Edited: 06-04-14

Note: If the chapter isn't edited, it was still my younger self's writing so don't judge the fic too early.

Naruto managed to do everything... early.

He bathed, dressed, eaten, and all others necessities for preparation... early. He wasn't the type to do that kind of thing though. Usually, he would be woken up for the occasion and it would take him five minutes while somebody was waiting for him and then he'd be yawning quite a few times until they reached their destination. In short, he's suppose to be a tad tad late.

So why is he early, you ask? His mind was in a mess. Ever since he came to his disturbing realization last night, so much ideas from the cloth's possible owner tormented him. He tried to push back the possibility so much but it always sprang back up. Naruto wasn't even really sure if he wanted the idea to have happened. Confusing? Exactly.

The blonde paced around in his room until he just decided to settle down in bed and calmly think about things. He had to be more realistic here. It wasn't really like Sasuke to snoop around houses, more specifically, his house. Seriously, why would he even? Unless of course his zero skills of interaction caused it. Naruto frowned. That was quite possible actually. But the idea of Sasuke just staring at him was disturbing. Was it hesitance or fear which disallowed the raven to do anything? But what was there to be frightened about him? Moreover, even with his lacking skills, Sasuke was more of the type who did things as they wanted. If he wanted to talk to him, the raven could have just confronted him already.

Unless... he wanted to say something more personal...

Naruto's cheeks flushed, causing him to roughly ruffle his hair. Fuck, he's not suppose to be thinking about these kind of things! He was being delusional, that's all. It was stupid... seriously stupid of him to think that Sasuke, of all people, could love a person of the same gender, much less him, Uzumaki Naruto. The faint red resurfaced and the blonde was totally annoyed. He grabbed one of his pillows and started groaning into it. Yes, he knew that. Of course he knew that. It was only the most believable fact there was in his goddamn love-sick head. Sasuke could never return his feelings. Never.

The idea made his chest ache and his mind whirl to the point that he wasn't sure if he wanted to give a certain Uchiha a heavy punch to the jaw or pity himself for having these kind of feelings in the first place. He wasn't even sure if he could stand actually seeing the guy in the party. Sakura gave him the option to bail, right?

But the cloths. He still needed thorough information about the Akatsuki and... the raven's (im)possible appearance at his house. The question was: how was he suppose to word it? Hiya Sasuke! Could I raid your closet and see if one of them has a rip? Fuck that, that's stupid. Not only that, it would be embarrassing if Sasuke were to realize his underlying emotions to the idea.

Naruto sighed, laying flat across his bed and stared at the ceiling. "Fucking bastard making me feel like a fucking girl..." he murmured.

As if to save him from his insanity, a knock came at the front door. He tilted his head towards the wall clock which read that it was already ten minutes to two. Had he really been thinking that long? If so, what was his decision now? Was he supposed to go or not? Before he could decide, however, he heard his door being slammed open and a bark that came with a shout, "Naruto! Get up already, you lazy ass!"

Naruto smirked. Of course. Dog breath. Most of the Rookie Nine already had their experiences of being Naruto's alarm clock but it was the Inuzuka who usually volunteered. He couldn't bail now when this situation was already being presented at him. There wouldn't be enough time to change. Damn. Oh well. "Kiba! 'm here!"

The brunette soon stepped into room and his eyes widened at the sight of his white shirt and beige cargo shorts. "Shit man. Is that you? You're actually... ready, holy fuck!"

Naruto looked down at his clothes and replied sarcastically, "Oh hey! What do you know? I am!"

"Dude, this is some fucking apocalypse, I swear! Shit there's cracks on your walls and floors already!"

Naruto chuckled. "Alright alright! So what brings you here?"

Kiba rolled his eyes. "You're really an idiot. What exactly are you dressed for?"

"Uh, these are my usual clothes at home."

"Let's just go..."

"Yeah yeah." Naruto then stood up and left with Kiba before eyeing the pieces of cloths on his desk.

1:53.

1:55.

1:57.

A certain raven continued to stare at the ever-changing time on his wall clock.

"I need to discuss something important with you and Naruto tomorrow, alright? At two in my house. Please come!"

"Dammit!" Sasuke muttered under his breath. He got up from his bed and started taking out a black shirt and black pants and immediately changed into them.

"...discuss something important with you and Naruto..."

