Honesty

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. Sorry this one is somewhat late. I hope you all enjoy it though.

Chapter 10

A month later, Sasuke looks at Tsunade in shock. He vaguely wondered if maybe the busty Hokage had finally lost it. That was really the only logical explanation. He couldn't have possibly heard her right.

"You want me to be an Academy instructor?" He asks.

"That's right. Unfortunately, I can't really assign you missions that are suitable to someone of your skill level. You're still reintegrating back into the village. Half of the villagers are terrified of you and the other half don't trust you." She begins.

Sasuke nods. That much was true. He didn't particularly care what the villagers thought of him, but she was Hokage. Tsunade was supposed to care. He gestures for her to go on.

"Assigning you low level missions inside the village, would just make you resentful. You do need some sort of task to keep you engaged though. Something that will make you feel like a part of this community again." The blonde continues.

Sasuke couldn't exactly argue with that logic. She did have a point. Still it was rather odd. She wanted him to teach a bunch of kids how to be ninjas?

"If the villagers don't trust me to do high level missions, what makes you think that they would trust me with their kids?" He asks.

Tsunade smiles. That was a good question. She had prepared in advance for it though.

"They might not trust you, but none of them think you are stupid. Attacking children, would be very stupid in your case. They know that you know you are being closely monitored inside this village. That and you are one of the strongest ninjas alive. Whatever their parents might think of you personally, none of them can deny your skill. Their children would be learning from the best. So I think they would be willing to overlook your…colorful past." She replies with a smile.

Sasuke considers it. She had a point. The Hokage couldn't really assign him any challenging missions. He WOULD get bored and pissed off if she assigned him low level missions. He certainly couldn't become a medic because of his temperament and the destructive nature of his chakra. That almost left the Academy as a default option.

"Alright. I'll do it. It should at least give me something to do. Besides, who knows? Maybe the kids will be less annoying than their parents." The raven haired ninja says with a smirk.

"Good. So it's settled then. For now you will be assisting Iruka. You've never taught children before. I don't think you fully realize the level of work that goes into being a good teacher. Don't worry. I'm certain that under his guidance, you'll catch on soon enough." Tsunade assures him.

The last Uchiha nods. That didn't sound too bad. Iruka was one of the few people in this village that hadn't pissed him off directly yet. He didn't like Iruka, but he didn't dislike him either.

"Alright. Well you can talk to him about it. I'm going to head home. I assume you have more important things to do today than to be my career counselor." Sasuke says.

"Has anyone ever told you that you are a smartass, Uchiha?" The busty blonde demands.

"All the time. Though it's mostly Naruto or Suigetsu that tell me." He answers with a shrug.

"Good because you are. Alright. I imagine Jugo will be getting back from the Nara Clan's forest soon. I know that he hates to get home before you do. So you should probably get going." She muses as she begins to do some paperwork.

That snapped Sasuke out of his relatively good mood. He sends a kunai flying at Tsunade. He wasn't upset when she caught it. He had been intending to prove a point. The last Uchiha wasn't actually trying to assassinate her.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean and why are you taking such an interest in my personal life?!" He practically snarls and his eyes bleed from black into the familiar red of the Sharingan.

"Sasuke, you are one of the most dangerous ninjas on the planet. You are also not like Naruto. No one really knows if you are going to snap again. It would be foolish of me not to take an interest in your personal life and to watch for warning signs." She begins.

Sasuke felt himself twitch. That was true. Still he damn well knew that crack about Jugo had been anything but innocent.

"And your remark about my relationship with Jugo?" He demands.

"I'm not oblivious. I see the way he looks at you. He practically worships the ground that you walk on. What's interesting though is you are apparently quite content with that arrangement. You normally shove people away who try to be close to you, but not him. It doesn't take a genius to realize that the two of you are involved." The medic continues.

The young ninja felt his blood boil. She had no right to meddle in his love life. It was bad enough Kakashi was doing it, but Tsunade?! At least the CopyCat Ninja had been his Sensei. It was somewhat expected that the Jonin would take an interest in his personal life, but he barely knew the busty blonde at all. She had no right to comment on things that she did not fucking understand!

"It's none of your business whether I take a lover or not. Besides, Jugo is a man. You don't have the same excuse to meddle that you would, if either of us was a woman. It's not as though Jugo or I could get pregnant." Sasuke snaps at her.

"Sasuke, calm yourself. I am not objecting to your relationship with Jugo. Though I find it interesting that you use the word lover. That implies that there is real affection there and it's not just a physical relationship." She muses.

"Don't you dare fucking psychoanalyze me again. I already dealt with your stupid psychological testing. You don't get to mess with my head again." The last Uchiha thunders at her.

