Embracing Dreams

Warnings: dialogue, humor, more dialogue...

Part 33

Kyuubi was sitting on the front step when the sun came up. Over the last few days he'd developed a habit of getting up the moment Naruto fell asleep and then dozing when he woke up. So far he hadn't strayed from the house. He'd been content to watch Sasuke sleep, finding it endlessly interesting. He slept with his back facing the wall, so Kyuubi could see when his eyes moved under the lids. He dreamed every single night, sometimes all night long. More than once Kyuubi had been tempted to wake him up and see what color his eyes were.

This morning he was distracted, restless enough to prowl but unwilling to leave the house. He couldn't accept how many mutants were in town. He'd been sure he'd know if one came anywhere near him. But last night he'd heard the swordsman, he hadn't sensed him. He hadn't even heard him until he was right there. In the bubble, he'd let those two mutants get within touching distance. If they hadn't spoken he still wouldn't have noticed them. When he'd left Sasuke's room last night, he'd had to intentionally focus on the house as a whole before he realized where Kakashi was. Even if that dog hadn't been with him and Iruka, Kyuubi would still have been more concerned with his own inattention. His instinct was to blame Sasuke for being such a huge distraction. But that wasn't a good enough explanation and he knew it.

Now he sat on the front step, watching the few cars pass by. Early commuters on their way to Sisco. The old man down the street had come out a little while ago, setting his porch up for his daily sidewalk watching. Despite his age, he noticed Kyuubi immediately and nodded at him. Kyuubi nodded back because Naruto would have. Aside from him and the cars, there were no distractions out here. And still he felt nothing from the strange mutants in town. He and Naruto had met four already, Sasuke two more at the black-windowed house. He should have been able to pinpoint them. Rather, he'd assumed he would be able to.

He'd never had that assumption tested before. Either he'd overestimated his own inherent abilities or what he'd told Naruto was truer than he'd thought and he really was more restricted in physical form. He couldn't look behind him without turning his head. He couldn't focus and monitor the surroundings without letting his eyes blur or closing them altogether. Even his hearing was affected. As loudly as the swordsman's coat had flapped, he should have heard him long before he came into sight. Furiously frustrating. He couldn't depend on Naruto to monitor their surroundings when he took control because he couldn't teach Naruto to do what he did instinctively when Naruto was in control.

The door opened behind him. Kyuubi tensed. Again! He knew who it was now that he was focusing, but he hadn't sensed anyone moving around in the house. How did Naruto stand constantly being this vulnerable?

"Naruto-kun?"

"No," Kyuubi snapped. Facing the possibility that even his offensive talents were diminished when he was in control, he was in no mood to be nice. Despite the red eyed glare he snapped her, she sat down beside him. Naruto was to blame for this with his 'don't pay any attention' rant. Did Naruto want him chewing up his new friends?

"I'm sorry, Kyuubi-san," Sakura corrected herself.

That was another thing. By implying that he was only around when their eyes were red, Naruto had hid the fact that he'd been privy to every word they'd spoken. This was the second time he'd rated a 'san' from these brats. As if he were a complete stranger. Not that he cared. "What do you want?"

"I just saw you out here and thought I'd join you."

Join Naruto, she meant. He turned his full attention on her. With some bangs and plenty of exercise to tone up those legs she'd definitely be fuckable. Perky breasts, pretty eyes, a nice fresh scent. She wasn't bad. He just wasn't the slightest bit interested.

"The boys were talking," Sakura said quietly. "I just wanted you to know that if you ever need someone to talk to..." She turned a concerned look on him. "I'd like to help."

"Help," Kyuubi repeated. "With what?"

"Sasuke-kun."

He had her on her back instantly, not giving her a chance to so much as gasp. She stared, frozen, shocked, so thin-skinned. He growled low in his throat. "He's mine. Keep your 'help'. Even if he wanted, I'd never allow it. You're not my type. I prefer females who know how to use their bodies."

She slapped him. He was so surprised he reared back, giving her a chance to scramble free. Then she slapped him again. It was all he could do not to hit her back.

