Sometime during the walk to Konoha, about an hour in, Naruto began to feel different. He had been casually taking glimpses at Sasuke walking beside him, watching him and thinking over his new relationship with the boy. He had at first dismissed the tugging feeling in his stomach a sensation of hunger. He was normally always hungry after all, and perhaps knowing that they were so close to the home of his beloved Ichiraku Ramen Stall had spurred on the reaction. But then, shortly after those first feelings, and the more he looked at his companion keeping pace with him, the more he grew agitated. He found himself needing to steal more frequent and longer glances at Sasuke, drinking more of his appearance in. And was it just him or was the air growing hotter? Naruto was growing very uncomfortable with himself, as they walked in the sun. Sasuke glanced at him as he shed his black and orange coat to wrap it around his waist. He quirked an eyebrow and Naruto gave a small shake of his head, silently communicating with him that nothing was wrong. Sasuke knew better though and kept in the recesses of his mind that Naruto appeared to be slightly nervous.
Naruto frowned. He realized that there was about an hour's walk ahead of them until they reached the village, or any kind of civilization for that matter. He swiped a hand through his hair and wiped the collecting perspiration off his head.
The more he tried to NOT look at Sasuke, the more restless he grew. He tried to deny giving in to the temptation for as long as he could hold out, unconsciously conducting a test on himself. Just before he found the boy impossible to ignore, the heat inside him would escalate and the urge to tear something to shreds took hold of his being. He winced when he felt his lengthened claws pierce the inside of his palm, so tight was he holding his fist. He groaned aloud when he let his eyes rest on Sasuke.
"Everything okay back there?" Kakashi said, turning his head to look back in their direction.
Naruto answered without looking at him, holding his gaze with Sasuke like a lifeline. He was returning the look, those onyx eyes piercing into him. "Uh, yeah, everything's… fine."
"Liar," Sasuke stated. Naruto looked absolutely desperate, his eyebrows drawn downwards, his eyes troubled and his cheeks a little flushed. Sasuke didn't miss the little bit of red bleeding into the ultramarine blue of Naruto's eyes. He quickly glanced down at his hands to notice sharp talons glinting in the sunlight.
"Get a hold of yourself, Naruto," he muttered, looking away.
Naruto growled and snapped his gaze back to the ground. What the hell was wrong with him? Why was he feeling so agitated and uncomfortable with himself? And why did he want nothing more right now than to ravage the hell out of Sasuke?
Naruto's eyes widened. He realized what was going on. It was so obvious! The stupid Kyuubi was still "awake." Damn. Naruto escaped reality for a minute, withdrawing into himself to consult the Kyuubi. The demon beast was behind the heavily barred steal cage like he should be, blue chakra swirling around the metal to keep it from escaping and red flames lighting the inside of the cage. Naruto demanded to know what the hell was going on and why the beast wasn't yet satisfied and WHY it had chosen this moment to awaken with a desire more powerful than anything it had previously plagued the poor vessel with.
The demon gave a deep chuckle. "Hmmm, little brat, you're going to have to give me more than that to keep me away for a month." The demon's bright orange fire expanded, licking at Naruto's face, the heat enveloping him and wrapping around his body.
Naruto was shocked. A month?! He had to deal with this every MONTH?! Oh hell. He returned to the outside world, feeling a tug at his mind. Apparently, someone was talking to him.
Sakura's loud voice rang like a bell through his mind. "Hello?! Anyone there? Ugh, he's hopeless," she said, infuriated and masking her previous attitude.
"Huh? What?" he asked, blinking. "Sorry,"
"I said, we're taking a break to stop and have a bite to eat." She didn't wait for his response and walked over to where Kakashi was sitting beside a tree in the shade.
Naruto slumped. Just his luck. Now he'd have to deal with a delay from arriving at the village; a safe place where he was looking forward to escaping and collecting his thoughts. He flinched when Sasuke bumped against his arm.
"C'mon, space cadet," he said. He walked over to join Kakashi and Sakura.
The place where Sasuke had touched him burned and tingled, sending shivers down his spine. He really was hopeless, Naruto realized about himself.
"Hey Kakashi-sensei, I think I'll go sit up there, okay? Just to, y'know, cool down a bit," he said with a toothy smile, indicating a high branch in a slightly taller tree nearby. Smiling at Kakashi perhaps wasn't the smartest idea; he had just unknowingly shown off his lengthened canines to him. Before anyone could say anything, he was high up in the tree. Kakashi exchanged glances with Sasuke, both of them knowing what Naruto had really meant by "cool down".
Deciding he would not follow after him, Sasuke took a seat beside Kakashi and drank from his canteen.
