Posted: August 30, 2007

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 thatare keeping up with the manga.

Thank yous: goheh-remix 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:

"From the corner of his eye, the beast saw the trio of children standing, preparing to leave, and then he saw nothing but the damp, red-lit corridor beyond a set of bars.

-----

Ten steps out of the clearing, red eyes snapped open and a lifeless body vaulted into animation."


Surface Flaws

Chapter XIII

It's too late to apologize, it's too late
I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late

I'd take another chance, take a fall
Take a shot for you
And I need you like a heart needs a beat
But it's nothing new - yeah, yeah

- Apologize (Timbaland ft. One Republic)

Wearily, Naruto opened his eyes, trying to contain the unease that was welling within him. He was on his back it seemed, for his first sight was of a canopy of trees. Then he noticed a chin at the edge of his vision, red and blistered. He frowned, trying to keep from panicking as his eyes latched onto the damaged skin.

The blonde moved his lips and attempted to speak, but his voice caught in his throat, rough and scratchy, and he felt his already fast heartbeat quickening. He couldn't move, and his voice was failing him, and he was terrified because he had no idea whether the cough was wracking his body or not. He supposed it must have been.

"N-naruto?" Sasuke asked softly, his chin lowering to reveal his face. The blonde shinobi's eyes focused in on his teammate's concerned expression and he nearly grimaced.

Burns covered the other boy's cheeks, and forehead, and chin, and neck - mottled his once smooth skin with red and pink welts. His eyes showed no trace of pain though, only a heavily muted worry. A worry that was concealed behind the layers of apathy he always displayed for the world, for Naruto.

The blonde's stomach tightened anxiously and he somehow managed to whisper, "What happened?"

Blank eyes analyzed Naruto, staring at him with little expression, and the boy felt his gut twisting and wrenching within him. It was there again, that distance they had been slowly overcoming, and it was gaining strength. The Uchiha was closing himself off again; in spite of all that Naruto had done these passed few weeks to open him up, he was pushing him away.

Again and again and again and…

It was a waste of time to worry about this now.

Fighting to keep his eyes on Sasuke, Naruto realized that the brunette was looking to his left. He couldn't see Sasuke's expression anymore - he supposed that was for the better - only the direction of his chin, but he supposed Sasuke must have looked the same as he had a few seconds ago.

Naruto swallowed thickly and his breathing started picking up. He had no idea what had happened, and Sasuke wasn't saying anything, and he was somehow covered in burns, and… Naruto couldn't move. He tried to will his body to turn enough so he could see who Sasuke was looking at, but nothing happened.

And… He felt so tired; like he had been awake forever and had never once thought to close his eyes and sleep. The blonde yawned into Sasuke's chest and felt his eyes falling closed again.

"You should go back to sleep, Naruto," Sakura finally answered for Sasuke and the blonde wondered where she was before doing as she requested.

You never understand…

-----

The Kyuubi awoke in Naruto's body to find himself being contained by that damned Uchiha brat. The boy's arms were holding him tightly in a cradle lift and he was walking away from the clearing quickly.

The demon glared at the boy and shifted, trying to break the grasp upon him. When the hands on him tightened in response, the demon swiped at the Uchiha's face. Naruto's palm came in contact with Sasuke's flawless cheek and the Kyuubi heard a satisfying hissing sound as his demon chakra ate away at the brunette's skin.

"Fuck!" the Uchiha cursed, trying to pull his head back. "What the hell, Naruto?" he demanded as another hand viciously lashed out, slapping with a sizzle against his neck. The Kyuubi grinned, revealing two glittering canines, and aimed for the boy's chest with Naruto's clawed hands.

Beside them, the girl was getting anxious. He could taste her fear on his tongue when he drew in a breath and felt an exhilarating rush of bloodlust. His chakra spiked and the layer of bubbling orange surrounding the beast's human container intensified.

"Sasuke! Let him go!" came her shriek and he knew before she moved that she planned on removing him from the Uchiha. So when she reached over to pull the Kyuubi's hands away from Sasuke's body, she was easily tossed aside with a hard kick to her abdomen.

