This can't be happening!

Ok... This is it! Here's a really long chapter... hope you like, nyan! No smut this time... unless you count memories as such... This is just a glimpse at the problem that will soon 'plague' our dearest dobe. On with the chapter...

Chapter 6: Ramen blues

Noon found Naruto on his way to meet Sasuke for lunch at Ichiraku’s. This morning’s training had left him drained but satisfied. He had to pummel himself back into shape no matter what. Frowning, he cleared the area and picked up his weaponry. His shaking hands tightened around a metal handle, unwilling to believe his level of exhaustion. Stretching, he bent to pick up a shuriken and stumbled forward suddenly dizzy.

‘What now?’ he growled impatiently. He knew his body was protesting the strenuous activity to which he had submitted himself but he didn’t care. He needed to train harder. There was a sense of urgency egging him on and there was nothing he could do to shake it off.

Sasuke was slowly being allowed to return to his previous duties, and he was proud. With the knowledge of Sasuke’s progress came worry; he needed to be able to fight for his precious people if the need arose. He was not one to sit idly twiddling his thumbs until he felt completely better. The Akatsuki was a very real threat, even if their whereabouts were unknown for the past 6 months.

‘When the time comes, I want to be right by his side, so I’d better prepare myself now. He is a strong shinobi and I want to be able to stand beside him as an equal. This illness drained me harder than I previously thought but it doesn’t matter. We must be ready for our enemies, no matter who they are or when they come.’ He nodded, his blue eyes full of purpose as he made his way towards the village.

‘I’d better ask Tsunade-baachan to get me a good paying mission next time. I need better equipment. I am a chuunin now, there is no need to recycle my old stuff. After all kunais are damned expensive, tsk!’ he kicked a stone idly, taking his time. ‘Maybe I could mooch of Sasuke’s stash. Yup! He will never notice me using his stuff to play around! He is still not allowed to use all he has.’ He grinned naughtily, taking one out to take its comforting weight in the palm of his hand before putting it back inside his pouch.

A passing dove alighted nearby, beady eyes observing curiously as bright orange crossed its path. The recently-advanced chuunin moved with unusual slowness towards his usual place at this hour. Stepping over the fast moving waters of the bridge that connected the training grounds to the rest of Konoha, he paused for a second to absorb the view and rest for a while. His body was not completely up to the task of making the trek to the restaurant in one go.

‘Damn! I should have known that using 12 clones for practice would drain me like a bitch. Sasuke’s not gonna like it. No way.’ Fatigue clouded his expression and he stumbled on an invisible stone in his path. Lately, he was always so damned tired, it was hard to think, let alone move with any degree of ease.

His stomach grumbled fiercely, demanding food imperiously as he leaned over the rail. He was quite hungry but the idea of food suddenly made him queasy. His body registered rivaling needs as his fatigue increased. He was ravenously hungry, nauseous and his bladder had chosen that moment to raise up a stink. Once again, the pressure on his lower abdomen signaled his imperative need to take a leak. It was so sudden he wondered how the hell he’d managed not to register the need to go before he finished training.

Shivering with the effort to hold it in, he moved away from all that moving water before he was tempted to relieve himself in the clear waters.

‘Jeez, dobe… what would Konoha think if you start peeing all over the place, damn it! That you turned into a dog! Come on! Move it!’ he egged himself onwards. He was still quite far from the restaurant and his bladder was turning into a real problem. Gauging his options, he realized he would never make it into Ichiraku’s without first peeing somewhere. With a defeated sigh, he pushed past the bushes near the stream and looked around.

‘My turning into a dog is better than getting there with a urine stain in the front of my pants, damn it!’ Blushing, he hid behind a thick bush, freed himself and took a quick look around for the last time before he finally emptied his much too full bladder into the waters. He moaned under his breath with relief as his gushing bladder took its sweet time in emptying itself. Once done, he shook himself and straightened his clothes, stuffing himself back inside his pants. Kneeling just a bit farther upstream, he washed his hands, suddenly paranoid.
‘Sasuke is not going to like this… I am so dead if he knows I’ve been peeing all over the place. He’d say I’ve turned fox on him.’ He bit his lip anxiously before sighing in resignation.

