Hauuu!! So many reviews!! Thank you so much and forgive me for my absence. I'm really trying, but it's so hard without my computer...it's just...so different using my sister's. Anyway, I forgot to mention this in the last chapter. One of the main themes of this story is basically how girls can be a lot meaner than guys. That's basically the idea that inspired this story...yeah! Keep reading to see how the females continue to harass Sasuke in the story!! In restitution for keeping you guys waiting for so long, this chapter is longer than the others.

WARNINGS: Yaoi, Language, OOC maybe, sexual themes (-le gasp- A new warning!!).

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I claim to. This is merely for mine and your own enjoyment.

Chapter Five – Flower in a Field of Weeds

"Bye, see ya later!!" Naruto said goodbye to his therapist as he held open the door and half-stepped out, waving to the man.

"Have a nice night, Naruto. I'll see you next week." was the reply that came back through the door.

"Yeah!" Naruto waved again and made sure the door shut as he left. He hummed mindlessly, bouncing down the stoop and onto the sidewalk. He was in a good mood, like most other days after seeing his therapist. Iruka was his name; a kind, tender man who had the mindset of a loving mother. Naruto often teased him about that.

Naruto's technical sessions with Iruka were long over with, but he continued to do so because he felt that it was helping him. It also kept people off his back, because if they found out that he stopped going to his therapy sessions, people might begin to run away from him again.

The sun-tanned teen suddenly remembered something and reached into his pocket, a thin, black cell phone emerging from it in his hand. He flipped it open and held down a button until a high-pitched tune sang in the quiet air.

"Eh?" Naruto blinked and stared at his phone, then hit another button and held the speaker to his ear. 'One missed call.'

Sasuke stopped and leaned against the brick alley wall and shivered. The sun was setting and the air was getting even colder that it originally was. It felt like the water in his wet clothes was beginning to freeze and it caused goosebumps to rise on his skin. He glanced behind him and decided that he had ventured far enough and it was time to go back to the school, or at least catch a taxi back.

Sasuke cursed himself for acting so impulsively when he leaped from the warmth of Asuma's car as he struggled to remember which way led him back to the road. Honestly, what was the point of making these alleyways look like labyrinths? He took a corner and skidded to a stop, seeing three silhouettes leaning against the wall down the lane. He quickly hid back around the corner, pressing his back to the cold wall. His breath was quick and he heard his heart pulsing in his ears, and Sasuke wondered why he was startled so badly. When he could hear through the pounding in his head, he suddenly realized that the laughter resonating from the alley had stopped, and it was deathly silent.

'Shit...' Sasuke swore and swallowed thickly. Why was he so scared? Something about this situation was screaming for him to turn and run, but that was completely illogical! Was he not a guy? Could he not defend himself from three thugs in an alley? Not in a miniskirt, you can't,Sasuke's subconscious happily supplied for him. Whatever, the street was right through that alley, he could hear the passing cars.

Sasuke inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, then turned the corner once again only to stumble into something blazingly hot in contrast to his already freezing skin. For a moment, he just stood there, breathing in the scent of cigarettes through a cotton sweater, and then jerked away hastily when hot hands brushed against his upper arms. He held a hand over his nose, the scent was beginning to burn, and he opened his eyes to see a boy standing with his arms outstretched, as if waiting for something, an amused smile on his face.

"Hey, there," he greeted huskily, eyes roving over Sasuke's slightly shuddering form. "You look a little cold, why don't you come back over here, so I can warm you up?" the boy chuckled, opening his arms wider.

'Oh god, not again.' Sasuke grimaced and flinched back. He felt a small twinge of pity for women who had to deal with these kind of men, it was sickening. He was about to snap back at the ignorant male when suddenly two more teens materialized from behind the first and his mouth ran dry.

Sasuke recognized the two other boys from school, Makoto and Keigo. Makoto seemed to recognize Sasuke as well.

"It's you..." Makoto sneered and glanced around. "Where's that damn bodyguard of yours?"

'Bodyguard?' He must have meant that Uzumaki kid.