"Don't you ever talk to me like that again! Who do you think you are?! You're nothing like Naruto-kun at all, are you!"

"I said I wasn't," Kyuubi snapped. "You're the one who came on to me, anyway, with your offer to 'help.'"

"I was not coming on to you! I was showing concern! For Naruto-kun! It's no wonder he's in an abusive relationship, with someone like you in his head. And I thought sharing a body with Ino was bad." With a disgusted huff, she turned on her heel and stomped back into the house.

Kyuubi stared at the closed door. The sound of snorting laughter drifted down the street. He shot a glare at the old man, grumbling under his breath. On second thought, he supposed he was slightly interested in the harpy. She did have a mouth on her. He wouldn't mind putting it to better use.

.-.

Kakashi turned the alarm clock off at the first quiet peal. Too late. Iruka groaned, shifting and then stretching out of the curl he'd been in all night. He sat up groggily, with a vacant expression that would put an actual zombie to shame. Then he turned his head, staring at the alarm clock. He remained that way for two full minutes.

"I turned it off," said Kakashi.

"Oh."

After a while, he started moving toward the edge of the bed. Kakashi caught him easily, snuggling into his back, chin dropping to his shoulder. "Where are you going?" He was surprised Iruka had even bother setting the alarm. Who got up at seven-thirty on a Saturday, anyway?

"I'm awake."

"I noticed," Kakashi murmured. His tone was casual. Frankly, he was appalled and amused. Could anyone be more out of it?

Iruka turned his head, staring right into his open eye. "Kakashi?"

The answer was clearly yes. His eyebrow twitched. "Who did you think was in your bed?"

"You're in my bed...?"

"No," Kakashi drawled. "I'm just a figment of your imagination. In fact, this isn't even your bed. It's a porno set. You'd better start taking your clothes off before the direct gets impatient with you."

The teasing went right over Iruka's head. He continued to stare. They were so close he could see the uneven way Kakashi's scarred eyelids met, a small gap in the lashes. His wild hair was messier than ever. Had he been standing on his head? There was some red in his open eye, indicating a poor night's sleep. Why was Kakashi in his bed? He repeated that thought out loud.

"You invited me."

Yes, Iruka recalled doing that. But... "I didn't think you'd stay all night..."

That settled it. This had been an evil scheme to drive him insane. Kakashi tightened his arms and glowered as well as he could with only one eye open. "What, did you expect me to throw a fit and storm off when you fell asleep on me?"

"Yes."

At least he was honest about it. And his expression was more confused than smug. Smug would undoubtedly come later. What Iruka didn't realize was that as far as he was concerned he now had a standing invitation. In fact, there was nothing to stop him from picking up where he'd left off right now.

"Are you guys getting up or what?" Pakkun grumbled from the foot of the bed.

Except that...

Iruka pulled, trying to spot the dog. The voice had emanated from a conspicuous lump of blanket. "Pakkun? Stay for breakfast."

A dark nose peeked out. "You gonna shake me again?"

"No. I'm going to give you a flea bath and check for ticks."

Pakkun's entire head emerged at that, eyes narrow, ears perked. "Promise?"

"What?" Kakashi glowered. "You actually want a bath?"

"You kidding? Another week and ticks will be after me like flies on fresh road kill." He shrugged free of the blanket and nodded sharply at Iruka. "Got it. I'll stick around. Wasn't planning to take off right away, anyway."

Kakashi tightened his arms again, ignoring Iruka's attempt to shift off the bed. "I see what you're doing," he told him. "You think I won't try anything with the mutt watching." The look Iruka slowly turned on him radiated innocent confusion. He didn't buy it for a second. As vague as Iruka's expression had been since waking up, he probably didn't even have to try in order to add a dash of confusion to it. Just bringing his eyebrows closer together achieved the effect. Oh, he was good. "It's not going to work."

Iruka's lips pulled into a tiny frown. "I want coffee."

Pouting. The manipulative little shit was pouting at him. What was worse, it was working. That tired forlorn expression hit him like a ton of bricks. It was all he could do not to scoop him up and rush him downstairs for coffee and anything else he might want. Scratch that, Iruka was very good.

