Chapter 2

Dappled sunlight danced across Naruto's clenched eyelids, burning inverted red patterns into his eyes. Grimacing, he draped one muscular arm over his face, blocking out the offending light. The summer breeze brushed along his skin like phantom fingers, making him shiver despite the warm sun.

Shaking his head slightly, Naruto forced himself to refocus. For the past hour, he had been monitoring the forests around Konoha through the network of natural chakra that flowed through all living things. As his meditation improved, the range of his awareness grew larger. The Sage was pleased to say that he could keep an eye on things that happened more than half way to the Sand Village.

In order to observe everything while meditating, Naruto had to completely empty his mind. He had to become completely void of thought and emotion, and allow the natural chakra to flow through him. It usually started as a gentle, trickling stream of images. But before long, Naruto felt as if his consciousness was spread like a massive umbrella over the land. It was an excellent way to keep an eye out for danger, but it was extremely tiring.

Not to mention that, upon shutting off the flow of chakra and returning to his own, quiet consciousness, it always took a few uncomfortable minutes for Naruto to regain his bearings.

He steeled himself in preparation to do just that. Fists clenching, he slowly pulled back the tangled threads of his conscious mind, images flashing through his brain in vivid colour. Finally, like the snapping of a rubber band, Naruto was thrown back into his own skull. Resisting the urge to vomit at the sensation of being once again trapped in flesh, Naruto focused on the chakra centre in his lower abdomen.

The steady pulse of warm power reassured him. Within Naruto's chakra network, three different chakra's existed in perfect harmony. As a result, his chakra tended to be orange or gold in colour when manifested, unlike the varying shades of blue that was normal to other shinobi.

Naruto allowed his focus to stray over the rest of his body: the demon fox curled up beneath the sealing mark on his stomach, the slow beating of his heart, the grass tickling his neck.

The breeze rolled over him again, carrying with it a familiar presence.

Naruto immediately rolled onto his side, resting his golden head on his hand as he watched Sasuke come striding out of the forest.

Naruto felt his heart swelling at the sight of his partner. Sasuke was a vision of darkness against the bright green backdrop of leaves, like a drop of the night sky had fallen down amongst the trees. His long hair way pulled back into a low ponytail, secured at the base of his neck by a cord as red as ox's blood. The inky black strands seemed weightless as they danced in the breeze, even though they were long enough now to hang by Sasuke's elbows. Naruto wondered idly how Sasuke's hair didn't get tangled in the long, twin swords sheathed at his back.

Sasuke was wearing his Black Ops uniform, which he always kept meticulously clean. The dark uniform suited him nicely, clinging to his lithe, muscular frame. In stark contrast, Sasuke's skin was porcelain-pale. This made his eyes – sometimes black, sometimes crimson – seem even deeper in his lovely face.

The slightest flush of colour clung to Sasuke's cheeks as he approached the lounging blond who was so openly observing him.

"You're staring, dobe."

Naruto grinned, a boyish flash of bright teeth. "It's your fault for looking so good."

"Is that so." Sasuke grumbled, trying his best to sound annoyed.

But when he sat down beside the blond, Sasuke immediately bent down to kiss him. After nearly four years living together as lovers, it was an ingrained habit. And yet, Naruto still hummed with appreciation against Sasuke's lips. And Sasuke, even though he tried his best to ignore them, still felt his stomach erupt with butterflies in response.

After a lingering moment, Sasuke pulled away. Naruto rolled onto his back as Sasuke braced his hand beside Naruto's head, so that he was looming over him, shielding his eyes from the sun.

"There's grass in your hair." Sasuke said as he reached over with his other hand, gently pulling the greenery free from the golden locks that had captured them.

"Maybe I wanted it there." Naruto replied teasingly.

"Hm," Sasuke hummed absently, focused on extracting the blades of grass. "It does give you an appealingly tousled look. Like you've been rolling around in the grass instead of performing your duties as Hokage."

When Naruto was silent, Sasuke glanced down at him. Naruto looked, as always, infuriatingly handsome. Stubble clung to his proud jawline, almost concealing the scars on his face that resembled whiskers. A peaceful smile played across his lips, making his cheeks dimple. In the bright light, his blue eyes seemed to gleam, the flecks of gold hidden within them shimmering like coins at the bottom of a tropical sea.

Sasuke sighed. "What have you been doing out here all day?"

Naruto tilted his head, steady gaze unfaltering as he took in every detail of Sasuke's face. "Meditating, watching. You know."

"Oh?" Sasuke ran his fingers gently over Naruto's eyebrows, smoothing the coarse hairs. "See anything interesting?"

