Posted: Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Disclaimer: Do not own.

Warnings: Shounen ai, spoilers for anyone not keeping up with the manga, & AUish. Anything involving Akatsuki and bijuus after the timeskip is completely irrelevant to this story, and as such, never happened. Actually, this applies to everything after the timeskip except the part where Naruto, Sakura, and Sai meet up with Sasuke.

General: Takes place after chapter 308 for those of you that are keeping up with the manga.

Thank yous: peachie-x and Nox (betas) as well as everyone who has reviewed SF. Much love!

Summary: The invisibility started with one silly wish upon a star. Good thing Sasuke's doormat personality, Sai's attempts at matchmaking, and a mission gone wrong were all quite normal in the life of Naruto Uzumaki... Wait. What? SasuNaru


Previously:

"Naruto closed his eyes and let the only thought in his mind surface. Sometimes he wished he were as invisible as he felt; then he would be able to form justification in his mind, true or not, for Sasuke's distance. He sighed and bit his lip in contemplation as the star disappeared from the sky.

It was then that Kyuubi's chakra flared suddenly within Naruto in warning. But before he had time to react, a strange tugging sensation pulled his eyelids downward, just as the moon began to give off a faint red glow, and Naruto fell into a soft slumber."


Surface Flaws

Chapter II

"I'll find you somewhere
I'll keep on trying until my dying day
I just need to know whatever has happened,
The truth will free my soul."

-Somewhere (Within Temptation)

Naruto opened his eyes and stared at the sky, focusing on the red-tinted world that had thrown itself upon him like a blanket during his sleep. The colour, it seemed, was exclusive to the sky. So when Naruto brought a hand to his face, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and saw his hand covered in a thin film of red, the surprise that grasped him was very fitting.

He took a moment to observe his appendage in silent wonder. The red was reflecting off his hand in much the same way light reflected off objects under water, creating an odd illusion of lines and sparkles that were almost hypnotic in their beauty.

Around him, the sounds of night echoed in the clearing, composing a symphony that continuously lulled from the harsh buzz of dissonance to the soothing tone of resolution. It was to this tune that Naruto's mind slowly swam into focus, taking in the small wisp of cloud that fiercely hid the moon above. He had fallen asleep outside, he realized a moment later as he slowly stood from the ground on shaky feet, feeling almost transparent in his tiredness.

Between the trees, the flicker of something, a shadow perhaps, was visible for a moment before it disappeared; allowing the night to close in around Naruto - embrace him. Within the confines of his mind and body, Kyuubi paced with raging unease, releasing a sudden burst of chakra in warning.

The drowsy ninja staggered at the sudden discharge of energy and grasped the nearest tree for balance. The startling wave of nausea that had grasped him was unexpected but not completely a surprise. It pulled him closer to the tree as he fought the pain surging through his body, his cheek pressing against the rough texture of the bark hard enough to leave a myriad of lines indented in his skin.

The sensation provided brief respite from the ache grasping his body. However, when the discomfort returned, the young ninja found himself pushing away from the tree, both his hands finding his head in a distressed jumble of movement. His mind was spouting forth soothing words to the demon sealed within his body desperately, trying to find some way to quiet the irritated animal.

When trying to calm the edgy fox failed as was expected, Naruto slowly made his way from the clearing with a defeated sigh -a subtle stagger caused by unexpected waves of nausea was visible in his gait- and back to his apartment. He slept uneasily for the better part of the morning with haunting dreams and an unexplainable feeling of dread as his only company.

-----

Wind rushed past his face and pulled back tufts of blonde hair as Naruto lunged forward, his fist drawn back in preparation to strike the opponent that stood across the clearing. He cursed when his punch missed its target and instead whizzed through the air as his adversary dived to the side, lashing out a leg that nearly knocked him from his feet.

Luckily, the blonde shinobi's coordination had increased over the years and Naruto managed to roll into a standing position, his chest rising and falling with labored breaths, a sign that he was combating a worthy opponent.

He grinned. The image had a feral appeal to it as it was accentuated by jagged canines and distinct whisker marks, but Naruto had never known how untamed his appearance could become.

The boy continued his assault by leaping into the air; sending six shuriken soaring down and in the direction of his opponent's shocked face. Surrounding his frozen combatant was the field, matted from their war, the grass crushed to the ground. The six lethal weapons soared through the air and hit their target with a dull thud before being engulfed in a thick cloud of smoke with a pop.

