Six months. That's how long it had been since the village's number one, hyperactive, knuckle-headed ninja had begun dating the emotionally-stunted raven avenger. No one in the village had believed it. Even Naruto had thought it was strange when the Uchiha suddenly asked him out. He had spent four years of his life chasing the man, and even when he brought him back, Sasuke had refused to speak to him. Then Naruto had had to leave for a year...the blonde shook his head, trying to wipe that memory from his mind. He arrived back afterward, and a few days later, Sasuke had treated him to ramen and asked him out, there at the stand. Naruto had been completely blindsided and had gaped at Sasuke for several minutes before replying with a nonchalant 'sure'. Looking back, he had no idea what had compelled him to say yes. Yeah, he had chased Sasuke all over the world for a good part of his life, but did he have feelings for the other man? Apparently so, as they had been dating for six months without any serious problems; in fact, Naruto was happier than he had been for a while. He sighed contentedly and looked down at the parcel on his hand. Wrapped in a silk cloth embellished by the Uchiha clan symbol was a brand new, custom made ANBU mask that had cost Naruto an arm and a leg. It was an anniversary present for his boyfriend...he paused for a moment. Boyfriend. It still felt weird to call Sasuke that. He shrugged it off as he reached the gates to the house. A mischievous grin came over his face, and he raised his hands and formed a seal, his chakra instantly vanishing from existence. Or so it seemed. It was a trick the ero-sennin had taught him for spying on the bath houses in ninja villages. It was also effective when one wanted to surprise their significant others. Smiling at his own ingenuity, Naruto jumped noiselessly over the gate and into the building.

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He made it inside without incident, as stealthily as the Uchiha himself, and approached the man's bedroom. He looked down the hall to where his own bedroom was; though they were living together, Sasuke had insisted that they have separate rooms. Naruto, then, was actually kind of relieved to hear that, as he had been nervous about moving too fast. The two had yet to sleep together, a thought which, even though he was the one who had insisted they wait, ever so slightly irked him. He shrugged it off and inched closer to the other man's room, taking care not to make the wooden floorboards creak. He reached for the door handle, but paused, very suddenly, when he heard strange noises coming from within the room. He frowned, trying to identify the noises, but couldn't. He shrugged, took a deep, calming breath, plastered on his biggest grin, and thrust the door open, "Happy Anniver-" his words caught in his throat as the strange noises suddenly made painful sense. There, on the center of the bed, was his boyfriend, balls deep in the woman he considered to be his closest and most trusted friend.

"Naruto!" she cried, shoving Sasuke off of her, wincing as his penis exited her. She snatched at a sullied bed sheet and used it to cover herself. Naruto's eyes were wide with shock as he stared at her.

"Sakura...?" he said faintly. The gift in his hand fell to the ground as he spoke, his insides feeling as though they were being torn apart by hot pokers. He placed a hand over his stomach and fought back the wave of nausea that nearly overcame him. Sakura stood and started toward him, her eyes laden with concern. "Don't fucking touch me!!" he roared, and she stumbled back, eyes wide with fear as she noticed the eyes into which she was looking were red and slitted. Naruto stared at her coldly, watching her cower beneath his gaze. She turned away after a few moments, and broke down into sobs. "Pathetic," he mumbled, and turned to face the man in the room, who, after being thrown gracelessly to the ground, had stood and donned an expensive looking silk robe, complete with the Uchiha fan embroidered onto the back. He stared into the dark eyes he had once considered a refuge and found nothing. He looked more closely and saw a flash of something he never thought he would see in those dark eyes. The man was nervous. Naruto smirked, revealing longer than average canines, "Whatsa matter, Uchiha, didn't expect me back so soon?" his smirk widened at the flicker of surprise on the pale features at the gravelly tone his voice had taken. The emotion was gone as soon at it had appeared, and the raven narrowed his eyes.

"Dobe," Sasuke began, but was cut short by the low growl that emitted from Naruto in response to what had become his pet name.

"Don't you dare call me that now," he snarled, tears pricking at his eyes, "Don't you fucking dare," he whispered, his eyes flashing back to blue as his anger dissolved into pain, and the tears, no matter how desperately he fought against them, fell down his face. He turned away and breathed deeply for several moments to calm his crying, "How long?" he whispered, not looking at them

"Three months," Sasuke replied, ignoring the choked sob from the pink haired kunoichi. Naruto's head snapped up.

"Three Months?" he hissed, his eyes once again turning red, "We've only been dating for six months and you mean to tell me that for half of our relationship, you two have been fucking each other?" Sakura suddenly jumped up.

"No, Naruto!" she cried desperately, her sobs dying out as she took a step toward him, hope sparking in the light emerald depths, "This is the first time we've done it! For three months, Sasuke has been asking me about whether or not I'd be willing to surrogate for him!" Naruto's eyes widened.

