Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto and never will own Naruto.

A/N : Okay so like I said, I'll try to upload every month or every two months. I'm sorry if the other chapter was short, I had just entered a new art school and I didn't have the time to write much, but now that I finally have a computer that works correctly, I can finally write as much as I want with out it shutting down on me! But you guys don't care about that, so I'll just go on with the story.

Chapter 23:

with Sasuke and the hooded man...

"Sasukeeee' The hooded man whined. "When are we going to rest?"

"Shut up Suigestu. Pull off that hood. You look stupid." Sasuke said, taking off the hood that was covering Suigestu.

"No! I don't want to, I'll vaporise if I do!" Suigestu protested and quickly pulled his hood back on and sipped more water.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"All we need to do is to find a pond then you can be good and new." The raven said, a bit annoyed.

"Anyways, where are we going?" The white haired man asked.

"To find Karin and Juugo." Sasuke said, looking forwards towards the direction that they where going.

With Itachi and Naruto...

The couple woke up the next morning. Their hearts beating fast because of their confession from the previous night.

"Itachi.." Naruto said, entering the room again after finishing with the bathroom. He had put the yukata that Itachi bought him and tied his red / orange hair with a ribbon.

"Hn?" Itachi asked, looking at his lover.

"When we meet up with Gaara, I need you to go back. Go back to the Akatsuki base." the half demon said with a serious look on his face.

The oldest Uchiha looked at Naruto.

"Why? Why should I do that?" He asked. "Why should I abandon my lover. The one I cherish the most in the world?"

Naruto sighed and looked at Itachi with a sad face. " I'm not telling you to abandon me, Itachi. I'm telling you to go back home before it gets harder. I don't know what might happen to me during the process nor after the process, and I don't want to hurt you." he said.

Itachi clicked his tong, got up from the bed he's been sitting on and walked towards Naruto.

"I'd rather get hurt by you then be separated from you. Naruto, listen. I don't care what happens during the process. If you're going to suffer, I want to be there for you. If you die, at least I want to be next to you. Please Naruto. I want to be by your side no matter what." Itachi pleaded to Naruto.

Naruto was out of words, he wanted to protest but could say anything.

"Itachi.. I know, I want you too, to be by my side, but I don't want you to know what might happen, I thinks it's better if you don't know." naruto finally said.

"Naruto." Itachi said, looking at Naruto straight in the yes. " If I were the one to leave like that, would you of liked not knowing what happened to the person you love in the world after telling you to leave them after going some where you don't know?" he asked, narroring his eyes and raaising his voice.

The half demon did a hurt face and looked away.

"No.." he said softly. "No I wouldn't.."

"See? Now do you know why I don't want to leave your side." The crow said.

Naruto nodded and finally looked at Itachi in the eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Naruto said.

"Don't worry... It's normal. You're scared."

With Sakura and Jean..

When Sakura entered in to the bigger room, her breath hitched. The medical nins where still treating her team mates wounds. Onecame up to the pink haired woman and asked :

"Are you Sakira Haruno?"

Sakura took time to answer the other medical nin. Her eyes, wide, where locked on her best friend that was obviously in pain but asleep.

"Miss?" The medical nin tired to catch her attention.

"Sakura?" Jean asked, putting his hand on her left shoulder.

"Huh?" Sakura asked, turning her head towards Jean, her eyes still wide.

"Answer the medical nin." He said.

"Ah.." The bubble gum haired girl looked at the medical that came up to her and nodded.

"Yeah.. I'm Sakura Haruno...Why? Don't you know that I was sent on this mission? Should you be treating my team mates?!" She raised her voiced, now glaring at the medical nin.

"Please calm down miss, we're trying our best right now."

" 'We'? I only see them," she gestured to the other medical nins treating her team mates "Trying to their best. But what are you doing? Asking me who I am."

"Sakura, please calm down." Jean said, squeezing her shoulder a bit. Sakura calmed herself by thinking that at least Jean was alright.

"This person was treating me, they were just making sure that it's really us." Jean continued, letting his hand slip from Sakuras' back.

"Making sure it was us? Why wouldn't it be us? Our team mates are fucking wounded. We didn't have much chakra to make a clone or shit like that. So why the fuck would they check if it's us?"

Sakura asked, turning to face Jean.

"Just some mission rules, remember? We must always do stuff like that." The boy said.

"Right." Sakura snapped. She turned around to the medical nin who asked her her name and also snapped : "I'm sooo sorry." and stormed out of the room, in to the hall way, frustrated.

Jean felt strange. This is the first time he witness such a strong feelings for friends.

At The Akatsuki Base...

"Pein, Naruto had sent us a fox." Konan said, entering the room she shared with Pein.

Pein changed his gasefrom the scroll he was analyzing to Konan that was at the doors' entrance.

"And what does he have to say?" Pein said, monotonly.

"He said that he and Itachi will be gone for some time. They do not know how long though. It depends on the treatment." the bluenete said.

"Hm I see. So Itachi was able to convince Naruto-chan.." Pein said, his face relaxing.

