Author Notes:

Thank you everyone for still being here lol! I had exams so I couldn't post, but finally that hell's over! *Rejoices*~! Thanks to my wonderful beta, RaccoonMama13, for her work. I really hurried through to write and post this chapter! Don't know what to say, I'm glad that my story still gets followed and read! Now, without delaying you much longer, enjoy~

Reply to a guest review: Hi, thank you for liking my writing style and my stories, I was happy to receive your review. Actually, I'm still in the process of not knowing who would top. T_T This story goes both ways that it's actually frustrating to figure out. I posted the 'SasuNaruSasu' because I didn't know what it would come down to. I'd love to write a 'NaruSasu' fic, but for now, I'm still confused. Sorry if this sounds pathetic *brings rope to hang self*, I never had problems with labeling before…

For everyone who is still reading, I'm so sorry for the unknown future tachi-neko T_T. Please continue to read regardless. *Offers free hugs*

"My energy is flowing?"

Lovely smooth silk hair swayed as its owner nodded, distracting Naruto for a second, until that vibrant voice talked once more.

"Yes, to put it clearly, on normal circumstances, there's no way in the seven circles of hell that Sasuke would be knocked out from a simple slipper hit. Actually, he'd have seen it coming and dodged it, and even if he didn't, it should merely just hit him. However, since your energy is flowing out uncontrollably – and you were in a state of emotional imbalance when the incident occurred – Sasuke was knocked out."

Naruto's eyes turned to slits as he dejectedly looked at his passed out uncle with an apologetic look. "So how do I fix it?"

Itachi smiled as he replied. "You can't."

"Pardon me?"

"You can't because it needs special training, Naruto. We teach children from the moment they are brought to this world how to control and conserve their energy. A case such as yours has never been within the family, and it takes one at least five years to master it right, that's why it's taught in the first five years of life… yet you on the other hand…"

"I don't have five years." He completed his uncle's words. "…And I can't stay here for five years."

Itachi nodded his affirmation. "Not just that, we also have bigger problems here, see –"

"If your energy kept on flowing out, you'd soon die." The voice of his father entering the conversation sent dread all over Naruto's face. The tone made no room for jokes, Minato was serious.

"You… you're kidding me… right?"

"No." Itachi continued on smiling pleasantly, having seen the face of his big brother. "It's the absolute truth."

"Then what? Would I have to stay and learn for five year? Do I even have five years?"

Minato heaved a sigh as he approached them. He saw how Naruto was about to stress out and think too much into this, but before he could do that, he walked towards his son and put a comforting hand on his shoulders. "Naruto, relax. You won't need to stay here for five years, but –"

"But what? You just said I'd die if my energy kept pouring out." Walking two steps away from having an anxiety attack, Naruto's eyes faced his uncle's as he asked in distress. "Can't I just do some quick training and control it? Like doesn't this family have secret scrolls and stuff like that? I'm prepared to do anything, I can't die now! I didn't even have sex yet!"

Being fed up with his son's ranting and inability to keep quiet long enough to listen, Minato scolded as his fist made collision with his son's head. "Naruto, manners!"

The teen sent teary eyes complaining wearily as he nursed his aching head. "Old man, the last thing you should be minding right now is my manners."

"Manners make the man. No matter what, you can never forget them. Now, Itachi, you do have something he could do, right?"

This time, the leader to the clan stood up from his mahogany chair and went over to the other side of the room; it took him three minutes in which the teen waited patiently for whatever his uncle was fetching to be found. The sound of jingling bells was brought to his hands. Blinking at the two shiny golden bells, Naruto tilted his head.

"What are these?"

"Bells."

"…What do I need them for?" The blond became more specific.

"To summon Tsunade-sama, of course."

"Itachi, no." Minato's voice ensued as his facial expression showed nothing but annoyance, having figured out what his brother was planning. "You're not thinking of what I believe you are."

The long haired beauty nodded. "It's the only choice, if we do not want him to die, that is."

"…She's dangerous." He retorted.

"She's bored." The other corrected.

Minato shook his head as he defended his reasoning. "She enflamed the whole house the last time she was here."

"Like I said, bored. She won't do that again, besides, the last you've been here was ages ago, we've already decided on a mutual understanding between us."

"I'm afraid to ask, but what?"

Itachi's eyes turned into slits as a business-like-smile graced his lips. "Mutual benefits. If she's not getting anything out of it, then it's not worth her trouble, now is it?"

"…Itachi," Minato sighed out the name, making his little brother smirk. "Please, don't do anything dangerous, it's not good for my heart."

"I'm glad you care. Yet this isn't dangerous and the thing we'll be trading is of no benefit to Naruto-kun, anyways."

"Wait, wait!" Hearing his name finally being inserted into the conversation, Naruto jolted from his position. "Before anything, what the hell are you two talking about here?"

Blinking, Itachi frowned. "I didn't tell you?"

"No, you didn't," He glared not liking how he's been totally forgotten. "You two just started your own conversation as if I wasn't even here. Just tell me already, who is this 'Tsunade-sama'?"

Itachi nodded to his nephew and sat back down. He looked the teen straight in the eyes and replied softly –ignoring the groan that left Minato's mouth.

"Tsunade-sama is our ears and eyes. She the Uchiha clan's precious and only Oracle."

"An oracle?"

"Yes."

Naruto raised a think brow. "Like the one you see in gypsy movies and stuff?"

"Hm… but different."

Scowling at the mystified answer, he asked for further clarification. "How different?"

"You'll see."

The teen didn't like the way he was being answered, but then he recalled something in his uncle's previous conversation with his father. "Wait, before you said that she'll be trading with me? What does that mean?"

Itachi raised a brow. "It's you, who needs help, isn't that right? How will a deal between me and her benefit you? You got to make your own deal. But first things first, let's call her here."

"Call her –?"

The golden bells were rung and not a second later, out of thin air – Naruto swore on his pure life that it was out of thin air – a silhouette of a woman developed. No, it wasn't even developing, she just appeared. Out of nothing, a breathing human being showed. Naruto had to tell his heart to quiet down and his mind not to be blown away as he studied this 'Tsunade-sama'. She didn't look past her thirties, and had a faint dirty-blond hair; her eyes were hidden behind a veil so he couldn't guess what color they were. Yet, the way he stared at her theatrical entrance caught her attention. Tsunade approached him with a confident smile.

