Chapter Seven

The morning dawned a murky gray; moisture hung in the air in a viscous sheet, pressing down on the living things in the city. Low hanging clouds pressed against the windows that had been closed against it, obscuring the views of the waking populace. The fog was ever so thick, the weight of it haunting. Higher, the clouds were nearly black; there would be bad weather today.

For the two in bed, in the shoddy little worn apartment, the day dawned brighter than any they had ever witnessed before. Sasuke curled around Naruto's back, a possessive hand around his waist. Sheets covered them where they had hastily been arranged the night before, just over their hips. Skin pressed against skin. The whiskered boy's face was peaceful, the lips slightly open as he breathed in and out. Strands of blonde splayed about his head, spilling onto his pillow in a tumultuous mass, messy and inviting. Sasuke had been awake for some time, breathing in the scent that clung to the hair pushed against his face, the smell uniquely Naruto. The onyx orbs were soft as they gazed at the other's sleeping form. How could it have taken him so long to see what was so clearly before his eyes?

The dedication the other showed, his restrained power that he could feel buzzing beneath the baby smooth surface of his skin; the essence that was Naruto. It was heady, and what he had unknowingly been searching for, for years. It had been annoying, at first, that he could feel after what his brother had done. More so, that he should feel anything other than the burning desire for revenge. That first day when they had been assigned to the same team, so many years ago, when they had first kissed…

Sasuke smirked into the head of hair before him. He had been so pissed. The reaction of the fangirls still amused him. But, truthfully, he had been glad that the blonde had stolen his first kiss. He tightened a hand around the toned waist of his lover. No one else would be stealing kisses, not from him and definitely not from Naruto. Not if he had anything to do about it.

He pressed his lips against the neck of the man he loved, a soft tribute to feelings he never thought he would be able to voice. To tell the truth, he was still worried about the blonde. Tsunade had taken him aside several days ago to warn him of a coming threat. The Akatsuki, that they had all thought disbanded, had resurfaced, nine members strong. Itachi was foremost in the organization; from what their intelligence gathered, there had been a coupe. Itachi had won. Their goal was of yet unknown, but Tsunade thought that they would move against Naruto, as it was he who had unwittingly thrown a monkey wrench into their plans before by retrieving Sasuke from Orochimaru.

The snake bastard was still out there too. Though, Sasuke smirked, probably too injured to do anything about it. He had done quite the number on the perverted sannin.

Naruto yawned, drawing him from his reverie. He would do the best he could to protect his lover; and come hell or high water, whoever fucked with him would face his wrath. And then, they would face Naruto's.

Blinking sleep from his eyes, Naruto took account of the changes around him. There was a weight at his back that was comfortable, the sheets were still tangled around his legs, and there was another leg threaded through his own. That made him blink as he remembered the actions of the previous night. A crimson flush spread over his cheeks as he replayed what had happened between them. The touches that brought fire to the surface of his skin, the hot wetness as Sasuke pleasured him, how he moaned when the other had entered him…

He felt the hand around his waist tighten, and move lower, ghosting across the skin of his belly. His breath hitched and he turned around, shaking the hand from it's path and focusing on Sasuke's dark eyes. Hope rose within his own as he drew up a hand to press against Sasuke's cheek. He pressed his lips against the other's gently and chastely, the emotion he felt laid bare. His heart thudded painfully against his ribcage as he waited for his advances to be spurned. Sasuke put an end to his insecurities quickly as his hot muscle invaded his mouth, dancing with his own and claiming his newly won territory.

Naruto moaned, pressing his body flush against the other's. With a sexy smirk, Sasuke broke their contact, grinding his hips forward and set about to making the whiskered blonde scream his name. Kissing down his torso to the golden trail at the base of his passion, a loud rapping at the door disrupted their momentum.

Sasuke whipped his head over to glare at the offending person, as if he could frighten them away through the door. Naruto smiled down at him fondly, exasperated at his typical behavior. The flush didn't abate as Sasuke mouthed at his member, set about ignoring the unwonted guest.

The incessant rapping came again, as well as the strident voice of Yamanaka, Ino. "Naruto! Open this goddamn door!"

The aforementioned boy groaned, rolling out of bed. Sasuke slumped in the still warm space, thoroughly ticked off. The little vein that pulsed when he was angry was visible against the dark arch of his eyebrow.

"Naruto, you don't have to answer that. If you ignore her, she'll leave."

