A/N: I'M BACK BITCHESSS! Yeah, I know. It took me forever...I hate to say this, but you can probably just expect me to take forever every time because, let's face it, I've got ADHD so bad. Seriously, I keep getting distracted. And then there's that pesky writers block that creeps up on me sometimes. I'm so terrible. Haha, but don't worry, I will definitely finish this fic! No fic get's left behind! And, please don't be too shy to yell at me for taking too long. I like when you guys demand that I hurry, it kicks my ass into gear and I start writing as if my life depends on it.
DISCLAIMER: Trust me, these characters are not mine. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto. You'd know if I owned them, because the ending would have gone COMPLETELY different.
WARNING: Cussing and junk. Also, self harm.
A steady hand guided a freshly sharpened kunai-knife into pale flesh. The blade sliding almost gracefully against the skin, bright crimson gently flowing from the cut. Sasuke exhaled and closed his eyes. His most recent nightmare invading his thoughts, the memory taunting him, angering him. He brought the blade down against his arm again, he held it there for a moment, still focussing on the sting of the fresh, bleeding cut.
His nightmares were getting worse by the day. The most recent one focussed on his deceased parents, although in this particular nightmare they weren't dead. They were barely clinging to their lives as they begged for Sasuke's help. Sasuke had merely stood there, unable to move or speak, and just barely able to breathe. Helpless. Weak. The worst part of it, to Sasuke, was when his brother appeared. Itachi had been slicing his parents up right before his eyes, similar to the genjutsu he had put Sasuke under all those years ago.
Except this time, Itachi was crying and screaming about not being able to control his actions. He had pleaded with Sasuke to stop him from doing it. He begged and begged until their parents took their last breath. Itachi fell to his knees, eyes locked on Sasuke's, just whispering "Why didn't you help us?" over and over until Sasuke had awoken, drenched in sweat and tears.
He winced at the memory and desperately wished he could be one of those people who had forgotten their dreams the moment they woke up. He was not that fortunate. The images still burned into his brain. His heart ached as he remembered Itachi's face, tears streaming down his pale cheeks, his eyes desperate and pleading. He missed his family so much it hurt. And no amount of time had softened the blow of losing them. But, most of all, he missed his brother. Itachi was his world and if things had been different, if he had known about the counsil's orders sooner...Itachi might still be here. So what if he had been sick? Maybe Tsunade or even Sakura could have helped him...
He shook the thoughts out of his head and blinked away the tears that began to form. He inhaled a shaky breath and pressed the kunai into his flesh. He jumped and the blade was forced deeper than he intended.
Who the hell would come knocking on my door at six in the goddamn morning?!
His eyes widened in slight panic as he watched the blood gush from his wound. Much more than there should have been.
Shit. Shit. Shit!
He quickly scrambled from the edge of his bed to the bathroom where he ran his arm beneath a stream of cold water. He winced at the stinging pain and fumbled around his medicine cabinet for a roll of gauze and ointment. His hands shook as the knocking became louder and more persistent.
"I'll be right there! Just give me one fucking second!" He shouted as he frantically cleaned and wrapped his wound.
~O~o~O~
Naruto stood just outside of Sasuke's door beaming, despite the slight irritation of having to wait on him for so long. But, nothing could kill his mood because he was finally going to be reunited with his favorite cocky, sarcastic, raven-haired ninja. His boyfriend. And, he couldn't wait to see the look on his face. He was betting on catching the Uchiha off gaurd, forcing the man to outwardly show his emotions.
When the door finally opened, a pissed off looking Sasuke emerged. He was scowling at first, but that expression had quickly changed when he took in the sight of the brightly grinning blond staring back at him. Before Sasuke could say anything, Naruto glomped him and the two of them landed hard on the ground.
"I missed you, teme!" Naruto laughed as he squeezed the raven and nuzzled his face in the crook of his neck.
