Author's Notes: I got injured and have been going through physiotherapy sessions lately. Coupled with work, I haven't really had the time or energy to write much. However, I'm finally ready to post this chapter, so I hope you like it. As usual, please leave me a comment and happy reading :)

Also, would anyone be interested in creating a cover page for this story? If so, PM me and if possible, send me a sample of your art just to give me an idea. If you'd like to make a cover for any of my other stories, please tell me too! Thanks in advance :D

Chapter 3: Planning Ahead

Sitting behind his large oak desk, the Hokage put down his pipe and shift his gaze towards the two ninjas standing in front of him. One of the two agents, a tall muscular man with a neatly trimmed beard, leaned against the nearby wall with his shoulders slightly slouched.

"The kid is not telling us everything," the man crossed his arms as he spoke up, his tone pensive. "I'm not sure we can trust him."

The village leader rest his chin on the palm of his hand in thought. "You are right," the old man idly replied after a while. "But everyone is entitled to their own secrets."

Asuma frowned at his father's leisurely tone, but kept quiet. The Hokage gave the other a small smile in return.

"He will be a great help to our cause," the older Sarutobi explained. "I do not want him to be uncomfortable here," he paused and gave the other fox a wry grin. "Of course, it will be your task to find out more on him during his probation time. I trust that you will uncover more than the basics."

Asuma's hazel eyes widened at the news and he bowed, "Yes sir."

The Hokage's smile grew in size before he turned his attention to the quiet raven beside his son. Sasuke straightened his back when he noticed the man's gaze shift to him.

"You must be wondering why your presence is required," the leader's tone held a hint of amusement.

"Yes sir," Sasuke answered with a bow.

The elder nodded and reached down to his drawer and pulled it open. "You have witnessed something quite rare, Uchiha-kun," the man took out a scroll and placed it on his desk. "Here are your instructions for an S-Class mission. Open it later."

The raven sharply nodded and accepted the scroll before placing it securely into his leg pouch. He kept his eyes respectfully down and waited for the village leader to continue.

"You see," the older man paused and chuckled. "There might be a new fox leader sometime soon."

Sasuke blinked in surprise and quickly glanced over at Asuma, who had his usual detached expression etched into his features. Confusion crept into his mind and thousands of questions began crowding his head, but he kept them to himself. The Hokage was not done talking.

"It is truly exceptional," the leader continued with a certain degree of awe in his voice, "but our guest might just be the first Kyuubi in over five centuries."

Sasuke's eyes widened at the news and he held back a gasp. The image of a growling auburn fox with an ethereal crimson glow immediately burned into his mind as he recalled the numerous swishing tails. How Sasuke had missed the connection baffled him, but he could clearly see it now. However, many questions were still puzzling him.

"Forgive me for interrupting," the raven began and the Hokage nodded his approval, "but I thought human blood was said to have made the power transfer impossible," he continued, always analytical to a fault. The case of the tailed beasts was one of the most perplexing mysteries in the world. Their devastating powers were reincarnated into different demons with every generation, but the workings behind it all had yet to be explained.

"It seems Naruto is an exception," the Hokage answered the still stunned raven. "We have analyzed him thoroughly and there is little doubt that he is indeed the wielder of the nine tails."

The elder let the knowledge sink in for a few moments more and watched as the Uchiha's initial surprise quickly hid behind his usual placid mask. In all the years he had worked with the raven, he had come to trust the man for his loyalty and efficiency. Sasuke was by far one of the best ANBU agents Konoha had to offer and he was internally glad that he had been the one to find the Kyuubi.

Nodding to himself, the Hokage stood up from his seat. Asuma swiftly walked over and pulled his chair back while the old man strode towards the room's large windows in thought. He peered outside into the sunlit streets of the village and watched the people make their way to various locations. It looked peaceful enough, but he only hoped that it would stay that way.

"Uchiha-kun," he finally spoke again and turned to face towards the raven. "I am appointing you as the lead ANBU guard over Naruto," he ordered and the agent immediately bowed in acceptance. "Everything mentioned during this meeting is to stay an S-Class secret between those involved. Naruto does not seem to know his condition or how valuable he is to Konoha and it is to be kept this way for now."