"You… Uzumaki Naruto, require my help."

It wasn't even a question, more of an order really, so the blond didn't open his mouth to either confirm or deny… since it wasn't a question.

"Yes, he does," Yet his handsome uncle had another idea. "Tsunade-sama, I'd appreciate it if you could tend to him."

"Accepting or declining, it all depends –"

"On the payment." Itachi finished.

"Sharp as always," She complemented. "So where's my pay?"

The leader pointed to Naruto and offered. "It's here."

Blue orbs went in a fit of puzzlement as Naruto's brows furrowed together and before he could complain, the woman before him grinned, satisfied.

"It's a deal. I accept."

"Wait! Wait! Wait just a damn second here!" Howling to his feet, the teen growled at both his always furtive uncle and the new annoyance in his life. "What payment? I'm not going anywhere with anyone and I'm sure as hell am not being sold to her!"

"Sold?"

Itachi snickered at the words and his nephew's misunderstanding. He wanted to correct it quickly before weird thoughts come to a teen head, but his big brother was faster.

"Naruto, calm down, they weren't talking about you. Well, it's about you, but not you per se. They were addressing 'the energy' within you."

Furrowing more at his own father's words, the blond asked to be explained to clearly so he could understand well. The one who'd taken that task on his shoulder was none other than his lying down uncle – who in the midst of their conversations, had awoken and tuned in quickly. Sitting upright, the raven looked Naruto in the eyes and answered his unanswered questions.

"She can take the excess energy from you without hurting you; she will sort of absorb it and alter it to be hers. You can think of this process as simply, 'suction'."

A bright beam showed on Naruto's face, replacing all his nervousness a few minutes ago. He walked to the raven and sat beside him on the bed. Forgetting everything, he commented with glee. "Sasuke… you're awake."

Sasuke nodded slightly to the warm hearts fluttering to him and extended a hand to ruffle Naruto's hair, ignoring their audience. "Don't worry; I won't disappear on you again. I promised you, remember."

Golden locks swayed with Naruto's movement as his cheeks colored slightly. The sound of someone clearing his throat got them out of their little bubble and Naruto looked at the woman who was supposed to help him. Being more relaxed now than two seconds ago, he apologized.

"Sorry for my earlier behavior. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet you."

Tsunade merely chuckled at his introduction and replied with a nasty remark of her own. "Brats are always afraid of death and the unknown."

He frowned at her obvious insult, but merely buffed his cheeks. Still faced with the choice of going through with this or not, Naruto looked at Sasuke for guidance. "Do you think I should do it?"

"It's your decision to make –"

"Yes, I know all that jazz, but what is your opinion?" He interrupted.

"Naruto-kun," Itachi's soothing tone resonated from behind him. "Sasuke's opinion is the same as ours, this is your best option, you should accept."

The blond teen didn't shift his eyes from his uncle's and waited until a sigh escaped Sasuke's lips, then he spoke. "Yes, you should do it. It's the safest bet. Teaching you – even if you learn fast – would take time that you don't have, and having her take your access energy is better than someone else. She may be dangerous and all, but she's still our oracle, and won't do anything that would hurt a member of the clan… hopefully."

"Except for her own enjoyment." Minato added soon after, reminding his two brothers of the pranks Tsunade was always playing on all of them.

"…Except for that." Sasuke affirmed.

The always cheerful blond sighed as he rubbed his head, before turning to the woman standing in the middle of the room with a smirk on her face. He looked her up and down and decided with a skeptical tone.

"Would it hurt?"

Tsunade's smirk deepened and she twirled a lock between her fingers. "Scared, aren't we?"

"No, I'm not scared, just want to know."

"What benefit would that knowledge provide, child?

Darting his eyes away from those fierce chocolate ones, he mumbled an answer. "….I was just wondering… is all."

"Well, to answer your 'wonderment', the degree of pain differs from an individual to another, you may feel nothing, or feel excruciating pain that would render you unconscious. However, you will experience a tingling sensation, regardless of the presence or absence of pain itself."

It felt accurate, as accurate as she could be, and Naruto gulped down his nervousness. He could be as insecure as he wanted, and could ask the advice of whomever he liked, but in the end of the day, she was his best option. He didn't want to die just yet, and it didn't feel like it's such a bad idea to just have her suck the energy out of him. Glancing at the oracle, she was kind of attractive. No reason to be obstinate with such a lovely looking woman. So as he walked towards her, the blond bravely extended his hand.

"Here! I agree! Take all the energy you need!"

Tsunade chuckled to herself once more; she drew closer almost like the moving air and grabbed Naruto by the cheeks. Revealing her face fully to his wandering eyes, she whispered softly.

"It's not your hand I'll be needing, child."

All that he knew next was how lost he got, inside that wide greenery that seemed to extend forever and beyond, Naruto was gone in her eyes. He'd never seen something so beautiful, the colors and contrast of different shades playing with vibrant pink hue engulfing them. He blushed when he realized that he was being kissed softly by such tender lips they felt like feathers of a dove. He didn't feel anything, except the air being tenderly removed from his insides and he found himself not minding, for that greenery had captivated his sight and he didn't dare look away or move a muscle afraid that it would come to an end.

Unfortunately, it did. He was made to witness the captivating way those eyes had revolted to a deep, warm degree of dark chocolate. Tsunade removed her hands from him and suddenly, Naruto felt his body grow very, very heavy and tired. His last scene was the panicked face of Sasuke as he fell to what appeared to be pale yet, warm hands.

Sasuke sighed and picked up the fainted blond as he glared at the culprit. "You should have at least warned him."

"I did~" Tsunade giggled to herself. "Just leaving some areas blank, is all."

"Like how he'll be out for a whole week?" Sasuke grunted aloud.

All that was heard of Tsunade was her laughter as she disappeared with the passing airs, leaving the three men and a teen with a message. "Tell Naruto-kun my thanks for the delicious treat~"

"Damn woman." Minato grumbled as he looked at the sleeping face of his son. "Always pulling up tricks in the last minute."

"Well, the good side is that after he wakes up, Naruto-kun would be rid of all pains and normal again." Itachi uttered. "Isn't that what you always wanted for him?"

The blond professor ruffled his locks as he answered Itachi's question with all honestly.