Sasuke's grip on the Kyuubi tightened and the demon placed both hands on his chest and pushed against him, hard. The brunette's face stiffened in pain and he clenched his jaw, glaring down at the body of his closest comrade.

"Put me down, boy, and I won't have to kill you." The sound that left Naruto's lips was not his bright, annoying voice, but rather the deep rolling tone of a man - a demon.

Eyes widening with recognition, Sasuke dropped the body of his best friend and stepped back, his cheeks already becoming red and swollen.

"You..." he said in an accusing tone as the demon landed in a crouch before him, his smile all teeth - sharp and jagged.

"If you want to live, keep out of my way, boy. And make sure the bitch behaves," the Kyuubi instructed and disappeared into the clearing, leaving Sakura and Sasuke to watch his back in confusion.

You had better stop going backwards, boy…

-----

"Sasuke! Sakura!" Tsunade's voice was too loud, Naruto thought as he was awakened by Sasuke pulling him closer to his body. His head was rolling inward, to the boy's chest and he could hear Sakura responding to the hag's call. She sounded breathless.

Curious, the blonde opened his eyes, too tired to feel much of anything when the simple action proved to be an immense struggle.

He heard hurried footsteps and then the sound of twin gasps. Tsunade and Kakashi's from the sounds of it. Naruto snorted into Sasuke, unable to see anything but the boy's shirt, and wondered why he'd bothered going through the effort of opening his eyes when he couldn't see the old hag anyway.

"What's the big deal, Sasuke's burns aren't that bad..." he croaked out and found his body turning away from Sasuke again. His head rolled to the other side and he found himself looking at Tsunade, Kakashi, and Sakura.

Tsunade was staring at him, her eyes wide with horror, and even Kakashi looked shocked. Sakura was the only one of the three that looked even remotely calm and the boy latched onto the image tightly. If Sakura was calm then that surely meant everything was okay. It had to mean that she and Sasuke would be fine…

She had a burn too, Naruto suddenly noticed with concern as he stared at her; her shirt was burned through at the stomach. The blonde frowned and watched as she whispered to both Kakashi and Tsunade, her expression grave. The three of them were staring at Naruto and Sasuke, and the boy wanted more than anything to shake off their forceful gazes. It was unnerving watching their solemn expressions.

If he could fidget, he would have.

"Oi, hag!" Naruto demanded in a weak voice. He had the woman's full attention the minute he spoke. "What's wrong?" He tried to smile at her but he was feeling tired again. Sleep was pulling at him, gently coaxing away the pain and muted fear. He noticed that her eyes were bright when she stepped closer, bending slightly at the waist so her face was inches from his. The warmth of her breath washed over him and he felt his eyelids struggling to close.

"Nothing's wrong, brat." The woman smiled at him despite the tears in her eyes and then looked at Sasuke. "Give him to Kakashi, you're in no condition to be carrying him."

Naruto breathed an agreement quietly into Sasuke's chest and fought to keep his eyes open just a little bit longer - long enough to ensure that Sasuke and Sakura were really okay. They both looked so horrible and - he swallowed a mouthful of guilt as his dream resurfaced.

"No."

Naruto's eyes were falling closed again as Sasuke rolled him back into his chest.

"Sasuke, don't you dare defy me right now." Tsunade was using her Hokage voice Naruto noted with amusement as his body slowly succumbed to sleep's tender touch.

"I'm carrying hi-"

I will not lose you too…

-----

"Uchiha Itachi," the Kyuubi said in a humorous imitation of amusement. His hands were flexing at his side and the demon was emitting a low rumbling growl.

"Kyuubi no Youkou," the man said, his tone formal. He was watching the beast controlling Naruto's body warily.

This did little to placate the legendary creature's wounded pride.

"I never expected you to reverse the effects and return me to the brat's body. You never seemed the type to admit to a mistake," the beast snarled, taking a step closer to the man. He was only vaguely impressed when Itachi held his ground.

The silence that the animal was treated to only enraged him further. "Nothing to say?" he demanded.

The quiet continued and the low growl emitting from the blonde's chest intensified.

"Then I'll kill you now."

Naruto's body lunged at Itachi, his arm swiping forward in a well-aimed punch that extended as far as his chakra could reach. Itachi barely dodged by jumping into a tree. The Akatsuki member was extremely low on chakra from the jutsu, and it showed in his dragging reflexes.

