AN: Chapters 21 and 22! Again, you can find links to the completed work in my profile.

Chapter 12

The cave was the first place that the two shinobi had been able to rest at in over a week. While Naruto's clones had thrown off pursuit to begin with, the Sound-nin had been able to pick up their trail again. The two young men were exhausted with the head-long flight through cold weather and unfamiliar territory as they tried to lose their hunters. They had spent the last week cat-napping when possible, eating on the run when they had time and avoiding human habitation.

Sasuke set about trapping the entrance quite lethally while Naruto made some hot tea and rice. He used some drift wood that was scattered about just inside the cave, hoping it would be dry enough. Neither said a word as they quickly consumed their meal. They peeled out of their damp clothes and set them near the small fire to help dry. They used one of the blankets as ground cover and snuggled together under the other, sharing body heat, self-consciousness forgotten in their fatigue. Within minutes they were both asleep, trying to recover from their flight through the wilds.

Sasuke felt himself surfacing to awareness. The warmth of the body next to him was relaxing and tempted him to sink back into oblivion, but he knew that they would have to move again soon. He opened his eyes to find himself cuddled up to a broad chest. Naruto was once again on his back, snoring lightly, sprawled under the blankets carelessly.

Softly, so as not to disturb the slumbering demon vessel, Sasuke ran his fingertips over the whisker-like marks that so resembled the kitsune within him. His fingers continued up into the downy hair, catching on a few tangles. He smiled softly to himself. He hadn't had time to properly take care of his dobe lately. He could feel something inside himself rail at his thoughts, something that tried to make him clam up again and deny his attraction, but he forcefully ignored it. He was going to indulge himself for these few moments.

His fingers drifted down to that expanse of tanned skin upon which his cheek rested. His hand trembled slightly as his touch ghosted over a painfully familiar area. The skin was unmarred thanks to the Kyuubi, but he knew. He knew that he had been the one to hurt Naruto painfully with his actions. Without pausing to think, he scooted up and leaned over his friend. His precious friend. His warm breath fluttered airily over the flesh as his lips gently caressed it in a fleeting kiss.

The part of him that had been beaten into momentary submission flared to life, giving him so many reasons why he shouldn't be feeling these things for this man. Why he shouldn't feel anything for anyone. Turning away, he sat up and stared at the dimly lit wall of the cave. He missed the blue eyes opening and staring at him with a wealth of emotions displayed for any to see.

He tensed as the body next to him gave a long stretch. "Hmmm, morning," came the sleepy voice. Naruto casually stood, allowing the blanket to slip from his body. He ruffled Sasuke's hair almost playfully before moving over to pull on his clothes.

"Moron," Sasuke grumbled half-heartedly as he tried to straighten up his hair.

Naruto snickered at his friend's lack of progress. "I don't know why you try. It's still going to look like a chicken's butt no matter what you do."

"Hn."

"And so witty, too," Naruto teased, throwing his friend's words back at him. Ignoring the dark look directed his way, he moved to the entrance to take a quick look around. "Think we have enough time for some hot tea before we go?"

"Hn," he grunted in agreement. He stood and quickly dressed while the blonde continued to look out the cave opening. "I've been thinking. Instead of avoiding towns, we need to find a large one to get lost in."

"That should be easy. I've been lost in several."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I mean we need to blend in with the population and lose our pursuers in the crowd. Maybe go so far as to disguise ourselves or something. Otherwise they are going to continue until we have them on our doorstep." He built up the fire until it was large enough to heat water. "Go grab some snow to melt. Preferably not the yellow kind."

"Pfft. Don't you mean slush?" He caught the canteen tossed his way. "I'll see if there isn't any fresh water around."

"Don't go too far. I don't want to have to look for you when I come rescue you from whatever hole you fall into."

Naruto replied in the form of a hand gesture before ducking out the entrance.

Thirty minutes later Sasuke was about ready to go looking for the other ninja. He should have known better than to let him loose out on his own. With his luck, he probably stumbled right into the enemy's camp and then stood there scratching the back of his head while giving an embarrassed laugh. Not that it didn't work some of the times strangely enough, but that was not the point.

Just then a dripping wet, muddy apparition appeared at the cave entrance. He heard teeth grind as the vision came into the cave and held up a water canteen. "Don't say a damn word," came the growled warning.

Sasuke blinked a time or two and calmly took the canteen.

"I found a creek-"

"Apparently."

A bright blue glare was directed his way. "But the melting snow made the banks slippery. They were pretty steep, too."

Sasuke looked over the muddy hair with the occasional bright yellow peeking through, the dirt smeared orange pants and the filthy poncho. He held up the canteen and shook it meaningfully. "I don't think there's enough here to take a bath with."

"Shut up, teme," he growled.

Sasuke shook his head. "We'll cross into Fire Country and hit a large trade town. Something with a transient population."

