Here's to the Fox

discliamer: see chapter 1

A/N: i am not particularly happy with this chapter, but it was the last one before we get into the meat and potatoes of the story, and i just wanted it *done*. one of my personal mottos is that "this chapter can be as crap as it wants as long as the rest of the story kicks ass." and since chapter 5 is where we delve into the actual plot of the story, i thought i'd just get four out of the way.

now, in four, we finally give naruto a backstory!!!! and what really scared me the most about it is, this story is AU, so one would think his story would be completely un-canon. but there's a part of his story that's eerily similar to a certain bridge scene with a certain ice-wielding boy (and no, it doesn't involve an actual bridge, that's just what comes to mind). it scared me cause i wrote it without realizing it. so any parallel you may see is pure coincidence, but cool nonetheless. if naru's backstory is displeasing or confusing to some, i apologize, but i'll try to explain it more when tsunade meets him, k?

thank you to all my reviewers who are ever so enthusiastic about my story! makes me just want to tell you what i have planned, but i'm evil and won't do that! fwah haha wah haha hah haha!

enjoy!

italics=word recall

bolded italics=i think by now we *all* know who i'm talking about ^_~


_______________________________

Here's to the Fox: Chapter 4
_______________________________


It was nearing dusk in the village of Reihi. Sasuke stood before the blacksmith’s wondering if the blonde was inside or not. Last night… God, Sasuke didn’t know what to make of it. Naruto was the Fox? Why the fuck was this happening to him? The one person he thought he could truly be friends with had lied to him! Well, he’d refrained from telling the Uchiha the truth; it was the same thing, surely. No, he couldn’t face Naruto.

Sasuke made to leave when the large, wooden door of the blacksmith’s flew open. The old man walked out, eyeing the Uchiha. He stopped, pinning Sasuke with his gaze, making sure he had the pale man’s attention, and then motioned for Sasuke to follow him. Confused and the slightest bit wary, Sasuke did, and they walked around the building to a shed that housed sheets and bars of steel.

“By the look on your face, I’d say ya found out something ya don’t much like, lad.”

“You knew, didn’t you?” Sasuke shot the old man a sharp glare. “You lied to me.”

“Ha, you’ve a fine definition of the word ‘lie,’ boy. I told you that a boy saved my life and disappeared the next morning.”

“Then how do you explain your apprentice?”

“I may have failed to mention that the boy reappeared later that night, nowhere to go and no money to eat, but I never lied. I offered the boy to stay at my place until he was ready to leave, and he’s been here since. After so many years, it’s only natural that the boy share the burden of his secret.”

Sasuke didn’t say anything.

“Lad, you didn’t expect Naruto to tell ya his life’s story when he’s only known ya for two days? That’s not possible with the way that boy grew up.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s not my place to tell ya, but one thing I know is that he needs ya. This village loves him, for the most part, but with all those missing nin after him, he needs a friend that he can be certain won’t get hurt being around him.”

“But why didn’t he trust me with this?”

“Lad, you’re from the very village that he fears the most. And if ya found out who he is, it’s only ‘cause he let ya. Now I’m going to get some coffee. He’s inside; go talk to him.”

He watched the old man walk back around the front. Then he turned to the back door, dreading his upcoming confrontation. But the citizens of Konoha often said that the Uchiha wasn’t afraid of anything, and he’d be damned before he proved them wrong. Gathering all his emotions behind his blank mask, Sasuke strode forward and into the building.

“Ojiisan, what took you so long? I thought-”

The blonde cut off when he noticed it was Sasuke that stood before him and not the blacksmith. The Uchiha simply stared at him. Naruto was wearing his usual orange pants, but that was the only thing. His torso was bare, shining with sweat in the glow of the fires. Each muscle was displayed on his tan body, sleek lines and hard tones enrapturing Sasuke, making him momentarily forget why he’d come. But then he realized just where his thoughts were going as his eyes followed a drop of sweat down to the waistband of the blonde’s pants, and he quickly shook his head to snap himself out of it.

“Sasuke…” It was barely a whisper, but it was just enough for Sasuke to recapture his anger.

“We need to talk, Naruto.” The blonde nodded slightly, but said nothing, so Sasuke continued. He wanted to say something scathing to the young man who’d earned his trust then stomped all over it, but all that came out was a faint, “Was I not good enough?”

“Sasuke…” The blonde rushed forward and threw his arms about the Uchiha, a crushing embrace that sent a silent apology into the pale man. His body and heart accepted it, but his mind still had a way’s to go. “Sasuke, I’m sorry, but was it worth telling you when you’re just going to leave in a few days?”

“Damn it, Naruto! I told you I’d have to report the demon to the Hokage!” He didn’t dislodge Naruto’s arms, but neither did he return the embrace. “But it’s you! It’s fucking you! What the hell am I supposed to do, now?”

“Anything you want. I trust you.”

The quiet answer was not what he’d been expecting. Sasuke’s anger deflated immediately, but sadness and dejection easily replaced it. What in hell was he supposed to do about this?

“Sasuke, I’ll tell you my story, if you’d like. Maybe it will help you decide.”