‘What’s done is done. There is no sense in crying over spilt milk… or pee or whatever.’ He sighed and straightened, making his way back towards the bridge and the road leading into the village’s center where Ichiraku Ramen stood.

Ichikaru’s was not the fanciest restaurant in Konoha but it was his favorite. There, people never made him feel unwanted nor was he served less than quality food for exaggerated prices as it happened elsewhere.

He smiled sadly, thinking back of the first time Sasuke had experienced such an outrage. It happened a few weeks ago on the night Sasuke declared himself to be fed up with his steady Ramen diet. He’d ignored Naruto’s protests and had dragged his ass into another establishment, a yakitori place he’d visited ages ago. The waitress and the owner’s rudeness still made him cringe with embarrassment. Sasuke’d gotten so irrationally angry it was a miracle Naruto had been able to restrain him. They had left the place and never returned again. He stopped, his wheezing breath coming in gulps into his lungs.

‘I don’t remember this path ever being so long and steep. Jeez, Sasuke’s definitively not gonna like it when he sees me.’ He flinched with remorse. He had promised not to exceed his limits. They had agreed that given their recent nightly activities he would restrain his training to 3 or 4 clones per day. He’d completely forgotten his promise as soon as he arrived at the training grounds that same morning. It’d been ages since he’d last felt so full of energy and happiness. The sky was clear; the clean, lemony scent of the grass around him stimulated his senses in such a way he’d unconsciously chosen to disregard Sasuke’s warnings; which now came back to haunt him.

“Damn it!” he grumbled, stopping for a second to get his breath. His whole body ached now. Not just his arms and legs as anyone might expect, but his hips and lower back were killing him too. He tried to remember how he’d hurt himself there but couldn’t think of anything but the little tumble he took before finishing off the 3 remaining clones.

He frowned, rubbing his hip distractedly. He didn’t remember hitting anything hard enough to merit aching like he did just now. His active imagination brought Sasuke’s disapproving glare to his mind’s eye.

‘Leave me alone, you! I know, I know… I’ll just have to grin my way through! I hope he buys it. He is far too perceptive for my own good.’ He sighed, resuming his pace.

Recently, his consciousness had started to nag him terribly every time he disobeyed one of his personal tyrant’s orders to ‘Eat!’, ‘Rest!’, ‘Take it easy!’ and ‘Be careful!’. To tell the truth he was fed up of being bossed around.

Another image invaded his mind and he relented. It was true there were orders he was more than happy to follow meekly but then things like ‘Harder!’, ‘Deeper!’, ‘Kiss me!’, ‘Spread yourself wider!’ were not instructions that went against his grain to perform. He blushed and laughed, embarrassed even though there was nobody to watch him or peek inside his brain.

Stopping again at the top of the slope to watch the clouds float away lazily, his thoughts turned inevitably towards Sasuke. ‘Teme! Who would have thought he would become such a possessive bastard! Anyone might think I was a priceless doll or something! He treats me with so much care I sometimes feel like a crateful of eggs!’ he scoffed and stretched his numb limbs trying to work some feeling back into them.

His legs felt leaden and his muscles were starting to cramp from the effort it took to walk. He could always use chakra to get himself to move faster, but he somehow loathed the idea of abusing his meager supply of energy any further.

Frowning, he realized he was panting and sweating like crazy. His patience was growing thin with every passing day of forced convalescence. He had never felt so weak; it was preposterous! Incredibly, his body was still recuperating from the missing nin incident.

‘Just a few months ago this would never have happened! I know I was poisoned and bled far too much without Kyuubi’s help to heal me back then, still… damn it!’ he cursed under his breath and tore his eyes away from the sky. Biting his lip, he forced himself to start walking at a brisk pace, eager to make it quickly into Ichikaru’s.

His thoughts turned to the last month’s developments to keep his mind away from his abused muscles. He was still reeling with the idea of his own mortality. It was hard to believe that he’d been this close to death just two months ago. Tsunade saw fit to inform him of this only after he was already up and about for about a week.

