Naruto awoke, disoriented, on a tiny, not-so-clean couch. Ibiki, still awake, sat watching him on the only other chair, a cup of steaming tea in one hand, and a pocky stick poking past his lips. The fox container nearly laughed at the disturbing resemblance to Genma; ironic in that the source of the treats Genma chewed was Ibiki, and the treat he now chewed was probably bought for as a gift for Genma rather than for Ibiki himself. He forced himself to focus, and clear his head.

Sasuke. This was about Sasuke, not about crazy interrogators.

Ibiki knew, by facial expression, the boy was awful at hiding things, the moment the blond was ready to continue. He took a sip of his tea, piping hot and very high caffeine, to help wake him. Ginsing, he needed the energy.

"You hit your head pretty hard, kid. Never got to see the fox at work before. Pretty neat. Sit up, and we'll talk some more. I think I'd like to make you pass out again." He smiled, a strange, disturbing smile.

Shuddering, he did so. His shirt had a slight stain, and foul odor. Apparently, Ibiki's level of care only covered picking him up off the floor and putting him on the couch. It did not cover cleaning the puke that got on his shirt when he missed the bowl. He grimaced in distaste, and then ignored it. He'd smelled, and worn, worse. Sasuke.

"So, we've covered the village, the family issue, how he thinks of you, and his value of life. Would you like to know more about his team or about Sasuke and Shikamaru next?"

"Shikamaru?" I was confused.

The torturer smirked. Okay, maybe doing this here wasn't so bad. I wouldn't get to enjoy all these reactions as much anywhere else… and I really don't get to have this much fun working usually. "You know about his fan club, right? Shikamaru was, first year of academy, his only male member. He grew out of it, don't know why, haven't asked him and neither did Sasuke. In fact Sasuke isn't sure the Nara boy even knew that he knew… but, Shikamaru's a smart kid. He probably did, and that may have contributed. After all, why chase someone uninterested?"

"Shika…Shikamaru's GAY?" His voice was neither quiet nor overly loud; none of the usual signs of shock, but there was shock in the tones nonetheless.

"Well, since he's currently involved with the Kazekage's sister, I'd assume bisexual or he was just bicurious when he was younger and is straight now. I don't really know, and it isn't my business. Which, speaking of, let's get back to ours, shall we?" His tone did not let that be a question. "Sasuke's response, however… well, he was not attracted to Shikamaru, but the idea of a male lover seemed to interest him. He also liked that despite being a member of the fan club, Shikamaru was not a stalker. He did ask Kakashi some questions about male relationships before he left. I suspect he was after the romantic aspect, to see if men were safer lovers than women had proved to be, however Kakashi only shared the details of basic sex education. I strongly doubt Sasuke needed any form of sex education, as by the time he asked, he has probably had more sex then any of our ninja not assigned to the sexual espionage division."

Naruto blinked.

"For you, this means he might be interested in pursuing an actual relationship with you, if you saved him. Maybe. As you are straight, and I doubt he even knows his sexuality, plus with his trauma, even consensual sex with a male might not be possible… I don't know how that would work. But, you should be prepared for the possibility of him at least trying, even if only once. You should also be prepared for the flack if he isn't capable, due to trauma."

Damn. I… I never thought about that. I mean, I know Kakashi is… and I have no problems with him, but… *the image of Sasuke and Sai together, as created by Konahomaru's jutsu flashed before him* oh, Gods…

Don't worry brat, if it comes down to it, he'll be the receiver. It's not that different and I can teach you all about it.

How would you know anything? You're the only nine tailed fox demon in existence – tailed beasts don't even have sex!

Yes, but I have been inside many hosts, for generations. Remember the Third's wife trained your mother, and then passed me on? Oh, and I was also in your mother, as you know… Well, they weren't the only ones. The fox's tone was now angry and bitter. Those seals and techniques that the whirlpool clan was famous for came from somewhere, you know. They had to learn how to cage us, transfer us, and do it safely for them. I've been a prisoner for a long, long time boy. And I've seen everything all my hosts have seen. Learned all they have learned. I share all their memories.

Oh, Kami, do *NOT* tell me about my parent's sex lives! The fox just laughed. Um, why would he be the 'receiver' and what does that mean?

If he pitched, it would be closer to sex with a woman, which is the source of his trauma. So, it is only common sense, not that you have any, that he would rather receive your dick that give you his.

TOO MUCH INFORMATION! The fox demon laughed harder.

Blushing, Naruto asked Ibiki to continue. He hmm'd a bit, thinking over what else might need saying. "Well, it does go without saying Karin will probably be a problem." Naruto only nodded; even he already knew that much. "But although the water one claims to hate Sasuke, and may in actuality feel just that, I haven't had the chance to interrogate him just yet, his actions are those of a very loyal and devoted follower. His first thought and actions tend towards helping Sasuke. The crazy one, with the split personality?" He gave a searching look to Naruto, who responded with a slight nod. Yes, he knew who that was. Ibiki's head jerked in kind, and he continued.

"In Sasuke's interrogation it came out that his other personality was uncontrolled by Juugo, and that Orochimaru used his blood to create the curse marks. Sasuke has control over Juugo's transformations to a degree no one else has previously achieved. In fact, Juugo is now stable unless commanded to transform by Sasuke or unless he sees Sasuke in mortal peril, and even then has some level of control over his inner beast. This was never possible before."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Naruto queried.

"It means that Juugo may be able to be rehabilitated; something he could not have been otherwise, but only if Sasuke is saved. If he is killed, Juugo will have to be as well, and before Sasuke is executed. Juugo's rehabilitation cannot even begin being speculated upon until Sasuke's fate is decided."

Great. Another life weighing in the balance, hanging on my decision. Naruto snorted to himself, uncharacteristically bitter. You wanted to know what you did not already know so you could choose wisely, did you not? Yeah, yeah, yeah… I get it. I asked, I know. Shut it, you stupid fox! "What happens to his team if they are rehabilitated?" Naruto asked, mind reeling.

"Ideally, they'd be placed on probation with teams of our shinobi. After a few years of proving themselves, they'd be able to join our ranks fully, as valued members of the Leaf village. Ideally. But, what the Hokage will want to do, what the Elders and the council will allow her to do; those are things I cannot truly predict."

"I understand." He knew, from past experiences, the Elders could be evil bastards when they wanted to be. He also knew when it came to Sasuke and him, they always seemed to want to be.

"And, finally, there's the village. Not everyone would be happy to see him back, either ninja or civilian. Some would be, just not everyone. So, he'd need protection round he clock until the village accepted him or something might happen. Either some idiot would throw fruit at him and he'd lose it, or someone might actually be idiotic enough to try killing him, or a very wide range in between of cluster fucks to watch for."

That's what we've been polling for – so that we knew. He knows you've been polling, just not what asked and what learned, Brat. He didn't know you knew. "What would happen if someone set him off? I thought you said he valued life and stopped killings, and was no longer after the destruction of the Leaf?"

"I did, he does, he did, and he isn't." Naruto looked momentarily confused. Ibiki just smirked. "But, he also is still very much afraid of the villagers, especially the females, and who knows how dangerous he might be if threatened. His chakra's already bound, his eyes sealed, so his defenses are limited. That likely puts him into a cornered animal frame of mind, fight or flight and constantly on the defensive."

"Now, how about that scroll of yours?"