AN: Hullo... After a long and much needed Hiatus, I am back on track.

Something very important that you should read before going any further;;

This is sort of like AU-- where it's based in naruto's world (So no, there aren't any school kids in it) but it's like an alternative ending to what looks like may happen in the Naruto II manga arc. It's set around 3 years after the current events of that specific arc. So the Naruto-gumi are around 18. This was supposed to be light and fluffy but... I'm incapable of light and fluffy (sorry Munkey)... so this is a bit angsty.

This was inspired by a doujinshi I picked up at my favourite place to hang out in the whole wide inkernet world--aarinfantasy. It's called 'Ishin Denshin' and it was about Sasuke getting this crystal ball from Orochimaru that has the ability to let him spy on anyone he wished. Predictably, he chooses to spy on Naruto at the same time the blond dobe makes a clone and turns it into Sasuke. Sasuke manages to comandeer the bunshin through the crystal ball and does some naughty stuff to the clueless Naruto, who believes that the Bunshin is empty and merely obeying his wishes.

Anyways, this will come into play in later chapters. The events of the doujinshi will not be in it... but the idea of the crystal ball will be. Hence the name, 'The Crystal Ball Conundrum'.

Regardless, I hope you like it... and do keep in mind that the boys are older and a bit more mature.

Disclaimer: The realm of Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto and Shounen Jump. I do not own or capitally benefit in any way.

Chapter One
A Reunion.

He collapsed in the middle of the training area face down in the soil which had been soggy by the day's rain and churned to muck by his chidori. He lay there, feeling the viscous earth soak through the cotton of his hakama and strangely, it felt good on his fevered flesh. He let out a hoarse breath before trying to pull himself up to sit but his arms were too weak. Floundering for a bit, his eyes rolled upwards to his master. Orochimaru stood, impartial to the young man's tribulations all the while speaking with his right hand man, Kabuto. He was too far away to hear the conversation but the buzz of their voices lulled him into a vegetative state.

"He's been training constantly for the past two weeks, Orochimaru-sama."

"Good. I'm glad to see he's working up his endurance."

Kabuto's frown deepened as he tried to think of someway to express his concern for the young Uchiha's bodily wellbeing. "Orochimaru-sama… I think he should take a break soon. I don't know what the affects of straining himself with the chidori are, but they can hardly be good." His eyes swept the field, taking in the magnitude of damage done. The landscape would be irrevocably scarred from the renegade ninja's jutsu.

"So what do you suspect we do?" The sannin rasped.

"Make him eat properly, for one. Next," He slid his glasses up his nose as he tried to word this next suggestion to make it more appealing, "make him rest. Like a week this time but after he recovers, enforce a two day rest on him. Make sure he doesn't use his chakra at all and that he takes to his bed."

The muscles in Orochimaru's jaw twitched with impatience but it was the only sign Kabuto got that his suggestions had even affected the man, "Fine," Since Naruto had foiled their plans for the third time, Orochimaru had begun to get impatient with further development of Sasuke's skill.

Two sound medic-nins rushed out and carefully laid the muddy body on the stretcher they had been carrying. They carried him into Orochimaru's underground lair with Kabuto overseeing them and into a large bathing area before being dismissed. Tenderly, the chief medic-nin undressed the young man and pulling out a phial of smelling salts. He waved the salts beneath his nose and watched him splutter to life on the tiles. "You really work yourself too hard, Sasuke-kun. You must take better care of yourself." The silver haired shinobi muttered as he slung Sasuke's arm over his shoulder and dragged him over to the bath's ledge.

The younger man slid into the healing spring with a soft sigh and leaned heavily against the ledge, not trusting his knees to give out with him. He folded his arms over the ledge and rested his head on his forearms. Breathing in the soft sulphuric fumes from the water, Sasuke felt himself slowly slipping into a languid frame of mind. His muscles loosened, his skin turned flush and his head felt like it was bobbing along like a bubble in the water.

Kabuto reached down and grabbed his arm, hoisting him out of the water before he sank beneath its surface. He dragged him across the tiles, his skin slipped across the surface like a bar of soap. A soft tap on a flushed cheek revealed that Sasuke was completely out. He probed his body with chakra, searching for damage and after finding none he retrieved soap from a wooden bucket in the corner of the room and finished bathing him.

