Hey, everyone. Sorry I haven't been updating... I had to go to a family reunion. And I couldn't post a warning or another chapter, because I remembered at the last minute and was like "Oh, fuck it." (Of course, that made my mom pissed cause she doesn't like my colorful vocabulary...) Anyways, sorry. ...(gasp) I have a brilliant idea!

Kira- (mumbles) That's new.

Oh, shut up. (Evil grin)(laughs evilly)

Kira- ...Oo...

(Cough) ...Sorry about that... ...Why are you looking at me like that? I just had a good idddeeaa!

Kira- ...oo;;;...

Thanks to my lovely reviewers:

ruby-sama aura-chan the neko-jin's yami, wiglady, RuByMoOn10, Kyaa, BlueStar123, Diablo, Chaotic Prayer, and tiggra.

(gives a cookie to each reviewer) Thank you thank you!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, because if I did, Naruto would be an adult show! ;3

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Naruto stormed past the surprised servants, fuming. How dare they store some stupid fucking demon thing in him with no warning, and expect him to be okay with that! He didn't even get a choice! 'Don't worry. It's not so bad. MY ASS!' He twitched. He had the right to be mad if he wanted! He wasn't overreacting!

...Right?

...He really needed to get out of here.

After what seemed like hours of aimlessly walking, he realized he was lost. Just fucking dandy. He panicked slightly, trying to remember the numerous turns he had taken. There were way too many for him to remember.

"I'll just try to guess my way out," he said to himself., trying to keep an optimistic outlook on things. "I'm sure sometime I'll find it!"

When he saw the same potted house plant ten times, he started to panic. 'Calm down, Naruto. It's just decoration. Many people put the same plants all around their place.' he tried to reason with himself. It wasn't working. He started to run, thinking about how he was such an idiot. He shouldn't have run off, or he wouldn't be in this mess.

All of a sudden, he crashed into someone, the force of the crash sending him to the ground.

"Lost?" an amused voice drawled. Naruto looked up to see a man with silver hair that stood off to one end, who appeared to be wearing some sort of headband over one of his eyes and a black piece of cloth over his mouth. He wore what Naruto recognized as an ANBU suit. The ANBU were highly skilled assassins, and thus feared among the townsfolk. They had a reputation of being cold, angry people who killed for fun, or at least that's what the villages said. Naruto gulped.

"E-excuse me, sir," Naruto said, trying to look brave. He failed miserably. "D-do you know w-where I can f-find a way out of this place?"

The man looked up from his book, Icha Icha Paradise, and stared at Naruto. He had the feeling that the man was smiling beneath his mask.

"Hai, but I also happen to know that Itachi-sama has brought you here, so it would be rude of you to leave," the man said, amusement shining in his eyes.

"Mister...um..."

"Kakashi. Hatake Kakashi," Kakashi said.

"Right, Hatake-san, I don't want to be here. You see, I was--" Naruto was cut off.

"I know of your situation, and I offer you my sympathy. However, I would advise you not to cross the Lord," Kakashi paused. "He has been known to do terrible things to people who don't obey him."

Naruto gulped. "S-so you wont...?"

"Iie, like I said, it wouldn't be wise," Kakashi thought a moment. "But I can help you find your way back to your room."

"Would you?" Naruto asked.

"Hai. Follow me," Kakashi said, leading Naruto down an unknown hall.

"Arigatou, Hatake-san."

"Just call me Kakashi."

(In Naruto's room)

Sasuke jumped up from his sitting position on the bed when he saw Kakashi and Naruto.

"There you are. You were gone so long, I was afraid you had gotten lost," Sasuke said, letting out a sigh of relief.

"He's lucky I found him and not Orochimaru," Kakashi said with a slight cold edge. "Who knows what our enemy would have done if he found out how valuable Naruto is to us."

"Use him against us, of course," Sasuke said. Naruto stared at them.

"Valuable?" he repeated.

"I'll tell you later on. For now, I thank you, Kakashi, for finding Naruto," Sasuke said.

"My pleasure," Kakashi winked, and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto blinked and rubbed his eyes, unsure of what he saw. There was an uncomfortable silence in which Naruto looked pissed and Sasuke's face just conveyed no emotion.