‘Personally, I don’t care either way since I’m not particularly useful or brilliant. It would make me sad not to make Hokage but there is every possibility I won’t be allowed to anyway. Sasuke, on the other hand… jeez!’ he sighed again.

His dear bastard had become extremely upset at the way he’d discounted the ‘seriousness’ of the whole thing. It took a week-long stretch of being on the receiving end of his dear bastard’s silent treatment to get through his thick skull that Sasuke cared. Finally, he relented and begged his lover’s forgiveness for being such a stupid ass, but it was only because he couldn’t stand causing Sasuke’s distress anymore.

‘Pesky little bastard! Irrationally jealous, possessive, bossy, prone to worrying himself sick…’ he paused with a rueful smile, ‘Uchiha, I almost don’t recognize you! Where have you gone?’ he pretended to wail before an impudent smile crossed his expression.

Once again, his body demanded he stop to regain his breath. Once again, he stopped impatient to reach his lover. His newfound ability to ruffle Sasuke’s feathers pleased him immensely. Imagining his lover’s pout brought to mind another, sharper, image of his lover in the throes of passion. It was so strong it made him stop to get air into his oxygen-starved lungs, blinking away the illusion as his body forgot to breathe.

‘Ack! He’s turned me into a pervert!’ he grimaced before smiling dreamily. Sasuke had really outdone himself last night. Pushing his tired body to newer heights of pleasure previously undiscovered. Their position had changed, making it hurt a lot more than before but this new connection made him see stars… literally.

He blushed deeply, fanning himself with his hand as his inner-self delighted in reviewing last night’s passionate embrace. He still couldn’t get over the fact that the great Uchiha avenger was truly head over heels in love with him. It was too much, really!

‘You deserve it…ne?’ his inner-self retorted cheekily and he frowned. It was only now that he realized he’d been talking to himself more often these days.

‘Better not let Sasuke know about this unhealthy habit of yours… we don’t want him thinking you’re crazy.’ he grinned ruefully knowing his bastard would just smile at him fondly before chewing his head off for overexerting his tired body.

It was getting increasingly difficult to hide certain things from Sasuke… His lover was becoming more daring and it was all he could do to keep him away from his body during the day. Color rose to his cheeks as he thought about Sasuke’s possible reaction if he knew of his ‘imperfection’.

So far, his lover had been too busy exploring his body and perfecting their lovemaking to protest Naruto’s shyness and current preference for loving covered by darkness. He just didn’t want Sasuke to see. He’d realized he was a bit different from other boys after taking a peek at Sasuke’s body after a particularly long bout of loving.

His blush darkened as he remembered just how different they were. After that, he had adamantly insisted they make love with the lights off, taking care to distract his lover whenever he got too close to his groin. So far there hadn’t been any complaints from his lover but he knew there would be soon. He sighed.

The first few mornings of awakening beside his lover, he’d wondered if he was somehow dreaming while his body rotted under a bush deep inside the forest somewhere. Every tight smile, every little kiss, every time strong arms wrapped around his body, every caress delivered with tenderness, every time their bodies melded together, everything filled his heart with so much warmth he cried inevitably.

He swallowed the lump that threatened to choke him wondering for the hundredth time why was he turning into a flowering pot. Glancing around for villagers he noticed a few that scurried away, distaste clearly written in their faces.
“What is it doing here? He’s standing in front of the house! Why isn’t he dead, Masato?” an older woman whispered hysterically to the man at her side.

“Don’t concern yourself with that, dear. I know it’s a shame the thing’s not dead, but the Hokage insists…” He replied, turning his back against him and opening the door hastily.

“It’s looking at us! How dare he! Masato, you know we lost everything thanks to that demon!” she seethed, resisting his hands as he guided her inside.

“Don’t worry. He won’t come near.” He reassured her, turning his head to glare knives into the silent youth.

“Stop pushing me, you wimp! Lemme at him! You have no guts but I do! Yamamori Ume has enough guts to show the brat his place! Why is he here? He doesn’t deserve to be alive!” she raged angrily as the door was closed before his face.

