Honesty
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I'm really happy that this story is getting a bit more attention than I expected. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter Notation: This chapter starts off on a rather playful note. It includes a bit more about the domestic life of Team Taka. So you get to see what they are like in everyday situations, outside of battle. I hope you all enjoy this bit of silliness and fluff. The chapter does get more serious as it goes on.
Chapter Three
"I'm giving these ones to Suigetsu." Sasuke mutters as he gazes at the eggs in a rather annoyed fashion.
Jugo chuckles as he leans down and places a water bowl in front of the puppy, while looking for something suitable for a dog to eat. He settles on warming up some left over steak from the night before. They would have to pick up dog food later.
Honestly, Sasuke was such a perfectionist. Even his eggs had to be perfectly crafted. Jugo didn't think that there was any activity, that Sasuke didn't put his all into it. It didn't matter how minor or mundane it was.
"Sasuke, those eggs are perfectly fine. Just because they didn't come out of the shell perfectly intact doesn't mean anything." He states.
"Oh I know. They are perfectly edible. So Suigetsu won't mind." Sasuke says as he cracks some more eggs for the rest of Taka.
Sasuke was the very definition of high maintenance, if he wasn't on a mission. He had a very specific way of doing things. The last Uchiha was a bit of a neat freak.
God help you, if you messed up whatever system he had devised in his head for how things were supposed to be. Jugo found it oddly adorable that an S Class Ninja, would sulk over less than perfect eggs or a dirty floor. He was not suicidal enough to tell Sasuke that to his face, but it was still adorable.
"Whatever you say. Come here, boy." Jugo calls to the puppy.
"Suigetsu's never been a picky eater, anyway. He probably won't even notice. He'll just shovel the food into his face without looking." Sasuke defends his actions.
On missions, he was much more practical though. Sasuke would eat whatever food was on hand and without compliant. Jugo supposed he couldn't blame Sasuke for wanting only the best now. They were no longer at the Sound or on the run. Why not spoil themselves a little?
"That's true." Jugo agrees and Sasuke nods pleased at the response.
"They probably are going to spend at least an hour bickering. I have to admit that I'm curious about something." Sasuke says as he leans down and pets the puppy.
"What are you curious about?" The larger man inquires.
The last Uchiha hesitates for a minute. Normally, he wouldn't give a fuck about offending anyone. But Jugo was different. Jugo was his teammate who had held him while he had a nightmare. He was one of the few people that Sasuke might actually feel guilty about offending.
"You asked me if I was in love with Naruto and provoked Kiba by questioning his sexuality. You seem rather…comfortable with the idea of two men being together. Is that your preference when it comes to relationships?" Sasuke asks.
"Would it upset you, if I said that it was?" Jugo replies cautiously.
Sasuke shakes his head. It wouldn't. He half hoped that Jugo wasn't though. He was gay. The dark haired ninja knew that he would be a hypocrite if he held the other man's sexual orientation against him. If Jugo was straight, that would remove any possibility that he might do something stupid.
"Like I said, it's none of my business who people choose to love. I was just curious. It's not a big deal and I'm not going to tell Suigetsu and Karin." He assures him.
"Yes, that's my preference. Is it yours?" Jugo asks.
Sasuke blinks. Thankfully, he didn't have to answer that question because Karin walked into the kitchen. He mentally breathes a sigh of relief.
"Morning." She says with a smile.
"Morning, Karin. Did you sleep well?" Jugo asks and tries to hide his frustration.
He had just been about to get an answer out of Sasuke and Karin just had to show up at that moment. Jugo liked Karin well enough, when she wasn't panting after Sasuke. But he would have liked her a lot more, if she had showed up even sixty seconds later!
"Yeah. How about you guys?" Karin asks.
"Like a baby for the most part." Jugo replies and Sasuke turns his head away to hide his blush.
