Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Mustering Happiness	By : xxKiuolo Category: Naruto AU/AR > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1241 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Naruto obviously doesn't belong to me, as my name is not Sasu—I mean... er... Masashi Kishimoto. Yeah. That guy. I make no money off of this.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
Warning: This chapter gets pretty bloody, so if that sort of thing freaks you out I suggest you turn back or skip that part. Also, there are a few instances of teh sexeh timez.
Beta'd by: Chibi Chidori
Chapter Four
Naruto's breathing turned ragged and though fear welled up in his chest, what he mostly felt was white-hot anger.
"Murderer," he said, his voice sounding muffled to his own ears due to his loud, racing heartbeat. How could anyone justify taking another's life? Screw keeping a family secret! There were always other ways, but this Itachi person had…
"You don't seem to fully comprehend the situation you're in," Itachi said, expressionless.
"Shut the fuck up," Naruto growled, eyes blazing. "How could you? How could you even begin to justify something like that?"
As fast as a whip, Itachi's fist shot out and he viciously punched Naruto in the stomach. Naruto, unprepared for such a move, took the full brunt of it and fell over, gasping for air through the pain and unable to see past the stars that suddenly dotted his vision.
"You are a fool, Naruto Uzumaki," Itachi stated coldly. "Don't even begin to think you can tell me what I can and cannot do."
"Bastard!" Naruto gasped out.
Suddenly, Itachi had Naruto by the throat. "I suggest you stop being so cocky," he said, slamming Naruto against one of the walls. He squeezed Naruto's neck more tightly in warning. "Don't think I won't dispose of you just because my little brother is fond of you."
Naruto was struggling, but it was to no avail. Just as he was starting to turn a little blue in the face, Itachi dropped him. He hit the ground hard, coughing and sputtering in an effort to get precious air back into his lungs.
"Leave here now and don't come back," Itachi commanded. His eyes narrowed threateningly. "And stay out of our family's affairs."
With that, Itachi turned and made to exit the room, but he was stopped when Naruto spoke.
Voice raspy, Naruto croaked out the word, "No."
Itachi looked back at him, his eyes widening slightly as he saw Naruto pulling himself back up to his feet.
"No," Naruto repeated.
"Boy—"
"No!"
Itachi stared at him. Naruto stared right back.
"It's not too late to do the right thing," Naruto said. "It's never too late. I won't give up, because Neji is my friend. And I can't just leave here, because…" Naruto looked down, the lightest of blushes on his face. Sasuke…
The light tap of shoes against floor was the only warning Naruto was given before a finger under his chin gently lifted his head. He found himself eye to eye with Itachi Uchiha before he could even blink.
Naruto didn't quite know what to make of Itachi's expression, and he was too exhausted and out of breath to do anything about Itachi's probing eyes.
After a few long moments, Itachi finally released Naruto's chin and stepped back. Despite all he had just done to him, Naruto was surprised to see an almost gentle expression on Itachi's face.
"Well then," Itachi said, his quiet voice echoing through the silence, "I suppose I'll leave my brother to you." He strode out of the room, leaving Naruto with only those vague words.
Naruto could only stare as the door clicked shut. After a few seconds had passed, he collapsed back onto his knees and clutched at his stomach. Damn, that Itachi hit hard.
His eyes slowly closed, the tenseness and stress of the situation hitting him all at once and making him tired now that it was all over. Well, maybe a little nap wouldn't hurt…
Naruto wasn't quite sure how long he had been sleeping when a commotion coming from outside startled him awake. He could hear yelling, and before he could make out just what was being said, the door opened and slammed against the wall with a horribly loud bang. Sasuke angrily strode inside, and Naruto was a little horrified to notice a man dressed as a guard fall into a boneless heap on the floor.
"Naruto!" Sasuke practically screamed.
Naruto gaped, looking vaguely like a fish.
Sasuke's head swiveled around, his eyes locking with Naruto's almost immediately. In a flash, he was by his side and taking the stunned Naruto into his arms.
"You idiot," Sasuke said, his voice angry and muffled as he buried his nose in Naruto's neck. "You fucking idiot."
Vaguely, Naruto noticed that he could feel Sasuke's wild heartbeat beating beside his own. In both wonder and awe, he lifted his free palm and lightly placed it against Sasuke's chest. He could feel Sasuke's heartbeat so clearly…
"Why don't you ever listen to me?" Sasuke demanded, biting at Naruto's neck to express his displeasure. Naruto flinched.
"Sorry…" He mumbled in response. He slumped his head so it rested on Sasuke's shoulder.
Sasuke opened his eyes, stared right at Naruto's neck, and he practically growled. "Did that bastard try and choke you?" he asked through gritted teeth. When Naruto didn't immediately respond, Sasuke lightly shook him. "Answer me!"
Finally, Naruto found his voice. "Don't worry about it. It's okay now," he said. And it was true. He wasn't sure just what Itachi had decided when he had left, but he knew… He knew it was okay now.
Sasuke bit his neck again, though he was more mindful of the bruises that were forming on Naruto. "It's not okay," he growled, his eyes almost insane and promising vengeance.
Naruto's grip on Sasuke's shirt tightened. "Calm down…" he said.
"You want me to calm down?" Sasuke snapped, pushing Naruto just far enough away so that he could look him in the eyes. "No, Naruto, I won't fucking 'calm down'! Do you know what it felt like? Could you possibly know what it feels like after I saw the news and came home to find you, only to find you missing from my room? Do you know what that feels like?"
Naruto's brow furrowed in confusion. "The news?"
Sasuke nodded, the motion jerky and almost strange on him. He abruptly stood up, bringing Naruto with him. Naruto allowed himself to be dragged by his hand, his confusion making him compliant. As they passed the guard, Naruto was relived to note that the man only seemed to be unconscious.