"Frankly, what I always wanted for him is to live his life the way he wanted to. Amidst my own selfishness, I forgot that and forced my own ideals onto him. Naruto had always complied with my every wish; he never crossed me even when I didn't provide a solid reason." Minato looked softly at his son. "Therefore, from now on, I want him to do whatever he wants regardless of how I view them. Of course, I'll try to be as supportive as possible."

Itachi's mouth turned upwards to a half smirk as he asked. "Even if he decided on becoming the next Leader?"

"…Even if he decided to be the next leader."

"Well then~" Cheerfully, the long haired raven tugged his arm on his big brother's and started dragging him towards the door. "Just for that, I'm inviting you to a drinking session with Ore-sama~ We'll have fun until tomorrow morning!"

Sweat-dropping, the blond clarified. "It's still the afternoon, Itachi."

"Gives us more time to enjoy~ Let's go!"

Sasuke watched his two brothers leave his bedroom; he rolled his eyes at the peaceful aura surrounding them and shrugged. Lifting Naruto right and placing him on the bed, he lay next to his sleeping nephew and whispered softly to the stillness of the room.

"We seem to be missing each other quite a lot these days."

Naruto didn't move or do anything to indicate that he'd heard that, and probably he didn't. Tsunade's powers were always hard for normal humans like them to withstand, so whenever she 'helped' any of them, their own cells needed time to readjust to the new condition bestowed onto them by Tsunade's alterations. Sometimes the raven found himself wondering about the place where The Oracle had come from or where all of this was leading to, but at the end of the day, he chose to remain oblivious to the whole ordeal, for ignorance in this clan of his was bliss.

Pulling the covers over Naruto's form and his, Sasuke kissed the sleeping male on the forehead, before he also closed his eyes and threw a causal hand to hold his nephew close. Wishing good dreams to wash on both of them and shower the rest of their days with delight.

Minato frowned at the scene. His instinct as a father was pulling at him to step in and stop it, but his duty as a brother told him that he should retreat and think of a better solution. He felt torn. This was unacceptable. Forbidden and shouldn't happen. Yet he couldn't label it as wrong, since he didn't have that right. He himself had stepped out of boundaries of reason and messed with his brother, what place does he have to go forbidding his brother from developing attachments to his son?

Even if they were forbidden.

So he chose to look the other way and close his eyes from reality. He'd decided that he won't question Naruto's decisions anymore, and if staying like this with Sasuke was bringing him happiness, who was he to tell him otherwise. With his own bag in hand, he went ahead and waited for his son in the car, which had been prepared for them to leave in. Sasuke had decided to remain in the house to help Itachi out, since it was going to be a lot of burden for the raven to do it himself.

Naruto was a bit reluctant to leave, but when Itachi told him that even if he stayed, there's nothing he could do to help them. The blond sighed and decided to return back to his own world. He'd missed about a month of school now, and no matter what, he knew he'd have to present a solid excuse so he won't be failed from his exams due to poor attendance.

Sighing with the weight of the things he needed to do when he gets back falling on his head, Naruto leaned forward on Sasuke's chest and whined aloud.

"I don't want to gooooo~"

Sasuke put both his hands on his nephew's shoulders and smirked. "Then don't. Stay here with me and leave Minato alone."

"You know I can't do that."

"Yes, I do. Therefore stop whining and go already. You need to reach home and get enough time to sleep before classes tomorrow."

Raising his head slightly to look at his uncle, Naruto pouted. "You don't want me here?"

"No one said anything like that."

"Then why are you urging me to go?"

"Because you need to." Sasuke retorted with a smile.

"Then come with me."

"…I…" Looking at anywhere but those true, vibrating orbs, Sasuke shook his head. "I can't do that."

"If you're afraid for Itachi-uncle's sake, he could take care of himself, just look at the number of assassins he has already. Nothing will happen to him, not to forget, he was running this clan just fine when you were away."

Sasuke sighed and pushed his nephew away. "Naruto, you and I, we are related by blood, do you get that?"

Tilting his head to the side at the sudden change of topics, the blond frowned. "Yeah, I do. What's your point?"

"You're my nephew, my brother's son. We can't do the things we do in our relationship."

"…Things?"

Sasuke nodded, locking eyes with his nephew, until Naruto's brow rose indicating that the information had sunk already.

"You understand, right? Normal family members maintain a constant degree of contact and have limits they don't cross. You and I don't have that. I'd gladly take you to bed and fuck your brains out without a second thought," At this comment, Naruto's face inflamed a deep red and shock appeared on his features, not expecting Sasuke to come right out and say it like that. "I don't trust myself not to do that with you near me, you rattle my whole existence, I can't think straight with you here. That's why, Naruto, we need to stop seeing each other."

Naruto looked at the ground after his uncle's obvious words. He wanted to think straight, but everything was cloudy. He didn't know what's what anymore. The only thought that came out his mind was. "For how long?"

"For as long as it takes for my emotions to view you as nothing but a nephew."

"What are your emotions seeing me as right now?"

"Sex object."

It was definite, alluring and it broke something in Naruto, but he kept standing still. He looked up at his uncle and continued questioning with clear orbs. "Just?"

"A very important sex object." Sasuke added with strained eyes.

"You don't view me as Naruto, your nephew or an individual of this family?"

"My brain acknowledges it, but it's not the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of you." When Sasuke saw Naruto's mouth move, he added. "And don't ask about what comes to mind when I think of you, you wouldn't like it."

"What makes you think I wouldn't like it?"

The raven provided with utmost honesty. "Because you flinched when I said I want to fuck you senseless."

"Anyone would flinch if their uncles told them they wanted to fuck them…" Naruto defended his reaction.

"Well –"

"Wait! You don't view me as your nephew, but… do you still see me as a friend?"

Sasuke's brows furrowed not knowing what his nephew meant by that, so he answered. "I… I don't particularly know about that…"

"You said I'm your first friend, so even if your thoughts about me being a relative are messed up, I can still be your friend."

"I don't see where you want to go with this."

"Being your friend, I can do this," Naruto closed the distance between them with a kiss to his uncle's lips. "Without you feeling the need to pull away."

Looking at the blond with affectionate orbs, Sasuke gave off a tender sigh. He knew exactly well what Naruto was doing. He was trying to find any cranny for them to still be together, and he himself had done it countless of times. But when Minato had said that he wishes for Naruto to make decisions by himself, he'd realized something. His involvement with Naruto is doing nothing but hinder the other's growth. Naruto is a normal kid; he should grow in an environment that doesn't need struggles. A relationship with his uncle is simply dooming him in the future. So no matter what, they couldn't be together.

