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

"talking"

'thinking'

Chapter 95: "Usuratonkachi, Who's..." "Panicking? Why Would You Think That?"

By the time Sasuke made it back to the room, Kurama had also fallen asleep. His arms were wrapped around Naruto's. Sasuke felt a pang in his heart, but he chose to ignore it. He laid down, turning his back on the other two. He didn't want to face them since he still couldn't make up his mind. Kurama was right to tell him that he should just leave. But the bond he created with Naruto was still there. No matter how much Sasuke had tried to deny it, he knew that deep down, he still craved it. It was the only bond he had left. It should be obvious then that he should fight to keep it, but his head and heart were still at war with each other. The darkness that remained in him spurred the fight on, not letting him leave, yet not letting him stay either. His mind went back to when he'd been separated from Naruto. Naruto had claimed that they'd only been away from each other for two days, but for Sasuke, it was much longer. He had lost track of the amount of times he had called Watanuki. Watanuki probably knew, however Sasuke didn't want to know. The burden he had placed on himself was a lot. He did know that he'd never regret his decision.

After trying and failing to fall asleep for over an hour, Sasuke sat up and took out his journal. It wasn't the first one he'd even written in. In fact, he had gotten this journal right after Itachi's death. It was filled with his deepest and darkest secrets as well as questions left unanswered. The other ones he had were back at the hideout with Suigetsu and Jugo. He knew that neither of them would try to open them, as even Suigetsu wasn't dumb enough to try. Karin, if the girl was still alive, which Sasuke was nearly one hundred percent sure she was, then she'd probably frooth at the mouth for a chance to just touch them. There had been only a couple of times over the last few months that Sasuke thought about Team Taka. He didn't really care what happened to them when he disappeared, but now it made him wonder. Karin had to be in Konoha. Maybe Sasuke could get Naruto to slip that fact out just to confirm his belief. As for Jugo and Suigetsu, he left them at the Summit before his fight with Danzo. If Madara had found them, they'd be working to find a way to get Sasuke, and most likely Naruto, back. Naruto being gone was putting a damper on Madara's plans. Sasuke knew that between the two of them, Madara would always choose to have Naruto return over Sasuke. If a Sharingan was really needed to control the Juubi, then Madara alone was enough. Sasuke was just a pawn in Madara's schemes. It irked Sasuke a bit that someone would dare to use him, but he had been used his entire life by almost everyone. He was willing to put that aside as long as he got what he wanted. The question now was what did he want?

Sasuke undid the seal on his journal and opened it to the first page. There was a small note there that let him know what volume of his journal this was. He ignored it and started flipping through the pages. As he skimmed through them, he began to notice something odd. His entries were becoming longer, filled with more emotion than fact. Sure, he had written a lot in his first journal as it had been given to him after the massacre, but that was mostly due to anger and sadness. This was different. Not only was there anger and sadness, but there was fear and something Sasuke didn't know what to call it. Happiness; Itachi and Naruto wanted Sasuke to find it. Was happiness worth it if it came with a price?

Sasuke closed his journal, resealed it, and placed it back into his pack. He once more laid down, and this time, sleep came to him. It wasn't an easy sleep though. His dreams were plagued with a mix of memories and thoughts of the future. It didn't take long for them to combine into a nightmare. At first, he stood over Naruto, whose eyes were turning gray. Then when he blinked, he opened his eyes to find Naruto over him. He blinked again as took in his surroundings. Kurama was behind Naruto, also staring at Sasuke. Sasuke's eyes returned to Naruto's.

"You were having a nightmare," Naruto said. He held out a hand and Kurama handed him a cold and wet towel. Naruto used it to wipe at some of Sasuke's sweat. "I need you to take a slow and deep breath. Yes, just like that." When Sasuke's breathing returned to normal, Naruto helped him to drink some water. "Do you want to talk about it?" Sasuke shook his head, not letting his eyes turn away from Naruto's form. He suddenly felt really warm. "It doesn't look like you hurt yourself. Do you feel sick at all? Nauseous?" He ran a hand through Sasuke's hair before frowning. "We'll have to wash your hair." He turned towards Kurama. "Can you get the two laundry basins and some shampoo for me?"

"Sure," Kurama said. Kurama took out a scroll from Naruto's pack. He was able to unseal it since he'd seen Naruto do it several times. He handed the items to Naruto.