He knew that Orochimaru didn't want anyone else beside himself touching his precious vessel and so, Kabuto found himself saddled with the difficult task of dressing him in a cotton yukata. It was harder than it seemed, as Sasuke's pale limbs flopped around like a marionette with its strings cut. He had to be careful not to hit the shinobi prodigy's head against the floor which like everything else concerned with the Uchiha, was a task in itself. But after an hour of struggle, Kabuto had him dressed and tucked neatly in his four poster bed. Suspecting that he'd probably wake up with a headache due to dehydration and chakra drain, Kabuto left painkillers and a glass of water on his nightstand before retreating.

As predicted, the headache was what had chased him out of pleasant dreams about a faceless blond with the body of a god. The dream was immediately forgotten in the face of his pain. He blindly groped from the light and switched it on, regretting it almost immediately. His eyeballs felt like they had been punctured with senbon as a marching band paraded over his head. He moaned and covered his eyes with one hand as he fished around his nightstand for the tablets he was sure he'd seen earlier. Finding them and popping them in his mouth, he took a drink from the glass of water that had been set out for him as well.

He rolled away from the light, hating it but not wanting to turn it off. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he took a deep breath and tried to recall the subject of his dream. With a sigh, he punched the pillow beneath his head and debated on another serious attempt at salvaging some of the night. Glancing at the alarm clock by his head, it blinked five am, his usual wake-up time. He threw back the covers and set his feet on the cold floor. His muscles protested the movement but he managed to get himself out of bed without so much as a grimace. Stretching was the first thing he did before the monotonous yet mandatory 100 handstand push-ups, 100 sit ups and 100 squats.

The door opened, as per norm admitting Kabuto who had a tray with his usual amount of vitamins and supplements. Orochimaru had been very strict on what he was allowed to eat and since meat had been entirely out of the question, he had been given supplements to maintain an even level of protein that his body needed. When his last growth spurt had ended a year ago, the level of vitamins and supplements had dropped by half, much to Sasuke's relief.

"What are you doing up?" Kabuto asked as he set the tray on the nightstand, moving the half-empty water glass out of the way.

"Normal time," He grunted as he got into push-up position and lowered his pelvis, arching his back while walking his hands backwards to get more of a stretch.

"There is no training for you today. Get back into bed."

He didn't pause in his stretching but peered at the man through his arms as he lifted his feet into the air and cat walked himself to a standing position. Feeling a bit light headed, he sat back down on the mattress but made it looked like he was continuing his stretching from where he sat. Kabuto wasn't fooled by the display and repeated himself. His concern was rewarded with a dark scowl from the Uchiha and, "I'm alright. I just worked myself a bit too hard yesterday."

"Yes and I would remind you that your body is no longer your own property. After the death of your brother, the contract was fulfilled. Your life is null and void." The reminder was a heartless one but after hearing it so many times over the past six years, Sasuke didn't even bat an eye.

Sasuke growled and eased back from his stretching. He took the cup of water and handful of pills from the medic-nin and downed them all. "And how long am I on bed rest?"

"A week… but I'm going to have to run tests to make sure there isn't any internal damage. If so, you might be on bed rest for longer."

"So what am I going to do if I can't train?"

Kabuto shrugged, setting both cups back on the tray, "Not my problem. I'm only responsible for your physical health. Since boredom really doesn't affect that, I don't care what you do. As long as you don't hurt yourself, that is."

"Is there a library or something around here?"

"Orochimaru keeps an extensive research library. It'll be pretty boring stuff for you."

Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke asked, "And what makes you think that?"

The silver haired man didn't bother to answer. He merely walked across the room with his tray and kicked the door open before leaving. Sasuke flopped back on the bed, sighing gustily as his fingers fidgeted with a long ebon lock of hair. He figured he could probably do with a few more hours of sleep. His joints felt creaky and his muscles were still so taut that he thought that they'd snap his bones like twigs if they got any tenser. He finally relented to the idea of more sleep and kicked off his slippers before sliding beneath the covers. He killed the light and lay there in the perfect dark. His headache had strangely left the moment he had ingested the first wave of pills and so, sleep was pretty easy to come by.

When next he woke, it was to the pounding of his heart. The dream he had been having was a vivid one. He touched the damp spots on his boxers and realized that he had ejaculated in his sleep due to the intensity of the images his subconscious had been feeding him. His skin felt feverish to touch and he kicked off the blankets and sheets that had knotted themselves around his legs. The cool air quickly dried the film of sweat that covered his pale skin, leaving him feeling cold.