His hands pressed harder on Naruto's shoulders as he commented softly. "It won't work. Even if I saw you as a friend, the fact remains that you're related to me and that this is considered incest."

"My dad has a different mother, you only share the father."

"Still brothers, still incest."

"…"

One pale hand came to mix his golden locks, and Naruto allowed himself a minute to enjoy those cold tips.

"I'm sorry to put you through this, but if we stay together any longer, you'd forget what normal family relations are, and I don't want that for you. You'd finally come to terms with everything around you and Minato as well, I don't want to be the reason why you and him start a fallout."

"Dad and I are good, and we will continue this –"

"You never know, do you think Minato would agree to his only son hooking up with a guy and not just any guy, his own brother? Let alone Minato, everyone around would scorn at us. You won't be able to withstand that and I won't allow you to! There's no need for this… let's just stop."

"Why do you always think negative thoughts?" The blond teen took one of Sasuke's hands in his and kissed it softly. "Why do you insist on shouldering all the blame? You're saying that you want to fuck me, have you ever thought that I might want to fuck you too?"

"DON'T!"

It was said so forcefully that Naruto felt his whole body jolt. He looked with startled eyes at the raven, who had taken his hand away from him and viewed him with a pained expression.

"Naruto, this is not a game, you're the only thing that I want right now but I can never have you! You have to get away from me before it gets too late. I'd ignored it for far enough now, but no more… this is wrong and we can't do it. I have misled you with my actions in the past, but from this day onwards, all our contact would be normal!"

Naruto was about to open his mouth and extend his hand to grab Sasuke's, but the raven took three steps to the back and shook his head. Showing Naruto an expression he'd never seen before. It was pain mixed with uncertainty and guilt. He just couldn't handle that, he had no idea what to do, Sasuke was right in everything that he was saying, sexual desire shouldn't develop between family members, and if they intended to continue being related, they had to stop this.

No matter how hard it seemed to hurt, it had to happen… but…

"I just didn't want to lose everything between us…" He whispered softly as he made his way to the door.

Naruto had wished that his uncle had stopped him with some fancy words or a hug, but nothing came his way. As he walked out and into the car awaiting his arrival, Naruto knew, for the first time in his life that he was starting to feel what it meant to truly lose something.

Sakura hit the dazed off blond hard on the back and grinned at her aching friend. "Stand up, Uzumaki Naruto! You have been chosen as our class representative for the cultural festival!"

Looking at her with a pair of annoyed eyes, the teen frowned out. "No. Leave me the heck alone! Since I came back, I've been seeing enough of you twenty four seven! It's lasting me a whole lifetime, no more being joined at the hip, Sakura! I don't care about any festival and I have no desire to be any representative to any class!"

"A.) You can't say no, it's already been established and consented for, and B.) Hard luck, hun, but we are joined at the hip. Starting now!"

Sakura was about to haul Naruto out of his chair when the blond jumped away from her, shaking his head. "No, no, no, no, and no, Sakura! Seriously! I need time to myself, you can't be this… this… sticky! And besides, when did I sign my name for being the representative? Ha? I don't remember ever participating in such a conversation or ever hearing about this!"

The beautiful girl snickered like a content cat and answered the blond's questions. "Well, I signed you up~ They needed a male to work with me, and I didn't want any creeps to take the job, so seeing as you were doing nothing productive with your time, I wrote your name~ And voila ~ You got it!"

"I don't want it; go give it to someone else!"

"Sadly, my dear Naru-chan, you have no weaseling out of this, you will do it and are forced to do it. The choice is out of your hands now."

Frowning even deeper at her every word, the blond prepared himself for running and was about to throw out a nasty, sarcastic comment before bolting out the door – when three males took hold of both his arms and his midsection, forbidding his every move. Feeling his annoyance start to turn to pure anger, he shouted out his frustration.

"Hey! What's this? Take your stinky hands off me right now or I'll kick you to your dippers!"

The males were a bit worried about Naruto's trashing and nasty comments, but Sakura reassured her boys and addressed her friend. "I knew you'd try to run, that's why they're here. Now, I had already told them about all your weaknesses, so you better behave and come with me~"

"What weaknesses? I have no weaknesses!"

Sakura merely nodded to the guy on the left, and in a matter of seconds, Naruto exploded in uncontrollable laughter as a small feather was wriggled into his ear. Proud of her achievements, Sakura only told them to stop when Naruto's laughter was becoming annoying to the other students nearby.

"See? Now, do you want another demonstration or will you come willingly?"

In truth, he could beat those three without sweating it, but then he'd have to answer to a flood of questions, suspensions and having his father blame himself for the bad influence. Since he didn't want any troubles at the moment, he sighed and allowed Sakura her way, after all, what's the worst thing that could happen?

"Fine. I'll help you out."

"Wonderful~ Knew you'd see it my way! Now, let's go, we have a lot of paperwork to do if we wanted to launch this festival on time!"

As they neared the room designed for the student council, Naruto felt dread build up inside of him. A momentarily thought about this decision not being the right one, floated to the front fort of his head.

"Even if you think about it too much, there's no helping it." The soft tone continued, silently ripping him away from the vacancy he was entrapped in. "You will only get further lost if you dig too deep, overthinking does nothing but strain the mind."

Naruto didn't feel up to faking a smile, and her presence told him there was no need for it. So he shifted his eyes away from the girl who was once his crush and back to the stretching heavens before him.

"You speak as if you know."

Hinata brought her legs together and sat beside him, gracefully bending over and forbidding the wind from messing up her silky locks. "I do. My experience might not be the same as yours, but I felt this loss at a point in my life."

"Then how did you get rid of the bitterness inside? I tried everything, drank different flavors, but I can feel it descending, slowly and daily, inside of me. I can't even bring myself to deny the existence anymore."

"And you won't be able to, if you asked me about a solution then there's none. The bitterness, the emptiness and continuous feeling of loss, they won't disappear easily, Naruto-kun. You've lost an important essence from your soul and these are the signs. Your only hope is bringing it back, or else, you would become someone like me, drifting apart through life aimlessly."

Naruto's brows furrowed in wonder. "You don't appear in a drift."

