AN: Hi everyone! How are you doing? Anyways, this is the first installment of a Sasu/Naru story. Yes, that means Yaoi so if you don't like, please don't read. This chapter was beta'd by Inuzuka Notori and I want to dedicate this chapter to her so, thanks and I love you, Notori-chan! Anyways, I doubt anyone ever reads this so I'll just go on with the story. I hope you enjoy!
Summary: Years after his return from his quest to find his brother, Sasuke is once again best friends with Naruto but now they have matured, grown up and become members of the elite ANBU. Now, the two struggle to find a way to balance their changing relationship and the demanding lifestyle of being ANBU. Sasu/Naru.
Disclaimer: Oh how much I wished I owned Naruto. But alas, I don't. The custody is shared between Uchiha Sasuke and Masashi Kishimoto.
Porcelain Masks
Chapter 1: The Festival
Weak tendrils of pale sunlight crept softly through the large windows of the Hokage Tower, crawling slowly over the hunched form draped across the messy desk while gradually gaining in strength as the sun peeked over the horizon. Soft snores echoed in the large room, synchronizing with the steady rise and fall of the figure's ample chest as the heavy breaths caused pale blonde bangs to flutter gently.
The sleeping woman woke with a thunderous snort as someone knocked loudly at the door, lurching upright in her seat while rapidly blinking away the remnants of drowsiness. The knocks sounded again, impatiently reminding the flustered woman of her visitors. Gathering her composure, she cleared her throat before calling out in a calm, authoritative voice that belied her previous position.
"Come in."
Immediately following her words, the door swung open to reveal a sinfully cheerful blond and an emotionally stoic brunette. Both were dressed in identical, form-fitting ANBU attire; the only differences being the unique porcelain masks that hung from their belts.
"Ohayo, Tsunade-baba!" crowed the tall blond, striding forward and plopping down heavily onto a chair with a bright grin that stretched the odd lines on his cheeks. His companion followed at a more sedate pace, flowing into the last seat with an effortless grace that was one of his many trademarks. He nodded his own greeting to the woman, though his face remained impassively blank.
It was especially at moments like this, noted Tsunade mentally, that the vast discrepancies between Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke were so easily visible. One was the loud, rash flames of a roaring inferno while the other was the cool, deadly fingers of frigid ice. If Tsunade hadn't personally seen the astounding fluidity that the two executed when paired together, she probably would never have placed them on the same ANBU team. 'I suppose opposites attract…' she thought wryly, straightening out the somewhat crumpled papers on her desk before turning her cool gaze onto the two young men.
"You're too loud in the morning, Naruto," she commented, her affectionate tone taking away the sting of her words. The boy chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his golden head while his partner snorted quietly. Tsunade smiled slightly before fixing her eyes onto the other man. "I trust you have the report, Sasuke?"
The raven-haired man nodded in agreement as he reached into a vest pouch and pulled out a small scroll, placing it silently onto the desk. The woman picked it up, unrolling it and quickly skimming over the neat kanji of Sasuke's mission report.
Waiting patiently for the Godaime Hokage to finish, Sasuke subtly glanced at his companion from the corner of his eyes. Bored already, Naruto was fidgeting in his seat, his calloused fingers tracing gently over the red markings of his ANBU mask in a path memorized by long repetition. His bright blue eyes darted restlessly around the room, focusing briefly on random objects before dismissing them as uninteresting and moving on.
Sasuke ran his own dark eyes over the other boy's face, taking in the scarred cheeks, which had finally lost all of its puppy fat a few years back, and the brilliant azure eyes that were exclusive to the one and only Uzumaki Naruto. He really had grown up well; his childlike features melting away to be replaced by a maturity that, coupled with his natural charm, effortlessly won him high marks with both men and women alike.
The Uchiha very nearly jumped when Naruto's deep eyes suddenly met his gaze, the playful smirk on his lips telling Sasuke that the other man had caught him staring. Expertly squashing the urge to blush in embarrassment, the brunette responded by ignoring him, tearing his eyes away and settling them instead on the Hokage who had just looked up from the report.