"You said you wanted to tell your brother you were gone?" Sasuke spoke, pretending that what had happened in the breakfast hall had never taken place.

"Iruka-nii-san! I forgot about him!" Naruto said, all anger forgotten and replaced with guilt. "We have to go see him, right away! He's so overprotective, he might have called the village police!"

"Which village do you live in?" Sasuke inquired.

"Massaki Village," Naruto answered, biting his lip. Sasuke nodded and lead Naruto out of the room.

When they got to the entrance of the castle, Sasuke instructed Naruto to climb into the carriage. Naruto scooted as far away from the Uchiha as possible, choosing to stare out the window.

"You have a right to be angry," Sasuke said in a soft voice.

"No shit," Naruto said, continuing to stare out the window. A farmer passed, sowing his field.

"Aniki really shouldn't have sealed the Kyuubi within you," Sasuke spoke again in a soft voice.

"Damn right," Naruto muttered, flicking off a passing woman as she stared into the carriage. His lips twitched upwards as he saw her shocked expression.

"We fucked up your life, didn't we?"

"Since when do you care?" Naruto paused to stare at a cow in the distance. "It's not like an insignificant little peasant like me matters to oh-so-high-and-mighty Uchiha brat."

Naruto inwardly cursed. He shouldn't be insulting his superiors, nor arguing with them. He should really learn to shut his mouth.

There was a noticeable pause before the Uchiha spoke.

"That's right. You're just a filthy, secondhand peasant. I don't know why I even bother to waste my time with you," Sasuke bitterly said.

"Bastard!"

"Dobe!"

The rest of the ride was silent, save for the sound of the hooves on the soil. Both were acting like five-year-olds, and each of them knew it.

They stopped at a shabby-looking village. The houses themselves were small huts, many of them either burned or collapsed. Sasuke quickly took notice that everyone was working, even the little children, but it looked like they were working together. Like they were a big family or something. He frowned as they stopped at a small hut at the end of the path.

"Iruka-nii-san, I'm home!" Naruto called inside the house.

"Uzumaki Naruto!" a voice yelled. Naruto winced. Sasuke saw a short man walk down the creaky steps, a scowl on his face. The man had his black hair in a ponytail and some sort of scar running across his nose. He was dressed in a ragged tan shirt and black pants with numerous sewn-on patches. Upon seeing Sasuke, his eyes widened and he bowed. "Uchiha-san! I-I didn't know you were here! Please, excuse my rudeness!"

Sasuke was immediately ushered into what he assumes was the living room and found himself a seat on a comfy-looking blue cushion. As Iruka hurried to make some tea, Sasuke looked around. The hut looked nothing like the outside. It was a quaint little adobe, not much furniture. Apparently the color scheme was blue. There was a small blue cabinet stocked with white teacups with tiny blue flowers decorating the top. There was a blue coffee table in the middle of three blue cushions, what he supposed was used for a dinner table.

On top of the cabinet were three pictures. One was with Iruka and Naruto together, dressed in yukata for the annual spring festival. The second had a younger Naruto, about six or seven, playing with a green windmill. The third was turned over.

"Naruto, why don't you get some belongings together for your stay at the castle?" Sasuke quietly suggested. Seeing Naruto's defiant look, he added, "I need to talk to your aniki. Alone."

He watched as Naruto reluctantly walked up the stairs, grumbling quietly to himself. Making sure he knew where Iruka was, he went to the cabinet with the swiftness of a cat and was about to lift up the picture when Iruka immediately entered the room. In the blink of an eye, Sasuke was sitting back on the cushion.

"Jasumincha?(1)" Iruka asked, placing the platter on the table. Sasuke nodded and picked up the cup, inhaling the sweet scent. He took a small sip.

"Hm...this is good. How do you get the flavor to be so sweet?" he asked, taking another sip.

"We grow our own special jasmine herbs, and add a little bit of honey," Iruka said, taking a sip of his own tea. "We own our own shop, Uzumaki Chaen(2)."