"No she won't," Naruto commented sadly, pulling on his discarded pants from the night before. "I wouldn't answer the one day, and she broke down my door. It took forever for me to get the landlord to fix it."

"Why the hell is she bugging you, and at this hour!"

The blonde shrugged. "I think it has something to do with Tsunade-baba. Something about me needing to make friends."

The pounding grew louder.

"I suppose we should thank the kami for small favors," Naruto remarked as he crossed the room. At the questioning look Sasuke sent him, he elaborated. "Sakura would have already destroyed half of my apartment."

Sasuke pulled a pillow over his face and groaned.

Striding to the front of his apartment, Naruto opened the door hesitantly. Ino, stood outside, dressed in her usual attire, a haughty look on her aristocratic face. Her body language screamed annoyance, further emphasized as she crossed her arms.

"About time!"

"Good morning, Ino." Naruto grumbled. His desire had flagged the moment her heard her voice; it wasn't something that he could see anyone getting off too, not to mention that she interrupted his bastard from doing something that he was beginning to really, really like.

"What the hell were you doing, keeping me waiting?"

"Some people actually have lives," he answered waspishly.

"Yeah, some life." She glanced disdainfully at his apartment.

"Well, what the hell did you want?"

"Did you forget? You were supposed to come train with Hinata and I today – starting a half hour ago!" She sneered. "Or are you just too good for us?"

Ah… and he was reminded again of why he avoided the blond menace. He fought the desire to roll his eyes. "Oh of course not, Ino-chan. Whatever came over me, thinking that I could sleep in when we have no missions to finish or classes to teach, or foes to fight? I'll just be a moment."

He slammed the door shut on her surprised face. Stalking angrily back, he through himself on the bed next to Sasuke. He could hear her pounding away at the door, hurling maledictions at him and cursing his existence. Naruto groaned.

"What do you want to do about this?" Sasuke asked softly.

"I want to tell her to go screw herself." He grumbled into the pillow. He turned his head sideways, to blink at Sasuke tiredly. The concern on the others face was surprising, the normally stoic features expressing so many different emotions within such a short span of time. He leaned forward and kissed him soundly.

"I do have to meet with the Hokage today," Sasuke muttered. "I think that I may be getting a new assignment."

"Long?"

"I don't know. I really don't want to teach just yet."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Naruto snickered. "Killing your team wouldn't go over well with the parents…"

Sasuke silenced him with another kiss. "Or we could just do this all day."

"OI! Naruto!" The shrill voice pieced the sound barrier. Both of the boys winced.

"Will I see you later?" Naruto queried.

Sasuke ran a thumb over his cheek and answered. "As soon as I finish with the Hokage I'll come see you."

"Generally, Hinata and Ino train in section six, in practice yard B. Come find me."

"I will."

Naruto moved slowly, dressing his sore form in the usual orange before toeing on his sandals and walking to the door. Looking back at Sasuke, he felt a lump grow in his chest as an unnamed emotion swept over him. He was unearthly, the perfect tone of his skin, his solid muscle, the dark strands of his hair… the smile he gave him tugged at his heartstrings and he left before he could embarrass himself further.

Stalking away from the shrew, he started roof hopping to get to the practice grounds.

Sasuke wasn't in a good mood. After being interrupted during sex, which he didn't get a lot of, with the one man he cared about beyond anything… he had been waiting to see the Hokage for hours. Hours, mind. The hard back of the chair he was sitting in dug into his shoulder blades. He wanted to shift badly, but the other jounin sitting across from him deterred that. So he remained stoic, save for the pulsating vein on his temple. The glare upped to a higher frequency as the other person dared try and meet his eyes. Stupid females.

"The hokage will see you now, Uchiha." The secretary called him. Formality; how he hated it.

The floorboards rang with his footsteps as he strode in confidently. Tsunade was sitting at her desk, as ususal, piles of papers littering the surface. Her assistant and her pet pig were playing in the corner; he studiously ignored them. The hokage looked as robust as ever, her cleavage straining at her clothing, hair tidy and a slight tick to one eyebrow.

She looked up at him when he stopped in front of the desk.

"Thank you for coming. I have a special assignment for you, I hope that you will take it."

"I will reserve my judgment until after I hear what the assignment entails."

"Very well. As you know, Akatsuki has begun to move again. I have gathered my information carefully, and now with surety, I can say that they will be going after Naruto." She folded her hands under her chin, a serious tilt to her lips.

"I do not know the exact time frame that they are planning to move, or how they will act, but measures need to be taken. They cannot take him."