The teen deciphered Sasuke's guarded expression and a sickly grin spread across his face.

"Oi, Makoto. You know this chick?" the cigarette-scented one asked.

"Yeah...we messed around a bit before. Ain't that right, sweetheart?" Makoto stepped forward and forced Sasuke to back up against the wall. Sasuke bristled when he felt the other close in on him. "I thought I told you this already, but it's dangerous for a cute girl like you to be out at this time of night...alone."

Sasuke's fist shot out and he drilled it deep into Makoto's abdomen. Once the boy was doubling-over and his breath had escaped him, Sasuke took off like a bullet, leaving the boys far behind.

"Dammit..." Makoto gasped and shoved his two friends away as he stumbled to his feet. "That bitch!!" He took off after the girl and his friends automatically followed behind.

Sasuke ran faster than he ever thought he could, and he was pretty sure that those boys weren't following him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw no one, so he slowed to a walk. The adrenaline quickly wore off and he soon found himself gasping for air, bracing himself against the wall. The alley branched off in two ways, one leading to a dead-end. Once he caught up to his breath again, he moved past the dead-end and a vice-like grip clutched his wrist and jerked him into the closed-off alley. Sasuke gasped and automatically took a few steps towards the back wall, then realized that he was being cornered. Two of the boys were advancing on him, but Keigo stayed behind. He wasn't interfering this time. The raven realized that he was losing distance behind him and he braced himself at the spot.

Makoto looked amused and he chuckled lowly. "And what do you plan to do? You gonna fight me?" Makoto also bent into a defensive position.

Naruto strolled along the sidewalk listening to his messages.

"You have one new message. New message: Hey, Naruto! It's Kiba."

'Kiba?' Naruto pondered what the canine-like teen would want to call for. He only called in emergencies.

"I know you're probably in your session right now, but I thought I'd call before I forgot. It'd probably be better for you to hear this before you got back to the school."

Naruto's heart clenched at the implication. 'What? What happened?'

"It's about that Saki girl. Sakura and Ino were-"

'Saki?'

A sharp cry echoed from the alley across the street that tore Naruto's ear away from his phone. There were several other voices that merged to sound incoherent, but it sounded like a struggle. Naruto suddenly forgot about Kiba who was still droning on in the recording and he shot off across the street towards the alley.

Sasuke knew he couldn't fight, not in his current outfit, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't put up a fight. His kicks were obviously off-limits because of the tantalizingly short skirt he wore, so he was restricted to mere punches and sharp blows. It worked for a little while and he stood his ground fairly well. But that was only until Makoto revealed a pocket knife from his pocket.

'Shit...' Well this changes things. No problem though, for Sasuke knew how to defend himself from an assailant with a knife.

Makoto lunged at him and Sasuke feigned to the side, snatching the knife-wielding hand and sharply twisting it behind the boy's back. Makoto cried out and Sasuke forced him to his knees. Being suddenly too occupied with the knife, Sasuke momentarily forgot about the other boy and was brought to light just as a strong arm closed around his neck. Sasuke gasped and clutched at the thick arm cutting off his air supply, releasing his own captive. He felt the ground beneath his feet beginning to disappear. His eyes were screwed shut and when he heard the other boy scuffle to his feet again, the grip on his neck loosened barely enough to allow him to breathe.

"That's it..." Makoto heaved. "I've had it with you."

Makoto stepped closer and Sasuke's struggling became frantic.

"Scared yet?" Makoto sneered in Sasuke's ear. "Well, guess what. Your little boyfriend's not here to save you this time."

Sasuke gasped and tried to twist away from the slight brush of warm fingers that sneaked underneath his uniform shirt. The hands grabbed his hips and jerked him back, which, in turn, caused the raven to resort to kicking as his only means of defense. The arm around his neck tightened and he dug his nails into the skin, leaving impressive crescent-shaped marks, but not effective enough to draw blood. The hands left his sides and he felt a soft brush against his thigh.

"Stop..." Sasuke choked, not nearly enough oxygen to call out for help. 'No!!' His mind screamed. This can't be happening!! It's all over! Please, please stop!!