That's when it clicked. Real affection there. Why did Tsunade care if he was just using Jugo for easy sex? Unless she wanted them to be together. Those tests hadn't been about his mental health. They had been about finding out if he was gay.

"You fucking sneaky bitch! You used those tests to find out if I was interested in men. You and Kakashi were both trying to set me up with Jugo!" He hisses her.

Tsunade winces. Damn it. He made that sound so much worse than it was. She and Kakashi were only trying to help him find love. It wasn't like they were conspiring against him to harm him.

"Alright. I'll admit that the testing was designed to see if you had any interest in men, but we just wanted to help you. Besides, it clearly worked. You are together now." She reasons.

"We are together because WE want to be and not because of your mind games. I should kill you. It's never going to stop, is it?! This village is intent on controlling every aspect of my life from cradle to grave!" Sasuke practically screams at her.

"Sasuke, if you do not calm down right now, I am going to be forced to restrain you." She warns him.

It was too late though. Sasuke was seeing red. He was furious. Couldn't he make ONE decision in his life, without the Leaf trying to force his hand?! Just one?!

"Try it. I dare you." He hisses.

"I'm sorry that it came to this. This is just a time out. Perhaps you'll be more level headed in the morning." She says and gestures for the ANBU standing in the hallway to take the shot.

He wasted not time. The dart flew fast and true. Sasuke was immune to most poisons, but not tranquilizers. This was a fact that Tsunade suddenly found herself grateful for as Sasuke's eyes suddenly glaze over and he falls to the ground.

"How much did you put in that dart?!" She demands.

"Enough to knock out an elephant. You know what the Uchiha is like. Anything less than that, probably wasn't going to phase him. He's barely human anymore. The man is a demon. Pure and simple." The ANBU says with a shrug.

Tsunade shakes her head. She instructs the ANBU to send for Jugo. If anyone could calm Sasuke down when he woke up, it would be him.

That just left her with one small problem though. How was she going to explain why Sasuke as passed out and why he was so upset. Maybe she shouldn't send for Jugo. He might fly into a rage.

"Wait. On second thought, bring Karin here instead." She calls out and the ANBU nods, before darting off to carry out his order.

An hour later, Karin had retrieved Sasuke and brought him back to his home. She waits anxiously for Jugo to return. The red head was not particularly happy about playing the middleman (well middle woman.), but she had no choice.

"Sasuke! Karin! Itachi! I'm home." Jugo calls out as he enters the house.

"Arf! Come see! Sasuke sick!" Itachi calls out as he races over to his other Master.

Jugo's eyes widen and he follows Itachi to Sasuke's room. He blinks when he saw Sasuke passed out on the bed. Karin was watching him.

"What happened?" He asks.

"I'll tell you, if you promise not to go into a rage. He needs you too much for you to lose it. You going into a rage isn't going to fix anything." She says nervously.

It was then that Jugo noticed Karin wasn't alone. Suigetsu was also in the room. This was bad. Clearly, Karin was worried enough that he might lose control that she thought that Suigestu's presence was necessary for her safety.

"I'm not going to go into a rage. Just tell me what happened. I cant help him, if I don't know." The orange haired man pleads.

"I guess he went to see Tsunade about this next mission. Somehow she found out about you two being together. Sasuke thinks that she and Kakashi were trying to manipulate you two into entering a relationship. He didn't take it well." She begins.

Jugo blinks. He knew that Kakashi wanted them to be together, but he never suspected that Tsunade had played a role. Damn it. No wonder Sasuke was so angry. It was just another example of people trying to manipulate him.

If this made him have second thoughts about them, Jugo was definitely going into a rage. He would level this fucking village. God damn it. Why couldn't they just leave them both alone? Why did they have to meddle?!

"Then what happened?" He asks softly.

"They hit him with a powerful tranquilizer. He should wake soon though. When he does though, he's probably going to be very angry. We need you to calm him down." The red head explains.

Suigetsu watches Jugo carefully. He half expected the large man to spiral into a homicidal rage any second. If he did, Suigetsu wasn't entirely certain he could restrain him and prevent anyone from getting hurt.

He would have to try though. There was a reason why he was called a Prodigy in the Art of Murder. The white haired ninja would just have to focus on the prodigy aspect of that description was all.

"Alright. I'll stay calm. He needs me, but I'm not going to just let this go. They went too far this time." He mutters.

"Jugo, don't do anything stupid. Things are going really well for all of us." Suigetsu says.

"I don't know if I can promise that, but I will talk to him. I'll do my best to keep him calm." The other member of Taka states.

Karin and Suigetsu sigh. They nod. The two of them decide it was probably best to allow the couple to have some alone time. They slip off.

Not long after they left, Sasuke wakes up. He apparently didn't know what was going on because he lunged at Jugo. The older ninja was forced to slam Sasuke onto the bed, with his face pressed into the pillows.