"We need more water," Naruto said. "Do you remember the signs Kisame used for his jutsu?"

"Yes," Kurama said. He waved a few signs. "Just control how much Chakra you use or you'll flood the room."

Naruto nodded. Sasuke watched in amazement as Naruto performed the Water Bullet Jutsu, filling up one of the basins with water. Naruto wiped his mouth free of the extra water before using Kurama's Chakra to heat the water. He then moved to lift Sasuke up so that his neck was on the edge of the empty basin. Next, Naruto used an empty water bottle to scoop some water so he could pour it into Sasuke's hair. Sasuke didn't move as Naruto coated his hands with the shampoo. He only closed his eyes, enjoying Naruto's hands running through his hair, massaging his head. Naruto smiled as he watched Sasuke relax. He let himself touch Sasuke for a little longer than necessary before he moved onto the next step. "Keep your eyes closed." He grabbed the water bottle and cleaned off the shampoo from his hands before rinsing it out of Sasuke's hair. Kurama tossed him a towel and Naruto lifted up Sasuke's head to wrap it in the towel. He then helped Sasuke to sit up. "How are you feeling?" Sasuke remained silent. "Sasuke?" Naruto gave the raven a look of concern. He reached out a hand and cupped Sasuke's cheek. "Are you ok?"

Sasuke finally opened his mouth to say something when all of them froze and turned to see a boy around fifteen stepping into the classroom. "Oh, ah… sorry?"

Naruto visibly tensed, raising his guard at the intrusion. Sasuke debated with himself whether to push Naruto away since he could "protect himself dammit," or to let Naruto have his way. Kurama on the other hand took in the other's form, eyeing the blue haired boy up and down. Something was off about him.

"I'm just looking for something Leid said he left here," the boy said. "Have you seen a game charger?" Naruto, Sasuke, and Kurama looked at each other in confusion, before Sasuke realized what the boy was talking about. He grunted before lightly pushing Naruto away. He let out a noise of displeasure before he walked over to the wall behind them and yanked a cord out of it. He then tossed it at the boy. "Thank you!" The boy bowed. "Have a good rest of your day!" He quickly left the room, not questioning what he had seen.

"We have to move," Naruto said, a bit reluctantly. "This must be a classroom." His stomach rumbled causing him to sigh. "We'll have to have a quick breakfast and then we'll have to somehow blend in." He glanced over at Kurama. "You might have to use a Henge. You don't look young enough to be a student and I doubt the appearance of a new teacher wouldn't raise questions." Kurama groaned before helping Naruto pack.

Sasuke took out his map and stared at it for a couple of minutes. "Dobe, no one is coming this way." He showed his map to the blond. "I don't think this classroom is in use anymore."

"Still, if someone senses us here, they may send someone," Naruto said. "Better to be careful, just in case." He handed a breakfast bar to Sasuke. The three finished eating and packing before they left the classroom. Kurama had used a Henge to look like Naruto's twin, just with red hair and eyes instead of blond and blue. Sasuke secretly admired the look, but he had to admit that he liked Naruto the way he was more. He coughed, gaining the attention of his companions. Naruto looked at him in concern while Kurama grinned. Sasuke glared at him before letting Naruto know that he was fine.

Kurama suddenly stopped. "You know, I think a teacher will notice three new students if we all go to the same place."

"Do you really think splitting up is a good idea?" Naruto asked.

"I think we would be less likely to stand out if we do," Kurama said. "Besides, the three of us are strong enough to handle anything thrown our way."

"Still, I think…" Naruto began only to turn quickly as a shadow loomed over them. His eyes fell on a man much taller than them.

The man looked very intimidating before he suddenly smiled at them. "You seem lost. Why don't you come with me?" He held out a hand. Naruto knew not to refuse it. He grabbed the hand and allowed the man to lead him to his office. Sasuke and Kurama followed behind him, a little less accepting of the man. Soon, the three of them found themselves in chairs sitting across from the man. He sat behind a desk with a large bowl of candy on it. There were also several photos on the desk of the blue haired boy they had seen earlier. "So, tell me, why are you three here?"

"W-what do you mean?" Naruto asked. "We are just students here at Babyls."

"Nice try," the man said. "But I know all six hundred and sixty-six students, and you aren't one of them. And I doubt you are from one of the other schools. So who are you really?"

Naruto looked over at Kurama and Sasuke before answering. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. We aren't from this world."