A small cold edge was pressed against the left side of Sasuke neck and all movement froze. Makoto held the pocket knife against his pale neck and he knew better than to struggle anymore. The grip around his neck slipped away and he was violently shoved against the brick wall behind him. Air burned into his lungs like fire and he clutched his neck, coughing violently. Not even a second later, Makoto was on him again, the knife pressing insistently against his neck. A hand lay permanently on a shaking thigh and fingers crept underneath the cold fabric, touching the shivering skin.

Sasuke had stopped breathing long ago. His eyes were wide with fear and he couldn't move anymore, besides the uncontrollable quivering. He was scared and the weak hands that grabbed the other boys shoulders tightened in a vain attempt to push him away. But he wasn't scared of the boy, no, not at one point had he ever feared him. He was afraid of being found out. He was afraid of moving away again. He was afraid of everyone at the school finding out, no; not everyone. Just one person. One...

'Naruto...'

Sasuke's breath returned to him again suddenly. Why, now of all times, was he thinking of him? Why did he care? He hardly knew the kid, then why...?

A small sound came out of the raven's throat and Makoto stopped to lean in closer. "What was that, sweetheart?" His words were slimy and the boy felt the girl wince.

"Stop it..." she uttered, the quiver in her voice was irresistible.

"You'll have to be louder than that to make me stop." The cold metal edge traced from Sasuke's neck to his lips, then dipped down to the collar of his shirt and pressed down.

"Stop!!" Sasuke's hands wrapped around the hand holding the blade and the fingers on his leg disappeared, then reappeared over his neck, slamming the back of his head into the brick again. Darkness blossomed over Sasuke's eyes then lingered in the back his vision like a backdrop on a stage.

"Louder!!" Makoto growled.

"That's enough!!"

Sasuke's body froze and he could feel the other boy's do the same. Makoto turned his head slowly and met the raging glare of Uzumaki Naruto. "The hell are you doing here, Uzumaki?" he spat, still pinning Saki to the wall. Makoto peeked behind Naruto's frame and saw his other buddy lying unconscious on the ground, Keigo had probably fled.

Naruto's rage increased ten-fold when he registered the frightened look on the raven's face. His fists clenched and unclenched and his shoulders visibly shook. "Get away from her," he ordered darkly, a growl rumbling in the back of this throat.

Makoto sneered at him. "Or what?" he laughed, shoving Saki in front of his body and holding the blade to her throat, facing the blonde.

Sasuke senses returned in time to save him and he took advantage of the shift in movement to deliver a hard blow to the boy's abdomen. He felt the knife slip and twisted away to safety. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw the blonde whiz by him and heard the sound of bones clattering against a solid surface. Sasuke winced mentally. He had planned to just run away the moment he found an opening, leave Naruto to deal with the perv, but for some reason, he stopped. Sasuke turned around slowly, his eyes widening slightly.

Naruto showed no mercy. Makoto took another even harder blow to his abdomen, paralyzing his diaphragm and knocking him barely over the edge of consciousness. Makoto no longer held up a fight, the initial blow was paralyzing enough, but each consecutive blow after that left no time for a recovery. He was now helpless. And Naruto showed no signs of stopping, not until...

'He's going to die...' Sasuke mind blurted out, then screamed. 'He's going to die!!'

The blonde's fist dripped with blood and the once threatening boy underneath his hold was no longer moving, but he didn't let up.

"Stop it!!" Sasuke yelled, spinning on his heel and rushing back to the pair. He latched onto Naruto's wrist as it reeled back again and halted the continuous string of beatings. A feral growl escaped Naruto's throat and he turned at glare at Sasuke. "What the hell are you doing?! You're going to kill him!!" the raven screamed at the other's face.

Naruto seemed to finally snap out of his blind rage and he blinked, his face returning to it's normal composure, instead of it's twisted, raging counterpart. Makoto sagged against the wall and Naruto quickly dropped him and backed away as if it was burning him. The oceans in his blue eyes darkened with fear and he raised his arms in a defensive way. 'What have I done? What have I...'