"Give?" Pakkun drawled, staring knowingly at Kakashi.

"For now," said Kakashi. Iruka clearly didn't understand the way this worked. He'd spent the entire night in his bed, with his permission. As of this moment he was no longer restrained by any moral imperative whatsoever. Even molesting him in his sleep would only be considered kinky dream sex now. Sure, it might border disturbingly on necrophilia at first, but if Hiko had managed to wake him from a dead sleep then Kakashi could, too. With a wide smile, he placed a chaste kiss on Iruka's temple. "Let's get you some coffee, then."

.-.

Since there was no bed to roll him off of, Kyuubi woke him by leaning close and admitting, 'I molested Sasuke last night.' It had the effect of a cattle prod. Naruto flinched, skittered away, and came up fighting mad. Kyuubi gave him an unsubtle shove to the front.

Naruto almost fell over sideways when he suddenly found himself in control of his body. He'd been dreaming about bodies, seven look-alikes all arguing at the same time about how they should spar - one on one, dogpile, janken. And then suddenly one of them had turned to him with Kyuubi's eyes and teeth and said- 'You did what last night?!'

'Licked him,' said Kyuubi. 'On the bite and the scratches. They'll heal faster this way. He'd never show them to Iruka.'

Naruto scowled, feeling unnerved by the absence of those duplicates he'd been arguing with. What was he doing on the front step? Kyuubi had come out here? After he'd gotten done li- 'You licked Sasuke?!'

'First ground rule. You break it, you buy it.'

It took a few minutes for Naruto to understand what he was talking about. Kakashi's rule about injuries. 'Oh,' he frowned. 'Wait, are you saying you jumped him again and-'

Naruto was bordering on horror at the thought of a repeat of the last time they'd 'healed' Sasuke. Kyuubi cut him off. 'He let me do it.'

Now came jealousy. Naruto knew Sasuke had enjoyed fighting with Kyuubi more than he had with him. That was bad enough. If Sasuke was letting the fox molest him, too, then...

'It wasn't sexual,' Kyuubi huffed. 'Not to him, anyway. We were playing that game of yours, Truth or Dare. He wouldn't answer my question, so I gave him a dare.' Kyuubi sniffed softly. 'He didn't even understand why I wanted to do it.'

Naruto settled down a little. He was still confused. Why had Kyuubi even bothered to tell him?

'Because he must have realized what I'd done right away. He'll probably take it out on you today.'

'Thanks a lot,' Naruto grumbled.

'Naruto,' Kyuubi said abruptly. 'Do I abuse you?'

'What?!' Naruto gaped at the bizarre question. Kyuubi scowled, visibly defensive, glaring, his tails standing up in insulted tufts. Naruto could barely stop laughing long enough to form a question. 'What the hell are you talking about?'

'They think I abuse you,' Kyuubi snapped.

'Who?'

'Them. That pink harpy said I was abusive, that the 'boys' had been talking about it.'

'Sakura-chan? She talked to you? When?'

'A few minutes ago,' Kyuubi growled. His tails lashed behind him and he sneered. 'She was 'concerned' about our 'abusive relationship' and offered to 'help' by taking Sasuke away from me.'

Naruto squinted in confusion. 'Are you sure it wasn't Ino? No, nevermind, you wouldn't mind a threesome with her. But why would Sakura-chan think you were abusing me? I'm like the only person in the whole world you wouldn't abuse. Well, not including Iruka-sensei.'

'If I knew why, I wouldn't be asking you. She had the nerve to come on to me, insulted me, threatened to take what's mine, and when I warned the bitch off, she slapped me.'

He couldn't believe it. 'She slapped you? You? Sakura-chan did?'

'Twice!'

'Hold on,' Naruto mumbled. He couldn't wrap his brain around it. Yeah, he'd seen her go off on Ino, but that was just words. For her to hit someone, especially Kyuubi...he must have done something to set her off. He stumbled as he rushed inside. Though wide awake now, his coordination was still half asleep. He left Kyuubi grumbling in the back of his head, darting down the hall. He found her immediately, sitting by one of the windows in the livingroom, in quiet conversation with Lee. Their expressions when they saw him were as strange as Kyuubi's story.

