What Happens Now...

Hey all!! This is where I will start posting once a week!! Thanks to Hina-chan, my story is typo free!! Yeahness!! I would like to thank you all for supporting this story. Hope you enjoy this long delayed chapter.

(Naruto’s POV)
I was about to go insane!! For the past week I have been chained to this hospital, unable to go outside its sterile walls. My body ached to be moved. All I wanted to do was train so that I could go on a mission. It has almost been two weeks since I rescued Sasuke from the Sound and my body shows it. The tan I developed from being in the sun has faded. The muscles I worked years for, were starting to loose their mass. I even felt my mind deteriorate from boredom. Though, there have been some perks from being in the hospital. Ever since I woke up, Sasuke has never left my side. The nurses, doctors, and even Tsunade obaa-chan have come in to tell him to go home, but every time, he refuses. I truly believed that once I told him about what lived inside of me that he would hate me like the rest of the village did. How wrong I was. His reaction was almost the opposite. Sasuke didn’t get all mushy, but he did open up. He slowly started to tell me about his past, before his brother did the unthinkable. Sasuke still hasn’t told me about that night specifically, but I know he’ll tell me when he’s ready.

What I appreciate the most though is that he’ll lie next to me at night without me asking. I feel at peace when I can hear his heartbeat in sync with mine. I always curl up next to him, though I still had to mind a few tubes that I was still hooked up to. Those are the moments that I burned into my memory. His scent, his feel, his voice, I made sure that I took each second to memorize him. Sasuke made me realize, that day I woke up, that I’m worth something, that I deserve to be happy. I want to make him see that it applies to him as well. I hope I’m strong enough to help him through his burdens and have him come into the light that he brought me into.

“Naruto, you ready to go?” I thought he would never ask! The hospital had finally decided that I was fit to leave. I could have left two days ago, but they just kept performing tests to make sure I was fine. The doctors told me that I had lost a lot of blood from the attack and that this would be a shock to my system. Little did they know that I had my own personal doctor inside of me that made sure that everything was in working order. But it didn’t matter now. I was leaving and I hope that I won’t have to be inside this place again anytime soon!

“Yeah. Let’s get out of here before they change their mind.” I say under my breath, hoping I didn’t jinx myself. Sasuke just shakes his head and starts to walk out. I follow closely behind. My mind started to drift. What was I going to do first? There were so many options; eating, training, or just sticking with Sasuke. Of course if I was lucky, I could do the first two at the same time as the third. I started to plot my little plan in my head, snickering every once in a while at the evil plans I schemed. Sasuke suddenly stopped. I looked around and saw that we had made it outside into the streets. Had I been that distracted not to notice how far we had gone? Sasuke must've been wondering why I was so quite.

“Hey Naruto. Could you hang out with Sakura for a while?” What the hell? Why did he want me to hang out with Sakura? Sakura was my best friend ever since Sasuke had left for the Sound, but why was he trying to get rid of me? “I have some things to talk to Tsunade-sama about, it has to be just me and her though.” So that was the case. I felt relieved. My old worries were starting to surface. It was going to take a while to fully trust Sasuke. Don’t get me wrong, I really love Sasuke but...It’s just that I never expected for someone to accept me for what I truly was. I keep thinking that reality will catch up and he’ll leave me. I close my eyes and smile at him.

"Sure. We can meet up later. How about in front of Ichiraku’s?” I suggest. Maybe I could con him into buying me ramen again. “No. Meet me on top of the Third Hokage’s head, on the mountain.” I stare at him for a moment. Why there? I only went up there when I had to think about something. I shrugged.

“Ok. I’ll be there.” Quickly, I place a chaste kiss on his lips and dash off. I don’t know about him but, as soon as I turned away from Sasuke, I knew I was blushing harder than a teenage girl.
--------------------------
It didn’t take long to find Sakura. The first place I looked was in Ino’s flower shop, handed down to her by her parents. Ino was still a ninja, but her skills were still very limited so she was still only a Genin, which meant very few missions for her. Ino was behind the counter talking up a storm to Sakura. Neither of them have taken notice of my presence yet. I knock on the inside of the door.

