Disclaimer: I don't own nor have I contributed to Naruto in any way! Nope! None!

2nd Disclaimer: I don't own any songs mentioned in this fic!

Sky-eyed Kitsune: What is this? She has…risen? Like a zombie from the grave this fic rises, out to bite and ignite curiosity in you all!

….no, not really. I took an extremely long hiatus for three reasons: a lack of enthusiasm, a lack of time, and last but not least, an extreme case of writers block. While on leave I tried to come back to this story (along with others) again and again, only to stare at the computer screen blankly. I hmm'ed and haww'd over this fic for the better part of a year, honestly. Finally some inspiration struck, and I've had more time to actually write it out. For those fans who have been here since the start, thank you so very much for your enduring patience. To those just joining us, please feel welcome, and thank you as well!

WARNING: MadaNaru

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Chapter Eighteen: Ugly Truth

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Sasuke stood in the entrance way of his apartment, facing the door that Naruto had shut not ten minutes ago...

"I want to break up."

Sasuke didn't even know where it had come from, and at first he even laughed a little and took it as a joke. But his lover's fierce eyes had told him otherwise.

Sasuke's smirk faded as Naruto's lips thinned out to an unwavering line.

"Dobe, don't say that with such a serious face," he said, crossing his arms.

"I am serious, Sasuke," Naruto replied, staring him straight in the eye. "I want to break up."

Sasuke found that his tongue was suddenly shot. His eyes went wide and his arms fell to his sides.

…what?

All Sasuke could do was blink, and Naruto finally sighed.

"You didn't do anything," he said, his eyes shifting to the floor. "This is just something that needs to happen right now."

Why!? Why was this happening? What had changed!? There were so many things that Sasuke wanted to scream at that moment but he found himself paralyzed by the sick feeling in his gut and the words tumbling from his lover's mouth.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I don't want to do the whole, 'it's not you it's me' thing, but it's true. I'm being selfish right now…" His eyes raised back up, and the instant Sasuke saw a tear escape he held the blond fiercely in his arms, kissing him like he had never kissed this man in his entire life but dreamt of it every night. Again and again he enveloped Naruto's lips quickly, softly, trying to urge a response from him….but there was nothing.

Sasuke felt his eyes burn as two hands placed themselves on his shoulders and pushed him away gently.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke," Naruto said, his blond bangs hiding his eyes.

Sasuke felt as though he was glued to the floor as Naruto turned and left. The silence that ensued after the blond left was all encompassing, as though the man had never even been there in the first place.

Sasuke still stood in the same spot, fists clenched at his side and teeth grit to hold back a stinging wall of tears.

He would open that door and Naruto would be there with that stupid grin, teasing him about the prank he had pulled, how Sasuke's reaction had been priceless….

So he opened the door, just a little.

But there was nothing.

Sasuke put his back to the door as he shut it softly, and he felt his knees lose strength as he slowly crumbled down to the floor. His legs came up to meet his chest, and he leaned forward until his head just barely touched the top of his knees.

The tears didn't come in an eruption like a broken dam. They came with an unexpected gentleness, almost tender to his skin as they surged in warm trails down his face, falling from his cheeks like raindrops.

It wasn't until later that night, curled alone in bed, that he felt the snap inside his chest, as if a threshold had been breached, and he sobbed openly, his arms wrapping around his shoulders. Uchihas didn't cry. Sasuke couldn't remember a time when he had ever really cried. Perhaps as an infant, but that was more of a wailing, and as a child closer to sniffling. These were very unique and foreign tears to Sasuke. They were soft yet loud, they were bitter and salty, they felt hot on his skin but fell cold on his bedsheets.

Sasuke realized that it was the first time he had lost something so precious, so dear to him. The first time that someone had taken up a place inside him, and taken that piece with them when they left, leaving the empty space hollow and throbbing like an open wound.

But Sasuke didn't care about the stolen piece. He only wanted the person who had taken it.

Naruto had kept himself as busy as possible during the past two weeks.

Working for Akatsuki should have been like a dream, but it all passed by in a blur. Of course his photo shoots were faultless, and next to Madara in public the media ate him up like candy. The cameras weren't even a blip on his radar anymore where once they made him nearly a hermit in his own house.