"Tsunade, I'm going to tear you apart! You had no right to try to manipulate us like that!" Sasuke snarls and thrashes underneath Jugo.

Sasuke was a fearsome ninja, but Jugo was reasonably certain that if it came down to just pure raw strength, he should be able to keep Sasuke pinned. Maybe.

Well at least that was his hope. On second thought, he wasn't entirely certain if that was the case. Still he didn't have any other options available to him at the moment, so that was what he was going with.

"Sasuke, calm down. It's me, Jugo. I'm not Tsunade." He says as he struggles to keep the wild Uchiha underneath him.

He felt Sasuke's confusion the second his struggles became less frantic. Eventually, his body stills completely. Jugo thanked goodness for small miracles.

"Jugo?" He asks uncertainly.

"Yes, it's me. You're home now. Tsunade had you darted. Apparently, she was afraid that you were going to attack her and wanted to resolve the situation peacefully. She had Karin bring you back home." His significant other explains.

Sasuke blinks. He was home. He was home with Jugo. Well that was good. Still Tsunade needed a firm ass kicking for what she had done. It was not right.

"Did Karin tell you WHY I was going to attack Tsunade?" He demands.

"I got the general idea. Tsunade and Kakashi tried to manipulate us into having a romantic relationship. I understand the principle of the thing. They tried to control you. Naturally, you are upset. Though in this case, does it really matter? We got together on our own anyway." He reasons.

The last Uchiha pauses. That was a good point. They were together now. He was happy with Jugo. Did it really matter if Tsunade and Kakashi wanted him to be with the other man?

"It's still the principle of the thing. They think that I'm some sort of puppet and if they pull the right strings, I'll do what they want." He mutters in disgust.

"Are you saying that you don't want to be with me because Kakashi and Tsunade tried to set us up?" Jugo asks sadly.

It would be heartbreaking, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't be like everyone else. Everyone else was always trying to force the man underneath him to do what they wanted him to do. Jugo could at least have the decency to respect his wishes.

"What? No. That's not it. It's just that it pisses me off. It pisses me off that they tried to sneak around and set me up, behind my back. They just assume they know what's best for me." Sasuke says.

Jugo lets out a sigh of relief. Good. Sasuke wasn't actually breaking up with him. He was just justifiably angry because the two ninjas had meddled in their love life.

"Yes, I know. I understand. I'm glad that you don't want to leave me over this." He admits.

"Well I would kinda like you to get off my back, but other than that I don't have any complaints." The raven haired ninja states.

He chuckles. The gentle giant quickly gets off Sasuke's back. He knew that his boyfriend wasn't exactly the most patient man. If you made him say something twice, it generally didn't end well.

"Sorry about that. It was the only way I could think of to restrain you. You thought that I was Tsunade and were about to attack me." Jugo says in a rush.

"It's okay. I get it. I'm glad that you protected yourself. God they are annoying." Sasuke says.

Jugo wasn't entirely certain who they was in this context. He could mean Tsunade and Kakashi. But it was also possible that the last Uchiha was referring to the Leaf Village in general. Either way, at the moment Jugo was inclined to agree.

"Maybe a bath would help you shake off the tranquilizer faster." Jugo suggests.

"I think you just want an excuse to see me naked, but that's not a bad idea. Yeah, a bath might help." Sasuke says as he stretches.

Well he'd be lying, if he denied that. Jugo preferred to be an honest ninja when possible. So he nods his head in agreement.

"You say that as though it's a bad thing?" He inquires.

"It's not. It's not a bad thing, Jugo." Sasuke says with a smile and places a quick kiss to the other man's lips before heading to the bathroom.

Jugo smiles. He quickly follows Sasuke. They had been "dating" for a month. The gentle giant that calling what they did dating was a bit of a stretch. They didn't really go many places.

Mostly their relationship consisted of making out, massages, training, talking, eating together, and sleeping together. Unfortunately, that last one was in a rather innocent way. They hadn't gone further than the bringing each other to climax with their hands yet. (Which Jugo quite frankly loved, but he was hoping for more at some point.)

"It's a good thing that Suigetsu moved out or else we'd never have hot water." Sasuke mutters to himself as he begins filling the tub.

He didn't want to pressure Sasuke into something that he wasn't ready for. Jugo knew damn well that this was Sasuke's first romantic relationship. It wouldn't be fair to expect him jump right into bed with him. (Well in the more erotic sense of the expression anyway, they did sleep in each other's arms.)

"Yes, I do prefer the hot water as well." Jugo says as he follows Sasuke into the bathroom and stands behind him.

He'd been patient. There was nothing wrong with communicating his interest. Was there? Maybe a little nudge would be beneficial.