“Hey Ino, Sakura!” Ino looked past Sakura, while Sakura spun around to face me. I thought I saw panic rush through her eyes, but it must have been a trick of the light. I walked over to stand beside my former team-mate, keeping a smile on my face. “Watcha up to?” I ask, not wanting the silence to make this situation awkward.

“Nothing much Naruto. I thought you would be with Sasuke. Is something wrong?” Sakura questioned. All I could do was shrug and rub the back of my head. I really didn’t know what I was doing here, but Sasuke asked me to hang out with Sakura and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. She just stood there, waiting for my answer.

“Um... He had some things to discuss with Tsunade Obaa-chan and I was wondering if you would want to spend some time together. We haven’t really talked in a long time.” Her eyes widened for only a moment, a soft smile replacing her shock.

“Sure! That would be fun.” She waved goodbye to Ino and grabbed my arm, effectively dragging me out of the flower shop. Once we were out on the street, Sakura let go of my arm. Looking over at me, she gave me another soft smile. Blushing a bit, I look away from her, lacing my fingers behind my head. Three years ago, I would have given anything to walk beside Sakura like this. I thought that I loved her, that I could spend the rest of my life with her. My belief had been that after I rescued Sasuke, she would see that her feelings for him had changed and she would come running to me. I never expected to fall as hard as I did for Sasuke… yet, I’m glad it happened that way. Sakura is still very important to me, but I know now that I could never love her properly that way. She’s just a friend now, the one friend that I can turn to with any problem and know that she’ll help me outwithout prejudice. We had walked quite a distance in silence, ending up in the park. I take a peek beside me at my friend. She looks to be deep in thought, her hands clasped together in front of her. I spot a bench a couple of feet in front of us. Lightly grabbing her arm, I motion for us to go sit. We settle onto the bench, keeping a safe distance between us. I swing my arm over the back as she folds her hands on her lap. She’s the first to speak.

“So...how are you and Sasuke?” I never thought our conversation would start off like this. Was she really angry that I was dating Sasuke? Maybe I was just over thinking things. I sigh.

“Fine. He’s really nice and he's finally started to open up to me.” I see her glance over at me at the last part of my answer. Having Sasuke tell me about his past was one of the highlights of my stay at the hospital, yet I can understand the look Sakura gave me. She might feel a little jealous since he never talked to her. I would probably feel the same way if I were in her shoes. Being careful, Sakura gently grasps my hand and holds it between us. I lock my eyes with hers, wondering what she’s was thinking.

“Naruto...I hope you two are happy. I can see now that you really need him and maybe... he needs you. Don’t let anyone tear you two apart.” Sakura’s words hit hard. When Sasuke told me the same thing, the effect was different. His words made me feel accepted that I was allowed to exist. What Sakura said had me believing that I had every right to be happy with Sasuke. Lightly squeezing her hand, I give her a silent thanks.

“Sakura, can you keep a secret?” Her eyes questioned me, not knowing what I was going to say.

“Any secret you tell me, I can keep Naruto.” The confidence in her voice was over whelming. Sakura and I had become close over the past three years. This was the only reason I could tell her my secret.

“You know about me being kidnapped, right?” She nods, urging me to continue.

“The man knocked me out and dragged me into the woods, tying me to a tree. When I woke up, I was more scared than I had ever been in my life. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t. Then the man appeared again and he just smiled at me. I asked him why he did it, but he just kept smiling...” I had to pause, forcing back the emotions that the memories brought back. Catching my breath, I continued. “He said that I was a curse to the village, that I should have known better than to start a relationship with an Uchiha. He said that I was disgusting and that I would have been allowed to live if I would have stayed away from Sasuke. Do you know why he thought these things?” Sakura didn’t move a muscle, telling me that she was waiting for my answer. “It’s because I have Kyuubi no Kitsune inside of me.” Her grip tightened on my hand.