"He stopped me, Kiba-kun, he helped my soul repair on my pace. Before I'd known him, I didn't think much of anything and the bitterness was still there, yet –"

"I… I can't do what you did, Hinata-chan, I still don't know what is that I lost, I just have this hole in my heart that won't close up, and no matter what I do it's tormenting me to no avail."

"Naruto-kun, lately, you have encountered multiple events that one could refer to as adventures. You saw things you didn't think were real and learnt about a whole new world. The hole in your heart could be simply due to lack of excitement. I wasn't with you in that 'adventure' of yours, but I was informed briefly of what you'd gone through. Ordinary people tend to miss the thrill once it disappears suddenly, and that could be the case with you."

He looked at the sky above him and shook his head, denying the reason she'd provided.

"It's not that, I can't pinpoint it exactly, but I was never a person for thrills actually. Since as long as I can remember, I wanted nothing more than to lead a normal life. So missing the thrill is unlikely."

"Then remember what you've left there."

Naruto stayed silent not answering back, knowing perfectly well what he'd left behind, yet it just didn't make sense. Sasuke was never a big part of his life; he'd only spend a small period with him, an insignificant period that won't compare to anyone else beside him. However, he'd come to miss the presence of the later more than he'd thought he would. It wasn't anything major per se, but the small details, his voice when he'd welcome him back, the way the ends of his hair would stand slightly every time Naruto would irritate him and the cute way his nose would flare when he was holding a yawn.

Small, insignificant details, but Naruto missed them very much. Yet…

"You seem to have a clear picture of what you've lost."

Looking at the girl beside him, Naruto rested on his back, using his hands as support, before he responded. "It's not something that I've lost, Hinata-chan, it's a person who made a decision different from mine. And although I hate to admit it, his decision was right."

"Naruto-kun, if you really believed these words, you wouldn't be feeling that bitterness within you."

"…"

"Let me tell you a story, a story about a frail girl." Softly, she continued speaking. "From the day she was born, she was given big responsibilities and duties. She was expected to not just excel at everything but also perfect it. This girl had power that the rest of her family envied, wished for and held hope in. Her powers, unfortunately, were a two edged sword; because they took a toll on her body, making her bedridden from the tender age of five. However, the people around her kept treating her with respect… or so she thought. Behind her back, rumors about her incompetency arose. No one cared about how she felt, her mother had died giving birth to her, and her father… he couldn't look at her the same because she reminded him of his late wife. That girl was truly pitiful. She had nothing but enormous power that people feared. Multiple tries on her life were made, and that's when she came to a decision,"

His eyes were locked onto her face the whole time she spoke. Everything in Hinata felt like it was vibrating as she was talking; her silent, traditional beauty came about, reminding Naruto of the reason why his heart was first caught by her. Shaking his fallen emotions, he asked her.

"What type of decision?"

Hinata looked Naruto in the eyes and smiled. "'Since everyone thinks of me as nothing but brutal power, I'll become brutal power'. At seven, she threw away her tender heart, trained her weak body and mind and accepted her fate. The once kind girl had turned into nothing but a monster, she killed anyone who defied her, ruled her family with an iron grip and tortured without a second thought. The day when people viewed her as nothing but brutal power came about and…"

Something in the back of Hinata's throat blocked her words. She took a deep breath as her eyes traced the silhouette of a passing cloud, using it as means to secure her thoughts from jittering about.

"She looked at herself in the mirror one morning, and couldn't do it anymore. It all happened so quietly, until now, no one is sure of what'd triggered it, but she fell, passed out on the ground. In a comatose state, she slept for three whole years; time passed her by as no one could touch her without being electrocuted. Her father had decided finally to send her away, to a different place where his twin brother's family lived."

Hinata took a minute to recharge her energy. She really never was one for telling tales, mostly because they needed a person to talk a lot, she couldn't do that. Sensing her distress, Naruto handed her the half full bottle of water that he'd brought along. Hinata thanked him and gulped a few drops, then continued.

"The girl's powers were never calmed when she was in her own home, and like I said, anyone who dared touch her unconscious body would be mortally electrocuted. The new environment was different, the people were different and they didn't see her as the amplitude of great power, but a poor girl who was burdened with great load. She had a cousin there, he was older than her and people often distanced themselves from him, because he was cruel. His cruelty however wasn't by choice like hers; it was his nature –"

"Hinata-chan, sorry to interrupt," Naruto sat upright. "But I don't believe there's a person whose true nature is cruelty."

The beautiful female smiled, making her lilac orbs glitter with a hidden sense of light. "You'd think that, but in this vast universe, there are a lot of things of intrigue, those two were. A girl whose destiny wished her cruelty and a boy who's born with this cruelty. What do you think would happen if they were to meet?"

"…I… can't imagine."

She nodded. "Yes, that's exactly what had happened. The unimaginable. When they met, a light shone out from the sleeping girl and in a moment of bewilderment, he touched her and instead of him being electrocuted to death, the girl woke up. She looked at him and he looked back and they knew, they evened each other out, and couldn't be separated for life."

Frowning at her mysterious words, Naruto asked for clarification. "I don't get it, what do you mean by that?"

"See, originally it was too great for one person to hold both power and cruelty, because they walk hand in hand. So in the old days, two people would inherit them, it would be evened out and none would need to live any misfortunes. However, this time the girl alone took the power and left the boy with cruelty." She stayed silent a second and then a chuckle echoed throughout her voice, before correcting her own words. "Sorry, sorry, since the boy was born first, he was a gentleman and took on cruelty, leaving her with power."

"Were they connected?"

"Perhaps." She shrugged. "Maybe in a past life, the two were lovers or siblings and he wanted to take on the burden from her. But by doing so, she fell with the horrid fate of power. Well, now it doesn't matter, for in the end, the two had to always remain close to each other and could only maintain a certain limit of separation."

The blond thought a little hard about the story she had told and missed to formulate a link to him, so he asked. "Your story is lovely and all, Hinata-chan, but how does that relate to me?"

Her smile stretched deep and she commented softly. "The girl in the story is me, Naruto-kun, and the boy is my cousin, Neji. We were born with burdens and couldn't breathe right until we met each other. I believe that's the same with you and Sasuke-san, you didn't realize how important he is to you until he left, correct? And now you're harvesting that."

"W-Wait! How did you know it's Sasuke?" Freaking out, the blond jolted.