He couldn't believe what had happened. Sasuke had been curled up into Jugo's arms like they were lovers. Though it did explain why his nightmare had ended so abruptly. It was hard to feel frightened when you had someone holding you that protectively.
The more he pondered it, the more Sasuke realized something. That was the first time in years, that he had actually enjoyed being touched. He had been conditioned to associate touch with pain.
The only time he touched people was generally during training or during battle. It had actually been nice to have someone touch him in a way that was designed to soothe him. Someone had touched him for once, without the intention to harm or seduce him.
"How about you, Sasuke?" Karin asks innocently.
"Fine. I slept fine." Sasuke replies, just as Suigetsu came in.
"Sasuke, are you alright? Your face is all red." The white haired man observes and walks over.
Suigetsu had no respect for personal space. Sasuke had realized this the moment he had met the other man. For fucksakes, he had freed a naked Suigetsu from that tank and the sword lover hadn't been embarrassed by his nudity at all.
The violet eyed man had still dared to stand behind Sasuke and threaten him. Yeah, Suigetsu had no understanding of a very important concept known as PERSONAL SPACE!
"Suigetsu, if you don't back up, your face is about to be black and blue." Sasuke warns him and the other ninja quickly takes a step or two back.
"Sheesh. You really need to get laid, Sassy." Suigetsu says.
Jugo felt himself twitch. Suigetsu had given Sasuke a nickname. For some reason, that made him see red. His felt his blood practically boiling and before he knew what was happening, he had launched into a rage.
"DIE!" Jugo snarls at Suigetsu and forms his battle axe.
It was only thanks to the sword lover's quick reflexes that Suigetsu's head wasn't cleaved off. The violet eyed man stares at Jugo in shock. He didn't know what the had just happened.
"Jugo, what the fuck is your problem?!" He demands and quickly turns into water to protect himself from his suddenly homicidal comrade.
Sasuke was standing in the same room. Jugo was always calm around the last Uchiha. That was kinda the point of Sasuke letting the other man live with him in the first place. Jugo called Sasuke his "cage." So how had he busted out of the cage?
Sasuke's eyes widen. Uh oh. Jugo had just gone into a rage. Damn it. He activates his Sharingan and stands between the two former criminals.
"Jugo. Knock it off." He orders his teammate.
Karin watches in horror. This wasn't the first time this had happened, but each time was terrifying. It was always unnerving to watch Jugo go from being such a gentle giant to a psychotic, bloodthirsty monster.
The red head always felt so helpless during times like these. She knew that she couldn't stop Jugo in a rage. She couldn't even really slow him down. Maybe Suigetsu could hold his own, but Sasuke was the only one who could really stop him.
"Yeah, what Sasuke said!" Suigetsu thunders at his massive teammate.
It was like a light switch had been turned off. Jugo turned back to his regular self. Sasuke eyes him intently for a minute to make certain Jugo wouldn't slip back into one of his rages.
"Suigetsu, why don't you get out of here for awhile? Karin, would you mind picking up a few things?" He suggests and tosses a list at his female teammate.
"I don't mind. I'll take the idiot with me." She promises and drags the white haired man off.
Jugo felt rather embarrassed at the moment. He had just snapped. He had snapped over a fucking nickname that a straight man had given Sasuke. Damn it. If Sasuke asked him why, he didn't know what he going to say.
He knew that he couldn't lie to the other man. Even if Jugo tried to do so, Sasuke would see right through it. If he told him the truth though, he wasn't really sure how the leader of Taka would react.
"You normally don't have rages when your around me. Isn't that why you wanted to stay with me, in the first place?" Sasuke inquires with a raised eyebrow.
"You're right. I don't have rages around you, at least not often. But they are sporadic. I never know what is going to tip the scales." He mutters.
Sasuke nods. He did know that. This one though, seemed different than the others. There had been a very specific trigger. Jugo had been perfectly fine until Suigetsu called him Sassy.