Naruto frowned and landed on the ground in a squatting position, watching suspiciously as the smoke cleared to reveal a log with six shuriken embedded deep within it, proof that he had been outwitted.

On the bright side, at least his aim was on, he thought with a subtle shrug.

"Too slow," a voice taunted as a shadow fell over Naruto. The boy looked up, visibly surprised, and rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a well-aimed punch that left a large crater in the ground. He let out a hiss of breath and dug his fingers into the dirt, building up the chakra in his feet.

Leaping backwards and landing on a sturdy tree branch, the hidden ninja glared at the figure below. "Don't speak too soon," he murmured with a smirk as his hands flew through a series of seals.

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu." Three identical copies of the blonde boy appeared in the surrounding space. It was almost humorous how they all adopted arrogant stances and looked at their creator expectantly. A light shuffle below drew the boy's interest; his opponent was staring at them with an irked expression.

"Naruto," a voice called below him in exasperation, "I thought we agreed that we weren't going to use jutsus." There was a hint of admonishment in the person's tone.

Naruto glanced at the three figures surrounding him and made a nervous face. "Sorry guys," he said, reluctantly letting the clones go with a blush. Oops.

The branch dipped under his weight as the blonde leaped down from it, landing next to his opponent with an embarrassed grin. "Sorry Sakura-chan."

The girl snorted and gave Naruto a dry look.

"It was instinct!" He defended, plopping to sit on the ground beside her, catching his breath with deep controlled gasps.

Sakura shrugged. "Well, I guess it doesn't really matter because you lose by default either way," she replied carelessly, watching Naruto from the corner of her eye with the beginnings of a smirk.

"What!" He turned to stare at her with shock, his voice rising in outrage, "I do not. I had the advantage the whole time." A childish pout slowly made its way onto his face as he crossed his arms.

"Mhm," his female teammate conceded with an irritated eyeroll that landed on the ground and softened much too quickly. The matted grass around her was yellow and scattered, intermingled with bare patches of dirt that provided testimony to the abuse the field endured.

Naruto smirked at the admission, and adjusted his position so he was lying on his stomach, his head relaxing on the backs of his hands. Slowly, his gaze moved to Sakura. She had a distracted expression on her face as she stared at a blade of grass she had picked and was rolling between her fingers slowly and deliberately.

"What'cha thinking about?" Naruto asked, glancing up from the plant in Sakura's hand to her face. She shrugged, scowling as the blade began to leave traces of green liquid on her fingers.

Her lack of commitment to the conversation didn't seem to deter the blonde in any way, however. "Well, you know what I think you should do?" he continued with a contemplative expression. Sakura dropped the grass blade and plucked another.

"What?" she murmured, pretending to be paying attention to his words. The melancholy tone in her voice didn't float over Naruto's head as most would have expected and he watched with concern as her hands danced over her skirt then grasped another handful of grass.

"I think a bowl of ramen would cheer you up." Naruto's eyes closed knowledgeably before tightening into an unthinking wince. He waited for Sakura to yell something and smack him upside the head, but she simply threw her newest blade of grass at him with a smile.

"I think a bowl of ramen would only add to my dehydration." She corrected and laughed at the way Naruto screwed his face up as if he were insulted, sticking his tongue out at her.

Shifting into a sitting position that allowed his face to be level with hers, Naruto adopted a solemn expression. "But really, what's up?"

Sakura averted her gaze, lifting and dropping her shoulders in a resigned shrug as a soft breeze tousled her hair fondly and brought a heartrending smile to her lips. The delicate skin of her throat bobbed as the girl drew in shuddering breath.

"Yamato-sensei?" he guessed quietly, peering into Sakura's face and pulling her gaze to his, unprepared for the dim quality that her eyes had adopted.

She nodded.

"Yeah, I think about that a lot too," Naruto admitted. His fist clenched around a handful of the orange material of his pants, and he sighed. Death was the one aspect of being a shinobi he would never allow himself to grow comfortable with.

"He's just so different," Sakura murmured, her voice so quiet Naruto would have sworn it was simply a stray thought in the breeze, had he not been waiting for her to speak. Of course, Naruto knew without asking which 'he' Sakura was referring to. Sasuke.

She continued in a passive voice, "I don't know. I just thought he'd be the same when he came back. I know that was foolish of me. I mean I knew he wouldn't be the person that left and I expected changes, I really did. But…" Sakura trailed away at a loss.

