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All That Really Matters
folder
Naruto › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
5
Views:
1,500
Reviews:
40
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Naruto › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
5
Views:
1,500
Reviews:
40
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
All That Really Matters
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, though... Kakashi is tied to my bed...
A/N: my last Naruto fic was kinda sad, and so the muses hounded my ass until i got this out. and be sure to read the A/N at the end ^_~
info you should know: 'italics'=Kyuubi speaking, 'regular'=Naruto speaking back, italics=Naruto's thoughts
_________________________
All That Really Matters
_________________________
Nobody really paid him any heed. He had the nine-tailed fox within him, so others steered clear of him altogether. There were some - like Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei - that knew he was just an innocent boy chosen by the Fourth Hokage to be the vessel.
Tch, innocent my ass.
Nobody but Uzumaki Naruto knew the truth. He was more than the damn vessel. He was now the creature himself. He was Kyuubi. But nobody really needed to know that. He was loyal to Konoha, would always be a faithful ninja, still wanted to be Hokage someday.
The merge had come with his training with Jiraiya, when Sasuke had left the village. And it had come in handy on more than one occasion. It was easy back then to use the demon chakra without letting the others now he was no longer human. But as his original chakra began to be consumed by that of the demon, it had become increasingly harder to do so. So he trained more in taijutsu and weaponry to decrease the need for his demonic powers.
And now Sasuke was home, brought back by Naruto himself. He still felt the sting of when Sasuke had left, but it was drowned out by his joy. The Uchiha was back where he belonged, and though Naruto had changed in a way that he couldn’t share with his friend, he hoped that they could pick up like nothing had happened. Naruto didn’t know what he’d do if they couldn’t.
~*~
Naruto sat quietly at the table where the Rookie 9 had assembled to welcome Sasuke home. He’d been back for a week, but Tsunade hadn’t let him interact with anyone until she had determined if he was still loyal after his betrayal. Well, anyone but Naruto. She’d insisted that Naruto stay near him to gather info, and after a week, he’d confidently told her that Sasuke was no problem. The bastard hadn’t changed one. Tiny. Bit. Bastard!
“So, Kakashi-sensei told me that you’ve been training exclusively in taijutsu lately. What’s wrong, dobe? Did you finally figure out that you’re not cut out to be a ninja?”
Naruto bristled but said nothing. He knew that Sasuke knew exactly whom it was that had saved him, but did the bastard have to tease him like that in front of all their friends?
“You know, he does have a point, Naruto.” Naruto threw a sharp glare at Sakura. “I’m just saying, you haven’t been refining your ninjutsu and genjutsu for the approaching exams like you should be. They’re going to be hard. Taijutsu alone won’t get you ranked higher.”
Naruto still said nothing, though he was dying to scream his head off. His only compensation was the utterly confused look on Sasuke’s face. The teme probably hadn’t thought him capable of being quiet for so long. The chatter of those around him started again, leaving him alone to his thoughts.
'You understand, young one, that you can use your jutsu without showing your chakra.’
‘That’s the point. I can use the jutsu without showing a hint of power at all. That’ll look suspicious. But if I raise my levels enough to be felt by others, the jutsu will become too powerful. It’s better that I not use it.’
‘Are you having second thoughts about the exams, young one?’
‘Like you wouldn’t believe.’
‘Then I would suggest speaking with the leader of this village about it. She seems like she’d understand.’
‘I think you’re right.’
Naruto sighed, unaware that the dark eyes of a certain Uchiha had watched him through the entire exchange.
~**~
“You can’t be serious!”
“I’m perfectly serious, Tsunade-baa-chan. I am the fox. Though, I’m still able to converse with his spirit. So I guess I can kinda talk to myself.” Naruto lifted an arm to scratch the back of his neck in a nervous manner.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Would you believe Kakashi-sensei? He’s right here listening.” At that, Kakashi appeared in a poof of smoke.
“How did you know he was here, brat?”