There were times when Naruto would wake up in Madara's arms completely numb, and he thanked god…until he realized that he could still hear the heart beat in his ears and feel the breath in his lungs. It was only his imagination; or rather, his wish.

It didn't take long for a picture of Naruto and Madara holding hands while walking down the Tokyo strip to make the cover of every celebrity magazine. Jiraiya was exceptionally calm about the entire sittuation. The exposure wasn't indecent, and Naruto knew that his father was trying to be just that: a father, not just a manager anymore. Part of Naruto wished that Jiraiya would dog Madara the way he had Sasuke, forbidding them to be together.

Naruto couldn't explain it, but the day that he had woken up next to his new lover and broken away from his old one, he hadn't felt…right. The entire day he was hot no matter what he stripped down to, he was dizzy and confused half the time, his stomach twisted with knots, and he could barely focus on anything without almost slipping into a light slumber.

Needless to say he had gone to the doctor after introducing Jiraiya to Madara (under his father's direct command). Nothing could be found wrong, but he still had tests taken from top to bottom (also under Jiraiya's jurisdiction). Even though the results wouldn't be in for weeks and the next day Naruto felt entirely normal, Jiraiya was concerned enough to shave off some work.

The production for Crimson Eyes was put on hold as Naruto took vacation time to rest. His modeling career however could not be halted, his new contract specifically stipulating that all work for a shoot must be completed before any hiatus.

Even though his body seemed in balance, Naruto couldn't help but feel that all the sparks he had for Madara had disappeared. The day that Naruto dumped Sasuke he was, of course, upset about it, but when he went back to Madara those lips set him aflame.

And then….nothing. There was nothing there. Naruto couldn't explain it; it was like touching a sword hot from the iron only to return the next morning to a cold, steely kiss. It all felt wrong. He felt wrong. Why had he chosen Madara? Naruto would admit that that night had taken his breath away, and there was something about Madara's kiss that almost got him high off of the man…but any residual effects of his early magic was gone. Whatever spell Madara had woven had run its course.

Naruto woke up every day and nearly wretched at the man he saw lying beside him, the knot in his stomach already tightened at the crack of dawn. Touches sent only shivers, kisses left him cold, and the hand holding his was made of stone.

Why?

"Naruto-kun."

"Huh?" Naruto blinked himself back to reality. Madara smiled at him good naturedly as he handed him his cup of coffee. He felt compelled to grin a little back at his boyfriend. He had made his decision, he couldn't go back. He was sure that he had already devastated Sasuke, and he couldn't bear the thought of hurting someone else, even if what he had with Madara was all a lie.

They linked their free hands as they left the small café, cameras on them almost instantly.

"Ah!" Naruto yelped as he sipped his cup without thinking.

"Everything alright?" Madara asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I burned my tongue," Naruto said, trying to suck in the cold winter air.

"I can help," Madara said, before placing a hand on the back of Naruto's neck and tilting his head up, giving the media a perfect shot of their first public kiss.

Naruto winced as a tongue brushed against his tender one. He pushed Madara away and placed a hand over his mouth, the sudden need to rub his lips with his sleeve almost intolerable.

"It hurts," he explained for Madara, for the media.

For himself.

Itachi rang the doorbell to his brother's apartment. Normally he would just walk in like he owned the place, but for some reason he felt like being a gentleman today.

...

That feeling left in all of about fifteen seconds when no one answered the door. Itachi pulled out his spare key, but was surprised to find the door completely unlocked already.

Itachi poked his head in first, in case of an attack, but the den was empty…ghostly, even.

"Sasuke?" he said aloud, closing the door behind him and removing his shoes before walking on the carpet. He hiked his laptop case up higher on his shoulder.

He checked in the kitchen. No one. He was sure that he had seen his brother's motorcycle parked outside. Itachi moved to the bedroom and rolled his eyes at the squished bundle under the covers.

"Oi, Sasuke," he said, nudging the lump.

"Go away, Itachi," it hissed, and Itachi sighed and sat down on the end of the bed.

"I went to your workplace but Tsunade said you were taking your vacation days." He narrowed his eyes to his hidden brother. "Uchihas don't take vacation days. What's the matter with you?"

"I'm sick, now get out of my house," came the curt reply, and in one graceful move Itachi stood, grabbed a fistful of the covers, and whisked them off. Sasuke glared at him heatedly, and Itachi was surprised to see him fully dressed, not in the usual disgusting "sick" attire of old pajamas at all.