"You didn't think they'd be so…big?" Naruto supplied. He understood how Sakura felt. Sasuke wasn't the same, wasn't even trying to hide it. It made him furious that Sasuke's actions were hurting more people than himself. He hated it when Sakura was upset.

"You too?" The girl glanced up, staring at her teammate through the curtain of her eyelashes, catching the brief flicker of fury in Naruto's eyes.

"Yeah," he murmured, "me too."

"You know, when I saw him for the first time in Sound I barely recognized him." Her eyes began to tear and she wiped at them stubbornly, refusing to cry. "It was Sasuke I was staring at, the same person that I'd loved for as long as I can remember, but there was just something different about him. He's always been an asshole, that's undeniable but he was beyond that. He was just…so dark…"

Naruto bit his lip, torn between hugging Sakura and trying to keep her talking. He didn't know what to do. He had no idea how to deal with his own emotions let alone those of his friends.

"And then he was in front of you in the blink of an eye, katana drawn and poised to kill you at any moment…" Sakura's eyes lifted and met Naruto's, squinting against the sun, "I think that's when I stopped loving him," she whispered, as if the confession were painful.

Naruto had had no idea. "Sakura…"

He was completely dumbfounded by the admission and found his gaze straying to the sky as it always did when he was confused. The way the world above him always ended up the way it had started was like a sick comfort to Naruto. It was sick because it taunted him by being unattainable and comforted him because it proved to him that at least one thing in his life would remain constant.

He needed that sort of comfort when it felt as if the world were shifting beneath his feet, rolling away as he struggled to keep up. Somehow, Naruto always ended up falling short.

Sakura not loving Sasuke was as foreign a concept to him as Shikamaru running laps in his spare time as a form of entertainment…it was just unimaginable.

The pink-haired girl's fingers grasped the hem of her dress and she toyed with the fabric anxiously as a tremor ran through her slim body and stayed in her hands. Naruto's eyes widened in concern; she was shaking.

"Wow," she breathed, "I can't believe I just…Naruto?"

He looked up at his name to see that Sakura was suddenly filled with a sort of nervous energy. Her eyes refused to stay focused on any one point at a time and instead danced around Naruto's face nervously.

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell anyone I said that because…I don't…" She plucked another blade of grass from the ground and let out an irritated breath. The thoughts in her mind were too confusing to be formed into words that would end up as meaningless syllables.

"I understand," he mumbled.

But really, he had no idea what had just happened and a part of him hoped he never would.

-----

The shower was a nice place to relax, and always had been. With the relaxation hot water provided, there also came a sense of mental calmness, a sense that eventually everything would work out. It was nice to cling to such a feeling when every step down the road of life seemed to suggest otherwise.

Naruto drew the shower curtain open, and watched with vague interest as the steam rushed forward, settling on the mirror. The nearest towel, which was a vibrant orange, landed snugly on his hips moments later just as three sharp knocks sounded on the door of his apartment.

"Coming," the ruffled boy yelled and turned to the mirror, quickly running his fingers through his hair in a vain attempt to look decent for his visitor.

Three more knocks sounded, this time harder - more annoyed.

"I'll be there in a second," Naruto shouted, letting out an irritated huff of breath. He left the washroom and ran to the door, pulling it open with a grouchy: "Hello."

"I'd suggest you keep the towel up. You wouldn't want everyone in Konoha to know you don't have a penis," the person at the door said with a smile, not missing a beat.

Naruto stared at Sai in anger, as he absorbed the meaning of the former Roots member's warped greeting. Said Roots member was grinning cheekily at Naruto, his eyes crinkling with mirth at the private joke. The bright weather on the other side of the door seemed to share in the boy's amusement at the pathetically unfunny joke.

The offense had been unnecessary and Naruto definitely wasn't in the mood to deal with insults, harmless or not. So, he slammed the door shut -to hell with being a good host- and headed for his bedroom in search of some shorts and a shirt. It took a fair degree of effort to control his smirk at the image of Sai's slightly widened eyes when the door came swinging towards him.

As Naruto was pulling an orange tank over his head, he heard the door open and the distinct sounds of footsteps in his home.

"You know Sai," the boy called as he slipped his pants on, "I was starting to actually think you weren't a giant bastard." There was a definite edge in his voice, and it certainly wasn't playful.

