Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters are the properties of Masashi Kishimoto. No profit is made off of this fan-fiction story. Any additional original characters located in this story are designated at such and belong to the author, Jae (Dirtyangel).

A/N: Keeping momentum!

Thank you all for your continued support, appreciation, and overall awesomeness. Hope you enjoy!

—.&.&.—

XIV.

Grounded in Reality

Sasuke stared at the agenda he was trying to piece together. It'd been several minutes since he'd last written something down, and his focus was wandering.

Amid the words, ink, and paper fibers his mind was lost lamenting things he was too foolish to let go. He should have never agreed to do this mission. It was a gross disservice to himself, and now, he was stuck dealing with a difficult situation.

Hunching his shoulders further, he continued to stare at his notes over linked fingers. The notebook and pen he was using were precariously balanced on one knee while he sat crossed-legged on the floor. Behind him, from outside the bedroom, he could hear Naruto and his son bustling around the living area. When Sasuke had last checked on them, they'd been preparing lunch. He remembered the look Naruto had given him when their eyes met; it'd been resignation. Sasuke had wanted to yell at him for that.

He was tired of these emotional confrontations. He'd already had to rein in his irrational anxiety about coming here. He didn't need Naruto dredging up things that were pointless.

What had Naruto wanted Sasuke to say? Yes, they could be friends like before? The past eleven years may have been marred with a lot of wasted affectivity, but of course, they could still start over?

Sasuke's reaction had been almost primal. There was no way he was going to leave himself vulnerable like that again.

Never again.

"You have a job to do," he whispered to himself. "Stop being a damn idiot and just do it."

This was the crux of Sasuke's issue: He did have a job to do, but he was botching it horribly because of how he felt.

Naruto had essentially handed him the easiest route to finding out what the Hokage wanted to know, and wasn't that why Tsunade had petitioned Sasuke to take this assignment in the first place? Naruto had an attachment to him; he always had. Moreover, the other man had just confessed that he loved him.

What the hell was he doing wasting this opportunity!

In spite of this logic, Sasuke felt his stomach twist painfully at the thought of Naruto's words. He hadn't anticipated that conversation. Naruto had spent so much time avoiding various subjects from the past that it had thrown Sasuke to hear him mention their involvement. Of all the things…

"Use that," he clenched his teeth against the renewed signs of anxiety prickling within him. "Use that to get what you need and complete your assignment to its best conclusion. Nothing else matters."

.—.

Opening the bedroom door revealed Naruto and his son sitting on the lip of the back panel door's threshold. They were speaking quietly to one another.

Sasuke considered them for a few moments before deciding to walk toward the low table at the center of the living area. His movements were intentionally noticeable, which drew the desired effect. Naruto's eyes had homed in on him as if he were a beacon.

"It looks like you two are appropriately settled in," Sasuke said, not bothering to look in their direction.

A few cut sandwiches were stacked on a plate near the edge of the table. He reached down for one, and as he grasped it, he flicked his eyes up to meet Naruto's gaze. The blond didn't look away, but the lines of his face were wary.

Sasuke assessed this with calculating intent. Naruto's disgruntlement still lingered, but that didn't seem to keep his attention away from Sasuke. Sasuke could use this to his advantage; though, subtlety would be the key.

He looked away, picking up the sandwich in the process.

"Not much else to do other than that," Naruto replied.

Sasuke glanced back at him. Naruto had gone back to viewing the yard.

Taking a bite of the sandwich, Sasuke approached them.

"That can easily be fixed. This place needs a number of repairs. Between you, myself, and a few clones we can quickly have that done in a few days. Then your training can start."

Both blonds turned to stare at him. The boy eyed him shiftily while Naruto's expression had gone neutral.

"'Tousan says that this place used to be where your family lived. How come none of them have kept this place up?"

This flippant question roused Naruto into giving his son a reproachful look. The boy answered it with a petulant pout.

"Because they're all dead," Sasuke said offhandedly. He took another bite of his sandwich as he settled for leaning against the wall just a few inches from the doorway. From here, he wouldn't have a full view of the yard, or see the empty houses and deserted pathways. He could easily tolerate that.

"Jeez, Sasuke. Really?" Naruto said, disapproving.

Sasuke gave him a side-long glance that was far from apologetic. "He felt the need to ask a frank question, so I gave him a frank answer."

Frowning at his cavalier response, Naruto tsked and turned back to his son. "Be polite," he said emphatically to the boy.

"I-I was just curious..."

Suspicious glare gone, Naruto's son kept throwing sheepish glances at Sasuke while trying to be contrite for his father. A vague impulse to smirk stirred within Sasuke, but he opted to ignore it. He had no interest in enticing further interaction with the boy. He wasn't fond of the brat to begin with.

—.o.—

He was running, but he didn't know why. He always seemed to be running, lately.

This acknowledgement of his actions was enough to break Naruto out of the daze he'd fallen into. He stumbled over his feet and pitched forward onto the ground, skidding a few feet in the dirt and discarded leaves.

He lay there, breath harried and body aching. Dust gathered up into his lungs, causing him to wheeze and gag. His throat burned from the aggressive coughing. Naruto struggled up onto to his hands and knees as he tried to purge his airways of dirt.

