Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Torrid	By : KageKitsuneXXX Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Naruto/Sasuke Views: 4665 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, and I do not make any money from these writings.

Chapter List
- 19
- 20
- 21
And now, a dramatic Author's note:

Scene: The Pink Panther theme plays as KK sneaks in with the new chapter, tiptoeing exaggeratedly. Her attempts at stealth are foiled, however, since she cannot resist doing 'jazz hands' at the musical flourish, and drops everything she's carrying…including a kitchen sink.
So out of that chaos, there arose such a clatter, that everyone looked up to see what's the matter.
'It's KK!' They cried. 'And she's got a new chapter. Let's read it quickly and bludgeon her after.
'Whoa!' Whimpered KK. 'Now let's wait just a minute! I know it's been a while, but it hasn't been that long…has it?' (And Scene)
I have not left the fandom, I am not on hiatus; I have just been insanely busy. I've been asking for donations of time, but no one is ponying up, so there you are, my loveys. My job eats my time, brain and soul, so right now I am a fanfiction writing zombie. I hope you haven't forgotten the story, and I hope you're raring to read this newest chapter. Please enjoy and tell me your thoughts- they always motivate and inspire.
My Mood Music: The Fray 'Over My Head'; Naruto/Neji's song: Vertical Horizon 'Everything You Want'
P.S. If you've ever sat on a barstool in a pub, giggling over a new 'Torrid' chapter; or if you've ever written me a hilarious alternate version of one of my more angst-filled scenes, this chapter's for you. You guys are love!

Naruto couldn't believe this was happening again.
His brain had completely stalled, leaving him grasping as he stared at the pristine, blank sheet before him. He propped up his elbows on either side of the exam paper and raked his hands agitatedly through his hair. He snuck surreptitious glances around him as his peers all diligently scribbled away, making him feel like the 'dead last' kid all over again. He stared for the millionth time at the test before him and squinted, the words swarming to form taunting, undecipherable hieroglyphics.
In the short space of time between having the Civil Service Exam placed before him and the moment his brain had short-circuited, Naruto could tell that the test was easy. Had he been in the comfort of his own home, sitting on his bed perusing the paper, it would have been gravy. Instead, he was in an officious, air conditioned room, sweating through a business suit as others coasted around him. He hadn't written a thing on his paper, not even his ID number, balking at the thought of handing in yet another failure with his name on it.
The cute girl next to him seemed to be the only one not oblivious to his dilemma. She smiled shyly at the flustered blond, a little struck by his good looks. Perhaps not thinking it through too clearly, she nudged her paper towards him as an open invitation to grasp at a lifeline.
Naruto blinked at the unexpected opportunity, and the temptation was strong and immediate. He looked over at the exam proctor who sat bored and yawning at the front of the room as she leafed through a newspaper. The assistants stationed around the room didn't look very attentive either; but one could never be sure. Cheating was treated harshly and Naruto doubted he could outlive the shame of it. He looked back at his paper to find the words still teeming angrily before him. The idea of losing yet another chance to edge closer to his dream was even more nauseating than the idea of being caught. The young woman sent another significant glance at him, inching the paper a little closer as she feigned concentration on the test. The answers were right there, and all he had to do was to take them and move on.
Only he couldn't bring himself to do it.
He would have been building his future on a lie, breaking yet another vow as he tried to move forward with his life and achieve his goals on his own merit. He had been breaking too many important promises already, but that one had to remain sacrosanct. To cheat would have been another step in the wrong direction, another step towards losing himself and everything he wanted to stand for and believe in. He smiled his gratitude at the girl and shook his head, sighing a little as she withdrew her paper with a shrug. Naruto glared down at the paper and tried to fight the growing sense of despondence. If he couldn't find a way, he'd just have to create his own path.

"How was the exam?"
Naruto was standing inside a quiet alleyway, leaning against the cold brick wall and fighting the urge to bash his head into it. Shikamaru's question wasn't helping his mood any and he briefly contemplated ending the call without responding.
"Not good…"
Shikamaru made a small noise of acknowledgement. "Any hope of a pass?"
"Not even…"
"I see. Well you have about three minutes to finish mourning. At the end of them, get to the station and take the next train out to the Foreign Affairs Office. When you get there, come in through the North-East entrance. If you didn't miss the train, you should be right on time. I hope you're wearing a suit like I told you to."
Naruto was already moving towards his car before he even had time to think about it. When Shikamaru switched to plan-and-execute mode, it was impossible not to respond, even if you had no idea what he was on about.
"You want me to come and see you now? On time for what?" Naruto barely managed to get the car door closed before he was speeding towards the train station.
"You're not coming to see me. I'm initiating 'Plan A', since 'Plan R' has not worked."
"'Plan R'? Passing the CSE was 'Plan R'?" Naruto yelled, shocked and chagrined at the same time. "I thought you believed I could do it!"