When they arrived, Sasuke all but shoved Naruto into his room. As Naruto stood there looking confused, Sasuke went over to a table, picked up a remote and turned on the television. Immediately, a newscaster appeared on the screen.
"—keeping up with the breaking news concerning Itachi Uchiha. For those of you who are just tuning in, it seems Itachi Uchiha of Uchiha Inc. has turned himself in for the murder of Hizashi Hyuuga. According to our sources, he caused quite a stir when he suddenly appeared at the police department. He seems to currently be in for questioning, and it is unclear if any arrests have been made—"
Sasuke turned off the television, his face carefully blank.
Naruto was shocked. Itachi had really turned himself in? It seemed almost too good to be true. Was he dreaming?
"Dobe," Sasuke finally said, "I need you to tell me what happened while I was away."
"I-I don't…" Naruto was practically stumbling over his words. "He came and asked if I was the one who was wanting to talk to him, and…" He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. He still couldn't believe this was real. He noticed Sasuke was looking more and more impatient, so he was quick to blurt out the rest of the story as quickly as he could.
"I see…" Sasuke mumbled when it was over, looking contemplative. Naruto fidgeted, the nervous energy in him on the verge of bubbling over. Just when Naruto thought he was about to crack, Sasuke broke the silence and said, "I don't know what Itachi is planning, but I'm not letting you out of my sight until I find out."
Naruto was quick to protest this. "You can't just expect me to go along with something like that!" he exclaimed. "I have a life, you bastard."
"I can and I do," Sasuke said sharply. "You've already broken one of your promises to me once—"
Naruto flinched at this.
"—and I can't trust you not to get into any more trouble. Itachi is cunning and manipulative, and I'm not going to let him do anything else to you."
"He's been arrested!" Naruto all but yelled. "It's not like he can do anything in jail!"
Sasuke laughed hollowly. "You don't know Itachi like I do."
And somehow, Naruto couldn't find it in him to argue the point.
Sasuke sighed. "I'm sorry, Naruto," he finally said. "But you're mine, and I'm not about to let anything happen to you."
A shiver ran down Naruto's spine. Sasuke's eyes looked so dark…

It didn't take long before reporters began swarming around the Uchiha property gates. Naruto, it seemed, had been reduced to a tag-along, a fact of which he quickly took to loudly complaining about. As Sasuke worked in his office, as Sasuke sent his guards to fight off reporters, as Sasuke freaking did his hair, Naruto was there, and he wasn't happy about it. The only reason he wasn't making a break for it at every opportunity was because he wanted to keep an eye on Sasuke. Sasuke hadn't exactly been doing the best job of taking care of himself lately.
Not that everything was… well… all bad. Ehem.
Naruto let out a shout as he came hard, his seed quickly covering both his and Sasuke's stomachs and making a mess of the sheets. "Sasuke!" he yelled, clutching at his partner's hair as he saw stars.
But Sasuke wasn't done. He continued to thrust relentlessly into Naruto, nipping at the junction between Naruto's shoulder and neck (Naruto quickly found that Sasuke had a thing for necks), determined to keep things going a little longer. But Naruto—the heat, it felt so fucking good. It surrounded Sasuke, and he couldn't stop. Before he could try anything to stop it, he released into the tight heat with a gritted out, "Naruto…!"
Sasuke fell back onto the bed and gathered the sated Naruto into his arms. Normally he wasn't one for cuddling, but he couldn't seem to ever get enough of Naruto. Besides, having Naruto right there against his chest helped assured that he was safe—that he was still with Sasuke.
They'd been having sex on and off the last few days, and neither tired of it. It was a good way to relieve a lot of the tension between them, and the feeling of closeness and love was addicting.
I love you, Naruto thought as he nuzzled his head in Sasuke's chest.
Sasuke buried his nose in Naruto's hair.
They stayed like that for a long while, neither wanting to break the moment. Naruto wasn't quite sure how long they'd been lying there before a knock on the door broke them out of their respective reveries. Naruto started to look up, but Sasuke's hand on the back of his head kept him from doing so.
"What is it?" Sasuke called out, annoyed. Naruto took the moment to revel in how Sasuke's chest rumbled against his cheek.
"Sir, I'm sorry to disturb you," came the muffled, apologetic voice of one of the butlers from behind the thick door, "but Suigetsu Houzuki-sama has called, and wishes to confirm your appointment with him in an hour."
Sasuke let out a low groan. Fucking Suigetsu… "Yes, confirm it. Tell him to come through the back door; there are less reporters there."
"Yes, sir," the butler said and was gone.
"I guess this means you have to get up?" Naruto asked.
"This means we have to get up," Sasuke corrected pointedly.
Naruto groaned. "Damn it, Sasuke, just let me stay here… I'm not going to run away, you ass. Besides, now my freaking butt hurts."
"I'll get you some pain reliever," Sasuke promised. Suddenly, he looked the tiniest bit mischievous. "We need to take a quick shower. If you're in so much pain, I can always carry you there."
Naruto glared. "No way! I may be the one taking it up the ass because your pansy ass can't handle it, but I'm not a chick. I can make it there on my o—BASTARD!"
Sasuke stood and swept Naruto into his arms before carrying him to the bathroom attached to his room. It was a little difficult with Naruto flailing around so much, but not impossible. Soon enough, they were in the shower together to 'conserve water,' Naruto batting off Sasuke's wandering hands all the while.
"So, what's this Suigetsu guy here to talk to you about?" Naruto asked as he worked to wash the shampoo out of his hair. He didn't remember any Suigetsu, and after being forced to follow Sasuke around for the past few days he had met a lot of people.