Oh, yes, Sasuke felt the pain that accompanied that statement. Naruto was willing to open an old, painful wound just to appease Sasuke. He did return the embrace then. He didn’t want to be the cause of Naruto’s pain, but if he was going to piece back together this shattered farce of a friendship, make it something that wouldn’t hurt either of them, he had to know. And if there was a reason good enough for Naruto hiding himself within a civilian village, Sasuke would tell the Hokage to go to hell himself. Not that she even needed to know about Naruto, if the blonde’s story checked out.

What gave him the idea he’d even consider telling the Hokage, he had no idea while wrapped in the blonde’s arms. Then Naruto began to tell his story into Sasuke’s shoulder.

“I was born on a very bad day. A lot of people died, including my parents. My mother died giving birth to me, while my father probably died in battle. Since I was orphaned and too small to fight it, a demon was sealed within me.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened. “Kyuubi…” It was only a puff of breath against the blonde’s ear, but Naruto tightened his hold painfully, and a shaky affirmative was mumbled into the Uchiha’s shoulder. The blacksmith’s words came back to him. You’re from the very village that he fears the most. Sasuke swallowed, his throat suddenly dry, and returned the painful pressure of the embrace. Then he sank to the floor with Naruto, letting him curl up in his lap.

“Sandaime, probably figuring how the village would react to me, sent me away from Konoha, to Suna. The Kazekage grudgingly took me in, hoping to shape me into his private soldier as I grew. He didn’t keep it secret that I housed a demon, and the village feared me, hated me, and shunned me. I don’t think you know what it’s like to walk down a street and know that people are staring at you and calling you names in whispers, sometimes even yelling it to your face. Kids would jump me in alleyways, and I always feared what the demon inside me would do if I retaliated, so I never fought back. It was painful, but with my healing abilities, it never lasted long.

“I actually only had four friends while growing up, one of them being the one who told me about my origin. And then one day, when I was twelve, some people attacked Suna, trying to capture another of my friends. I accidentally released my power to protect him, and that’s when it all started really.

“Their interest turned to me, and to protect the village, I thought to leave. The Kazekage wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but when the people of Suna began to protest, he let me go. For seven years I traveled the world, fending off their attacks and avoiding people as much as I could. I didn’t need to bring anyone else any more danger. Surprisingly, within those seven years, I came across many a shinobi that listened to my story, minus Kyuubi, and decided to teach me to defend myself. The people of Suna had refused to allow me to become a shinobi, so all I knew how to do was basic taijutsu and sword skills. These masters I came across taught me several jutsu and how to use kunai and shuriken. I had the training without being an actual shinobi, as it were. Meanwhile, each time I used my chakra in training, I found I used more and more of the fox’s as well. By the time I was nineteen, the demon and I kind of… merged.

“And then one day, after another attack, which were coming less and less frequently, I found myself outside of Reihi. It wasn’t on the map I had, and that’s when I met the blacksmith. He stopped to talk to me, and then we were attacked. I saved him by putting up a shield, but it drained my chakra a bit. He must’ve taken me inside the village because when I came to, I was here.

“I couldn’t stay. It was obvious that the Akatsuki was still after me. So I left. But when I returned to the forest surrounding the village, the Akatsuki was gone, if it was even them. I actually didn’t catch their scent anywhere around the village. They may be good ninja, but even shinobi can’t hide their scent from me. I was exhausted, so I took a chance and returned to the village, and ojiisan took me in. That night, a group of petty criminals came to town and took a few people hostage. I used a henge to change my appearance and got rid of them. This happened several more times, and I became the ‘hero’ of Reihi. A couple of years went by rather peacefully, save for the occasional raids, until one day the criminals gave off the scent of Akatsuki. One got away, and that’s how they found me.

“I didn’t leave Reihi, because if I ran to save myself, they would just use the villagers to lure me back. I thought it was better to stay here and defend them than leave and arrive back too late to save anyone. And then you showed up. So now you know. What are you going to do?”

Naruto fell silent for a time, just curled up in Sasuke’s lap as a pale hand ran through his golden spikes in a soothing motion. But Sasuke, despite the comforting gesture he was performing, was tensed so tightly he thought his back would snap. The blonde had said Akatsuki, the organization of missing ninja that constantly plagued the Hokage and Konoha. It had the Uchiha’s blood boiling in his veins, the Sharingan threatening to activate in his fury. That bastard dared to attack Naruto, his friend… He dared! There was now no doubt that Sasuke would do everything in his power to protect Naruto. He wouldn’t let the man go, wouldn’t let him fall into his hands…

“Naruto, I promise that they won’t harm you. I swear on my hitai-ate that you will remain safe. But I should probably tell the Hokage that the Akatsuki is threatening you. I won’t tell her about Kyuubi, but she can offer you protection if you come to Konoha.” The blonde pulled himself away from Sasuke and looked into his eyes.

“Why do you care so much, Sasuke?”

“I might be new at this, but isn’t that what friends are for?”

“But why aren’t you still angry at me, like you were earlier?”

“I realized that I expected too much of you. Damn it, I became a hypocrite! Of course you shouldn’t have told me your secret. Now I’m a liability. But I’m happy you did anyway. I’m sorry I followed you last night, though.”

