Sex: M/F/Other?

Sex: M/F/Other?

By: ladygizarme

Beta: Jpop (my hubby O.o)

Warning: A semi-graphic binge/purge scene is contained herein. If this offends you, or you are easily affected/grossed out by such things, it should be easy to spot the scene and scroll past the few short paragraphs. Or, you could choose not to read at all. You have been warned. Also, the very first scene in here is KimiSasu lemon-ness. If you’re not interested, feel free to skip the first scene (though you’ll miss a few details in doing so, they’ll probably be reiterated later…).

Thanks!! To ren, for helping me make decisions and shop for the characters. And to chelzi for the review of the prologue and ch. 1, and for whoever gave me star ratings as well!

Now on with the 23-pg. show, dattebayo!


Chapter Two: Session, Digestion

His mouth was full. Full of Kimimaro’s cock. The white haired teen’s pants and boxers had been removed, and were now pooled on the floor somewhere off to the side, just out of reach of the shower spray. Sasuke’s tongue was moving experimentally around the rigid flesh in his mouth, slowly but surely gaining confidence in its movements. And, oh, he loved the taste of him; the flavor of that silky skin wrapped around the steel-like erection; the salty-sweetness of it, mixed with the light odor of Kimimaro that was a combination of his soap, cologne, light perspiration, and his body’s natural scent, which was just a bit stronger as Kimimaro pulled Sasuke’s head forward, burying his nose in black pubic hair.

As the long, thick cock hit the back of his throat, Sasuke tried to hold back his gag by swallowing, but Kimimaro wasn’t fooled as he felt Sasuke’s throat quiver around him, trying to rebel. He felt the shudder go through the younger boy’s body as it tried to expel the cock from his mouth, heard the smothered sounds of Sasuke’s protest as the raven haired teen pushed against Kimimaro’s hips, and the older boy moaned from the feel and the power of it. After a moment, Kimimaro let go of Sasuke, allowing him to return to his own pace. The younger boy took the opportunity to wrap his hands around the base of Kimimaro’s cock, steadying it while at the same time preventing anymore unwanted deepthroating. He definitely wasn’t ready to do that again.

Swallowing thickly while his mouth was unoccupied, Sasuke glanced up at the curious, yet expectantly superior look gracing his boyfriend’s face. Those green eyes still burned into him, practically glowing in the steam-filled room, urging him to continue; to prove himself a worthy boyfriend to this boy—this man—he’d finally caught for himself. Steeling himself in determination, Sasuke licked his lips slowly and thoroughly, drawing lust-filled concentration into those beryl-colored eyes as they followed his tongue’s action. Finally rewetting them fully, Sasuke leaned back in, snaking his tongue out to wrap it around the head of Kimimaro’s cock, before drawing it back into his mouth and suckling it.

Kimimaro reveled in his younger boyfriend’s attentions, watching him through half-lidded eyes as the raven worshipped his cock tentatively. Long, nimble fingers squeezed and pumped him teasingly as a warm, wet mouth and keen tongue enveloped his tip, sucking and lapping at the sensitive skin and slit, coaxing moans from him that echoed in the large, empty, tiled room. He ran his hand encouragingly through Sasuke’s black hair several times, re-saturating it with water from the shower and flattening it back against the boy’s neck, before grabbing a fistful—firmly, but not painfully—and leading Sasuke to start bobbing his head.

Sasuke’s knees were cold and wet and starting to ache. Kneeling on the small tiles of the shower, feeling the grooves between the small tiles, the rough grout scraping at his skin; he hoped this would be over soon; it had already been several minutes. Not that he didn’t like pleasing his boyfriend. He loved the sense of accomplishment he felt whenever he was able to spark Kimimaro’s lust and use his hands or mouth to bring him off. Though he’d only given his boyfriend head a few times, as he’d been rather averse to it at first, he couldn’t deny the heady feeling swooping through him right this instant, as the boy above him panted and groaned. Taking his cue from the hand gripping his hair, Sasuke began bobbing his head; long, even strokes of his mouth and tongue at first, his lips gliding wetly over the hard flesh.

Knees still grinding into the rough grout, toes attempting to grip the wet tile behind him, Sasuke’s efforts continued, drawing pleasurable noises from the older boy with every pull of his hot mouth, sending sparks of intense arousal through his body and into his groin, already aching with need. He ignored his own arousal for the moment, however, more concerned with pleasing Kimimaro. Sasuke paused his bobs to stroke his tongue all over Kimimaro’s shaft, his hand tightened a little around the base to hold the eager cock still as he licked up the underside with a bit more pressure, teasing the tip of his wet muscle around the head, tasting the slight bitterness of Kimimaro’s precum as he passed over the slit. At that taste, he felt a rush of relief go through his tense body, knowing it wouldn’t be much longer. He tried not to think about what the end result would be, hoping that not thinking about it would make it easier to handle, as he took up the bobbing actions again—this time a little faster.

As Kimimaro’s breathing became more erratic, so did Sasuke’s bobs. His head moved back and forth in short, earnest bursts, lips clamped tightly around his boyfriend’s cock, the blood rushing through his head roaring in his ears and soon drowning out Kimimaro’s heavy panting and the sound of the shower. Sasuke lost himself in his actions, unable to think about his own needs or even his former inhibitions as the scope of his whole world narrowed to the task of pleasing the heavy cock his hand and mouth were wrapped around.

Finally his efforts were rewarded as Kimimaro’s seed burst into his mouth, the older teen holding Sasuke’s head in place to completely empty himself into the raven’s mouth. The familiar unpleasant taste provoked Sasuke’s gag reflex for the second time that day, and this time the force was too strong to stop. Cum spurted from his mouth around the cock still firmly lodged there, dribbling from the corners of his mouth and down his chin, dripping onto his bare chest. As the back of his tongue met the still-spasming dick, a couple spurts of cum slid down his throat, evoking an even harsher rebellion of both his throat and stomach, and Sasuke pushed against Kimimaro in panic, dislodging the currently offensive appendage before his stomach’s threat of protest could be fully realized. The last couple shots of cum landed in the back of Sasuke’s hair as he bent over to spit the remains of Kimimaro’s orgasm from his mouth, the shower water mixing with it and washing it down the drain as Sasuke took slow, calculated breaths to calm his stomach and his racing heart.

As Kimimaro moved to allow Sasuke to rinse his mouth in the shower spray, the younger teen inwardly bemoaned his continued reaction to that substance. He couldn’t understand it; you’d think by continued exposure to it, he’d get used to it and finally be able to stand swallowing his boyfriend’s cum! Though it had taken some convincing in the beginning to get him to do it, Sasuke could admit, at least to himself, that he was really starting to like sucking cock. Everything about it gave him a rush, right up to the point where his boyfriend actually climaxed. Then everything went to hell.