He didn't want to get back into the bed without at first cleaning up. So he padded over to the massive wooden armoire that had been provided with a full wardrobe inside. He flung open the doors and fished out a pair of fine cotton boxers. Of course, Orochimaru would be made aware of his lusty state and somewhere deep within his brain, Sasuke was mortified with the prospect but he shrugged it off. He was eighteen and a healthy male. There'd be something wrong if he didn't have accidents like this, he thought reasonably as he threw off his dirty undergarments and replaced them with fresh ones.

What Orochimaru didn't know was the fact that he was having wet dreams about a young man whose name had been rapidly jumping the line in the snake man's 'people to off once I have the Uchiha's body' list. A thrill of dread ran up and down Sasuke's spine at the thought of the blond being murdered by the dark sannin. He supposed it really didn't matter since now his life was not his own. Not that that mattered either, since he had managed to kill his brother. What happened to Naruto didn't matter anymore since he probably wouldn't live to see the blond again.

So why did he still haunt his dreams? Why was he having wet dreams about his former team mate and rival? As far as he knew, from information gleaned from the many spies Orochimaru had rooted in Konoha, Naruto was a typical guy his age. He had a girlfriend—so it was obvious that he wouldn't be interested in Sasuke even if their circumstances had been different. He was a successful ninja which really hadn't surprised him at all. He was a part of the ANBU as well, taking up missions around the country while he was trying to find Sasuke.

He buried himself beneath the thick feather tick and shivered. His mind wandered over the well trodden paths that concerned a certain dead-last idiot ninja. Whenever he had time to think – which was rare since Orochimaru had seen fit to push him through a punishing fitness retinue—it had almost always been of Naruto. He had been careful to disguise such thoughts from the people around him. His thoughts were his own and he would let no one's opinion sully them, especially not the likes of Kabuto and Orochimaru.

When finally his restlessness got the best of him, he got out of the bed and finished his stretching. His muscles felt loose and limber, still a bit sore but he found himself functional. He grabbed clean clothes and headed to the bathroom off of his bedroom. After his normal ablutions were out of the way, Sasuke wandered out to find his dirty clothes had been whisked away and his sheets had been changed. No doubt he'd be hearing something about his little accident sooner or later. He felt a blush creep up his neck and supplant itself on his high cheekbones.

He lingered in his room a while longer, going through his scant personal items and finding the picture he had buried in a drawer. It had been folded over twice and it was apparent that he took it out to look at it many times before. The creases had cracked the glossy surface, marring the picture but not enough to evoke memories—both painful and joyous. Naruto smirking like a fool, Sakura staring at him and Kakashi looming over them all like a overprotective mother hen.

There was a knock at the door and he stuffed the picture away from prying eyes before bidding them to enter. It was Orochimaru and behind him, Kabuto. Obviously he'd be getting that lecture about his soiled boxers sooner rather than later. He stifled a sigh and stared at them, waiting for them to launch into a discussion.

"You may leave, Kabuto." The pale man hissed, waving a hand of dismissal at the man in question.

Sasuke could barely suppress the need to smirk as he caught the scowl on Kabuto's face. His dark eyes flew to his master's face as they waited for the dismissed ninja to close the door behind him. "You know why I am here, Sasuke-kun?" He asked.

"I have some idea, Orochimaru-sama."

The man settled his tall frame on a chair against the wall. He crossed his legs and leaned back, meshing his fingers and laying them against his stomach. Despite his lax position, Sasuke was hardly fooled. He had seen him move before and like his namesake, the snake, the man had a fluid, sinuous energy about him that was frightening. His molten gold eyes ran greedily over Sasuke's body and Sasuke bit back the need to shudder, as if he had just been violated by that unnatural gaze. "You are a virile young man… it's to be expected that these things would happen."

"I'm aware of the state of your body, Orochimaru-sama." It was discussions like this that he felt like he was squatting in a body that was never his to begin with. His thoughts, his actions--- nothing have ever been his own. It would have bothered him but he knew he had never lived any other way and so, he probably would have been more thrown off if someone had told him to think or do whatever he wanted. "Since after all, I'm squatting in it."

"Don't be rude, Sasuke-kun." He admonished in a voice that sounded amused rather than angry, which only further annoyed the young man, "You have never expressed this need before. Should we provide you with some relief?" Delicately put, would you like me to give you a whore? Sasuke interpreted.