"You want a kid?" he asked, dumbfounded. The Uchiha just nodded.

"See Naruto? We were just trying to conceive!" Sakura said smiling a watery smile, laughing slightly in relief. Her smile melted off her face as quickly as it had appeared, though, when she felt a surge of demonic chakra rise from Naruto, and she looked up to be met with an angry red eye.

"No, Sakura," he hissed, glaring angrily at her, "I don't see. I'm not fucking stupid. I know you don't need to have intercourse in order to become a surrogate. So help me god, if this is another of your fucking schemes to get Sasuke away from me, I will-"

"It was my idea," Sasuke interrupted, speaking dryly, as though commenting on the weather. Naruto looked bewildered, staring at Sasuke's face, trying to find some hint of untruth in those words.

"Your idea?" he asked, radiating more evil energy by the second. Sasuke shrugged, which only served to power another surge of chakra, "Did you want to get caught?" Naruto asked incredulously, chakra beginning to billow around him.

"Yes," came the simple reply. Very abruptly, the chakra surrounding Naruto disappeared, and an oppressive silence fell over the room. Naruto's bewildered expression was matched by Sakura, who was regarding the Uchiha as though he was crazy.

"Wha- why?" Naruto asked, breaking the silence.

"Listen, Naruto," Sasuke said flatly, clearly annoyed with the blonde man, "There was only one reason I went out with you, and it wasn't because I liked you." Naruto's eyes widened, hurt evident. Sakura's brows knitted together, looking reprimandingly at the Uchiha, glaring as she tried to silently tell him off. She looked back to Naruto in time to see the hurt melt off his face, and the expression that replaced it was one that sent shivers to her core. His blue eyes, normally radiating mirth, were cold and empty, oddly dull in the candlelit room.

"And what reason was that?" he asked, in a voice so frigid, Sasuke felt compelled to shiver. He fought the urge and continued speaking.

"Do you remember what I told you the council told me, the day I asked you out?" he provided. Naruto's eyes narrowed, shining again as he struggled to recall the conversation.

"You...you said they wanted you to have a kid, but you weren't ready and you were trying to find a way to..." Naruto trailed off as his eyes widened, realization hitting him with the force of one of Tsunade's punches. His eyes filled with a sadness that was greater than either of the other shinobi had ever seen, "You used me?" he asked softly.

"Yes, I did, and it worked," he said, smirking at Naruto's broken face. Sakura was now donning an expression of disgust as she looked at the last Uchiha, anger building inside her, the expression on Naruto's face still burned in her vision.

"Sasuke, how could you?" she asked, her tone expressing such aversion, it sounded as though she was talking about vomit. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Don't play little miss naive now," he snapped, ignoring her growl, "You were completely on board with the idea of sleeping with me." She looked away, tears of shame in her eyes.

"What a mistake that was," she said, her voice thick due to the sobs that threatened to release themselves at any moment, "You're pathetic," she whispered, "I would never knowingly hurt Naruto-"

"Sakura, shut up," Naruto growled. She stopped, an expression of shock preventing the tears from falling any further. Even Sasuke looked mildly surprised. Naruto turned to face the other man, anger returning to his features, "So what, Sasuke, what now? You used me to get the council off your back. Why didn't you just dump me? Why put me through this? I don't get it."

"Because, dobe," he sighed, ignoring Naruto's snarl at this, "I wanted to make it clear that I don't want anything to do with you anymore." Sakura gasped slightly, and Naruto's face once again became an emotionless mask. A silence occurred, while they absorbed the weight of that comment. Then:

"How could you say something like that?" Sakura screeched, "Naruto is your best friend!"

"He was," Sasuke corrected, "He was my best friend. And he was useful while I was getting people to trust me again. For that you have my thanks," he nodded at Naruto, whose face was still blank, "I have regained the trust of my comrades; now I need to regain the trust of the villagers. What better way than to break the nine-tails' heart?" There was a pregnant pause in the room. Naruto's face was blank and staring, his blue eyes empty. Sakura looked as though someone had just spat in her face. Then she snarled.

"Sasuke!" she yelled, "Don't you dare-"

"Sakura," Naruto said quietly, effectively silencing her, his empty eyes staring at the ground, "This isn't your fault. I don't blame you."

"Naruto," she started but was interrupted as an empty, tear-filled sapphire looked her directly in the eye. She looked away, "I'm sorry," she whispered brokenly.

"You don't need to apologize," he said, "Sasuke has always been willing to sacrifice anyone to get his way," his voice became angry as he said this, his eyes once again flaring crimson, as demonic red chakra began to coat his body.