Jugo smiles and wraps his arms around Sasuke's waist. He placed a soft kiss to the back of his neck. He knew that Sasuke's neck was definitely his spot. That was how you turned a ferocious lion into a mewing kitten.

"Mmm yeah. Did you need something?" The raven haired ninja asks.

"I need you. I thought maybe we could bath together. You know it's much better for the environment that way. Think of all the water we can save. There's a drought, you know?" he suggests.

Sasuke raises an eyebrow. He had never known Jugo to lie. If he said there was a drought, there probably was one. Still he saw that for the flimsy excuse he was.

Jugo wanted to bathe together. Sasuke had never considered himself shy before. He certainly hadn't had an issue with bathing with his teammates before, but they had always had towels on. Besides, that was before he realized that he was attracted to Jugo and vice versa. It was different now.

"Oh yes. Water conversation is very important." Sasuke notes with amusement.

"It is." Jugo says and nods seriously.

"You can join me. Next time you can just ask. You don't have to use excuses like that." Sasuke says.

Jugo blinks. He didn't expect it to be that easy. Was Sasuke just waiting for him to ask for more intimacy this whole time and that was all there was to it? He really wished that someone would inform him of these things ahead of time.

"Alright. Do you want to get in first?" He asks.

"You can get in first." Sasuke says and moves out of the way.

He wondered if he should turn his back. No, that'd be stupid. Jugo wouldn't ask to bath with him, if he was concerned about his modesty. Clearly, Jugo wanted Sasuke to see him naked and vice versa.

The orange haired man quickly strips and gets in the tub. Sasuke soon follows suit. He had never been shy about his body. He wasn't like Suigetsu level of exhibitionist, but in general he didn't really see a reason to be bashful.

"So really all I had to do was ask, if I wanted to see you naked?" He inquires in amusement as Sasuke situates himself in Jugo's lap.

"Well yeah. Now that we are together. It's not like I'd get naked for anyone that asked though. Just you…and medics." He says and adds the medic part as an afterthought. (It was really important to be thorough when dealing with a potential lover who was prone to rages.)

Jugo smiles and begins thoroughly washing Sasuke. VERY thoroughly. The last Uchiha felt himself almost blush a couple times due to how…attentive Jugo was in this new task.

"Good. I can make an exception for medics, but anyone else besides the dog and I'm not sure that I would be able to control myself." He admits.

"That's alright. I wasn't planning on retiring from being a ninja and becoming a stripper anyway." Sasuke says.

"I'm certain that the world mourns that decision. You probably would have ended up richer than he Fire Daimyo himself, if you had done that." Jugo muses.

Sasuke snorts in amusement. Only Jugo could say something like THAT and not receive a Chidori to the nuts in response. He idly muses that it really was amazing what he would allow Jugo to get away with.

"Probably. I have enough money though. So that's not a major concern. How are things with the Naras?" He asks.

"It's going well. I like the work and it's safe. I don't really have anything there that I think could trigger me. The scales are evenly balanced in the forest." The orange haired man answers.

"That's good. Before Tsunade decided to piss me off, she was discussing what would be best for me. She wants me to be an Academy instructor." Sasuke replies.

Jugo blinks. Hmm. He wouldn't have thought of that option. He supposed it did make sense. Sasuke was a highly skilled ninja. The kids would be learning from the best. Still he wasn't sure if that was a good idea.

Sasuke might be bored to tears on such an assignment. That and he wasn't entirely certain how the parents would react. It wasn't every day that your children were taught by a former S Class Criminal Ninja, after all.

"And what did you think about that?" The other member of Taka inquires.

"Well I had concerns. The parents were who I was mostly worried about. I don't exactly have the type of history that would make people inclined to trust me with their kids. Still I guess it's better than low level missions for the foreseeable future and she can't really risk putting me on missions that are worth my time." He admits with a sigh.

Jugo nods. Well that sounded pretty reasonable. He was glad that Sasuke was at least willing to hear her out. (Well before he found out that Tsunade had been trying to meddle in their private lives anyway.)

"Do you still want to be an Academy instructor despite what happened?" Jugo asks softly.

"Mm I guess. It's not exactly my dream job, but it's better than chasing cats all day. Besides, the desks could be fun." He says and turns around to kiss Jugo.

His boyfriend kisses back eagerly. The gentle giant was pleased that Sasuke was growing more affectionate by the day. It used to be that he had to initiate most of their touches. Now it was more like 60/40. (With Jugo still being the more likely of the pair to start things.)

"Well it's a start. As much as I would love to just keep you here all day and stay in bed, I know that you prefer to be more…productive." The older ninja states.

"You and me in the bed, could be productive." Sasuke says with a smirk.

Progress! Yes, progress! Sasuke was now teasing him in a seductive way. If this kept up, maybe they'd do more than just cuddle on that bed.