‘Up yours bitch!’ his mind yelled defiantly while his body decided anger was too much of an effort to make. Unwilling to stand or walk anymore but knowing those around him wouldn’t appreciate his presence for much longer, he stood undecided. Sweat continued to pour down his cheeks and into his collar.

The midday sun pressed down oppressively against his shoulders. Before long, it got to be too much to bear. He was baking inside his jacket! Modesty forgotten, he clawed at his zipper, pulling it down with a deep, relieved sigh. Blessed cool air refreshed his naked skin as he panted. Damn, he was thirsty!

‘God! I am really turning into a wimp! This is so not good!’ he leaned forward, holding onto his knees as the oppressive heat castigated him. He looked around drowsily, trying to see how much farther away was the restaurant. His mind was starting to wonder if Miso Pork Ramen was worth so much effort.

‘It would be better to just sit here beside the tall, shady fence until its cooler. Resting feels so nice…’ He leaned back against the fence, half aware of the wrongness of his thoughts: For when had ramen not being worth the effort?

‘What? Definitely, Naruto. You have to be dead!’ The only problem was that he couldn’t find it in himself to care if he was. He was so tired! If he died, his only regret would be Sasuke. He’d definitively suffer… although really it would be better for him if he died at the end. He was nothing but trouble. He was no good. Tears gathered and threatened to overflow as he pondered the benefits Sasuke would derive from his death.

‘Well… if I am not in the way, he could have a family… Even if he says he doesn’t want or need one, I know it’s not true. I… God! I don’t want to lose him!’ he took in deep breaths, knowing himself near the edge. So far he’d been able to hide his frequent bouts of tears, passing them off as too intense happiness, a too strong orgasm, plain sweat or the usual mote in his eye.

‘Get it together, dobe!’ he grumbled, swiping impatiently at his tearstained face, hating himself for being so weak.

‘Maybe I’ll feel better after eating.’ He shivered and shook his head to clear it, drying the excess moisture beading his brow with a sleeve.

Since their face-off with the mysterious poison, both Kyuubi and his legendary chakra had been patently absent from his conscious mind. His body was recuperating slowly but things were not progressing as expected. He was way too thin even after all the efforts Sasuke put into feeding him to put some flesh into his body as he commented teasingly. He had chosen to keep silent regarding certain details he was sure his paranoid nurse would blow completely out of proportion if he knew.

‘I’m fine, really.’ He grumbled defiantly before a sharp pain on his side made him double over holding his side. He concentrated in his breathing, proud of himself for riding the wave of pain without screaming like a girl. He was getting as good as Sasuke at hiding things. He was sure it was related to the whole recuperating thing.

‘Of course, usuratonkachi! It’s completely natural to bleed intermittently after having sex for the first time. It’s very normal to feel bone-deep pain in your hips and lower back and even more common to experience stabbing pains in your gut that are bad enough to bring tears to your eyes. Yeah! Completely, utterly natural!’ his inner voice argued sarcastically.

As if in agreement, the pain on his side spiked suddenly and he whimpered, wrapping arms around his middle as he curled forward.

‘Tell him! Tell Tsunade! Heck! Tell Sakura!’ urged his mind. Naruto flinched at the thought, he was really tempted; but he knew he would not talk to them. They would worry needlessly and make his life even worse.

“No way in hell am I telling anybody anything!” he replied out loud, angry at his meddlesome inner voice.

“Tell me what, dobe? Why are you sitting there, holding your sides with your jacket open and dripping sweat?” Sasuke asked lazily, taking in his beloved’s appearance. Waiting for an answer but clearly expecting none, he crossed his arms and waited.

Naruto’s pained eyes noticed his lover’s disgruntled expression. ‘Shit! Now I’m screwed.’ For there was concern and worry etched into the smooth skin.

It hurt to know he’d put those feelings there with his carelessness. Sasuke was growing impatient, he could tell. Still he said nothing. Nobody was better than him at the waiting game; he’d proven that particular point last time they’d quarreled. Naruto wailed inside as outwardly his lips curled into a teasing smile.