"You have a severe mental block against written tests and you have taken no steps to address it. It would have made no sense to have that as my main plan." Shikamaru pointed out matter-of-factly. "It's a testament to the potential of your unpredictability that I included it as a contingency plan in the first place."
Naruto was not sure whether or not that was a compliment and decided it was better not to ask. "So what's 'Plan A' then?"
"'Plan A' is letting you do what you do best. It's my opinion that it is the plan with the highest probability of success."
Naruto was pulling up to the train station and was still utterly confused about the mission on which he was embarking. "What I do best? What's that again?"
"You're going to get someone to believe in you."
Naruto wasn't so sure that Shikamaru wasn't simply trying to get him killed. Granted, Shikamaru had told him to get the foreign minister's attention in a 'non-threatening' manner, but hadn't offered any suggestions on how he was supposed to go about doing it. 'You'll figure it out' was all the additional encouragement Shikamaru had offered before hanging up, and Naruto wondered if he was supposed to be reassured that the man who made thirty-eight contingency plans was telling him to just wing it. By the time Sarutobi Hiruzen showed up with his stern looking security detail, Naruto was still in the dark about how he was going to pull it off. Before long, the greyed old man and his bodyguards were marching past and Naruto decided that it was now or never.
"Your exams suck!" Not the most coherent or intelligently expressed opinion in the world, but it certainly brought everyone in earshot to an abrupt halt.
The minister and his entourage looked about and quickly located the source of the outburst. The elderly man blinked and raised an eyebrow at the heckler. "Excuse me?"
Naruto knew he didn't have much time before the guards decided that his brand of fruitcake was just a little too nutty. He took a breath and prayed for a miracle.
"I just took the CSE because I'm supposed to be your new personal attaché. Well, I didn't exactly take it, but I was there. You have that test as a requirement to get the job and that's not fair. That test gives you no idea of how talented I am, or how amazing of an assistant I would be and, to be honest, that's ridiculous. I would be the best attaché you could possibly hope for, and you'd miss out because of some dumb written test.
Hiruzen could only stare dumbfounded, while his guards stood confused wondering whether or not they were supposed to taser the upstart. It was Hiruzen's interim assistant, Mizuki, who offered an opinion first. He sniffed disdainfully as he sized up Naruto.
"What you are trying to say is that you failed. The CSE is a standard entry exam for this type of post, and if you're unable to pass a simple test, what use are you to the man who is called the 'Genius Professor'?" Mizuki sneered as Naruto's eyes narrowed. "The test covers basic knowledge and reasoning and if you lack those…well."
Naruto was saved from a potential charge of homicide by Hiruzen's smooth interjection. After casting a censorious eye on his antagonistic assistant, the old man turned back to the jobseeker.
"As undiplomatic as that was, he makes some good points. That test is most likely the easiest aspect of the job; a job that has yet to be posted by the way, so I'm very curious as to how you heard about it. Why should I even consider you for the post?"
"I know I didn't pass the exam." Naruto nodded as his forehead crinkled in determination. "But that doesn't mean I won't do well at any challenge you might throw at me. Whatever it is that needs done, I can do it. Don't rely on that exam, test me for yourself."
It was a ridiculous challenge that should be blatantly ignored, and it certainly wasn't how Hiruzen had anticipated spending his lunch hour. Still, he found himself inexplicably fascinated. "Name?"
Naruto couldn't believe he hadn't been wrestled to the ground and carted off in a straight jacket. "Uzumaki Naruto, sir."
"Uzumaki Naruto, eh?" The old man murmured thoughtfully while Mizuki rounded on him in disbelief.
"You can't be serious about entertaining this-this character, Sarutobi-sama. You can't just hire some moron off the streets!"
"I have no intention of doing any such thing, Mizuki. I do, however, intend to listen, which was a large part of my portfolio the last time I checked. Do you intend to educate me as to how I should go about my business?" Hiruzen shot the bristling man another quelling look, causing Mizuki to back down immediately. His next look was directed to the wide-eyed blond. "Uzumaki Naruto, you've got ten minutes. You'd better make them count."

It is a beautiful thing when a plan comes together. Shikamaru almost whistled as he knocked and entered the office of the Foreign Minister, bearing hard copies of Naruto's resume and qualifications that he knew the blond would need eventually. As expected, Naruto was on his soapbox, preaching to an awestruck, if not slightly railroaded, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Mizuki stood fuming in a corner, turning an unattractive shade of green. The Minister scratched his chin thoughtfully as Shikamaru deposited the documents and took up an unobtrusive position at the back of the room.
"I am starting to guess how you found out about this job so soon." The diplomat said as he shot a meaningful glance over at the Government's chief advisor on foreign policy. Shikamaru pretended not to notice. "It's quite a feat in itself to impress Nara-kun, but to stir him to action like this; it's quite remarkable."