Why couldn’t he just swallow it? Kimimaro swallowed Sasuke’s all the time, and it gave Sasuke such potent warm, erotic feelings that he really wanted to do the same and get that reaction from his boyfriend. Yet here he was again, washing spit and semen from his face along with tears of effort and frustration. Why did this happen every time? Sure, cum didn’t have the greatest taste in the world, but it wasn’t disgusting. Even he had found it at least tolerable in the past, when tasting someone’s spunk off a finger after a hand job—it really wasn’t that bad; certainly not enough to garner this awful of a reaction.

What was his problem?

And speaking of problems, Sasuke almost couldn’t believe he was still so extremely hard after all that. His dick obviously didn’t care about the horrible trip his stomach had just tried to take him for. In fact, he could’ve sworn it was actually harder than before.

Before he could worry about this too much, a tall, hard body embraced him from behind. A thrill of nervous excitement went up the raven’s spine as he felt the buttons of Kimimaro’s shirt prod into the skin of his back, the now-spent cock pressed against his ass, settling itself into the seam of his cheeks as Kimimaro’s arms came around Sasuke. Until then, he hadn’t realized his towel had come off; not that it mattered much now, as he couldn’t even begin to care where it was at the moment.

“You did wonderfully, Sasuke,” the older boy cajoled, his husky, sated voice soothing away all Sasuke’s self doubt, at least for the time being.

Then the lips those words came from were on his neck, mouthing along the column and across his shoulder, scraping his teeth gently over the skin, soothing the sting away with his tongue. Sasuke’s breathing quickened as he half-stifled a moan and tilted his head, allowing Kimimaro more access to his neck, and the older teen accepted the offer, kissing and sucking at the pale flesh as his hands caressed and fondled Sasuke’s body. The raven braced himself against the tiled wall with one hand as the other slid up into Kimimaro’s wet hair, encouraging his actions further. His nipples were teased, the pads of the white haired teen’s fingers rubbing over the nubs, made hypersensitive from the shower spraying harshly against the front of Sasuke’s body, the water growing colder as time went on. His chest and stomach were stroked, Kimimaro’s hands drawing ever closer to Sasuke’s straining cock, then moving away teasingly, drawing it out and causing the boy to whimper in disappointment and lustful anticipation.

Fingers skating over the tops of his thighs and between his legs, cupping and fondling his balls, Sasuke let out a shaky breath as his boyfriend again came so close to touching what really needed touched. As those hands moved away once more, sliding up his sides, Sasuke couldn’t take it anymore. He reached for his aching arousal and grabbed it firmly, stroking with determination as Kimimaro’s fingers again grazed over his erect and sensitized nipples. Then the fingers were sliding back down and a larger hand was wrapped around Sasuke’s cock, over his own hand, joining it and then replacing it altogether.

From there, it all seemed to happen so quickly. One moment he was moaning, blunt nails of one hand digging into the upper arm now wrapped around his chest, grasping at the short shirtsleeve; his other hand scrabbling for purchase on the wet tiles as Kimimaro pulled and stroked him vigorously. The next moment, his eyes were squeezed shut and his head was thrown back against his boyfriend’s shoulder, crying out with his release, his cum splattering over Kimimaro’s fingers and onto the tiles of the shower wall and floor.

When he finally reopened his eyes and took stock of his situation, he realized the shower had been turned off at some point during their escapade, and therefore his cum had not been washed away. Kimimaro’s hand was dripping with cum and Sasuke watched, turning his body slightly to follow the action as the older teen brought his hand up and licked the cum from his palm.

Sasuke’s lips parted unconsciously, his eyes clouding with lust despite his spent state. Oh, that was hot. Gods, he wished he could do something so hot and swallow his boyfriend’s cum.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than two of Kimimaro’s fingers were thrust into Sasuke’s open mouth, making the raven taste himself on them. Expecting the usual nasty reaction, Sasuke was pleasantly surprised to find the taste didn’t bother him at all. Closing his lips around the fingers, Sasuke licked and sucked Kimimaro’s fingers eagerly, as if they were a more intimate part of his anatomy, collecting all the cum and cleaning the digits completely. Once he was done, Kimimaro pulled his fingers from the younger boy’s mouth, only to replace them with his own lips and tongue, drinking in the taste of Sasuke and the remnants of himself in the boy’s mouth.

When he finally pulled away, Sasuke was in a daze, breathing heavily, eyes glazed over. He barely registered as Kimimaro pulled his pants back on and patted Sasuke’s cheek, telling him he was going to the Senior lockers to get changed. The echo of the locker room door closing finally brought him out of his stupor, and Sasuke realized he should get dressed as well.

Swiping a hand through his hair, Sasuke grimaced as his fingers caught in strands of hair tangled with dried cum. He also realized his chest, stomach, and pubic hair were a little sticky with drops of it. Suddenly glad he had yet to put away his shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, Sasuke turned on the hot water, hoping there was enough warmed up by now. A second shower was definitely in order.

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*

It was a showdown, and neither one would back down. Blue eyes narrowed at the person in front of them, determined not to blink until their opponent did. Nevermind that the doctor did not acknowledge the fact they were having a staring contest, other than her tightly pursed together, red lipsticked lips. Naruto was bound to lose either way, since the sun shining in from the large picture window was glaring off her glasses, making it impossible to see her eyes anyway.

She cleared her throat; Naruto blinked; the doctor adjusted her glasses, making her eyes visible for a split-second before they caught the light again, making the lenses an opaque white. Naruto frowned; he just knew she did that on purpose.

The doctor cleared her throat again before she spoke. “Narumi, you do realize these sessions are for your benefit, don’t you? You’re a very troubled young woman, but I can’t help you unless you talk to me. So, why don’t you tell me what’s going on with you lately?”

Naruto rolled his eyes, one leg bouncing restlessly as he attempted to sit still in the uncomfortable chair. It was the same thing every week. Couldn’t she see there was nothing wrong with him? I mean, he was wearing a skirt, for Kami’s sake! Wasn’t that a sign that he was “cured”? Granted, these sessions were the only time he dressed like the gender they told him he was, and he still referred to himself as a boy, even in his thoughts, but that didn’t matter! The point was, they didn’t know he continued to dress and act like the boy he felt he was outside of these sessions. So why couldn’t they leave him alone and let him get on with his life?

Maybe he wasn’t convincing enough… she probably noticed the way he still grimaced when she called him a ‘young woman’. Naruto rolled his eyes again and sighed, tugging on the skirt hem above his knees, wishing it was longer. He always felt so exposed in a skirt, especially with her scrutinizing him from behind her glasses like he could feel she was. He might as well throw her a bone; it might help him get through this faster if he cooperated anyway.

Crossing his arms over his (thankfully still mostly flat) chest, Naruto offered irritably, “I got my period today.”

He could barely see them, what with the thick, black frames around her oval lenses and the black curly hair and bangs framing her face obstructing his view, but he could tell her eyebrows raised slightly from the way her forehead scrunched up a bit. “You did? Well, this is good news. If I’m not mistaken, you had a menstrual cycle last month as well, is that correct?”

Naruto nodded slowly, “Well, about a month and a half ago.”

“And before that, how long had it been?”