"Naruto-kun?" asked Lee.

"Yeah," Naruto mumbled. They'd greeted him with cold looks. Now their faces shifted into what almost looked like pity. What the hell had happened over night? "Um, Sakura-chan, I heard you had an argument, or something, with Kyuubi?"

"Don't worry," she said quickly. "I wouldn't hold you responsible for that creep."

"Uh...thanks, I guess." He shifted, frowning at the two of them. Finally he burst, "I think there's some kind of misunderstanding or something. What made you think I was being abused?"

Ino spoke up from behind him, scaring the hell out of him. "Ignore them," she scoffed. "That stupid Dog-Boy put absurd ideas into Lee's head and Sakura, being the gullible fool she is, believed it."

Sakura jumped to her feet, her face flushed with anger. "Just because you don't want it to be true doesn't-"

"Naruto," Ino interrupted. "Is Sasuke-kun abusing you?"

Naruto's mouth dropped open. It was too early for this. He tried to come up with an intelligent response and all that came out was a stilted, "Huh?"

"Is he abusing you?" she repeated. "Sexually."

"Sasuke?" Naruto yelped. "What - but-" He turned on Sakura. "I thought you thought Kyuubi was abusing me!"

Lee put an arm around his shoulders. "No one has the right to hurt you. It's okay, Naruto-kun. We only want to help you."

"No," Naruto blurted. "Wait! Just...hold it. Where the hell did you get the idea I was being abused by anyone? I'm not- I...that's just-" He stopped, looked at them, and then sat down heavily on the floor. Sakura first, because if she'd actually slapped Kyuubi - twice - then she had to be the most worked up. "Kyuubi doesn't do anything to me. We share a body. It would be like doing it to himself." Lee next, because his concerned expression was weirding him out. "No one is hurting me. At all. If someone even tried it, I'd kick his ass into next year." As for Ino... "You thought Sasuke was sexually abusing me??"

"Of course not," Ino huffed. "As if I'd ever believe the testimony of a dog."

"Akamaru overheard you last night," Lee said suddenly. "Even if you have been conditioned to enjoy pain, that does not-"

Kyuubi was howling with laughter. Howling. He was rolling around madly, looking as utterly ridiculous as this entire situation. Naruto was sorely tempted to go back there and kick the shit out of him. He clenched his teeth, forcing himself to count to three. He couldn't have made it to five, let alone ten.

He pointed a finger at Lee. "That wasn't what it looked like. At all! He was just trying to help me control my energy so I don't waste so much of it when I heal myself." His arm cut through the air to point at Sakura. "I'm sorry for whatever Kyuubi said that made you slap him," twice, "but if you actually did threaten to steal my boyfriend, then you probably deserved it." Then Ino, who looked far too smug at being proven right. "What Sasuke and I do," especially sexually, "is none of your damn business. You can't have him. Ever." No matter how much Kyuubi fantasized about it. He shot to his feet, glaring at the three of them. "My fox, my boyfriend, my business and my house! I don't want to hear another word about it! Got it?" He stared them down until he'd gotten a nod from each. "Good."

Then he turned to his fox. 'Stop laughing. This is not funny!'

"Naruto?"

Iruka was in the doorway, staring at him. Naruto blushed so hotly he though his eyes would sizzle and pop right out. In his head, Kyuubi began another rolling fit of laughter.

"What are you doing?" asked Iruka.

"Um. Nothing. Just, uh, setting some things straight. You know how it is with us kids. Heh. We get worked up over the silliest things. Heh. Heheh..."

"Kiba started a stupid rumor," Ino told Iruka, rolling her eyes. "Some people were gullible enough to fall for it, so Naruto was clearing it up. Frankly, I think they have too much time on their hands. You should assign chores to keep them busy. You know what they say about idle hands. I, on the other hand, have already started breakfast. There's a pot of coffee in the kitchen with your name on it."

"Oh," Iruka blinked in pleased surprise. "Thank you-"

"Not at all," Ino beamed. She took him by the arm and led him off down the hall.

"Suck up," Sakura hissed.