"Other than the assassin that tried to take out you and my clone, nothing."

Sasuke's fingers wandered down the straight ridge of Naruto's nose. "I wish you had told me about that. I'm the Captain of your personal guard. That means I'm supposed to protect you from things like assassins."

Naruto smiled, shrugging slightly. "But then you would have gotten stressed out. The guy wasn't even that strong."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Compared to you, nobody it strong."

"Not true!" Naruto yelped. "There are loads of really amazing ninja! Like you!"

"Then I wish you would let me protect you." Sasuke softly urged, his wandering digits now stroking along Naruto's jawline. "I feel like I'm holding an empty title."

"You do protect me though, Sasuke."

"From what?"

"Loneliness." Naruto mournfully replied. He then added thoughtfully, "And from Shikamaru. How was he? Was he pissed?"

Sasuke smiled. "Extremely. And Hyuga didn't seem too pleased either. Why the hell did you insist on pairing them up for that assignment, Naruto? You know they've never gotten along."

The skin around Naruto's eyes tightened as he composed his thoughts. The green fabric of his Jounin vest rustled as he sat up, Sasuke straightening to let him rise. Absently, Naruto rerolled the sleeves of his black undershirt, the fabric stretched tight over his muscular forearms.

"I guess that's why I made them team up." Naruto finally said. "People have always grouped them together because they're both geniuses, but nobody seems to realize that they're really different people. I guess I was just hoping that, if they were forced to spend some time together, they'd be able to get over their differences and become friends."

Sasuke couldn't help but laugh. "You're such an idiot."

"Thanks."

The Jinchuuriki reached out, gently taking Sasuke's gloved hand in his own, roughly calloused one. He ran his thumb over Sasuke's palm, keeping his eyes down as he said, "Do I really make you feel like you're holding an empty title?"

Sasuke squeezed Naruto's warm fingers. "Of course not. It's an honour to be able to spend every day by your side. Just…let me be the one to take out the bad guy every now and then."

Naruto grinned. "I'll let you beat them all up, if you want."

"How noble." Sasuke teased.

Still smiling, Naruto leaned in, using his free hand to brush the loose strands of hair away from Sasuke's face before he kissed him. Naruto's keen nose took in his partner's familiar scent of soap, incense and weapon oil. But it was the lingering remains of his own musky scent that had Naruto's animal instincts humming with pleasure.

Naruto pulled his lips away, tilting Sasuke's face up so that their eyes were level. "I love you." Naruto murmured, his voice like smoke in the air between them.

Sasuke's spine tingled, a warm blush reaching his cheeks. In one swift motion, he pulled away from Naruto and stood, brushing grass off his pants. And then, he smiled down at Naruto, his tone playful as he said; "I think your clone can take care of things at the office today. So for now, how about you take me home, idiot-blonde?"

Whooping loudly, Naruto jumped to his feet, scooping up his red cloak in the process. And then the two were racing for home, but they only made it as far as the tree line before stopping to kiss frantically, their hands grasping tightly.

His back against a tree, Sasuke's entire body trembled as Naruto left a trail of kisses on his neck. He could feel Naruto's body, so solid and strong, pressing firmly against his more agile frame. Sasuke grit his teeth, trying to suppress a moan.

"Fuck it," Naruto growled. "We're teleporting home. I want you now."

In response, Sasuke kissed him again, biting his bottom lip roughly.

And then, without warning, chakra flames erupted across Naruto's skin. At first, Sasuke ignored them, since it wasn't uncommon for Naruto's golden flames to appear when the Sage was feeling especially passionate. But then the flames leapt across the space between them, and Sasuke immediately wriggled away with a cry of pain.

With wide eyes, the two ninja stared at the flames surrounding Naruto. They weren't golden at all, but red – spluttering and unstable. Even as Sasuke watched, he could see the damaging fox-flames burning Naruto's skin.

"Naruto, what-"

"It's not me!" Naruto exclaimed. "I can't-"

Whatever the blonde said next was drowned out by a sudden, violent roar of flame that rose up around Naruto in a column of crimson. From within the depths of the column Naruto howled once in pain, before he whirled on the spot and vanished, leaving Sasuke blinking in confusion in a clearing seared black and smoldering.

After a long moment of silence, Sasuke blinked owlishly before asking aloud, "Wait. What the hell just happened?"

When no response came from the empty clearing, Sasuke groaned in frustration. Crushing a burning leaf under his foot, he fished his radio out of his weapons pouch. Cramming it into his ear, he fiddled with the frequency dials until a smooth voice came through from the other end.