Naruto was starting to regret he’d brought this up. He should have known what road it would lead down. It was too late now, though, he’d already opened the subject to her scrutiny. If he didn’t follow through, she’d be even more suspicious than she probably was before. Besides, no matter how touchy the subject may be to him, he’d be damned if he backed down now!

“Three months,” he answered.

She nodded sagely, “And before that?”

Naruto sighed. She really liked drawing it out, didn’t she? He rolled his eyes, then squinted up to the ceiling as he tried to remember.

“Umm… last February, I think, so…” He counted on his fingers, “Eight months?”

She nodded, already knowing all this. “So, you’ve now had three menstrual cycles since you were released from the Institute, and they’re coming closer together. This is progress. It shows you have been following the health guidelines set for you and are no longer abusing your body.”

“I wasn’t abusing my body!” he argued before he could think to bite his tongue.

Her lips pursed tightly and he could tell she was giving him a scathingly stern look, even without seeing her eyes behind the glare on her glasses.

“I beg to differ, Miss Uzumaki. Bingeing and purging, starving yourself, and exercising until you drop in order to maintain an unrealistic body image is self-abuse.”

He scowled at her tone. “It’s not like I was trying to be super skinny and fit into the latest skimpy swimsuit or be popular or look like some model or something stupid like that,” he argued. “I just—” he stopped himself abruptly. This was getting into an area he definitely didn’t want to discuss.

“You just…” the doctor prompted.

Naruto clamped his mouth shut. “Nothing,” he muttered.

At his response, the doctor ‘hmm’ed to herself while adjusting her glasses, and made a note in her notepad. Then she adjusted her sitting position, crossing her legs, resettling her notepad on her knee, and pushing up her glasses again. Naruto felt a momentary sadistic pleasure in the fact he wasn’t the only one uncomfortable in these hard stuffed chairs. The moment didn’t last long, though, before she spoke again.

“And now? How do you feel about it?”

He squinted at her in question. “How do I feel… what, about my period?”

Another nod.

He gave her an incredulous look. “How do you think I feel? Do you like having yours, Suzume-sensei?”

Her small, red painted lips pressed together in irritation. “This isn’t about me, Narumi. You know it is my job to properly evaluate you and your behavior and help you as you re-acclimate yourself with living properly as a girl. The mental disorder you struggle with is a very serious condition. It makes you believe you are a boy, and in the very recent past has provoked you to abuse your body and behave in an unseemly manner. Not to mention the cross-dressing you undertook, which was not only encouraged but enabled by that boy just down the hall from us in Yakushi-sensei’s office. A boy whom, need I remind you, is once again your foster brother. I boggle at the so-called logic behind that placement. Kami knows he’s probably still tempting you and influencing you to live immorally.”

Each word she said attempted to cut into him; each sentence getting shriller and shriller, scolding him and accusing him and threatening him. He felt the knot in his stomach grow; the tension in him building, making him feel hot and ready to snap. Still she did not relent. Seeing his fists clenching on his skirt hem, his face turning red in anger, she continued to push.

“You have been in my psychiatric care for the past five—almost six—months, ever since you were released from the Institute, and still you show little to no improvement. Despite the fact you are wearing skirts again as encouraged,” Naruto scoffed at this, but Dr. Suzume ignored it and continued as if there’d been no interruption.

“It is quite obvious by your body language that you are uncomfortable in the role of your proper gender. You slouch and your legs are parted in an unladylike manner, yet you fidget with your skirt as if for modesty. You probably think you can get away with it due to your fair hair, but I can tell your legs are not shaved—this is extremely odd for a girl your age. I also doubt you are wearing a bra, not that you have much to work with, but a bra would undoubtedly provide you with a bit more definition. Better yet, a push-up bra would enhance what little you do have. Now you are at least showing physical improvement with the return of your menstruation, but you don’t seem to appreciate the opportunity for what it is. This is your chance to embrace your femininity, watch your body finally bloom as it should have already if not for your previous foolish actions, and finally become the woman you are meant to be!”

Her right fist was held up and clenched in front of her body by the end of her righteous declaration, and Naruto could almost swear he saw flames behind her lenses. He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or blow up at her. Being that he was naturally hotheaded, and currently cranky and moody (not to mention tired and horribly uncomfortable) thanks to the very condition that had started this whole conversation, Naruto chose the ‘blow up’ option.

Leaping from his chair, Naruto pointed at her angrily.

“Who are you to decide what I’m meant to be?! Forcing a dress on me and telling me to embrace my femininity won’t magically change who I am! Knowing I should’ve been born a boy does not make me crazy, and Haku being the only person who understands me does not make him a bad influence! I don’t care what those quacks at Mist County say!”

Looking quite abashed and growing red in the face herself, Dr. Suzume hissed, “Miss Uzumaki, this behavior is an outrage! Sit back down this instant!”

Naruto shook his head vehemently, grabbing up his backpack and heaving it over his shoulder as he stalked towards the door. “No way, screw this! Fuck you, fuck Mist County, and fuck your gender Nazism!!” With a flip of the bird, he opened the door, stomped out, and slammed it closed behind him.

He ignored the shriek from behind the door, warning him that the dosage of his meds was being increased, along with adding a new drug or two to his prescribed regimen. He didn’t care; his guardians never made him take that shit anyway. The only reason they even made him come here was because it was a stipulation of his release last September from Mist County Institute of Mental Health, and the approval of his and Haku’s residence transfer to Konoha, where their current foster parents worked and now lived.

Belatedly, Naruto hoped he hadn’t just screwed things up for his new foster family. He liked how things were now, living with his best friend and a couple that not only accepted them, but also could empathize with being viewed as different or wrong or even immoral freaks by society. It was the most comfortable and safe he’d felt in a long time, and he didn’t want to lose it just because he couldn’t hold his temper with some bigoted shrink. Still, he refused to apologize for telling her off. Not only because he was still steaming from the encounter, but because saying he was sorry would be like going back on his words, and he would not do that. He’d meant every word.

So, still huffing, Naruto stomped back through the waiting room, asked Kin to tell Haku he was waiting for him, and went to sit by the elevator.

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*

Sasuke stood in front of a sink in the boys’ locker room, cheeks puffing out, lips held tightly closed, eyes watering as he struggled to keep the liquid in his mouth. The taste was so awful, he could barely stand it.

‘Just a little longer,’ he kept telling himself as the tears leaked from his eyes and slid down his face.

Finally the second hand on the clock above the mirror completed thirty ticks, and he spit out the blue-green liquid for the second time in one minute. Quickly filling his mouth with water, Sasuke swished it around, rinsing the mouthwash out completely. At last, he allowed himself a big gulp of air, making a face at the residual taste of the Listerine. Why did the germ-killing mouthwash have to taste like toilet bowl cleaner?

He chugged on a bottle of sweeter tasting mouthwash, swishing that around to try to cover the disgusting taste of the Listerine that seemed to be burned into his mouth and tongue, then spit and rinsed again with water. He tested the taste on his tongue and lips a bit, nodding to himself as he found it acceptable. That task completed, he moved on to the next one.