“Oh Naruto...” Was all she could say. Sakura turned her eyes from me, trying to blink away the tears I saw forming in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, I had no idea.” Why was she apologizing? It’s not like she knew her father was going to do that to me. Of course, she didn’t even know it was her father that tortured me. “Naruto, you do know that you’re not a monster, right? Whoever this man is deserves to be punished!! Tell me who did this Naruto!” Maybe it had been a bad idea to tell her. I let go of her hand and start to get up. Using all of her strength, Sakura knocks me down and pins me to the ground. She was physically stronger than I was only because of the strength training with Baa-chan. “TELL ME NARUTO!” “IT WAS YOUR FATHER!!” I scream, regretting the words that had just left my mouth. She jumps up from me, slowly backing away. “No...it can’t be true... you’re lying!” She takes off. I don’t have the strength to chase after her. I can’t deny what happened. Sakura was going to have to deal with her own problems. I was going to be there for her, but she was only going to start healing when she accepted the truth. The sun was starting to sink low in the sky, casting an orange glow over the park.

“I guess I better go meet Sasuke.” I leap away from the park, trying to put on a smile for Sasuke.
-------------------
(Sasuke’s POV)
During the whole week Naruto was in the hospital, there was only one thought on my mind, find out who tortured him. I had done massive research or as much as I could do from a hospital room. I had to keep my task from Naruto, not wanting to upset him. I wasn’t getting anywhere. Every time I would get a lead, the trail would end without any notice. My frustration level was steadily growing. I was about to give up, just happy knowing that my blonde was ok but, then a breakthrough came from an unexpected source. The night before Naruto was released from the hospital, he had been having a nightmare. He was shaking and whimpering. I was about to wake him up.

“Please Kizu...leave me alone.” My mind went blank. Sakura’s father was to blame? I had to use all my strength to not leave Naruto right then and go kill Haruno Kizu. For the rest of the night, I plotted a way to give Kizu exactly what he deserved.
----------------------
(Naruto’s POV)
“Where the hell are you Sasuke?” The sun had just set, but there was still no sign of my elusive boyfriend. I flopped down onto the stone ground, shivering as the chill of the night crept up on me. Once again, a day that had started out good had turned into a total disaster. Maybe there was a good time quota that I always managed to meet by the end of the day. Bringing my knees up to my chest, I gaze out over the village. What did my future really hold? Yeah, I still wanted to be Hokage and I was pretty sure that I was going to be with Sasuke but....What about everything else? What about my friends? Was Sasuke going to leave to kill Itachi? My head sank onto my knees, trying to block out all of these confusing thoughts. Body heat pressed into my back, arms encircling my shoulders. Sasuke.

“Did you miss me dobe?” Sasuke sat behind me and spread his legs on the outside of mine. I leaned back into him, enjoying the embrace. I gave a quiet laugh at the name Sasuke had called me. At one time had been an insult, but now it was a pet name.

“Do you really have to ask?” I tilt my head back to look into his face. There was a slight smile on his face. Sasuke knew that I really did miss him, especially after what happened with Sakura. I snuggled in closer to Sasuke, trying to forget the afternoon’s events.

“Did you have a good time with Sakura?” I tensed at the mention of her name. Sadly for me, Sasuke was perceptive enough to notice my discomfort. He leaned in closer.

“What happened?” He asked simply.

“We just had a fight, that’s all.” I wanted to avoid the subject, not wanting to tell Sasuke who really tortured me that night. The arms around my shoulders tightened.

“You’re not telling me everything Naruto.” Why did he have to be so persistent? I never pushed him into telling me about the night his clan died, so why was he doing this to me? I had to make something up, anything to prevent Sasuke from finding out about Kizu.

“She wanted to go somewhere to eat but, I told her that I wanted to wait for you. She got mad, saying that I never spend anymore time with her anymore. We ended up arguing and then we parted ways.” I couldn’t believe that was the best lie I could come up with. The pressure from Sasuke waiting for an answer had my mind going blank, therefore resulting in a lame excuse. There was no way I could look Sasuke in the face. He sighed and laid his forehead on the back of my head.