"Naruto, Sasuke says that you were hit by a poison needle before you secured the target. Did you suffer any effects?" Sasuke heard the underlying worry and concern in her voice that had mirrored his own when he had first seen his partner's wound. They knew that the Kyuubi healed Naruto's injuries, but this was the first time that he had been injected with an S-class poison.
Naruto waved off their concern, grinning cheerfully as he folded his hands behind his head. "Nah, not really. I was a bit dizzy at first and my stomach ached, but Kyuubi neutralized most of the poison before it became dangerous." Tsunade studied him carefully before nodding in satisfaction and re-rolling the scroll.
"Very well. You can pick up your payments on the way out from Sakura. Dismissed."
Sasuke and Naruto stood simultaneously and walked out the door, Naruto calling out a farewell as they cleared the threshold.
"See ya, Baba!"
"Don't call me that, Gaki!!" Tsunade's furious voice trailed behind them and Naruto snickered as he approached Sakura's desk. The pink-haired girl looked up with a disapproving frown as she paused in mid brush stroke.
"You really shouldn't call her that, Naruto," she scolded lightly. "You're lucky enough that you don't have to bow respectfully when you address her, so don't push it!" Her hard frown softened into a tender smile as her pale green eyes carefully looked the blond over with motherly concern.
"It's good to see you again, Naruto," she murmured softly. Glancing at the tall man behind him, she added almost reluctantly, "You too, Sasuke."
Naruto beamed at her while Sasuke merely nodded, used to the hesitant manner that people treated him with since his return from Sound. He honestly couldn't care less about the way the others treated him; he hadn't come back for them.
"I missed you too, Sakura-chan!" Naruto announced loudly, a large grin threatening to split his face. "You should've seen me on the mission though! I was on fire!" Sakura giggled as Naruto waved his arms wildly in excitement.
Sasuke snorted, causing Naruto to turn to him with a questioning glance. "Yeah, you were quite literally on fire," he scoffed, his coal black eyes twinkling with amusement that only showed itself to the blond before him. "If you hadn't fallen into the lake, you would've been in trouble."
Sakura laughed outright while Naruto pouted with enough cuteness to cause Sasuke to twitch. "Saaasukeeee!" he whined. "You didn't have to tell her that!"
"Hn."
Sakura's laughter faded into a happy smile as she gathered the money that was owed to the two ANBU, tying the identical purses with neat knots before handing them out. "Are you guys coming to the Festival tonight?" she queried curiously, rewetting her brush and crossing off Naruto and Sasuke's names from the payments due list.
Naruto nodded happily, an eager glimmer in his azure eyes as he all but hopped on the spot. "Yeah! I was worried at first that me'n Sasuke wouldn't make it back in time! I'll see you there, then?"
Sasuke held back an annoyed sigh as his two former teammates made plans to meet later in the evening, tucking his bulging pouch of money into a pocket for later use. Feeling his short amount of patience dry up when Sakura started describing her yukata to a raptly listening Naruto, the tall brunette cleared his throat pointedly.
"Naruto, I'm leaving." Without another word, the Uchiha spun around and started gliding slowly towards the ANBU locker rooms. Sasuke couldn't hold back a smug smirk as he heard Naruto saying a quick goodbye to Sakura before hurrying to catch up with him. By the time Naruto had reached his side, his face was once again blank and unreadable.
"You could've at least said 'bye' to her," Naruto muttered disapprovingly, a small frown etched onto his face as he matched his strides with Sasuke's.
"Hn," Sasuke grunted, having already heard several different versions of this lecture. Naruto, sensing that his best friend wasn't paying attention, scowled before changing to a happier topic.
"I can't wait for the Festival! It's been so long since I've seen everyone all together!" shouted Naruto excitedly, his eyes dancing as he practically skipped down the hall. Sasuke didn't reply, wondering yet again how a twenty-year-old could act so childishly sometimes.
Turning bright blue eyes onto the quiet Uchiha, Naruto reached forward and grasped onto his arm guard, tugging lightly for his attention.