Standing in front of the mirror, Sasuke took a blow dryer in one hand, a brush in the other, and began blow drying his freshly rewashed hair. Once he deemed it dry enough, he got his pomade and sectioned off his bangs before spiking up the back just how he liked it—completely opposite of Itachi’s long, sleek ponytail style. Grabbing his antiperspirant—unscented gel stick—he applied it, then he put away all his things—body wash, hair cleansing and styling products, brush, toothbrush, mouthwash, deodorant—before retrieving his uniform shirt and putting it on, making sure it was neatly tucked into his pants before tying his tie.

Just as Sasuke tightened the tie snugly against his collar, Kimimaro returned from his locker room on the other side of the building, his basketball practice uniform now replacing his wet school clothes from before, which were now accompanying his dirty gym clothes in the gym bag slung over his shoulder.

Without pausing for a ‘hello,’ the bleached-white haired teen walked up to Sasuke, grabbed his tie, and pulled him in for a kiss. His hands dove into the younger teen’s hair as he deepened the kiss, but he quickly pulled back in disappointment.

“You washed your mouth already.”

Sasuke scowled and pushed him away, turning back to the mirror. “You knew I would.”

“I hoped I might taste myself on your lips one more time before we leave,” Kimimaro replied lasciviously, his hand reaching to pull more on the raven’s spiked tresses, smoothing them down.

Sasuke smacked his hand away automatically, earning a snicker from his boyfriend as he immediately started fixing his damaged spikes.

Kimimaro leaned back against the rim of the next sink over, watching his younger boyfriend primping. Hair fixed, Sasuke readjusted his clothes, making sure seams lined up, his shirt lay flat and wrinkle free, and his tie was straight. He checked the laces of his black-on-charcoal Adio Jasper Low skate shoes, pulled on the tongues, and straightened his pant legs. He reorganized his things in his gym locker so everything was tidy, leaving his wet towel out and folding it to take home in his bag, then he put his school blazer on once he was finished, picking invisible lint from it.

Kimimaro snickered again. “How is it that your parents don’t know you’re gay? Do you completely change personalities around them, or something? Down to the last idiosyncrasy?”

Sasuke glared at him as he zipped up his school bag. “Being neat and looking your best isn’t an automatic marker of being gay. You of all people should know that,” he remarked with an appraising look.

A brow rose at the way Kimimaro’s too large basketball shirt exposed much of his chest, one strap seeming to want to fall off his shoulder, and his baggy shorts that Sasuke knew would expose the top of his boxers if the shirt were lifted. His zigzag-parted, bleached-white hair was still wet and slightly straggly, with two sections tied off haphazardly with thick, red bands on the ends. About the only thing tidy about him was his white, sport-cut socks and the tight laces of his white Adidas Westwoods.

Kimimaro didn’t mind the scrutiny, though. He knew it was really just an excuse for Sasuke to check him out without feeling self-conscious for doing so. Despite his air of superiority, Sasuke had the tendency to suddenly be overwhelmed by insecurity, and projecting ridicule onto another subject was often his automatic defense mechanism. The white haired boy silently allowed the appraisal, and Sasuke continued unperturbed.

“Besides, attention to detail is an inherent Uchiha trait. They would never think twice about it.”

Kimimaro smirked, “I could never imagine Itachi primping as much as you do.”

The scowl was back on Sasuke’s face, darker than before. “Yeah, well, Itachi is the Golden Child. He can do no wrong.” With this, the raven teen stalked to the gym doors and opened one. “And I don’t primp,” he added as he walked out and let the door slam behind him.

Kimimaro sighed, rolling his eyes covertly as he donned his warm-up jacket and followed his boyfriend out of the gym towards the student parking lot at the back of the campus. He should have known better than to bring up the subject of Itachi. It almost never ended well.

He made it to the lot and navigated to his SUV—a red 2000 Jeep Wrangler he bought over last summer break. It was well-used, with high mileage and obvious signs of off-roading, but it was reliable and served its purpose, so Kimimaro couldn’t complain.

Sasuke was waiting for him there, along with Jiroubou, the twins Sakon and Ukon, and Jiroubou’s younger cousin, Tayuya. Jiroubou was sitting on a curb, watching the twins skating circles around each other and through the spaces between cars as they waited for the owner of the Jeep, idly performing the occasional ollie or curb grind with their boards—nothing major, just something to pass the time. The red haired girl was currently leaned up against Kimimaro’s passenger side door, arms crossed under her small breasts, glaring at Sasuke as she barred him entrance to the Jeep.

“Oi, where you think you’re goin’, Chibisuke?” Tayuya taunted.

“With Kimimaro,” Sasuke answered blandly, ignoring the urge to retort the mocking name. It was obvious to everyone that, even if Sasuke was younger, he was the bigger one of the two; he was not going to take her bait and point it out needlessly.

Kimimaro could already see the scathing reply forming on the girl’s lips, and was definitely not in the mood.

“Oi, Tayuya, move your ass. You knew he was coming with us. Now let’s get going, you’re wasting my time.”

Scowling at being chastised, she stomped her foot, popping her board up and catching it by the truck. The action drew Sasuke’s attention to her feet momentarily. Noticing her Battleship DC Mantecas, he commented.

“Those shoes are against school policy.”

Directing her scowl back at Sasuke, Tayuya raised a challenging brow as she replied, “Why? They match the uniform perfectly.”

She motioned with her hand, indicating said uniform. Indeed, the skate shoes matched quite well: the grey suede of the whole shoe was just a shade lighter than the dark grey of her skirt and the lapel of her shirt; the red leather accents on the tongue and sides matched the red of her collar bow; and the black, grey, and white hound’s-tooth check design on the toe and sides incorporated it all together with a bit of a fun pattern. Fat, red laces and her short, white sport socks completed the look.

“The red’s a bit off on the laces,” he pointed out. “Besides, students’ shoes are to be either a solid white or black.”

Shrugging, she replied, “Like I care. You’re the only one that’s ever complained. Too bad for you, Mr. Pretty Boy Junior Student Council Prez. Your authority’s no good here.” She pointed to her sailor lapel, indicating her Senior High and Grade One insignia pins. She stuck her chin out at him, eyes blazing in challenge of the younger boy.

“Knock it off, Tayuya, just get in the car,” Jiroubou cut in, the larger boy peeved at being made to wait for the sake of his cousin’s grudge argument.

Tayuya grunted and muttered obscenities under her breath as she climbed into the back behind the front passenger seat. She frowned at the seating arrangement. The Wrangler was only a 4-seater, so she, Sakon, and Ukon always had to share the bench seat in the back, allowing the larger, taller Jiroubou to take the front seat. Of course, it wasn’t too bad. As Kimimaro liked to say, the twins barely equaled one person put together. Tayuya was even smaller than them, so it was an okay fit, even with their boards and schoolbags as cargo. But when Kimimaro’s little tag-along came with them, he was supposed to squeeze back there as well.

So caught up in cursing the situation was she that she didn’t notice the matching mischievous smirks on the twins’ faces, and squawked indignantly as she was suddenly pulled into their laps.