“Sas’ke! What’re you doing here? Weren’t you supposed to wait at Ichikaru’s?” he asked hoping to distract him while he waited out the pain.

“You took ages getting there and I worried.” He replied succinctly, stretching his hand to take a firm hold of his arm to help him stand.

“And you chose to come and see what I was up to?” he laughed nervously, his hands turning clammy as another jab chose that moment to make itself known. Naruto quickly hid a gasp and forced his body to stretch playfully.

“I am fine. Just got distracted watching… the neighborhood!” he finished quickly before latching onto one strong arm and pulling his lover along.

“Come on, Teme! I am hungry!” he called, pushing himself, striving for normality.

***Sasuke’s POV***

The silent raven closed his eyes and allowed himself to be led. He didn’t need to be a prodigy to know his dobe was in pain. Real pain. He could almost swear he’d seen bone deep exhaustion lurking in the clear blue depths but the expression was gone before he had time to analyze it. He frowned as his ears confirmed his suspicions: Naruto was not being himself, something was not right.

Naruto chose that moment to turn toward him, smiling and talking animatedly. He stifled a gasp and his expression hardened, turning forbidding. Here, under the midday sun he was able to distinguish dark smudges under his koi’s eyes. That coupled with the bruised look of the skin under his eyes and the tightness around his mouth told a story of pain and sleeplessness.

‘You look like Gaara, dobe. What are you doing to yourself?’ It was time to act. His dobe needed protection and he was going to provide it… even against his own stubborn self.

“Come on, Teme! I am hungry!” Naruto called running ahead and he followed with a deep sigh; choosing to humor his golden lover until he had further evidence to back his arguments. ‘Thank god we are meeting Kakashi…’

They entered the busy restaurant, looked around and made a beeline towards a waiting Kakashi sitting on a booth near the restaurant’s back wall. Naruto grinned through his greetings and slid on the empty space in front of his sensei. He was happy to see him, specially if it meant delaying the argument that was sure to follow as soon as they were alone. Sasuke reached the booth with measured steps, using this time to observe those around him and their reaction to his dobe. He scowled.

‘Naruto thinks people know and accept our relationship but I know better. They are aware of how close he was to death and the fact I took care of him. Therefore, they expect us to get closer; just not as close as we are.’ He bit back a smile before ruffling his dobe’s hair tenderly. Naruto grumbled under his breath about people watching but he shrugged good naturedly.

To Naruto’s dismay, he had made a point of indulging in small PDA’s where others could watch. He didn’t want to submit his koi to his fans but he needed to drive home the idea that his interest was otherwise engaged. In his mind there would never be other than Naruto.

Those daring enough to approach him afterwards were treated to the Uchiha’s weapon of choice: his deadly sharingan enhanced glares. It drove the fear of death into their little hearts and dispersed them quickly thus giving him more time to spend with his dobe.

They ordered their usual fare and ate their food amidst companionable silence. Both men exchanged concerned glances as their favorite blonde ate slowly, practically falling asleep over his single bowl of ramen.

Sasuke raised his hand to get the attention of the waitress, to order the customary extra helpings of ramen for his lover. His eyes went from Kakashi’s eagle gaze to Naruto’s tired face. ‘Let’s see what you make of this, Kakashi-sensei.’ He thought grimly.

“Dobe? Ready to order more?” he asked nonchalantly. Alarms blared inside his brain as he noticed Naruto stiffen under his gaze before smiling genially.

“Sure… um… but just one this time, Teme. I don’t want to strain your finances, Sas’ke.” He scratched his head, smiling brazenly as he usually did whenever he wanted to hide something. Both men watched Naruto closely judging for themselves the reason for his actions.

As soon as the second bowl was placed before him, it was obvious for them Naruto ordered a second bowl only because he felt it was expected, not because he wanted it. He was slow in starting to eat, staring at the cooling noodles with something akin to disgust.

“What’s wrong dobe? Not hungry anymore?” Sasuke asked teasingly, his light voice masking his concern perfectly. He swore inside his mind when, to his amazement, his dobe simply pushed aside his half-eaten plate.