"Suigetsu is here to update me on the status of a few things," Sasuke replied, having obtained possession of the luffa sponge and tried to get himself as clean as he could. "I've known him for a long time, and he's very good at his job."
"His job?" Naruto asked.
"Yes," Sasuke said, finality in his tone.
Naruto frowned, but let the subject go. He'd learned these past few days that when Sasuke got like that, there was no getting any information out of him.
It wasn't long before they were finished and had gotten their clothes back on. Naruto absentmindedly followed Sasuke to his office, his mind not completely there. He'd been in contact with Iruka and his friends several times over the course of his stay and had soothed their fears about his safety, and though none of them seemed very happy about it, there wasn't very much he could do. Sasuke was stupidly stubborn, it seemed.
"Alright, Suigetsu," Sasuke said commandingly, throwing open the doors to his office and confidently striding in. "Tell me what's going on."
Naruto followed in after Sasuke, though he was much more aloof. He looked curiously at the man in the room, Suigetsu, wondering to himself just what this talk was going to be about.
Suigetsu raised a casual hand in greeting. "Yo, Sasuke," he said, his eyes meeting Naruto's. "Who's the blond?"
"That's none of your concern," Sasuke dismissed, sitting down in his chair and gesturing for Naruto to do the same. "Don't make me repeat myself, Suigetsu."
Suigetsu grinned. "Fine, fine, I'll get down to business. You're the boss, or whatever," he said, throwing his hands in the air. He held up a single finger. "First off, I'll start with the less sucky news. It looks like they've mostly finished interrogating Itachi, and though he hasn't said anything to shift any of the blame on you they're starting to investigate you pretty hard."
Sasuke groaned. "Just what I need…"
"Oh, you know as well as I do that they won't find anything," Suigetsu said with a wave of his hand.
From where he was sitting, Naruto wondered what Suigetsu meant by that. He knew Sasuke wasn't exactly an angel, so why was he so confident?
"I know," Sasuke said, rubbing at his temples. "It's just… Continue, Suigetsu. What else do you have to tell me?"
Suigetsu nodded, but he side-eyed Naruto. "Alright, but are you sure you want this guy here for this?"
"Continue."
"Alright already! Well, I hate to be the one to tell you this, Sasuke, but…" Suigetsu frowned. "It seems that with the arrest of Itachi, some of your rivals are starting to get cocky. Some of them are already starting to move against you, the idiots. I've gathered some information here about that," he said, handing Sasuke a folder that was filled to the brim with papers.
Sasuke accepted the folder and began flipping through some of the papers, his eyes narrowing with each read word. Just when Naruto began to wonder if someone was going to snap from the tension, Sasuke threw the folder on his desk.
"You can leave now, Suigetsu," Sasuke said, turning his chair and dismissing him.
Suigetsu stood. "Yeah, I need to get going. Remember to watch your back, Sasuke," he said before standing up and taking his leave.
After the door closed, an uncomfortable silence filled the room. Well, uncomfortable for Naruto, anyway. Sasuke just sat there, expression the slightest bit tense as he stared out a window, deep in thought.
Unable to take it any longer, Naruto ventured to say, "Sasuke…?"
Sasuke's eyes slid to Naruto, as if only just remembering that he was there.
"Are you okay?" Naruto asked after Sasuke didn't say anything.
Sasuke released a breath. "Yeah…" he said. He ran a hand through his hair. "I can't say I wasn't expecting what Suigetsu told me, but it's still a pain in the ass."
Naruto nodded in understanding. "Dude, believe me, I feel ya."
Sasuke let out a small smile. "From the sounds of it, I'm going to have to keep an even closer eye on you. I wouldn't want any of my rivals to get a hold of you, after all…" And somehow, Sasuke sounded the tiniest bit mischievous.
Naruto could feel his hackles rising. "How the hell are you going to keep an even closer eye on me?" he demanded. "We're already practically glued to the hip! If I have to spend any more time with you I'm going to go insane!"
Sasuke looked pleased with himself, the smug bastard. "That's not my problem."
"I'll MAKE it your problem!"
Sasuke only chuckled.
True to his word, for the next few days Naruto determinedly set out to make Sasuke's life a living hell. From pranks to escape attempts to denying sex, nothing was sacred to Naruto. Sasuke, to his credit, took most of this in stride. When he woke up to a giant (fake) spider staring at him in the face, he deftly flicked it off and went back to sleep. When Naruto tried to, of all things, hide inside the only suit of armor in the mansion, Sasuke banged a nearby pot against it and Naruto never tried that again. When things got really silent, Naruto could still hear the horrible ringing noise echoing through his head.
Though, there was one instance that really got to him…
Things were started to heat up. Sasuke bucked against Naruto's hips, and they both let out a pleasured hiss. "Bed?" Sasuke gritted out, unable to form any other words.
Naruto silently nodded in response, having similar problems with coherency.
Sasuke steered them to his bed. The next few minutes were filled with touching, kissing, and heavy petting. Just as Naruto was starting to inch his hand towards the band of Sasuke's boxers, he suddenly stopped.
Sasuke looked at him questioningly.
"You know… I have a headache. Guess we can't do it tonight! Sorry, bastard!" Naruto said, looking positively gleeful. He pushed a stunned Sasuke away and rolled onto his side before yawning and closing his eyes.
Finally, Sasuke seemed to find his tongue. "Naru—What?"
"I have a headache. It hurts," Naruto explained. "I'm going to sleep now."
"Now?" Sasuke asked in disbelief, his voice sounding a little choked.
"Yep!"
"But—I—" Sasuke looked helplessly down at his erection.
"Sorry!" But Naruto didn't sound sorry at all—quite the opposite, in fact.
Sasuke let out another broken noise that almost sounded like a sob.
Naruto practically cackled at the memory. His bastard of a lover had only been able to jack off by himself that night, and when he finally came back to the bed Naruto could tell he was less than satisfied.