Itachi hummed aloud in thought as he leaned down and pressed his forehead against Sasuke's, to his brother's utter distemper.

"Normal," he said. He looked closely at his brother's complexion. "Normal," he repeated. He moved to slap his brother's cheek but his wrist was caught in a quick reflex. "And normal." Itachi stood up straight. Sasuke was never one to shove work aside for anything (which was a flaw in many respects but to an Uchiha an essential one). Itachi suddenly zeroed in on his brother's red-rimmed, bloodshot eyes.

"Have you…been crying?" he asked, his voice bordering on incredulous, and Sasuke snarled.

"Get out of my house, Itachi!"

"So you have." Itachi crossed his arms, his expression suddenly stern. The two held a glaring contest for a while before Sasuke moved his glare down to his lifeless hands.

"Naruto," he said simply, and Itachi hummed aloud. Sasuke suddenly returned his scowl back on his brother full force. "Why are you even here?"

"I came for an explanation," Itachi said, reaching into his laptop case.

"Explanation of wh—" Sasuke stopped midsentence as Itachi held up the latest issue of Pop*Tokyo magazine.

Jiraiya slammed the magazine down onto his desk with a resounding smack of his palm.

"You demanded to see me for this?" Jiraiya snarled, grinding his teeth. "Do you have any idea of the havoc you've wrought on my schedule?"

"First off, I didn't demand to see you," Tsunade said with calm, crossed arms. Jiraiya sent a sideways glare to Kakashi who stood next to him.

"She threatened me with a stapler," he said simply, and Jiraiya felt the vein between his temple throb. He massaged the bridge of his nose with thumb and forefinger, leaning back in his chair.

"Let's just discuss this quickly, please," he said, and Tsunade took the magazine back off of her desk.

"It's funny how up until Madara came into Naruto's life you were so controlling of his social spotlight," she said pensively, before throwing the magazine back onto the table. "Now you're allowing kiss-shots to go public."

"What's your point?" Jiraiya snapped. "Naruto isn't a child anymore and I've come to accept that. I found that I let my own prejudices take control of Naruto's social life, and in doing so I only pushed him away."

Tsunade stood from her chair and pushed the magazine against Jiraiya's face.

"And this is your response?" she seethed, and Jiraiya grabbed the magazine, crumpling it in his fist.

"I would think that you of all people would be happy!" he nearly shouted. "This is a cash cow for your photographers and editors!"

"If that editor were here it would be!" Tsunade roared back. "Uchiha Sasuke hasn't shown his face here since Naruto left for Akatsuki."

"They broke up—" Jiraiya was caught up as Tsunade stretched halfway over her desk (impressive bosom bouncing) and took the magazine from his fist. "You dumb ape!" She smoothed out the cover, muttering curses all the while under her breath. Then with a deep, calming breath she stood.

"I don't know all the details Jiraiya, but I realize that Naruto and Sasuke were dating. Iruka couldn't not tell me, the mother hen. I also know that young love is susceptible to heartache, tubs of ice cream and sappy break-up songs." She walked around to the front of her desk, leaning against it with the magazine held to her chest.

"Sounds as though you're speaking from experience," Jiraiya said flatly, and Tsunade huffed a little, surprisingly deaf to his words.

"Have you ever heard of a 'rebound relationship', Jiraiya?" she asked, and said man rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"It's…ah….a rebound?" he shrugged, and Tsunade slammed the stapler on her desk a few times to keep herself from slapping him.

"Yes…yes it is," she grit out. "It's when a person goes from one broken relationship to another immediately, hoping to keep the happy feelings and lovey-doveyness going even though it's all a big sham."

"And?" Jiraiya asked, and this time Tsunade handed him the magazine calmly. He sighed. "You think Naruto is in a rebound?"

"No," she said. "Rebound relationships, like the originals, are full of ooey gooey revolting lovey joy." She pointed to the magazine. "Tell me what wrong with that picture."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow as he looked down. It was a large cover piece featuring Naruto and Madara, headlines featuring Japan's newest "hootttt!" couple. They were holding hands outside a local coffee shop, Madara in his signature sunglasses and Naruto in an orange and black sweater—his favorite, Jiraiya knew. He looked up to Tsunade with inquisitive eyes, but she only nodded back to the picture.

