A/N: So, to anyone who stuck around during my long, long absence… CONGRATULATIONS! You have suffered through a good portion of time and are now being rewarded for your loyalty and patience! J I have no idea why you are still waiting for me to post, but I decided to gift you a happy little chapter or two on whichever story of mine you have been following.

OOOoooOOO

Suigetsu tensed to bolt, but as soon as Sasuke made the slightest move, Naruto stirred in his sleep. Sasuke was unable to move without waking the sleeping teen and Suigetsu was able to release a relieved sigh, "Look, I was just trying to get you to show a little emotion beyond the usual anger and brooding. You can't blame me when you're the one that never smiles."

Karin scoffed at this, "I tried to stop the idiot, but he wouldn't listen, so I could only monitor him for you," Juugo just stayed still, silently judging his two companions.

Sasuke was stuck in an upright sitting position, one hand on the ground and the other raised in the air. He didn't dare move again, for fear of waking his former teammate, he growled lowly in his throat, "Why don't you come closer, Suigetsu? I'll show you a smile," his voice barely hit a whisper as he beckoned to the shark-like man.

"I could do that, but if you release any chakra, blondie might wake up," he had discovered a card he could play and was holding onto it for dear life.

Sasuke thought on this and realized Naruto had probably grown to be less of a heavy sleeper since the days they would camp out for missions. It was best if he did not alert the Hidden Leaf ninja to his presence. He looked down at Naruto, studying him with a furrowed brow. He'd grown up, that was for sure; he hadn't really gotten a good look when they had their standoff at one of Orochimaru's many hideouts.

Sasuke realized he had never, in his entire life, ever really gotten a good look at Naruto's entire face, his forehead was almost always blocked by goggles or his headband. Naruto's hair had, grown? No, it was just hanging in the teen's face instead of standing on end. He suddenly felt the urge to brush the soft bangs out of the blonde's face, but fought against it with all of his will power, still wary of waking him.

His companions were flabbergasted. Sasuke was usually the type to silently brood, so that wasn't new, but he was gazing down at the ninja in his lap with the softest facial expression they had ever seen grace his boyish face.

The teen certainly was quite a specimen, but they could not understand how he was able to cull such an amazing expression out of Sasuke.

"Sasuke?" Karin chanced. A glare was shot directly at the woman, as though Sasuke had forgotten there were others in the room. The look he gave screamed "What do you want?" and Karin swallowed her fear before answering, "Are you alright? You kind of checked out for a moment."

Sasuke's glare evaporated as he looked at the redhead and back at the blonde, "I was just… reminiscing," Sasuke concluded, with his own confused look as he wondered if that was really true. His feelings for Naruto were obviously still present, but can his thoughts just now be considered "reminiscing"?

Naruto shifted violently, rolling off of Sasuke's legs before sprawling on the floor beside him. Briefly, Sasuke caught sight of bandages wrapped around his chest before Naruto settled into a comfortable position.

For a moment, the four rogues just stared at the sleeping figure. In a flash, a murderous look was pointed at Suigetsu and the swordsman bolted in pure terror. He was caught as soon as he was outside of the room. Sasuke twisted a strong hand in his shirt and snarled, bringing his other hand up and focusing his chakra there. As soon as he did it, he regretted it.

Sasuke's instincts had betrayed him, causing him to release some of his chakra. He immediately stopped what he was doing, pausing in his position. Suigetsu looked between the door and Sasuke's fist quickly, wondering which would show movement first.

A noise was heard from the room and Karin peeked out at her two companions, the look on her face showed nothing but fear.

Suddenly, a gruff voice erupted from inside, "Where the hell am I?!" Naruto exclaimed, looking around frantically, already kneeling, prepared to take on any enemies.

Sasuke hadn't heard that voice in quite some time and both of his hands relaxed, releasing Suigetsu and falling to his sides. He had no idea how he would fix this particular situation. If Naruto so much as sensed him, he would be on the hunt for the raven haired teen, and Sasuke wasn't too keen on that happening if the Kyuuubi vessel was badly injured. He slowly approached the doorway, banking on trapping his former teammate to somehow explain the situation to him and gain a chance to book it.