Well, whatever. As far as Naruto was concerned, Sasuke deserved it for trying to keep him cooped up in this stupid mansion. He didn't like not being able to roam around and do as he pleased; his personality didn't allow for it. It also didn't help that the mansion, even as big as it was, seemed to be getting smaller and smaller every day.
Luckily—or perhaps unluckily, depending on how one looked at it—it was only a few days later that things changed for Naruto, starting with a phone call.
Naruto had been keeping himself occupied with a video game while Sasuke worked on his laptop when Naruto's personal cell phone went off. He paused the game before fishing the device out of his pocket and holding it up to his ear.
"Hello?" Naruto spoke.
"Hello, Naruto-san."
Naruto nearly dropped his phone. He could hardly believe his ears. Itachi? "ITA—"
"Ssh, Naruto-san. My younger brother is there, isn't he? I would appreciate it if you didn't alert him to the fact that it's me. It would make things much more difficult."
Naruto shut his mouth. However, his previous exclamation alerted Sasuke all the same. When Sasuke looked up and gave him a questioning look, Naruto grinned as best as he could and mouthed a 'sorry.'
Naruto thanked his lucky stars when Sasuke looked back at his laptop, though he knew he was still keeping a suspicious eye on him.
"Naruto-san, I'm sorry for contacting you out of the blue, but there's something I'd like for you to do for me."
"Is there?" Naruto asked, doing his best to keep his voice even and natural. How did Itachi Uchiha get my phone number? he thought desperately to himself.
"Yes. Unfortunately, there were some things I was unable to address during our last discussion, and I wish to correct that. However, I can't do it over the phone. Would you be willing to meet with me?"
Naruto's hands were sweating. What should he do? This guy had tried to kill him last time they had met! The bruises on his neck might have healed, but he hadn't forgotten. Meeting with him wouldn't be safe and he'd be crazy to agree to it. He should turn around, tell Sasuke it was Itachi who was speaking to him, and let him deal with his brother.
"It's about Sasuke."
Naruto froze. What…?
"So? Will you meet with me, Naruto-san?"
It felt like something was blocking his throat. If it was about Sasuke… He gulped before replying, "Yes."
"I'm glad to hear that. I've managed to pull some strings, and I'm going to be released briefly from custody at five o' clock tonight. At five thirty, would you meet me at the temple on the grounds of the Uchiha family cemetery? I'm sure you saw it when you visited with my brother."
An image of the temple flashed in Naruto's mind, and he found himself nodding. "Yeah, I remember," he confirmed.
"Then I'll be waiting for you there, Naruto-san. Don't keep me waiting."
There was an audible click and then all was silent. For a while, all Naruto could do was stare blankly at the wall. The whole situation seemed unreal and Naruto knew he needed to proceed with caution. From what he could tell, Itachi wasn't the most trustworthy person, but Naruto got the strong impression that he did care about Sasuke, just like Naruto did. If Itachi knew something vital…
"Dobe? Who was it?" Sasuke asked, looking up suspiciously from his laptop.
Naruto snapped his cell phone closed. "It was Iruka," he replied automatically. He talked to Iruka a lot on his phone.
"What did he want?" Sasuke pressed.
"Oh. Well, I guess he just wanted to tell me about this new student who transferred to his class. The student's name is Tanaka, and I guess he's giving Iruka-sensei a hell of a time," Naruto replied, doing his best to smile. He was usually much better at lying, but he was still a little shaken from his conversation with Itachi.
Sasuke stared at him for a few seconds, silently probing Naruto's expression, before frowning and looking back at his laptop with an, "I see."
Naruto un-paused his video game and went back to playing, but his mind was on other things. He knew he should tell Sasuke about what had just happened, but he couldn't. Itachi had sounded serious, and if he told Sasuke about it then Sasuke would insist on going with him, or maybe even not let him go at all. He wasn't one for taking orders, but he knew Sasuke would have no qualms calling some of his hulking bodyguards if he thought Naruto was going to go and meet with Itachi, of all people.
But how was he supposed to get away from Sasuke? Itachi certainly hadn't given him a lot of time to plan. It was almost three o' clock now, for Pete's sake! God damn it…
Besides, Naruto thought petulantly, his meeting with Itachi would be cutting into his dinnertime.
That's when it hit Naruto like a ton of bricks.
A plan in mind, Naruto paused his game again and turned to look at Sasuke, doing his absolute best to keep the devious smile that was threatening to break free off of his face.
"Hey, Sasuke?" Naruto said.
Sasuke looked up from his work again. "Yes?"
"Tonight for dinner, do you think we could go to my favorite ramen place?"

"This is the place?" Sasuke asked, looking at the building with utmost distaste. "Naruto, this place looks like nothing more than a rat-infested hole in the wall."
Naruto gasped, looking horrified. "You take that back!" he exclaimed.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I won't take it back. It's the truth."
"How dare you!" Naruto said, thoroughly offended. "Ichiraku's is the very best place to eat in all of the world, and you have the guts—the absolute guts—to say…!" Naruto didn't even look like he could continue.
Sasuke sighed. "I didn't say we couldn't eat here. Let's go in."
Naruto scoffed. "Just watch—after this meal, you'll be eating your words."
"I highly doubt that," Sasuke said, every ounce of his disbelief echoing in his tone. All the same, he grabbed Naruto's hand and they walked in together. Behind them, two of Sasuke's bodyguards followed diligently, seemingly oblivious to the glares Naruto was shooting in their direction.
Instantly, the owner's voice greeted them. "Welcome! Oh, Naruto, is that you? Hey!" The owner smiled widely from behind the counter, holding up a hand in greeting. "How's my favorite customer?"