"Usually, that is the case. You were fine all morning though. Were you upset that Suigetsu gave me that stupid nickname?" Sasuke asks.
"Maybe a little. He was being very disrespectful. It set me off. I shouldn't have lost control like that. I could have really hurt him. Suigetsu didn't mean anything by it, but I just…lost control." He admits.
That was oddly touching in a way. Jugo was so outraged on his behalf, that he had completely lost it. Still Sasuke couldn't help but be a little disturbed. He got that upset because Suigetsu gave him a nickname?
"You know that Suigetsu likes to shoot his mouth off. Next time, don't get that upset over it. You don't need to attack him with an axe over something like that. I can handle it. Come on. We might as well get something productive done today. I want to start working on repairing the District." He says.
Jugo nods in agreement. He follows Sasuke outside. He was relived that the last Uchiha hadn't pressed him about the incident. If he had asked WHY Jugo was so upset over Suigetsu's nickname, it probably wouldn't have ended well.
It was one thing for Sasuke to say he didn't care who two people loved. It was quite another for him to actually prefer men. Assuming that he was actually gay or at least bisexual, that didn't necessarily mean that Sasuke would be return his feelings.
"You can work on clearing out the larger rubble. I'll start by restoring the foundations." Sasuke instructs.
"Sounds good." He replies.
Jugo was happy to be useful. His strength came in handy for a task like this. While he knew that Sasuke was perfectly capable of moving the rubble himself, it was nice to free the other man up from the "busywork." Besides, it gave him something to focus on besides the Suigetsu Incident.
He didn't really understand why he got so mad. Jugo knew that the other man was straight. Suigetsu had even made it rather clear that he envied Sasuke for being a chick magnet. Suigetsu didn't want Sasuke. So his jealousy had been highly illogical.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Sasuke says and forms several clones.
The clones promptly start racing around the District and examining what was left of the foundation of the many houses that had once stood there. Jugo idly notes that there once had been a lot of Uchihas. With that many homes, there had to be at least a couple hundred. This was going to take awhile.
That didn't bother him though. He was happy to be useful to his Cage. That and seeing so many Sasuke's running around was quite the pleasant sight. His thoughts soon take a decidedly less innocent turn when he realizes that the Shadow Clone Jutsu could have some rather sensual applications, if its user was creative enough.
"Hey, bastard! Hey, Jugo!" Naruto calls out as he walks inside the District.
"Naruto, what are you doing here?" Sasuke asks and raises an eyebrow.
"Well Tsunade wants you go on an escort mission with me. She also thinks that Jugo should try working with Shikamaru's family. They raise deer and some other stuff. I heard that it didn't go so well with Kiba?" He asks.
Sasuke snorts in amusement. "I heard that it didn't go so well with Kiba," was an understatement to put it mildly. It was highly unlikely the Inuzukas would ever let him or Jugo back on their Clan Grounds again.
"Kiba was running his mouth. Jugo may have implied that Kiba is in the closet." Sasuke informs Naruto.
Naruto bursts out laughing. No way. Had Jugo actually said that? Was Sasuke just making that up? He had a hard time picturing the large, polite man saying something like that.
"Are you serious?" The blue eyed ninja asks in disbelief.
"Yes, I'm serious. Do you really think that I would lie about something like that?" Sasuke asks with a shrug.
"Yeah. Good point. Anyway, it's just an escort mission. The guy's a pretty wealthy Lord. You know how they are. They want their status symbols. He's totally get off on the idea of having my awesomeness and the last Uchiha being his bodyguards. He's paying well though. So yeah." The blonde explains.
Sasuke rolls his eyes. Yes, he was familiar with the type. He loathed the pampered noble class. These weren't Noble Ninja Clans like his family or the Hyugas. These were spoiled, elitist civilians who relied on ninjas to do their dirty work and regarded them as little more than useful animals.
"In other words, we are babysitting him." Sasuke observes and Naruto nods in agreement.