“Sakon, Ukon, what the fuck?!”

“Gotta make room for the kid, ne?” they replied in creepy stereo, holding tightly onto the struggling girl. Realizing it was useless, since this was always the situation, she gave up with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest defensively and defiantly. Skateboards and school bags were piled in and pushed under their feet to leave enough seat for the raven haired boy.

“Sorry, Sasuke,” Kimimaro said with a small, apologetic smile, seeing the boy’s usual distaste at being stuffed in the back, with Tayuya no less. The two seemed to have some kind of personal feud between them. “You know Jiroubou won’t fit back there.”

He refrained from making any remarks about Sasuke being small enough to fit, seeing as he’d already pushed his luck today with talking about Itachi and he really would like to get some more action before the day was over. As soon as he thought that, he regretted it, for if you speak (or think) of the devil, he will surely make his presence known.

Just as Sasuke threw his bag on the seat and stepped up to climb in, a very familiar, very much unwanted voice called out to him.

“Sasuke-chan.”

Growling at the nickname, he turned towards the voice coming from behind him.

“Don’t call me that, Itachi!”

His older brother merely smirked in reply. “Sorry, chibi, no juvenile delinquency in Oto for you tonight,” Itachi said as he grabbed Sasuke’s bag from the backseat. “Did you forget? Mother and father came back from their trip today. We’re expected to be home promptly.”

“Shit,” Sasuke cursed under his breath. He had forgotten.

“Aw, does the poor, wittle baby hafta go home to his mommy and daddy?” Tayuya simpered from the backseat, moving off the twins’ laps to sit in her own seat once again.

“Shut it, Tayuya,” Kimimaro ordered before Sasuke could.

Sasuke frowned at his boyfriend. He could defend himself! Before he could try again, though, Itachi’s hand clamped down on his shoulder, steering him away.

“Come along, Sasuke,” the older Uchiha said, letting go of his younger brother to walk ahead of him, still carrying his backpack.

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder regretfully at Kimimaro.

“Go on, Sasuke, I’ll see you tomorrow,” the older boy said, waving him after his brother.

Sasuke’s frown deepened and he followed Itachi.

They got into Itachi’s shiny, black 2007 Cadillac Escalade and closed the doors just a hair’s breadth off from being in sync.

“Buckle up,” Itachi ordered, already having done the same, turning his key in the ignition.

Sasuke obeyed, then leaned his elbow on the door, his head cradled in his palm, staring out the window as they drove through the streets of Konoha, heading for their house on the upper north side.

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*

An hour after stepping into Dr. Yakushi’s office, Haku walked out to the waiting room expecting to wait a few minutes for Naruto to be done. Instead, he was relayed a message by Kin, telling him Naruto had left the office over twenty minutes ago and would be waiting for him.

Wondering what had happened, Haku thanked her for the message and left the waiting room. He found the blonde slumped against the wall by the elevator, glaring holes into the stained and well-worn carpet.

Naruto had already changed back into his own uniform, unable to bear wearing the skirt any longer. He’d also taken the bobby pins from his hair, gotten it wet, and styled it back into messy spikes with the gel he carried in the same outside pocket of his backpack. He’d done all this in the women’s bathroom at the other end of the deserted hallway, having a particular need for use of the facilities, and not wanting to chance getting caught red-handed—almost literally—throwing away his bloody female things in the men’s room. Especially considering the fact that men’s stalls did not have those handy little bins affixed to the wall beside the toilet paper for just such a purpose.

As soon as he heard Haku approaching, Naruto leapt to his feet, bag already in place on his shoulders, more than ready to get out of there. Haku wanted to change, too, but he could easily see Naruto was upset about something from his session, and Haku didn’t want to make him wait around here for any longer than necessary.

Looking at the distressed boy, still scowling at the floor, Haku linked their arms together and smiled affectionately at the younger boy when he looked up at him. “Come on, then, otouto, let’s get out of here.” He pushed the down arrow for the elevator.

Naruto’s gratitude was obvious, and the scowl left his face even if his demeanor was still somewhat tense.

The elevator arrived shortly, and they stepped in, glad to once again be the only ones inside it. Naruto attempted to help Haku put his preferred clothes back on as well on the ride down, but the most Haku could manage was exchanging his pants for his skirt before the elevator reached the ground level and opened to allow their exit. Naruto offered to wait for Haku to finish changing in the bathroom, but Haku said it was okay. Once he removed the jacket, loosened the tie a bit, and undid the top two buttons on the shirt, it was rather comfortable actually. He didn’t mind the look of it, either, even if it was a bit chilly in the early March evening. Maybe he would keep the jacket on.

They had a few minutes until their bus arrived so, as per usual, Naruto suggested they get ramen at his favorite noodle stand, Ichiraku’s. He hadn’t eaten much for lunch due to the sudden arrival of his period, and he was craving sodium due to his current condition. Plus, recent events had left him emotionally drained and, once the thought of food entered his mind, the calm that had come over him from Haku’s friendly care seemed to disappear, leaving him aware of a large hole that needed comfort in the form of food. Not that Uzumaki Naruto ever needed a reason to scarf down five or six steaming bowls of ramen… but upwards of ten or twelve was another matter.

So after finishing his one and only bowl, not wanting to spoil his dinner later, Haku propped his head in his hands and stared across the booth table, watching his blonde friend scarf bowl after bowl of miso ramen. He was used to watching the devastating effects of a chopstick-wielding Naruto with a bowl of ramen in front of him in action. They’d been friends since they were little, and Naruto had been ramen obsessed for as long as Haku had known him. However, Haku had never seen him eat quite this much in one sitting.

When Naruto had utterly demolished eight bowls already and was still calling for more, Haku’s eyes widened and he openly gaped at Naruto, who was too busy stuffing noodles into his face and gulping down broth to notice anyway. By the time Naruto’s twelfth bowl arrived, Haku was thoroughly concerned. This was far beyond Naruto’s normal ramen indulgence which, in Haku’s opinion, was saying something. Haku was no stranger to the notion of comfort food and, though he’d never seen Naruto go this far before, he easily recognized this as such, especially since he already knew Naruto had been upset by something in his therapy session today.

So, as Naruto finished his twelfth bowl and went to raise his hand and call out for more, Haku grabbed his hands and brought them both down to the tabletop.

“Naruto, enough! Would you just talk to me about what has you so upset, rather than giving yourself an actual stomachache?! What happened back there, with Suzume-sensei?”

Naruto gulped, feeling guilty as he looked from Haku, to the two stacks of empty ramen bowls, and back. He really hadn’t realized he’d already been through so many. He hadn’t felt full at all. In fact, it seemed the more he tried to fill this hole inside him with the ramen, the bigger the hole grew and he had to eat more and eat it faster in order to fill it before it grew again. Now that Haku had stopped him, reminding Naruto of his presence, the blonde finally felt how full he was. Nearly to bursting, actually, and he suddenly felt sick. He tried to keep the grimace from his face as he felt a pang through his stomach, both of pain and of guilt.

