It's All in Your Head

Summary: On the way back from a mission, Naruto gets hit with an interrogation jutsu. But when the jutsu is accidentally intercepted by Sasuke, the two boys find themselves stuck mentally together, unwillingly sharing each other'sthoughts, feelings, and secrets...(sasunaru, rated Mjust to be safe for language and some suggestive situations)

Disclaimer: The characters of Naruto do not belong to me...sigh...

Please read, review, and enjoy!

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A colorful string of curses flowed below his breath as he twisted awkwardly back and forth, glaring at the floor below him. "…Stupid goddamn trap and this stupid goddamned mission…" He continued to mutter darkly as he attempted to swing his upside down body toward the ceiling, reaching nimble, calloused fingers towards his ankle and the rope that was wrapped around it securely.

The boy's body swung back and forth as he awkwardly attempted to defy gravity and free himself from the trap he had mindlessly walked into, his constant stream of curses never letting up. He let out a grunt as he twisted and lunged upwards again, the ankle that was supporting his entire body's weight being wrenched painfully.

Suddenly, his furious struggles came to an immediate halt and the boy froze, head titled to the side as he became award of approaching footsteps. "Shit," he whispered to himself before going completely silent, pulling out the kunai that he stored in his belt and continuing the mantra mentally in his head, 'shit shit shit shit…'

Why now off all times! He had evaded his enemies all morning, and now, the second he fell into a trap because his mind had decided to wander, now they decided to show up! 'This just isn't my lucky day' he thought morosely to himself as the footsteps drew nearer and his hand tightened its grip on the weapon.

A figure crept into view from the shadows, coming to a halt just below him. He craned his neck awkwardly to get a better look, mind racing at the possibilities of what it could be and body tensing to fight, regardless of the fact it was still trapped helplessly upside down. 'What is it?' his mind cried desperately, 'an animal? Ghost? Enemy shino-' his mental tirade was abruptly cut off as the figure looked up.

No, it was much worse than he'd thought. He glared heatedly at the smug face below him, grinding his teeth. 'Anyone but him'.

The figure just kept staring at him with that infuriating air of superiority that he had come to hate so much. "Hey, loser," he greeted coolly, as if the other boy had bumped into him while taking a midmorning stroll, not while dangling by one foot from the ceiling of a dark shack in the middle of nowhere.

Naruto was grinding his teeth so furiously now that it was surprising his mouth hadn't been reduced to gums. Ignoring the insult, he crossed his arms, attempting to look as dignified as one can while facing a foe upside down, and fixed his nemesis with a glare. 'Sasuke,' his mind bit out spitefully, 'smug little bastard.'

"What are you doing here," he hissed angrily.

Sasuke smirked up at the other boy's scowling face. "Saving your ass," he replied matter of factly.

Naruto huffed, his face flushing from a combination of fury, indignation, and the blood that was rushing to it due to his awkward position. "My ass doesn't need saving!"

Sasuke allowed his eyes to look the other boy from head to foot as he dangled helplessly from the ceiling, swaying slightly back and forth in his agitation. He quirked an eyebrow, his lip twitching in amusement. "Coulda' fooled me." Without giving the stubborn boy a change to argue the pointless matter further (they could keep this up all day), he swiftly pulled a shurikun from his belt and threw it with practiced precision, slicing the rope above his teammate's ankle.

Naruto fell with an 'oomph' onto the floor in an ungraceful pile of limbs. His crystal blue eyes glared murderously into his companion's brown ones that were twinkling merrily. "A little warning next time would be nice," he grumbled, struggling to his feet and grumpily batting away the hand Sasuke had been offering.

"Maybe if you shut that big mouth of yours every once in awhile, you'd be a little more observant of what's going on around you, moron." Even as the jibe left his lips, Sasuke's eyes were busy scanning his partner's body for injuries.