"Will it be a long mission?" Jugo asks.
"Oh no. Just a few days. Don't worry, Jugo. I doubt you'll go into a rage that quickly. If you do though, there are lots of powerful ninjas here. Shikamaru could always catch you with his shadows." Naruto assures him.
Jugo nods. He didn't like it, but that was all true. Besides, Sasuke had made it rather clear that he didn't love Naruto in the romantic sense. He loved him like a brother. So it didn't really matter if he spent a few days with Sasuke on a mission to watch over a bratty noble.
"I'm sure you'll be fine. I'll be back soon. I doubt Shikamaru is going to engage in trash talking. Hopefully, you like working with the Naras more than the Inuzukas. Besides, someone has to stay behind to take care of the dog. Suigetsu and Karin will be too busy fighting each other, to remember to feed and walk him." Sasuke points out.
"That's true. We really do need to name him though." Jugo says.
"Wait. Dog? What dog are you talking about?" Naruto asks in confusion and Sasuke whistles.
Soon enough a little black puppy comes stumbling out of the house. Sasuke smiles. Well at least the Inuzukas were really good at training their dogs young.
"You got…a puppy?" Naruto asks incredulously.
"Mostly to annoy Kiba. In a year or two, he'll make a good guard dog though. Let me get packed, loser. I'll be out in a few minutes." Sasuke says as he heads inside the house.
Naruto shakes his head. He mutters something about being surprised that certain antisocial bastards, were secretly animal lovers. Jugo tries not to laugh at the sulking blonde.
"So…how's everything going?" Naruto asks awkwardly, trying to make conversation.
"Pretty well. I've only gone into a rage once since coming to this village. Sasuke was able to stop me from hurting Suigetsu though." He says with a serene smile.
The blonde ninja blinks. Yeah, Jugo really shouldn't be able to smile that peacefully when talking about how he had just gone into a psychotic, homicidal rage. That was a little creepy. You would think that the giant was talking about ice cream or something.
"Well that's good. Um how often do you usually lose control like that?" The other man asks.
"It's hard to predict really. Sometimes not for weeks at a time. Other times, I can black out a few times a day. It's been less since Sasuke found me though." He explains.
"Gre-at." Naruto replies and tries to hide the fact that he was now more nervous than he had been a few minutes before.
He was confident he could handle Jugo, if the other man lost it. He just didn't want to have to hurt him. He seemed like a nice guy, when he was in control of himself anyway. That and Sasuke probably wouldn't be too happy with Naruto, if he attacked a member of Taka.
Sasuke comes out a few minutes later. He was all suited up and ready to go. The last Uchiha was nothing, if not efficient.
"Jugo, do you know where the Nara Clan lives?" He asks.
"Yes, I know. I've memorized the layout of the Leaf Village. I can find it easily enough." Jugo assures Sasuke.
"Good. Well I'll see you when I get back. Try to keep Karin and Suigetsu from killing each other." Sasuke says dryly as he heads off with Naruto.
Jugo nods. He sighs and leaves the Uchiha District. He hadn't been lying, when he said he knew where it was. It was just disappointing that Sasuke had to leave for a mission, before he even got an answer.
He still didn't know if Sasuke was straight, bisexual, gay, or even asexual. The last one was certainly a possibility. Jugo had never seen Sasuke look at anyone with desire. It didn't matter if it was a man or a woman.
"So you're Jugo?" Shikamaru asks a few minutes later, once the orange haired man arrives.
"Yes. The Lady Hokage thought that I might be able to help your family. You work with deer?" He asks politely.
"Yeah. Amongst other things. You can come into our forest, only because you have permission. If you didn't and tried to do so, well I wouldn't want to be you. This is going to be a drag, but I'll give you the full tour before we start." The lazy ninja informs him.
Jugo nods. He follows the other ninja around as Shikamaru gives him the tour. It was as nice place. He did like deer. Maybe this would work out better than the last time.