"You're not such a closed book as you may think you are, Naruto-kun. Besides, from the way you talked, it couldn't be anyone else."

Naruto sighed and scratched his head. "Well, that still doesn't explain the bitterness in my mouth; you said that your bitterness left after you found Kiba not Neji-sensei, so how do you explain my bitterness?"

"I said I could breathe when I met Neji, and when I did, I realized what I was missing, and that realization left bitterness in my stomach that Kiba-kun had removed gently for me. It is love, Naruto-kun. What you're missing right now, what's leaving a bad taste in your mouth is that you'd abandoned your love and left."

Naruto's eyes widened at her words and he shook his head, refusing them. "…T-That's not right, Hinata-chan… Sasuke's is a man and on top of that my own uncle, we're tied with blood. There's no way I could be in love with him… there's no reason for me to be… it's not right… it's –"

"Love." She interrupted his ranting. "Love doesn't need a reason, it may not be right or accepted, but you can't deny your feelings. Besides, the longer you keep doing that, the longer you'd have that stomach-sinking depression."

With those as her parting words, Hinata stood up as gracefully as she'd sat down and made definite steps to the door of the rooftops. Glancing behind her at the picture of a confused Naruto, she went down, hoping that she's given a little bit of mind ease. The blond didn't realize it, but because his emotions were not settled, it was affecting the environment around him, making everyone worried about that distanced look on his face.

Hinata smiled. She could say that she did it for him, but actually, she did it for herself, as to wipe the look of pure concern out of her boyfriend's face. For after all, he was her salvation in disguise.

"Looking out the windows won't bring him back to you, you know."

Sasuke pulled the curtains the minute his ears registered the mocking tone and replied with a passive one. "It's not nice to enter without permission."

"I did knock," Itachi defended his manners. "But you, my dear brother, were too engrossed in your thoughts to notice my presence, so I let myself in. It is my house to begin with."

The younger of the two retreated from the window side and took hold of a book that was lying on the nightstand next to him. He sat down on the comfortable armchair and enjoyed the momentary feeling of sinking in it. Itachi looked at the obvious rejection to his presence and commented again.

"Even if you ignored me, you can't ignore the problem."

"There's no problem to ignore."

"Then if I mentioned 'Naruto-kun' and 'Hyuuga Hinata', you won't flinch?"

The passive mask he had didn't even crack at those names, amusing the leader to the Uchiha party more, nonetheless he did further questioning. "What are you cooking up now?"

"Throughout the decades, our family held numerous enemies, and this hasn't changed until now. Therefore, we need an ally. The previous incident had proved the Hyuuga – though intolerable as ever – to be a perfect fit. Hyuuga Neji came to your aid when you asked; he put his life and that of his men in danger in order to help you –"

"He did so for the land."

Itachi shook his head. "Here's where you're wrong. He was instructed by her to do so. Even if you didn't propose that silly deal, he would have helped you. However, being the weasel he is, he refused to get out with nothing but your gratitude. From a businessman's point of view, he is indeed cunning. Yet, with his little deal he affirmed that the order to help you didn't come from the gentle soul that he does not own."

"…Why would she help us? At that time, making an enemy of you and destroying the truce you two had, would have been worse than Naruto's death."

"A very good question to be asked," Itachi remarked. "And the only conclusion we can aspire to deduce is that she wants him."

Now the mask demonstrated simple cracks as Sasuke frowned at the words. "Wants what with him?"

"Wants him for herself, of course. She wants to marry him and from what Sasori has told me, Naruto-kun doesn't seem to dislike the idea of joining paths with her."

"She'd manipulated his mind and triggered affection for herself inside his brain; he doesn't hold any significant feelings for her."

"And you'd know this because…?"

"Because I do."

Itachi shook his head with an obvious smirk that he didn't even try to conceal. "That's not an answer and you know it. Besides, even if it's triggered, love gets triggered by the simplest things. You are familiar with the fact that, if the idea wasn't there inside his head to begin with, she couldn't have enunciated any emotions."

Sasuke sent a small glare his brother's way, before countering. "Even if it was, not all ideas are right or true emotions."

"Sasuke, you sound a little bit extra philosophical tonight, Hinata-san wouldn't have been able to ignite anything if he didn't wish it. Stop trying to fault this, it's a fact we all know. Now, since he likes her and she apparently likes him back, nothing should endanger this engagement."

The younger Uchiha abandoned his book and looked at his own brother with wide eyes, his calm exterior shattering beside him. "You're planning on engaging them?"

"The sooner the better."

"But –!"

"If you're stopping me with something like they are our enemies then I won't have any of it. The reason I'm giving Naruto-kun is to strengthen our bonds with the Hyuuga, and what's better than blood to do so?" He put a leg over the other and continued. "Moreover, like us, they hold family above all and, against the common enemies we have together, our families would be stronger than ever."

"Are you so hung up on getting allies that you'd throw your own nephew to the wolves?"

"Not wolves, Sasuke, friends. They hold affection towards him as much as I do."

"Just by helping him out that one time?"

"It wasn't just that one time, simply because you don't see it, doesn't mean it's not there. Anyhow, it's already been decided, I'll contact Minato early tomorrow morning to brief him about the situation. Good night."

Before Itachi could leave as promiscuously as he'd entered, Sasuke stopped him with a question. "What happened to you not accepting help from non-Uchiha? What happened to the pride of the Uchiha we held above everything else? Are you throwing all that away?"

Itachi gave his baby brother a smile, before answering softly. "I'm not throwing; I've found a way to maintain, Sasuke. You and Naruto-kun were the ones who taught me that 'help' doesn't mean weakness, that's why. As an advice, if you don't want him to slip out of your hands, follow him and don't make the same mistake I did and live to regret it."

Sasuke's eyes widened fully at Itachi's shocking statement. If he wasn't glued at the spot with the way his tips were flaring, he'd have enquired more about the mystified meaning behind those laced words.

Gaara took a deep breath and fixed his attire. He really didn't like this. It made him feel uncomfortable and inferior, but his boyfriend said that if he didn't come to meet him now, then it'd be good three weeks until they could see each other again – something he frowned over. Sighing inwardly, he made his way inside the fancy building.