Anger rose heavy in Sasuke's gut. How dare they try and take what was his? So soon after he had found it! His expression did not change to show the inner turmoil he felt at the information.

"What is the assignment?"

"You must monitor him. He had been withdrawn lately, disappearing for days on end. I'm afraid that one day, he won't come back. I know your rivalry with him, Uchiha, and I'm begging you. His safety is in your hands. If the Akatsuki attacks, I want you there with him. Here," Tsunade reached into a drawer of the desk and withdrew a coin on a chain. "Press the button in the center of the pendant. It will trigger an alarm and backup will be immediately on route."

"Very well."

"Thank you. The fate of this village rests in your hands."

Sasuke bowed, and with a poof of smoke, he vanished from the compound.

Tsunade glanced at Shizune who stared at her with concern. "Did I do the right thing?" Her gaze returned to the foggy mists shrouding the village, unsure if her actions would help protect the child that so much grief and pain were associated to.

The way over to the training grounds was agonizing. Ino wouldn't shut up, talking about stupid things, like makup, and boys. What really ticked him off, was how she carried on about Sasuke. Sasuke this, Sasuke that. Of course he knew that the boy was perfect! She was preaching to the choir, so to speak. But then again, she never listened to anything that he had to say, so he brooded. How dare she! That was HIS Sasuke she was mooning over! A possessiveness he had never felt before now surged through him at the thought of the other boy. He had never had sex before, but he was sure that was what sex was supposed to feel like. It felt so perfect, when they had been joined. He didn't know where he left off and the other began!

A dreamy look drifted across his face as he looked up into the fog. Sasuke…

A sharp pain grounded him, and before he knew it, his head whipped over to glare at the source of his discomfort and he growled. Ino had just hit him in his bicep.

"You weren't paying attention!" She flounced.

He growled some more. Thankfully, she was spared immediate retribution as the training grounds came into sight. Hinata was sitting on a stump talking to Rock Lee. Lee was as usual, animated, gesturing wildly to demonstrate a point in whatever story he was telling. There was no sign of Sakura, which was expected; she hardly ever came to the training grounds any more. The other two members of Lee's team were absent; they were all still Chuunin, but it suited them. Ten Ten and Neji worked well with Lee, something that Tsunade was aware of. Naruto sighed, and trudged forward, even as Ino screamed at Hinata drawing the others attention.

Hinata blushed and looked down at her hands, Lee grinning and giving him a thumbs up. Naruto wanted to scream. Looking around the area, he shoved his hands in his pockets and did a pretty good imitation of Sasuke, leaning up against one of the trees surrounding the clearing.

Ino immediately pounced on him. "You will never be as cool as Sasuke, so stop trying! Geeze!"

He leveled a glare at her, eyebrow twitching. Ever since the Kyubii had claimed him as his heir, he had not had quite so good a control on his emotions. He noticed that he got irritated a lot more quickly than usual, which showed as he barred his teeth in a sneer.

"You know, perhaps you should put your money where your mouth is."

"Pfft right, like the 'dead last' could do anything about it. You are so stupid!"

Rage burned through his body, sending caution to the wind. "You know, you are really starting to bug me."

"In- Ino… ano…." Hinata muttered, tugging on her sleeve. "I don't think…"

"The fires of youth burn brightly in this one! Cannot you see?" Lee shouted, posing. "Train with me! Together we will stoke the growing passions of our bodies with punching and kicking and laps!"

"Shut up, both of you!" She turned on Naruto again. "And you-"

She didn't get any farther as an uppercut came out of nowhere and knocked her out. The blond fox blinked, rage vanishing to be replaced with surprise and suspicion. The other two were just as astonished as he; he scanned the area looking for the one responsible. To his right, a blur condensed from the fog, a set of two men; one was large with an impossibly huge sword wrapped in cloth over one shoulder, the other shorter, with spiky blond hair pulled up in a short ponytail. Both were wearing long dark cloaks with red clouds embroidered into them.

Akatsuki…

Naruto grinned ferally. Perfect.

The two S-rank criminals stood there ominously. No threatening moves had been made as of yet, the hulking form of Kisame usually enough to cower the majority of their opponents. The fog swirled around the mist swordsman, as if he had performed a jitsu to control the elements. With the sky dark and overcast, it was only a matter of time until it started to rain; when it did, the battle would tip in favor of Kisame who had dealt with such conditions from a very young age and knew how to use them to his advantage. Despite this, Naruto stood without fear, protectively blocking from their view of Hinata, Lee, and the limp form of Ino.