"That was smooth," Naruto mumbled. Lee suddenly stepped in front of him, so close he took a quick step back.

"Naruto-kun," Lee said, his tone very formal. "In my eagerness to right a perceived wrong, I seem to have jumped to the wrong conclusion. I apologize. I shall also apologize to Sasuke-kun for-"

"No!" Naruto yelped. "Really! Don't even mention this to him, okay? Please? He'd freak if he knew you were even talking about him like that."

"I don't know," Kakashi drawled from the doorway. "I was looking forward to watching his reaction to this."

Naruto rounded furiously. "You knew about this!?"

"Kiba mentioned it last night."

"And you didn't correct him?" Naruto demanded.

"I thought it was nice of him to be so worried about you. And I couldn't exactly deny that Sasuke has a tendency to come in reeking of your blood. Then there was the issue of conspicuous grass stains on the back and knees of your clothing. The two of you must have had quite a tumble in the fields..."

Sakura and Lee began to look doubtful again. Naruto huffed in frustration. "We were sparring! I heal fast, but I can't block like he does, so I end up bleeding more. That's the only reason. That's exactly what I was working on last night when Akamaru came sniffing around." He muttered to Kyuubi, 'I'm starting to see why you don't like dogs. ...are you ever going to stop laughing...?'

"You're awfully defensive," commented Kakashi.

Ino came back before Naruto could snap at him. With her hands on her hips, she glared up at Kakashi. "Go in the kitchen and tell Iruka how nice he looks even though he doesn't."

Kakashi sighed. "You have no appreciation at all for the disheveled just out of bed look."

"Exactly. So go show your 'appreciation' and quit confusing them. What kind of man gets his kicks playing with gullible little kids, anyway?"

Kakashi wrinkled his nose. "I don't know what Iruka sees in you."

The sniff she gave let him know in no uncertain terms that the feeling was entirely mutual. She watched until he was gone, then turned to glare at Lee. "Well?"

"I should not have doubted you," Lee sighed.

Ino shot a smug smile at Sakura, who made a rude noise of disgust. "I forgive you," she told Lee. "Go set the dining room table for me."

"Certainly!"

Naruto felt a bit queasy as he stared after them. He'd have to talk to Lee about that. It was disturbing to see any guy led around by the nose that way.

"Naruto-kun?" Sakura was frowning when he turned. "Was it really nothing?"

"Well, we do fight and it does get messy, what with our talents and all. But it's just sparring."

"I hate Ino being right," Sakura muttered. It had seemed so plausible. She gave a little laugh. "We'll have to watch for Lee. He's quite a crusader when he sees an 'injustice' being done."

Naruto stretched out on the couch, leaning on the arm of of it. "What was he gonna do? Beat up Sasuke to defend my honor?" He snorted at the thought.

"I think that was stage two of his intervention plan," Sakura said, with a weak smile. "I'm sorry for jumping to the wrong conclusion."

"It was pretty weird to deal with first thing in the morning," Naruto grimaced. "But if Kiba's the one who..." He blinked. "Where is Kiba?"

"Out playing with Akamaru. I didn't actually get his side of it. He had Lee so worked up that-" She sighed and gave him a sober look. "I'm glad I was wrong about Sasuke-kun, but I still think your fox is a creep."

"What did he do to make you slap him? Twice."

"You don't know?" Sakura asked in surprise.

Naruto fidgeted. "Well, actually, I was asleep. See - he's like a night owl. Naps most of the day and then he's up all night. He doesn't usually bother anyone." Except Sasuke.

"I bothered him," Sakura admitted. "I thought it was you when I went out. Still, he didn't have to be so-" She stopped herself firmly and stood up again. "You should talk to Kiba before he gets back. He's still mad about those mutants upsetting Akamaru. I'm sure that's partially to blame."

"Yeah, probably." He got up. "You know, Kiba said you were the bossy one." Her eyes narrowed and he waved quickly. "I only mentioned it 'cause Ino's totally the bossy one. Are Lee and her...you know?"

"Dating...?"