"Teuchi!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning just as widely. "I'm great! How are you and Ayame?" He led Sasuke over to a seat and sat down, obviously very familiar with the place.
"We're pretty good," Teuchi replied as he handed Sasuke and Naruto a menu. "Ayame's out with friends tonight, but I'm sure she'd be happy to see you! We've been wondering about you lately. Who's this?" he asked, looking at Sasuke.
"Oh, that's Sasuke! He's kind of a jerk, but he grows on you after a while."
It continued on like this for a while, until Naruto and Sasuke both ordered their food. It wasn't long before it came out, and Naruto chowed down with enthusiasm. Sasuke didn't seem quite as excited, though he picked up his chopsticks and ate all the same. Secretly, Naruto kept a close eye on the clock hanging on the wall. If he was going to do this, he needed to hurry.
Naruto pushed his empty bowl away, and despite just eating so much his stomach rumbled. "Another bowl, please!" Naruto said happily.
Sasuke looked on in disbelief. "Another? Where are you going to put it? Surely there's not enough room in your stomach," he said.
"There is plenty of room in my stomach," Naruto replied, rubbing it soothingly. Once again, he covertly looked at the clock. He needed to put his plan into motion now. "Hey, Sasuke, I'll be right back. I'm going to use the restroom."
"Okay," Sasuke said, looking over at one of the bodyguards and signaling for the man to follow him. Naruto's eye ticked in annoyance.
"I don't need a babysitter," he huffed.
"Naruto, it would really set my mind at ease if you would just let him go with you," Sasuke said, sounding so sincere that Naruto very nearly confessed what he was about to do right then and there.
Instead, Naruto scowled. "Fine, but he's waiting outside the door!"
"That's fine." Sasuke nodded.
"I'll be back soon!" Naruto called, jumping to his feet and heading off to the small, single bathroom in the back.
As soon as the bathroom door closed behind him, Naruto was off. He knew he didn't have much time before the guard and Sasuke got suspicious, so he couldn't afford to waste a single second. Luckily, he knew this place like the back of his hand.
The nice thing about this bathroom was that there were two entrances. One—the one he had just came in—led to the front of the store. The other led to a side hallway, which led to an alleyway and his freedom.
His training on his side, without making a noise Naruto exited the bathroom and found himself in the alleyway before he knew it. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, he hailed the closest taxi cab, threw money at the driver, and told him to hit the gas.
Only then did Naruto allow himself to slump in his seat. "I did it…"

"It's been almost ten minutes. Why isn't Naruto back yet?" Sasuke mumbled to himself, looking anxiously at the spot where he had last seen Naruto. Surely it couldn't take this long to use the restroom.
Just as Sasuke was about to stand up and go see what the holdup was, the guard he had assigned to follow Naruto appeared, looking nervous.
"Sir, I think you might want to come with me," the guard said.
At the look on his face, Sasuke's heart very nearly stopped.
In the blink of an eye, he was on his feet and practically running to where Naruto was supposed to be. He skidded to a halt in front of the bathroom door and banged a hand against the locked door. "Naruto? Naruto! If this is another one of your pranks…! Answer me!"
"When I tried that earlier, he didn't respond," the guard informed.
Sasuke hands clenched into fists, and the guards took a step back in fear after catching the look on his face. Were his eyes… red?
"Break the door down."
"Sir…?"
"Break it down!" Sasuke nearly screeched, punching the door hard enough that he drew blood. The guards shook.
"Yes!" They both said, running forward and throwing their collective weight at the door. As the door was old, it quickly gave way to them and revealed Sasuke's worst nightmare.
The room was empty. Naruto was gone.

Naruto closed the gate to the Uchiha cemetery behind him, trying not to shudder as it made an ominous creaking noise. Man, he really hated cemeteries… It was bad enough when he had come here with Sasuke, but now that he was on his own…
Steeling his nerves, Naruto straightened his shoulders and headed for the building in the distance—the temple, as Sasuke had helpfully informed him last time they were here.
It was just about time to meet Itachi, and Naruto hoped that he was there waiting for him now. Naruto wasn't quite sure how long he could last in this creepy place… No! He was Naruto-freaking-Uzumaki! He could stay here as long as he wanted! He wasn't scared!
With a little difficulty, Naruto pushed open the heavy doors and stumbled inside, blinking in an effort to get his eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness. "Hello?" he called.
"Hello, Naruto-san."
Naruto almost jumped, even though he'd been expecting the voice. This place was just so creepy… "Hey, stop trying to scare me, you jerk! Get out here and show yourself!" Naruto said angrily.
Itachi obligingly stepped forward, and the way he almost seemed to materialize from the shadows would have sent a shiver down his spine if he wasn't Naruto Uzumaki! Ha!
"There you are!" Naruto exclaimed, taking a step towards him. "Hey, this had better be good. Sasuke is going to kill me…"
"I assure you that your coming here was worth it," Itachi said, strangely unmoving.
"Yeah? Well, hurry up and get on with it! Maybe if I can get back fast, Sasuke'll only maim me. What was this you wanted to talk to me about Sasuke?" Naruto crossed his arms, annoyed at the unresponsive Itachi. Seriously, were Itachi and Sasuke's horrible personalities genetic or something?
Itachi smiled, and Naruto was a little taken aback by how sincere it seemed. He didn't even know Itachi could smile…
"Naruto-san, I would first like to confirm something. You are in love with my little brother, are you not?" Itachi asked, that same freaky smile on his face.
Immediately, Naruto took a step back and turned bright red. "J-just what the hell do you think you're asking me?" Naruto demanded, having a hard time talking coherently through his embarrassment.
Itachi looked pleased. "I knew it."
"You don't know anything!" Naruto interrupted, arms flailing wildly. "Nothing! I don't… I do…" He looked down, suddenly unable to meet Itachi's knowing gaze.