“Whew, I ate too much so I’d better not. I think its time to start a new regime, you know. Eating too much ramen makes you fat.” He smiled brilliantly, hands crossed behind his neck, busily avoiding their eyes. “Oi, Kakashi sensei what is that project you are working with Sasuke about? He doesn’t want to talk about it other than say its important Hokage business. Come on, talk!” he wheedled steering the conversation away from his obvious lack of appetite.

“ANBU business, Naruto. When and if you need to know, Tsunade-sama will be the only one to brief you in the matter.” Kakashi dissembled effectively more interested in knowing what was wrong with his student than in discussing routine stuff.

Sasuke clucked softly but chose not to comment, instead meeting Kakashi’s eyes over his tired lover’s head. Shaking his head slightly, he signaled the other was not to mention Naruto’s weird behavior. They had to talk. This was what he had been telling his sensei when he’d suggested they meet for lunch to examine the situation. Kakashi’s visible eye narrowed with worry.

“Kakashi-san, I haven’t seen Iruka-sensei lately. Is he alright?” Sasuke queried easily, turning the conversation away from Naruto and into other topics. He wanted his teacher to see for himself further proof to back up his worries.

Not fifteen minutes later, Naruto’s eyes glazed over and he nodded off while sitting. Lightning quick, Sasuke moved to catch his head before it could hit the wall, pulling him close. Naruto snored softly, his head resting securely against Sasuke’s side, with a protective arm draped around his shoulders. Kakashi’s eyebrow rose. This was definitively an unexpected turn.

‘Iruka would certainly benefit with a little exposure to this Uchiha’s possessiveness.’ He thought with a hidden grin.

“Yeah, sensei. As I was saying, Sakura then sucked me off, biting my balls while I played with Iruka-sensei’s ass. Then I flew to Suna and fucked Gaara while Naruto here watched. Temari gave birth to spotted blue kittens with Hyuuga-enhanced eyes that looked just like Lee. Kiba ran away with a pack of wolves and Kyuubi works as an escort in Sound.” Sasuke finished with a straight face before staring pointedly at his unresponsive lover and giving Kakashi time to control his stunned expression. Kakashi wanted proof, so he’d show him his dobe was so out of it an exploding tag could go off beneath him and he would never know. Naruto’s only response to the previous monologue was to mumble and sigh deeply, nuzzling his lover’s side.

“Naruto… Koi… Do you want our Hokage-sama to come visit and dance naked over our bed? We could have my brother bring Cream Parfaits and whipped cream for dinner. Then we could parade naked around Konohagakure before eloping atop Gamabunta. What do you think?” he asked softly, touching his shoulder gently so as not to startle him. Naruto’s head straightened and he blinked sleepily.

“Huh? Yeah… we can do that. Make sure to invite Kakashi and Iruka-sensei, they’ll love that.” He mumbled once more, dozing off shortly after.

Kakashi’s shoulders shook with the effort not to burst out laughing. This was incredibly funny and utterly terrifying at the same time. Sasuke was right. This was worse than expected when Sasuke had first approached him with complains about a distracted dobe who fell asleep anywhere.

“I’ll take him home now. I’ll be back to talk to you later, ne?” Sasuke stood without waiting for a confirmation, gentle hands curling around Naruto’s elbows and guiding a practically sleepwalking blonde outside.

***Kakashi’s POV***

Kakashi stayed seated, slowly digesting this disturbing piece of information. Three days ago, a violently stammering Sasuke had come to his door to talk about Naruto. If he closed his eyes, he could see Sasuke standing with a defiant expression while standing in his doorstep that night.

-flashback-

“Can we talk?” he asked softly, maybe too softly. With a nod, he pushed his door wider to allow him access into his abode. His student’s presence intrigued him.

Until a few weeks ago, when Naruto’s illness and recovery took Tsunade into the Uchiha mansion, Sasuke hadn’t so much as shown his face around Konoha. And suddenly, here he was, in all his frozen glory.

‘Wait a minute, that can’t be concern I am watching in his eyes, can it?’ he mused. This promised to be more interesting than he’d thought. He sat on his favorite chair, waiting to pounce.