"Yes sir."

The Hokage smiled and dismissed the agent. Sasuke bowed and made his way out, leaving the two Sarutobis in the large windowed office. Once the Uchiha was out the door, Asuma straightened from his leaned position and eyed his father.

"Hokage-sama, will the subject be informed of his origins?" he asked with slight curiosity in his tone. "It might endear him to our cause."

The older Sarutobi shook his head. "All in due time," was his answer as he took out his pipe once more. "I am much more worried about the consequences of his imprisonment."

Asuma frowned in confusion. "Was his physical health not in normal ranges?"

The Hokage shook his head and turned his attention back to the window, his eyes gazing far away. "It was, but it says nothing about his chakra stability among other…worries."

Sasuke made his way home, which was situated a while away from the Uchiha compound. Itachi had taken up the position of clan leader a few years back and despite their father having less influence over their lives since then, Sasuke still kept his distance with the family. When he had finally come to age at sixteen, he had immediately rented a small apartment with the little money he'd saved up and moved out. Now, at twenty years old, the raven had managed to afford a larger home with his mission pays and lived a moderately comfortable life as a hunter-nin in the ANBU.

As he arrived, he automatically checked all the protective seals he'd put in place before walking inside. He then headed for his room and changed his clothes. From his leg pouch, he produced his S-class mission scroll and opened it. Inside, instructions for his two weeks guard duty over Naruto Uzumaki was written out in detail. He was to watch over the blond fox on a regular basis and organize an ANBU team to join him in the task.

Frowning in concentration as he went through the list of currently available agents, he scowled when he remembered that Kiba was still in the hospital. He'd always found the dog demon quite annoying on a good day, but after working with him for many years, he was slightly horrified to admit that the Inuzuka had grown on him. However, since his almost-friend, as he would call him, was still unconscious, he would have to rule him out.

Decision made, Sasuke summoned three messenger ravens and sent them out to agents Sai, Shikamaru Nara and Lee Rock. The four were probably some of the only people he could stand to a certain degree with the exception of Sai. The former Root ninja's odd behavior often irritated him, but the raven knew that the man was excellent with infiltration. He wanted his team well-rounded and only with the artist's addition would he have everything covered.

With the ANBU surveillance taken care of, Sasuke unrolled more of the mission scroll and read. The rest narrated some additional information on cautions to take in case the blond's Kyuubi traits emerged again, but it all summarized to the following words: run and call for help. It didn't really sit right with the Uchiha, but he did acknowledge the fact that his charge's unstable bursts of chakra did require assistance to alleviate. However, not liking to stand idly by as dangerous situations unravelled, he decided to research up on the Kyuubi when he found more time.

He then got to the final part of the scroll before pausing at the instructions written down. His dark eyes widened in surprise and he stood in place, slightly gaping at what he'd just read. It took him less than a few seconds to find his composure again, but he never would he have expected the news. 'He's going to live with me,' he paraphrased the instructions in his mind, still a little unbelieving of it all. He had wondered where the blond was going to stay, but had assumed that the village leader would have prepared the man an apartment. Instead, it seemed the newcomer would be sleeping in his guest room.

Of course, the Hokage only put it out as a request and specified that all of the fox's costs would be covered, but Sasuke had a suspicion that the old man was up to something. However, being a model ninja, he analyzed the situation and concluded that it would be advantageous to have his charge nearby. After all, it would only make his task much simpler if he could monitor the blond in the comfort of his own home.

The raven nodded at his reasoning and promptly sent the Hokage a positive reply using another summoned raven. He then walked out of his room and headed towards a nearby closet containing the bed sheets and blankets. He rarely used the guest room and would probably need to fix it up a little before he went to pick the blond up from the hospital the next day.