"Or just messing around, whatever." The very possibility had Kyuubi paying very close attention. 'I'm not letting her anywhere near Sasuke, so you can just give up right now. Besides, if she's got a thing for Fuzzy Brows, then you're definitely not her type.'

Sakura laughed, muffling it immediately. Ino would die when she told her. She could hardly wait.

"Is that a no?" asked Naruto.

She grinned. "Well, she did promise to teach him about sex." Naruto's queasy expression was amusing. "I don't think Lee sees her that way, though. It's just that she actually answers his questions. He has questions about everything. I thought hanging out with Kiba might make him latch onto him instead, but, well, you see how that turned out. Ino just likes the fact that he's respectful and he hangs on every word she says. She wants kids someday, so this is like practice for her."

"Um, isn't she kinda young to be thinking about that?" Iruka would have a heart attack and, honestly, Naruto didn't want some squalling baby around the house.

"My mother was fourteen when she got pregnant with me."

"Oh," Naruto blinked. "Um, I didn't mean that it was, uh..."

"It doesn't matter," Sakura shrugged. "Ino would rather die than be an unwed teenage mother. Far too trashy." Ino's grand plan was to be married at eighteen, economically stable at twenty-two, and pregnant with the first of her three children at twenty-five. The fact that she wasn't attracted to the guys she considered 'father material' made her big dreams just that - dreams of an idealistic school-girl. And Ino knew it. Naruto was still shuffling awkwardly. Sakura waved at him. "Go find Kiba. Ino went all out this morning," playing competent house-wife sickeningly well, "so it'll be a while before breakfast is ready."

"Yeah, okay," Naruto said quickly. "Later."

He went out the front door and circled the house, letting Kyuubi direct him. He was caught on the idea of having a kid at fourteen. It was scary enough to hurt his stomach. He was around fifteen, but he still thought of himself as a kid. An irresponsible teenager. Without Iruka to keep him in line, he'd be all over the place getting into as much trouble as he could find. How could anyone his age take care of a baby? How could anyone his age even want a baby? That was something for people Iruka's age. No, even he was too young. Kakashi's age, then. Babies were for old people who'd already lived their lives and were ready to settle down and let a kid live it for them instead.

'If you had one, you'd love it,' Kyuubi mocked. 'You'd treat it just like that snot-nosed brat you had following you around last month.'

'Konohamaru doesn't count. That was like having a little brother. Babies don't do anything but cry and crap and roll over once in a while.'

'You've never seen a baby.'

'I watch tv,' Naruto scowled. 'They cry and crap for a few episodes then suddenly they're toddlers. Why? 'Cause no one wants to watch a whole season of crying and crapping.'

Kyuubi sighed. This was why Iruka ran Naruto away from the television. Not that it mattered. 'You'll never get a kid from Sasuke.'

'Can you imagine him as a mom?' Naruto laughed. 'I'd rather adopt a kid old enough to want to come live with me, anyway.'

'Well, if you change your mind, I'd be willing to knock up that blonde for you. Iruka wouldn't mind having a baby around if it were half yours.'

'Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll pass,' Naruto rolled his eyes. 'She's the nagging kind and there's no way in hell I'm ending up like poor Lee.'

'Sasuke might want children.'

That threw Naruto for a moment, but he recovered quickly. 'If he does then I'll rob a bank or something so we can spring for that 'in-vitro' thing they showed on that show with the triplets. If I won't let Ino crawl on him for you, I'm sure as hell not letting him crawl on anyone else.'

Kyuubi dropped it. Children weren't in his longterm plans any more than they were in Naruto's. But Sasuke clearly was. Good. It would be harder to keep him if Naruto lost interest a few years down the line.

.-.

Breakfast was an awkward affair. They were all present, leaving only three empty chairs, two between Sasuke and Kiba on the left and one between Ino and Shikamaru on the right. The empty gaps were bridged by uncomfortable looks, Kiba looking embarrassed and avoiding Sasuke, Ino trying not to glare or bristle when Shikamaru yawned and scratched at the back of his head. At the ends of the table, Kakashi was beaming over at Iruka, who in turn sent him suspicious looks every now and then, wondering what he was plotting in that smiling head of his.