"Interesting," the man said. "I'm Sullivan, the headmaster of Babyls." He suddenly got all happy and excited as he grabbed a picture and showed it to Naruto. "And this is my lovely Grandson!"

"He seems to be a nice person," Naruto said a bit hesitantly.

"He's amazing!" Sullivan gushed. He went on for nearly twenty minutes before Sasuke had enough and yelled at him to stop the nonsense. Naruto and Kurama were surprised that he lasted so long. "It's not nonsense." Sullivan's expression darkened and Naruto was suddenly standing in front of Sasuke, his guard up. Sullivan looked at Naruto before he fell back and smiled. "Anyway, I'll allow you to join his class temporarily. For what I understand, you won't be staying here long." That's when he revealed a small orb that had Watanuki's face in it. "He was a great help and I'm only returning the favor, so don't ask me any questions. I'll have someone escort you to Iruma's classroom."

Not even a minute later, a cheery green haired man entered the room. He introduced himself as Robin Bars. He led the group out of the school and towards a huge building. Robin pushed the door open without knocking. All of the students turned to look at them while the teacher glared and yelled at Robin. Robin explained things and it only took another second before all of the students were introducing themselves and asking them questions. Once more Kalego yelled "silence," quieting the room. Naruto, Sasuke, and Kurama took an empty seat in each row, with Kurama at the back. After Kalego kicked Robin out, he resumed his lesson. It took only about ten minutes before both Kurama and Naruto were asleep. Sasuke only shook his head as Kalego gave them an awakening that made them afraid to even blink. Once the lesson was over, the students of the misfit class were quick to question them again. It stopped when the next teacher entered. It repeated until they were dragged to the large cafeteria where Naruto and Kurama got to eat their fill without having to hold back. The amount they ate left the cooks exhausted. Many eyes were wide. What surprised Sasuke was that Iruma managed to eat just as much as Kurama and Naruto did… combined! Never in his life had he seen someone eat so much all at once. It made him nauseous. He ended up pushing his food away from him.

"You're not going to eat that?" Iruma asked. Sasuke nodded. Iruma grabbed Sasuke's plate. "Can't have their hard work go to waste." And the plate was empty in seconds. Sasuke turned and gagged.

A hand patted his back in sympathy. He looked up into the knowing eyes of Leid. "We know how you feel." A few others nodded in agreement behind Leid. "You get used to it." Sasuke groaned, putting his head down. He really hoped that Naruto and Kurama wouldn't get as gluttonous as Iruma.

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Sasuke, Naruto, and Kurama found themselves at Iruma's house. Naruto and Kurama were happy to be there since they got to have their fill of food without worrying about money. Sasuke, on the other hand, refused to eat with them. Opera was kind enough to bring some food to him. Once he was done eating, Sasuke took out his sword and began to clean it. Akane had shown him how to take better care of it. He also looked over his other weapons, making sure they were in perfect condition as well.

Kurama was the one to find him surrounded by kunai, shuriken, and some other ninja tools. He raised an eyebrow. "Getting ready for a war or something?"

"I'm just making sure that I'm prepared," Sasuke said.

"Have you made up your mind?" Kurama asked. Sasuke gave him a confused look. "About what you are going to do."

"That's none of your business," Sasuke said.

Kurama suddenly grabbed his collar. "It most certainly is. The Kit is important to me. And if you get in the way of his happiness, I'll kill you."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He was getting really annoyed that Kurama was always threatening him. He understood that Kurama really cared about Naruto, but… that thought trailed off as another one popped in his head. Why did Kurama care so much about Naruto? From what he'd seen in the past, and his experience with other Jinchuriki, they hadn't gotten along. Kurama had been set on breaking the seal in order to gain his freedom, just like most other Bijuu. How did that change? "Why do you care so much?"

Kurama smirked. "Because he's my friend." He left without another word.

Sasuke frowned. Those were the words Naruto used when they fought at the Valley of the End. Sasuke hated those words.

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Sasuke found himself alone again as Naruto had gone off to watch Iruma train and Kurama was asleep in their room. He chose to walk the halls of Babyls, only to nearly run into Ameri. "Are you alright?" Sasuke nodded. The girl straightened up, forcing Sasuke to look up at her. She was clearly over six feet tall while he was barely over five-eight. His future self had been just shy of six feet. Sasuke was beginning to wonder if he was on the short side. Kurama was about the same height as Ameri and it pissed Sasuke off that Kurama had another thing over him.