"Clearly. Now get off." Sasuke spoke calmly despite the happiness that swelled inside of him. He fought back a small smile as he lightly pushed the other off of himself. He brushed the dirt off of his clothes as he stood, offering the blond a hand and pulling him up. "Come inside, dobe."
The two of them entered the house and Sasuke motioned towards the bar where Naruto took a seat and Sasuke put on a kettle. As he searched his cabinet for tea, Naruto drummed his fingers against the counter top.
"You're sure in a good mood." Sasuke stated, pulling two porcelin cups from a rack above the sink. "I take it your trip went well?" He lost the battle against his lips as the smile he'd been supressing finally took over. Stoic or not, could anyone really resist that beaming ball of sunshine sitting in front of him? He decided that, no, that was impossible.
"It was awesome! But I'm actually just really happy to be back home."
"Hn. I'll admit, things were a little dull without your loud mouth around here." Sasuke smirked as Naruto scrunched his face in offense.
"You're just too cool to come out and say that you totally missed the crap outta me." Naruto stated matter-of-factly and laughed. "So, listen, those kids were so awesome! They're going to be great shinobi one day with all that determination and passion they have. And they were totally into my speech! Good thing they were just kids and they couldn't tell that I just kind of winged it, haha"
"Well, you always have had some weird way of inspiring people. Even if you are an idiot, your words seem to have an effect on people, other than pure annoyance." Sasuke ignored the pointed glare Naruto shot him, and poured the hot water into the cups and dipped a tea bag into each of them. "Sugar, I assume?" He cocked an eyebrow at the blond who smiled and nodded.
Sasuke finished preparing the drinks and slid a steaming cup to the excited blond across the table. Naruto took a sip and sighed in contentment. "Thanks, Sasuke. You always add the perfect amount of sugar. I always get carried away and add way too much." He laughed and scratched the back of his head.
Sasuke smirked and sipped his own tea. "So what else did you do while you were there?" He leaned casually against the counter, giving Naruto his full attention. He hadn't realized how much he truly missed the blond's company. It felt good to have him back.
"Well, I hung out with Kankuro for a while and, get this, I actually convinced him to let me try out one of his puppets! I mean, I couldn't really get the chakra strings down so I couldn't actually use it right but it was still really cool! He showed me all the hidden compartments, weapons, and poison...man, those things are complicated! He said it usually takes him months sometimes even over a year to perfect them."
"Hn. Sounds interesting."
"And then I was able to pry Gaara away from the office long enough to spar with him. The sand is annoying but it was still fun. He doesn't know a lot of tai-jutsu because he's never really had to rely on it, so I taught him some of what I know. And in return, he bought me ramen. It wasn't as good as Ichiraku's but ramen is ramen so it was good enough for me."
"Of course."
"And then I spent some time with Temari and she let me try out her fan...dude, don't ever fucking mess with her! That chick is seriously badass, that fan weighs a ton and she weilds it like it's nothing! I felt like a wimp. And then before I left she caught me on my way out and handed me an envelope to give to Shikamaru. I'm not one for gossip or whatever but I think they have something going on between them! She was blushing like a school girl and the envelope smells like her perfume."
"Hard to imagine Shikamaru in a romantic relationship. But good for him, I suppose."
Naruto cocked an eyebrow at the raven. "You're one to talk." He laughed. "You're worse than he is when it comes to human interaction!"
"Oh, don't be like that, usuratonkachi." Sasuke leaned over the counter and placed a kiss on the blond's lips. "I have a soft side." He smirked and went back to leaning against the counter, sipping his tea.
"You seem like you're in a good mood today." Naruto beemed. "I love it when you're like this, I don't get to see it very often."
"Hn."
"Oh!" Naruto practically jumped out of his seat, almost making Sasuke flinch. Almost. "How are you doing with your medication? You seem to be doing a lot better! I'm so proud of you by the way...I was kind of worried about you while I was gone. So how were things here while I was in Suna?"
Sasuke felt his heart drop. A feeling of guilt washed over him. "I've been better. I suppose I've adjusted to the medication."
"You look much better. I guess Sakura kept her promise. The little color you have has come back, you look less pale now. You've been eating well?"
"Yeah. Sakura bugged me every day just as you asked her to. I've been eating properly, nothing to worry about." He averted his eyes from the blond, unable to make eye contact while lying. He felt bad decieving him, but he'd rather not make him worry.
"That's great! I'm really glad you're doing better." A huge grin took over his face. Sasuke managed a small smile in return.
The blond took his mug and put it to his lips, downing the rest of the drink while it was still the perfect temperature. Noticing that the cup had been emptied, Sasuke reached across the bar for it.
"Oh shit!" Naruto lunged forward, grabbing Sasuke arm in his hands. "You're bleeding!"
The raven cocked an eyebrow in confusion before realization hit him. He glanced down at his arm to find blood seeping through his bandages. He grit his teeth and pulled his arm away.
"It's nothing. A training accident." He turned away from the worried blond and placed the dirtied mug in the sink. "Are you hungry?"
"How did you cut your wrist while training?" Naruto ignored his question, much to the raven's surprise. Since when could Naruto put his mind over his stomach? "That just seems like a weird spot to cut. And you're the most advanced Katana user I know, besides Octopops! Are you gettin' rusty or somethin'?"
"Tch." Sasuke leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. "I was interupted and it startled me. That's all. Now drop it. Are you hungry?"
"Sasuke Uchiha, startled? Since when?" He laughed and cocked an eyebrow.
"Since I've been tired and a little off gaurd. Do you want some fucking breakfast or not, dobe?"
"Well, duh, I want breakfast. What're you makin' me?" A wide, goofy grin spread across his face and Sasuke relaxed, pleased at having successfully changed the subject.
"Well, what do you want?" Sasuke moved towards his fridge, the blonde following closely behind.
Naruto hovered over the raven's shoulder, scanning the contents until he picked out a few items. They spent the rest of the morning cooking together and arguing over petty things as usual. As much as Sasuke wanted to feel like everything had gone back to normal, there was a stabbing at his gut, leaving a pang of guilt. For a moment, he wondered if he should just come clean about everything that had happend.
But why make Naruto worry? Everything would be fine. The problem would resolve itself, and then everything really would go back to normal. That's what he would keep telling himself.
~0~o~0~
Voices could be heard echoing down the corrider of the Anbu base, a group of four men. Careful to catch every word and commit it to memory, Sai leaned against a wall with his chakra hidden.
"No, we're sticking to the plan." A deep voice stated. Sai judged him to be older than the rest.
"After the crimes he's comitted, I don't think her idea of justice is harsh enough! We need to take this into our own hands!" A younger man pleaded, his voice higher pitched than the rest.
"You're naive. Her plan is a good one. This way, he's practically doing it to himself. Nothing will be traced back to us. He won't tell the Hokage about our attacks, he knows they won't believe him." The older man said.
"Yes..." another voice, calmer and softer than the rest began speaking. "but if we kill him-"
"If we kill him, there will be an investigation. How do we know we can trust that woman to keep her mouth shut? She'll be pissed that we strayed from her plan and if she ends up being a suspect, she'll know it was us and she probably won't hesitate to sell us out." The older man was clearly losing his patience.
The fourth man spoke up now, loud and sounding rather aggravated. "He's right. We can't kill him, are you both idiots? Besides, we may be skilled, but let's not forget who took on Kaguya and helped stop the war. He may be trash, but he's not weak by any means! Should he choose to fight back, it won't go unnoticed. That fight could end up being catastrophic. He has the Rinnegan, we wouldn't stand a chance!"
The longer Sai listened to the conversation, the clearer it became that there was definitely some sort of conspiracy going on. Something big. He pondered what he heard for a moment and decided to make his move. He pushed himself away from the wall and quietly made his way down the hall. Stopping at the entrance to the lounge where the four men were gathered, he smiled and greeted them.