The nagging feeling tugging at his soul was horrible. It was eating at him like a very force inside of him. This had only been happening to him for a few days; what would his mind be like after a monthly assault every year? Naruto prayed he would be able to live with this; the insane urges of the Kyuubi. He supposed he had no choice. It was now his lifestyle.
The heat wouldn't leave him. He hunched over, squeezing his eyes shut and holding his head in his shaking hands. Physical hunger for Sasuke was a disease clawing at his insides. His breath was coming in short, labored gasps. Everything was spiraling downward; he was losing control, and fast. It felt like he was going insane and if he didn't quench this raging thirst inside of him he would soon become the beast which was fuelling his desire.
Naruto was startled when a hand landed on his shoulder. He looked up and was met with the catalyst for the total loss of his control.
Sasuke's voice barely made its way through the red haze suffocating Naruto's mind.
"Naruto!" he said fiercely, eyes glaring into those of the Kyuubi.
A fierce, loud growl erupted forth from the possessed Naruto; he snapped his teeth at Sasuke, who managed to recoil just in time to a safe distance on the branch they were sitting on.
Sasuke had had his suspicions that the Kyuubi hadn't been satisfied the night before. He had been observing Naruto's nervousness all morning, had been watching his fidgeting hands. The cause for the boy's agitated state was no doubt stirred up from their interrupted activities earlier that morning. He also knew that, with the way things were going right now, he would have to use force on the raging boy to stop his behavior.
"Naruto, stop," he said, holding both the boy's shoulders. Again, he was astounded by how strong the Kyuubi had made him.
Naruto didn't slow down a bit. Sasuke quickly delivered a blast of lightning chakra into Naruto's stomach, hitting what he knew to be the center-point of the seal, not really knowing if it was an accurate blow but hoping it was effective.
He caught the boy as he fell out against him. Apparently the blow had been effective. He wasn't worried about injuring Naruto; he was pretty tough.
Sasuke jumped down off the branch, holding the unconscious Naruto over his shoulder.
Kakashi looked at him sternly. "Is he under control?"
Sasuke nodded. "Yes, but he still has evidence of the fox awake inside of him."
Kakashi studied the blonde's face, nodding at the enhanced features. "Hopefully he will last until we arrive at the village. Let's move out."
Surprisingly, Team 7 made it to Konoha without further incident from Naruto. The boy had gone from knocked out to a state of peaceful sleep, now being carried over the shoulder by Kakashi. The fox-demon had once again left the boy slightly wiped.
They encountered Kiba and Shino near the entrance gate.
"Yo! Whoa what's with Naruto?" he yelled, walking over. Akamaru started to bark in Naruto's direction, his large size creating quite the booming noise. "Yeah I agree Akamaru, somethin' smells off about that one!" He pointed at Naruto, smirking.
"Naruto seems to be out of it," Shino mumbled from behind his high collar, a casual observer.
"Stop being nosy, Kiba!" Sakura said, folding her arms in disapproval.
"We had an interesting mission. Now if you'll excuse us, we must see the Hokage," Kakashi informed them. They started to part ways, Shino walking to where the two were originally standing.
Kiba scrunched up his nose, sniffing the air around Naruto. He then walked up to Sasuke, sniffing the air around him. His smirk grew wider. Shino pretended to hide his curiousity.
Sasuke glared back in his face. "Keep your nose out of this, dog."
Kiba smirked and gave a loud barking laugh. "Hah! Nice one, Uchiha! Interesting trip, yeah I bet." They walked away, Kiba chuckling to Shino and describing vulgar things to the poor insect boy the whole way.
Naruto came to, confused. He was higher in the air than his point of view and he was walking towards the main building of the village; the Hokage. Or at least, he thought he was walking. After a second he realized he was being carried.
He looked down. "Oi! What's the big idea?" he yelled, flailing his arms.
"Ah, good afternoon, Naruto!" Kakashi said, smiling up at him. He responded to Naruto's struggling by letting him down. "You're looking nice and refreshed."
The fox-boy looked around, disoriented. "How long was I out?"
"Hm, about an hour and a half. Since our break."
"Ah…" Naruto flushed and scratched his nose. He hoped he hadn't hurt anyone; Sasuke especially.
Kakashi resumed the walk towards the Central building. Naruto followed.
"So what –"
"We are going to meet with Tsunade-sama to discuss your condition," his sensei interrupted. "She will want to know everything so that any necessary precautions can be made."
Naruto frowned, gazing upwards at the towering, ornamental building. He really hadn't realized how serious his condition was. Well, the beast inside of him was capable of rampaging on and virtually destroying a whole village. He supposed the head of the village in which that event had actually happened would want to know about any activity. But what if it got too serious? Naruto certainly did not want to be detained behind bars every time he got "excited". He had confidence that imprisonment in his own village wouldn't be the solution.