Naruto's eyes widened, pain evident on his features. His body tensed, as he somehow looked even more tensed to fight than before. A shocked, seemingly weak voice was barely forced from his throat, "Sasuke? Is that really you?"

Sasuke was not at all confident that he could win in a fight against the Number One Hyperactive Knucklehead Ninja without receiving severe injuries and he was sure his team would be practically destroyed if they attempted to fight him.

Sasuke sent a conflicted look toward Naruto, unable to decide on what to say or do. Suigetsu peeked through the doorway and Naruto suddenly seemed to acknowledge the other people present, his eyes narrowed, "You three… why'd you bring me here?"

"Honestly?" Suigetsu asked and Naruto nodded, "For entertainment purposes," he stated pointedly. He dodged a blow from the Uchiha, who looked anything but amused by the answer.

Naruto was, to put it simply, completely and totally confused by the situation. All he did was answer some questions for some fake travelling merchants before getting held captive in some weird mirror world. His fists unclenched and he stood, scratching his cheek as he sighed, "I really have no idea what I'm supposed to do here. See, normally I would fight Sasuke one-on-one in an epic battle to the death, but I do not feel inclined to do so right now and I have a few troublesome holes in my side that would make that a bit complicated."

Sasuke couldn't even begin to say how out of character that was for his former companion. He wore the most baffled expression his neutral features could muster. Suigetsu had to bite the inside of his cheek to prevent the laughter from bubbling out from his chest.

Sasuke shook it off, "You mean to say…" Naruto looked at him, casually listening, "that you aren't going to try to bring me back to the village?"

Suigetsu composed himself before teasing in a whisper, "What's that disappointed look on your face supposed to be for?" he let out a snort by accident, unable to hold it in. He was silenced with an intense scowl before the raven haired man returned his attention to the problem in front of him.

"Yep, I actually think it's best if I walk out right now and leave you to your business," Naruto's attitude was disconcerting to say the least. Here the object of his mission in life was right in front of him and he was just going to leave. Something must have been screwy in his head.

Sasuke peered over at Suigetsu, "Did you break him?" he questioned, sincerely questioning the sanity of his ex-friend. Suigetsu shook his head vehemently, eager to push the blame to anything but himself.

Footsteps brought their attention back to the blonde and Sasuke was startled to find Naruto standing directly in front of him, "I'm not broken; I just don't feel up to an all out battle. I was supposed to meet up with Sakura and Sai for a snack before heading to Grandma Tsunade for treatment… though I guess that plan is a bust now that it is almost dark," he laughed, moving to walk past Sasuke. The Uchiha shifted out of his way, flabbergasted.

The Hidden Leaf ninja continued to walk until it looked like something tugged his arm backwards. The teen turned around, glancing at the odd group in front of him before trying to tug at his arm again. When he felt resistance, he laughed nervously before pulling at his wrist like he was playing an intense game of tug-of-war. He glared down at his hand, suddenly exerting all of his physical strength in his rampant attempts at ripping himself free of whatever had a hold on him.

"Alright," he wheezed, hands on his knees as he caught his breath, his injuries taking quite a toll on him, "Which one of you guys is doing this?"

OOOooOOO

A/N: I love this story and plan to continue it for at least a few more chapters. ;) I get so excited when I write these outrageous situations. I have already begun writing the next chapter in my enthrallment with this story and plan to post it next week if all goes well. J So please look forward to that.

Despite my absence when it comes to writing, I have actively been reading any feedback and enjoying your enjoyment. So, THANK YOU FOR YOUR FEEDBACK! It is always much appreciated and I hope you will continue to give me constructive criticism and your cries of love. I hope to be able to write more for you as I continue my life's journey into college.

Just as I have said before, feel free to review this story or PM me; it really gets me motivated!