As he bent down to pick up the spare blankets from the shelves, he winced as it pulled at his injuries. Carefully manoeuvring to cause less pain, he tried again and took his time to bring them over to the room. In his mind, he suspected that the Hokage probably knew that his current task would give him time to recover. He had worked long enough for the leader for the latter to know how stubborn his pride could be. However, as much as he wanted to protest and prove that he was fit to work, he was somewhat grateful he was given a less taxing task. After all, he was reasonable enough to know it would do him good.

Once he was done draping the covers over the spare bed and organizing the guest room, he head towards the kitchen. It was time for supper and he had yet to decide what to eat. He opened the refrigerator and found a bottle of orange juice and a few tomatoes, but nothing else. As he took them out, he wondered whether his blond guest could cook and smirked when he imagined the blue-eyed fox make him homemade meals. It would beat restaurant food any day.

A knock was then heard against his door and Sasuke paused in his musings to sense the visitor's chakra signature. He immediately recognized it and reluctantly trudged towards the entrance. He still arrived at the door too quickly and sighed before opening it.

"Sasuke-kun!" a pink-haired woman smiled at him and held up a box filled with various meats and vegetables.

The raven stared at her for a few moments more and at her insistent stare, finally let her in with a prompt, "Hn."

As the woman sauntered in, the Uchiha heaved another sigh. 'At least she has food with her,' he thought and followed her into the kitchen. Once there, she placed the box down onto his counter and turned around to face him.

"I made you supper because I know you'd have either gotten something unhealthy or skipped it," she proudly pointed out and lifted her chin up as if to challenge him to prove her wrong.

Sasuke frowned at that and crossed his arms. "Sakura, tomatoes are healthy."

The girl rolled her eyes before walking across the kitchen to get the dishes. "Not when it's all you eat," she reprimanded and began setting the table.

Sasuke decided to stop arguing over his poor food choices and began helping out, all the while wondering when he had become so predictable. After a while, he gave up and began thinking about how much Sakura had changed in the recent years.

The pink-haired ninja used to be one of his most notorious fangirls, but after beginning a relationship with Lee, an overall nice guy who doubled as a hyperactive green stress reliever, she'd slowly changed for the better. Since then, she'd gained more confidence and had begun putting more effort in improving her skills. With the years, she eventually became an excellent medic-nin and was a constant face around Konoha's busy hospital. Sasuke would even reluctantly admit, under torture only, that she made a good almost-friend, second to Kiba, once she stopped fanning all over him. It made his life a lot easier too.

The raven poured them each a glass of orange juice and sat down at his small dinner table. In front of him, Sakura twirled her fingers through her pink locks and avoided all eye contact. Soon, she began biting her lower lip and Sasuke immediately knew why she came.

"Go ahead," he grunted and held in a sigh. He glanced down at his meal and told himself that he had made the right choice…or at least he hoped he did.

Meanwhile, with Sasuke's approval, Sakura began ranting about Lee and all the disturbing details about their relationship that no healthy person would have wanted to know. However, being a great not-so-active listener, Sasuke simply grunted from time to time, just to seem attentive as he ate his supper. Over the years, the raven's status had gone from not-very-secret crush to free weekly therapy sessions. Somehow, there seemed to be something therapeutic about an emotionless brick that did nothing but nod. The only pros were that he never interrupted and only ate as she complained about her life in general, but more specifically her boyfriend.

"…and he keeps hanging out with Gai-sensei and coming home with weirder outfits…"

Sasuke took another scoop of a mashed substance he suspected were potatoes and continued to hope his blond guest could cook. Ordering food was too much of a hassle and he was getting tired of eating the same things every day. The raven shook his head at his predicament and grabbed his glass to take another gulp of juice when he suddenly noticed the silence. He quickly glanced over at Sakura and noticed the latter's green eyes tearing up.

"Shit" he muttered and immediately put his glass down. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but the quiet kept stretching on. He didn't really know what to do and so settled with helplessly staring at her.

Finally, Sakura heaved a sigh and rubbed at her face.

"Thanks, Sasuke-kun," she said and the raven wondered why she was thanking him. "You always listen despite how much I rant."

Sasuke winced at that, feeling a little guilty because he barely registered any of her complaints. However, as if unaware of his blatant disinterest, Sakura stood up from her chair and gave him a small smile. They said their goodbyes and before long, Sasuke was home alone once more.

However, as he sat back at his dinner table and glanced down at his half-eaten plate, he felt his appetite diminish into nothingness. 'Who knew Uchihas had feelings,' he mused ruefully and wrapped his unfinished meal up before placing it within the fridge. He then walked back to the bathroom attached to his room and took a shower. He would be waking up early to inform the blond fox demon of their living arrangements and would hopefully have some time to raid the Uchiha archieves. Information on the Kyuubi was scarce, but surely the raven clan would have kept a few well-hidden scrolls.

Naruto's lashes softly fluttered open and his blue eyes took in a blur of pink…and more pink. He frowned in confusion and tried blinking, but his vision was still as rose-colored as it was before. His senses were slowly coming back and he tried moving his hand when the pink suddenly turned into green. He immediately jerked back at the unexpected color change and felt his sore muscles stiffen at the brusque movement.

"Oh, you're awake!" a soft feminine voice gasped and he finally took in the sight of a pink-haired nurse with green eyes staring curiously back at him.

He heaved a sigh and weakly smiled at her in response. He then opened his mouth to speak when a rough cough wracked his frame. He wheezed at the sudden movement and was immediately handed a glass of water. He gratefully grabbed it and gulped the liquid down before handing the glass back. The medic-nin placed it on a nearby table and smiled.

"My name's Sakura," she greeted and picked up his charts from a slot near the bed. She then took out a thermometer and roughly stuck it into his mouth. "You're Naruto-kun, right?"

The fox winced at her brute force, but nodded in answer to her question. She grinned at him in return and walked over to the room's window, pulling the curtains open. Meanwhile, Naruto glanced around the unfamiliar white hospital room and tried recalling the past day's events. So much had happened in such a short time, but all he could feel was relief. He found comfort in knowing he had succeeded in escaping.

Suddenly, a beeping sound filled the room and the fox was startled from his thoughts. Beside him, Sakura grinned and glanced down at the thermometer.

"Alright, no fever," she grinned and slapped him on the back. Naruto coughed at the hard tap, but otherwise stayed quiet as the nurse did her job.

As Sakura picked his chart back up from the table and scribbled down some notes, Naruto took the time to take in more of his surroundings. He noted that he had a room all to himself and that he was no longer shackled to the bed. The room was as plain as the last one he had woken up in, but he didn't mind. Anything beat being unconscious on cold rough surfaces in an underground laboratory. He shivered as he remembered flashes of the dark cave-like place he'd run away from.

"All good," Sakura spoke again and Naruto glanced her way. "You're discharged once Sasuke-kun comes to get you."

The blond tried cocking his head to the side, but gave up half way. His body was taking longer than usual to heal.

"Sasuke?" he asked, the name somehow sounding familiar to him.

The nurse blinked. "Have you not been introduced yet?"

"I'm not sure," Naruto frowned in thought. A memory of an expanse of majestic dark wings suddenly popped into his mind and he recalled the two shinobis he had ran into near Konoha's gates. One of them was still blurry in his memory and he only remembered a little growling. The other, however, stayed imprinted in his mind.

"Does he have this…strange hairstyle?" the blond tried gesturing at the back of his head without pulling too hard on his injuries. "You know," he attempted to explain, "kind of like a duck's butt?"

Sakura stared at him, dumbfounded for a second before bursting out in laughter. "D-Duck's b-butt!" she choked out between bursts of giggles while swiping tears from her eyes. "O-Oh god, if Sasuke-kun heard this –"

"If I heard what?" a deep voice came from the door and Sakura quickly stifled her laughter.

Meanwhile, Naruto slowly turned his head towards the entrance and his cerulean blue eyes met with deep onyx orbs.

A/N: In the next chapter, Sasuke and Naruto finally spend time together! With their convenient living arrangements, things are about to get squeal-worthy ;)

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