A/N: And it's update time! (smirks) And not a moment too soon, I'd say.

But first, of course… MY GOSH, all those reviews…! (gasps, then beams and HUGGLES) You can't even imagine how happy you guys have made me – THANK YOU! (hugs again) As per usual, responses to anonymous reviews can be found from underneath the chappy.

Awkay, because I bet you already want to get going… Let's roll! I truly hope ya'll have a good ride with this one.

CHAPTER 9: The Beginning of the End

After the attack of memories, it took Naruto almost a full day for the shock and crushing headache to clear enough to allow him to think.

He'd just ran away from Sasuke – it didn't really hit him until now. He'd abandoned the Uchiha.

And Kabuto… was still working in Tengoku – working for himself or Orochimaru, was impossible to tell.

At that moment he was sure of what he had to do for the first time in what felt like ages.

Iruka gave him a somewhat confused look when he stormed past the living room, where the man was reading a book – resting quite comfortably in the arms of a sleeping Kakashi. "Where are you going?"

For a moment he thought about revealing everything, but then decided against it. His foster father sure as hell had enough things to worry about as it was. "I've… just gotta take care of something. I'll be back in a bit." And he was out before a single question could be voiced.

-

Watching the closed door, Iruka emitted something between a groan and a sigh.

Naruto was growing up so fast – too damn fast.

His thoughts were coaxed elsewhere when Kakashi moved ever so slightly, waking up. He loved seeing the hint of softness that lingered in the silver-haired's eyes when the man looked at him. "How are you feeling?"

He gave a lopsided smile. "Better now."

Kakashi seemed to understand. "Hmh." The man kissed a particularly sensitive spot behind his ear, making him shiver with pleasure. "Do you feel like eating anything?"

He shook his head, the mere thought of food making his stomach flip upside down. He rested his forehead against Kakashi's shoulder, without thinking nestling himself even more comfortably into the man's arms. "Can we… stay here, like this, a bit?"

He felt Kakashi shrug while the man wrapped a pair of stunningly tender arms around him. "This is a nice couch."

While drifting into a slumber, he allowed his thoughts to wander.

They'd lost several years after being separated by adoption, having lost all clues on each other's whereabouts. He was determined to make the best out of the time and future they now had – however long or short that might be.

Naruto felt extremely clearly that something was badly wrong long before he could even see Tengoku. His suspicions were proven correct when he saw two police car's parked outside the building.

His eyes widened while he started to run.

The police let him in with suspicion when hearing he was a former member of staff, but wouldn't tell him anything. Inside the building it was much quieter than usual – apparently the inhabitants had been ordered to stay in their rooms for some reason. He shivered.

The silence made everything all the more ominous.

It took a long moment – much longer than he'd expected – before he reached the building's biggest common space to find all staff-members and four police-officers gathered there. He frowned when noticing Tsunade, who was sitting at a table with a grim expression, her head bandaged. "What the hell's going on?" he uttered before managing to control himself.

Suddenly all eyes were on him, and it became uncomfortably silent. Tsunade was the one to speak first. "Naruto… Have you seen Sasuke since last night?"

He frowned, not quite understanding and feeling alarmed. "No. How could I have?"

Tsunade sighed heavily. "Orochimaru and Kabuto… attacked last night. Sasuke ran away." She gulped thickly, searching his eyes. "Naruto… He killed Kabuto in self-defence."

His eyes widened while chills ran through him.

Shit…!

This time he gulped, not managing to rid the foreign taste lingering on his tongue. "I've gotta find him."

Tsunade's eyes darkened. "Be careful, understood? He's very unstable right now – there's no telling in what kind of a state of mind he'll be."

He shook his head. "I don't care." Because he honestly didn't. All that mattered was finding Sasuke before it was too late.

And before anyone could make a move or speak, he was on his way.

He'd made the mistake of abandoning Sasuke twice already. It was about time to try and fix things.

Naruto didn't know how long he'd been walking when he finally stopped, realizing with chills that he'd ended up to a cemetary.