Really, what was so important that he needed to be taken away from a rest day? No, the real question was, why was he complying? It wasn't like him to follow a request especially from Sakura. She did say important, right?

"...with you and Naruto..."

Sasuke blushed as he slammed his closet shut. No... he was definitely going just because Sakura said it was important. Nothing more. It was all because of the possibility of her bothering him at an unexpected time if he wouldn't come. Better him going than her right? Yeah, that's all.

With an air of wrath which wrapped his person, however, Sasuke exited his house. He tried to rack his brains the location of the girl's house as he ignored the whispers sent at him.

"Hey! Is that... holy fuck... Sasuke...?"

"You mean... Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Why did they let him back?"

"Fuck! Shhh... he can hear you!"

The raven made it a point to shut them up with a single glare. This was, more or less, the situation he expected upon returning to Konoha. Just one of the many intolerable situations he knew he would be getting himself into. In the end, he stopped eyeing them altogether and just ignored them. They weren't worth his time. He came back to Konoha for one reason, after all.

As soon as Sasuke spotted the familiar building, -Team 7 once visited here due to the girl's one week absence- he stopped right in front of the door. He wasn't even sure yet if he should be doing this. It was unlike him to be this compliant.

But... the one reason he went back to Konoha was behind the door right?

Before he could do anything, the door opened to reveal wide emerald eyes and bubblegum pink hair. "Sasuke!"

Sasuke winced at her outburst. He forgot how loud a person could actually be. "Just tell me why you want me here."

"I... ah... a-ano..."

The question he really pushed down though was where the hell Naruto was. But at the sight of Sakura's downcast eyes and twiddling fingers, all he needed was to look behind her and confirm his suspicions that he was actually invited to a party with the Rookie 9. "This is a party," he stated.

"Uhh yeah... well you see... h-hey! Sasuke!" she suddenly called out to him as soon as he started leaving. "Just one day please. Everyone's here. Even Naruto. You can rest the whole time after this!"

Sasuke was ready to decline, really, but the mention of Naruto's presence stopped it from coming out of his mouth. Now, he just wasn't sure anymore if he should oblige or really get the fuck out of here. And then just like that, he was giving a resigned sigh. "Alright."

Sakura just clapped her hands as she opened the door wider to let him in. Eyes fell upon him as soon as he got into the room but the wild golden hair by the punch table made all his thoughts stop as his feet led him unconsciously towards it.

"...and then Akamaru was just pulling the guy up with his hair! Poor dude was still stuck in the ground though."

Naruto smiled as Kiba continued recounting more of his ridiculous stories with his dog. Catching up with the rest of his friends was a luxury to him now and then before he would be out of Konoha's grounds once more. It was probably his own fault though but... yeah, Sasuke.

At that thought, the blonde suddenly heard everyone's voices in the room dwindle to either whispers or silence. He had a good and terrifying idea as to why but before he could confirm his suspicions for himself, a presence was suddenly behind him. Kiba had stopped speaking as the raven eyed them with blatant distaste.

The blonde flinched. Annoyance radiated from him and he had a feeling Sakura's white lie didn't bode so well with him. But what was his plan of action now? Should he even lead the conversation to the direction of the Akatsuki? "Uh... hey Sasuke," he tried to say with a small smile. Yup, nope... nevermind. Some other time then.

Sasuke simply eyed him callously. "Dobe..."

"Don't fucking call me that..." The hostility was barely there though. It was all because he broke away from their eye contact, trying to fight off a blush and the warm feeling he got from hearing that name once more.

"Just move. I'm here for the drink."

Of course. Naruto rolled his eyes, expecting no less from Sasuke. He was supposed to step aside when a retort was out of his mouth. "You're still a fucking asshole then, aren't ya?"

The comment earned him a glare and the air around them to go cold. However, Naruto was able to look Sasuke in the eyes and returned the glare with a passion.

Kiba suddenly interrupted with a nervous voice, "Hey Naruto... I'll just-"

Naruto was brought back to reality and his gaze faltered. His mind registered something else as he stared into the fiery black orbs and his intimidating demeanor was gone. Fuck. The blonde's jaw clamped as he grabbed hold of Kiba's wrist and gave Sasuke one last set of words, "We'll be leaving then. Enjoy your drink, teme." With that, he sped off, dragging Kiba with him. Gods, he looks so much better than I last saw him. The thought sent a wave of heat towards his cheeks. Shut up, Uzumaki, shut the fuck up.