Dusting himself off, Naruto stuck his tongue out immaturely in response and brushed handful of golden curls from his eyes, only to have them immediately fall back into place.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the other boy's antics, finishing his scan for injuries and turning his attention back to their surroundings. "You alright?" he asked out of habit, knowing full well that even if Naruto was mortally injured he'd probably deny it.

"Yes, mother," came the anticipated retort. "Now can we please get out of here?"

Sasuke grunted, not completely satisfied with the reply but knowing they did not have enough time to sit around and argue. "I felt something approaching on my way in here," he warned as they headed cautiously towards the door of the shack. "I'm not sure how fast it was moving, but I think it would be best if we tried to avoid it."

Naruto nodded his agreement, and the two silently slipped from the hut, out into the dark forest surrounding it. After briefly scouting the area around them, Sasuke gestured northward with his chin and, taking to the trees, the two boys set off in unison, jumping swiftly and silently through the numerous branches.

After traveling for about an hour at this pace, Naruto finally slowed down and Sasuke skidded to a halt behind him. "I saw a cave near here earlier," Naruto spoke quietly, barely audible over the sound of a nearby stream. "The entrance is hidden pretty well by a fallen tree, and it should be a secure place to spend the night. With any luck we'll be out of here before lunch tomorrow."

The darkness of night hid Sasuke's face as a small smile of endearment graced his lips. Naruto was always concerned with food, and it wasn't uncommon for him to use meals instead of clocks to mark the passage of time. "Sounds good," he whispered back, just as quietly, "lead the way."

The pair of boys walked slowly down the stream bank for several minutes before Naruto finally got his bearings and headed into the woods. After awhile of what seemed to be aimless wandering, Sasuke spotted a fallen tree ahead of them, and after close inspection of its many thick branches, they found an opening that lead to the cave Naruto had promised.

The opening was very narrow at first, and the boys had to enter on their stomachs, pulling themselves along with their elbows and knees. However, after a few yards of this awkward shuffling, the tunnel opened and they dropped into a decently sized cave. Setting down his pack, Sasuke observed their surroundings with a nod of satisfaction.

"How'd you find this place?"

Naruto grunted as he too took of his pack and then dropped down next to it, stretching his tall, lanky frame across the cave's floor. His eyes drooped sleepily, and his always-smiling mouth curled into a drowsy smile, clearly exhausted. "I did a little scouting on our first day in. Figured it would be a good idea to know the area a little."

Sasuke nodded again, although he realized Naruto probably couldn't see him due to the lack of light. He yawned and stretched the kinks out of his back, spreading out his bed role and sitting to contemplate his dosing partner.

The younger boy before him had experienced a drastic growth spurt since they first met five years ago, and his once short, stocky figure was now very tall and slim, easily clearing six feet. While his figure promised to be quite impressive by the time he was finished growing, Naruto was currently in an awkward stage, his body having achieved its maximum height but failing to completely fill out yet. As a result, although it was obviously apparent that the muscles running threw his scrawny body were very well toned, Naruto always appeared as very awkward and gangly, all arms and legs. Upon first seeing him, most people would assume that the poor boy would be constantly tripping over himself, and after witnessing some of his friend's more clumsy moments, Sasuke was sometimes tempted to agree. However, he had also witnessed the calculated precision and grace that his teammate could sometimes muster, especially during difficult battles.

'It's like he tries to hide what he's truly capable of', Sasuke thought to himself. 'He always acts like such as incompetent clown, but I've seen him pull of moves that would impress even Kakashi.' However, a little voice in the back of his head reminded Sasuke that he too was often prone to secrecy regarding his true self. Perhaps there was more to Naruto most people believed. But then again, Sasuke had figured that out long ago.

Sasuke pulled his eyes away from the other boy and began rummaging through his pack in search of his travel bars. Finally locating the neatly wrapped packages, he pulled out one for himself and tossed another to his now sleeping companion. The thrown bar promptly struck the softly snoring boy on the head, waking him up and earning Sasuke another dirty look before they both sat up and began to chew their makeshift dinner in companionable silence. While crunching away, Sasuke's thoughts turned to himself.