Kakashi had fetched Sasuke, waking and conning him down without getting mutilated or verbally abused the way Naruto would have had he tried it. Sasuke ate mechanically, with no appreciation of the effort that had gone into the meal. When Ino tempted him with one of her home-made rolls, he accepted it with a grunt, not even looking up at her. She almost cried. Iruka made up for it with as much praise as possible shy of outright flattery, but it wasn't his approval she wanted.

Shikamaru had been drug out of bed by Lee. The guy's enthusiasm was downright exhausting. He'd gotten up just to keep himself from being smothered by it. He nibbled a bit of everything. It was all good, but it would have gone down better if Ino weren't cringing out of the corner of his eye every time he so much as wiped the back of his hand over his mouth. He wondered what she'd do if he burped. Probably start stomping her foot and shrieking again. He'd always considered women unfathomable, but she took it to the extreme. Whoever had come up with the seating arrangement clearly had it in for him.

Lee was the only one not broody or preoccupied. He ate politely, but with gusto, lavishing praise on the cook and attempting to strike up a conversation with anyone who glanced at him. Since he was sitting by Kakashi, he was drawn to and impressed by the way he ate. "How do you consume food with such speed as to hide your face without getting indigestion?"

Kakashi glanced at him, took another invisibly fast bite, and smirked. "Practice."

"The question isn't how he does it," Sasuke muttered, "but why he bothers."

Sakura bit her lip and tried to catch his eye. "Have you seen his face?"

Sasuke didn't look up. There was no coffee at the table. Fresh squeezed orange juice, milk, but nothing resembling caffeine. He snatched another roll. While he didn't care much for sweets, sugar was a better stimulant than nothing.

Kakashi answered Sakura's question. "He's the reason I wear a mask."

"Have you considered having it healed?" asked Iruka. It wouldn't take much. A light tear to reopen it and it might heal as good as new.

"So he is disfigured!" Ino exclaimed. "I knew it."

"Wait," Naruto rounded, scowling at Iruka. "You've seen him without his mask on?"

Iruka blushed, fumbling for something to say. Kakashi took amused pity on him. "He healed me after he was done with Sasuke the other day." Naruto accepted that explanation with visible relief. Curious. Surely his fox had smelled him on Iruka. Kiba had smelled it, judging by the way he was now ducking his head to hide his red cheeks. Sasuke shot him a dark look. His kid wasn't buying it, of course. Sasuke knew the injury could have been healed without his mask coming off. Kakashi smiled at him. He no longer needed to get the kids' approval, after all.

After breakfast, Iruka made the rounds. Ino's suggestion that he assign chores was a good one. It didn't seem fair that Sakura was the only one helping Ino and Lee with the clean up. Unfortunately Ino declared Kiba too unsanitary to clean anything, Shikamaru and Sasuke were asleep on their feet, and Iruka knew better than to let Naruto handle breakables. As expected, the girls were excited by the prospect of shopping. Lee was disappointed when Ino told him he couldn't tag along. Sakura suggested he use the time to get to know Naruto better and that brightened him right up.

The dog grooming didn't go over as smoothly. Pakkun expected a nice hot bubble bath, so instead of hosing them off out back, he was forced to use the downstairs bathroom. The tub was certainly big enough, and both dogs put up with the scrubbing better than he'd expected. They still splashed so much water on the floor that he had Naruto and Kiba round up every towel in the house to keep it from reaching the hallway carpet. That left no clean towels for the humans to use. In retrospect, he should have saved the dog-cleaning until everyone had finished their morning ablutions.

With that done, he went hunting for Sasuke. The boy had kept his head down so much Iruka doubted anyone had noticed the bruise. His lecturing tone wasn't quite as strict as the one he used on Naruto, but it was close. After what he'd seen last night, he assumed the boys had been sparring rather than actually fighting. Not that it made any difference. Whether the injury came from Naruto or someone connected to Sasuke's brother, if he could heal it then he wanted to know about it. This time he didn't leave him alone until Sasuke promised, verbally, to tell him in the future. Hopefully he'd keep his word. Iruka immediately found Kakashi and sent him up to tell Sasuke exactly what they'd been told last night. He was sure Sasuke would be more willing to share his thoughts with Kakashi than with him.