“Sasuke, if I hadn’t wanted you to know, I wouldn’t have been seen. You’re a powerful ninja, but you’re no match for me.”

“Oh really, dobe? Care to test that theory?”

“Bring it on, teme.”

“He can bring it later, you’ve got some steel to tend to.”

Both boys, startled, looked to the door. The blacksmith stood there, a smirk playing on his lips. Both boys hurried to their feet, faces red with embarrassment. Neither had been all that self-conscious in each others arms, but with an audience…

Naruto set back to work, and Sasuke spent the evening helping in any way that he could. During this time, Sasuke learned that Naruto used the henge to keep his identity secret, and Naruto learned that Sasuke was a chuunin assigned to cell seven with two other shinobi. One, Akira, was a chuunin like himself, and the other, Sakura, was still a genin but training to be a medic nin. Naruto idly wondered aloud how Sasuke could possibly work on a team with his attitude, and Sasuke promptly threw something at his head.

The Uchiha was only slightly surprised when the object hit, but then he reminded himself that Naruto was a dobe and shrugged it off. Naruto was less inclined to let it go, but a stern glare from the blacksmith had him grumbling, but continuing with his work.

Sasuke felt content. Not two hours ago, he’d been confused, hurt, and angry. Now he felt happy and warm. He never thought he’d be able to survive an emotional shift like this, but he was wrong. But somewhere under this contentment was a bit of sadness and dread. Naruto’s story was a sad one, but he was in so much danger if he stayed here. The blonde had deftly ignored Sasuke’s half-plea to come to Konoha, and he could imagine why. He’d be afraid of returning there, too, even if he hadn’t been there since he was an infant. But the Godaime and Konohagakure could offer Naruto so much more protection than the man’s dangerous chakra ever could. That chakra was a beacon for the Akatsuki, but Konoha had shinobi that could protect the blonde without him using his chakra.

But Sasuke decided he’d bring it up again another time. Night had descended, and he was kind of tired. Emotions would do that, he guessed. He didn’t understand how people could stand to feel this emotionally drained all the time.

“Sasuke, we’re done for the night.”

“Hn.”

“Tch, grumpy much? Come on, let’s get you to your room.”

“Whatever, dobe.” Naruto threw a hand out to tag him on the back of the head, which he deftly dodged, and the two left the blacksmith’s in the direction of Sasuke’s inn. The silence between them was comfortable, and Sasuke was loath for the walk to end. But the inn soon appeared before them, and Naruto came to a halt. He shuffled his foot as Sasuke stared at him, then he came forward and hugged the pale man for the second time that day.

“Thank you, Sasuke, for not rejecting me.” Before Sasuke could respond, he was gone.

The Uchiha stared quietly into the night before silently slipping into the inn. Once in his room, he contemplated just getting in bed, but he was covered in soot and sweat, so he decided a shower would be in order before the peace of unconsciousness.

The water felt wonderful against his skin, loosening tense muscles that he hadn’t known were tense. It felt almost as good as Naruto pressed close against his body. Both times that the blonde had embraced him, Sasuke had felt that muscled and broad body molding into his own lean frame, sending his thoughts down a road never traveled.

The same road they were traveling now. He had snatches of visions where Naruto was lying beneath him, body shining with sweat and writhing from Sasuke’s teasing touches. His name panted from kiss-bruised lips as Sasuke’s hands and fingers roamed the tan skin, light touches on whiskered cheeks before kissing the blonde. Yes, he wanted to see Naruto without the henge, see what he really looked like. The urge was so strong, it almost scared him, but he had other problems at the moment.

Without really realizing it, he had become hard, and his hand had automatically started to alleviate the situation. It horrified him that this condition had come about while thinking about his friend, but the sensation of his hand sliding up and down his shaft greatly outweighed the circumstances.

Sasuke leaned forward, one hand against the wall, water beating down on his chest, his other hand steadily moving up and down his cock. Sasuke lost himself in the pleasure, and the visions of Naruto came back to him. Naruto calling out his name, begging for something, arching up into the Uchiha, and Sasuke easily imagined it was Naruto’s hand wrapped around his throbbing flesh; Naruto’s hand squeezing just so at the base, running his thumb over the slit at the top, spreading pre-cum around the head. And then Sasuke began to wonder how it would feel to have Naruto’s mouth on his cock, lips clamping down around the base, his tongue scraping the slit instead of a fingernail.

The Uchiha lost it. His orgasm hit him like a wave of chakra, his seed coating the wall he was facing. Sasuke’s knees wanted to give out, but he held firm, washing the evidence of his actions off himself and the wall. Only now did it fully hit him what he had done. He’d gotten off to thoughts of his friend, his only friend, in a very compromising position for a young man. But what disturbed him more than that was his lack of disgust at himself. He’d done an awful thing, and the only things he felt were an unbelievable sense of pleasure and a small twinge of regret.

Just what the fuck was wrong with him?


TBC


___________________________________________

gah! *hides in shame* this chapter... ugh. i'll rewrite later. maybe when the whole thing is done. unless... y'all liked it. what do ya say? was this chapter worthy?