The boy wasn't moving. Naruto was slowly beginning to hyperventilate.

'Did I...kill..him?' He swallowed thickly, then looked up at Saki. She was eying him warily.

"No..." Naruto whispered then grabbed his head, shaking it back and forth. "No...no...no no no no no!!"

"Naruto," Saki called and reached out to him, but he slapped her hand away and stumbled backwards. She looked shocked and her hand recoiled over her chest.

Naruto stared at her and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

He was confused. 'Why isn't she running away?' He had expected her to run, run away like all the others. Wasn't she afraid? Did she not understand what just happened? Why wasn't she running?!

After a long moment of silence, Saki's mouth opened to break the tension. "Come on..." she murmured, brushing by Naruto and grabbing his wrist to tug him along. "We should leave before somebody sees and the police show up."

Naruto was completely befuddled. What was with this girl?! "Saki..." he started hesitantly, "What you saw back there-"

"It's no big deal," she concluded.

"But...Saki, I-...I just about killed him!! I-"

A shudder rocked Sasuke's body and his knees gave out under him. Naruto quickly dropped to his knees as well and grabbed his shoulders. "Hey!! Are you okay? What's wrong?" Naruto began a quick examination and stopped at the dirt marks and dried blood on Saki's face and knees. "You're knees. Did they hurt you?" he asked, urgently.

Saki shook her head. "No...I'm fine. Just...cold, that's all." Another shudder vibrated through her frame and she brought her arms up around herself.

"Saki..." Naruto whispered and gently touched her back. He pulled his hands back almost immediately. "Shit...you're soaked!! No wonder you're freezing, what happened?!"

Sasuke's eyes darkened and he dropped his head. "I don't want to talk about it," he said lowly.

Naruto look concerned and he briefly wondered if Kiba's phone call said anything pertaining to this. He stood and took off his school blazer that he was still wearing, unbuttoned. He placed it gently over the girl's shivering form and helped her to her feet again.

"What are you doing?" she asked, squirming a bit when he placed his arm over her shoulders and pushed her forward.

"Keeping you warm," he replied smiling. "You'll get sick if we don't warm you up and get you inside and into some dry clothes."

Sasuke frowned, but kept his mouth shut.

After a few minutes of silence, Naruto noticed that Saki was still shaking. He looked her over tentatively, and wondered if her shakiness was actually being caused by the cold anymore. He decided to test it. Naruto slowly eased his hand down the length of Saki's arm, then slid it past her waist and brushed it along the small of her back. He felt the girl's steps falter slightly and a sharp intake of breath.

Sasuke felt the hands squeeze his shoulders and pull him to a halt. When he looked to the owner of the hands, he was staring straight into his eyes. "What?" Sasuke asked, annoyed.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Naruto asked again.

"I'm fine!!" he assured him firmly.

Naruto looked doubtful.

Sasuke quickly retorted back, "Well, what about you, huh? You looked pretty freaked out back there as well! And what was that all about anyway?"

The blonde's eyes widened and he looked shocked again.

Sasuke immediately regretted bringing that up after seeing the look on the other boy's face.

Suddenly, Naruto looked ashamed, and he directed his gaze to the side, bringing one hand across his body to hold onto his other arm. "I'm sorry...you had to see that," he muttered.

"What?"

"I didn't want for you to see that...for anyone to see that." A twisted smile appeared on his lips and he glanced up at Saki. "And here I thought that those sessions were helping. Damn."

"Sessions?" Saki almost stuttered.

"Anger management," Naruto shrugged and waited for Saki's reaction. 'Still not running yet?' He lifted a hand and scratched at his neck. "It's not the first time that's happened. Lost my temper almost killing a kid. In fact, it hasn't happened in a long time. First time it happened, though," Naruto paused, a far-off look glazing his eyes, "I was suspended from school for the rest of the year."

Sasuke felt his eyes widen with surprise. He would have never guessed that this guy would be...dangerous.