Sarutobi leaned back in his chair and observed the intense young man. Everyone's attention sharply focussed as the feeling became palpable that a verdict was about to be passed. "It's not that your qualifications and your background aren't impressive, Naruto-kun; but there is the issue of experience. I know you have far loftier ambitions than merely being my aide, but even that assignment carries much responsibility in regards to diplomacy and…"
"He's friends with the Governor of the Wind Country, not to mention a number of other government heads including the Star and Lightning Countries, Sarutobi-sama. He has had direct, though informal, influence on many of the policies implemented by their prefectures." Shikamaru chimed in nonchalantly, completely diverting the Minister's train of thought.
"You are friends with Gaara-san?" He was a little more than surprised, since even on a good day, Gaara was known to be…taciturn.
"I have him on speed dial." Naruto nodded, helpfully whipping out his cell phone and offering it to the Minister. The old man shook his head quickly, willing to take Naruto's word on it. "How on earth did you get to know all these people?"
"When I was a kid, ero-sennin, I mean my godfather would take me on walking trips around Japan. I met the coolest people and made a ton of friends."
"Naruto's godfather being Jiraiya-sensei, Sarutobi-sama…" Shikamaru chimed in again. "I believe you know him as well."
Sarutobi hadn't heard this much name-dropping since he had attempted to listen to his grandson's hip-hop music. It didn't take him long to realize that Shikamaru was unsubtly pointing out that the unassuming young man before him was connected up the wazoo. But still…
"Then there are your coping skills; knowing how to manage difficult people with both delicacy and-" For the umpteenth time, Sarutobi was interrupted. This time was courtesy of his door crashing open and his teenage grandson barging into the room.
"You promised to take me into Tokyo, Old Man! I'm sick of waiting, I want to go now!"
The room gaped collectively as the boy proceeded to throw a temper tantrum of epic proportions; which was quite remarkable, considering he was almost twenty. The Minister tried cajoling his grandson into quieting down and letting the interview finish in peace, but the young man was having none of it. Finally, it was Naruto who had had enough.
"Kid," The soft, ominous word somehow managed to cut through the noise and chaos of Sarutobi's wheedling, Mizuki's reprimands and Konohamaru's screaming; and still arrest the young man's attention. "I don't know who you are and what it is you're on about, but the next stage of my life depends on this interview. So help me, if you don't sit down and shut up, I will put my foot so far up your ass they will need to surgically remove it."
The flabbergasted young man unthinkingly sprawled on the floor in an effort to acquiesce as quickly as possible. Naruto turned back to his interviewer, smiling hopefully, seemingly unaware of the fact that four mouths were hanging open as everyone in the room gawked at him. Sarutobi recovered his composure and harrumphed officiously.
"So, how soon can you start?"

Sakura would never figure out just how Ino convinced her to join some touchy-feely, relationship support group. She sat uncomfortably as a part of a large circle of about ten men and women, waiting for the facilitator. She didn't think this would help and quite frankly, she didn't think anything would help at this point. Her marriage was over, the love of her life hated her, the Wicked Witch of the West was a more likable character than she was, nowadays, and it recently dawned on her that she hadn't signed a prenuptial agreement. If her darling, soon-to-be ex-husband decided to take her for all she was worth, and it wasn't much at present, she would be house-hunting for cardboard boxes. Since she was the new girl, most of her support peers tried to engage her in conversation. She heard the door open and thought she had been mercifully saved by the arrival of the facilitator- Mitarashi Anko.
Anko didn't so much enter the room as much as she blew into it. The young woman skidded to a halt before the group and struck a pose not unlike a superhero coming to save the day. If it wasn't physically impossible for Naruto to compact and transform himself to such an extent, Sakura would have thought that it was an elaborate joke on the blond's part. Before she could recover from her shock, Anko zoomed in on her like a heat-seeking missile.
"New girl, what can we do you for?" Anko sprawled carelessly into her seat, closing the circle as she leaned forward to address the frazzled young woman across from her.
"Excuse me?" Sakura stared owlishly about the room, wondering if she was the only one who found this all a little strange. Apparently she was.
"You know, what are you here for? State your name and major malfunction."
Nearly a dozen pairs of eyes riveted on her and Sakura's mouth opened and closed wordlessly.
Anko clicked her tongue briskly. "We'll get it out of you sooner or later. Might as well be sooner. Rip the band-aid off in one go, I always say. You can't shock us, babe. There's nothing we haven't heard before."
Sakura didn't put it past Anko or anyone in the room, the notion that they wouldn't wrestle her to the ground if she tried to leave. The only other means of escape was out the window behind her, and seeing that she was four stories up, the option didn't seem very viable. Humiliating disclosure it was, then.