"Uchiha." Neji said curtly. "Is something wrong?"

"I need you to come to my location as quickly as possible, Hyuga." Sasuke snapped, worry beginning to creep in amongst his confusion and frustration.

After a moment of silence, Neji replied. "I see you. I'm coming now."

"Good." Sasuke said. He glanced around at the blackened trees, mind racing. He almost jumped when Neji spoke again, his voice crackling over the radio.

"What…what on earth happened?" He asked, voice thick with concern. "It looks like a chakra bomb went off."

"One kind of did."

"Oh?" Neji encouraged.

"Yeah," Sasuke adjusted the radio in his ear. "A Naruto bomb."

"I don't understand."

"Me neither." Sasuke admitted. "But I'll explain it to you as best I can when you get here."

"I'll be there in a moment." Neji replied.

And sure enough, within seconds Neji landed silently amongst the trees. He had changed out of his white robes and into his Black Ops uniform, the veins around his eyes bulging as he examined the smoking clearing.

"Uchiha," Neji said, his voice low and distracted. "There are traces of the Kyuubi's chakra everywhere."

Sasuke nodded, trying to stay calm. His worry grew with every passing second, but he knew Neji needed an explanation. Not that Sasuke had a very good one – he was just as confused as Neji in that moment.

"The Naruto you spoke to earlier today was a clone." Sasuke began, "The real Naruto was down by the river meditating and keeping an eye on things outside the village. He seemed perfectly normal when I went to collect him. But then, as we were making our way home, he just started randomly emitting chakra flames. And not his gold Jinchuuriki chakra ones; they were pure foxfire. They even burned me a little."

Neji deactivated his dojutsu, taking a step closer to Sasuke to examine the burns. The flames had managed to burn through his long gloves in several places. The skin beneath was an angry red colour, and was already starting to blister slightly.

"They look painful," Neji remarked. "But I suspect Sakura could heal them in no time."

"Heal them?" Sasuke snorted. "She'll punch me and tell me to toughen up. I'm not worried about my injuries. Hyuga, I need you to find Naruto as quickly as possible. Locating him, and ensuring his safety, are my main priorities right now."

"Of course," Neji said, preparing to reactivate his dojutsu. But then he paused, glancing at Sasuke with his curious, milky eyes. "Why did you summon me, instead of contacting your squad?"

Sasuke let out an exasperated sigh. "Listen, Neji. If Naruto is malfunctioning, the less people to know, the better. Konoha is still weak after the war. The majority of our shinobi are Genin. If word got out that our fearless protector was out of commission…well, let's just say word better not get out. Understand?"

"I understand."

Without another word, Neji activated his eye technique. The veins on his temples bulged out alarmingly, his pale eyes suddenly sharpening and becoming more defined. Sasuke watched impatiently as Neji quickly scanned the surrounding area. After a tense moment, the Hyuga shook his head.

"He must be out of my range. Do you have any idea which way he went?"

Sasuke frowned. "No, he just kind of vanished. You know how he likes to do that."

One side of Neji's mouth quirked upwards in a smile. "It seems to be a habit of his, yes. I can't imagine that he went far, though. Why can't I see him?"

"If you can't see him, and I can't sense him," Sasuke said, "It's because he's gone full Sage Mode and erased his chakra. In which case, I think I know where to look for him."

"Where's that?" Neji asked, slightly annoyed that he couldn't find his own Hokage.

"The Nara Forest."

With a satisfied sigh, Shikamaru lay back in the grass.

After almost an hour of aimless wandering through the trees, he had finally managed to calm down from his argument with Neji. Coincidentally, peace had found him at the same moment he discovered the perfect spot for napping. And so he lay on a grassy hillock, bathed in warm afternoon sunlight as he watched the lazily drifting clouds.

His eyelids felt impossibly heavy, so Shikamaru allowed them to drift shut. But as soon as he did so, the memory of Neji's angry face flashed through his mind, causing his eyes to flash open again. Frowning, Shikamaru stared up at the sky, new irritation taking root in his mind.

"Troublesome Hyuga."

It was bad enough that he had gotten stuck organizing the Chunin Exams. But to be paired up with Neji? Shikamaru grabbed a fistful of grass, angrily yanking it out of the soil. It squeaked through his fingers, and the annoying sound only made him angrier.