In comparison to Naruto, Sasuke was much more petite in build. While by no means short, his eyes were just level with Naruto's nose when the two stood beside each other, and his partner loved to point these few inches out whenever the opportunity presented itself. His frame was much more balanced than that of his friend's, slim but well toned and evenly filled out, and while some people assumed that the older boy had simply grown out of his awkward stage early, the truth was he had never really had one. Whatever gods controlled the growth spurts of adolescents had evidently smiled upon Sasuke and taken pity on him, and for that reason he escaped the awkwardness his partner always seemed to be experiencing.

Sasuke's eyes were a deep brown, almost appearing black at times, and were partly hidden by his straight, black hair. Although not nearly as unruly as Naruto's shock of golden curls, Sasuke's hair had still been permitted to grow, and ended just short of the boy's angled chin. His complexion also greatly contrasted Naruto's, as it seemed that no matter how much time he spent in the sun, Sasuke could never get his pale skin to darken and tan, a fact that secretly annoyed the chounin to no end

When "dinner" was finished, Naruto stretched his long arms above his head, his spine making audible pops as he rolled his neck and shoulders. Sasuke again bit back an endearing smile, shaking his head softly. "How's your ankle?" he asked casually while wiping stray crumbs from his bedroll.

Blue eyes regarded him cautiously. "My ankle?" Sasuke resisted the urge to snort at the innocent tone of his friend's voice. "Nothing's wrong with it, it's fine." A stubborn lower lip jutted out, daring Sasuke to challenge this claim.

The older boy sighed in exasperation, rolling his eyes and shrugging. "You had better wrap it before we set out tomorrow, we can't risk it slowing us down." He saw Naruto open his mouth to once again protest the injury, and smoothly cut him off. "I saw you limping all the way here, so you might as well save it and just wrap the damn thing."

Once again the younger boy scowled, but quickly shrugged off his annoyance and replaced it with the usual cheerful smile, digging bandages out of his pack and obediently wrapping the wrenched joint. The action was truly pointless; although pain was currently shooting up his leg every time he took a step, Kyubi would have the small inconvenience completely healed by tomorrow morning. However, the bandages would appease his friend's concern, and it was a small price to pay to keep Sasuke from worrying. With a rueful shake of his head, he suppressed a snicker while contemplating how protective Sasuke was over him, and how hard the other boy tried to hide it.

Peering through the murky atmosphere of the cave, Naruto caught his partner in mid-yawn. Perhaps he had let down his guard because he believed Naruto couldn't see, but if the "All-Powerful-Sasuke" had allowed a yawn to escape, he must be even more exhausted than Naruto was. Crystalline blue eyes narrowed. Ok, so maybe he was a little protective too…

"Right then," Naruto announced, sitting up and leaning against a cold, earthen wall, "I've got the first watch."

Stubborn brown eyes flashed over to meet his own, shooting him a glare. "No way, dobe, anyone can see you've exhausted yourself. Get some sleep."

A smile crept over Naruto's lips. Oh, how he loved a good argument before bed. "Don't call me that!" The response was automatic. "And I don't think so, Sasuke, I saw that yawn. You are just as tired as I am, and I'm taking the first watch." He watched with satisfaction as Sasuke's eye twitched in irritation of being caught. 'Serves you right for underestimating my night vision' he thought smugly. "Besides, I'm too nervous to sleep right now, this forest gives me the creeps," he forced a shudder for emphasis. "I bet I'll sleep much better after a few hours to settle my thoughts."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He didn't believe his friend's act one bit, especially that ridiculous shudder (it took a lot more than some stupid forest to creep Naruto out), but let it slide and surrendered. "Fine, I'll take the second shift, but you had better wake me up this time! I don't care how 'tranquil' I look."

Naruto flashed an overly innocent smile. "Of course, whatever you say, Sasuke." He watched his teammate scowl and crawl into his bedroll, listening as his breathing slowed until it was obvious the older boy had fallen asleep.

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Chapter one complete, what did you think? Updates coming soon!