A vulpine grin spread across Naruto’s face, exceedingly sharp canines peaking out from the curl of his lips. Tsunade swallowed and swung her glance to Kakashi. His one visible eye was slightly narrowed, but altogether serious without being worried.
“Nevermind. What is the point of you telling me this?”
“I wanted you to be able to trust me should I ever find need to use my power. And…” Naruto trailed off, unable to believe what he was about to say. “I’m withdrawing my name from the upcoming exams.”
“Naruto!” Kakashi stepped forward slightly before he caught himself.
“Why, kid?”
“No matter what happens, I would rather my… condition not be known to the villagers or other ninja. To avoid this, I must withdraw. Not only that, it would only end in death for anyone who were to try and go beyond their limits with me.”
“You’re saying…”
“Yes. I now have the animal instinct for self-preservation, and should someone gather too much chakra for my liking, I cannot be held accountable for my actions.”
“You’ve gotten smarter, kid. More considerate.”
“It comes with the territory. My personality traits of my childhood were due to my lack of human interaction growing up. Now that I am Kyuubi, I have the love of the forest should I ever seek it. That is enough to humble my enthusiasm.”
“And strengthen your vocabulary.” Kakashi’s visible eye crinkled in amusement as he watched Naruto try to reel in his temper at the insult. Some things would never change.
“Then I accept your withdrawal, Naruto. But what you’ve told me is intriguing. I may still send you out on top-ranked missions whether your official rank qualifies you or not.”
“Understood, and I appreciate that you still find me useful.”
“Kid, you’re always useful for something, whether a tough mission or a good laugh.”
“I’ll choose not to take offense to that, hag.” Though his brow twitched just a wee bit.
~***~
Sasuke was hurt, and it was his fault. The whispers that had died down years ago started again, and everywhere he went, the fox-boy was denounced even more thoroughly than ever.
But Naruto didn’t care. What was tearing him apart was that his best friend was lying unconscious in Tsunade’s care. He had lashed out at Sasuke with his demonic power, and Sasuke had barely survived.
Naruto looked up when Tsunade and Sakura came over to him. The Hokage had a rather stern look on her face.
“What happened, Naruto?”
“He attacked me.” Barely spoken, his voice not willing to work.
“Why would he do that?”
Naruto said nothing, just continued to look at his hands. He had nearly killed his best friend. Sasuke probably didn’t want anything to do with him now.
‘Didn’t the Uchiha try to do the same to you? And you still care for him.’
‘That’s because he’s the only person I have, aside from Iruka-sensei. But even Sasuke knows me better than Iruka. I don’t know what I’d do if he hated me.’
‘He deserved it. He attacked you. What kind of friendship is that?’
‘He was just curious. He wants to know what secret I’m hiding.’
‘So tell him.’
‘Never.’
‘Because you don’t trust the ‘teme’?’ Naruto felt a rumble in his chest, an effect of Kyuubi laughing.
‘Because I love the teme.’
‘I know, young one. I know.’
~****~
“You’ve changed, dobe.”
Naruto picked his head up quickly at the voice. Sakura, after getting the Hokage’s permission, had let Naruto stay by Sasuke’s side, since that’s the only place he really wanted to be until the dark-haired ninja woke up. Though the two medic nins had been kind enough to move Sasuke to his own home.
“You’re awake, Sasuke.”
“Very observant.” Then there was silence for a while. “Naruto, what happened to you?”
The moment Naruto had been dreading was upon him. He didn’t want to lie to Sasuke. But he knew as soon as he told him, Sasuke wouldn’t want him to be around anymore.
‘If he thought that, do you think he’d be willing to talk in the first place? Shouldn’t he already know what you’re capable of? You didn’t die when he left you for dead. Orochimaru and Itachi both had an unusual fixation on you. He’s bound to know.’
‘You can’t know that.’
“Naruto?”