"Naruto! Hey! Get off!"

The blonde looked behind him and blinked, suddenly just remembering the boy he took with him. He released his grip and gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry man."

"What the hell's wrong with you? That was a mean grip you know?" he grumbled while rubbing on his wrist.

"I really am sorry! Let's just sit over there, okay?"

Kiba sighed and just followed the blonde towards the couch. "What was that by the way? You guys still aren't over your issues, by now?"

Naruto smirked at the term as he drank from his cup. "Yeah... issues..."

Throughout the whole party, Naruto found himself having to switch places in the room or drag whoever he was talking to in a different spot. Sasuke kept on following him, being approximately a few feet away from where they always were. It unsettled him why the raven was doing it but then again maybe it was his "Sasuke Paranoia" speaking for him seeing as the Uchiha was still talking to a few people anyway. That though was still weird and the fact that he was sure a few glances were being shot his way.

Naruto had just finished talking to Neji when he finally decided to approach him. Crossing his arms, he said, "What the hell is your problem? If you have anything to say to me, then say it already, teme."

Sasuke eyed him silently before saying, "I don't know what you're talking about, idiot. Quit it with your delusions already."

Blue eyes went wide as he watched the raven walk off and towards the staircases. The obvious thing Sasuke mentioned was his previous delusions of the past where he thought he was his friend and he had thought the raven had a chance to come back home to Konoha. As much as Naruto saw a loophole that these delusions weren't fake at all, something else screamed in his mind.

The delusion that Sasuke could love him and place so much attention on him.

He felt as if the wind was knocked out of him at the simple words which wrought havoc in his system. Even if Sasuke didn't know what exactly he had just spat at his face, it still hurt, enough to leave him unresponsive to the people he talked to the rest of the party.

Ten minutes to eight, every one of the Rookie 9 started dispersing from the Haruno household. Sakura was by the door, bidding her farewell to the others. She eyed the last two people present in the living room, frowning as she saw Naruto's halfhearted smile to Kiba. From the very moment she invited the two into her house, Naruto had actually already been so off with his actions. Despite the usual smiles and laughs, Sakura could just tell that it wasn't as real as it normally sounded or looked.

Her eyes shot upwards to the staircase where she knew Sasuke had taken a room. She had actually been watching them most of the time the whole day. It caught her attention how Sasuke became so easily submissive every time she made a mention of Naruto. Mentioning the blonde's name was probably the only reason he came here and entered in the first place.

Sakura knew love when she saw it -call it a woman's sense or whatever- and as amusing and unbelievable as it was to see the situation make itself known to her teammates, she wasn't truly certain if things between them were going well enough. She saw how Naruto reacted yesterday, alright. Comparing it to Sasuke's own whenever she mentioned the blonde, their eyes were so much similar. There was too much desire that they forcefully suppressed. And now, having seen the two together, she really just wanted to bang her head to the wall repeatedly. Why were they so fucking blind?! Stupid boys and their stupid pride.

The girl sighed. She liked Sasuke too much before, but now, she knew she had another goal to obtain. As tiring and stressing the idea was, Sakura just knew the results would be fulfilling.

Kiba and Naruto started heading to the door when an idea came to her. "Thanks for coming, Kiba. Naruto, can you stay for a bit?"

The blonde frowned and looked from her to the brunette. "Um, okay. I'll just make it up to you some other time, alright?"

"You better." With that, Kiba was out of the door.

"So what's up, Sakura?"

Thankfully, on cue, a flash of black was making its way down the staircases. She avoided Naruto for a while. "Hey, Sasuke-kun! Stay for a while!"

She saw the way he tensed up upon eyeing the other person in the room. "With him? No thanks." Naruto had flinched and Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Didn't he notice the way Sasuke's voice became too strained?

"Hey teme! If she has her reasons, let her! Not like I want to be in the same room as you anyways!"

Sakura smiled as two glares connected. "C'mon guys! Quit it already." Without any warning, Sakura swooped the two into an embrace that she knew made the two idiots' faces clash. The kunoichi held on as long as she can until finally letting go. Pink dusted both the cheeks of her former teammates.

"What was that for?" Naruto said with a low voice.

Sakura pouted innocently. Neither Sasuke nor the blonde were eyeing each other now. Oh goddammit, what did it take for them to realize already?! Ah whatever. "Sorry... but don't you guys get it?"