"I used my father's company as a bargaining chip to get someone to force his son to marry me. The plan ended up backfiring, as it turns out that not only is my husband gay, and as such, repulsed by my lady parts, but he was having an affair with a mutual friend for all of our marriage; he has since dumped me, turning me into a social pariah and leaving me up shit creek with nary a paddle or a boat."
One could have heard a pin drop in the room as Sakura folded her hands demurely in her lap and waited for a response. Instead, her 'peers' gaped at her, visibly shocked. She coughed self-consciously as she reconsidered exiting through the window. "Yeah, that's pretty much it; but then again, who hasn't done that? Huh, am I right?"
Anko chewed her lip thoughtfully as she digested Sakura's revelation. She was initially convinced that Sakura had made it all up because of her 'nothing could shock us anymore' assertion. Clearly, that wasn't the case. Anko leaned back in her chair and assumed her most Freudian expression. "Why don't you start from the beginning?"

Sakura had to admit, if nothing else, baring all was certainly cathartic. With minimal prodding, she literally started from the beginning- when she was a bullied, seemingly hopeless, little girl with a too-large forehead, hiding behind her bangs and Ino; to meeting her ice prince whom she could never warm over, to the fairy-tale wedding, and its horrific ending. She was more than a little relieved to see the lack of censure and judgement in the faces of the strangers to whom she found herself telling her deepest secrets. Even if they couldn't grasp the methods she took, they certainly related to her feelings of desperation, unrequited love and the need for completion; all without realizing that the void had to be filled from the inside and not with something or someone on the outside.
Anko nodded and let out a low whistle when Sakura finally ended her tale. "That's a heck of a story, Sakura. I think everyone here can identify with at least some aspects of your struggle. You have a lot of issues to address and hopefully, with time, we'll be able to help you. I do think we need to address your anger first and foremost, though."
Sakura deadpanned instantly. "Anger? I'm not angry!"
She was a lot of things: morose, horrified, alone and hopeless; but anger was not one of them.
"You've got, like, major rage going on." Trish, the group's only Ganguro girl affirmed as she nodded, wide-eyed as Sakura.
"I'm sorry, Trish, is it? Just where did you get your psych degree?" Sakura asked bluntly as she railed against the ridiculous diagnosis.
"Princeton, but I did my post-grad work at Cornell." Trish replied cheerfully. Before Sakura could figure out whether the overly-tanned girl was being serious or not; and if not, smack the funny out of her, Anko regained control of the group.
"It's even worse because you don't realize just how angry you are, Sakura; or why you're angry… I think you need Ganju." Anko nodded thoughtfully as she stood abruptly and soon disappeared into a closet at the side of the room. Personally, Sakura didn't see how marijuana was going to help in the long run; she was about to question just what kind of people Ino had gotten her mixed up with, when Anko dragged what appeared to be a large, aggressive-looking, male blow-up doll out of the closet. She was going to kill Ino.
"Sakura, meet Ganju." Anko declared proudly as she dumped the large doll onto the floor and headed into the closet once more. The group members all murmured their appreciation, clearly all fans.
Sakura's brow furrowed as Anko tossed out Ganju's must-have accessory. It looked mysteriously like a sledgehammer.

Ino tried her best to stop squirming as she handed Sasuke the signed annulment papers. She stood awkwardly in his office, the formal space and the man both intimidating her to an almost unbearable level. Sasuke took his time with the process too, assessing her as she held the papers stiffly in her outstretched hands, leaving her hanging. He leaned back in his chair and raised a questioning eyebrow at the documents. Ino swallowed automatically; the papers were in a disgraceful state. They had been through hell while in Sakura's possession, getting crumpled, thrown and having cold, alcoholic beverages set on them. They were soiled and frayed; a perfect representation of a marriage that should have never been. Ino shuffled nervously; after what felt like an eternity, Sasuke finally reached out and accepted the papers.
"They look fit for the garbage bin." Sasuke pointed out mildly as he flipped through the papers. "Still, nothing of importance is torn or missing, so they're still valid. I suppose that's all that matters."
Sasuke shoved the papers into a draw and slammed it shut, making Ino wince a little at the lack of ceremony on the man's part. She supposed it really would have been asking too much for a little sentiment on Sasuke's part; but for her, the end of any marriage was a sad thing, especially the marriage of her closest friend. She hesitated, looking for some indication of what she was supposed to do from Sasuke. She cleared her throat and he looked up from his financial reports and seemed surprised to find her still standing there.
"Was there something else, Ino?"
He said her name so icily; it served as a sharp reminder to her that she was in the doghouse too, having been a comrade and co-conspirator of his wife. They hadn't really been friends to begin with- Naruto and Sakura were the threads that bound them after her crush on him had ended. It hadn't occurred to her to think about where this whole situation would leave her with her friends, but there was little room for damage control now. It made no sense trying to close the gate after the horse had bolted.