After realizing that this girl was not going to be taking off any time soon, or at least until Naruto finishes his story, he took to leaning against the alley wall, shoving his slowly freezing hands into his pants pockets. "I went to court and got stuck with a bunch of community service. It wasn't so bad. But the worst part was when I got done and was able to go back to school."

"What happened?" Sasuke found himself suddenly asking. Then felt stupid for his blatant eagerness.

A ghost of a smile appeared on Naruto's face again. "Nothing. Nothing happened because no one would approach me. Not even my friends. They all just...stared at me and then avoid eye contact if I were to look at them. When I would try to talk to someone, they would get frightened and hastily answer before running away. I called them on it once, but that was it. Because the next thing I knew, I was sitting in the counselor's office making arrangements for taking an anger management course." When the blonde looked up at Saki again, his eyes held nothing but sadness and pain. "It was lonely. Everyone knew I was there, because they knew they had to run away. And it hurt. Some people still are afraid of me, some even hate me for it."

"Naruto..."

Saki's voice snapped him out of his trance and he blinked belatedly. He laughed nervously and scratched at his neck again, in an embarrassed gesture. "Eheh...sorry. Got a little carried away there. Anyway, that all happened over a year ago and I've got great friends now."

It was painful to see such a dramatic change in attitude. The smile looked so natural too, it was painful to watch. "Well, I told you my story, so how about you? You can start by telling me why you're soaked to the bone and currently freezing your limbs off out here."

Sasuke bit his lip and shrunk back. "I..." he hesitated.

There was suddenly a shuffling noise and someone shouted, "Freeze!!"

The pair turned to see a gun pointed at Naruto, held by an exhausted looking man. Naruto didn't recognize him and he froze, but Sasuke's features darkened with anger.

"Asuma!!" Sasuke shouted, storming angerly towards the man.

Asuma blinked and looked the boy up and down. "Shit, you look like you got hit by a car. What happened Sa-" Sasuke sent him a look and Asuma faltered, remembering their company. "-ki."

Naruto blinked in confusion.

"Put the gun down, I'll tell you later." Sasuke pushed on the arm holding the gun, lowering it. "How did you find me?"

"You're phone has an automatic GPS, I know where you are 24/7." Asuma looked smug.

"Great," the raven rolled his eyes.

"And what the hell was that whole scene about back in the car?! You can't just jump out of a moving car!! Are you insane?!"

"She did what?!" Naruto blurted unexpectedly, and Asuma raised his gun again, glaring at the poor teen.

"I said, put the gun down!I'll explain later, just give us a ride back to the school." Sasuke brushed past the man and began walking back towards the street.

Asuma fell into step with him and leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Who's the kid?" he asked, still eying the kid behind them.

"He's...from my school." Sasuke chose his words carefully.

The man looked dubious.

Sasuke growled, "He helped me out, okay? Just drop it."

The ride back was quieter than expected. Naruto sat silently in the back seat, carefully staring out the window. Sasuke gazed distractedly out the window as well, leaning his head in his palm and silently trying to control his shiverring. Asuma didn't say another word, until they got back to the school, but he kept glancing at the boy in the backseat.

"Thanks for the ride, sir," Naruto thanked politely, with a slight bow.

"Sure, no problem. Oh, Saki," he called out when Sasuke moved to get out of the car. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

Sasuke turned and glared at the man, then gave Naruto a look that told him to leave. Or wait for him. Somewhere else. He slipped back into the car and closed the door.

It was silent for a few seconds, Sasuke staring blankly forward and Asuma holding the steering wheel even though they were parked, looked straight forward as well. "You wanna tell me what happened?" Asuma asked easily.

"No."

The man huffed. Fine, if Sasuke was going to be stubborn then parental authority should cut him down to size. "Alright, then. Tell me what happened. Now."

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Nothing happened. I just took a walk, that's all."

"Sasuke, you're whiter than a sheet and I know it's not from the cold. Now, if you don't tell me what happened I'm going to find out from that kid, and I know he won't lie to me."

"I got into a fight, okay?!" the teen growled, and seethed at the man.

Asuma stared right back with a look that knew he was lying.

