Edit 11-18-09: Okay, not much to be done this chapter, but I thought I'd do it all the same. I'm also going through and changing the plotline a bit. If all goes as planned, the story will be a bit longer than I first expected.

Disclaimer: See first and second chapter; I don't own, so don't sue.

Warning: Mild violence; mild cursing; and thoughts of shounen-ai- have to wait e few more chapters for that.

Sasuke stared at the man he now had pinned to the ground with loathing. He sneered hatefully at him before tightening his grip on the mans throat slightly; delighting in the painful moan that escaped his lips. He let up his grip only enough to switch hands and send the man flying towards a nearby tree. He then turned to the other two men, both of whom were staring at the young Uchiha with fear and anxiety.

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly as adrenalin coursed through his veins, fueling his anger more when he caught a small glimpse of Naruto from the corner of his eyes; bloodied and bruised. He took a step towards the men, the rain pouring harshly down around them. He paid it no mind; seeing red. He wanted to hurt these men, to make them scream- make them BEG for their lives- for hurting HIS blond. The elder men cowered back in fear one of them stumbling.

"What exactly do you think you were doing?" He asked his voice eerily calm, sending shivers up the villager's spines. "Hmm?" One of them looked at him, defiantly; though he could still see fear evident in his face. He raised a delicate eye brow as the man opened his mouth. The other one scurried off seeing that the raven was mildly distracted. 'Pathetic' He thought disgustedly noticing the man flee.

He turned his gaze back to the quivering man before him who seemed to have decided it better not to speak to the young Uchiha and mistakenly anger him more. Sasuke sneered at the man; instantaneously appearing in front of him. He gripped his neck so hard that his knuckles turned white from the pressure. The raven saw the mans brown eyes widen like saucers; causing his sadistic smirk to grow slightly. He heard the man try to gasp an apology, and instantly sobered up letting the man go glaring at the pitiful quivering form.

"Think twice about hurting him again now, wont you?" He growled watching with hallow amusement as the man ran away as soon as he could. Sasuke turned his obsidian eyes on the shivering form clad in orange that had yet to move. If anyone was watching they might have noticed how his face softened, subtly yes, but still noticeable. Though as quick as it had come it went as he hurried to his comrades side; hastily looking for any life threatening injury. Finding none he turned the blond haired man over; scowl etching itself onto his face.

"Naruto." He growled irritably as blue eyes fluttered open and stared up at him with mild fear. His heart clenched at seeing his blond staring at him with such fear as though he had been the one harassing him just moments before. Faintly he wished he could wrap his arms around the younger ninja and comfort him.

"Sasu-Sasuke…?" He croaked out after a few moments of staring at him; the fear finally dissipating from his features. The Uchiha nodded helping the Jinchuriki sit up. Sasukes eyes narrowed slightly as he crouched down in front of the blond.

"Why weren't you fighting back?" He demanded catching Naruto off guard.

"I-" Naruto stopped short and glared up at Sasuke defiantly- though his blue eyes lacked their normal vibrancy that they normally held. "No reason. It's not like you give a damn anyways. " The young blond spat pushing Sasuke away and standing up, concealing a wince as his muscles protested.

The raven stared up at him with smoldering obsidian eyes. He pushed himself off the ground. "Of course I care, dobe, you're my teammate." He didn't miss the way Naruto flinched as he said the last word. His heart constricted painfully as Naruto's once startling blue eyes dulled even more and narrowed on him resentfully.

"Whatever, Teme. It's not like I needed your help anyways. So you can go back home now, and stop acting like you give a flying fuck." The words were spoken venomously through clenched teeth and misty indigo eyes stared at him hatefully.

The rain continued to pour around them, matting their hair to their faces, soaking through their clothes. Sasuke took a step towards Naruto threateningly; glaring harshly at him. How dare he accuse him of not caring. He didn't know how Sasuke felt.

"You didn't need my help? That's not what it looked like to me." Tan hands fisted tightly in orange pants. "Now, answer my fucking question. Why weren't you fighting back? Why were you letting those lowly villagers treat you like that?" He spat. Proper etiquette be damned- Naruto was accusing him of something that was entirely untrue-, his words were spiteful, and he could see Naruto's eyes shift about as if looking for a way to escape. His eyes watched as the blond worried his lower lip and the sudden need to stop him from abusing the slightly purple lip like that- with his own mouth- washed over him leaving a tingling feeling. Though that didn't distract him from his task. He reached out and grasped the blonds orange jacket and pulled him closer sneering malevolently. He could feel the way the young ninja quivered beneath him, shaking from cold or fear; neither knew which. Sasuke stared into those clouded blue eyes. "Tell me Naruto, why?" his voice came out in only a whisper; but it had the same affect on Naruto as if it were a scream.

"Why do you suddenly care?" The young Uzumaki asked; his voice breaking only slight at the end, as he wrenched himself from the Uchihas hold. In that instance; as he watched the orange clad ninja run away, Sasuke knew: He knew why he cared- he knew why his stomach had clenched painfully when the bold stared at him in fear, why he had been upset with him the other day for not telling him the truth, why he had kissed him. Not simply because they were teammates; or because they were best friends. No, he cared because he loved the blond Jinchuriki- and had for a long time. He realized now what Shino had meant earlier; and also felt like a moron for not understanding what the bug loving ninja meant sooner.

He stood there a while longer; staring in the direction Naruto had run to. A small smile graced his lips; though none would have noticed it, as he turned around and continued on his own way home. He had some thinking and planning to do.

Naruto hurried into his small apartment; his breath labored. He could hear the rain outside pound against the door and walls. He pushed himself off of the door and looked around the room. Everything was covered in a dark blanket, since the weather had caused his power to go out. He briefly wondered when it would be back on; but then his mind wondered back to the raven haired boy who had saved him earlier.

He flopped onto his bed gracelessly- and noisily because his was soaked with water-, staring up at the ceiling. He frowned slightly; he didn't understand why his heart seemed to clench painfully at the thought that Sasuke really didn't care about him. He was certain that the Uchiha had only saved him because he didn't want to deal with having to work extra on their next mission because the blond was in the hospital. But why did it hurt so much to think that. The fact that Kyuubi was being eerily silent throughout all this wasn't helping either. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes, willing himself to go to sleep. All his thought and questions were only confusing him more; plus he was tired, and he knew he needed to rest in order for Kyuubi to heal him. And he didn't want to think about the Uchiha anymore. He had done that all day- contemplating all the reasons why the dark haired boy had kissed him yesterday, or if that had just been his imagination.

Slowly but surely darkness consumed him; giving way to the nightmares that always came; yet this time, there was another dream. One that; had Naruto had been awake he would have denied having; one of a young raven haired man leaning over slightly in the rain to press his lips to another young blond haired boy in front of him.

Kyuubi couldn't help but let a malevolent smirk cross her face. Watching her young host sleep peacefully for once. He gift was working. All her hard work would pay off soon if the way the Uchiha boy had looked at her kit had been real- and she was sure it was.

Okay, not much was changed or added this chapter, just a few spelling mistakes, and a bit at the end- not like much could have been changed, this was more of a filler chapter [ and shorter than the last few, couldn't be helped]. I hope you liked it all the same, and can't wait for your reviews. I can promise the story will get more exciting soon.