"We'll have a higher chance of running into Leaf shinobi that way," Naruto warned.

"I know that, dobe. But the Sound-nin will be hesitant about following us there and they certainly won't attack us. Once there, we can lose ourselves either by joining a group of travelers or by sneaking out after we've lost them." Sasuke took out the tea leaves and added the last of the packet to the hot water. "We can also restock on rations." He eyed Naruto gaugingly. "And I know your stomach must be gnawing at your spine by now."

Naruto's stomach took the opportunity to loudly agree. A light blush graced the whiskered cheeks as a hand reflexively went to scratch the back of his head. "Heh, yeah, kinda."

While waiting for the tea to steep, Naruto took the opportunity to wash his face with some cold water and to brush his teeth. He wasn't even going to try brushing out his hair until the mud dried fully and would flake out. He folded up their blankets and was about to put them away when Sasuke called him to tea. After blowing on it a few times, he guzzled his down, emitting little yips as he burned his tongue. Sasuke merely rolled his eyes and drank his at a more sedate pace.

Naruto pulled out both of their packs and started rifling through them, looking for some scrap of anything to eat. Finding nothing, he resigned himself to a day of foraging on the run. His raven-haired friend came up, grabbed his pack and liberated his toothbrush from the blonde's pilfering. Naruto blinked at him a few times as he grabbed the canteen and proceeded to start brushing his teeth. There was a flurry of activity as the blankets were folded and all remnants of the camp was packed away.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment with his toothbrush stuck in his mouth. He only wished that the dobe was always so thorough and helpful in tearing down camp. He spit and rinsed his mouth out as the blonde was heading toward the cave entrance, dropping Sasuke's pack next to him on the way.

'At least the idiot could wait a minute,' he thought to himself. He glanced down to put his toothbrush away when he saw a streak of pink on it. Confused he held it up to the stream of light coming in from the morning sun. He rubbed his thumbnail over the spot and frowned as the blue flaked off to reveal more of the pink beneath. His head whipped around to see the retreating back of his friend ducking through the entrance rather quickly.

"Naruto!!" He knew somehow, someway that the usuratonkachi was responsible for this.

Naruto looked over the large town spread out before him with heart-felt appreciation. They had spent several days traveling to this trade town, having to circle around to the south so that they weren't seen coming from the direction of Rice Field Country. There were regular patrols between the borders of the two countries and anyone was subject to being stopped and questioned if coming from the direction of Fire's enemies. The patrols had also seemed to work in their favor in that they had lost the presence of their pursuers.

"Let's get a room with its own bath," Naruto suggested.

"The less we're seen the better," Sasuke agreed.

"That, too. I just want a shower and then a hot soak in the bath without interruptions."

"And maybe one with a guest accessible laundry room," his friend suggested, looking at the mud splattered clothing.

"I'm not doing your laundry, teme, so don't even say it," the blonde warned.

"It will give you something to do while I am out getting supplies. I stand out less than you," he rationalized.

"Pfft. A pretty boy like you? You would stand out anywhere."

Was that an insult or compliment? Sasuke decided to go for neutral. "Whatever, dobe." He adjusted his pack and started toward the town. "Besides, I know you too well. We would end up with a pack full of ramen and little else."

"What's wrong with that? It never spoils!"

"Because you are back sliding, dobe. You haven't meditated in gods know how long, we haven't been able to eat well or very often. The only thing you have going for you right now is that you've been able to take your vitamins."

"Awww, Sasuke! I didn't know you cared!" He bumped lightly into his friend, wearing a large grin.

"Hn. I don't. I just want you healthy so you will be useful to me," he retorted shortly, while pushing the blonde away.

Naruto's bottom lip stuck out in a pout for all of three or four seconds before he smiled happily. "Whatever, teme." They walked on for a few moments before he spoke up again. "Hey about those vitamins that you make me take, they are really nasty tasting and are as big as marbles practically. Can we get some chewable ones in town?"

Sasuke snorted sardonically. "Shall we get them fruit flavored, too?"

"Could you?!" Naruto asked hopefully.

Sasuke merely closed his eyes and shook his head in disparagement.

Just before they entered town, Naruto pulled up his hood to cover his hair and pulled his arms into the poncho. Sasuke heard a little mutter that was followed by a few puffs of smoke escaping from the openings. When he saw that the young man's stature had changed to a slimmer, smaller form he understood. It was better that a man and woman was seen entering the town rather than two men. He frowned when he could barely detect the chakra use that maintained the disguise.

Naruto noticed his look. "I improved it to be useful for undercover missions. As long as someone isn't really looking for it, the chakra use is overlooked since it is about the level of your average civilian's," a soft feminine voice said from under the cover of the hood. The tone turned a little smug. "That and I tweaked it a little so I can change the features to what I want."

