revealing its sharp fangs as it snarled at him. Its eyes were narrowed in a glare. At first he was surprised and slightly afraid, but as he continued to stare at the huge fox, he lost all fear that he might of had for it.
A wide grin spreading across his face, Naruto inched closer to the cage. The fox had stopped snarling at him and was now staring at him with mild curiousity and amusement. Naruto stopped right in front of the cage and sat down, his arms crossed against his small chest. Naruto may have been a young child but he was far from stupid, he would have been considered a prodigy and genius if the villagers had bothered to look past his mask of stupidity.
Finally fed up with the silence, Naruto spoke up. "Ne, are you the Kyuubi no Kitsune? You're really cute for a demon fox. Can I hug you? Oh, where are we?"
Naruto stared at the fox expectantly with his wide, innocent, blue eyes. 'Kit, I am the demon fox. No, you can't hug me. Call me cute again and I'll kill you. Oh, and we are in your mind.' Kyuubi stared down at the small child that was her container. She had never had a human call her cute, much less ask if they could hug her.
Naruto closed his eyes and sighed. It all made sense now. If the Kyuubi was in his mind, then that meant the demon fox had been sealed into him or something. The villagers hated him because they thought that he was the demon fox itself. As his young mind comprehended the reason he was hated, he broke down and started to cry. Now that he knew the reason behind the hatred, he lost all hope of being liked, let alone loved.
Kyuubi had expected the child to become angry and scream at her, she hadn't even considered the possibility of the blonde boy crying. She had seen the things that the villagers had done to the small boy because of her. Maternal instincts kicking in, she spoke gently to the crying boy. 'Kit, come here.' Still crying, Naruto stood up and stumbled into the cage. As soon as he entered, Kyuubi wrapped one of her tails around him and craddled him, gently rocking him back and forth.
Naruto cried even harder, but soon his tears began to slow as the gentle rocking lulled him to sleep. He snuggled closer to the fur as he drifted into a peaceful sleep. Kyuubi stared at the sleeping child craddled in her tails. A deep sadness filled her as she thought of all the things that the small boy had to endure because of her weakness. Forcing the sadness away, she vowed to help the sleeping blonde. She would train him, teach him, do everything she could to stop his tears.
When he woke up an hour later, he found himself in his bed, his injuries completely healed. For a moment, Naruto felt himself panic until he heard a voice. 'Don't worry Kit. I took control of your body and took you home. I also healed your injuries, including your broken bones. Now, do you want me to train you and teach you?' For a moment, he was unable to think, then in a timid and small voice, he asked aloud. "You'll train me? Do you really meant it Kyu-chan?" His voice was filled with so much hope it was heartbreaking. 'Hai Kit, I will train you. Now get up, your training will start as soon as your done eating breakfast. You don't need to speak aloud to answer me, just think what you want to say.' Naruto hadn't said a word, he just simply jumped out of bed and ran into the kitchen and made himself some breakfast. It was the first day and the start of his new life.
Snapping out of his memories, Naruto quickly dried his tears and entered the kitchen. Giving him a final scratch behind the ears he gently placed Sasuke on table before entering the kitchen, donning a dark blue apron. Sasuke watched in amazement as Naruto summoned a Kage Bushin and set about making something to eat. It took a lot of chakra to create a solid clone, and yet Naruto made one to help him cook like it was no big deal.
Sasuke sat down and began to ponder everything he had just learned about Naruto. As he began to ponder the villagers' hate, Sasuke realized that he knew almost nothing about his blonde teamate. He was so lost in thought, he didn't notice as Naruto set two plates dwon on the table, releasing the chakra he used to create his clone before he sat down. His clone disappeared in a poof of smoke. It wasn't until Naruto poked him in the nose with his chopsticks did Sasuke realize that he had spaced out.
Scowling, he swiped at the offending pieces of wood. Chuckling, Naruto went back to eating. Sasuke felt his jaw drop as he watched Naruto eat at a normal speed. Snapping his mouth closed, Sasuke inspected the small plate of chicken in front of him. Taking a small bite, Sasuke nearly choked on it. It was the best tasting chicken he had ever had. He ate slowly, savoring each morsel until there was nothing left. Naruto took the plates and placed them in the sink. Within moments of sitting down, a tapping sound could be heard.
A/N: Another cliffy. Don't worry, I'll upload the next chapter sometime tonight or tomorrow. Please review.