Jiraiya scrunched his eyes a little as he tried to focus on the details. Hand holding must have been drool-worthy for the media to capture. Madara seemed to always have a sexy, mysterious smirk plastered to his face, and it was no different in this photo. In his free hand he held a coffee cup, and Jiraiya could see the dusky trail of a cigarette leading out from between Naruto's fingers.

Jiraiya blinked. He shook his head. He opened the magazine up to the cover story where several other pictures were arranged alongside columns of gossip and editorial comments.

And he saw it again.

Here a smoke, there a smoke, everywhere a smoke smoke.

"He's smoking!" Jiraiya shouted, hunching over to pour into the magazine.

"And…?" Tsunade sighed.

Jiraiya scanned the photographs like a madman on a hunt. There was that mysterious smirk, over and over. It paired nicely with Naruto's—

"Smile," Jiraiya suddenly murmured, and Tsunade flicked him sharply on his forehead.

"Bingo!" she exclaimed. Jiraiya ignored the swelling on his skin in favor of scanning the pictures again, this time slowly.

No. Not even on the cover was Naruto smiling. His face was a blank, as if all memory of who he was had been buffed away. His eyes were closed tightly in some photos where he was actively taking a smoke, and he looked almost forlorn in others, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jeans or hoodie. What hurt Jiraiya the most was the featured photograph: Naruto's first publicized kiss. His chin was forced upward by Madara's hand, his eyes wide with either surprise or confusion (the magazine chose 'surprise smooch!' clearly).

Jiraiya handed the magazine over to Kakashi next to him

"Burn this please," he sighed. He hunched forward until his elbows rested on his knees, and he let his head droop a little.

"I'm ready," he said quietly to Tsunade. "Bring on the stapler."

Tsunade shook her head as she pushed her abused stapler off to the side of her desk. "In light of you understanding the gravity of this situation, I will withdraw my weapon." Her eyes became softer as she looked at the man slumped in the chair across from her, suddenly looking ten years older. "Something is going on, and we need to investigate."

Jiraiya didn't look up from the carpet. "I can't interfere like that again. I don't want to lose him again."

"But it's hurting him!" Tsunade insisted. She grabbed the magazine cover and insistently pointed to Madara. "This, this relationship is hurting him! Why would Naruto suddenly dropkick the Uchiha out of his life in a matter of 24 hours?"

"They're young," Jiraiya shrugged. "Love may come slowly, but lust can turn on a dime."

"You know Naruto isn't like that." Tsunade leaned back in her chair, beginning to rip up the magazine page by page as she stared out into space. "We can't just do nothing..."

Jiraya nearly fell out of his seat as Tsunade's chair skid loudly against the mahogany floor, and she swept past Kakashi (who gave her a wide berth). She stopped with her hand on her office door handle. "The Uchiha is my employee, and if his work is being affected then I have every right to question him within an inch of his life." She shot Jiraiya a determined look. "I'm getting to the bottom of this!"

Jiraiya blinked after her as she slammed the door. He turned slowly to Kakashi, about to speak, when the door suddenly opened again, and Tsunade strolled past them.

"I'm going to need this," she said as she reached for the stapler on her desk, before slamming the door shut again.

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Auntie Tsunade is gonna get shit done! I'm sure you're all wondering: will she go into another three year hiatus after this? Well my readers, life is unpredictable...which is my eloquent way of saying, "I dunno" '-shrug-. Seriously though, while I have time on my hands I've been looking at all of my fanfictions on here. Some I really want to finish, like "Thanks for the Venom", and some I just want to let go of, like "STRAY" because I have noticed that my writing style is shifting a bit. It should be noted that I have made progress on the next chapter of "Unshed" and finished the next one of "Crimson Stained Sky", but have yet to publish it on here. I have also not dawdled my time away and written many new sasunarusasu fics of different themes and prespectives, including one particular fic that is entirely finished (complete with add-on bonus chapter) and comes to a total of 105 pages in Word with 10.5 font...Why have I not published it? Because I think you would all rather see me finish one of my current stories first. But to be on the safe side I will post a poll on my page and see what you all would rather have. Until next time my lovelies!

Sky-eyed Kitsune