He then noticed someone missing.
"Hey, where are Sasuke and Sakura at?" he asked. They entered the building, starting up the staircase that would take them to Tsunade.
"I sent them home. They will not be needed in this meeting."
"But, won't Sasuke need to hear some of this?"
"I'm sure that you're perfectly capable of relaying the information to him on your own time."
Naruto snorted in disbelief that the stubborn boy would actually listen to anything he said.
They stood outside of the doors to the Office. Kakashi knocked three times. Some mumbling was heard from the other side and then,
"Come in!" a female voice snapped.
The two ninja could barely see the Hokage behind all of the wobbly stacks of paperwork. She pushed some of the piles over to the side. Tsunade had her usual Wednesday-hung-over-so-piss-off air about her. Kakashi wasn't deterred.
"Good to see you, Hatake. I trust your mission went well?" She said, rubbing her temples.
"Ah, yes. The Inn now has their missing tea list back and the owner is quite relieved. However, I came here to discuss another important matter." He glanced to the companion at his side.
Apparently Tsunade couldn't even see the other person accompanying the Jounin. Moving the stacks onto the floor, she noticed Naruto standing beside the sensei.
"Ah! Naruto." She then noticed his slightly off appearance and the reddish tinge to his cheeks. "I see what you mean, Kakashi."
She sighed and began rummaging through her drawers, ruffling papers and documents. "I was beginning to wonder when you would be notifying me of this development, Kakashi. I almost suspected Sandaime-sama's judgment…" she trailed off. "Ah, here we go." She withdrew a booklet of official looking documents from her desk and slapped them in front of her.
"Yes, well, it was quite unexpected, to say the least," said Kakashi. Naruto fidgeted, glancing at Tsunade's papers.
"Hm, I bet." She took out a pen and began jotting down information, filling in blanks on the papers. She looked up at Naruto. "Now then, Naruto, I'm going to ask you some questions, and you're going to give me truthful answers in response. No fooling around."
Naruto was put on the spotlight. "Whatever, Tsunade-baa-chan." He grabbed a chair from beside her desk and slumped into it.
Kakashi departed from the room at Tsunade's subtle nod. "Ja, Naruto! I'll keep in touch."
Tsunade fixed Naruto with a piercing look, almost trying to detect if he was going to lie or not. "Explain to me the exact situation you were in when the demon arose inside of you and what it felt like. Leave out no details."
Naruto blushed and remained silent, dropping eye contact with the older woman.
"Naruto, this information can only help us keep the demon in check. Now I won't ask you again."
Naruto sighed and told her everything about the first night, everything except for who it was he took out his heightened hormones on. All the while, Tsunade's pen was scrolling across the papers. She chuckled when he was finished.
"That's all very interesting, but you can't avoid telling me who the Kyuubi chose. That is perhaps the most vital piece of information. And don't lie to me."
Needless to say, Naruto absolutely did not want to undergo the humiliation of giving her Sasuke's name. But he had to tell her… He almost wished Sakura had been the one. He glared at the inquisitive woman sitting behind the desk in front of him. "Sasuke Uchiha."
Her pen hovered over the document. One eyebrow rose, she said, "Interesting." She recorded the name. "Peculiar for the demon to have chosen a male and not a female for its mate… though, I suppose, it's a good thing it wasn't a girl; they would have been far too delicate," she said through a laugh. "And I suppose you picking the Uchiha boy was obvious, really."
Naruto sat up straight, beet-red. "What?! How the hell was it obvious?" Was it? Oh man…
Tsunade rolled her eyes. "I think we all remember that incident back at the academy a few years ago, involving you and a certain Uchiha in very close contact with each other."
"That was – it didn't even mean anything!"
"Well, quite clearly it did. Moving on!"
Tsunade continued to ask general questions and give Naruto information concerned with medical and housekeeping aspects. Naruto was to experience this "time of the month" once every four weeks, each phase lasting about three to four days.
"It will calm down after a while, but will be intense in these first few months, as I'm sure you've gathered. You must exercise control over yourself during these hormonal times, and eventually you will have a clearer mind alongside the Kyuubi during these times.
Naruto nodded. "And what about Sasuke?"
"You two will have to figure that out yourselves. But be careful. He's no girl, but he's only human."
Naruto got up from his chair, his brain full. He two-finger saluted the Hokage as he took a few steps towards the door.
"Oh and Naruto, one more thing," Tsunade said to him. "Keep your training levels down when the Kyuubi is active like this. The chakra he feeds you may end up fueling you in ways other than used for combat."
'Pssh, like I even need chakra from that stupid fox anymore,' Naruto thought as he left the office. He realized, as he left to the outside, that he was ridiculously hungry. A big grin graced his features as he took the direction to his favourite Ramen stand; Ichiraku's.