The hood turned slightly and noticed the look on the pale face. "Don't give me shit, teme! You don't know what it's like having to play cocktease just to get training out of your sensei!"

Sasuke didn't reply but he could feel his face heat up in a deep blush.

"Oh shit, don't tell me you, too?" Naruto frowned beneath the cloth mantle. "You said he never touched you, right?"

"That's what I said," he growled, not wanting to have this discussion.

"You didn't lie to me, did you?" the feminine tone seemed to make the hurt intonation even more forlorn.

"No, I didn't lie to you." Sasuke drew a breath and let it out in a sigh. "He just liked to... watch me."

"Watch you do what?" he persisted.

"Hn. Everything. Like you said, I got better training whenever I was... teasing."

"Ero-sennin would make me use my sexy jutsu just so he could drool over me when he needed "inspiration." Bastard refused to train me unless I would do it." He paused a moment in contemplation. "I think it is official then," Naruto announced. "Sannin are obviously perverts. All of them."

Sasuke gave a snort of laughter.

"You remember Tsunade? The woman that healed you in the hospital, the new Hokage?"

"Vaguely. I have heard Oro- ... my previous sensei talk about her occassionally."

"Yeah, well she is training Sakura now. And she's a Sannin, too." Naruto paused for effect. "Makes you wonder what poor Sakura is having to do for her training."

They both shuddered at the mental pictures evoked by that statement.

They stood at the reception desk of a hotel that had met with Sasuke's approval, waiting for the matronly woman to assign them a room. "You do realize that you will have to get separate rooms. We do not allow couples unless they are wed. We run a respectable business here," the woman told them sternly.

Sasuke was about to turn and step out when Naruto pushed back the hood of the cloak. He froze when he saw what could have been his twin sister. "You shouldn't worry about me and aniki, obasan. I can assure you we have shared rooms since we were little! No one would dare bother me with aniki here to take care of me!" the throaty feminine voice assured the older woman sweetly.

The woman hesitated, but couldn't help but smile at the endearing, pretty little thing.

"Aniki picked me up from school to go home to see our parents! We have been traveling quite a bit and have found that things are so much more expensive than what we thought! Why traveling has taken up most of my savings from my job as an assistant at the hospital." Naruto gave a very sad face and added tragically, "I don't think I will even be able to bring my dearest mother a gift home to show her how much I have missed her!"

"Oh, you poor thing!" the older woman commiserated. "It is so hard nowadays being separated from family. Well, I am not going to make you spend what little money you have left on an extra room!" She turned and grabbed a key from the wall and turned the ledger toward Sasuke. "This room should be big enough and give you some privacy for your bath."

Naruto gave a grateful smile, looking ready to deliver a hug to the older woman at any moment.

Sasuke and his "sister" walked through the door and entered the hallway leading to the various rooms. Their steps echoed slightly on the polished hardwood floors. "Good performance," he murmured in a low tone.

"Why, thank you," his twin answered with barely twitching those coral pink lips. "I expect to be at least nominated for an award."

Sasuke smirked as he unlocked the door and ushered the other into the room. "You could give Koyuki-hime a run for her money," he said, referring to the ex-actress turned princess of Snow Country.

Naruto gave an unlady-like snort as the door closed. He dropped the jutsu and rubbed a hand over his chest. "Much better."

"Just make sure you don't leave the room as a male. Now go get cleaned up so I can take my turn."

Naruto shed his coat, shirt and shoes before heading into the bathroom. The sound of a shower soon filled the room as Sasuke pulled their dirty clothes out of their packs. He realized with some dismay that they didn't have any clean clothes left. He walked over and knocked on the bathroom door. "Dobe?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to run to grab some clothes," he said through the closed door.

"What?"

"I said I am going to go get some clothes," he repeated.

"Can't hear you over the water. Come in already!"

Sasuke sighed and opened the door. His words died in his throat as he saw the body behind the clear glass shower door.

"Hey, bastard, wanna help me get my back? I think I got mud caked on me and I can't reach it."

'Bad idea. Bad idea. Bad idea,' chanted his brain, but as the blood left and flowed southward, he seemed unable to hear it anymore. His hands moved on their own, disrobing him and dropping the dirty articles of clothing on the floor heedlessly. Before he even realized it, he was opening the shower stall and stepping inside to join a very naked, very wet and very hot blonde.

Naruto half turned and handed him a washcloth with a carefree smile. Sasuke glanced at the only adornment that still graced the tan body in the form of a crystal necklace. He had noticed that the blonde never took it off, but had never gotten around to asking him about it. Looking up, his friend's eyes told him not to ask now either. He took the cloth and nudged the broad shoulders. "Turn around, dobe," he said a little hoarsely.