"Don't worry so much. I'm actually very pleased about this, as it makes things much easier."
Naruto looked up at that. "Easier?" he repeated.
Itachi nodded and started walking closer, quickly closing most of the distance between them. Finally, when he was just an arms length away, he stopped and said, "Please forgive me for this."
Fast as a shot, Itachi's hand whipped out and aimed with dead-on precision to a pressure point in the back of his neck. His eyes widened slightly when Naruto caught it before it could connect.
"I'm tired of you bastard Uchihas telling me what to do," Naruto ground out, expression angry. "Just what the hell do you think you're trying to do to me?"
Itachi smiled slightly, though it was a little strained. "Most people wouldn't have been able to catch that. I commend you."
"Yeah, well, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, bastard. You have another thing coming if you think you can take me out just like that," Naruto said, glaring for all he was worth. He angrily shoved Itachi's hand away. "Now you've pissed me off, and you'd better start answering my questions before I kick your pretty boy ass to the other side of the country and back. Just what are you trying to accomplish?"
"I'm sorry, Naruto-san, but I simply must insist," Itachi activated his sharingan, "that you come with me. If it sets your mind at ease, I'm doing this for Sasuke."
Naruto tried to look away from Itachi's eyes, but it was too late. Before he could do anything to stop it, he blacked out.
Itachi caught Naruto just as he was slumping over and deftly hauled the unconscious bundle onto his shoulder. He didn't have much time to waste.

Konohamaru laughed as he turned a corner, effectively losing his annoying caretaker Ebisu. Seriously, did the man ever give up? Well, it was fun to outwit him.
Whistling happily to himself, he looked around and decided to explore the area. This was a new part of town for him, and he'd wanted to check it out for ages. That Ebisu jerk had kept insisting it was 'too dangerous' for him or something. Ha! He could take care of himself.
He was just about to cross a street when a sleek, black car zoomed by. He stopped to let it pass, and watched curiously as it came to a stop a few decrepit buildings down. What was such a nice car doing in a place like this?
He watched as several men stepped out, and when a few rough-looking people from the building came out to greet them Konohamaru had the good sense to hide, his curiosity getting the better of him.
He continued to observe them as they talked, wondering just what was going on. It all seemed very shady, to say the least.
Finally, one of the men—this one reminded him of a fish and his skin almost looked blue—reached back into the car and pulled out an unconscious…
Naruto?
Konohamaru let out a loud war cry and rushed forward, determined to take Naruto back from these strange men. Just as he got close, he was half-heartedly knocked to the side by one of the men who had stepped out of the car and he fell, scraping his knee pretty badly in the process. He let out a hiss of pain.
The man laughed. "What's your problem, kid?"
Konohamaru glared, stepping back onto his feet and determinedly ignoring the pain in his knee. "Give me back Naruto!" he demanded.
This time, most all of the men laughed. "Beat it, brat," the one holding Naruto said, readjusting his bundle so he laid more comfortably on his shoulder before strolling inside the building, all of the men following him.
Konohamaru watched helplessly as they took Naruto away, knowing there were too many people for him to take on his own. He had to do something! He needed backup! But he didn't think it would be enough with even Moegi and Udon…
Suddenly, he had an idea. He turned on his heels and took off towards where he knew the Uchiha mansion to be. Surely that vampire guy could help him!
As fast as he was running, it wasn't long before he arrived. He ran up to the gates and started to bang on them. "Let me in!" he yelled. "It's important!"
Unfortunately, his efforts were in vain. None of the guards even spared a glance at him, assuming he must just be some desperate kid. Konohamaru nearly growled in frustration.
Well, if they weren't going to let him in, then he'd just let himself in!
He ran until he found a more deserted stretch of gate and started to climb, though the sleek steel bars made it difficult. He was very nearly to the top, when…
Zap!
Konohamaru fell to the ground, stunned and with his hands red and raw. Had the fence just shocked him? His hands throbbed painfully in answer.
Konohamaru could feel tears welling up in his eyes. How was he supposed to help Naruto now? He had to get in… He had to… He knew those people were going to hurt Naruto if he couldn't… "Naruto…" he whispered, voice breaking sadly on the name.
"What did you just say?"
Konohamaru looked up, instantly meeting a single black eye and gravity-defying silver hair. He was back on his feet in an instant. "You have to help me!" he very nearly begged. "These strong people took Naruto, and I tried to get him back from them but they were too strong! I tried to get the vampire Uchiha's help, but I can't even get in…!" The frustrated tears were threatening to spill over.
The silver haired man looked deadly serious, and Konohamaru found it a little weird that he could tell that despite the mask that obscured most of the man's face.
"Who took him?" the man questioned.
"I don't… I just…!" Konohamaru shook his head, trying to clear his frazzled thoughts. "I need to get in there!" He pointed to the Uchiha mansion.
Nodding, the man scooped up Konohamaru into his arms, climbed up a nearby tree, and jumped. Konohamaru very nearly screamed as they fell, but the man clamped a hand over his mouth. They landed gracefully on the lawn, like a cat, and Konohamaru briefly saw his life flash before his eyes.
Almost immediately, the yelling of guards broke the silence, but the man who was carrying Konohamaru seemed unfazed. Before the guards could reach them, the man started scaling the wall, Konohamaru screeching when they started to get really high up.
Sasuke was on the verge of going insane. Naruto had been missing for nearly a day now, and no matter who he contacted he couldn't figure out where he had gone or what had happened to him. It was like he had disappeared into thin air!
He was pacing in his office, trying to figure out his next course of action, when he heard yelling outside his window. Frustrated, he was about to go over and figure out what the hell was going on when someone suddenly appeared in his window. Immediately, a gun was in Sasuke's hands and trained on the intruder.