"Maybe you would like to move your store to the castle?" Sasuke proposed. "There would be great business, and I'm sure that even the toughest shinobi would love a good cup of tea every now and then. They work so hard, it would be a blessing to have a moment of peace."

"Hai, a moment's rest does wonders for the soul," Iruka agreed, taking another sip. "But I'm afraid that the palace is no place for Naruto and I. It would be too busy."

"Hai..." They sat in a moment's silence. Sasuke's eyes flicked over to the overturned picture for a moment and then cleared his throat.

"I came here for a reason," he said, turning back to Iruka.

"I'm sorry for whatever trouble Naruto caused, he's been like this ever since--" Iruka stopped himself. Sasuke gave him a curious glance.

"Since...?"

Iruka winced and walked up to the cabinet, taking down the picture to show Sasuke. It was a picture of four people, Iruka, Naruto, and a man and woman. The man had short black hair and green eyes. His arms were wrapped around a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and clear blue eyes.

"That's oka-san and otou-san," Iruka said, pointing to the adults. "Oka-san died during childbirth and otou-san went missing not long ago. Since otou-san went missing, Naruto's been acting...differently. Been making a nuisance of himself to the villagers."

Sasuke nodded.

"So please, don't mind him. He's been this was for a while," Iruka said, putting the picture down and going back to his seat.

"I assure you, Uzumaki-san, that Naruto didn't do anything troublesome," Sasuke said. "You see, we need Naruto."

"What could you need from him?" Iruka skeptically asked.

"Well, you see..." and Sasuke explained the whole mess to him. Iruka sat, wide-eyed, as Sasuke recounted everything. "...and so, we would like to keep Naruto at the palace. For research purposes. You could stay at the palace, too."

"Wherever Naruto goes, I'll go," Iruka grunted, placing his empty teacup on the tray.

"I'm glad you're so receiving of this. It must be hard," Sasuke grumbled, not sounding very sympathetic. Just as he said that, Naruto came down the stairs, holding a rather small bundle of clothes and a pouch containing various necessities. They packed it into the carriage and Naruto went to say goodbye, only to find that Iruka was putting his own stuff in the carriage.

"The hell?" Naruto demanded, frowning.

"I'm moving to the palace with you," Iruka mumbled, packing the last of the clothes in there. Naruto stood there, unsure of what to do.

"You don't..." Naruto started to say, but was interrupted by a little girl's voice.

"Naru-kun!" A small girl cried, rushing up to Naruto. She looked about eight or so, with long brown hair and emerald green eyes. She wore a lilac sleeveless dress that came down to her knees. "Naru-kun, is it true that you're leaving?" she demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"Aa, Shikou. I'm afraid I won't be back for a while..." Naruto said, crouching so he was eye-level with the young girl.

"But how will you remember us?" Shikou frowned, hands still on her hips.

"I won't forget you, Shikou. You're too special to me," Naruto grinned. Shikou pouted, still not satisfied.

"I know!" she giggled. "I'll be right back! Don't leave!"

Naruto gave a hopeless look to Sasuke. He frowned but shrugged, leaning against the door of the carriage. A few minutes later, Shikou came back, hiding something behind her back.

"Naru-kun, don't forget us, okay?" she smiled childishly and handed Naruto two things, a white lily and a small fox stuffed animal. "Shiro is there if you ever get lonely and homesick! She's always helped me, and I want you to have her!"

Naruto looked down at the white fox and smiled.

"I'll take good care of it. Arigatou, Shikou," Naruto smiled, hugging the girl and kissing her on the forehead. "Be good for your oka-san, okay?"

"Hai!" she chirped. Naruto smiled and waved goodbye as they all climbed into the carriage.

"Don't ever forget us!" she called as the carriage faded out of sight.

"I won't!" Naruto yelled, smiling as he looked down at the fox and lily.

ENDOFCHAPTER

Fox- Okay, that sucked. Next chapter will be better. Please, read and review. And sorry it took so long to update. Writer's block...

(1) Jasmine Tea.
(2) My oh-so-original name. Basically, Uzumaki Tea Shop. Or, if you want to translate it further, Spiral Tea Shop.