"Ino?" Sasuke repeated, sharply enough to halt her mind's meandering.
"Um, sorry, I was just wondering if there was anything you wanted me to say to Sakura."
There was a flash of emotion across Sasuke's face that further discomfited Ino. It said there were a lot of things he wanted to say, and that there were even more things he felt and chose not to show. She preferred believing that nothing cut Sasuke deeply, and it wasn't helping her own conscience to learn otherwise.
"Tell her that I'll have the papers couriered to my lawyer as soon as possible. She will be contacted by my legal counsel when necessary."
Ino felt her heart sink as Sasuke's attention shifted back to his papers, effectively dismissing her and Sakura from his life. The irrevocability of it was heart-breaking.
"She's not an evil person, Sasuke." Ino faltered a bit as his eyes snapped up to hers abruptly. "Before all of this, she was your friend and she can still be your friend, that doesn't have to go away. I know it's not possible now, but don't close your mind to it. She was never trying to hurt you, she was just…"
Ino gestured vaguely, trying her best to find the right way to phrase her thoughts. "She was just clinging to her happiness."
"Weren't we all?" Sasuke snorted at the irony before looking squarely at Ino. "This experience has taught me a lot of things; I am not the same person coming out of it that I was going in. I had to face my faults and my sins, and I know that I have a lot of work to do on myself and my relationships. So I guess, in that light, I should be thankful for Sakura and her efforts to 'cling to her happiness'. I want to be a better man, Ino, and I'm trying my damndest to become one."
Sasuke planted his hands on his desk and stood slowly, drawing up to his full height as he stared coolly down at Ino. She shrank back automatically.
"Make no mistake, however; I am a work in progress and the new or improved 'Sasuke' who is able to sit and laugh about this is nowhere in sight. If you are waiting for some kind message for Sakura, I'll give you one. Tell her to have a good life, be happy, fulfilled and all that meaningful crap. But until this improved 'Sasuke' shows up, she will be best served to forget she ever heard the name Uchiha."

It took some encouragement, but soon Sakura was laying into Ganju as if he was the source of all her problems. Her peers cheered her on as she wielded the clown hammer like a mad woman and attempted to murder a surprisingly resilient doll. For that moment in time, he represented everything that had been wrong in her life- from the kids who made her feel alien to the desperation that had driven her to near madness. She lost track of how much time she had spent waling on the doll, but at length, Anko took a chance and decided to stop her. As the adrenaline died down, Sakura doubled over panting while Anko beamed at her.
"Feel better?"
Sakura nodded, surprised at herself for losing control like that. "I guess I was a little angry. Just a little…"
Anko nodded as she tried to reassure Sakura about the uphill task to come. "It may not feel like it now, but you're going to be okay, Uchiha Sakura."
"Haruno." Sakura sighed as she straightened up and dropped the fake sledgehammer. She gave a small smile at Anko's confusion. "The name is Haruno Sakura, not Uchiha anymore. I don't think it ever was Uchiha."
Anko smiled as she nodded decisively. "Well, Haruno Sakura, we've got some work to do."

'The Uncaged'
It was the stuff of legends or fairytales; something the Branch House children made up and whispered amongst themselves as they imagined the privileged lifestyle of the Main House. They spoke of a way to break free of their second-class citizenship, and take their place among the elders and leaders of the clan. The rules and methods of how this was accomplished varied wildly with the story-teller. Some schemes were merely ambitious- physical and mental feats that would prove you worthy of being uncaged; others were downright outlandish and impossible, and added credence to the idea that to be emancipated from your fate was indeed an unattainable task. The Uncaged simply did not exist; at least, that's what Neji thought until his uncle breathed life into the fairytale.
"You must understand, Neji, it's rarely done." Hiashi knelt behind the low table of his tea room as he addressed his nephew. "For the ceremony to even be suggested would normally require the threat of extinction to the Main House due to war or disease. In our history, only a handful of people have been uncaged and the circumstances have always been extenuating."
Neji stared wordlessly at his uncle, eyes dancing as the rollercoaster of emotions began. It seemed his uncle had ignited the flame of hope only to have it cruelly extinguished. What was the point of telling him that there was truth to the legend, only to have him hear it was impossible?
"Your father pleaded with me to find some way of performing the ceremony on your behalf. He refused to accept that the Branch House was your destiny. Still, there was no way to find a loophole to exploit, and when your father died, you became so angry and resentful towards the Clan, I feared you wouldn't have accepted it even if I found a way."
Neji continued to stare blankly as his uncle ruminated over his future and the possibilities that surrounded it.
"You've been trying lately, Neji. Something has changed your outlook, and in turn, your output has become phenomenal. I think you're ready to honour your father's most fervent wish; perhaps I'm ready to finally make that happen."