You," he spat, glaring at Sasuke, who looked supremely cavalier, "How dare you," Naruto spoke in a low voice, seemingly ignorant as a vermillion tail rose from the base of his spine. Sasuke's dark eyes followed it carefully, maintaining his disinterested expression, watching as it undulated slightly, "I gave up four years looking for you, to save you, to bring you home. The only reason you're not a blood-stain right now is because I saved your ass," at this, Sasuke growled indignantly, his eyes still not leaving the second tail that was now rising from behind the distraught blonde, "I am the only reason you even had the chance to get people to trust you again. And you have the nerve to use me?" A third tail was now making an erratic path upward from Naruto's lower back. His skin was beginning to burn off, filling the room with an acrid smell that caused the Uchiha to wrinkle his nose slightly. Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and the third tail halted its ascent, before rapidly reversing its path and disappearing back into the scarlet energy. He opened his eyes, staring emotionlessly at the Uchiha.

"You're pathetic," he stated. At this, Sasuke snarled shot forward, kunai in hand, in a barely discernable attack. He was easily defected by one of the tails, being thrown against the wall as though he was a rag doll. Sasuke hit the ground heavily, his ears ringing slightly, and was met with cold, cruel laughter. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "You know all those people whose trust you were trying to regain?" Sasuke regarded Naruto with a guarded expression, his right arm bent at an awkward angle, "They all wanted you dead;" Sasuke couldn't conceal the surprise before Naruto's demonically enhanced senses caught it, flitting across his face. The demon container smirked, "Oh yes. You didn't know?" he waited for a moment, then, "Answer me," he growled smirk transforming into a snarl. The voice was so commanding, Sakura couldn't believe this was Naruto. She looked at Sasuke, and saw him shake his head very slightly. She looked back to Naruto, whose smirk returned, widening in satisfaction, "It's true. Every single one of them wanted you dead. Even Sakura," he gestured toward the woman, who was trembling, "wanted you thrown in prison. The villagers were furious when they found out you were released. They all wanted you dead. All of them," Sasuke attempted to hold the gaze, but was forced to turn away at the coldness in his teammate's usually warm eyes, "Except me." This was barely heard, but caused Sasuke's head to snap up. Naruto began speaking quietly.

"Tsunade was going to sign an order for your execution. She had the pen in her hand when I got to her office. I begged and pleaded, but the council had already decided. So I went to them," his voice was increasing in volume as he spoke, his eyes focused his teammate's unresponsive face, "I didn't know if there was anything I could do, but I had to try. I ran into two of the elders, Homura-san and Koharu-san, and we made a deal. If I left the village for a year, to give you time to settle away from my 'influence', as they put it, they would allow you to live," Sasuke was looking at Naruto calculatingly now, his dark eyes looking at the emotionless face, trying to determine whether or not he was lying. The two tails were still present, swishing behind him as a fox's would. Naruto raised an eyebrow at his teammate's evident doubt, "You don't believe me? I look for you for four years, and the moment I get you back, I leave for a year? Why did you think I was gone? Training? Or are you really that stupid?" Sasuke said nothing. Naruto looked at him for a few more moments, before turning to face the door, "You have made a grave mistake here tonight, Uchiha-san," Sasuke winced at the use of the honorific, "One that you will regret. You have become more like that traitorous snake than you realize," Sasuke looked angry at this, his face contorting into an angry snarl. He growled slightly, but otherwise remained silent, "You are not even half the shinobi your brother was," Sasuke looked shocked, and even Sakura was surprised. Everyone who knew Sasuke knew that his brother was a very sore subject with the youngest Uchiha, "and you never will be. I only met him once, but from what I can tell, if he were still here, he wouldn't want anything to do with what you've become."

"You don't fucking know anything about him! You're just a fucking monster! What the fuck would you know?!" Sasuke suddenly roared, apparently too angry to think straight; yelling at a demon was not wise. Silence followed this statement before Naruto turned to face the Uchiha. Sakura gasped; the pure hatred that filled Naruto's eyes was terrifying. Sasuke shivered.

"I could take it when the villagers said that to me," he said, glaring so harshly, Sakura was certain, at least from her vantage point, that Sasuke would burst into flames at any moment, "But I never thought I would hear you say that. It seems you really do hate me," the last part came out in a quiet voice, and Naruto looked away as tears filled his scarlet eyes, only to evaporate from the heat of the red chakra. He looked back up, his eyes now cold and dull, before delivering his final message: "Well you finally got your wish. Because believe me, after tonight, the feeling is mutual," and with that he disappeared, but not before the two shinobi left in the room registered the choked sob that escaped him.

Linebreak

Six months. That was how long the village's number one, hyperactive, knuckle-headed ninja had been dating the emotionally-stunted raven avenger. Ten minutes was how long it took for the raven to destroy that relationship and effectively sever all ties with the jinchuuriki. Two minutes was how long it took the quickly transforming demon container to reach a deep section of forest. And fifteen seconds was how long it took him to effectively wipe out all life within a ten mile radius of himself. Six months. That's how long it took for Naruto's best friend to break his heart.