I do not own these series, nor do I make any money off of this.

"talking"

'thinking'

Chapter 60: Heating it Up

Madara watched as Natsume, Naruto, and Sasuke took in the words the crow had spoken. He barely understood what it said but from what he did understand, Sasuke's family had been killed to protect a village. It was something that was definitely human. Most yokai weren't as caring about territories as humans were. Sure, they had places they called home, but if the place was destroyed, most could just move on. They lived very long lives so to care about such things was foolish. He glanced at Natsume. He knew from his time with Natsume that the boy found his home with Touko and Shigeru. It had been a place that Natsume kept dear to his heart. Losing that home was a nightmare for the boy. Madara had also felt the loss, but not as strongly. He knew that the reason he even felt something in the first place was because of Natsume.

"I'm sorry," Natsume said. Naruto and Sasuke turned towards him. "You've lost your family. I'm sorry for your loss." Neither Naruto nor Sasuke spoke. Sasuke knew those words well. After the massacre, several villagers said this to him. But their words always felt cold, as if no one really meant them. When Itachi died, no one cared, not even Madara. The man might have acted like he did, but Sasuke wasn't stupid. He was glad that the one person that stood in his way was dead. It was one of the reasons Sasuke had to really think about the elder Uchiha's offer in the first place. Only Naruto had cared. He could remember the look in Naruto's eyes when he told Sasuke that he was sorry that Itachi was gone. Yet, here was someone they had only known for a few hours that seemed more sincere than all of those adults in Konoha.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke looked up only to feel something wet hit one of his fists. He raised a hand to his face and wiped away his tears. When they didn't stop, he began to shake. "T-they won't s-stop," he managed to say.

"Sasuke," Naruto moved closer to his best friend and wrapped his arms around him. "Let it out." And he did. For the first time in what seemed like forever, Sasuke cried. He let out a cry of pain as he shook in Naruto's arms. Naruto closed his eyes as he held Sasuke close.

Madara pulled Natsume away to leave the two alone. Natsume didn't want to leave, but knew that they needed this time for just the two of them. The two sat several feet away, only letting their ears take in Sasuke's cries. They could hear Naruto's soft voice once in awhile, letting Sasuke know that he was there. Natsume kept his eyes on the ground. He grabbed a stick and started to draw in the dirt. Madara simply watched Natsume. When the sun finally began to go down, the two stood up and headed towards Naruto and Sasuke. They found Sasuke asleep in Naruto's lap. Naruto was slowly brushing his fingers through Sasuke's hair.

"We are ninjas," Naruto said without looking up. "As shinobi, we are taught various rules that we must uphold. I was never good at studying or remembering them. But I remember the ones Sakura had said during our first A-Class mission. 'No matter what the situation, a shinobi must keep their emotions on the inside. You must make the mission your top priority and you must possess a heart that never shows tears' It was a quality that we were suppose to have, but I refused to believe that we shinobi were just tools with no emotions. And we learned that it was ok to think like this. Sasuke however grew up in a family that was known for not showing emotions. From the day he was born, he was taught that rule and he had grown up obeying it. The only time I've ever seen Sasuke cry was when he wasn't aware of it, like his body could no longer keep up with his mind."

"That's not fair," Natsume said. "Sadness, happiness, having these emotions just means we're human. Even yokai cry when they are in pain."

"For us, life isn't so simple," Naruto said. "We are forced to pretend that everything is ok, despite everyone knowing that it isn't."

"You have to wear a mask," Natsume said in understanding. "I've been able to see Yokai for as long as I can remember, but most couldn't. People thought I was crazy or that I just wanted attention. When some Yokai decided to mess with my life and break thing, I was always blamed for it. Because of this, I began to close myself off to the world. I can understand why a mask is created. It is to protect your heart."

Naruto nodded. "Mine was also to protect my body since people feared that I was a demon and that I'd kill everyone. I knew that if I ever defended myself that they would use that as the proof that I was dangerous. So I let the beatings happened. I had to hide my pain from those that cared for me. I was afraid if they knew what was happening that they'd think I was weak or that they would agree with them that I was a monster."

"But you're not a monster," Natsume said.

Naruto smiled. "I know that now. But if you tell a seven-year-old that they are a worthless monster that should die, they are gonna believe you."

"S-seven?" Natsume asked.

Naruto's smile turned a bit more sad. "That's how old Sasuke was when his entire clan was massacre by the person he loved the most." Even Madara was shocked at that. "And to find out nearly ten years later that his brother had been ordered to do it, such a thing would destroy a normal person." Natsume had to agree with that. If he had been in Sasuke's place, there was no way he wouldn't have broken down sooner. Silence fell upon the group as no one knew what to say. Normally, Naruto hated the silence, but this time he welcomed it.

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A few hours later, Sasuke woke up. He noticed two things, that Naruto was sleeping and that his head was in the blonde's lap. He carefully moved away from Naruto so that he wouldn't awaken. He glanced around before he activated his sharingan.

"Awake I see," Madara said. He had Natsume sleeping in his arms as he laid back against a wall. His eyes moved between Natsume and the waterfall. "He cares for you."