"But how?" Neji spoke hoarsely, forcing words through suddenly parched lips. This kind of thing simply didn't happen. For the past few months, he had felt like a man trapped in a dream, knowing he was on the verge of waking up. He honestly had no clue which he feared or wanted more- the dream world, or the one that waited upon awakening.
"It will not be easy; some of the elders will fight it tooth and nail. Even as the clan head, my power and influence only go so far; but I will have the backing of Shuhei-sama and Moriya-sama. That should be enough once I prove the extenuating circumstances." Hiashi stroked his chin as he stared off at fall foliage beyond his window, already envisioning the battle ahead.
"Extenuating circumstances? But there is no war, no outbreak, no natural disaster that threatens the Main House." Neji pointed out a little desperately. He could already hear Naruto in his head, chiding him for looking at the problems instead of grasping for solutions.
"No, but there is a worldwide recession…"
Neji blinked, momentarily confused by his uncle's seemingly offhand statement.
"This is a world of big business, Neji; our Clan throve because we are business people and we are good at what we do. However, these are trying times, and being 'good' is grossly inadequate. We need brilliance." Hiashi nodded as he glanced at Neji significantly before turning his gaze back to his window. "We need genius if we are to manoeuvre the financial quagmire the world finds itself in. The Uchiha Clan makes sure that its best and brightest are always at the forefront. If we do not do the same, we are in real danger of not only losing our relevance on the world stage; we may lose our shirts as well. No, there is a disaster threatening our clan, and we must take steps to prevent it. Branch House members cannot advise or make major policy decisions; such a thing will not change for now. No, a Branch House member cannot, but one of 'the Uncaged' can."
Before Neji could even begin to wrap his mind around the enormity of what was happening, his uncle fixed him with a laser stare.
"If I begin this process, Neji, I put myself on the line. You will be under the microscope more than ever. Incidents such as what happened with the Uchiha brat cannot happen again." There was a pause and Hiashi seemed to struggle to find a proper means of continuing. Neji felt his body tense with the premonition of things to come. "We may have to go out of our way to appease some of the elders whose vote may be undecided. They tend to frown on anything that…breaks with tradition."
Neji's back stiffened as he stared his uncle in the eyes. "Appease them how?"
Hiashi's gaze did not waver even as he sensed Neji's defences being raised. "As I said, Neji, it will not be easy. Sacrifices will have to be made."

When Neji pushed the door of Naruto's apartment open, he only managed to make out a golden flash before he was hit with one hundred and eighty pounds of excited blond.
"I got the job!" Naruto chortled happily as he lay sprawled atop a slowly suffocating Neji.
"Seriously?" Neji's voice was muffled by what he guessed was Naruto's shoulder. "That's amazing and I'm happy for you, but I can't breathe."
Naruto scrambled up quickly and hauled Neji to his feet. The younger man went off a million miles a minute, giving Neji a blow by blow detail of his amazing day.
"I knew you'd do it." Neji spoke sincerely as he smiled affectionately at the babbling blond. "I wasn't sure how you'd do it, but I knew you would."
Naruto laughed aloud as he sprawled into his armchair. "That needs to be my new motto: 'Naruto, he'll get the job done. Fuck if anyone knows how, but he'll get it done.' It really seems to be the consensus. I probably need to work on pulling stuff off, without always pulling them out my ass… for want of a better term."
"It's not a bad thing, Naruto; when the sheer power of your will gets things done. It's not always about being prepared, it's about being ready." Neji spoke cryptically as he stood nervously in Naruto's living room.
"You are so Zen sometimes, it gives me goose bumps." Naruto grinned cheekily before taking a closer look at the pale man. It finally sunk home that something wasn't quite right. "What's up with you? Is everything okay?"
"I'm not sure, Naruto. I'm not sure at all." Neji sighed, looking at his lover despondently as he tried to come to grips with the decision he had to make. "My uncle has offered to uncage me."
"What?" Naruto's brow creased in confusion as he eyed Neji closely. The latter quickly explained what the term meant and Naruto's expression changed from one of dubious confusion, to stunned disbelief. "What? When did this happen? How did this happen?"
"I've been making progress these past few months, Naruto. I told you I would follow your advice and I meant it. I got to work immediately, though I didn't expect anything out of it." Neji shrugged inelegantly as Naruto's eyes widened with each 'new' revelation. "It seems my uncle had been sitting there waiting all this time for me to do what you suggested. The results were almost immediate."
"Why am I hearing all of this just now?" Naruto accused as he shot out of the chair. "Neji, this is amazing! It's what you've been waiting for all this time. Why weren't you saying anything?"
"There was never really an opening." Neji smiled a little sadly, dampening Naruto's empathetic excitement. "Every time I was about to tell you, something would come up. Actually, not 'something', just Sasuke. He doesn't give us much time or space for personal revelations, you know."