"My deepest apologies, Naruto." Sai's voice was just outside Naruto's bedroom door now and there was a pregnant pause before the boy continued. "Are you decent? I would hate to not see anything…"

Naruto scowled and made his way to the hall. "Yes, I'm decent." He growled through clenched teeth, adding an aggravated 'bastard' under his breath as an afterthought as he rounded into the kitchen where Sai was sitting at the table, a calm expression on is face. The image of the immaculately groomed boy sitting in Naruto's unkempt kitchen was rather uncomplimentary and Naruto felt a surge of embarrassment at the poor quality of his home.

"Good." Sai grinned -his smile sincere- at Naruto and the other boy found his anger ebbing away.

"Hmph," Naruto grumbled, holding his angry pretence, "I don't even know why I agree to seeing you, because all you ever do is make fun of me."

Sai chuckled. "It's because I buy you ramen."

This caught the blonde boy's attention and he perked up immediately, his eyes dancing deviously under his eyebrows, which were rising and falling suggestively.

"Well then, Ichiraku's it is!" he exclaimed and bounded out his front door leaving Sai to tag along behind, watching Naruto a little too closely and a little too intensely. His concern, Naruto thought, upon glancing back at the boy, was a little too apparent.

-----

Ichiraku's was relatively quiet for a late Saturday afternoon but neither Sai nor Naruto were complaining, because it provided them both the perfect opportunity to discuss topics that had otherwise been left untouched. Such as the mission to retrieve Sasuke.

"So is it really that different being back here now that you've left Roots?" Naruto asked curiously around a mouthful of noodles, oblivious to the grubby counter his elbows were resting upon. The stains would go unnoticed until later that week when the blonde made an attempt at doing laundry.

An awkward expression came onto his Sai's face as he thought of Naruto's question and watched his elbows. "Kind of. I definitely get the impression that Sasuke blames a lot of the tension between the two of you on me."

"Oh," Naruto said, catching onto Sai's discomfort with the subject, "Well, he's just being a baby. Don't take it personally."

This answer didn't seem to satisfy the former Roots member, but Naruto didn't know what else to say to appease his friend's worry. He breathed in the aroma of ramen in the air and let images of his best friend float through his mind. The distance between them was unbearable and, as much as he tried, Sai would never be able to fill the void that Sasuke had created in Naruto's life.

"Do you talk to him at all anymore?" The blonde continued, but what he was really asking was if Sasuke ever said anything about him.

"No." If Sai was aggravated with the constant questions, he was doing a good job at hiding it, Naruto thought as the other boy gave him a reassuring smile. The awkward moment passed when Sai's gaze wandered to the blonde's empty ramen bowl and he reached into his pocket, withdrawing a handful of coins, which he dropped on the counter.

Naruto murmured his thanks and hopped off his seat, frowning. "That sucks. Are you and the other genin all getting along well at least?"

Sai smiled. "Yes," he replied. It was a fake smile - Naruto could tell.

"You don't have to fake a smile for me." He felt slightly stung that Sai felt the need to do so in the first place. It had been six months and the blonde had felt that they had made quite a bit of progress.

Sai shifted uneasily. "It's an old habit I suppose," he said, and then looked at Naruto as if searching for something. It was the same intense gaze Tsunade and Sakura gave him. It was as if they were looking for something Naruto couldn't give them. A crow cawed in the distance, its voice piercing through the silence.

Sai appeared as if he were about to say something, something he had been putting off. The knot in his eyebrows and the way his fingers kept twining together gave his anxiety away.

Naruto felt his body stiffen and he forced a smile as Sai's mouth opened…and then Sai smiled too, his fake smile, which erased all concern from his face, "Hello Shikamaru," he said, catching Naruto completely off guard.

The blonde ninja spun around, and found himself staring at Shikamaru, who was uncharacteristically tense, and looked troubled rather than indifferent. His lips pulled into a thin smile as he issued a mechanical greeting and kept walking.

"I wonder what's up with him…" Naruto looked at Sai curiously, then turned and watched Shikamaru's retreating back. The boy's pace was slow and careful, each step taken with the same deliberate care that only a genius could exert with little effort.

Then the ninja that was renowned for his laziness stopped completely out of nowhere and retraced his steps, bringing him back to the two genin. He surveyed them with a thoughtful frown.

"Were either of you near the West wall last night?" he asked, motioning for them to follow as he made his way towards a secluded alley. The genin shared a look of confusion and followed.