Where was he? Why wasn't he with Honda-san and Emi? Had they managed to get away in time?

Thoughts fluttering wildly, Naruto looked around in a frantic rush. He was in the woods, nowhere near the Honda's home, and there was no one else in sight.

He had to find them. He had to find them or else Akatsuki might hurt them.

His fingers dug into the earth as he thought of what to do. Dirt clumped beneath his fingernails and adhered to the palm of his hands; something sticky soaked them.

He looked down, and his heart stuttered to a stop. His arms were covered in blood and small chunks of meaty substances. He scrambled to his feet, holding them away from his body.

What was this?

"Pathetic," came a vitriolic growl.

Naruto's shaky vision shifted away from the horror of his viscera-laded hands to find a shadowed figure standing in front of him. He blinked as the shadows melted away to reveal the stranger's face: He was staring at himself.

The sudden terror that filled him froze him in place as his heart began pounding rapidly within his chest.

No. No, no, no…

The figure lunged toward him, and Naruto felt a scream bubble up from his throat.

Then a hand grabbed him by the back of his collar, snatching him out of range, and sent him careening over the side of a cliff he hadn't noticed was there. The only glimpse he caught of his assailant was a streak or fiery red hair and a bright white robe.

Naruto reached out, trying to call to Kurama as he fell, but he couldn't speak. Blood was already filling his lungs from the tanto knife buried deep in his chest.

.—.

His eyes shot open as he jolted awake. The uncomfortable dampness of a cold sweat had his hair and shirt sticking to his skin. Naruto sprang to his feet, nearly tripping over the sheets he'd been tangled in.

Where was he? Where was Kurama?

A high-pitched ringing kept reverberating in his ears. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it. When he was finally able to focus on something, it was on a panel door. It was the only thing he could make out in this dim, moonlit room.

Naruto rushed toward the door. Once he slid it open, a moderately-sized living area was on the other side.

He stopped.

Was this someone's house? Why was he here?

"Kurama?" he said into the darkness.

"What are you doing?"

Naruto turned in the direction of this new voice—and found Sasuke standing there. A wave of recognition folded over him like a heavy veil, causing his stomach to drop as he realized what he'd done.

The ringing in his ears was gone.

He looked around again, trying to make sure he wasn't still dreaming: The living space was a part of the house Sasuke had taken him and Kanaye to; behind him, Kanaye was sleeping on a futon in the room they were sharing. They were both still in Konoha.

Naruto tilted his head upward as the comfort of understanding filled him with relief. This was real.

It was clearer now why the house was shrouded in darkness. The first day of their time at the Uchiha compound had ended. They'd all gone to bed not too long ago.

"I'm asking again, Naruto. What are you doing, and who were you calling out to?" Sasuke's impatient tone broke through his thought process.

Naruto flinched as he remembered that Sasuke was standing a few steps away to his right. Reluctantly, he slid his gaze to the other man's vicinity.

"I … ah … had a weird dream. It happens on occasion," he answered.

He turned away, back toward the bedroom and shielded from the suspicious glare Sasuke was giving him. "My wife used to say I sleep-walked whenever stuff like this happened."

Naruto settled for a convenient lie. It didn't seem wise to reveal that this was the first time he'd ever experienced something like this.

Kaiya had told him that he mumbled in his sleep sometimes when he was having a particularly bad dream, but he'd never woken up from one so disoriented before. More importantly, Naruto couldn't recall what he'd been dreaming about. There was only a lingering feeling of panic.

A slight shift in the air alerted Naruto of movement beside him. When he looked, Sasuke was now standing a few inches away. Naruto eyes widened in surprise, but he resisted the urge to take a step back.

Sasuke had folded his arms and fixed Naruto with a hard look. It was increasingly difficult for Naruto to meet his gaze. He fidgeted uneasily, feeling more self-conscious about what had occurred as well as how close they were. Before he could get the chance to comment on Sasuke's scrutiny, the other man leaned against the partially opened panel door and let out an ambiguous sigh.

His stare had changed from skeptical to curious. This perplexed Naruto a little. He was expecting Sasuke to maintain his hostility.

"That only answered one question," Sasuke's voice had lost its impatience, but it remained firm. "Who's 'Kurama'?"

Naruto frowned slightly, unhappy about the reminder of his slip-up.

"He's a friend from a long time ago. You never knew him."

Sasuke's inquisitive expression persisted. He let out another soft hum in response to Naruto's answer.

"It's two in the morning. You should get back to bed before the kid wakes up," he said offhandedly.

Naruto sighed at the reference to his son.

"He has a name, Sasuke, and it's Kanaye. Not saying it won't change the fact that he's here."

His directness seemed to catch Sasuke off guard. Naruto took some pleasure from that.

"Does it matter if I say his name or not?"

"It does, actually."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him for what seemed like minutes, and Naruto returned his stare with equal resolve. He didn't know how long they stayed like that before a small smirk crept onto Sasuke's lips—a familiar hubristic look in his eyes.

"Then, Naruto, you should get back to Kanaye."

Naruto hated the way that statement managed to annoy him and distract him all at the same time.

—.&.&.—