“S-Sasuke… when I was looking for you, something happened. I had to get stronger to find you and bring you home.” Naruto looked away from black eyes that seemed as if they were looking right into his soul. “I merged with Kyuubi… I am the demon now.”
Naruto was primed for any type of negative movement from Sasuke. If it looked like Sasuke was going to attack again, he’d run, even if it broke his heart. He wasn’t going to hurt him again.
“So that’s why you dropped from the exams?”
“Yeah, and that’s why you attacked me, ne?”
“I wanted to fight you again, under better circumstances. When I found out you weren’t competing, I thought it was because of me, and I got mad. But now I see you’re just protecting the village from such an enormous power.”
“Tch, yeah, I guess you could say that.”
Naruto looked back to Sasuke when the other boy stopped talking. He was looking down at his hands in his lap.
“Naruto, do you hate me?”
“Never, Sasuke.” Sasuke looked up, startled. There had been such emotion in Naruto’s voice. He just stared as Naruto lifted himself onto the bed to put both arms around the pale boy, holding him tightly. “I’m so sorry, Sasuke. I’d never hurt you. I’m so sorry.”
One of Sasuke’s arms came up to rest around the blonde’s back, the other hand lifting Naruto’s chin so their eyes could meet. “Don’t you dare apologize to me, dobe.” Sasuke brought his lips to Naruto’s for a quick kiss. “I don’t deserve it.”
“You just…”
“Do you have a problem with that?”
“Not really.” Naruto smiled at Sasuke and leaned in for another kiss. “Are you going to enter the exams?”
“Of course.”
“Then pass it, teme. That way we can go on missions together… maybe have a little fun while we’re at it.”
“That sounds like a plan, dobe.”
‘Why do I suddenly get the feeling that I should have never come to Konoha?’
‘Shut up.’
“Sasuke, I’m glad that you don’t mind that I’m no longer human.”
“Naruto, do you love me?”
“Always.”
Sasuke smiled. “Then that’s all that really matters.”
____________________
A/N: alright. here's the deal. if i get enough reviews, i'll write a special chapter 2 with a bunch of smutty lemon between our two favorite ninja. what do you say? wanna click on that little 'review' link now? i knew you would.
A/N: my last Naruto fic was kinda sad, and so the muses hounded my ass until i got this out. and be sure to read the A/N at the end ^_~
info you should know: 'italics'=Kyuubi speaking, 'regular'=Naruto speaking back, italics=Naruto's thoughts
_________________________
All That Really Matters
_________________________
Nobody really paid him any heed. He had the nine-tailed fox within him, so others steered clear of him altogether. There were some - like Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei - that knew he was just an innocent boy chosen by the Fourth Hokage to be the vessel.
Tch, innocent my ass.
Nobody but Uzumaki Naruto knew the truth. He was more than the damn vessel. He was now the creature himself. He was Kyuubi. But nobody really needed to know that. He was loyal to Konoha, would always be a faithful ninja, still wanted to be Hokage someday.
The merge had come with his training with Jiraiya, when Sasuke had left the village. And it had come in handy on more than one occasion. It was easy back then to use the demon chakra without letting the others now he was no longer human. But as his original chakra began to be consumed by that of the demon, it had become increasingly harder to do so. So he trained more in taijutsu and weaponry to decrease the need for his demonic powers.
And now Sasuke was home, brought back by Naruto himself. He still felt the sting of when Sasuke had left, but it was drowned out by his joy. The Uchiha was back where he belonged, and though Naruto had changed in a way that he couldn’t share with his friend, he hoped that they could pick up like nothing had happened. Naruto didn’t know what he’d do if they couldn’t.
~*~
Naruto sat quietly at the table where the Rookie 9 had assembled to welcome Sasuke home. He’d been back for a week, but Tsunade hadn’t let him interact with anyone until she had determined if he was still loyal after his betrayal. Well, anyone but Naruto. She’d insisted that Naruto stay near him to gather info, and after a week, he’d confidently told her that Sasuke was no problem. The bastard hadn’t changed one. Tiny. Bit. Bastard!