"I know," Sasuke said, moving closer to the fire. He wondered who set it, before guessing that Madara had.

"And you care for him," Madara said. Sasuke remained silent. "I understand how you feel. As a Yokai, I never believed that I could feel such a stupid human feeling as love. But Natsume, he… I just can't lose him." He reached a clawed hand and move a piece of hair out of Natsume's face. "I turned him into a Yokai. The Book was killing him and I wouldn't allow him to keep killing himself to return those names. When his body hit its limit, I took things into my own hands, against his will."

"How?" Sasuke asked.

"Mermaid blood," Madara said. "It gives eternal life. But even that has a limit. So I went further and bound him to me. In simple terms, we are mates. You could also call us lovers, partners, or other such human words." Sasuke nodded. He saw how Madara touched Natsume in more than friendly ways. "Because of me, Natsume will outlive every human he's ever known and cared about. Though that doesn't matter since none of them can see him."

"Do you regret it?" Sasuke asked.

"Not in the slightest," Madara said with a grin.

"You love him," Sasuke said.

Madara's hand stilled. "Love is such a human word. For us Yokai, love is a fleeting emotion as it only lasts a short time. What I did caused us to be bounded for the rest of our existences. As I said before, we are mates. As mates, we will always chose the wellbeing of each other over anyone else. For us, it is more than just love, but if I had to give it a name then I suppose I'd say yes. I love Natsume."

"I'm not sure I understand," Sasuke admitted.

"And you don't have to," Madara said. Silence fell on them as Sasuke let his Sharingan disappear. This gave Madara and Natsume their space. Madara kept an eye on Sasuke as the raven moved over to his things. Sasuke pulled out his journal and began to write down everything that had happened that day. Once he was done, he moved over to Naruto and placed the blond in a more comfortable sleeping position. Not fully trusting Madara, Sasuke kept up his guard as he took a spot close to Naruto to lay down and rest.

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Naruto and Sasuke didn't speak to each other the next day. Naruto was too embarrassed about waking up nearly on top of Sasuke. Apparently, Naruto had rolled over in his sleep and although Sasuke felt the added weight, he hadn't reacted. Instead, he simply put an arm over Naruto's upper half. To an outsider, it looked like Sasuke and Naruto were hugging each other. Sasuke was silently mad at himself for falling into such a deep sleep that Naruto had gotten up first. Sasuke had only awoken to the smell of eggs being fried. It was about ten minutes later that Sasuke found out that Naruto had gone to a market to buy some things. Natsume had pointed to the spot on his map that showed the closest town. It was one of the places Natsume had stayed in before going to the Touko residence.

Madara still kept his eyes on Natsume the entire day. Now that Sasuke knew what was hiding behind those eyes, he had to keep away from Natsume as much as possible. He knew what being a mate meant. The Uchihas were known for having Ninja Cats, cats that had mostly controlled heats. When Sasuke was younger, maybe five or six, he had been taught about breading Ninja Cats. It wasn't the same as normal cats since Ninja Cats picked their own mate and they usually mated for life. Being mated meant their heats were more easily controlled and Sasuke had watched a pair of these mates go through a part a of their heat. Mikoto had been angry at Fugaku for almost a month since Sasuke was far too young to know about such things.

Sasuke knew that Madara wasn't a cat since Naruto had called him a wolf. But that didn't mean that wolves didn't have heats. As far as Sasuke knew, most animals had heats. And it was the look in Madara's eyes that brought this back to Sasuke. He also noticed a slight change in Natsume that Madara had obviously noticed too. It was that change that caused the look in Madara's eyes to appear. Sasuke put the three details together and concluded that Natsume was beginning his heat cycle. Sasuke couldn't help but blush at the thought.

The first thing Naruto noticed was that Natsume's body temperature seemed to increase slightly. It wasn't really surprising since it was normal for someone's body temperature to raise when they were having fun. It was something Naruto noticed about people he sparred with. It would rise during their fight only to fall slowly after. It wasn't a big difference either, just two to three degrees. But Natsume's was rising higher than that. It had only been an hour and Natsume was already four degrees warmer than he was when they had first started playing around. Naruto was currently showing Natsume that he could just walk up a tree instead of having to climb it. It made no sense for Natsume's temperature to go up when Naruto was doing all of the work. Finally having enough, Naruto jumped down and raised a hand towards Natsume's forehead. Suddenly, Naruto's hand was slapped away and Natsume was pulled into Madara's arms.

Naruto frowned. "I wasn't going to hurt him. I just though he might be getting sick."

"He's fine," Madara growled out.

"But..." Naruto began.

"I'm fine," Natsume said. "Really, I am." Naruto still looked concerned, but he could only nod. Madara tossed Natsume into the air and transformed into a giant wolf. Naruto and Sasuke watched in awe as he caught Natsume and flew into the air. Naruto moved to follow them, but Sasuke grabbed his arm, stopping him. Naruto gave him a confused look, but Sasuke just shook his head before releasing his arm. The two said nothing as they went to separate spots in the cave.