Naruto turned and placed his hands against the beige tile walls, letting the water cascade down his back. Sasuke soaped up the washcloth and hesitated before placing a hand lightly against the other male's hip. He carefully started to rub the washcloth over the tanned skin, watching as the suds trailed down the broad expanse to slip down firm buttocks and thighs. Sasuke quickly came to the opinion that this was greater torture than anything that Ibiki and Orochimaru could jointly conjure.

Naruto gave a soft moan of appreciation that proved to be Sasuke's undoing. He absentmindedly placed the cloth on a bar set into the wall as his head lowered down to that tantalizing wet skin. His lips brushed over the small of the back, then followed the water upstream along the spine. A groan rewarded his efforts as he continued up and across muscled shoulder blades. He moved closer until his hardness pressed boldly against rounded globes of flesh, finding a cradle between them.

Naruto gasped and pressed back against the cock nestled against his ass. He straightened up, allowing those lips that were trying to devour him access to his neck. They found a meaty spot on the outside of his shoulder and bit down hard. He hissed and jerked slightly.

"Not so hard at first, start gently then work your way up," he tried to say as softly as he could so as not to offend the pride of the one behind him. When the mouth hesitated, he carefully reached back to entangle his fingers into the black locks. He guided the head to the juncture of where his neck met his shoulder.

"Right there. Start lightly then add pressure until you get the reaction you want. Until you learn what your partner likes."

The mouth lowered over the tanned flesh and gently sunk teeth into it. The jaws tightened until a moan was heard, then started to loosen. "More," Naruto urged a little breathlessly. The teeth bore down once more until the moan turned into a gasp, hips lifted to push back forcefully and the head fell back in pleasure. "Yes," he shuddered, "like that." The teeth reluctantly let go and a light kiss was dropped in their place.

Sasuke allowed his hands to explore Naruto's chest blindly as he nuzzled and kissed his friend's neck. He couldn't help but rock his hips against the silky firmness of the other's buttocks. He wanted to be inside of him so badly that he throbbed with each heartbeat. His own leaking fluid soon had the little valley at the top of the blonde's rear slickened and he slid against him easily.

He felt a hand gently take his and firmly trail the both of them down over a tautly muscled abdomen. The hand guiding his paused as he felt a jolt of pleasure almost leap to his skin as if from an electrical current.

Naruto moaned as Sasuke's hand rubbed and kneaded the soft, marked skin of his stomach. While the sensation was arousing, he wanted his friend's hand elsewhere. Exerting a little pressure, he urged their hands down to the juncture between the blonde's thighs. With their fingers still entwined, their hands skimmed over the hardened length that pulsed at the sudden attention.

Sasuke's hand was guided lower to cup and stroke once or twice over a tight sac, then back up to curl around a thick shaft. Sasuke had never experienced anything as erotic as having Naruto guiding his hand over the younger man's own erection, showing him what brought him pleasure.

Naruto's head tilted to the side and the hand that was still in Sasuke's hair guided his mouth back to the sensitive skin. As his teeth sunk into flesh, Naruto tightened his grip and started moving their hands faster. Sasuke couldn't get over the feel of how hard and hot the other man's shaft was. Touching him like this was completely different than touching himself. It was so much more exciting, so much more arousing. It seemed to bring out his baser instincts toward dominance and possession.

Naruto's breath was coming faster now and his muscles were slowly starting to tighten. Sasuke started nipping and biting along his shoulder and neck, being careful not to bear down too hard but was being rougher than he was previously. If the hair pulling and moans were any indication, the blonde didn't mind in the least. The broad chest was starting to act like bellows, forcing the air out of his lungs fast and hard before trying to drag a ragged breath back in. Sasuke's hips were grinding hard against the blonde's ass now, trying to force his body along the same path, the same timing as Naruto's.

Sasuke felt Naruto tense within his embrace. "Sa..Sas..k..." his lover tried and failed to utter his name. The hand in his hair suddenly jerked his face hard into the juncture of neck and shoulder and Sasuke knew what he wanted. Panting harshly, Sasuke waited until every muscle went rigid then allowed his teeth to pierce skin.

Naruto cried out gutturally as his orgasm ripped through his body, wrenching every muscle, draining every reserve and emptying it out in thick jets onto the slick tiles below. He felt a hot wash go across his back as teeth clenched harder, fingers dug into his ribs and a hand tightened almost painfully around his cock. Sasuke's voice moaned around his mouthful of flesh as he kept Naruto's body in a death grip. The teeth slowly let loose and the muscles relaxed and they leaned on each other, trying to hold themselves up on shaky legs.

"Well," Naruto finally said with a sigh as he straightened up. "If we're doing this for stress relief, I would say it's working. I wouldn't give a shit right now if every damn Sound-nin on the continent knocked on our door." He gave a stretch under the still warm water. "Does this count as meditation? That would be nice." He turned around to look at his glaze-eyed companion. "You know, I am beginning to suspect you aren't worth a fuck after sex. Pardon the expression."