“I know you’ll tell me when you’re ready. I can wait.” So he knew it was a lie. I felt horrible, but the lie was the only way to keep him from killing Kizu. Sasuke starts to shift his weight, his arms breaking the embrace. He then sits next to me. “Here.” I look down to his hands and see a small package. What was this all about? Not wanting to upset Sasuke from my lack of response, I take the present and start to unwrap it. The simple brown paper tore easily, revealing a white box. Carefully, I open the top and gasp at the contents. There laying in white tissue paper is a silver arm brace. It was engraved with the Konoha leaf symbol, but that’s not what caught my eye. Underneath the leaf was the kanji for Jounin. My head whips towards Sasuke. “Congratulations Naruto, you’re now officially one step closer to becoming Hokage.” I couldn’t believe my ears. I, Uzumaki Naruto, was now a Jounin. That also meant that Sasuke was a Jounin as well. I had totally forgotten my deal with Obaa-chan. I couldn’t hold back anymore. Not giving Sasuke anytime to realize what was going on, I kiss him hard. Stunned at first, Sasuke
doesn’t respond. He quickly recovers and kisses me back. I break the kiss as quickly as it started. I needed to reward Sasuke for his achievement as well.

“I love you Sasuke.” His eyes go wide. I could see the relief leave his shoulders. I kiss him again, savouring the moment. I lick his bottom lip, asking for entrance. He replies greedily by pushing his tongue into my mouth. I explore his mouth, enjoying the feeling that was starting to bubble up inside of me. Oddly, his taste was sweet, despite his dislike for sweets themselves. Suddenly, Sasuke pushes me onto my back, his body hovering above of mine. Somehow he managed to never break the kiss. His lips parted from mine, only to make themselves useful by kissing my neck. My hands worked themselves into Sasuke’s shirt, exploring the fast expanse of his chest. He moaned into my neck, causing me to shiver with pleasure. I wanted to hear Sasuke make that sound again. Slowly, he worked his mouth up to the hollow of my ear, licking every inch that he could reach. I gasp when he finally reaches his goal, making my face redden with pleasure. My fingers finally find his nipples. I give them a light squeeze, being rewarded with a deep moan from my raven haired lover. His body sank lower, effectively lying on top of me. I relished every point of contact that Sasuke made with me, especially in my lower regions. Noticing how much I was enjoying this, Sasuke rolled his hips. Intense pleasure shot up through my spine, erasing any coherent thought from my mind. I wanted Sasuke, more than I ever thought I could.

“Sasuke...” I whimper, suddenly feeling very confined in my clothes. He nods his head, probably feeling the same way. I lean forward and grab the hem of Sasuke’s shirt. Slowly, I pull the garment off, revealing the beautiful body of my lover. He almost glowed in the moonlight. I didn’t even notice when Sasuke started to pull up on my own shirt until I had to put my arms up to get rid of the nuisance. Smiling, he gently pushed me back down into a reclining position. I complied and was rewarded with his talented mouth encircling one of my nipples. My hand flew to his hair, almost ripping it out from his skull. He just kept licking and sucking, making sure that I was a puddle by the time his mouth left me. Pulling him up, I locked his lips with my own. We battled for dominance, but this time I won. All the while, I could feel Sasuke’s hand wander lower and lower on my body. I gasped when he reached the zipper of my pants, wanting nothing more than for the garment to be ripped away.

‘STOP RIGHT NOW KIT!!!!!” That fox was going to die! I tried to ignore him, focussing all my attention on Sasuke. In truth, it wasn’t that hard. Sasuke didn’t notice the sudden interruption, starting to pull down on the zipper. ‘IF YOU DON’T STOP NOW, I’LL TAKE OVER!!’ I was furious. I knew that Kyuubi had every intention of following through with his threat. With all the strength I had, I gently pushed Sasuke away.

“What’s wrong?” Sasuke asked, I could hear the pain in his voice. He must think that he’s done something wrong. I sit up and groan.