He grimaced, "You don't want me to taint my body with eating meat but you would provide me with some whore to fuck for my convenience? Or is this like last time, you merely want to test my sterility by impregnating yet another village maiden?"

Orochimaru remembered that last attempt and his fatherly smile slide from his face and in its place, a frightening scowl. "Don't be impertinent, boy." The young girl in question had been drugged and hypnotised, Sasuke had been foolish enough and desperate enough not to realize this when he found her in his room that night years ago. At the tender age of 15, Sasuke had lost his virginity and it had permanently jaded his opinion on the act after he discovered he had pretty much raped the girl. She had been kept at the compound, under a heavy hypnosis as the child grew inside her body. Finally, when it had donned on Sasuke that she was pregnant and held against her will, he had broken her out. It had nothing to do with love—an emotion he thought was frivolous and a waste of energy—but pity. It had been purely by accident that he discovered her body some days later, floating face down in the river he had been training on. She had thrown herself off a cliff from what he gathered. She had been seven months pregnant.

"Well, if not a girl… then perhaps a boy?"

Sasuke curled his lip in anger. It wasn't the question of his sexuality that had piqued him, but the man's patronizing tone. "I know how you pick your victims, Orochimaru-sama and what you do with them. I won't be an accomplice to rape. Not this time."

"Suit yourself, boy." He said, lifting himself from the chair.

The musky smell of snake filled the room, an indication of the state of Orochimaru's mind. He was angry, very angry and Sasuke felt a prickle of fear at the back of his mind. "Since I'm not allowed to train, what else do you want me to do?"

"I don't care, boy, as long as you don't do anything stupid. You know the boundaries I have laid in place. They are large enough to envelope an entire town. Go there, if you wish and do what you like. I'll provide money for your excursion." A town riddled with spies that would report his every movement.

Strangely, Sasuke found himself wanting to get out of the stifling underground lair. "Fine."

He reached inside his robes and pulled out a satchel of ryou and tossed them at him. Sasuke caught the satchel and felt the press of coin against this palm. "If you find yourself suddenly in need of some release… make sure to protect yourself. And don't leave the boundaries. You know what will happen if you do."

After Orochimaru's departure, Sasuke packed some clothes and changed into something that didn't scream 'renegade ninja'. Donning a pair of dark grey cargo pants with deep enough pockets to hold kunai and a few smoke bombs, he followed it with a black long sleeved shirt and a grey vest with a wide variety of pockets. Of course, old habits had still not died and Sasuke bound his shins in bandages over his pants before putting on his sandals. Since it was impossible to disguise the fact that he was shinobi, he threw on the customary dark grey cowl that all sound-nin had taken to wearing and a hitai-ate with sound's crest on it. Since he couldn't disguise the scarlet of his irises, he pushed the headband down lower on his forehead.

A glance in the mirror made Sasuke smirk, he looked like Kakashi. With a shake of his head, he decided to leave off the vest and shouldered his pack before walking out the door.

--

Another village, another dead end. Naruto let slip an agitated, impatient sound as he pushed his way through the crowded streets to find a decent ramen shop. He was hungry and travel weary, none of which helped to improve his deteriorating spirits. If he didn't find food soon, he'd probably end up tearing down the village—with or without the Kyuubi's help.

Abandoning the idea of a place that looked like it sold quality ramen. Naruto opted for the shop he had seen around the corner. He walked in the door and took up a seat at the back where he could watch the crowds come and go. Despite the ramshackle look to the place, it seemed that it was pretty famous. Either that or everyone was experiencing the same stomach-gnawing hunger he was.

He ordered three bowls of ramen, pork flavoured, barbeque flavoured and mushroom flavoured and tried to keep from drooling while he was at it. The ramen smells that hung in the chipper October air made his stomach growl angrily. He patted it and mentally promised that soon enough it'd be nice and full with tasty noodles.

Sparing the waitress a handsome smile, Naruto dove into the first bowl of noodles. He didn't see the starry look in her eyes—an affect that he had on all females. When he had demolished the three bowls, along with another two, he sat back with a replete sigh. Catching a whiff of himself, he grimaced and soon found himself thrust out into the crowds, in search of a hotel.

The best hotel in the village was located at its center. It had shower and it also boasted a natural onsen which he was looking forward to dipping into later on in the evening once he had a nap and a shower.

His room was nice, if but a little crammed. There was a bed and the linen was clean, so it had a leg up on the option which was camping out in the forest. He could even get room service but that was a luxury his ninja instincts wouldn't allow him to indulge. He always had a thing about making sure to watch his food being made. Especially after Tsunade had slipped something in a sandwich she had given him once. He had explosive diarrhoea for three days straight.