"You're only delaying the inevitable!" the beast yelled, his deep voice eating its way through the still forest like fire. He leapt forward and followed after Itachi, this time swinging the mass of chakra that made up his fourth tale at the eldest Uchiha.

It grazed Itachi's arm as the man was dodging and the Kyuubi smiled. The expression was primitive and wrong on Naruto's features.

"This will be the last and only time you make a mockery of me, Uchiha."

And the beast struck again, this time hitting the man in the shoulder hard enough to send him flying.

As his body dove after the man, the small part of the beast that Naruto represented watched as Sasuke struggled against Sakura to stop what was happening.

A blackness like hate engulfed everything…

-----

"Get. Lost. He's not in any condition to have visitors."

Naruto instantly recognized Sasuke's voice and almost smiled at the protective rage his tone carried.

"Not even one visitor, Sasuke-kun? I merely wanted to deliver this and wish him well. I read that patients can hear you when you speak to the- Ah, hello Naruto," Sai's eyes crinkled in a friendly manner as the boy grinned cheerfully at Naruto. "I brought you a card," he explained, still smiling, as he held up a folded sheet of paper with an ink drawing on it. It looked beautiful even from a distance.

The blonde, who had just barely woken, blinked in surprise and attempted to nod his head. However, the movement didn't happen.

Naruto frowned and saw Sasuke turning quickly to stare at him. His face was void of expression despite the passion his tone had carried a moment ago. The blonde watched as his muscles twitched indecisively before, in a movement so fast the blonde shinobi's eyes couldn't follow, Sasuke slammed the door shut - blocked Sai out - and was at Naruto's side, leaning over him.

"Naruto, how do you feel?" he asked, his tone so tender it made Naruto's already tight stomach clench further with fear.

A million questions sprang to mind. A million things he needed to know ran through his head, but he was already drifting away again. He could feel his eyes losing focus and it frustrated him to no end that he couldn't stay awake long enough to know why he was in the hospital or to ask how Sakura's injuries were.

Perhaps he could have asked one of his many questions, Naruto supposed as he struggled to keep his eyes open. But Sasuke's gradually softening face was all he could see and Naruto didn't have it in him to crush his friend further, especially when his last waking memory of the boy was a blank expression and a cold tone.

Instead he said in a hoarse voice, "Like shit," and fell asleep again.

You'll have to choose. Don't screw it up…

-----

The fight was still wearing on two hours later. Itachi was fighting back, and doing nearly the same amount of damage as the Kyuubi, who was fighting purely on instinct and with no skill. When it had been in its own large body, such tactics were possible; however, against a fighter as skilled as Itachi and in a body as small as Naruto's, the brute force of the demon was proving to be much less effective.

It was a close fight. Itachi's body was covered in burns and his breathing was becoming more laboured as the fight wore on. Naruto's skin was slowly deteriorating under the heat of the chakra consuming it. The elder Uchiha leapt to the side as the Kyuubi delivered another wildly aimed punch that hissed ominously when it struck the hem of the Akatsuki member's cloak.

"Quit. Fucking. Running!" the animal snarled, chasing after the man, who had jumped into a tree and was releasing a particularly advanced form of his family's famous fire jutsus, using up more of his already nearly depleted chakra. The flames engulfed Naruto's body and latched onto him. There was a strange whistling noise as his coat and pants began melting against his skin under the combined heat of the fire and the demon chakra engulfing him.

The Kyuubi did not feel this though and kept running through the fire until he was bursting through and landing a successful punch on the man's face.

The blonde's cheeks bubbled with burns and the patches of purple - his useless body - seen through the tattered holes in his outfit were not fairing much better.

Just as Itachi's body slammed against a tree from the force of the punch, the chakra surrounding the Kyuubi suddenly began to waver. The demon, who stood on the tip of a tree branch, stumbled as the orange layer encasing him pulsed again and lessened significantly.

Managing to regain enough balance to keep from falling at the last second, the beast jumped to the next tree branch and stood, collecting himself before leaping off the branch and landing on unsteady footing on the ground.