“I… don’t know…um…who to go to.” He started once Kakashi signaled him into his sofa. Sitting down, he stared at his hands for a while, his tense frame and nervously shifting eyes denouncing his discomfort and worry.

Deciding to take pity on him for Naruto’s sake if not his own, he relented. “What do you mean?”

Lifting his eyes, Sasuke’s eyes reflected his agitation.
“Naruto… um… He’s acting weird. I mean he’s doing things that worry me. I think there is something wrong with him and I’m afraid for him.” He stated urgently, his low voice adding to the anxiousness starting to build inside Kakashi. This was not the Sasuke he was used to.

“And how do you propose I help you?” Kakashi asked coldly lifting a brow, not above making his ex-student sweat a bit after treating his Iruka so shabbily. He smirked, knowing his student’s pride was his biggest fault. It was either the Uchiha swallowed his pride and begged for help or he would turn around and leave. He was mentally patting himself on the back at his resourcefulness. After all, later that night, he had a date with Iruka. He waited.

Sasuke fidgeted, twisting his hands and blushing deeply. Kakashi was starting to fear his student was going to die from oxygen starvation as he was apparently holding his breath. He wondered how somebody so pale could manage to reach such an intense mauve color. A long while passed before Kakashi finally lost patience. Watching the Uchiha melt into a puddle of goo in the middle of his living room lost its appeal after the first half hour.

“Sasuke…” he started before the young man before him jumped to his feet and started pacing like a caged beast. ‘Pacing? The Uchiha? Interesting!’

“Sensei…” Sasuke started and Kakashi almost choked.

‘Sensei and all… he must really want something bad.’ Kakashi thought as his attention was completely taken by the raven pacing madly before him.

“Could you please stop and talk before you wear a hole in my newly replaced carpet? Sheez, what’s with men and pacing, I wonder?” he drawled from his seat, leaning back to enjoy the show.

“Ano… Sensei. Naruto… he’s behaving weirdly since after the incident a month ago. I mean… he’s not the same… strength-wise, doesn’t eat… doesn’t sleep too well either and he is always sleepy. I don’t know… what to make of it.” He burst all of a sudden. “I am worried… because I care… he… we… We are lovers… sensei… and I don’t want to lose him. Please.” He added, his voice dying in intensity and leaving only a shadowy husk of his normal strong baritone.

Kakashi’s eyes bulged out of his sockets as the Uchiha begged. The sole fact that he was talking instead of fleeing only meant that he was a man in love, worried about his lover. The sudden glimpse at Sasuke’s true heart helped tame the sadist inside his soul. For he would kill without hesitation to save Iruka from harm: be it imaginary or real.

That conversation lasted so long that Iruka had come looking for him. His intelligent lover had taken a look at Sasuke‘s anxious face and immediately understood their date would have to be postponed for another day.

-end of flashback-

He smiled with affection before his expression sobered. Naruto actions signaled something was terribly wrong and he was sure the Hokage had to be informed. Sasuke had done right to look for help. Knowing Naruto stubbornness to be legendary he understood his lover’s concern. Still he didn’t relish the idea of breaking the problem to the Hokage.

‘I should observe him closely before I report to her, to give her a run down of symptoms. Yeah… that’s it. Let’s watch how things progress for the next few weeks.’ He nodded unwilling to own up to his healthy dose of respect for their Hokage’s equally legendary strength, her well known overprotectiveness towards the blonde and hot temper. He smiled remembering her anger when she returned from the Uchiha complex. She pronounced Naruto well on his way to recovery but almost destroyed the training grounds in her anger.

‘Now it makes sense,’ he thought with a smirk, ‘What probably happened was that Tsunade’s over protectiveness butted heads with Uchiha’s possessiveness over the same person and she came out a loser. How fun!‘ He smirked and teleported after leaving enough money to cover their lunch. He was going to watch Naruto closely. Even if the stubborn blonde didn’t believe it, he was too important to be put at risk while he waited for proof; Iruka wouldn’t forgive him otherwise.

***********