Hours later, it started to rain. Naruto sat near the waterfall, wondering when Madara and Natsume would come back. He glanced down at his bracelet. It had the number 4 on it. That meant they could be leaving this world within the next day or even sooner. He was already packed just in case, but he didn't like the thought of leaving without Natsume knowing. Sure, he had explained everything to the other, but that didn't mean he wanted to leave just like that. His mind went back to way Madara had just taken Natsume and had flown away without explaining anything. It made him mad as it brought back the memory of Sasuke leaving.

Sasuke kept an eye on Naruto while he read. He understood why Naruto was just sitting there. But he also knew why Madara had taken Natsume away. He coughed as he hid a blush. His eyes then moved back towards Naruto and he sighed. Naruto didn't know that Madara and Natsume were most likely not coming back anytime soon. He broke the silence. "They aren't coming back."

"What?" Naruto turned towards him. "What do you mean?"

"They are mates," Sasuke said as if that would explain things. At Naruto's confused expression, Sasuke continued. "Natsume's temperature was higher than normal right?" Naruto nodded. "And why do you think he was?"

"He probably caught a cold," Naruto said.

Sasuke stared at Naruto wondering if he was just acting dumb or if he really had no idea. "He's probably in heat."

"In heat?" Naruto asked. He frowned. He knew what a heat was when he saw Akamaru with a female dog. But Natsume wasn't a dog. A laugh in his head caused him to blush. 'What?'

"They're Yokai, Kit. Some demons go into heats. As mates, it is normal for them."

"Eh!" Naruto yelled, face red.

'Finally,' Sasuke thought.

"I t-thought I smelt s-something, but…" Naruto stuttered. "Oh god!" He put his head in his hands. 'I almost touched him. That would have…'

"Meant you were challenging the Wolf for Natsume's… well he's definitely not a virgin."

"Kurama!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "He.. I…" Naruto fell silent. Sasuke couldn't help it. He laughed. "Teme! It's not funny!" Sasuke just continued to laugh. "Dammit! I almost challenged him! I mean, sure Natsume is good looking but…" Sasuke stopped laughing. "I've never really thought about being with someone like that." He looked at Sasuke. "Have… have you?"

"Not really," Sasuke said.

"But when you were younger, you said you had two goals," Naruto said. He held up two fingers. "One was to kill Itachi." He lowered a finger. "And the other was to restore the Uchiha Clan. You need a woman for that."

"I've never thought about being with a woman," Sasuke said honestly. Then he regretted it as he was reminded about Charasuke and Menma. "I mean, I knew a woman was needed. But none of them interested me. I was always too focused on killing Itachi to really think about it."

"T-then you're a virgin?" Naruto asked. Sasuke nodded. "Oh. I always thought that maybe you got with someone while you were in sound. I mean, you had that female around you, Karin I think her name is."

"She's not my type," Sasuke said. Naruto opened his mouth but Sasuke interrupted him. "And neither is Sakura."

"She really loves you, you know. Even after you left, her feelings never changed."

"And you? Did yours change?"

"Of course not!" Naruto stood up. "You're my best friend Sasuke. That won't ever change."

"And Sakura?"

Naruto shifted his weight. "She doesn't see as anything more than a teammate, a friend."

"And yet you still love her."

"I do, but not the way she loves you. She's more like a sister now."

"Hn."

"You know, the day I left Konoha to go after you, she asked me to bring you back. It was then that I realized that no matter what, she'd never feel the same way I did. She loved you too much."

"I don't love her."

"I know. And honestly, I hope she gets over you soon. You two wouldn't make a good couple."

"Oh? And who exactly do you think would?"

"Lee loves Sakura. I think he's a good match for her. As for you, I bet you like the quiet type, probably someone with a motherly touch. Kind of like Hinata."

"The Hyuuga girl? She's weak."

Naruto frowned. "She's not weak. She stood up against Pein!" Sasuke rolled the name around his head as he briefly remembered hearing the name before. "She fought really hard to protect me." Naruto paused. "You know, she told me she loved me." At that, Sasuke's head snapped to look at Naruto so fast, he nearly got whiplash. "I was very surprised and got so angry at Pein for hurting her that I let Kurama take control."

"Then you and Hinata… you're together?"

"No." Naruto shook his head. "I never got to tell her how I felt. After defeating Pein, we had to help rebuild Konoha. And then we went after you." Sasuke's next question died on his lips as he realized he didn't really want to hear the answer. "I wonder how she's doing." Not wanting to hear anymore about Hinata, Sasuke grabbed his sleeping bag and laid down. Naruto frowned at Sasuke's sudden desire to sleep. He wondered if he had said something to make the raven angry. Not knowing what he did, Naruto just shrugged and went back to his spot near the waterfall. Even if Madara and Natsume weren't coming back, he'd still rather watch the rain fall then go to bed so early.

Sasuke stared at Naruto's back as he tried to rein in his anger. The thought of Hinata and Naruto being together pissed him off. He knew why, but didn't want to admit it. He knew that it was stupid to be jealous and the realization that some girl he didn't really remember was making him feel this way, just made him even more angry. What right did Hinata have for capturing Naruto's heart? 'But then again', Sasuke thought. 'What right do I have?'