Sasuke gave a sound that Naruto guessed was supposed to be a "hn" but it only came out as a "h." Chuckling, he picked up the washcloth and began to bathe the tired but beautiful pale body in front of him.

The two young men soaked quietly in the hot water. There was enough room for them both in the large tub as long as they didn't mind their legs entangled together. At that point they were both drowsy enough that they didn't care.

Sasuke cracked an eye open as he felt the pleasurable pressure of a foot against his groin. He looked over at his companion to see languidly closed eyes that would have denoted innocence had it not been for the mischievous grin stretching those wonderfully full lips. "Knock it off, dobe. Play time is over."

Those cute lips turned down into a pout. "You're no fun." The foot stroked gently along his twitching length, trying to tempt him.

He reached down and grabbed the foot, stopping its motions from stirring him up further. "We aren't here to have fun. We're here to resupply so we can go find our training spot." He scowled slightly and decided to emphasize a point to the other before things got further out of hand. "You're not here to be my boyfriend, nor my playmate, nor my fuck buddy nor anything else you might have delusions of in your mind. You're here to help me train so that I can hunt him down and obtain vengeance for my clan. I don't need you for anything else."

Naruto felt a shaft of pain go through his chest not too unlike the one he had felt at The Valley of the End. Instead of surrendering himself to it, however, he let anger try to burn it away. He abruptly stood letting the water sluice off his body as he reached for a towel. "Hmm, we must be in "stoic avenger" mode I see. Mr.-I-don't-need-anyone-but-myself-because-I-am-so-fucking-pathetic-that-contact-wth-another-human-being-makes-me-weak." He stepped out of the tub and began drying himself vigorously. "Well, here is something for you to chew on, Sasuke. Have you ever stopped to wonder why that the two that you idolized so much because of their power, hatred and self-sufficiency, the two that encouraged you to sever all of your ties and isolate yourself, both had partners that they relied on heavily and trusted with their lives?"

Ignoring the intense but unreadable look he received, Naruto stormed out of the bathroom, scooping up the dirty laundry on the way through the door.

Naruto sat on the small bench in front of the short row of washers, watching the machine vibrate as it spun out the water. Had he been in his normal male form, he would probably be sitting on the washer, letting it shake him up while he tried to sing. Unfortunately, he had to sit lady-like to protect his disguise. Naturally he emulated Hinata in his attempt since none of the other kunoichi he knew had a gentler aspect to their femininity. At least not when they were around him. He had to teach Sasuke his jutsu so that the bastard could be the girl next time. Kami-sama knew he was prissy enough to be one.

Just once he wished the bastard didn't have to make things so damn difficult and complicated. He would love to be able to walk up to him and touch the raven-haired boy without fear of seeing his dark graphite-colored eyes shut him out and draw away from him. He was afraid of taking the chance of losing him. It would be the one blow from which he could never just stand back up.

The washer buzzed and he stood up with a sigh. Grabbing the clothes, he tossed them in a dryer almost wishing he had washed his orange pants with Sasuke's white shirts just to spite him.

'Maybe I was too pushy, too touchy.' He thought as he sat back down and watched the clothes tumble in circles.

About an hour later, Naruto still hadn't resolved how to handle his friend's hot/cold attitude. The only thing he knew to do was to keep his distance until he was wanted and immediately withdraw again. He grimaced at the thought. What he really needed to do was just be there for his friend, support him and try to help him put the pieces of his soul back together. That and kick his ass a few times a day until he dislodged the stick that was currently imbedded in it.

He finished folding the clothes and took everything back to their room. He unlocked the door and stepped inside, immediately spotting the sleeping form under the blankets on one bed. Closing and securing the door, he gently laid the clean clothes down on the dresser. His eyes shifted longingly over to the occupied bed as he released his jutsu. He was bone tired what with their travels, the great sex and the hot bath. His stomach grumbled but he ignored it as he shucked the hotel robe and slid into the empty bed.

Red. Everything around him was tinged in the color from the crimson aura that surrounded him to the blood that bathed him. The ground under his feet was red clay as were the tall statues flanking the huge thundering fall that flowed with ensanguined water. Red were the eyes that watched him.

The twitching of a hand-shaped wing was the only warning before the creature in front of him attacked. The two clashed together not with Chidori and Rasengan this time, but with fangs and claws. Talons shredded skin and canines bit into flesh. They were forcibly parted as a well-placed kick to his stomach threw him several meters. Again they charged and grappled. Naruto was able to land a hard uppercut and would have followed through with a kick to the stomach had not the other flapped his wings hard and lifted into the air.

"Why?" Naruto demanded to know. "Why did you betray the village? Why did you betray our friendship?"