The eldest member perked up immediately and narrowed his eyes in suspicion. The other three tensing up at Sai's presence. An uncomfortable silence filled the air as all eyes locked on the intruder.
"You know," Sai said smoothly. "you would do well not to discuss such things so openly where anyone could overhear." He continued to smile at the alarmed faces in front of him.
"And, you'd do well not to repeat anything you just heard!" The louder of the four said as he pulled a kunai from his weapons pouch.
"Relax." Sai stepped into the room, his arms raised to assure them he was not a threat. "I think I know what's going on here. You're plotting against Sasuke Uchiha, am I correct?"
"What's it to you?" The eldest spat.
"Because, if you are, I want in." Sai said, his tone darkening.
"Why should we believe you?" The youngest questioned, crossing his arms.
"Because, if there's one person I really can't stand, it's Sasuke Uchiha. Whatever you're up to, I want to be a part of it."
The three younger Anbu looked to the eldest for a reaction. With a smirk, he nodded his head. "Alright, you're in."
~0~o~0~
Panting, Naruto picked himself up off of the ground. He smiled as he wiped the blood from his busted lip. He slowly made his way over to a nearby tree where he had thrown his jacket before-hand and pushed his tired arms through the sleeves. Sasuke joined him seconds later, a smirk on his face.
"You bastard." Naruto laughed, punching the raven's shoulder. "You tricked me! You said you were too tired to spar with me!"
"Well," Said Sasuke, adjusting his wristbands as they were becoming uncomfortable, "I was attempting to spare you the humiliation of getting your ass kicked. But since you insisted, I had no choice." He rolled his eyes as the blond's eyebrows drew downward in irritation.
"Don't be so arrogant, you bastard! It was a pretty even fight, ya know!" He crossed his arms and pouted his lip as he followed the raven back towards the streets.
"Sure it was, loser."
"Hmph!" Naruto turned his head away and his footsteps became heavier. Some things would never change.
It wasn't long after they'd reached the streets leading into town that Naruto heard his named being called. He turned to find Shikamaru lazily walking towards him, hands in his pockets.
"Hey, Shikamaru," Naruto said, grinning wide. "What's up?"
"The sixth wants to see you. You didn't report back to him this morning. I think he's irritated." He brought a hand up to his mouth as he yawned. The sun was setting, marking the end of another day. He must've been pretty done with all of his troublesome responsiblities by now, Naruto thought.
"I didn't have a mission report or anything, though!" Naruto frowned, crossing his arms. "It's not like I-"
"Oi, don't shoot the messenger, damn it!" Shikamaru shook his head and began walking away mumbling something about a 'total drag'.
"Well," Naruto said, turning to Sasuke, "I guess I gotta go see Kakashi-sensei. I'll probably just head back to my apartment afterwards. See you tomorrow morning?"
"Yeah. See you tomorrow." Sasuke smirked and poked Naruto in the chest. "Yamato got us pretty caught up on the contruction while you were gone. Not much to do but paint."
"Alright!" Naruto threw a fist in the air, the raven rolled his eyes. "I love paint!"
"Yeah, I think everyone in the village remembers your love of paint, usuratonkachi." He smirked at the blond's shrug and turned away. "See ya."
Naruto watched his back as he walked away, smiling to himself. In that moment, he felt he could never find a more perfect person.
~0~o~0~
Naruto's body stiffened as he took in what his former sensei had told him. He took a breath and clenched his fists, his eyes darkening. "What did you just say?" He bit out, restraining his anger.
"He didn't tell you, did he?"
"No. He didn't." He could feel his heart beat quickening, his fists clenching tighter. "When did this happen?"