"Why? What happened?" Naruto asked curiously when they were out of earshot of the townsfolk, who had watched the trio hungrily, starved for gossip. Their eyes had been pinned to the ninja and they had moved in, their ears perked and ready to pass on any information they intercepted. Sasuke had been the primary talk of Konoha for so long that no one knew what else to speak of.

"The Hokage called me in today," Shikamaru replied offhandedly, "apparently there was a strange burst of unidentifiable chakra last night near the west wall."

Naruto frowned at this, staring at the ground. "I was near the west wall yesterday and I didn't feel it." He ignored the ominous feeling of tension in his stomach and shifted his weight from foot to foot anxiously.

"In the evening?" Shikamaru stared at Naruto with a lazy but expectant expression, his eyes narrowing at his comrade's odd action.

"I was training and I fell asleep, I was there almost all night," Naruto confirmed. He bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, the metallic flavor assaulting his taste buds. He hadn't felt anything last night had he?

"Oh." Shikamaru's face fell into a contemplative stare at the ground, and, after bidding Naruto and Sai goodbye, he continued on, his face not giving away any hint at all as to what he was thinking.

The minute Naruto and Sai were on the quiet road that led to Naruto's apartment, Sai turned to Naruto, apparently remembering his earlier train of thought.

"Have you and Sasuke regained your bond?"

Naruto sped up his pace, his mind flying back to the mission he had been on two days earlier. The path before him was too long, and the trees around him began to close in around him. He licked a drop of blood from his lip, trying to hide from the question.

"Was it worth it?"

"Yes."

He shuddered and shrugged. "Kind of, I guess."

They had reached Naruto's apartment and for that, he was thankful. The conversation had been taking a turn in a direction Naruto definitely was not comfortable with.

Thinking about his friendship with Sasuke and talking about it were two completely different things. Also, Naruto didn't think it would be fair to Sasuke to divulge the complications of their fragile relationship -not friendship- to anyone, particularly Sai. Sasuke and Sai did not get along, if Naruto's earlier conversation with Sai was any indication.

Naruto smiled and bid the dark-haired shinobi goodbye, saying he'd see him sometime soon.

Once tucked away from the world in the confines of his apartment, Naruto collapsed on his couch with a giant sigh, letting forth all the thoughts he had been keeping tucked away all day.

First, there was Sakura, though he doubted she would ever repeat what had been said again. To Naruto, her admission regarding Sasuke was implausible. Her clingy nature with the boy was just as strong now as it had been three years ago, although in a more mature nature.

Then, there was Sasuke. Naruto recalled feeling the boy's presence in the clearing the day before and, even though he had left, the blonde took his friend's uninvited company as a sign that perhaps Sasuke didn't want to be as alone as he let on. If that were the case, then avoiding Sasuke like the plague would not prove to be a good thing in the long run.

Biting his lip nervously, Naruto decided that, whether Sasuke liked it or not, he was going to restore their friendship if it was the last thing he did, which meant visiting Sasuke. And, Naruto thought as he pulled on his favorite orange jacket, what better time to visit than the current time?

-----

Turning onto the road that had once housed the Uchiha clan was like turning into a graveyard. There was dead silence and even the soft rustle of the wind had little effect, as there was nothing for it to disturb.

The houses were all aged and weatherworn; the paint peeling and faded on many houses while others showed the scars of war in the form of broken windows and caved-in walls.

It was with his head bowed in respect, and his hands shoved uncomfortably in his pockets that Naruto made his way down the desolate road, feeling as if he'd taken a step into both the past and future at the same time. Sasuke's home was midway down the street and easily spotted; it was the only house that had been maintained. The paint was clean and fresh and the windows showed not a trace of dust.

The walkway to his friend's home was lined with red and purple dragon snaps, which Naruto found odd; he had never imagined Sasuke to be the gardening type. Perhaps his mother had planted the flowers during Sasuke's childhood and the boy continued the tradition as a way of holding onto her.

Sometimes, Naruto wondered if his parents were proud of who he had become and sometimes he wondered if Sasuke shared these thoughts as well. The wind howled mournfully and the teen couldn't suppress the shudder that ran down his spine, he hated being alone and the desolate road inspired just that feeling.