“So, Kakashi-sensei told me that you’ve been training exclusively in taijutsu lately. What’s wrong, dobe? Did you finally figure out that you’re not cut out to be a ninja?”
Naruto bristled but said nothing. He knew that Sasuke knew exactly whom it was that had saved him, but did the bastard have to tease him like that in front of all their friends?
“You know, he does have a point, Naruto.” Naruto threw a sharp glare at Sakura. “I’m just saying, you haven’t been refining your ninjutsu and genjutsu for the approaching exams like you should be. They’re going to be hard. Taijutsu alone won’t get you ranked higher.”
Naruto still said nothing, though he was dying to scream his head off. His only compensation was the utterly confused look on Sasuke’s face. The teme probably hadn’t thought him capable of being quiet for so long. The chatter of those around him started again, leaving him alone to his thoughts.
'You understand, young one, that you can use your jutsu without showing your chakra.’
‘That’s the point. I can use the jutsu without showing a hint of power at all. That’ll look suspicious. But if I raise my levels enough to be felt by others, the jutsu will become too powerful. It’s better that I not use it.’
‘Are you having second thoughts about the exams, young one?’
‘Like you wouldn’t believe.’
‘Then I would suggest speaking with the leader of this village about it. She seems like she’d understand.’
‘I think you’re right.’
Naruto sighed, unaware that the dark eyes of a certain Uchiha had watched him through the entire exchange.
~**~
“You can’t be serious!”
“I’m perfectly serious, Tsunade-baa-chan. I am the fox. Though, I’m still able to converse with his spirit. So I guess I can kinda talk to myself.” Naruto lifted an arm to scratch the back of his neck in a nervous manner.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Would you believe Kakashi-sensei? He’s right here listening.” At that, Kakashi appeared in a poof of smoke.
“How did you know he was here, brat?”
A vulpine grin spread across Naruto’s face, exceedingly sharp canines peaking out from the curl of his lips. Tsunade swallowed and swung her glance to Kakashi. His one visible eye was slightly narrowed, but altogether serious without being worried.
“Nevermind. What is the point of you telling me this?”
“I wanted you to be able to trust me should I ever find need to use my power. And…” Naruto trailed off, unable to believe what he was about to say. “I’m withdrawing my name from the upcoming exams.”
“Naruto!” Kakashi stepped forward slightly before he caught himself.
“Why, kid?”
“No matter what happens, I would rather my… condition not be known to the villagers or other ninja. To avoid this, I must withdraw. Not only that, it would only end in death for anyone who were to try and go beyond their limits with me.”
“You’re saying…”
“Yes. I now have the animal instinct for self-preservation, and should someone gather too much chakra for my liking, I cannot be held accountable for my actions.”
“You’ve gotten smarter, kid. More considerate.”
“It comes with the territory. My personality traits of my childhood were due to my lack of human interaction growing up. Now that I am Kyuubi, I have the love of the forest should I ever seek it. That is enough to humble my enthusiasm.”
“And strengthen your vocabulary.” Kakashi’s visible eye crinkled in amusement as he watched Naruto try to reel in his temper at the insult. Some things would never change.
“Then I accept your withdrawal, Naruto. But what you’ve told me is intriguing. I may still send you out on top-ranked missions whether your official rank qualifies you or not.”
“Understood, and I appreciate that you still find me useful.”
“Kid, you’re always useful for something, whether a tough mission or a good laugh.”
“I’ll choose not to take offense to that, hag.” Though his brow twitched just a wee bit.
~***~
Sasuke was hurt, and it was his fault. The whispers that had died down years ago started again, and everywhere he went, the fox-boy was denounced even more thoroughly than ever.
But Naruto didn’t care. What was tearing him apart was that his best friend was lying unconscious in Tsunade’s care. He had lashed out at Sasuke with his demonic power, and Sasuke had barely survived.
Naruto looked up when Tsunade and Sakura came over to him. The Hokage had a rather stern look on her face.