"Ah! Welcome! Please take a seat!" The owner of Ichiraku Ramen said cheerfully, gesturing at the bar.
Naruto turned in his stool, mid-noodle slurp. He swallowed too quickly when he saw Sasuke walk in through the bamboo blinds. He took a seat beside Naruto, swiveling the stool to face in his direction.
"Thought I'd find you here. Predictable," he said. He shook his head at Ichiraku-san, not interested in ramen.
"I was hungry," the blond answered around a mouthful consisting of massive amounts of noodles.
"Obviously."
They maintained a comfortable silence for a few minutes as Naruto ate at his miso ramen meal.
"So, how did the meeting with the Hokage go?"
Naruto blinked and looked at Sasuke, their eyes meeting. He suddenly felt like a woman telling her husband news of her pregnancy. Naruto mentally shook himself of that image. He swallowed his mouthful.
"It was annoying, but okay I guess," he replied.
"Hurry and finish that so we can get out of here," Sasuke ordered, tapping his finger tips on the wood of the bar.
Naruto gathered he wanted to hear everything that he had learned from Tsunade. A warm tingling that had nothing to do with the fox spread through him and made his lips curve upwards. Sasuke actually wanted to know about what was happening! Meaning he cared about them as a "thing"! Even more so he respected Naruto enough to want to hear the information from him personally as opposed to the Hokage, and be somewhere private to hear it. Maybe Naruto was giving the boy too much credit, though…. He ignored that possibility and kept chewing.
Still, you can't rush the delicate art that is eating a bowl of ramen. Naruto kept Sasuke waiting, knowing full well the boy wouldn't leave, and took his sweet time eating a second bowl of Miso soup.
"Aaah! That hit the spot!" Naruto cried out, patting his stomach. He was surprised to see that it was already evening.
"Geez, it got dark fast."
Sasuke began walking. "Not really, considering we left relatively late this morning after our search, and lost time from certain disturbances while traveling," he said, keeping a relaxed, monotone voice and walking with his hands in his pockets, gazing up at the sky.
Naruto snorted. "S'not like it's my fault."
They took a right turn off the main street, down a slightly darker alley.
Sasuke stopped walking. "Where are you going?"
"Uh, my house? I haven't been home yet today. You said you wanted to go somewhere to talk, right? We can just go to my house." He pointed down to the end of the alley.
Sasuke shrugged his shoulders and followed Naruto. They walked down the dark alley, so much darker than the open streets they were just in. In a few minutes they reached Naruto's apartment complex. Sasuke had not been there very often because he had no reason to, but the few times he had been there made the comparison between his side of town and Naruto's plain as day. The Uchiha ancestry went far back, and to say that the clan had been well off and prosperous was an understatement. The same could be said about the building Sasuke lived in.
Sasuke kept his comments to himself though about the slightly dingy appearance of the building they were walking into. Naruto had a big grin on his face, happy to be home. He opened the door to his room and walked in, conscious of the fact that he had a guest.
Naruto was slightly nervous to have Sasuke in his home, but he tried not to show it. He could tell that the Kyuubi definitely liked how the situation was progressing though, if the squirming feeling in his stomach could give him any idea. And it absolutely wasn't hunger; he had just eaten enough ramen to last any normal person a day or more, with him at least a few hours. He closed the door behind Sasuke as he fully entered his hallway.
Sasuke said nothing as he pulled out a chair from the table and sat down. Naruto copied him, clearing off some mess of his table.
"So, I take it you want to know about what's happening?" Naruto asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Stop fooling around. And yeah, I do. Spill."
Naruto sighed inwardly. This boy was so straight to the point sometimes. He gave all the facts to Sasuke, retelling to him what he had learned from Tsunade-sama. Sasuke kept a straight face throughout the information session, occasionally nodding but otherwise showing no emotion as Naruto babbled on. By the time he was done talking, his face was red and he was fidgeting nervously.
"So," Sasuke said once Naruto was done, "Every month this will happen?"
Naruto nodded, chewing on his lip with a fang. "More or less, yeah. But it's supposed to calm down over time, according to Tsunade-obaa-chan."
Sasuke reclined in the chair. He studied the boy in front of him and thought about the last few days. He had his doubts about some of the things the boy had told him. The Hokage couldn't possibly know if something like this would calm down the more it happened. Nothing like this HAD happened before, and judging by the intense ferocity with which the demon fox behaved, Sasuke severely doubted any kind of "calming down" going on anytime soon, especially not after three or four days. After all, Sasuke was right before when he had doubted Kakashi. Another doubt that was mulling around in Sasuke's brain, was, would he really be able to deal with this every month? Now it was Sasuke's turn for nervous fidgeting.