By the time he reached the kitchen he had it all to himself. He made a jug of iced tea and settled down to think. Kurenai and Hinata were picking the girls up at ten. He'd wait till they were gone before getting started on the picnic. While Ino was a very good cook, Iruka did know the way around his own kitchen and preferred to do some things himself. He'd enlist Naruto's help and use the opportunity to catch up. And possibly warn him? He sighed as the thought reared its ugly head. He refused to change his plans. If he let what Tiedoll had said get to him, then he'd end up confining the kids to the house for the entire week. Oh, he could devise enough activities to keep them busy for a few days, but not even he wanted to be trapped in the house for that long with all of them.

Naruto pushed into the kitchen with a cheerful, "Hey!"

Iruka smiled. "Just the person I wanted to see. Have a seat. As long as we've known each other, I think it's about time Kyuubi and I met face to face."

Naruto blanched.

.-.

The picnic was pure torture. Sasuke couldn't have felt more uncomfortable if Itachi had been sitting beside him, exchanging pleasantries with Kabuto. The adults were sitting on a separate blanket a few feet away, Kurenai talking and gesticulating wildly, Kakashi and Iruka interjecting something ever so often that set them all to laughing. On his own blanket, everyone else was focused on Hinata. The girls were gushing and teasing, Lee was making an idiot of himself in order to con a smile, Kiba was trying to get her to hold his dog despite the fact that Akamaru weighed more than she did, and Naruto was watching on like a proud papa and occasionally threatening Kiba when his teasing bordered too closely on flirting.

Sasuke wasn't interested in her. He wasn't interested in them or any part of this. Why did he have to be here? He couldn't even leave or Naruto would accuse him of being jealous again. He was not. If Naruto preferred her company over his, then that was just fine with him. One less complication. One less reason for him to be sitting here completely out of place when he should have been getting as far away as possible. Itachi wasn't just sending someone, he was coming himself. Two years since he'd last seen him. Itachi wouldn't come all the way here just to look and talk at him. He should have been halfway to the mountains by now.

Kakashi had warned him against taking off. Kabuto wouldn't hesitate to destroy the airport. If his flunky really intended to take on Itachi he might be strong enough to stop him if he tried for the mountains. If he was taken down now, Kabuto would keep him unconscious as bait, leaving him no chance to run at all when Itachi arrived. Even if he managed to defeat the rogue, he'd certainly be injured, forced to hide rather than run when Itachi came after him. It was a lose-lose situation. He'd still rather run, take his chances with the rogue, than sit around waiting for Itachi.

The kids laughed again, Naruto crowing and whacking a hand on Hinata's back that nearly leveled her. Sakura and Kiba immediately set on him not to be so rough and he laughed at that, too. Sasuke stared at them with something akin to revulsion. He had nothing in common with these people. He never would. They didn't even live in the same world.

He was on his feet before he knew it, walking away without a backward glance. He made it ten feet and stopped. Shikamaru was lying on his back in the grass, arms folded behind his head, eyes staring up at the sky. Sasuke look up. "What do you see?"

"Clouds."

There was nothing else to see, not even birds or airplane trails. Just a few clouds floating along. The sky was the same everywhere. He usually only looked up at it during the night. He'd been fascinated by stars once, a lifetime ago.

"It's better if you lie on your back. Won't get a kink in your neck."

He would get stains on his clothes and grass in his hair, though. He sat on his knees instead. He wished he'd had a chance to copy that perverted rogue's ability to fly. Two years. He's actually started to believe he wouldn't see him again. Foolish. If he'd wanted to settle, he should have stayed in Japan.

"It won't last," said Shikamaru.

Sasuke didn't look down. "What won't?"

"Them. This place. Won't last. It never does."

He'd said the same thing himself. He'd wanted to grab a bit of normal life for as long as it lasted. Of course he'd known it wouldn't last for long. That didn't stop him from wanting it.

"It's a shame," Shikamaru sighed.

"Yeah."

.-.
TBC