Naruto stood wordlessly, having no response to the frank statement. Neji sighed again as he ran a tired hand over his face.
"My uncle basically told me that in order to make the way smoother for my promotion to the Main House; I needed to stop doing anything that may disturb the elders' delicate sensibilities. In short, stop being gay. At least overtly so until I get the backing I need. Even after I get the go-ahead, who knows what will be required of me."
Naruto straightened at the suggestion and the possibilities it presented. It distracted him, for a short while, from his own guilt. Neji continued without giving Naruto any chance to interject.
"I told my uncle that I wasn't about to give up who I was and my own personal beliefs, even for the chance to be uncaged." Neji chuckled wryly as Naruto gaped at him. "I can't believe I said an idiotic, idealistic thing like that; clearly this is your fault. Luckily, even though he thought I was being difficult and unreasonable, my uncle is still willing to do everything he can to make it possible."
Naruto sagged with relief after the spiel. He was a little awestruck and overwhelmed by everything that was just related to him. "That's so amazing, the way you stood up for yourself even in the face of an opportunity like that. I was bracing myself to get dumped again. In a situation like that, I would have understood if you decided to-"
"Sacrifice you?" Neji completed the thought. "I would never give up our relationship just to appease some dusty, old relics who have done nothing but judge me since my birth. It wouldn't only have been about giving up our relationship; it would have been about sacrificing a part of who I am. It's not really being uncaged if you have to exchange a part of your soul for it.
But I know you would have understood, Naruto, and I know you would have accepted it. That's part of the thing that worries me about you. Until you understand what you're truly worth, you will always accept less than what you deserve. You deserve so much more than what you're accepting, Naruto… and so do I."
Naruto sobered further as Neji's mood and intention became clearer. "What are you trying to say?"
Neji hesitated, still afraid to ask the question he had avoided for months. "I need to know, Naruto, do you want to be with me? Because I feel as if I've been spending these last couple of months in damage-control mode. I keep focusing all my energy on trying to stop you from slipping away from me. I need to know now, because if I'm going to fight for us, I have to know there is something worth fighting for."
Naruto sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. "I want to be with you, Neji, I told you I-"
"Why?" Neji asked suddenly, leaving Naruto frowning in confusion. "Why do you want to be with me? What's the reason behind it?"
Naruto stopped to think, not wanting to give Neji a blithe or trite answer. There was only one that he could offer honestly.
"I don't want to make a mistake. I don't want to be wrong again." He knew it wasn't the answer Neji was hoping for, and it showed on the older man's face immediately. Still, no one deserves to be lied to.
Neji nodded briefly, chewing his lower lip as he blinked unseeingly at Naruto's bare feet before looking up at the blond. "I'm safe and you don't want to be hurt again. It makes perfect sense, but it's not enough. I can't be the excuse you use to stop yourself from going back to Sasuke and facing the possibilities that may hold. I want to be everything, because I think we both deserve that."
"I care about you so much, Neji, but I'm not there yet. I'm trying to be." Naruto admit frankly. "I keep waiting to snap out of it and move on properly; but it hasn't happened yet. I know I'm still not doing it right and I've slipped a few times, but I'm trying my hardest."
"That's just the thing; it's not supposed to be this hard." Neji paused and took a breath, strengthening his resolve before he lost his nerve. "You're my first love, Naruto, but you won't be my last; at least, I don't think so. I knew that it wasn't going to be forever, although I was afraid to admit it to myself. Still, it wasn't all for nothing, was it?"
"Neji," Naruto spoke quietly, forcing the other man to meet his eyes. "Are you breaking up with me?"
Neji was quiet for a while asking himself the same question. "I think I am."
The room was silent as they stared at each other, the feeling static as the relationship reached it seemingly inevitable conclusion. At length, Naruto nodded before closing the distance between them. He hesitated briefly before reaching up and stroking Neji's face, leaning forward to pull him into a kiss.
"It was a good season." Naruto smiled sadly as he pulled away. The finality of the situation was a little breathtaking for them both.
"Don't accept less than you're worth, Naruto." Neji reminded as he turned away and headed for the door; not wanting to backpedal and change his mind. "Wish me luck, and call me if you ever snap out of it."

He was starting to believe in Murphy's Law.
Neji groaned to himself when he spotted Uchiha Sasuke enter the bar, as he sat nursing his sake. The last thing he needed was the entitled, smarmy bastard rubbing his victory in his face. He almost snarled when Sasuke took the seat next to him at the bar.
"Shouldn't you be naked and horizontal by now, instead of prancing about annoying the crap out of people?"
It took a second for Sasuke to realize that he was sitting next to his bitter nemesis, since his mind had been completely preoccupied with other things. He raised an eyebrow at the clearly disgruntled man before ordering his drink.