As soon as he had a look around and set the necessary precautions on the windows and doors, he stripped and got into the shower. The needling spray worked at his taut muscles, making him feel sleepy and content. He massaged the shoulder he had managed to bruise earlier that day in a skirmish with a bunch of rock-nin that had recognised him as one of Konoha's elite. Naruto had been flattered that his reputation had exceeded him but it had become a pain during long assignments that had dragged him across the continent. Everyone had wanted a piece of him since he had foiled Orochimaru's last plan.

Naruto turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel off the rack. He wrapped it around his waist and walked out of the bathroom to sit on the bed. He had every intention of getting changed before dropping into bed for a much needed sleep but as he fell back against the mattress, he found himself unable to sit up. His eyes grew heavy and he dropped off to sleep.

When he woke, it was to a dark room filled with shadows that seemed to shift and shimmer in the corners. He sat up and turned on the lamp, leaning heavily on his knees with his elbows as he blinked the sleep from his eyes. Sluggishly, he pulled himself from the bed and sorted through his bag for a clean change of clothes. The only thing he had that was clean was a pair of black pants and a black shirt he preferred to use while on a ANBU mission. The mask was wrapped in a black cloth at the bottom of his bag, along with his katana. He didn't like to wear such dark and dreary colours when he wasn't in disguise but it was either that or his travel stained clothes that reeked of dust and sweat.

He shrugged into the black shirt which seemed to form on his torso like a second skin and the pants which were a bit snug around the butt but other than that, were good to move around in. He carried his katana wrapped firmly in the cloth that was usually wrapped around it. The cloth was long enough to conceal the weapon and be used as an impromptu sling. He checked to make sure the sword was clear in the scabbard and at a reachable distance snug within the folds of the rich cloth. With hitai-ate in place, Naruto forwent the customary bandages around the shins and slipped into his sandals before heading out the door.

The dreary village seemed to be a nocturnal one, from what Naruto had observed. The place was bustling with activity. He found himself in front of a restaurant that boasted call girls and he grinned lecherously at the prospects of finding himself a pretty lady. Glancing at his pocketbook to make sure he had enough, he found it suitably full and went inside without another thought.

She was pretty. They kind of serene beauty that would linger long after her youth had faded. She was a true lady and Naruto enjoyed her company as he sat back against a thick wooden beam in the corner of the room. She sat like a delicately folded blossom with a shamisen in her lap, plucking at the strings in a lazy melody while she sang the words that went along. She was talented—the best that money could buy, Naruto had been assured as more than half of his money had been whisked away by the maitre'd. Luckily, he had paid for the hotel room in advance and if it came down to the crunch, he could always take up employment as a bodyguard. Such jobs were always in high demand so he wasn't really worried about money.

He had divined a lot of wisdom from the pervert frog hermit and some of the most important lessons, Jiraiya felt, were how to pick fine women and fine sake. Naruto had developed a very sensitive palate for both, which had made Jiraiya very proud. Hitomi, as she had told him to call her, had been that unexpected flower you find in a dark crevasse. The frog hermit would have been proud of his former pupil's wonderful find in both woman and surprisingly enough, sake. He had drank his fair share of the fine rice wine, it went down far too easily for his tastes and the woman was a charm in itself but the night was getting along and once again, Naruto found himself feeling a bit sleepy.

He kissed her on her cheek, thanked her for the wonderful evening in her presence and then left. Feeling a buzz from the alcohol, Naruto found himself humming the song he had heard Hitomi sing as he made his way back to his hotel room.

He wished that he had had enough sense to invite someone along on this mission, but when the option came up for him to go alone Naruto took the bait. He couldn't resist the prospects of a mission where he didn't have to hold anyone accountable or be accountable for anyone. He could do his thing and do it in the time that he wished. It had been a pretty simple assignment, anyways. All he had to do was retrieve a stolen scroll from a less than honourable politician. The scroll had to then be delivered into the hands of the Konoha ambassador to Sunagakure, who happened to be none other than Yamanaka Ino.

During that time, he had gotten a wonderful lead about Sasuke's whereabouts. He had left a note with Ino to send along with her daily correspondence to the Hokage, telling them of his intentions and whereabouts. Tsunade seemed to express a pretty lax attitude towards finding the missing-nin, Uchiha Sasuke but Naruto had never given up the fight. Every tidbit of information, every morsel of intelligence gleaned about his former rival and best friend had been chased down to the dead end it always led to.