How could he have let himself eat that much? He was already feeling bloated and heavy from his stupid period, and now he just made matters worse by eating all these starchy, sodium-filled calories! Now he was really going to be retaining water! Oh, kami, his belly would be so obvious. He’d look all pot-bellied and girly and… oh, gods, he wouldn’t be able to change in gym for ages, even with his usual undershirt on. They’d know. He had to get rid of it… now!

He tugged at his hands, still under Haku’s grasp, and his brunette friend let him go without a fight. However, when he started to get up, Haku wasn’t about to let him go so easily. The long haired boy stood as well and grabbed his arm.

“What are you doing, Naruto?” he asked, and Naruto thought he heard a tinge of suspicion in there.

It made him angry.

“I’m going to the bathroom, if you don’t mind,” he said snidely.

When Haku’s eyes narrowed, though, he panicked. Of course, Haku knew his history; he was Naruto’s best friend, how could he not? Even if he hadn’t been around during the time that was happening, he’d still found out about it afterwards. This wasn’t that, though; this was just a one time thing because Naruto had been careless and let that bitch affect him so badly, and now he had to fix his mistake before it gave away his most-guarded secret—his biological gender—to all of Konoha. And he didn’t want Haku thinking it was that and suddenly being suspicious of him all the time. Luckily, he quickly realized he had a good excuse to need to run to the bathroom—a completely suspicion-free excuse!

“I have my period, Haku, remember?” Naruto hissed so that only his friend heard in the small restaurant. Haku didn’t know that Naruto had already taken care of this when he changed, so hopefully this excuse would work. “Would you let me go so I can sneak into the ladies’ room without anyone seeing me, and change this thing before I get blood all over the place?!”

Haku’s eyes widened and he immediately let Naruto go. Naruto snatched his bag from the booth seat and ran down a little hallway where the restrooms were, not stopping until he was locked in the single toilet and sink room that served as the women’s bathroom. Allowing himself to breathe again, Naruto let relief wash through him for a moment. Then, calmly, almost as if set to ‘auto mode’, Naruto hung his backpack and jacket from a hook on the door, unbuttoned a few more of his shirt buttons (the top two were already undone), and kneeled in front of the toilet.

He’d never fully gotten used to purging. It was hard to trigger his gag reflex and, often, he had to imagine gross things in sharp detail before anything would happen; especially when he’d first started. Of course, with time and practice it did get easier, and usually imagining the lurch in his stomach as he gagged, the way food felt and tasted coming back up, burning his throat, the sound of it splashing into the toilet as he continued to heave, and how it smelled and looked afterwards, was enough to make it really happen. Sometimes not even that would work, though, and Naruto now found himself hoping he would find something quickly so he could hurry back to Haku without raising his suspicion again.

Dammit, why did it have to be Ichiraku’s where he did this? They kept the bathroom so clean, he couldn’t even fill his lungs with the foul stench to encourage his stomach’s reaction. The fact that he’d been out of practice for several months now probably wasn’t helping either.

Naruto was glad for his vivid imagination as, with thoughts of what he wanted to happen reeling through his head, he forced his body to recall the foulest bathrooms he’d ever been in. As soon as he did this, his nose lent its own memory to the effort as his finger simultaneously found just the right spot down the very back of his tongue, making his throat and stomach spasm. Feeling immense relief start to bubble in him, Naruto suppressed the feeling for the moment and continued to press until food actually came up, not wanting to pull back too early and waste his efforts by having the spasm cease.

Finally, the noodles were shooting up his throat, sliding out his mouth, and splashing into the toilet. He tried to get through the gagging and heaving as quietly as possible, turning his face red and making tears stream down his face from the effort. After a few more times, nothing came back up, and his stomach gave a couple more dry heaves, slowing down to half-hearted quivering spasms, then finally stopping altogether. He felt exhausted, all his muscles sore. But he also felt a strange, happy relief at what he’d accomplished.

Flushing the toilet, he stood on slightly shaky legs and pulled a paper towel from the dispenser to wipe his mouth. Then he washed his hands before rinsing his mouth thoroughly and splashing his face to cool down and clear off the tears. He badly wished it had not been ramen. He could feel some noodles that hadn’t made it out right, caught somewhere between his throat and his nose. Unable to hack it out, Naruto resigned himself to snorting it up and blowing his nose to get rid of it.

An idle thought came to him, that he was glad throwing it back up before it was properly digested meant it didn’t taste that much different. Since it hadn’t tasted gross, he would still be able to eat ramen again. He didn’t have time to dwell on this thought, however, as he suddenly became aware of the warm wetness he felt between his legs. He was immediately reminded of his period, and worried that the force and strain of his earlier heaves had forced more blood out as well. It had only been about half an hour—forty-five minutes tops—since he’d done his womanly business, he couldn’t have soaked the pad already, could he? He wasn’t used to having his period, so he wasn’t sure. Not wanting to take chances, Naruto decided to replace it anyway. If he could feel it, it wasn’t good; even if it didn’t mean the pad was full yet, he just didn’t like feeling it.

Once that was taken care of, and he’d washed his hands again, he chanced a look in the mirror. In the time it had taken, the redness in his face had calmed and he now looked a bit flushed out and pale. He took a few deep breaths to gain back some normal color. There was just the slightest bitter acid taste in his mouth under the ramen taste, and he briefly thought of the pack of gum in his backpack, but then discarded the thought. If Haku saw him chewing gum, if he smelled the mint on his breath, he would be suspicious again. He might already be suspicious due to how long Naruto had been in the bathroom already, but he could explain that away with the same excuse he’d used to come in here in the first place. Haku wasn’t a girl, he wouldn’t know any better, would he?

Nodding to himself, Naruto fixed his shirt and put his jacket back on. He grabbed his backpack and peeked out the door before stepping out, returning to the table.

Ayame, the shop owner’s daughter, was there chatting to Haku while she cleared the table and refilled their tea when Naruto walked up.

“Thank you, nee-chan!” He exclaimed happily as he sat down, drinking his tea, glad to have something to cover his breath with even if it hurt his stomach to drink something so hot already.

She smiled broadly at him, “Naruto-kun, you’re our best customer, you can call me Ayame if you like.”

He blinked up at her, surprised at the offer, blushing from being called their best customer.

“Thank you, Ayame-chan!” He grinned at her.

She nodded, still smiling at him and filling his tea again, since he’d already emptied it. “Did you two need anything else?”

They both shook their heads no.

“Okay, well just call me if you change your minds!” With that, she returned to her spot behind the counter.

Naruto smiled after her. “Ayame-chan sure is nice.”

Haku looked at him scrutinizingly. He knew Naruto had been in the bathroom for awhile, but he couldn’t be sure how long, as he’d lost track of time while Ayame cleared their table and chatted to him. He also wasn’t sure how much time should be allotted for what Naruto claimed to be going to do. He was worried, but he really wanted to trust his friend so he decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. It would do no good to try to question the blonde here, anyway, and would only cause a scene.