Yes, Pein had grown a soft spot for Naruto and Itachi, probably because he can relate his relationship with Konan with theirs.

With Sasuke and Suigestu...

"Sasuukkeeee!" The white haired boy wined.

"What is it Suigestu?"Sasuke asked with an annoyed tone.

"Why do we have to walk?"

Sasuke snorted. What a stupid question.

"Obviously. Do you want to destroy this place?" the raven asked, gesturing to the tunnel they were in.

They where looking for a red haired girl named Karin. Sasuke hardly remembered, but he had remember seeing her in one of Orochimarus' tests labs and when he was on his way to Orochimarus' when he was young.

"No.." Suigestu said, sipping some of his water.

"Good. Now let's get going. We need to find Karin and then Juugo." The younger Uchiha said, activating his sharingan to look for any signs of chakra.

Nothing. Sasuke sighed and deactivated it. He felt tiered and just wanted to be at the Akastuki base with his brother and Naruto. But they've gone some where, he had lost them when he was sleeping in the woods.

"Fuck."Sasuke cursed out to himself and turned around to Suigestu. " Do you remember where the hell Karin is?"

"Yup. I do." Suigestu said, sipping on his water to keep his form. The younger Uchiha stared at the white haired man with sharp teeth.

"Are you fucking serious. You know where she is and you didn't tell me?" he hissed, narrowing his eyes.

"Calm down Sasuke. I thought you knew too since you were trained by him." Suigestu said backing away.

"Hn, what ever. Take me to the lab." Sasuke said in between clenched teeth.

"Well... I'm kind of scared though." the white man haired boy said, looking away. " To go back in there."

Sasuke punched the wall by him and the wall came crumbling down, revealing a room.

"What the.." Suisgestu said. "I never knew this was here."

Sasuke was surprised himself to find a hidden room. He walked in and squinted until he spotted an oil lamp. He turned it on and turned around to inspect the room. Scrolls, more scrolls, and more scrolls. Scrolls every where. There where also a few experiences sitting around, unfinished.

"Ugh. So nasty." Suigestu said, with a disgusted face, looking at a unfinished experience of a strange animal the did not recognize because of how badly Orochimaru dissect it.

"Hn." Sasuke said, he was also disgusted by the way the animal looked like. The raven looked at some of the scrolls. They were all forbidden. He took one at random and tried to open it. But nothing. He sighed and activated his sharingan to analyze the seal that was on it.

Sasuke chuckled. 'Too easy.' he thought to himself and did some hand signs. The scroll opened itself.

Suigestu whistled from behind the younger Uchiha. "That's one of seal you found there, Sasu-chan." he said smiling.

"I know it's a seal." Sasuke said, rolling his eyes. Written on the scroll, was a forbidden seal. "Suigestu, get all the scrolls that contains any forbidden seals and techniques. I want them all."

The raven commanded to the white haired boy.

Of course the white haired boy just rolled his eyes. "Suure, just wait until I do you later." he said, looking at Sasuke to see his reaction, in which the boy just tsked and didn't look at him.

Suisgetsu laughed and shook his head but quickly went to work when Sasuke turned around and look at him with his sharingan activated.

With Naruto and Itachi...

"Gaara.." Naruto said, greeting his friend. The red head nodded to Naruto and then Itachi.

"Shall we start the process?" Gaara asked softly.

Naruto held Itachis' hand, looked up at him and smiled. "Yes, let's start." Naruto said, without taking his eyes off Itachi. The older Uchiha was famous for showing no emotions, but he what he felt deep down was so strong, that his heart was pounding like crazy in his chest. He was scared. Scared of losing Naruto for the rest of his life.

A few minutes before...

The couple found the rendez-vous place pretty easily and waited for Gaara.

"Naruto." Itachi called his lovers' name, extending his hand out to the red/yellow haired boy.

Naruto gladly took it and came closer to his crow. "What is it?" he asked, leaning his head on to the broad chest of Itachi.

"I love you." Itachi said, in haling the other boys' scent and slid his hands on to Narutos' hips, bringing him closer to him.

"I love you too, Itachi." the half demon said, enjoying the heat coming from his lover.

They shared a heated kiss, Itachi slowly sliding his hands under Narutos' yukata.

"..."

Naruto froze, which made Itachi froze. Everything around them felt like it froze. Then, slowly, Naruto turned around to see a pissed off Gaara.

"Hey Gaara." Naruto said casually.

"I said to meet me and not make out right in front of me and turn it in to a porn sight." Gaara tried to joke but didn't pull it off with his aura.

"Right... So how are you?" Naruto said after a really uncomfortable silence.

"I'm fine. How about you two?" Gaara asked, a bit more relaxed but still held his guard up because of Itachi.

"We're alright." Naruto said, giving his red haired friend a small smile. Gaara nodded and sighed.

"So let me tell you what I could find about that cursed mark of yours and how to treat it." He said sitting down and indicated to both of the to sit down too, seemed like it was going to take a while.