Inside, everything was as he'd expected. Clean and orderly. Everyone was wearing suits except him, being the only one with a school uniform. Shaking his head, he took calm steps and made his way towards the receptionist. A woman with black silky hair that was tied into a messy bun quickly smiled up at him, her lilac eyes shone brightly, before she greeted welcomingly.

"Hello, sir, what can I do for you?"

"Umm… My name's Sabaku Gaara. I'm supposed to have an appointment with Neji-sen –… err… Hyuuga Neji right about now."

She blinked at him and raised a brow. Gaara could feel the skepticism in her eyes, but she didn't voice it. Simply she asked him to wait a minute while she confirmed with the administration. Three seconds later, the women hung up the line and looked at him.

"I'm afraid there's no appointment with you in the records, sir. Are you sure it's with Mr. President?"

Again, that tone of doubt, it annoyed him a little but he continued with his cool facade. Nodding to her, Gaara confirmed. "Yes, he informed me of it earlier. However, if I don't have an appointment scheduled, how can I make one today?"

"I'm afraid you can't. Meeting with Mr. President is very hard. Therefore, appointments have to be made beforehand." She smiled apologetically to him. "But if you insist, I could ask them for the nearest date in which you could meet up. Now please if you could write down your contact information –"

Gaara felt a tug at his heart. His boyfriend was the one who told him to come here. He was the one who insisted Gaara comes and meets him at the company, then what was this? Why was this woman saying he had no appointment with Neji and that he was too busy to meet anyone? If Neji truly had no time, then why did he tell him to come here?

Three weeks have passed since they returned from the Uchiha's household, and since then, he hadn't seen Neji. The raven had said they'd meet at school, but that never happened. He'd waited and waited and when he couldn't wait anymore, he went to question. Only to find that his sensei had left the school and didn't plan on returning. He'd tried to call the numbers at his disposal, but they all refused to connect, even when he went to the apartment his sensei used to live at, he didn't find him. Hyuuga Hinata also failed to give him any information and only provided an apologetic smile for his concerns. Finally, when his annoyance and irritation at being left in the dark build up too much, a phone call was given to him by his boyfriend.

Neji really was the devil. He told him to wait three years for him. Be faithful for three whole years. Of course, Gaara didn't even grace that request with a reply and merely hung up on the raven. A week passed by with no connection and as his anger started dying down, he gave up and dialed the number in which he was contacted with. Then Neji told him to come to his company for him to explain everything that was happening.

But here he was, standing in the big hall where he obviously failed to belong, with nothing to tell him that the words that were spoken to him on the phone that night were truth.

Wait, there was no reason for Neji to lie. He was a sadist, a masochist and a true akuma. But he's never lied to Gaara about anything. Sure he teased and played pranks but never lied. So if his boyfriend was simply doing all this to enjoy his time, then Gaara was going about all this the wrong way.

This was a game.

Thinking to take a chance with that conclusion. The redhead ignored the receptionist and walked towards the elevator. She called on him but he paid her no mind. In the elevator, a man asked which floor he wanted to go and he replied with the top. Feeling his nervousness shift to a feeling closer to thrill, the teen maintained a cool front.

He was let off on a long corridor. As he was walking, three security guards walked up to him. He could see one of them talking on his receiver and pointing with his eyes at him. Gaara didn't know why, but he felt like this was the perfect time to break into a run. The layout of the corridor consisted of many lanes; they all looked alike with little to no distinguishing marks. Almost like a maze to confuse outsiders. Smirking at the corridors, he made sure to take specific turns as not to lose his way.

As his breath was about to cut, he was finally able to shake off the guards. Now what? Those guards chasing him had only confirmed his suspicions. His boyfriend was playing a game. If this situation was really nothing short of a normal one, his name would have been on that appointment record and none would be chasing him. He was just a guy going to the top floor. Why would that need the security to be alarmed and for three adult men to come and chase his ass?

So... the aim of this game was probably finding Neji and not getting caught in the process. He didn't know what would happen if he was caught. But something told him that he won't be able to see his boyfriend for a while if he lost. Sighing at the twisted man of his dreams, Gaara began thinking.

He'd already memorized the layout of this floor, if the map downstairs was anything to go by. So if that was correct –not just misguidance to entrap him – then Neji's office should be on the left, three right turns and then straight into the far left. But won't it be obvious that he was going there? The guards would be centered alongside that door. Then how could he enter without being spotted?

Gaara heard footsteps near him, quickly he hid his presence behind one of the armchairs. This was one of the simplest techniques that Minato-san had taught him and Sakura. How to hide your existence. If an enemy can't locate your energy, then they'd have no means into finding you. True to those words, the guards walking around were unable to sense him even though he was right under their noses.

When the coast was clear, Gaara started moving again. This time, he changed his method of thinking. If his prize was in the office then if he can't enter the normal way, he'd crash from another route.

Now that his thoughts were on a different scheme, he was able to pull it off rather easily. Swiftly, he made his way to the rooftops. It was the safest place right now and he didn't think the guards would think he was such a suicidal-freak to use this dangerous plan of his. Looking around the roof, he was able to locate some cables – which he took without permission – and used them as robes. Pongee jump was a favorite sport of his, so this wasn't any different. Of course it was fifty stories building, but he had to trust in himself.

Quickly estimating the distance and locating the precise location of his darling's office, Gaara tied the cables with the knob of the iron roof's door, steadied by the white pole beside it, before breaking down a pipe from the nearby pipes. Now fully equipped and ready for action, he took a deep breath and dived head first from the roof.

Air came soon to blind his vision, but due to his experienced body, he was able to mend his structure in a right position to the air resistance, therefore lessening the chances of being blown to a wrong angle. As he neared the supposed windows of his boyfriend's office, Gaara took out the pipe and used it to crash the windows to shards. Making a big entrance for himself.

While he rolled down safely, the glass stung to his body here and three, causing minor cuts. A round of applause found its way to his ears and Gaara straightened his position slightly to deliver a glare.

"Well done, well done, I knew you'd be able to get to me."

There on the other side of the vast office, sat none other than his worst nightmare, Hyuuga Neji. He was sipping on a glass of wine and smirking at his wounded boyfriend. Really, just why did his heart had to beat for such a villain?

"…You're insane."

"I get that a lot," Neji put down the wine and walked to the other. "But thank you very much."