It was peaceful. He could be useful here. People might be less afraid of him, if they realized he spent most of his day caring for forest animals. This could work.
"That's our research lab. Our Clan specializes in caring for the deer and making medications from the forest. Their antlers can be used in many forms of medication. We just take samples. We don't cut them off, unless they die though. All very humane." Shikamaru informs him.
"That's good. It would be wrong to cut off their antlers while they were still alive. They need those." Jugo says with a nod.
"Yes, they do. Well any questions?" He asks and Jugo shakes his head.
"Good. You can make sure they get fed for today. I have to go. I have a date with Temari. You don't want to keep that woman waiting." The dark haired ninja tells him.
"Or any woman, really." Jugo adds thoughtfully.
"That's true. Good luck. Most of my Clan is still in the forest, so if you lose control…they'll be able to handle you. Though I really doubt there's anything in this forest that is going to set you off." He reasons and heads off.
Dating. Jugo had never really given much thought to the topic before. He was too dangerous to be around most people. Locking himself up, had seemed like a reasonable way to continue to live and not hurt innocent people.
Now that he had Sasuke though, his rages had been reduced considerably. Despite this, he knew that dating a normal person was out of the question. They might go out for a movie and the night might end with his battle axe lodged in their skull. He shudders at the image. It was a terrifying thought because Jugo knew that scenario was all too realistic.
"I wonder if Sasuke likes dating." He muses.
He doubted it. Dating seemed like such a casual activity. He couldn't see the Uchiha walking along the streets and holding someone's hands. It was also difficult to picture him at a romantic restaurant. The more he thought about it, the more laughable the idea became.
Elsewhere in the Leaf Village, Kakashi was giving his report to Tsunade. The silver haired ninja couldn't help it. He was frankly amused by recent events and it probably showed in his voice. It must have. Tsunade seemed mildly annoyed with him.
"So you are telling me, that they trash talked with Kiba and got a puppy?" she asks in disbelief.
"Yes, that's exactly what happened. Jugo is a good influence on him really. It could have escalated beyond just trading barbs. They calm each other both down." The CopyCat Ninja says with a shrug.
Tsunade sighs. She didn't know what to make of this strange situation. Never in a million years, did she think she would have to debate something like this. She was debating whether or not they should play matchmaker for two former S Class Criminals. This was crazy.
"And what is your opinion on the matter?" She asks.
"Honestly, I don't have proof one way or another that Sasuke is gay. Jugo definitely is. That or he's at least bisexual. If Sasuke is interested in men, we should try to encourage the match." He says as he idly flips through a page of one of Jirayia's books.
"You think that we should encourage a man who is prone to violet rages, to get involved with a man who is likely suffering from PTSD and can level entire villages?" She asks incredulously.
Kakashi nods as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. It would do Sasuke some good. It would be good for him to have another strong bond with someone besides just Naruto.
That wasn't a romantic bond. It wasn't the same thing. Granted that this would make Clan Restoration messier, but he was sure that the last Uchiha would manage. After all, he could simply use surrogates. There was no rule that he had to marry the woman (or women) who carried his child(ren).
"Sasuke calms his rages. Jugo keeps Sasuke from attacking people whenever they annoy him. Really, it's in our best interest to help them along. That's assuming of course, that my former student has any interest in men." He continues and flips another page.
That was a big if. Tsunade sighs. That kid's mind was practically a fortress. Who really knew what went on in Sasuke's head these days. Before the war, it had been easy to understand him. He wanted revenge against Itachi. But now? Who knew what he really wanted? Well other than a family.
"That's true. This is still very dangerous. If they find out that we are meddling, it won't end well. Sasuke will be furious and Jugo might fly into a rage." She warns him.
"Well there is a very simple solution to that." The silver haired ninja says.
"And what is that?" The busty Hokage demands.
"We simply don't get caught." Kakashi says with an infuriatingly cheerful grin.