"Is that you, Hyuuga? I thought it was a Cousin Itt cosplayer. I'm not in the mood to fight with you today; so dramatize your inferiority complex another day."
Neji glared up to see if Sasuke was messing with him, unable to comprehend why the man wasn't with Naruto, happily reclaiming his place in Naruto's bed. To his surprise, it was clear to Neji that Sasuke was looking at him, askance, thinking the exact thing.
"So he hasn't called you yet." Neji murmured to himself as he swirled his sake. "Interesting."
"Called me about what?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he turned his full attention to Neji and the state he was in. It was obvious that something was not right in Neji's world of make-believe and he was now determined to find out what it was.
"Naruto and I broke up."
For a brilliant moment, the world actually managed to stop spinning on its axis. Sasuke stared at Neji as the man downed his sake after the ironically casual statement.
"You don't deserve him." Neji muttered darkly as he stared into his empty cup. "You're like a goddamned bull in a china shop; and I don't even know why I'm still talking because you're not here anymore, are you?"
Neji confirmed his suspicion and found that Sasuke had indeed disappeared, apparently seconds after he had dropped his bombshell. Neji snorted and ordered another drink. The bastard must have been a ninja in a past life.

Sasuke finally came to the realization that if Naruto was anywhere in between their apartments, he would have spotted him. He had expected Naruto to either be at home, or on his way to see him, and he had spent the last couple of hours, running back and forth trying to intercept the wayward blond at some point. Clearly Naruto was elsewhere, and he needed to find him. As usual, it didn't take him long. Every time they'd meet at the Valley of the End, the outcome would always be bittersweet. This time, Sasuke had every hope of obtaining a definite happy ending, or at least, the closest version someone like him could get to one. Naruto sat waiting, not even remotely surprised to see him.
"You heard?" Naruto's question was rhetorical, but Sasuke nodded anyway.
"I ran into Hyuuga downtown." Sasuke replied as he came to a stop before the seated blond. Naruto snorted softly and nodded, looking up at Sasuke briefly before dropping his eyes to the dark grass beneath his shoes.
"Apparently, I sucked as a boyfriend." Naruto said softly, before looking back up at Sasuke. "Besides getting dumped, I got hired as the personal attaché for the Foreign Affairs Minister. It's been kind of a rollercoaster day."
"That's incredible." Sasuke said sincerely. "That's a perfect start up job for you."
For awhile, there was nothing but silence, and the time stretched indefinitely as they stared at each other. It was Sasuke who finally broke the stillness.
"Naruto, why didn't you call me?"
Naruto waited for a bit, trying to finish organising his thoughts, before answering. Preparing was never his strong suit.
"I love you, Sasuke. The same as I always did." Naruto admitted softly. His heart clenched a little at the stunned expression of his former lover, and ached as the look gave way to bone-sagging relief. He shook his head firmly to stop Sasuke from saying anything. He wasn't finished yet. "I love you. It never stopped, never let up for a minute, no matter how much I tried to ignore it, or pretend I didn't. This entire time, it feels like I've been holding my breath. I love you more than anything- more than anyone else, more than my morals, more than my ambitions, more than myself. I think that's what the real problem is, Sasuke."
Sasuke blinked at the subdued admission. "There isn't a problem anymore. There's nothing wrong between us anymore, the way is clear. The marriage ended the marriage, I stood up to my father, and I'm trying my best to be a better man. I know I'm not there yet, but-"
"You are a better person, Sasuke. The problem is that I'm not." Naruto sighed as he struggled to explain himself. "We've both been through so much together, especially lately; but the difference is that you managed to come out a better person than how you went in. It's not the same for me; somewhere I lost myself. I forgot who I was; I forgot what I was about and what my dreams were outside of you. I tried to leave you, only to rebound out of fear that I'd cease to exist without someone next to me. That can't be the truth, Sasuke. Loving you can't be all there is to me."
"Don't do this." Sasuke stepped forward and knelt before Naruto. "Don't look for problems where there aren't any. Everything is finally the way it's supposed to be."
"It's not, Sasuke; at least not for me." Naruto reached up to stroke Sasuke's face, and wondered if he was doing the right thing listening to his head for once instead of his heart. "I love you, Sasuke; but I need time."
"How much time?" Sasuke asked desperately. This was not the way it was supposed to be. "Days, weeks, months… How much time will you need? How long will I have to wait?"
"I don't know." Naruto ran a hand agitatedly over his face. "I don't know how much time I'll need, Sasuke… and I'm not asking you to wait."
Sasuke stiffened; staring searchingly into Naruto's clouded face as he tried to make sense of what was happening. "You're not asking me to wait? What's that supposed to mean?"
Naruto only sighed as he looked down dejectedly at the anxious face of the man he'd loved his entire life.
"Naruto, are you trying to say goodbye?"
TBC
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- 21
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