Before he could say anything, the man lifted up a hand in greeting. "Yo, Sasuke."
Sasuke lowered his gun slightly. "Kakashi?" he asked, remembering the man from when he had met Iruka with Naruto. His eye ticked in annoyance, and he waived a hand to dismiss the guards that had just ran into the room. "You could have just knocked."
"Well, he tried that and it didn't work, so we took another way."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but then he noticed the kid in Kakashi's arms and nearly groaned. "I don't have time for this. I need to find Naruto as I'm sure you know, Kakashi, and I can't afford any distractions." Sasuke had called Iruka earlier to see if he knew were Naruto was, only to hit another dead end. And by alerting Iruka, he wasn't surprised that he had consequently alerted his little guard dog.
Konohamaru, who had been too dazed to realize where he was, jumped at the sound of Naruto's name. "Naruto!" he yelled, whipping his head around until he spotted Sasuke. His eyes widened, and he wiggled out of Kakashi's grip. "It's you! Listen, you have to save Naruto!"
Sasuke immediately snapped to attention. "You know where Naruto is?" he demanded, taking a step towards Konohamaru and Kakashi. If Konohamaru didn't know any better, he could have sworn Sasuke's eyes flashed a dangerous red. "You will tell me what you know right now."
But Konohamaru didn't need any prompting. He proceeded to tell his story to Sasuke, leaving absolutely nothing out.
As Konohamaru talked, Sasuke tried and failed to keep his temper under control. When he was finished with his story, Sasuke looked like he was about ready to punch something.
"I'm going," Sasuke immediately said, stopping only to grab an extra gun from his desk before heading for the door. Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm going with you," Kakashi replied.
Sasuke shrugged off his hand. "Do you what you want," he growled before storming out of the room. Kakashi followed, waving goodbye to Konohamaru.
"Go home, kid. Don't worry, we'll take care of this," he reassured just before he disappeared.
Konohamaru fell to his knees.

"So," Kakashi said, leaning back in his seat in the car, "we're just going in there blind? You're not stopping to try and get information on the opponent's numbers? Their weaknesses? Nothing? How uncharacteristically sloppy of you, Uchiha."
"I don't need this from you," Sasuke said darkly, gripping the steering wheel more tightly has he made a particularly fast turn. "So do me a favor and shut the hell up."
They were driving to the building where Konohamaru had seen Naruto, and the car driving behind them was filled with some of Sasuke's very best guards. It wasn't much, but it was enough. And it was hard to mobilize too many people at the drop of a hat, like he had done.
"I'm just saying," Kakashi replied, looking like he was smiling beneath his mask. "If this goes wrong my poor dolphin is going to be very upset, and I don't like it when he's upset."
"Then just try not to get in my way," Sasuke replied with a glare.
Kakashi held his hands up in peaceful surrender.
It wasn't long before they arrived, Sasuke parking a few blocks down and behind a building so they wouldn't be immediately noticed. Sasuke, Kakashi, and his guards stepped out of their cars, eyes carefully observing their surroundings. Suddenly, the shadows seemed to move and Sasuke narrowed his eyes.
"Show yourself," Sasuke commanded.
Out stepped three people, only one of which Sasuke knew.
"Neji Hyuuga?" he questioned, eyebrow raised. "And who are the other two?"
"We're Naruto's friends!" the only girl in the group declared. "And we're rescuing Naruto, too!"
Neji stepped forward. "Naruto has helped me more than I can say, and I wish to repay my debt."
Sasuke glared. He didn't need any more liabilities.
Kakashi placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder again. "I called them," he explained.
Sasuke directed his glare to Kakashi. "Why?" he demanded to know.
"Just for a little extra help. They're worried about Naruto, as well. Their names are Tenten and Shikamaru," Kakashi said.
Whatever. Sasuke didn't have the time or patience to deal with this. He had an idiot he needed to rescue. He stalked off in the direction of where Konohamaru had said Naruto was being kept, and everyone else silently followed.
Inside the building, Gato watched gleefully as his men set the trap to kill that damn, spoiled Uchiha brat. By his side stood one of his two bodyguards, Waraji. The other, Zouri, was farther back, standing with Zabuza beside their blond-haired bait. Really, how nice of that Kisame man to help him out like this, delivering to him just what he needed. He'd have to remember the man when he was standing on top of the country's drug, smuggling, and shipping network and subsequently rolling in money.
Gato heard a small groan and, turning, quickly identified the source to be from their captive. Splendid.
"You're finally awake, are you?" Gato said, strolling towards their captive.
Naruto blinked dazedly, still not completely awake. Where was he? Wasn't he just with Itachi? Was he… tied up? Wait a second, tied up?
Naruto's eyes snapped open. His head whipped around, and after seeing his many captors he let out a groan. Had he seriously managed to get himself kidnapped? Like, for real? "Fuuuck my life," he mumbled to himself.
Gato laughed. "I see you're beginning to comprehend the precarious situation you're in, boy!" he exclaimed, obviously pleased by this. It felt so nice to see a captive quivering in fear before him.
"Ha!" Naruto shouted, instantly defiant. "You call this a kidnapping? You'll have to do better than this if you want to keep this Naruto Uzumaki here!"
Gato tapped his cane to emphasize his words. "You're talking awfully big for someone with no hope of escape. Now, just sit there like good bait for the Uchiha brat and maybe I won't torture you as much when this is all over," he said, mentally patting himself on the back for his generosity.
Bait, huh? That's all Naruto was? He wasn't kidnapped because he was on the police force? Or even because of his dashing good looks? He was kidnapped… because he was sleeping with Sasuke.
Naruto was so offended he leaned back, hocked a loogie, and proceeded to spit it into Gato's eye.