Naruto carefully checked his traps on the door to his room, making sure that they were all where he had left them. Finding everything in place and so, he removed the jutsus and the other more solid traps on the door before throwing it open. He didn't bother to flick on a light as he went into the washroom to empty his bladder and brush his teeth.

It was when he was in the room and fiddling with the knot to his sash that he sensed the other presence in the room. The familiar way the chakra oozed through the air made his breath hitch in his throat. A hand lifted up to the tang of his sword, fingers wrapped around its familiar rough hilt.

"Are you going to use that on me?" His voice whispered from directly behind him, his mouth only inches away from his ear.

"Sasuke…"

A cool hand brushed away his hand from his weapon while the other wrapped around his waist to pin him against his body. "What are you doing here, Naruto?"

"I stopped here on my way home." He didn't know why he was telling the missing-nin his business. He had been trained to withstand torture when he first joined ANBU, and had even come close to being tortured for information once, but here he was spilling his guts and not even a blade was exposed. Ibiki-sensei would have been furious.

The hand that had stilled his over his katana slid down his arm and then cupped the side of his face. Naruto found himself turning into his hand, nuzzling against his palm. He smelled like a soft, delicately perfumed soap and there were calluses from the hours upon hours of practice he most likely devoted himself to each day.

He was shocked when he felt a hot mouth press against the junction where his neck met his shoulder. Sasuke's body was impossibly still behind him, yet despite that lack of motion Naruto sensed he was restless. His lips, impossibly soft, brushed up the length of his throat until they met the delicate shell of his ear.

"W-why are you here?" Naruto whispered, sensing that his self-control was slipping as Sasuke nipped at his earlobe.

"I'm on vacation."

He knew that he was rapidly losing control of the situation and then he reminded himself that he never had control of it to begin with. Trying to stroke to life the resentment and anger he had fostered for the other man, Naruto found himself strangely floundering. He wanted to be angry. He needed to be angry to protect his sanity but of all the times he wished his feelings to obey him, this was certainly not the time for them to mutinously abandon him.

Naruto stepped around the bed, putting as much furniture and distance as he could from the other man before turning around to stare at him through the darkness. "Don't fuck with me, Sasuke. I want to know where you've been! After all these years of looking for you, you suddenly surface and you've got nothing to say for yourself." There it was-- the anger. It flared to life, shimmering across his skin like a fiery aura. "Not even an apology for what you did to us all years ago."

"I did what I had to do." Sasuke said simply, watching the spectacular display of power dance in the air between them.

The anger dissipated as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving the blond feeling tired and overcome with a grief that he couldn't explain. "I had a million things I wanted to tell you but now… I can't think of one."

"Are questions necessary?" He walked towards the other man slowly.

"I've been chasing you around for the past six years. I want to know why but I don't think you can answer that." Naruto said softly, sitting on the bed and resting his head in his hands. He looked downright glum. Sasuke thought it was an endearing look but he much preferred that goofy smile, the sheepish gleam in his eye he got when he was caught doing something he wasn't supposed to. He wondered, fleetingly, if Naruto even did such childish things anymore.

"Believe it or not, but I didn't come here to fight with you." Sasuke said sullenly as he sank down in the bed beside his former team mate.

Naruto snorted derisively, "I don't think we are capable of doing anything else but fight, Sasuke. That's all that's ever been between us; a fight." He said it in tired, worn words that made the dark haired young man's heart sink. Where was the fight in Naruto? What had happened to the incorrigible kid who didn't know when to shut up and leave well enough alone? His eyes drifted to the katana and then he realized what had happened to that child. He recalled the times in the past when he had brushed up against that mighty power and unconquerable will that was Naruto and he knew where the child had laid its head and never woken.

The stark and painful reality of adulthood had dashed Naruto naivety—the very essence of his soul, and it had dragged him up painfully to become an adult. With the broad brushstrokes of pain, of anger, of betrayal, a darker life had been painted for him. It wasn't a pretty place, where his fancy ideals—his promises—had blown away on the wind of compromise.

Had Naruto's lost innocence been his fault? Sasuke felt a twinge of guilt as he sat beside the thing of his dreams. He realized that despite the fact that their thighs were touching, Naruto couldn't have been any farther away.

TBC