“A certain fox doesn’t want us to continue.” Anger was visible on Sasuke’s face. Oh, if only I could let him do what he wanted to do to Kyuubi, the world would be short one nine-tailed demon. Taking a deep breath, Sasuke locked his eyes with mine.

“Can I have an explanation before I do something I’ll regret?” My own anger was settling. The moment was over, there was no way me and Sasuke could pick
up where we left off. Sighing, I search for the damn fox.

‘Why the hell did you stop us Kyuubi?!?’ The foxed huffed, as if the answer was totally obvious.

‘The Uchiha can’t mate with you, not yet.’ He was avoiding my question. His answer was way too vague to let the conversation end here.

‘Why? It’s not like Sasuke’s going to do this and leave. He loves me!’ Anger was starting to surface again. I never knew Kyuubi to act this protective over me, why start now?

‘You both have things to do before mating can occur. If you did it now, you would both die.’ Well...there are worse ways to die. I shake my head, not really understanding how having sex would result in death. Reading my thoughts, Kyuubi replied. ‘You’ll understand soon enough.’ Then he shut himself off from me, his mind unreachable. I growled in frustration.

“Well, what did the damn fox have to say?” Sasuke questioned, the anger still very visible on his face. I decide not to make things even more complicated than they already were.

“If we were to have sex, we would have died.” All anger disappears from his face and is soon replaced by confusion. “HOW THE HELL DOES THAT WORK?” Sasuke screamed, not satisfied with the answer Kyuubi gave him.

“I don’t know! He said something about the both of us having things we have to do before sex. I just think he’s jealous he’s not getting any.” Of course I didn’t want to test my theory. Sure I wanted to do it with Sasuke, but I wasn’t ready to die just for 30 minutes of pleasure. I stood, wincing at my painfully hard erection. I was pretty sure Sasuke was in the same predicament I was in. I just wanted to go home, get a shower, and go to bed. I snatch my shirt from the ground, picking up Sasuke’s as well.

“Here, since we can’t just go walking around shirtless.” He grabs the shirt and slips it back on. I almost whimper at the lost sight of his naked torso. Suddenly, I remember the discarded gift. I look back and find it still lying in the box, shining in the moonlight. I pluck it out of the box and slip it on. It fit perfectly. I stand and walk over to Sasuke, giving him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks again. It really means a lot.” He smiles again, lacing his fingers with mine.

“Let’s go home, dobe.” I couldn’t have said it any better myself.
-----------------------------
(Sasuke’s POV)
I just wanted to break something. I needed to get rid of this anger and quickly. All I wanted was to make Naruto truly mine, but that was taken away from me by a sealed demon. I sat in the living room, trying to breathe out the frustration. I didn’t blame Naruto, not in the least. He was just as pissed as I was, maybe even more. The only difference between us is that he hides it better. It’s kind of ironic. I’m known for hiding my emotions, while Naruto wears his on his sleeve. Maybe we only do this with minor feelings. When it comes to stronger emotions, we switch roles.

An idea struck me. Now would be the perfect time to execute my plan against Kizu. Naruto was in the shower, giving me plenty of time. Standing, I make a few hand signs and create a shadow clone.

“When Naruto gets out of the shower, I want you to go to bed with him and fall asleep. If he tries to talk to you, just roll over. Don’t talk to him at all.” I tell the clone. It nods and sits in the chair that I previously occupied. It was always a little creepy to have a clone. I shook off the feeling; I couldn’t waste time on useless feelings. I walked over to the door of the small apartment. If Naruto ever found out about what I was about to do, it would tear him apart.
----------------
Did this do my other chapters justice or did I disappoint? Review!! This chapter took me so long since I had to figure out some logic as to why certain characters were acting certain ways. I think it all worked out in the end. Oh, don't rag on me for the make out scene. This was my first one!! I'm going to be really paniced when I have to write a lemon scene! Like Hina-chan told me, "They're more fun to read than write!!" Thanks for reading. Well, until next time kiddies.