“What happened, Naruto?”
“He attacked me.” Barely spoken, his voice not willing to work.
“Why would he do that?”
Naruto said nothing, just continued to look at his hands. He had nearly killed his best friend. Sasuke probably didn’t want anything to do with him now.
‘Didn’t the Uchiha try to do the same to you? And you still care for him.’
‘That’s because he’s the only person I have, aside from Iruka-sensei. But even Sasuke knows me better than Iruka. I don’t know what I’d do if he hated me.’
‘He deserved it. He attacked you. What kind of friendship is that?’
‘He was just curious. He wants to know what secret I’m hiding.’
‘So tell him.’
‘Never.’
‘Because you don’t trust the ‘teme’?’ Naruto felt a rumble in his chest, an effect of Kyuubi laughing.
‘Because I love the teme.’
‘I know, young one. I know.’
~****~
“You’ve changed, dobe.”
Naruto picked his head up quickly at the voice. Sakura, after getting the Hokage’s permission, had let Naruto stay by Sasuke’s side, since that’s the only place he really wanted to be until the dark-haired ninja woke up. Though the two medic nins had been kind enough to move Sasuke to his own home.
“You’re awake, Sasuke.”
“Very observant.” Then there was silence for a while. “Naruto, what happened to you?”
The moment Naruto had been dreading was upon him. He didn’t want to lie to Sasuke. But he knew as soon as he told him, Sasuke wouldn’t want him to be around anymore.
‘If he thought that, do you think he’d be willing to talk in the first place? Shouldn’t he already know what you’re capable of? You didn’t die when he left you for dead. Orochimaru and Itachi both had an unusual fixation on you. He’s bound to know.’
‘You can’t know that.’
“Naruto?”
“S-Sasuke… when I was looking for you, something happened. I had to get stronger to find you and bring you home.” Naruto looked away from black eyes that seemed as if they were looking right into his soul. “I merged with Kyuubi… I am the demon now.”
Naruto was primed for any type of negative movement from Sasuke. If it looked like Sasuke was going to attack again, he’d run, even if it broke his heart. He wasn’t going to hurt him again.
“So that’s why you dropped from the exams?”
“Yeah, and that’s why you attacked me, ne?”
“I wanted to fight you again, under better circumstances. When I found out you weren’t competing, I thought it was because of me, and I got mad. But now I see you’re just protecting the village from such an enormous power.”
“Tch, yeah, I guess you could say that.”
Naruto looked back to Sasuke when the other boy stopped talking. He was looking down at his hands in his lap.
“Naruto, do you hate me?”
“Never, Sasuke.” Sasuke looked up, startled. There had been such emotion in Naruto’s voice. He just stared as Naruto lifted himself onto the bed to put both arms around the pale boy, holding him tightly. “I’m so sorry, Sasuke. I’d never hurt you. I’m so sorry.”
One of Sasuke’s arms came up to rest around the blonde’s back, the other hand lifting Naruto’s chin so their eyes could meet. “Don’t you dare apologize to me, dobe.” Sasuke brought his lips to Naruto’s for a quick kiss. “I don’t deserve it.”
“You just…”
“Do you have a problem with that?”
“Not really.” Naruto smiled at Sasuke and leaned in for another kiss. “Are you going to enter the exams?”
“Of course.”
“Then pass it, teme. That way we can go on missions together… maybe have a little fun while we’re at it.”
“That sounds like a plan, dobe.”
‘Why do I suddenly get the feeling that I should have never come to Konoha?’
‘Shut up.’
“Sasuke, I’m glad that you don’t mind that I’m no longer human.”
“Naruto, do you love me?”
“Always.”
Sasuke smiled. “Then that’s all that really matters.”
____________________
A/N: alright. here's the deal. if i get enough reviews, i'll write a special chapter 2 with a bunch of smutty lemon between our two favorite ninja. what do you say? wanna click on that little 'review' link now? i knew you would.