The fury on the dark-skinned face was plainly evident. "No, Naruto! It wasn't me this time, it was you! You betrayed the village! You let the demon loose! You killed the Hokage, our teachers, our friends. You destroyed the village and killed everyone! You," his voice hitched and anguish joined the rage in his wildly spinning eyes. "You killed my wife and unborn child. The future of my clan." His voice dropped into a harsh whisper. "You took everything from me." Lightning gathered in his left hand, the chirping birds almost drowning out his next words. "I will not leave you alive this time. This time you will die here."

Naruto watched as the wings thrust powerfully, propelling Sasuke towards him. He stood there and made no move to defend himself. "I killed them all," he whispered, tears welling up and sizzling against the heat of his aura. He shook his head in denial. "No. Oh please, no."

His vision was quickly eclipsed by the brilliant ball of lightning coming at his chest.

"Naruto!"

Sasuke watched as the whimpering boy sat bolt upright at the sound of his name. A tanned, calloused hand immediately went to his chest protectively. Their eyes met and Naruto jerked himself away from him, gaze filling with both fear and sorrow. Sasuke felt his stomach twist in pain from that look, but believed it was no better than he should expect. He knew better than to believe he could hurt his friend that badly and have it be forgiven and forgotten.

"It was a dream," Naruto breathed heavily but with apparent relief. "The Valley of the End. It was a dream." His pale eyebrows rose slightly in capitulation. "Okay, maybe a nightmare."

"Yes, a nightmare," Sasuke agreed quietly, turning away from the bed.

"You saw it?" he asked anxiously, still befuddled with sleep.

Sasuke slowly turned back to him, a little confused. "Dobe...Naruto, I was there..."

"Some trip, huh?" the blonde mumbled, looking down at the blankets. "The bloody waterfall...the red stained rocks..." He shuddered in memory.

Sasuke was even more confused. "Naruto, what are you talking about? If anything, it was all grey, not red."

Naruto shook his head. "Not the first time, this time. In the dream." His hand went over to his right shoulder and started to absently rub his unmarked skin.

Sasuke repressed a wild urge to yank the other's hand away from the spot. It was too painful of a reminder both of what he had done and that Naruto didn't fully trust him, yet. If he ever would again. "What did you dream?" he asked, trying to take his eyes off of the repetitively stroking fingers.

"We were there again, fighting. I had killed everyone and destroyed the village. You were taking revenge for them and for your wife and child." Naruto's voice had dropped to a wretched whisper.

"Hn. Well that goes to prove that it was just a nightmare. I don't have a wife, nor do I plan on getting one anytime in the near future." The idea of having a wife reminded him of Nara's favorite saying. 'Troublesome, indeed.'

"Sasuke! This isn't a joke! It could really happen!" After his outburst, he looked away from his friend's dark eyes once more. "Look what happened at the lair."

Sasuke sighed. This is what he hadn't missed when living with a bunch of psychopathic killers. Guilt and remorse. "Naruto..." He stopped to try to find the words to say what he really meant to say. "It wasn't totally your responsibility at the lair. It was the Kyuubi..."

"I was aware, Sasuke. At some level, I was aware. I was pissed because I had been locked in my mind for months, I was pissed because the damn demon betrayed me and I was pissed because they had kept you away from me for so long. I didn't try to fight the urges as strongly as I would have and I let it have its way." At this point he was looking Sasuke directly in the eyes, daring him to argue the point. "It was my responsibility."

Sasuke slowly let a smirk curl his lips. "And you know what, dobe? Everything that you just said should tell you why you would never let that happen at the village. Do you know that there wasn't one servant among the dead at the lair? There were no innocents, only other shinobi. You couldn't bring yourself to hurt innocents there and you won't hurt innocents later. Don't feel sorry for men who willingly allied themselves with the snake."

"You mean people like you?" Naruto ignored the immediate scowl. "People who didn't do it because they were evil, but because they were just stupid?"

Sasuke found himself sighing again. "We are shinobi, Naruto. Even when we make dumb moves, we are still shinobi and we are responsible for our own actions even when they lead to our deaths. So no, you shouldn't feel sorry for us."

Naruto slowly smiled a ghost of a mischievous smile. "At least you have finally admitted it was a dumb move."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Shut up and come eat, dobe."

Trying to push his nightmare aside for the moment, Naruto hopped out of the bed with forced enthusiasm. "Fooooood!" He sniffed the air happily.

Sasuke slowly let his eyes trail down all of that wonderfully exposed tan skin. "You might want to at least put on some pants or something."

Naruto gave him a genuine leering smile. "But why, Sasuke?"

Lifting his chin when he felt the tell-tale heat starting in his cheeks, Sasuke dared to look pointedly down at Naruto's waist. "Because I don't think you will want to spill hot ramen broth on your pride and joy."

"Ramen!!" The blonde practically bounced (along with certain interesting parts of his anatomy) over to the table where Sasuke had set down the bags of take out.