The blonde's eyes narrowed. "While I'm grateful for the silence you have provided me, I can't help but think you came here for something else."

"Heh. The brat isn't as stupid as we thought, eh Yomi?" A wide grin threatened to split the gray face of the shark like nin, sharp rows of filed teeth glinting in the half light.

"So?" Naruto growled.

"You are to come with us." The blond, Yomi, replied in monotone.

"Like hell I will!"

Kisame shrugged, the wrapped form of his sword slipping from his shoulder as he changed his grip on the long handle. "Suit youself, brat. Make it more interesting. And I thought that my morning was going to be dull!"

Settling himself into a comfortable fighting stance, Naruto forced himself into a calm, analytical state. With the Kyuubi still hibernating, he was at a slight disadvantage, but still… they didn't know what he was capable of. A grim smile crossed his face. Also, if the Kyuubi felt that he was in eminent danger, he would probably awaken, and then they would have to deal with the pissed off fox demon. He might as well enjoy this.

A stir of movement from beside him drew his attention to the green spandex clad chuunin. The huge, caterpillar like eyebrows were set with determination as he took on a fighting stance. Hinata also stood ready, a strong set to her jaw. Veins popped out around her eyes as she activated the Bakyugan, the already pale violent turning a luminous white. A feeling of contentment passed through Naruto, that he had friends willing to stand by him, even in the face of such danger. It quickly passed as he assessed his opponents' levels of power. There was no way that Hinata or Lee would be able to survive an assault from these men.

"Guys, I think you should let me handle this one." He said quietly.

The emphatic response was about what he expected. "How youthful of you! But no matter, I am full of youth and vigor as well! We shall fight side by side and revel in the passions of youth!"

Naruto's eyebrow twitched. He was going to do something horrible to Gai for corrupting Lee so badly. How many times had he used the word 'youth' in that one sentence? "You don't understand, they could break you with a pinky! You don't stand a chance!"

"A-and you do?" Hinata remarked softly, looking over at him with concern swimming in her eyes.

Naruto groaned, annoyed. "I'm really getting tired of being underestimated. I'm no longer the "dead last" of our class."

"Spare me your pathetic pity fest!" Kisame leapt forward, crossing the distance between the two groups in the blink of an eye. Hinata gasped and faltered as he moved faster than her eyes could follow. Even Lee, with all his fabled speed wasn't fast enough to block the strike that was aimed at him.

The clang of steel on steel broke the silence as Naruto met the huge blade with a kunai, unflinching. His eyes were cold and his hand steady. He glared at the mist nin whose eyes had widened slightly at the unexpected counter attack. The blonde's stance was loose, as if he wasn't straining to hold back the force from the full-bodied swing; nary a muscle was even tense.

His jaw dipped down, condescendingly. "Was that the best you could offer?"

The howl Kisame let out was chilling, and the fight began in earnest. Both flickered out of view, trading blow after blow. Whatever the nin was throwing at the blonde, it was met stroke for stroke. The fact that the boy was able to keep up with him irked him to no measure, and he began to move faster.

Naruto continued to counter the blows coming at him; after his training, this really was a piece of cake. Time seemed to slow down as he used his vast store of energy to fuel his body, barely straining even under the pressure that his opponent was trying to expert upon him. The changes the Kyubii had made to his body were apparent; it was taking a lot longer for his muscles to tire. He barely felt the shock of the blades meeting, or the strain of moving so fast. He could tell it irritated Kisame, something that pleased him to no end. Not only that, but the minute amount of chakra that the blade was siphoning off didn't even register on his chakra stores.

Kisame pulled off the wrapping from his chakra draining blade, the serrated pieces of steel similar to a sharks scales. The blade was designed for shaving, as Kakashi had once stated, not cutting. He jumped back into the fray weaving the large blade around with the grace of practice and strength.

Forcing some chakra to envelop his kunai, Naruto tried to stop the sword, but unlike before, the touch of the cold steel against the other ripped through his defenses, draining the chakra of the blade and destroyed his kunai. The sword continued up to open a large gash in his arm, spanning from his palm to his elbow, on the outside edge and cutting almost to the bone. Naruto hissed, eyes glinting with malice. Kisame leveled an evil grin at him, licking his lips as he readjusted the grip on his blade.

"So, the cocky brat is put in his place. What do you think, Yomi? I bet if we shave off a few more pounds the journey back will be a lot easier."

To Be Continued…