What am I doing here?!

Whatever the reason might've been, he found himself walking through the gates and starting a determined walk forth. Once he ended up to what a part of him had most likely been looking for, he was first almost startled, then felt his heart break.

There, slumped to the most likely cold ground, Sasuke was leaning heavily against a tombstone, apparently fast asleep. The raven's hand was pressed against the names engraved.

Mikoto & Fugaku Uchiha

Itachi Uchiha

For a moment, he wondered if he should tell Sasuke about Itachi. In the end he decided that it was too early. Sasuke obviously had more than enough on his mind at the moment.

Cautiously, not sure if he was making a huge mistake, he started to approach, eventually laid his hand against the Uchiha's shoulder. Jolting to awareness, Sasuke turned a glare towards him.

He smiled although it hurt seeing the Uchiha like that. "Hey, it's okay – it's just me." He frowned while observing the raven. Sasuke didn't appear sick or injured, but… "Are you okay?"

Sasuke looked at him for the longest time – as though trying to determine if he could be trusted – then nodded slowly and looked away. "Just… tired." The raven's eyes narrowed. "And my back hurts like a bitch."

He nodded, relaxing a little. Sasuke was talking, now. It was a good start.

They remained in silence for a long time, both confused and wondering what the next move should be.

Naruto's first thought was that he should take Sasuke back to Tengoku, but he changed his mind.

That was where the problems had started in the first place – Sasuke wouldn't feel safe there.

And so he moved, outstretching a hand for the the dark-haired teen who responded with a look of mistrust and surprise. "C'mon." His voice was soft, hopefully comforting. "I'm taking you to my place, 'k?" Iruka was going to get a heart attack, but at the moment there was no choice.

Very slowly, tentatively, Sasuke took his hand and squeezed with a force that can only be called that of despair. The raven's thin body was hauled up much too easily.

Not needing to say a word, they started the silent walk towards his place.

And the only thing that fit into his mind was just how good and right Sasuke's warm, most likely exhausted body felt while it practically leaned against him.

Back in Tengoku, there was a frown on Neji's face while he leaned against a wall, watching as Ibiki kept interrogating Tsunade.

This… could've been his perfect chance to finally make things right, to put things to an end. Unfortunately it looked like he still didn't have the courage.

"You know…" Gaara's voice caught him so off-guard that he shivered. The redhead was looking at him with thoughtful eyes that seemed to see absolutely everything. "I never thought you to be the cowardly kind."

His eyes narrowed. "I'm not a coward."

Gaara shrugged. "Right now, you are." So saying, the redhead leaned forward with such speed that stunned him, pressing a pair of surprisingly warm and soft lips against his. He feared his heart would burst as it started to race.

Then the kiss was over as suddenly as it'd started. Gaara's eyes were odd when the boy looked at him. "If I just dared to do that… then you really should have the balls to take fifteen fucking steps." With that the redhead turned around and walked away.

It took a long time before anything started to register to him. But then this warmth he'd never felt before filled him, going from head to toes. And a feeling that was unfamiliar to him followed, sneaking into every pit of his being.

He swallowed thickly, all saliva drying from his mouth. And suddenly he didn't understand a thing.

What must've been almost five minutes later, he finally managed to move. Ibiki gave him a questioning look when he stopped two steps away from the man.

He took a deep breath. "I… have to tell you something." The voice wasn't his. "There's… something about that night Hinata doesn't remember quite right."

When waking up upon hearing the house's door open about an hour later and walking up to see Naruto, Iruka blinked twice when seeing that the blond wasn't alone.

Stood beside the boy was a unhealthily thin and badly scarred raven-haired, onyx-eyed teen who was currently looking at him with clearly apparent mistrust, almost hostility. Based on what he'd heard from Naruto and Tsunade, it took him only seconds to realize who this teenager was.

Since he'd been a child, Naruto had brought in stray animals from cats and dogs to birds and frogs. But now… A teen who'd escaped from a mental institution?

He groaned a little, rubbing his face with one hand. "Naruto…"

Naruto shook his head, his eyes flashing in a way he'd never seen before. "I'm not letting you send him back there, Iruka." The blond gulped. "Just… Trust me, please? Trust me when I say that he's safer here."

He sighed heavily and closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. "Take him to the shower and give him something to eat. I'll think in the meantime."

To Naruto, apparently, those words gave all the hope the boy needed. The teen looked at Sasuke. "Let's go and get you cleaned up, okay? Trust me – it'll make you feel better after spending a night out there."

Sasuke certainly didn't seem fully trusting, but didn't react violently, either. In fact, the teen let Naruto lead him so easily that it stunned Iruka.

He didn't wake up from his stupor before hearing Kakashi's voice. "Uh-huh", was all the man said.

Giving a deep sigh, he grabbed his cell-phone and dialed numbers. Tsunade replied in less than ten seconds. "Did Naruto find him?"

"Yeah. He's safe." He gathered himself for a moment, not sure why he needed such. "I… think it'd be good to let him stay here for a while. He seemed pretty out of it."

"I agree. Besides, he's safe from Orochimaru there." The woman sighed, or perhaps groaned. "I'll have to send a cop there, to ask some questions and keep watch in case Orochimaru gets a hint that they're there. Chances are that he'll get that piece of information sooner or later – after all, he even got to Sasuke in Tengoku."

He felt very cold. "I know."

There was some hassle in Tsunade's end. It took a while before she spoke to him. "I have to go – it looks like Ibiki wants to ask something. Thanks, for taking care of Sasuke."

He relaxed slightly. "No problem. I'll see you later."

Once the phone-call ended, Kakashi gave him a questioning, almost worried look. "Is everything okay?"

He smiled, wrapping a pair of arms around the man. "Yeah." He then leaned his forehead against Kakashi's chest, inhaling the man's scent. "Now… Weren't we doing something much more pleasant than this a while back?"

The process of going to the shower was awkward, filled with discomfort and something else entirely.

Sasuke gave Naruto a somewhat heated look while getting undressed. "Stop staring, will you?" the Uchiha all but barked.

He grinned sheepishly, turning around. "Sorry."

But he didn't manage to look away long. He peered over his shoulder.

There were numerous scars on the Uchiha's body – the most obvious one on his face, one running across his stomach, several on his arms and legs, and also a very nasty one on his chest. The boy was also painfully skinny – he could've easily counted the teen's ribs. But still… He couldn't help being entranced.

Because despite all its flaws, that body was beautiful to him.

He stared too long, because he got caught. Sasuke's expression changed about twenty times in less than ten seconds when the raven saw him staring. He expected an outburst, or at least a snarl, but nothing such came.

Somehow, it felt like they'd done this a million times over.

Steam floated in the air, making a thick layer to his tingling skin, while they kept looking at each other, neither knowing how to proceed from there. It was hot – almost intoxicatingly so – and neither seemed to know what the next move should've been.

In the end Sasuke spoke in a hoarse tone. "Give me a towel, will you?"

He nodded mutely, doing as ordered. His moves were soft and circling while he helped Sasuke get dryed. The Uchiha gave him weird looks every now and then, but didn't push him away. It gave him a very pleasant, warm feeling.

And then it was done. Sasuke was stood before him all dried, looking like a whole another person in his clothes and his hair falling down instead of being spiked up.

He swallowed laboriously, his mouth growing dry. "Let's get you something to eat."

That evening, Sakura opened the door to find Sai. The boy was drenched wet from the rain pouring outside, and there was an expression that unnerved her on his face.

If she hadn't known him better, she might've thought he was crying.

She frowned. "Hey, what's…?"

Before she could make another move or speak, Sai had wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace.

Itachi was one who'd always had sharp instincts. That's why he'd felt that something was wrong from the moment Kin had more or less dragged him to work in the orphanage not much after he'd been told Sasuke was dead.

That day, his suspicions were finally proven correct. Because while he was making his way from the kitchen towards a common space, he heard something he most definitely shouldn't have.

Kin's voice was far more tense than usual when she talked to a phone. "… trust me, okay? I've go the situation under control. I don't think he's having any suspicions anymore."

He frowned, his fists balling while he caught on. He grit his teeth.

"Yeah, yeah, I will. I've taken care of my job pretty well so far, so stop questioning me, will you? You just take care of that brother of his before he becomes any more of a threat than he already is."

Itachi felt all breath and warmth leave him, and was fairly sure his heart stopped for a while.

So… Sasuke really was alive, somewhere out there. And those people, they'd…! They were actually going to…!

His blood boiled until he felt like he'd been burned up alive, and he emitted a tiny hissing sound from the back of his throat.

They'd already taken Sasuke from him once. There was no way in hell he'd let the same thing happen all over again! They would never hurt his brother again!

And then he heard steps. Kin spoke before he managed to react. "How… much did you hear?"

He felt his unseeing eyes narrow. "Enough", he hissed.

He heard something metallic being prepared. "In that case we've got a problem."

He couldn't think, couldn't speak, could only feel such overwhelming rage that took over absolutely all of him.

It was time to end this nightmare.

And then he reacted.

He swung with the kettle he'd been carrying the exact second there was a deafening bang he distinctly identified as a gunshot.

At around the same time Iruka – who'd spent the past couple of hours or so napping – entered the kitchen to find a rather bizarre sight that was enough to make him smile a little.

Sasuke sat at the table in Naruto's clothes that looked baggy on him while the blond babbled constantly and prepared something that looked like a tuna- and tomato sandwich. Ingredients flew almost as fast as words and a lot of mess was made while Naruto worked.

Sasuke watched this all in silence, appearing almost confused. Iruka couldn't help wondering when was the last time the Uchiha had seen something like this, something so… mundane.

Naruto, on the other hand, appeared oblivious to the other boy's whirring emotions. The blond grinned brightly while putting the sandwich to a plate and showing it to the raven. "This is your favorite, right? It may not be the most nutritious stuff, but if this is what you want to eat…" The boy shrugged, only then noticing him. Blue eyes filled with hope. "Hey! Do you want something to eat, too?"

At first he thought about declining, but then… Well, who knew. For the first time in a long while the idea of eating didn't make his stomach turn. "Maybe I do. I think I'll also make myself a sandwich."

Naruto's grin, if possible, became even wider. "That's good." The boy then took Sasuke's hand, so fast that he surprised all three of them. "Now let's go. I'm about to make sure you eat this, and then get some sleep – just like Kakashi ordered."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but didn't pull himself free from Naruto's hold or fight back.

Iruka couldn't help smiling as he watched the teens go, Naruto once again babbling and Sasuke feigning an irritated expression.

It felt good to see so much life and hope.

-

Once they made it to his room, Naruto sat to the edge of his bed and glanced towards Sasuke, offering the bread. "What are you waiting for? Dig in." Just then the raven's stomach rumbled so loudly that even he heard it. He smirked. "C'mon, stop being so damn stubborn. I know you're hungry."

Very slowly, step by step, Sasuke approached and sat down right next to him, accepting the offered food. "Thanks." It was almost inaudible, but Naruto's ears caught it anyway.

He smiled. And for once it was he who decided that nothing needed to be said.

Sasuke ate slowly, whether it was because he was savoring the taste or fought to get something solid down. When the Uchiha was finally done, he appeared so exhausted that it looked like he'd just finished a marathon.

It wasn't until then Naruto realized just how long the past couple of days must've been for the Uchiha, and he hadn't made it any easier when abandoning the boy to Tengoku. His chest tightened with guilt.

"Are you okay?" he all but whispered, not really thinking about the words before they were already out.

He expected Sasuke to deny everything, to perhaps even lash out at him. To his shock the raven shook his head, not meeting his gaze.

Without hesitating or thinking, he wrapped his arms around the Uchiha, pulling the boy as close as he dared to. Stunningly enough the raven didn't resist, didn't even react; perhaps the boy was finally willing to admit to himself that he needed something like this.

"Everything's gonna work out, you know?" he all but whispered, resting his chin on top of the other boy's shoulder. His thoughts whirring, he added. "And… None of what's happened is your fault, okay? None of it. So…" He took a deep breath. "It's okay. I'm sorry I left you, but… I'll never leave you again. And I want you to promise me the same."

He frowned when there was no response, only then realizing how Sasuke's breathing pattern had changed. He couldn't help giving a tiny chuckle when realizing that the Uchiha was fast asleep against him.

Not daring or wanting to let go, he laid them both down gently, careful not to wake up Sasuke when the boy was finally calm and content. It took only moments before he fell asleep to the Uchiha's familiar scent.

At around the same time downstairs the doorbell chimed.

Iruka frowned, feeling alarmed. Who could it be this late? Kakashi's shift wouldn't end for another couple of hours.

Taking a deep breath, he walked up to the door and peered through the dooreye. He saw a woman with shortcut, purplish hair and sharp dark eyes. He frowned again. "Who are you?"

A badge was shown to him. "I'm detective Anko Miratashi, Ibiki Morino's partner. I came to ask Sasuke a couple of questions."

He didn't trust fully yet, but relaxed ever so slightly, moving to open the door. "Hmh. I wouldn't expect him to answer."

"Neither do I, but I'd like to try." The woman's voice was a touch softer. "Now could you please let me in? It's raining cats and dogs here."

He nodded, mostly to himself, and moved further.

-

Outside the door, Anko's eyes narrowed. "Is this your idea of a protective guardian?" She snorted bitterly. "I can't believe there was a time when I loved you."

"I did keep you alive for years, didn't I?" Orochimaru commented in a smooth voice, then shrugged. "Consider this your final act of appreciation. Besides, I'm no monster. I am going to let your daughter live because you took me here."

She inhaled sharply, her eyes stinging. "I fucking hate you."

She reached out for her weapon, but wasn't fast enough against the one pressed to her head.

She could've sworn she heard the small sound Orochimaru's gun made through the silencer and rain before everything exploded to white.

-

Iruka opened the door the exact second Anko slumped to the doorsteps, dead. His eyes widened when he met those of Orochimaru's.

Orochimaru smiled coldly at him. "Well hello, Iruka. It sure has been a long time – you've grown up." The man's expression then changed. "Now let me in, will you? It's time to do some reminiscencing."

TBC, un.

A/N: Oh man… (winces) You guys are gonna kill me now, aren't you?

I've REALLY gotta get going now, but before that… PLEASE, do leave a review – even if it's to curse my seemingly never-ending cliffies! (gives puppy-dog eyes)

IN THE NEXT ONE: Orochimaru strikes, and several lives hang in a balance. Tears and blood spill as the story nears its end in 'The Final Blow'.

ONLY TWO MORE TO GO, FOLKS! (starts bawling)

Until next time – 'hope ya'll join in then!

Be good!

ZakuKura: Awww! (HUGS) Thank you so much for those kind words. They really mean a lot, ya know?

Super-sized thank yous for the incredible review!

I REALLY hope ya'll enjoy the rest as much.

-

kai: Let's hope that Sasuke stops pushing Naruto away and finds his way to safety, and that Naruto will be able to help him ne? And of course, that Itachi and Sasuke will finally be reunited. (sniffs)

Gah, I bet Tsunade didn't know to expect Kabuto just then. (winces) Let's hope that ass**** will get what he deserves, ne?

Gigantic thank yous for the review!

Until next time, no?

-

Naruto: Well of course! (hugs)

And hooray – i'm absolutely thrilled to hear you had a pleasant stay with the chapter. (grins from ear to ear)

Monumental thank yous for the review!

I REALLY hope the rest turns out worth the wait.