Sasuke huffed and crossed his arms, slamming his back into the seat. "Some guys jumped me in the alley and-"

"Sasuke!!" Asuma roared.

"They didn't do anything!! That kid showed up and helped me out!! Nothing happened!!" he defended himself, raising his voice as well.

"In case you're forgetting, Saki, people think that you're a girl!! You aren't a guy to them, you can't go wandering in the streets by yourself dressed that like!! Especially at this time of night!! Do you have any idea what might have happened if-"

"Yes, I know!!"

Asuma paused to take a breath.

"I know..." Sasuke voice quivered and he gripped the hem of his skirt so tight, he thought it might tear. It took all of his self-control and dignity not to break down in the car, but he pulled it off. "But it didn't happen. It didn't."

Asuma was quiet for a few minutes, the only sound was Sasuke's uneven breathing as he tried to get a grip on himself again. He leaned over and fished out Sasuke's cell phone, holding down a button to turn it back on, then placed it again in the raven's lap. "Call me in the morning," he said evenly, staring back out the window. "And please...please, Sasuke. Try to be more careful. And if that means sticking around with kids like him," he paused to stare pointedly at the blonde teen standing in the alone in the courtyard, "then by all means, do it."

"Got it," Sasuke muttered then stepped out of the car.

He caught up to the waiting boy, and Asuma rolled down a window and honked his horn. "Hey, kid!!"

The pair turned around to face him, though they knew he was addressing Naruto.

Asuma winked at them, then shouted, "Take care of my girl, okay?"

Naruto blushed for some reason and Sasuke shot Asuma a dark look, tempted to send something heavy crashing through his windshield. "Y-yeah!" Naruto replied hesitantly, before the black car sped off.

When Naruto turned back to Saki, her head was lowered and she looked almost embarrassed. He chuckled, "So, that's not your-"

"Legal guardian, that's all," she answered quickly, before turning towards the school.

Naruto followed side by side, sending a side-long glance towards Saki every time she shivered. They reached the dorm hall and paused at the 'T' at the top of the staircase.

"Guess this is where we say 'good night,' huh?" Naruto said awkwardly, shifting his weight on his feet.

"Yeah..." Sasuke mumbled, but made no move to leave.

It was dark, and Naruto couldn't make out her expression. He shifted again before asking, "Is something wrong?"

Sasuke turned away then, "No, it's nothing. Good night."

Naruto saw her beginning to walk away. 'Now's my chance.' He reached out, hoping he wouldn't miss, and smiled when his hand wrapped around her thin wrist. She gasped when she was jerked back around and was stopped, suddenly facing Naruto. He leaned up, for they were about the same height, and brushed dark bangs away from the girl's forehead before pressing his lips against the cold skin.

Naruto's lips burned, and the place where they met her forehead tingled after he pulled away. "Good night," he whispered, then released her wrist.

Sasuke stepped back awkwardly, legs feeling a bit wobbly. He felt his face heating up and his hand creeping up to touch the spot, but then he aborted the action and almost ran back to his dorm.

The blonde watched her make her escape, then slowly turned to the closest door. He put his hand on the door and cracked his forehead against the wood. "Stupid stupid stupid!!" he chanted, banging his skull against the door until shouts of protest came from the other side. He apologized and began walking towards his own dorm. 'What the hell was that?! She probably thinks I'm a creep now!! Aagh, Naruto you're such an idiot!!

Sasuke stared at his own door in a trance-like state, face beginning to cool down but still feeling like it was on fire. His head jerked in the direction he had just came from when he heard a door slam from the other end of the hall. Shaking his head briefly, he proceeded to open his door and step inside. A sound similar to squeezing water from a sponge reminded him of the current condition of his room when his shoe met the carpet.

Sasuke sighed, 'Great...now where am I going to sleep?' He thought about the people he knew so far. Which was pretty much no one.Naruto came to mind at first, but that only screamed of more danger. Asuma? 'And go through one of his headache-enducing lectures again? I'll pass,' he thought bitterly. Sakura and- Sasuke wanted to stab himself for even allowing his mind to consider them.