He could imagine why Naruto had decided to make them team up – the moronic blonde wanted everyone to be friends. But Shikamaru was convinced that there was no way in seven hells that he and Neji Hyuga, Lord of the Stick-in-the-ass clan, could ever get along. Even though Neji had a mind that was almost comparable with Shikamaru's, the two hadn't gotten along since they were children. Neji was so serious, so proud, so driven: traits that Shikamaru found, at best, tiring and bothersome.

"And his eyes piss me off." Shikamaru muttered to himself, throwing the blades of grass away. "And his face."

"You know, for a genius, you say some pretty dumb things."

Shikamaru bolted upright so quickly; he thought he could feel something in his abdomen tear. Standing directly before him, bathed in golden light, was Naruto. His yellow Sage eyes examined Shikamaru thoughtfully, a smile on his lips.

"Tch!" Shikamaru grumbled irritably as he lay back down. "What's dumb is you trying to make Neji and I play friends. Not everyone can get along, you know."

Shikamaru didn't react as Naruto sat down beside him, heat radiating from him in waves. "Neji isn't a bad guy, Shikamaru. He's changed a lot since we were kids."

"Maybe." Shikamaru grumbled. "But he's still got a giant stick up his ass."

Naruto looked down at him, reading Shikamaru's expression. His voice was low and serious as he said, "That might be true, Shikamaru, but I think Neji is willing to try and get along with you. You're the only one who seems to be clinging on to the past."

"The past?" Shikamaru's eyes flew open, "Naruto, he literally told me off after we left your office."

Naruto laughed. "I'm sure he did. Sasuke lectures me all the time, you know? But it's because he cares, man. Same with Neji – he just wants to make you a better person."

"It's annoying." Shikamaru said flatly.

"Well, you'd better learn to ignore it then." Naruto replied. "Because I'm not changing my orders."

"What a drag."

"Yup." Naruto stood up, looking around into the trees. "Well, I'd better get going. When Sasuke and Neji show up, tell them I'm off meditating or something."

"Sure." Shikamaru said, letting his eyes drift shut once more.

Complete silence fell over the clearing. Even though Shikamaru knew that Naruto had vanished soundlessly, he remained tensed with irritation. After only a few minutes of peace, the genius Nara heard two pairs of feet landing on the side of his small hill.

"Can't a guy catch a nap around here?" Shikamaru groaned. "Between you two and the damn Rukodaime, it's amazing that I haven't died from exhaustion."

"Grow up, Nara." Neji barked.

"Has Naruto been here?" Sasuke asked eagerly.

"Yep." Shikamaru said, his voice flat. "The troublesome bastard showed up just long enough to lecture me before wandering off again. I seriously can't catch a break today."

"Did he say anything?" Sasuke urged. "Did he seem okay?"

"He was in annoying, all-knowing Sage mode. Looked a little burnt though." Shikamaru said. "And he said to tell you two that he was off meditating or something."

When Neji and Sasuke sighed, Shikamaru cracked open one tired eye.

"Why do you two want him, anyway? Did he run away from his paperwork again?"

Neji glanced at Sasuke warily before answering. "Something like that, yes. Now if you'll excuse us, Nara, we need to go and find him."

"Suit yourself." Shikamaru said tensely. "But believe me, if he doesn't want you to find him, you won't find him."

Sasuke ignored him, running around the hill and back down into the dense trees. Neji hesitated to follow him, staring at the chunk of torn earth beside Shikamaru's hand. Shikamaru continued to openly examine him, his dark eyes unreadable.

"I intend to cooperate with you on our assignment, Nara." Neji finally said. "I trust that you won't make it unnecessarily difficult."

"I spend my entire life trying to avoid unnecessary difficulty, Hyuga."

For a moment, it almost seemed like Neji was going to laugh. But then he turned, running after Sasuke with his long hair streaming behind him. Shikamaru watched him until he was out of sight, his dark Anbu uniform quickly blending with the deep shadows under the trees.

But Neji's voice seemed to linger in Shikamaru's ears long after he was gone. Unable to rest, Shikamaru rolled to his feet. He glanced once more in the direction Neji had gone, and then turned on his heel and began walking slowly in the opposite direction. But no matter how many steps he took, Shikamaru couldn't seem to leave the sound of Neji's voice behind.

"Unnecessarily difficult." Shikamaru muttered, laughing bitterly. "Yeah, right."

Without a sound, Shikamaru stepped off the path and melded into the shadows below the trees, for the moment leaving the light – and his worries – behind.

A/N: Hey guys! I hope the avid readers of the Guardian have found their way over here! Thank you all for waiting so patiently for this sequel. I'll try my best to keep the updates regular and frequent! Thanks for all your favourites and reviews.

-nateulm