Ameri looked Sasuke up and down. "Are you sure? You look a bit pale."

"I'm fine," Sasuke said, a little bite to his words.

Ameri stared at Sasuke for a few more seconds before she put on a smile. "Alright. I must be going then. Please keep a better eye out on your surroundings. Wouldn't want you or anyone else to accidentally get hurt!" She gave a little wave before walking away. Sasuke simply nodded before randomly walking into the next room. The people in there looked up at Sasuke and he suddenly felt like he should run.

Ameri on the other hand came to a stop and turned back to find the hall empty. She frowned. She didn't recall ever seeing Sasuke in her student archives. Her father's words popped in her head and her eyes widened. 'Could he be an intruder?' She heard a yell and bolted to the door Sasuke had walked through. When she slammed it open, she found Sasuke holding a game controller and several students around him. She blinked as she took in the scene of some of them cheering the raven on while others looked angry that he was so good at the game. Ameri blinked a few more times before smiling and quietly leaving the room. She turned on her heel and started making her way back to the student council room. Once again, she nearly ran into someone.

"Oh, sorry," the deep voice said. She looked up a little into red eyes. "I should have been more careful. I was just looking for the Kit or the Uchiha."

"Um… you are…?" Ameri asked.

The red head grinned, showing off his fangs. "Kurama. I'm a temporary resident of this school. You must be one of its teachers?"

"No, I'm actually a student," Ameri said. "I'm the Student Council President."

"Not sure what that means, but if you are one with authority, that means you must know your place around here," Kurama said. "Have you seen a blond boy about this tall…" Kurama put out his hand showing Naruto's height. "...with blue eyes, fox ears, and a tail?" Ameri shook her head. "Hm… He feels close by though. Guess I'll just have to keep looking."

"Wait!" Ameri said. "How do I know that you aren't just an intruder trying to hurt this kid you're looking for?"

"Hurt the Kit?" Kurama made an expression of mixed horror and surprise appear on his face. "Never." He lowered his voice. "The Uchiha maybe."

"I can't let you loiter around here any longer," Ameri said, getting into a battle stance.

Kurama grinned. "I don't mind spending a little time playing with you. This might even be fun."

"Kurama?" Naruto asked while Iruma called Ameri's name. Ameri instantly moved in front of both of them.

"Get back," Ameri ordered. "This man is an intruder."

Naruto suddenly sighed. "Kurama, what did you do?"

"Nothing Kit," Kurama said. "We were just about to have some fun."

"Stop it," Naruto said.

Kurama pouted, dropping his battle stance. "You're no fun."

"Ameri," Iruma called, getting her attention. "They are grandpa's guests."

"Lord Sullivan's?" Ameri asked, dropping her own. She turned towards Kurama, a sheepish smile appearing on her face. "Sorry about that."

"It's not a problem," Kurama said. "You were just protecting your people. Still, I bet it would have been a good fight."

"I told you not to cause any trouble," Naruto said, hands on his hips.

"Mah, I wasn't doing anything," Kurama said. "Just looking for you."

"What for?" Naruto asked.

"I'm hungry," Kurama said. His stomach rumbled followed by Naruto and Iruma's. Both teens blushed. The three gave their goodbyes to Ameri before heading to the cafeteria. Ameri briefly wondered if she should contact her father about Kurama and Naruto, but she decided against it. She was sure that if anything happened, Lord Sullivan would handle it.

As requested, these are the Anime/Manga/Books/Movies/Video Games I have used so far:

Naruto, xxxHoLic, Bleach, Kingdom Hearts, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Harry Potter, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Kekkaishi, Soul Eater, Vampire Knight, Fullmetal Alchemist, D. Gray-man, Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Seraph of the End, Attack on Titan, Kyou Kara Maou, Another, 07-Ghost, Saiyuki, Blue Exorcist, Pandora Hearts, Akame ga Kill, Death Note, Hunter X Hunter, Fairy Tail, Rave Master, InuYasha, Death Parade, The Seven Deadly Sins, Natsume's Book of Friends, The Devil Is a Part-Timer, Kamisama Kiss, YuYu Hakusho, Shaman King, Katekyou Hitman Reborn, World Trigger, The Strange Men Series (Video Games), Black Butler, Demon Slayer, Claymore, Code Geass, Fire Force, Rosario + Vampire, Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun