Precious Treasure of the Uchiha

Summary: For centuries, a child Madara took in lived with the Uchiha clan and was loved above all treasures. But in this day and time,the clan is wiped out, only one remaining. Read on as Naruto tries to solve the murder of the clan and the disappearance of Itachi all the while protecting the last living Uchiha. How will Sasuke cope in the world of immortals?

A/N: The song that appears in this chapter is one of the many things I really love about Naruto! Natsuhiboshi everyone! Please enjoy and don't be shy to leave a review!

"What?" The shocked teen gasped out, placing a hand over his racing heart, not believing his ears or his eyes as they registered the intell Naruto's voice and lips were sending. There was just no way ... "No. I can't go through this. Not again." His free hand moved to clutch the bangs by his right eye, covering said orb from sight. "If he were alive, Itachi would... He would ... Nii-san would have come for me!"

"You know he wouldn't." The Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki reasoned. "He knew his turning up to pick you up would alert whoever wanted him dead that they have failed. It would make you a moving target." He put the pan away from the heater and walked over to Sasuke, bringing his hands up to cup the slightly taller teen's face. The touch startled Sasuke, but Naruto didn't move away. "Itachi was angry his family died, he was angry more and more things kept me away from you two and he wanted to solve all of those problems so I could come back to you two. But more than anything, he wanted you to be safe and happy. And a life on the run wasn't going to bring that."

"How are you so sure he's even alive?" The older looking one asked. "How do you know he's not really dead? Or that it really was just an accident or if it wasn't? How do you know Itachi is still somewhere out there?"

The hands tightened and Naruto's gaze glazed a little before focusing back on the teen in front of him. It was abnormal how fragile Sasuke appeared at the moment. It didn't suit the Uchiha at all. So he snorted lightly to try and lighten the mood, to lift the tension so Sasuke would calm down a bit and gather his wits. The sound seemed to startle the other but he stopped gripping his hair so tightly and fully focused on the boy touching his face.

"Itachi has made a legend for himself because of his skills as an untouchable shinobi who never got hurt. I know he's strong and you do, too. You're just afraid to bring your hopes up and watch them potentially fall back down, even deeper than before. And that's perfectly normal. I know how close you and Itachi were." Sasuke stopped gripping his bangs altogether and instead gripped one of the tanned wrists as he listened. "Besides, I know that he has a technique that creates an ultimate, invincible defense around his body that would protect him. He has good instincts and senses, so I know he would have more than enough time to put it up."

"What is it? The technique?"

Naruto wanted to chuckle, but he didn't. Sasuke was asking questions again, which meant he was going back to his normal, bastard self, slowly but steadily. "We can talk about that another time. Anyway, it's one of the reasons I think he's still alive. One of the reasons I know it." Serious blue eyes captured captivated red ones in a hold Sasuke knew he couldn't break if he wanted to. And he didn't. There was something calming in that sky blue color. Sasuke enjoyed it very much. "Besides, I have a ... source, let's say, from which I can find out if he's dead or not. In the past couple of years, it's been showing he was still very much alive. Still is. I checked it just two days before Kakashi dragged me out of the Ryƫchi Cave."

"Is that ... source reliable?" The last - or maybe not - Uchiha asked, gripping the wrist tighter, a warning that he wanted the absolute truth. Naruto nodded once, their gazes never wavering. "Is he really alive? My Nii-san..."

"You know he is." The blond stated. "I may not have raised you or known you personally for very long, Sasuke, but I was there for Itachi's 'funeral'," the Immortal finally pulled his hands back to make air quotes and Sasuke snorted, despite himself. It earned him a small smile from the slightly shorter shinobi, one that seemed to wipe all his doubts away, even if just for a second. "I saw how you were looking at that empty coffin, Sasuke." The smile was replaced with a gentle look that didn't show any happiness but plenty of care and worry and, most of all, only the truth. "You never let go. In your heart, you knew he wasn't gone and you held on. You didn't let go."

"And I never will." The dark haired boy replied, still holding onto the Immortal's wrist as his Sharingan finally faded back to black.

"And you shouldn't." Naruto confirmed with a determined nod. "I promise I will find Itachi and bring him back home. And I never go back on my promises. It's my way of the ninja!"

Sasuke snorted again as he finally moved away from the blond, sitting at the table once again. "The era of ninjas is over, dobe."

"Teme! Came the furious bellow. "So what!? The way of the ninja is transcendental!" The blond complained but hid a smile. It would seem Sasuke was fine for the moment, so Naruto turned back around and walked over to finish the meal he had started making. "Though, seriously, Sasuke. You should get more in touch with the ninja side of your family. I think your clan was the only clan left who occasionally acted more like ninja than like shinobi. And having a way of the ninja could make your life easier. You can make it into a rule you will never break. For instance, Lee took after his father and grandfather, Gai and Dai, so his chakra ways are completely and utterly closed off. Yet all three of them have made it their way of the ninja to still become excellent shinobi despite being unable to use ninjutsu and genjutsu. Kakashi's ninja way is to never allow a comrade to die in front of his eyes and Ero-sennin's is to find real, lasting peace. Mine is, as I've already said, to never go back on my word. It's easier to live by one rule you will never break than by thousand others you will almost always break."

"Hn. I'll think about it." The Uchiha said, looking away from his guest. As soon as Naruto had stopped talking, a strange thought had flashed through Sasuke's mind: an eternity with just him, Naruto and Itachi. But he's not going to aim that high until he knows whether his big brother really is alive or not.

They spent the rest of their free time until the others came in preparation for obnoxious people like Kiba or reckless ones like Lee, moving all the valuables and breakables out of the halls and the rooms the guests would be allowed in, all the while discussing mindless topics with an important one here and there. For instance, Sasuke learned Naruto has had a ramen obsession since he was four and he loved to wear orange because it was the color between the two colors that represent his parents. He also revealed that he and Jiraiya had a bit of a talk about Naruto, but the blond wasn't surprised. Then, to Naruto's shock, Sasuke started talking about his rare few likes and dislikes, such as his like for tomatoes and his dislike towards all things sweet.

They talked like this until they heard repeated ringing of the doorbell by the front gates, so much so that Sasuke looked ready to murder Kiba, for who else would be so idiotic to piss off an Uchiha? The teen went out to let the group in while Naruto made some tea for them all. Soon enough, loud voices filled the silent house. Kiba and Sakura were arguing about, you guessed it, the dog lover's annoying ringing while Lee talked at Sai and Neji thousand words a second while the two ignored him. Hinata and Aburame Shino followed the group inside and they all stumbled to a stop when they saw that Naruto was already there. The blond arched an eyebrow at them before he had to defend their dinner from a hungry Akamaru and an equally hungry Kiba. Sasuke looked annoyed when he finally reentered the kitchen and he glared death at the Inuzuka before flooring the mutt.

They ended up having that early dinner straight away before they migrated into the living room, sprawling all over their designated futons while Sasuke prepared the movies they could watch and Naruto and Sakura got them drinks and snacks and cleared up the mess they left behind in the kitchen. They came out carrying five big bowls of popcorn and two big bowls of candies while Kurama grumbled behind them about him not being a waitress as he carried out their drinks on his tails. The first movie, they went through without a snag. It was an action movie, so everyone liked it equally, although many comments were dropped about how this or that would be easier done like so and so. Sai, Sasuke, Shino and Neji didn't say much, but Lee and Kiba more than made up for it. And then, during the second movie, a horror flick, Kurama joined in, laughing at all the gruesome scenes and getting the dog lover and the taijutsu user pissed or unnerved respectfully. Then the fox proceeded to scare the shit senseless out of them all, save Naruto, when he started talking about things he considered scary. Even Sasuke looked disturbed by the end of it and had they not watched a romance comedy after that, Naruto had no doubt none of them would have been able to sleep that night after Kurama's bloody tales of blood-drenched battlefields with bodies strewn all around.

After they got bored with the movies, Kiba insisted they play some board games. Imagine all of their horror when he pulled Life out of his bag and made them play. Lee and Hinata seemed to enjoy it while Naruto and Shino mostly shared a bored staring contest while Kiba tried to rail up Neji and Sasuke. Sai and Sakura were enjoying their win and the pink haired girl was taking things a tiny bit too seriously when one card demanded she marry Sai. She nearly killed the poor artist. Then Lee nearly prowled her over when, on the next turn, he becomes her secret Romeo. Kiba had a good laugh when Sasuke's card told him to marry Naruto, only to shut right up when Kurama (who had insisted on playing as well, or else he'd keep them all up till dawn) got a card said he should become an assassin and that his first target was Kiba. Needless to say, there were awkward moments and amused glances and laughter and cursing. By the time Naruto emerged victorious, even Shino was a little more open.

Sakura then suggested playing 20 questions, which Naruto refused and instead smugly took out a few video games that had the boys gawking. Hinata and Sakura soon matched their excitement as they began playing, resorting to cheating every now and then. For the first time since he awakened it, Sasuke wasn't ordered to not use his Sharingan, although everyone complained about the advantage it gave him. Even Neji, Sai and Naruto were glaring at him, but the Uchiha had no qualms to smirk at them all, earning eye rolls. He and the blond then got into a racing game competition and nearly destroyed the counsels with how hard and fast they were hitting the buttons. By then, Kiba broke out the bear and they all agreed to tell stories. The Immortals held their new friends' attention with little effort as they talked about their past battles but even as he was having fun, Naruto kept casting glances Sasuke's way with a heavy frown every now and then. Sasuke didn't notice, but Neji and Kurama sure did.

They went to sleep at around three in the morning and that was only because Naruto insisted. After all, they had school in the morning. Of course, this was met with tipsy protests, so Naruto kind of just knocked them out. Sakura shook her head at Lee's, Kiba's and, surprisingly, Sai's behavior. They helped him put them into their futons before going to their own as Kurama did them the favor of getting the lights.

Everything was quiet for about half an hour and Naruto wondered what was keeping him up despite he himself feeling tired. It took a lot of energy to feed eight growing teens besides himself and a giant dog, too, after all. And then all the activities ... Really, he should have been as knocked out as the rest of them. Yet here he was, lying awake and staring at the full moon outside of the window nearest to him.

And then he heard it. A whimper. So quiet one might have mistaken it for the wind outside. So muffled it really might have come from something not in the house ... Except, as both an Immortal and as a Jinchuuriki, his senses were a lot sharper than a normal human's were. So Naruto knew the noise hadn't come from something outside. Without wasting another second, Naruto sat up and allowed his eyes to turn red. Rarely anything escaped him when he used Kurama's eyes. But he could see that no one was awake. Another whimper broke the quiet of the night and the blond's head snapped in the direction of the sound, surprised to find himself staring at the door that lead out of the living room and into the hall.

The Uzumaki jumped to his feet when he heard a louder noise, almost a wail, and he sped quietly down the halls of the silent mansion. He turned a corner and quickly walked towards the door the noise was coming from, pointedly ignoring all the other rooms around him that should have been letting out slight or loud snores, contented sighs or grunts in the sleep of people who were no longer there. Instead, he opened the mahogany doors and entered the room uninvited. He took a second to scan his surroundings - the room was painted sky blue that probably matched his his eyes in daylight, which surprised him, with a navy blue carpet on the ground, covering the wooden plaques covering the floor. He wasn't surprised by the big Uchiha fan on the wall, but the bareness of the room did surprise him. Aside from a black dresser and the bed and work desk, Sasuke's room was empty. The only personal thing in the whole room were the three pictures by his head on the nightstand. A family portrait, the Clan group picture and a picture of Itachi and Sasuke - before walking over to the source of the whimpers. He sighed when he saw pale fingers clutching the black and midnight blue comforter and he placed his tanned, slightly smaller hand over the Uchiha's. The clutching fingers flinched at the touch but didn't move away from the warm hand.

But the nightmare didn't go away. If anything, it seemed to be getting worse. Sasuke had started mumbling to himself in his sleep, phrases about his dead clansmen, his lost childhood, the brother he still clings to. Naruto knew there was nothing he could do. Sasuke was calling out to people not seen or heard from in years and while Naruto could act like one of them - henge was one of his best jutsus, after all - if Sasuke were to wake up with his Sharingan active, as most Uchiha are wont to do when experiencing a nightmare, he would see right through it and might lose what little trust he had in Naruto if it looked like he was trying to deceive him. But shaking the taller teen's shoulder proved ineffective and he wasn't going to start yelling, as it might wake the others and Naruto doubted Sasuke is the first ever Uchiha to want others to see him so vulnerable.

'I guess there is no choice,' the blond thought as he took a deep breath, more to calm his own nerves than in preparation for what he was going to do. He cleared his voice slightly and started humming the tune of a song long forgotten by the modern society but one that Naruto will never forget, as it was a friend's favorite song. A lullaby his mother had sang to his friend ...

''Natsuhiboshi, naze akai?

Yuube kanashii yume wo mita.

Naite hanashita.

Akai me yo.

Natsuhiboshi, naze mayou?

Kieta warashi wo sagashiteru

Dakara kanashii yume wo miru

Natsuhiboshi, naze akai?

Yuube kanashii yume wo mita.

Naite hanashita.

Akai me yo

Natsuhiboshi, naze mayou?

Kieta warashi wo sagashiteru

Dakara kanashii yumewo miru''

By the time Naruto stopped singing, not only was Sasuke calmed and his nightmare gone, but he had also woken up to the feeling of gentle fingers running through his hair in soft circles that only made him drowsier than he had been. He looked up to where Naruto was observing him as he massaged Sasuke's scalp and the Uchiha sighed in content. He snuggled closer to the warm body sitting at the edge of his bed and fell right back asleep to the continued sound of Naruto humming the song again and again.

It would only occur to him in the morning, when he wakes up with a blond Immortal cuddled up to him in his bed, that Naruto had sang and had done so voluntarily. For now, he just enjoyed this moment.