The two, at the exact same time, raised their eyebrows. Cute. She sighed. "Team 7's back again!"

Sasuke expectantly rolled his eyes as Naruto mouthed an 'oh'. Silence fell between the three of them. That was all the plan she had in mind actually. Though she didn't expect results this fast, she just hoped something would bud between the two boys for her actions. Before Sakura could say anything, Naruto cut in.

"Anyways Sakura," he said, rubbing the back of his head, "I have to get going... still tired and everything. Next mission's in a week, ya know? See you guys around." And he sped off without looking back.

The bubblegum-haired girl was surprised to see a curious expression on Sasuke's face. Then again, why was Naruto doing another quick mission after just finishing another one? Was the habit ingrained to him now? She made a mental note to consult the idea to Tsunade. Meanwhile, she had a job to perform with Sasuke. It didn't hurt to give out too much facts right? "Naruto requests a lot of missions so he gets little rest. It's supposed to help a mission he wants for himself."

When Sasuke eyed her with the unsaid question of which is, she continued, "He needed to find you."

She smiled upon seeing something spark up in the obsidian eyes. At least he was getting some idea that Naruto cared. With only a 'Hn' though, Sasuke was gone from the spot he had once been in.

Sakura had some idea where the raven was headed, if the dangerous glint was anything to go by.

Naruto stopped running as soon as the Haruno household was out of sight. If he read her carefully, Sakura seemed to be kinda... off a while ago. He had actually noticed the green-eyed glances sent at his way the whole party but didn't bother to wonder too much about it. Sure, Naruto had experienced for himself the times Sakura's personality did sudden tumble turns, just not as... peculiar as this. It was as if she was forcing some sort of thing to happen, like there was a reason to control the situation they faced.

Honestly, the blonde didn't want to think that she let it happen to have him and Sasuke get closer. Sakura was smart in her own right and he shuddered at the possibility she was that perceiving.

Pushing those uncomfortable thoughts aside, his eyes scanned the vicinity where civilians were headed into their own homes and shop owners were closing down. People who still remained outside eyed him with cold hatred, and years into this routine, the blonde was able to hold down a flinch and the deep hurt which stabbed his chest. He still had his chin held high because years of maturity and understanding told him it was useless to either make them understand through silence or actions. There would always be that resentment he couldn't take away at having their own precious people lost to them by the beast which resided in him. Shallow-minded as they were, these were still the people Naruto vowed to protect.

Besides, he had gotten some respect from a few of them. There was still Ume by the corner who smiled shyly at him, little Taki who waved his chubby hand at him from the window and the Hayase couple that sent an appreciative smile his way. There were still people who cared and views on him that had changed and that, for Naruto, was enough.

As his apartment came into view, the less people swarmed his surroundings. Slight silence befell upon the approaching night so it wasn't by some luck nor intuition that Naruto knew someone was on his trail. He knew this part of the village well enough that the blonde decided to go for a left turn and check his suspicions. His follower didn't relent. A few more turns and casual strides, Naruto cursed himself at finding himself in a dead end. Apparently, he had just walked upon a lane under construction. His only choice now was to turn right and stay upon a cornered alley where he could confront his pursuer more properly, without harming any of the villagers.

Naruto did as planned before turning on his heel with a serious look in his eyes. "Show yourself, coward! You're not fooling anyone!"

There were no movements at first. If there was anything Naruto was capable of, it was how to look for signatures a, but this shinobi seemed to have a knack for hiding it quite effectively that Naruto couldn't point where exactly his pursuer is. And that was saying something.

Then, out of nowhere, a black blur came down in front of him.

He froze. "Wha-" His words, however, were cut short by the pair of lips placed upon his own and a hand slithering up his neck. Naruto felt a shiver run down his spine until he felt liquid being poured into his mouth. His hand immediately pushed his pursuer's chest away.

"Get the fuck-" But a sudden throbbing in his head stopped his words. His legs suddenly felt like their bones were nonexistent and Naruto's eyelids drooped down. The ground met his knees just as an arm extended to catch him before faceplanting into the earth.

The last thing he remembered saying was the name of his pursuer.

"Sasu..."

Then everything went black.

A/N: Yeah, so I have to end it there. There's actually no use in hiding who it was but is it really him though?