When he finally reached the door of the Uchiha home, Naruto just stood there, staring at it - willing Sasuke to come open it of his own accord. The little house was tragic and the boy felt as if he were invading on its personal misfortune by standing there in his orange jumpsuit with his bright blue eyes, and vivid blonde hair. He did not belong on a street that had once been home to the Uchiha clan, not that he felt he really belonged anywhere…

And yet, nobody belonged in a place that possessed nothing more than memories and ghosts. Sasuke had said that there was nothing left for him in the future and that he lived in the past.

Naruto's knuckles rapped on the Uchiha heir's door three times and then he waited.

There wasn't a sound in the house. Nothing moved, no shadows flickered by the windows - it was absolutely still. It was with this realization that Naruto had to admit that Sasuke wasn't home. Then again, when had he ever been home, really?

-----

"Naruto!" The boy in question stopped with an awkward look of surprise on his face as Ino called to him cheerfully. The flower shop was mere steps away, and the blonde female was standing in the doorway with an expectant grin.

"Ino," Naruto replied with a wary smile. He had no idea why Ino was talking to him because they had certainly never been friends, acquaintances perhaps, but friends, no. She ushered him forward, and led him into the shop, which seemed to smell exactly as Ino did, or perhaps it was the other way around and Ino smelled of the flower shop. He figured the latter was more plausible; still, the sensation was disconcerting.

Naruto stopped, his cautious smile spreading to a grin when he saw that Chouji and Sakura were also in the shop.

"Hey!" He plopped down on a stool between the two ninjas and stared up at Ino, who had come to stand before them all, her expression serious.

"Okay, hopefully no one else is going to walk by, because I am not pulling another stray off the street." She paused to sigh, rather dramatically in Naruto's opinion, then grinned, "I've been waiting all day to tell Sakura, and everyone else for that matter, that I'm holding a party for her birthday oh…tomorrow!" Ino squealed, her eyes crinkling to accommodate the grin on her face.

It was Sakura's birthday. That was a surprise, Naruto thought, and stared at Ino with a dumb smile as she was nearly knocked over by an excitedly squeaking blur of pink.

He shared a look with Chouji. Both boys seemed to have the same idea in mind, 'so what?' Naruto personally had been expecting Ino to say something along the lines of 'I dropped two pant sizes' or…perhaps something a little more feminine. What he hadn't expected her to care about was Sakura's birthday.

Actually, the last time Naruto had checked, Sakura and Ino had hated each other, or at least couldn't tolerate each other.

"The party will be at 7:00," Ino announced as she peeled Sakura off her with a laugh that wasn't shrill or condescending in the least. It must have been a long time, Naruto realized with a bit of a start. Ino had changed and matured over the years.

Then again, what had he been expecting? That everyone would stay behind as Team 7 moved forward, or backward, depending on how you looked at it. They were easily one of the most powerful genin teams in Konoha but they had lost their incredible teamwork since Sasuke's disappearance.

Naruto's eyes widened slightly at the realization and he felt his eyes rove over his friends as if he were seeing them for the first time. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Ino handed Sakura a daisy and Sakura attacked her with another hug.

Chouji stood up and walked towards the pink-haired ninja. "Happy birthday Sakura-chan," he said, giving Sakura a hearty grin and taking her into a loose hug. They pulled apart and Ino said something that brought the three of them into a sudden burst of laughter.

Naruto had been expecting Chouji to ask something about food, not hug Sakura and make jokes with the group.

The smile on the blonde's face stayed firmly in place. Apparently, lots had changed while he had been off with Jiraiya, and trailing Sasuke. Except, that wasn't true because Naruto had never belonged with these people. Prejudice ran deep through their veins, it had been instilled in them as children and he couldn't blame them for that.

Sakura glanced over her shoulder at Naruto as she joked with Ino, and gave him the tiny smile that she reserved for him alone. Then her attention strayed back to Ino and Chouji, and Naruto suddenly realized that not only Sasuke had left him behind, but so had everyone else.

The same smile was still plastered on his face as he excused himself and made his way home, his thoughts swirling. By the time he reached his apartment Naruto's thoughts weren't the only thing swirling.

He clutched at his stomach and let out a sharp gasp as the fox seemed to rip at his insides in anger.

A flicker skirted along the edge of Naruto's vision and he felt the same tugging sensation on his eyelids as he had the previous night.

"Shit…" He managed to whisper in pain before he lost consciousness and slumped against the door, his vision blurring with red.


ANs: Ok, here's the second chapter. I love long thought out reviews (nudge nudge) so if you like it leave me some love! Oh, and there will be craploads of Sasuke next chapter! I swear!
-TJ