Really, where else was he to go? This was the only choice he had. Which was why Sasuke was trying not to throw up as he passed the staircase leading down the boys' dorm hall. He had caught a small glimpse of the door when Naruto's had slammed it shut earlier and he was pretty sure he had found the right one. Sasuke's fist shook and he raised it to knock on the door. That lecture was beginning to sound very pleasant the moment his fist tapped lightly on the wooden surface.

He heard a voice come from the other side, growing closer. "You didn't forget your key again, did you Ki-baagh?!" Naruto's face appeared when the door opened, but he hastily jumped back when he saw who stood at his door. "S-S-Saki!Uhm...hey, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in bed?" he stuttered, partially hiding behind his door.

Saki refused to make eye contact, which Naruto was grateful for. "I wanted to ask you something,' she mumbled.

Shit!! "Listen, if it's about what happened back at the stairs, I'm sorry!! I really didn't mean to, I just- I'm so sorry!!"

Sasuke shook his head, "No, that's not it."

Naruto blinked, confused. "Huh?"

The raven shifted uncomfortably, and Naruto suddenly noticed that her clothes were still wet.

"Hey, why aren't you in dry-" Naruto started to ask, but was interrupted.

"I was wondering...if I could stay with you tonight."

The blush that stained the blonde's face was almost painful.

Sasuke found his face heating up almost immediately. "No!! That's not what I meant!!" he corrected himself. "I mean...my room is 'out of order,' I guess you could say, and I thought it would be okay if I stayed here, but-"

"No, no!! It's fine, but why here? Don't you have any..." Naruto's implication died off as Saki's eyes narrowed in the darkness.

"R-Right! You're new here! Ahah, I guess I forgot!" he quickly lied and stepped to the side to let her in. "Uhm...are you sure you're okay with this? We both will be in huge trouble if anyone finds out..."

"Then no one will find out," Saki stated firmly, and turned to stare at the blonde. "No one will find out, right?"

"Right..." he agreed half-heartedly. "Uhm, you probably want some clothes to sleep in, right?" Naruto originally planned to ask why she didn't bring any dry clothes, but after the reaction he got the first time, he decided to assume that she needed some. He walked into his bedroom and fished out an old t-shirt and some sweat pants.

Sasuke nodded his thanks when he received the clothes and was directed to the bathroom. His skin felt raw as he peeled away the damp clothes that left unsightly red blotches on his body. The dry clothes felt nice, and warm, and had a pepper-like aroma. That damned lingerie known as a bra left noticeable red lines across his sides just below his arms and they stung. He turned to the side and noticed that he looked way too flat-chested to pull of being a girl, even in the baggy old shirt. Reluctantly, he slid the still-damp, pain-inducing, breath-inhibiting death trap back over his shoulders, under his shirt, and stepped out of the bathroom.

Naruto was watching television and chewing on a toothpick when Saki entered the room and looked around. The first thing she noticed, besides Naruto, was that there were two beds.

"You have a roommate?" she asked, still standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Mm? Oh yeah," he said nonchalantly. "It's just Kiba. I don't know if you've met him, but he doesn't bite."

Sasuke faintly remembers an obnoxious brunet in his English class that is frequently seen goofing off with the blonde. "I see..."

The delicate stick snapped in half and Naruto pouted for a second then threw it off to the side carelessly. "Don't worry, Kiba won't mind if you're here. If he's got a problem with it, I'll just tell him to sleep in Shino's room or something. So, you wanna watch a movie or something?"

Her weight shifted from left to right. "Actually, I think I just want to go to sleep."

Naruto shrugged and stood up from the couch he was positioned on and stretched. "Alright. You can go ahead and sleep in my bed, if you want. I'll sleep in Kiba's, and like I said, if he has anything to say about it I'll kick him out."

Saki nodded and followed the boy to the bedroom. She sank down tentatively on the edge of the mattress as Naruto carelessly flopped onto the opposite bed.

He sighed appreciatively, "Hmm, Kiba's got a comfy bed. Why didn't I think of this sooner?"