Still, he couldn’t help but examine the blonde a little bit longer, wondering to himself as he noticed Naruto’s slightly glazed look and the flush in his cheeks. He didn’t want to be suspicious of his best friend, though, so he tried to think of it from a different perspective and find another reason for his appearance. Haku realized Naruto was still staring dazedly after Ayame, and he exclaimed, “It’s Ayame-san, isn’t it?!”

Naruto’s eyes widened at the sudden exclamation. “What is?” He asked his long haired friend, one eyebrow lifting in question as he took another drink of tea.

“The person you have a crush on! It’s Ayame-san!”

Naruto almost choked, having a small coughing fit before he could splutter, “What?! I have a crush on Ayame-chan? What gave you that idea, Haku?!” He’d been expecting a different kind of accusation, with how closely he’d felt Haku watching him since he came back to the table, which is why he hadn’t yet met his friend’s eyes before the question was asked. Now he looked fully at Haku, completely caught off guard with this one—where had it come from?! Not that he wanted him to ask the questions he’d been expecting, but still… talk about coming out of left field!

“Oh, come on, Naruto! You go completely moony over her every time we’re here—”

“She gives me ramen, of course I go “moony” for ramen!” Naruto interjected.

“You’re always so smiley when she’s around—”

“Again, I would like to point out the ramen factor,” Naruto again interrupted, lifting his index finger. “And what’s wrong with smiling? You want me to scowl instead? I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Haku. It might anger the Ramen Gods, scowling at the Ramen Maiden.” Naruto closed his eyes and shook his head from side to side sagely.

Haku chuckled, “The Ramen Gods? The Ramen Maiden?”

Naruto nodded sharply, leaving no room for argument.

Being used to Naruto’s ramen quirks, Haku felt no need to argue anyway. He merely chuckled more as he continued, “Well, if she’s the Ramen Maiden, then there’s no shame in you having a crush on her. Is there, Oh Sir Ramen?”

Naruto stuck his tongue out at him playfully.

“Okay, look, I’ll admit she’s cute. Plus she’s nice to me, and of course the ramen factor,” Naruto acquiesced. “But she’s not who I have a crush on. I just like her as a friend and my favorite female ramen provider!”

“So you admit you do have a crush on someone,” Haku said slyly.

Naruto sputtered, “That’s not what I meant! I mean… I didn’t say that! No, I don’t have a crush on anyone! Shut up, Haku!” Naruto finished half-heartedly as his friend started laughing, flustered from being caught, but still refusing to admit it. Damn it, he should have just said ‘I don’t have a crush on her,’ and left it at that!

Haku laughed more at his blonde friend. Once he quieted back down, he leaned in conspiratorially. “So, who do you have a crush on?”

“No one,” Naruto muttered, pouting.

Haku sighed, sitting back and raising his hands in defeat, “Okay, okay, fine, keep your little secret. Silly me, to think you would ever tell your best friend and ‘big brother’ who you like.” He dug in his school bag for some money and stood to pay.

Now Naruto felt really guilty. He’d already hidden one thing from Haku today, and now this. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Haku to know, it was just that… he wished he didn’t have a crush at all. The last crush he had… hadn’t worked out too well. In fact, the outcome had been beyond awful. It was just a small part in a large chain of events that led to his “breakdown” and subsequent commitment to Mist County. Of course, Haku had been there for him through the whole crush rejection ordeal, and surely would again if need be. But now… well, Naruto could only foresee even worse possible outcomes for his current crush.

Why did he always seem to make it so hard for himself? As if it wasn’t hard enough contemplating a love life when you were a boy in a girl’s body, he always seemed to develop feelings for people he had absolutely no chance with. This time he liked a straight boy, one who knew Naruto as a boy also. Sure, he might have a chance if he did what the shrink said and became “the woman he’s meant to be”, but Naruto knew that wasn’t who he really was.

Besides, Naruto really just didn’t understand why he liked the guy in the first place. The guy was cold, arrogant, stubborn, popular, always beat Naruto in everything from academics to P.E., always calling Naruto “dobe” and looking down on him. Naruto couldn’t understand what he saw in the guy, and it drove him nuts that, despite all the plainly obvious reasons to hate the bastard, every time he saw him or spoke to him his stomach seemed to do this crazy little flip. It made him feel sick, but in a weird, good sort of way. What was wrong with him? What was he missing? There must be something, because Naruto refused to believe he could be as shallow as all those girls in the bastard’s fan club!

And now Haku wanted to know, but Naruto didn’t think he could stand the blow to his pride to admit, out loud, that he had a crush on that stupid bastard, Uchiha Sasuke. Not even to his best friend and pseudo-brother.

And now Haku was waving his hand in front of Naruto’s face. Naruto shook his thoughts from his head and blinked his vision back into focus.

“You okay, Naruto?” Haku asked, concerned.

“I’m fine.”

Haku frowned, “You zoned out for awhile there, are you sure?”

Naruto shook his head, “It’s nothing, I’m just tired.”

Haku still looked unsure, but he let it go. “Okay. Well, we better hurry if we’re going to catch the bus.”

Glancing outside, Naruto saw that the sun was indeed starting to set. A glance at his watch told him it was 5:34. Damn, they’d been here almost half an hour and had missed their first bus already!

Quickly, they gathered their things and hollered their thanks to Ayame and Teuchi-san before leaving the small, indoor noodle stand and running for the bus stop. A bus ran the route every twenty minutes, so they should just be able to catch the 5:35.

They made it to the stop just as the driver was closing the doors to pull away, and scrambled on, flashing their student bus passes and collapsing onto seats at the back. Surprisingly, the bus was practically empty and there were plenty of seats available. Naruto let out a yawn and leaned against Haku, closing his eyes.

“Comfortable?” The brunette asked with a quirked brow.

“Very,” Naruto answered, making a show of snuggling his head against Haku’s shoulder.

Haku’s lips quirked into a half-smirk, “Didn’t you sleep in the nurse’s office most of the day?”

Naruto cocked one eye open, looking up at the other boy. “I was resting. I didn’t actually fall asleep until last period.”

“Hmm, okay,” Haku teased amusedly. “By the way, if you plan to do that again, can you warn me first?”

“Like I planned my period showing up to ruin my day,” Naruto grumbled.

“Well, at least let me know the next time,” Haku continued. “I got to your locker room today and found no Naruto waiting for me, and had no idea where you were or what happened. If it weren’t for Uchiha, who knows how long it would have taken me to find you.”

At the mention of that name, Naruto sat up again, fully attentive.

“Sasuke told you where I was?!”

The sudden high pitch of Naruto’s voice as he asked this made Haku’s eyebrows shoot up.

“Yes,” Haku answered slowly, watching Naruto.

“How did he know? I didn’t tell him!”

“I’m sure you didn’t,” Haku agreed. “He said someone in your class told him.” He shrugged, not knowing any more than that.

Naruto bit his lower lip slightly, thinking about this. Someone had told Sasuke that Naruto went to the nurse? Why? Had Sasuke asked where he was? Why would the teme care?