"A few days ago. I've already got someone on the case, so don't worry. We'll fix this." Kakashi ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I suppose Sasuke didn't want you to worry. But, I felt you should know. Besides, I don't think it would be safe for Sasuke to wander by himself anymore, and if you're with him, it's less likely to happen again. But, knowing you, I couldn't just tell you to look out for him without you demanding to know the reasoning."
"I can't believe he wouldn't tell me about this! He told me everything was fine! He lied to me!"
"He lied because he knew I was taking care of the problem, and he probably felt there was no reason to burden you with the stress." He stepped forward and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Don't be too hard on him, Naruto. He was only trying to keep you from worrying."
"I don't care what his reason was! He shouldn't be lyin' to me when-"
"Naruto. Calm down. You're over-reacting."
"No, I'm not! This is serious!" Naruto shoved the gray haired man away and turned towards the door.
"Where are you going?"
"To give him a peice of my fucking mind!" The door slammed behind him seconds later.
Kakashi rubbed his face and leaned against the front of his desk. "Those two, I swear." He shook his head and picked up one of the countless important documents scattered across his desk.
~0~o~0~
Sasuke had just stepped out of the shower and slid on a pair of black sweatpants when he heard an urgent knock on the door. An eyebrow raised as he frowned, walking towards the door. He could have sworn Naruto said he was heading back to his apartment after seeing Kakashi.
As soon as he creaked the door open, a fist was thrown into his face. He stumbled backwards, catching his footing, and stared back at the angry blue eyes glaring at him, a hand pressed against his throbbing cheek.
"What the hell was that for?!" He shouted, confused.
"That was for lyin' to me, you fuckin' bastard!" Naruto stormed through the doorway and slammed it behind himself. "You didn't tell me you were attacked by fuckin' anbu!"
"He told you?!" Sasuke scowled, silently cursing his former sensei. "Listen, I just-"
"Save it! I don't care what your reason was! Don't you ever fuckin' lie to me again!" Naruto thrusted his hands at Sasuke's bare chest, shoving him away. "You know I hated bein' lied to!"
"Calm down, dobe. It wasn't anything serious. Just some pissed off former Root members. It hasn't happened since then."
"Kakashi says he thinks somethin' bigger might be goin' on, that there might be a whole group who don't want you here! What if they keep trying to push you away! What if-"
"Naruto! I'm not going anywhere, so stop worrying. They won't drive me away, so if that's their plan is, it's not going to work."
"What if you get killed?"
"I can handle myself, Naruto. Don't forget who has the other half of the Sage of the Six Path's powers. Even before I obtained the Rinnegan, I could take them. There's nothing to worry about."
"Whatever, either way, just don't lie to me anymore. Got it? Anything happens, I want to know about it." Naruto crossed his arms, his eyebrows downcast in anger.
"Fine. I'll be honest from now on." Sasuke sighed, subconsciously rubbing at his wrist as it began to itch.
The action attracted Naruto's attention, following the motion with his eyes. "W-what the fuck?" Naruto frowned, reaching for Sasuke's arm.
The raven immediately pulled his arm away, hiding it behind his back. He bit the inside of his lip, angry at himself for forgetting his wristbands. This was not a conversation he wanted to have.
"Let me see your arm." Naruto said calmly, his eyes darkening.
Sasuke took a step backwards, eyes on the ground. His thoughts racing, frantically searching for a way to keep the blond from discovering his secret. He took too long and Naruto's patience had expired.
"Let. Me. See." When the raven didn't move, Naruto stepped foward and voilently wrenched Sasuke's arm from behind his back and straightened it out.
His blue eyes widened in horror as he took in the sight of several cuts streched across the raven's wrist leading up to his forearm. A few of them looked fresh, dried blood crusted over the length of the cuts while others looked faded and had begun healing. He dropped Sasuke's arm and took a step back, staring at him with confusion in his eyes. The raven kept his eyes on the floor, arms limp at his sides.
"Those aren't from training accidents are they?"
Silence.
It was going to be a long night.