Zouri and Waraji immediately jumped to attention. "You…!" Waraji said angrily.
"You will pay dearly for that!" Gato screeched, enraged. He raised his cane and was just about to pummel Naruto with it, when…
Bang!
Gato fell to the ground, clutching his shoulder in agony.
"Boss!" Zouri and Waraji called, instantly at his side. Zabuza was immediately alert, his giant sword at the ready as he scanned the area with his eyes. How had they already managed to take out all of their lackeys? And without them knowing about it…!
"Show yourself!" Zabuza growled.
Out stepped a figure, and Zabuza's eyes widened as he recognized the man.
Naruto was stunned. "Sasuke…" he mumbled. He'd come to save him?
Gato, too, seemed to realize just what was going on. "The Uchiha brat? No! You weren't supposed to find this place so quickly!" he screamed, denial marring his expression. They hadn't had proper time to prepare!
"Shut up," Sasuke murmured, the homicidal glint in his eyes undeniable.
Waraji let out an enraged roar and ran at Sasuke, his anger messing with his logic. Sasuke immediately shot him, and he too fell to the ground with a shout. "You obviously don't know who you've chosen to fuck with," Sasuke growled.
"You're no match for me!" Zabuza cried, suddenly behind Sasuke and about to strike him. Sasuke didn't even look phased when a shot rang out and Zabuza staggered backwards.
"You're late, Kakashi," Sasuke said lowly, annoyed. He directed his deadly glare at his ally.
Kakashi stepped out, looking sheepish. "I got caught up," he explained.
"Sasuke!" Naruto cried out, struggling with his bindings. "Sasuke, don't kill them! I'm not letting you go to jail!" He wiggled around, trying to loosen the ropes but to no avail.
But Sasuke seemed to be too far gone to reason with. With an insane laugh he kicked the fallen Waraji in the gut and watched as he grunted in pain.
Since Sasuke appeared to be distracted, Zouri covertly raised his gun from his position beside Gato, but just as he was about to pull the trigger Sasuke shot him with a flick of his wrist.
"Sasuke!" Naruto screamed again. He continued to use every trick he knew to get out of the ropes, but nothing seemed to help. He needed to get to Sasuke before he did something really stupid!
Before he realized what was happening, Naruto was yanked up by his hair and had a huge sword pressed to his neck. Naruto's sharp, pained noise altered both Sasuke and Kakashi in an instant.
Zabuza, seemingly undeterred by his bleeding thigh, seemed to grin manically under the bandages that covered his face. "Drop your weapons, or your little blond fuck buddy gets it, Uchiha."
Oh hell no, Naruto thought, thoroughly pissed off.
Before Sasuke could say or do anything, Naruto reached out and bit Zabuza in the hand as hard as he could. Zabuza barely held back his cry of pain. He shook the still-biting Naruto viciously and angrily yelled, "You little b—"
Kakashi used Zabuza's distraction to his advantage, took careful aim, and promptly shot the top of Zabuza's arm. This time, Zabuza couldn't stop the shout of pain and reflexively dropped Naruto to clutch at his injured arm.
Fast as a shot, Sasuke leapt forward, tackled Zabuza, and started punching him into a bloody pulp. "I'll kill you," Sasuke said, laughing.
Kakashi, on the other hand, ran to help Naruto. He quickly undid the ropes that bound him, and watched as Naruto immediately used his newfound freedom to jump at Sasuke. Naruto's weight and momentum was enough to dislodge Sasuke from Zabuza, and the two rolled a few times on the bloody floor before coming to a stop, Naruto's hands gripping Sasuke's wrists like a lifeline.
"Damn it, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, angry tears in his eyes. "Don't you ever listen to me? I'm not letting you kill him! It's not worth it!"
But Sasuke appeared to be past the point of reason. "Shut up, Naruto!" he growled, eyes flashing. "Let me go so I can fucking get rid of these pests!"
"No!"
"Naruto, if you don't let me go I swear to God!" To emphasize his point, Sasuke promptly kneed Naruto in the stomach hard enough that Naruto nearly saw stars.
But still, gasping for breath, he didn't let go.
"I'm not letting you do it because I love you, Sasuke!"
Sasuke froze.
Finally, the tears in Naruto's eyes spilled over. "Sasuke, I don't want to lose you over something like this… So please…" he begged. Naruto was tired… So tired of everything… He dropped his head onto Sasuke's chest, mumbling the word 'please' over and over.
After a few moments, a kind hand touched Naruto's head. He looked back up, and thought Sasuke wasn't exactly smiling, the gentle look on his face told Naruto everything he needed to know. Naruto's tears renewed full-force—though they were happy this time—and he hugged Sasuke around the waist.
It wasn't perfect in any sense of the word, but it was theirs, and for them that was enough.

A/N: Woooo! The story is almost finished now! Now we just have the epilogue, AKA the Final Tying of the Loose Ends™, and we're done! In it, we shall learn Itachi's motivations, figure out what Neji and co were doing during this, that sort of thing. You know, epilogue stuff.
I'm not quite sure how long the epilogue will be, but I expect it to be shorter than the rest of the chapters. Hopefully it won't take me too long to write. ^^
Thank you for your patience with me! I know I take forever, but with my entry for the Neo SasuNaru Exchange and then some birthday presents I wrote and that sort of thing this just sort of ended up on the backburner. *hangs head in shame*
Anyway, it's my birthday tomorrow. x3 Happy birthday to meeeeeee~
Finally, I would like to dedicate this chapter to my beta, Chibi Chidori, because it is her birthday on the 16th. Our birthdays are so close together~ Happy birthday, Chibi! ILY, bb!
Okay, I'll stop rambling now. Sorry about that. xD
~Riuolo
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Mustering Happiness