Hearing him muttering under his breath, Haku answered, “It sounded more like he just overheard someone say it, I don’t think he actually asked, though he did say he didn’t notice you in class after lunch.”

“Oh, that makes more sense, I guess,” Naruto said quietly to himself.

Haku was growing curious over Naruto’s reaction and interest in Sasuke’s involvement in finding him. He knew Naruto saw Sasuke as his rival in most school-related things, and from the comment Sasuke had made earlier about why Naruto wasn’t in gym, Haku guessed Sasuke felt similarly. He wasn’t so sure it was normal in a rivalry to obsess over how and why Sasuke knew Naruto was in the nurse’s office, though. This was interesting…

He decided the test the waters a bit.

“Oh yeah,” he said casually. “You’ll never guess what happened. When Sasuke told me where you were, it was right after I’d caught him making out with someone in the showers. I heard the shower from the lockers and thought it might be you, so I tried to sneak up on you, and ended up catching the Chibi-Uchiha wet and naked except for a towel around his waist!” Haku watched with an almost sadistic satisfaction as Naruto’s blue eyes grew darker and glazed, the blonde’s mouth dropping open slightly, drool collecting in his mouth and threatening to drip out as he pictured what Haku was describing. The chocolate-eyed boy continued, “He was pressed against the wall, with his hand down someone’s pants and their tongue in his mouth.”

Naruto’s eyes widened and a bit of drool escaped before he clamped his mouth shut, eyes narrowing and mouth scowling for a second before trying to look indifferent. Haku had to suppress the urge to cover his mouth as he held back a laugh.

“And who, might I asked was the lucky girl?” Naruto said coolly, though Haku could hear the hostility in the undertone. Or was that jealousy? Very interesting…

“No, wait, don’t tell me, it was Ino, wasn’t it? Wait, no, I don’t wanna know… Stupid bastard with his stupid fan club…” Naruto argued mutteringly with himself a bit more before Haku cut him off.

With a smirk, the brunette shook his head and clued his friend in, “It wasn’t a girl.”

Haku’s grin grew devilish as Naruto’s jaw dropped, his eyes widening to saucers.

“What?! That’s impossible!” The blonde exclaimed, voice going up an octave and increasing in volume in his shock. In the empty bus it sounded even louder, earning them a few glares from the driver and the few business men and women in the seats, reading papers and talking on mobile phones.

Haku smiled amiably at them, appearing politely apologetic while not really caring, before turning back to Naruto. “I assure you, it is. Are you calling your best friend a liar, Naruto?”

“But—but… but Sasuke’s straight!”

Haku lifted a brow at this statement. “Oh, really? He might want to tell that to Kaguya-senpai more plainly then, because I don’t think the message came through clearly while Uchiha was jacking him off.”

Naruto made a sort of squawk noise at this, then chewed his lip again as he stared at his lap in thought. Sasuke’s gay? Then…

“So, you might have a chance with him now… ne?” Haku offered, reading his mind as best friends are wont to do.

Naruto looked at him out of the corner of his eye. He knew his crush had been found out; he supposed it was inevitable with Haku. But still…

“Like I give a damn about that teme.”

It didn’t matter. Naruto knew, whether Sasuke was gay or straight, it made absolutely no difference to the fact that Naruto had no chances. None. He’d already learned that the hard way. Why would he put himself through that again, especially for a measly shot at the Arrogant Bastard, the Ice Prince Himself, Mr. I’m-Too-Good-For-Friends-My-Own-Age Uchiha? He couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

It wouldn’t matter anyway.

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*

Across town, in a large house in a gated community, Sasuke was eating dinner with his family when, suddenly, he sneezed. Violently.

“Sasuke, dear, are you getting a cold?” His mother asked, voice and face full of concern.

“No,” he answered, frowning at his plate. He felt fine, not even a sniffle.

“Someone must be talking about our Sasuke-chan,” Itachi teased from his seat across from his little brother.

“Don’t call me that,” Sasuke said automatically, almost absently, as his frown deepened. That couldn’t be it, could it? He was used to being talked about—especially by his fangirls, who seemed to do so incessantly and at all hours of the day and night—and it seemed his body had become immune to the talk-equals-sneeze factor years ago, in elementary school. What if it was someone new though…? Who it could be, he wasn’t sure, but if it was enough to actually affect him with a sneeze, it must be something he should be concerned about, more than just the usual fangirl chatter.

He was now glaring outright at his bowl of rice, feeling that he was forgetting something important and unable to figure out what it was.

His father’s voice soon cut into his thoughts, though, and Sasuke mentally shook his head clear, giving Uchiha Fugaku his full attention.

“And you, Sasuke? What did you do this week?”

Ah, so they had finished with Itachi already, then.

It was the routine, during any family dinner, for his father to first question and praise Itachi, then question and compare Sasuke. The question was always worded this way, ‘what did you do?’, but Sasuke knew what it really meant. What did you accomplish, Sasuke? How does it compare to what Itachi did on the same day at the same age? How does it compare to what Itachi did today? What bearing might it have on your future, and will that future at all compare to Itachi’s?

Therefore, Sasuke always tried to put as much consideration into answering the question as possible, hoping this might finally be the day he earns his father’s respect; his father’s praise. However, he’d let himself become a bit preoccupied today and had forgotten to prepare his answer.

So now, as he was faced with The Question, Sasuke mentally reviewed his day for what he had done, and what was relevant to The Question.

It was as he did this that he realized what he’d forgotten, and his blood ran cold at the thought.

TBC

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*
A/N: Yes, Naruto’s girl name is “Narumi”. *gaspshock* An actual, honest to goodness, real name, from http://www.babynamesworld.com/ ! (Nothin’ against “Naruko”, but… err… well, maybe a little against it. Especially in this case, a *real* name was definitely called for.) Also, in case anyone forgot, or never knew to begin with, Suzume-sensei is that chick that taught the kunoichi class at the academy. Remember the flower arranging with Ino and Sakura?

I wonder if anyone can guess who Naruto and Haku’s guardians are? I’ve given a couple clues, I wonder if you caught them? (ren and Ras, you already know, so no spoilers :p) Also, I wonder if anybody actually did skip the KimiSasu scene at the beginning…?

Chapter 3 is started and will be up as soon as I finish it and get it beta’d. So here’s hoping my kids give me enough free time to post promptly! Please leave me a review, and don’t forget to rate!

Until next time, I leave you with this:

When debating what basketball shoes to put Kimi in, Jpop (my hubby) said the shoes I'd chosen “look best IMO" (yes, he said the individual letters). I said "not IMHO?" and he asked what that meant... after I told him, “in my humble opinion,” he said he thought it was "in my heterosexual opinion" (because I was asking his opinion for something concerning a gay guy?) *lmao* ALSO: he said he liked my first choice best, because the other ones I debated looked more basketbally and he "can't imagine a gay guy wearing basketball-looking shoes" (because most of them are ugly, IOHO), to which I said "but he PLAYS basketball" to which he said "yeah, but he's still GAY" >.> touché, Jpop…

♥

~ lg