"Clothes or no ramen," Sasuke growled. He wouldn't be able to eat with that kind of distraction at the table. Naruto gave him a cute pout before going to the pile of folded clothes on the dresser. He snagged a pair of boxers and started slipping into them. "Hey! Those are mi...never mind." The blonde was already sitting at the low table, pawing through the sacks. He made a mental note to buy some more boxers tomorrow while he was getting supplies. Eying how snug his fit across Naruto's ass, he made a mental addendum to that note to keep buying them in his own size.

Realizing that if he didn't get over to the table soon that he wouldn't be eating anyway, Sasuke quickly sat down and went about rescuing something edible from the Gullet of Doom across the table.

Naruto paused in shoveling food onto the sturdy paper plate to allow his friend to serve himself. Sasuke had gotten the usual range of veggies and healthy food that he was always nagging at Naruto to eat as well as two bowls of miso pork ramen. "Thanks for the ramen, teme."

"Hn, whatever, dobe. Just make sure your stomach doesn't get upset like last time you ate that shit. Otherwise you will be sleeping in the other bed."

Naruto paused and looked up at his friend in surprise. Sasuke, for his part, totally ignored any awkwardness and finished dipping out his portion of the meal. The blonde felt a grin stretch across his face as he recognized the apology for what it was. This was Sasuke's way for making amends for being a dick earlier. So naturally, he had to show his appreciation and acceptance of the apology. "Whatever, teme. You know you would freeze your cold ass off if I wasn't there to keep it warm."

And with that, everything was normal between them again.

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes."

"Dammit, teme! I will not stay locked up in the room all day! I had to put up with that shit while you had the run of any hideout we happened to be in. I'm going outside whether you like it or not. Your only choice is whether I go with you or on my own!" He crossed his arms over his chest and gave the raven-haired nin his best glare.

Sasuke raised his eyebrow at the pathetic attempt to look intimidating. He then sighed, knowing that he was defeated. Naruto had his "I'm being stubborn and nothing you can say will change my mind" attitude going on which meant that even if Sasuke left him behind, he would leave at the first opportunity. Sasuke really didn't want to picture what would happen if Naruto was out loose on his own. It wasn't as if his friend was a walking disaster...well, most of the time. It wasn't as if he couldn't take care of himself... most of the time. It was just that he had this odd tendency to cause trouble and mayhem wherever he went... most of the time.

"Fine, but you don't leave my side," he finally relented.

"Why, Sasuke, I didn't know you-"

"I don't, so shut up."

"Bastard."

"Moron."

"Jerk."

"Idiot."

"Asshole."

"Woman."

"WHAT?"

"If you are going with me, you have to change into a woman." He gave a sinister smirk. "My sister if I remember correctly. My younger sister. Younger sisters always do what their big brothers say."

Naruto gave a snort of amusement. "You don't know too many girls, do you?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Doesn't change the fact that if you don't do what I say I am going to lock you in this room. Now change and let's go."

Sai carefully scanned the crowd of the marketplace, keeping his eyes open for anything that stood out. His team was currently in a large town near the border of Sound, trying to pick up some gossip while supposedly shopping for food. They hadn't been on the mission too long, but they had yet to find anything useful. They were going to head out in the morning for Lightning Country, ostensibly looking for Uchiha Sasuke since everyone knew by now that he had defected from Konoha. While the Raikage reported that the missing-nin had escaped custody, he didn't give any details as to how.

His eyes flicked to his companions, watching them interact together seemingly without effort. He had to envy them that. He was still trying to find the best ways to approach people socially and so far he hadn't succeeded very well. For instance, the bugman Shino had seemed calm at the time when Sai had asked him if he kept himself covered because he was ugly. Sai didn't mean to offend him really, he was just curious. After the expressionless stare that lasted a full minute, Sai thought that he had gotten over it. However, in the days that followed he found that insects seemed to be active during winter in this part of Fire Country. And that those insect bit. A lot.

His second mistake had been the honest bit of advice that he had tried to give the perpetually blushing Hyuuga. He didn't see anything wrong with telling her that if she showed off a bit more cleavage and ditched the coat that she would probably get laid faster and thus lose some of her awkward shyness. He hadn't honestly thought the girl would pass out. He also had a suspicion that his chewed up sandals were somehow directly related to the incident.

Lastly, knowing how men joked around with one another competitively, especially when it involved their masculinity, Sai jokingly told Kiba that since he was as loud and boastful as Naruto had been then he must have been overcompensating as well for his small penis. That, of course had been bad enough. He seemed to take it a lot harder than Naruto did. Sai suspected he must be in denial. Sai supposed in hindsight that he really shouldn't have then suggested that Kiba should be jealous of his own nin-dog which was undoubtedly hung better than his master. Afterwards, he was sure never to set his pack down anywhere near the dog since the beast suddenly decided it was part of his territory and marked it every chance he got.