Saki stared at him until he looked up.

"Oh, sorry," he mumbled, sitting upright and flipping so he could lean back on his arms. "Uhm..." the blonde racked his brain for the information he picked up about having guests over. "Are you hungry, or thristy? I could get you a drink or something..."

The raven shook her head, looking awkward and stiff on the unfamiliar bed. Naruto pondered it for a moment, then stood up with a sigh and sauntered over to the bed. He sat down heavily next to the girl and fell back with a poof, thinking that maybe she would relax a bit if he showed her that the bed wasn't going to eat her if she laid down.

After a while, it worked and she eased herself onto her back, using her arms as support. She stared at the ceiling next to him, at least a foot still separating them.

"So," Naruto began, breaking the silence that almost had Sasuke falling asleep, "Why are you here?"

"I told you, I can't sleep in my room tonight," Saki answered, bitterness edging her voice.

"Care to elaborate?" Naruto turned on his side and propped his body up on one elbow to grin at her.

"No," she mumbled and turned away.

Naruto whined and poked at her shoulder, "Aww, come on! I've done more than my share of talking for the night; it's your turn!!"

Sasuke would have just ignored the idiot, but that poking in his shoulder was damn annoying. Giving up, he flipped back over to face him and sat up, like he was, grabbing the tanned wrist with his other hand. "It was sabotaged!"

The blonde stared blankly. "What?"

"Sabotaged!! My room was sabotaged; broken into, then something set the sprinkler system off and soaked everything."

"Are you serious?" Naruto gaped after a short pause, "That's terrible!"

"You think?" he mumbled sarcastically.

"Saki, I..." Naruto paused. He didn't know what to say. "I guess that explains why you were all wet, then."

Saki's hand came across Naruto's face in a blur.

"Don't think I deserved that," he winced.

"You deserved every bit," she growled, thumping back over, her back to Naruto again.

Naruto hummed and leaned over her, smiling. "Kinda like, how you deserve this?" he asked innocently, running the fingers of his free hand over Saki's side.

She jumped violently and smacked the hand away. "Hey!"

The boy grinned and ran his fingers over her again, this time at the juncture of her shoulder and neck.

Saki jerked away once again. "Stop it, Naruto," she warned, glaring at him over her shoulder.

"Are you ticklish?" the blonde smirked, continuing his torture.

Finally, Sasuke flipped again to face Naruto, catching both his wrists and forcing him flat onto his back, pinning him to the mattress. "Cut it out," he growled, glaring into wide, surprised eyes.

'Damn,' Naruto thought, twisting his wrists experimentally, 'This girl has one hell of a grip.'

Sasuke watched the teen beneath him wet his lips for merely a second, but the action evoked an alien urge inside of his body. He was drawn to the boy's lips like a moth to an electric lamp, and the result would be the same as well; injury, hurt, death. He still remembered what it felt like to have those lips pressed against his forehead; he couldn't imagine what it would be like to have them against his own.

Sasuke stopped his train of thought right there. Does that mean that I'm gay? To have those sort of feelings...no. In Sasuke's mind, there was no such thing as homo and heterosexual. People shouldn't be classified like that because of the gender of the person they have feelings for. Humans have no control over their intimate emotions, so whether this person they yearn for is either male or female should be considered trivial. Small details, like the sex of a person, doesn't matter when it comes to love.

'Shouldn't...matter,' Sasuke corrected himself, because it did matter. To the world, at least. Sasuke hoped that trivial details like that meant as much to Naruto as they did to him; nothing.

Because what would he think...

If he knew that underneath the disguise...

It was a boy he was kissing.

Dun dun dun! Uh oh, you're in trouble now, Saki!! Hur hur, I hope you enjoyed this chapter because I wrote 12.5 pages for you guys. Which is more that I usually write per chapter! Now, things will begin to pick up in the story so stay with me and drop me a message. Because reviews are my fuel and my imagination is a gas-guzzling piece of shit. Have a nice day, you guys! (Sorry again for the delay...) --Nina