A loose hug was given to Gaara, he really wanted nothing more than to pin the other to the glass beneath and punch him senseless. But what he ended up doing was gently holding the bastard's hands and locking lips with him. Tenderly, he made his way inside Neji's mouth, but in a matter of seconds, started passionately eating away at him. Those passed weeks came as a storm to him. He hated to admit it, but he'd missed the guy. Missed his nasty, double-faced sensei to the core.

Neji smirked as he bit the other's tongue, halting his boyfriend from devouring him alive. Knowing it was a sign to move back, Gaara did so, but not after choosing to steal air away from Neji once more.

"Aww, I missed you too."

"Don't… don't ever do that again." Gaara's tone was as nonchalant as ever, but Neji could detect the loneliness underneath and his smirk shifted to a gentle smile.

The raven cupped the other's cheeks and looked him in the eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to leave without a word. But I was actually very busy with work. I know I should have called you or something, but –"

"You still think I'm a kid who can't support you?"

"Not at all," Neji shook his head, swaying black locks right and left. "Today you proved to me that you're not a kid anymore. I didn't contact you for me. If I'd heard your voice, I'd have wanted to come and meet you. Then I wouldn't want to leave your side and that… is bad for business."

Gaara traced back the lines of Neji's lips with his fingers, jolting the other's senses to awaken. His straying fingers were caught by the raven's tongue and he gave them a small kiss.

"I didn't know what to think. You left me with nothing. If you dare make me go through that again, we're done, Hyuuga Neji."

Neji's smirk returned and he replied. "Don't worry, I won't. I don't even know how I'll part from you today."

A soft kiss was exchanged between them, then the businessman tugged his boyfriend by the hand. "Come, you hurt yourself with that glass, right? Let's tend to you."

Moving sent tings of pain to different areas of Gaara's body. Maybe he should have thought a little bit more before shattering those windows with his body. Sighing inwardly at the cuts, he allowed himself to be led to the chair on the opposite side. As he sat down next to the other and gave him permission to tend to his wounds, something inside of Gaara buzzed and he remarked seriously.

"Hey… let's live together."

Lilac eyes widened slightly but in less than a second, returned to their normal size. Neji locked eyes with the other and in all calmness, gave him an answer.

"I'd really much like that, as well."

That was it. They didn't jump each other again or cause the other any misfortune. They just sat there in the stillness of the air; enjoy the company of one another. A perfect day for one Hyuuga Neji and one Sabaku Gaara.

"I'll be back later tonight. You know where everything is, and as always if something happens –"

"Call your seven hundred phone numbers of emergencies, sheesh Dad, I'm not four. You don't need to do this drill every single time you come home late."

"Stop being a smartass, there's nothing wrong with looking out for my boy."

Naruto struggled not to roll his eyes but the temptation was too strong for him to behave, and he ended up doing just that. "Well, your boy is about to turn the legal adult age, so stop worrying and go."

"…That isn't lessening my worry one bit."

"Dad, go!" The teen did everything besides slamming the door on his father's face. "And if you couldn't come back tonight, just stay over. I can handle a night alone."

Minato blushed a bit then smiled cheekily at his son, before waving his departure. Naruto waved back and closed the door behind him. He took a deep breath and fixed his hair. Actually he shouldn't be home right now, but he just needed a minute to breathe. For the last month, Sakura was using him as her own errand boy. He didn't even know how things evolved so quickly. Instead of just being a silent bystander, he was forced to participate in every single activity their year was making.

It wasn't just his class supervision that he needed to worry about, but all second-year's classes. Sighing, he lazily walked up to his room, pushing the tiredness of yesterday out through an indolent yawn.

He knew one of the reasons why she was being such a pushover, was because he was dozing off into his own world and would rarely pay them any attention. Naruto realized how worried his friends must be, but honestly, bullying him into extra school work was no means to relieve that worry. Besides, it helped nothing to ease his dozing off. 'Cause that had one heavy reason that wouldn't be treated so easily.

Grabbing his pillow, he immersed his head inside it and tried to fall back to sleep. His father had to wake him up for a goodbye, because for some odd reason, he had to go visit his brother, Itachi. His heart threw a sense of odd throb at this and Naruto ignored it. He hadn't thought of Sasuke for a while and didn't want to. It always led to nothing but headaches. After Hinata's words that other day he'd gone and networked his way into a clear explanation of love. True, many people agreed with Hinata, but some didn't. However, in the end, the vast majority settled on simple basics, wanting to stay with that person and wishing them well.

However, there was a dark side to love, as well. Some people took possessiveness to a whole new level. He shivered when remembering an article about a teenager stalking the girl he liked. When she refused to go out with him on multiple occasions and got herself a boyfriend, he ended up killing her. With the simple notion of 'if he can't have her, then no one should'.

Naruto tried to think logically about his situation, if he was indeed in love with Sasuke, then what next?

They were blood relatives and males, of course he could argue that the blood connecting them wasn't that thick – but that still won't make it right. They couldn't marry and their lives would continue in secrecy, that is, if Sasuke were to return his feelings to begin with.

Between them, a sexual relation had developed, no… that couldn't even be considered a relationship. He frowned to himself. It was merely Sasuke using him for entertainment, calling it teaching his nephew ways to relieve stress when he was just playing with him. The blond dipped his head into the pillow, feeling the depression of overthinking wash over him. It was the right thing to do; staying away from Sasuke was the right thing to do…

His aching chest just needed to be treated with something other than meeting Sasuke.

He immediately shook his head and thanked God when his phone rang, stopping him from overthinking for the thousand time. Answering without checking the ID, he groaned out a lazy. "Yes?"

"Naruto, listen to me, half an hour from now, a man would be coming over to take you to a hotel. Do whatever he says and go with him." The frantic tone of Minato rang through.

The blond pushed his body off the bed and frowned. "Dad? What do you mean?"

"I don't have time to explain; your uncle is dragging me off to some family meeting. Just do as I said. It's very important that you attend!"

"Wait, Dad! What is that supposed to mean?! Dad –"

"I'll explain when I get back home, later, Naruto!"

With that his father hung up on him, the teenager looked at the phone as if it'd grown a second antenna, before he grumbled out of bed and into the shower. Really, couldn't he just get one single day off anymore! As he walked to the bathroom with obvious annoyance, the oblivious Naruto had no idea what his family members had in store for him.

Thank you for reading, two more chapters 'till the end! Please, tell me what you think… I'll be looking forward to your reviews.