His eyes suddenly swept back over the crowd to a man standing by a fresh fruit vendor. The hood of his black coat was pulled up partially concealing his features and he wore anonymous dark pants. The way he moved however wasn't typical for a standard civilian. This person had been trained how to fight and moved with that knowledge, smooth and gracefully.

His gaze was pulled to the man's companion as said person scratched the back of their head, pushing their own hood off in the process. The hair was the wrong color, the body was the wrong gender, but the moves were the same. Sai had spent quite some time studying Naruto while he had been assigned to Team 7 with the blonde shinobi. There had been something about him that was so different from the other ninja that Sai had been exposed to during his short lifetime. He knew the younger man's body language, knew how his hands moved while he talked, how he bounced when he was either excited or wheedling. But there was something extra added to the mix now. Something that screamed protective in a possessive sort of way. It was evident in how he never strayed far from the other man's side, how he watched when the other wasn't looking and how he scanned the crowd almost unobtrusively, looking for threats.

Which of course is how their eyes met across the square.

It was the last piece of information that Sai needed to be sure who he was looking at. No one else could have those expressive eyes, even if they were the wrong color. Sai gave a small smile of greeting.

A finely arched black eyebrow quirked slightly, then the figure nodded in return.

Sai gave a stretch of his neck, dipping down in the direction he wanted to meet him.

The pale face scowled slightly, wondering if it was a set up.

Sai deliberately lifted a mocking eyebrow and slid his gaze to his companions as if to say "I could always tell them you're here" and back.

He saw the other's lips twist slightly and could almost imagine the 'humpf' of breath leaving the body. The eyes rolled in resigned agreement. The figure turned to the other dark-haired, pale-faced person and murmured something. Sai caught the word "restroom" mouthed. The other nodded and his quarry walked calmly toward the direction he had indicated.

Sai glanced at his companions, two of which were still arguing the benefits versus the disadvantages of the longevity of raw meat as trail rations. Shino, quiet as always, merely watched the two. "Gotta take a leak," he informed them and anyone else who happened to be listening. He slipped away without waiting for a reply and made his way to whom he was sure was Naruto.

Giving a last look around, Sai stepped into the mouth of the alley and shot a grin at the girl waiting for him. "Damn, I knew you didn't have a penis worth talking about but I didn't think you would go all the way to being a girl."

The girl gave a low growl. "Shut the fuck up, Sai, and tell me what you want."

Sai gave a laugh. "You do realize that you're contradicting yourself?"

"Whatever, man. Are you here to drag me back or something?"

Sai stepped closer to the girl, making the conversation appear more intimate than it was. Naruto glanced up at him in surprise then seemed to realize what he was doing and relaxed again. "That was one of my orders. Luckily however, that was the one with conditions attached to it that I can manipulate. So, let's say you trade some information for your continued freedom?"

Naruto eyed him warily for a moment. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

"Who's on top or do you fuck him while you're a girl?" he asked curiously.

"Sai!" He cuffed the ninja upside the head with a small hand.

Sai grinned, pulling a reluctant smile from his detainee. "Okay, seriously, tell me where you've been for the last few months and the location of any other of the bases."

Naruto hesitated a moment and then shrugged, realizing that telling the other ninja wasn't going to hurt him or Sasuke somehow. He began by telling him of the location of a lair that Sai knew had been the location of a massacre, then the location of a base in Lightning Country that had been apparently conducting human experiments, and then of a small base in Grass Country that Sasuke had said was a central point in Sound's spy network.

Sai nodded through the quick explanations, knowing that they couldn't spend too much time away from their companions. He glanced up to see the Uchiha watching him from across the square warily, waiting for him to make an aggressive move towards Naruto. Sai flashed him a cheerful smile, watching with some amusement as the other narrow his eyes in irritation. "I take it you are with him voluntarily?" He knew the answer, but had to ask so that he could report it with a clear conscience.

"Yeah, I promised I would help him with his brother," Naruto said quietly.

Sai leaned in and nuzzled the dark locks around the feminine ears. He could see Uchiha stiffen from here before starting to stride their direction. "Last question. Where's the snake?" He felt the body tense beneath his where he had pressed them to the wall during their conversation. "Quickly, Naruto, before your boyfriend finishes pulling out his sword."

Naruto whipped his head to the other side and saw Sasuke not far from them, his hand behind his back and beneath his coat. His red eyes were fixated on Sai like a predator's and his aura started to slip his tight control. "He's still in here with me or rather in with the fox, behind the seal," he said hurriedly.

Sai nodded. "I'll find you later." With that he leapt to the rooftop and vanished in a black blur.

With the disappearance of his intended prey, Sasuke turned his burning red gaze to Naruto. "We're leaving. Now."

TBC