There, he collapsed and the red chakra continued to dissipate.

Itachi, not mortally wounded, but realizing another two fights - a second with Sasuke and one with Sakura - were not in his best interests, quickly performed a set of seals and used the last of his chakra to disappear from the clearing in a cloud of smoke.

When all the chakra surrounding Naruto had disappeared, there was nothing left but the blonde's scorched and torn up body, which Sasuke rushed to and cradled with a gentleness he had never before shown, Sakura only a few steps behind him.

As Sasuke held his friend and stared down blankly at him, Sakura began rummaging through her bag for her water flask, a cloth, and some bandages. She dropped to her knees beside the boys and wiped a hand over her eyes - drew in a shuddering breath in an attempt to stop the fear that was quaking through her body.

"Soak the cloth and cool down his face," she ordered thickly, after she had shoved the flask and cloth at Sasuke, and reached for Naruto's wrist. Hiding his shock, Sasuke did as she said, soaking the rag then gently holding it to his friend's face, starting when steam rose from the cloth with a hiss.

He watched, ignoring the hysteria that was trying to consume him, as Sakura closed her eyes in concentration and began checking Naruto's vitals. After a few minutes of doing so, she breathed a sigh of relief and met Sasuke's wide eyes. "He's ok-kay…" Her voice hiccupped and she broke off from saying more - busied herself by pushing Sasuke's hands away from Naruto's face and removing the warmed cloth.

"This is the best I can do," she told him in a strained voice as she began covering her beloved teammate's burned face with the dry bandaging she had earlier removed from her pack. "If you could cool down the rest of his body, I'll start bandaging him. Once we're done we'll have to get him back as quickly as possible."

Her voice sounded strong and in control - the complete opposite of how she felt - as she tied off the dressing around Naruto's head - she had left his mouth, nose, and eyes unconcealed.

She began to remove as much of his jacket as possible. Sasuke worked with her, softly dabbing the cloth at the blonde's skin as it was revealed.

Grimacing and cutting away bits of loose leather from her teammate's arms, Sakura continued her medical treatment by wrapping the blonde's sickly mix of dried cloth and moist purpled skin in bandaging. The girl shuddered whenever her hand came in contact with his skin, which hissed and sizzled, and was swollen with burns, as she worked.

"Can't you do anything else?" Sasuke demanded in a gruff voice, tossing the cloth to Sakura and helping to strip the boy so the girl could work more efficiently. His hands trembled as he resorted to cutting away the material not fused with Naruto's body and he refused to acknowledge the wetness in his eyes.

"I don't know what's in him, Sasuke," Sakura explained calmly as she motioned for the boy to remove the rest of their wounded friend's shirt while she assumed the wet rag and lightly soaked Naruto's chest. "His body shouldn't be sizzling when touched, even if he's covered with burns."

When Sasuke finished cutting away the bottom of the blonde's shirt, revealing Naruto's stomach, both teens' eyes glanced inconspicuously over the seal, which was miraculously present.

"It's still there," Sasuke whispered in wonderment and some of the urgency and tension they both had been holding died.

"Oh thank you," Sakura breathed, her eyes straying heavenward as several tears leaked from her eyes, rolling down her cheek. The girl tied off the bandage around Naruto's foot and wiped at her face, sniffling as she tried to contain the overwhelming emotions warring within her.

Joy, fear, hysteria, anxiety, anger…

Sasuke smiled softly at Naruto, sure that Sakura wasn't looking, and murmured nearly soundlessly, "Don't you dare die," as he occupied himself with finding a blanket in his pack.

Sakura coughed. Sasuke looked at her. She stared at the blanket pointedly then back at him. Her face was heavy with hard to define emotions. Sasuke's fingers tightened on the blanket and he met her gaze evenly - levelly.

It was obvious that they both desired to be the one to carry him when they left. They both felt as if they were the one entitled to doing so.

Sasuke's eyes strayed to the wound on Sakura's abdomen, which was bleeding and now burned from the earlier kick Naruto's chakra consumed body had delivered to her. The girl's expression hardened and she stared at Sasuke's face and neck and chest, which were covered in burns of their own.

Not a word was spoken and the only sound was Naruto's laboured, uneven breathing.

"You can carry him and still keep up?" Sakura eventually asked as she picked up the cloth, flask, and bandaging - packed it away.

Sasuke nodded and, wrapping Naruto in the blanket and bringing him securely to his chest in a cradle lift, stood. "Thank you," he said quietly.

At Sakura's nod of acknowledgement the pair started off toward Konoha.

What don't I get?...

-----

When Naruto woke up again two weeks later, he could see nothing but the hospital ceiling. Had it not been for Sasuke's soft breathing, he would have thought himself alone. The boy sighed wearily as the dreams he had been having for the last two months slowly began piecing together.

"Sasuke?" he said into the silence, his voice quiet and choked because he remembered.

"You're awake." The boy placed a hand on Naruto's face and tilted it toward him so the blonde could see him. When he saw the questioning look on his comrade's face he clarified, "Tsunade said it's all right to touch you."

Naruto hesitated as he took in the sight of Sasuke. His burns were all healed and nothing but a small scar on his cheek remained.

"Right," he finally breathed. His chest felt constricted and the lump in his throat kept him from swallowing properly.

The blonde clenched his jaw and stayed silent as Sasuke's look of relief slowly began to fade away. It felt wrong to be feeling so much love for Sasuke, and yet he did. And perhaps that was because he remembered everything.

Perhaps it was because he was alive against all odds and could die at any time that he was suddenly realizing just how much Sasuke meant to him.

And perhaps this was why he needed Sasuke to be the one to tell him what had happened… not the events… but what had happened to him.

"I love you, you know," the blonde suddenly whispered and he felt tears forming in his eyes as he spoke because he couldn't stop the words as they flowed from his mouth. And it wasn't just a romantic love he was speaking of, he realized. It was a love born from years of camaraderie, and searching, and rebuilding.

There was dead silence and Naruto refused to look at Sasuke, even though he could no longer hear the consistent assurance of the boy's breath. It was strange though, because for the first time in weeks, he wasn'tscared.

This was something he refused to apologize for - something he refused to fear.

If that was true, he wondered why he couldn't bring himself to look at Sasuke's face - to see the open rejection he knew was awaiting him.

Still the other boy had not spoken or breathed and still Naruto hadn't looked at him.

But he wasn't sorry, he reassured himself as he reluctantly lifted his eyes.

He wasn't scared.

Sasuke was staring blankly at Naruto. There was nothing in his eyes but a rock hard wall. He met Naruto's gaze and drew in a ragged breath, saying in a stiff tone, "Yeah, I know."

The blonde sighed and bit his lip, as a tear rolled down his cheek. He wanted to wipe it away, but he couldn't. And even if it were possible to remove the tear, the boy wondered if he would have given in to the urge. Would he really erase a reality of this moment when Sasuke was doing enough of that for both of them?

But he wasn't scared and he wasn't sorry.

Naruto smiled kindly at Sasuke, the crinkling of his eyes pushing out more tears as he blinked in understanding.

"Can you...tell me what's wrong?" he finally asked and he could truly see and feel a steel wall falling between them. The brunette was staring impassively at his friend.

Somehow this helped to ease the pain because the distance, the expression, the reaction... they were all so utterly… Sasuke.

"You're paralyzed from the neck down."

Naruto choked on a gasp of disbelief at hearing his suspicions aloud and forced himself to say, "Oh," in as calm a voice as possible.

He wasn't scared and he wasn't sorry.

He expected Sasuke to say something after that - it certainly looked like he wanted to - but nothing happened. Naruto simply laid there, tears rolling down his cheeks as he watched Sasuke, who in turn stared stubbornly at a point beyond Naruto - a point Naruto was unable to see.

After what seemed an eternity, Naruto fell asleep again. When he was deep within the dreams of his memories, Sasuke leaned forward and placed a kiss on the blonde's temple, where he whispered, and choked out, andsobbed, "Yeah, I know."

It was always worth it…


AN: …So next chapter will resolve everything And then the epilogue. I'm getting so nostalgic ; ; No more school ever again… no more Surface Flaws really soon… T.T

/angst

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(Oh, and sorry to everyone that had a heart attack from my little prank last chapter 8D kukukuku)