"Sasuke, Sasuke! You're gonna come too, right?" Sasuke fidgeted, recognizing Naruto's pleading tone and forcing himself to look anywhere besides the blonde's patented puppy dog eyes.
"Tch," he responded, pulling his arm from Naruto's grasp and fighting hard to keep his gaze forward since he knew his immunity to Naruto's pleas was close to zero. Naruto continued insistently, undeterred by the Uchiha's rather cold demeanor.
"But Sasuke!" he whined, unhappy that his best friend wasn't planning on going to the get together of the summer. "You have to go! It's like an unwritten rule that everyone goes to the Summer Festival!"
"All the more reason for me not to go," muttered Sasuke, entering the locker room reserved for ANBU members and marching up to his assigned locker. Naruto unlocked his own locker with practiced ease, still trying to persuade the stoic man into attending.
"No, I'm serious!" the blond argued vehemently, unzipping his white vest and shrugging it off. "Everyone's gonna be there! Hell, even Gaara's coming all the way from Sand!" Sasuke froze in the process of pulling on his long sleeved Jounin shirt, stiffening suddenly at the name.
"Gaara?" repeated the brunette darkly, annoyance settling deep within the man's stomach and curling up to fizzle softly just beneath his skin. His piercing eyes landed sharply on Naruto who was unbuckling his arm guards, mostly oblivious to the irritation emanating off the Uchiha.
"Yeah! And if the Kazekage found enough time to come to the Festival, I'm sure that you will have no trouble whatsoever!" Naruto flashed him a cheeky grin before peeling off his sleeveless, black turtleneck. His well toned muscles rippled deliciously under the dim light as he moved, momentarily distracting Sasuke before the tantalizing flesh was covered up by his standardized, navy blue, long sleeved shirt.
Immediately, Sasuke's aggravation returned two-fold and he scowled grumpily as he tugged on his Jounin vest. Shoving his ANBU stuff into his locker, he slammed the door closed before stomping out of the room and ignoring Naruto's shouts to wait.
Hours later, an irritable Uchiha sulked darkly in the corner of a bustling restaurant, glowering viciously at the succulent piece of pork wedged tightly between his chopsticks. Dark eyebrows furrowed even further as the blond idiot beside him gave out a loud bark of laughter, practically cackling with glee at something Sai had said from his seat across the table. Sasuke shot the carbon-copy of himself a blistering glare, becoming further incensed when the black-haired man merely replied with a smug smirk.
The Uchiha bit angrily into his food, trying to block out the loud, boisterous chatter that ran up and down the length of the large table that had been specially arranged for their group. Even the usually distant Neji had dropped enough of his aloof demeanor to engage in a simple, friendly conversation with the shy Hinata.
Everyone was draped in colorful, decorative yukatas, reminding Sasuke why he was down here in the first place instead of scanning over strategy scrolls in the comfort of his home. Stupid festival; if it didn't exist, he wouldn't have felt obliged to attend just to keep his idiot of a best friend out of trouble. Now, here he was, swathed in a restraining, yet elegant, grey and black yukata while eating dinner with people he didn't necessarily like.
"Aw, c'mon, Sasuke! Pull that stick outta your ass for a minute or two and just relax, wouldja?" Sasuke winced internally at the decibel of Naruto's voice, turning to meet the blonde's grinning face with smoldering eyes.
Naruto looked magnificent. The blue tones of his yukata emphasized the brightness of his cobalt eyes, while simultaneously contrasting with the vivid yellow of his hair. The soft, cotton material clung to his body, framing his toned muscles and flashing glimpses of tan skin at his neckline and wrists. Needless to say, the cheerful man had caught the attention of many villagers when the large group of shinobi had trekked to the restaurant together.
Sasuke was about to snap back a sharp retort when a familiar, emotionless voice interrupted, causing him to stiffen rigidly in irritation.
"Naruto." Almost immediately, Naruto was out of his seat and pouncing on a crimson-haired Kazekage. Sasuke and Sai sported identical frowns of displeasure as the blond practically glomped the tall figure dressed in a majestic, tan and mahogany colored yukata.
"Gaara!" Naruto cried joyously, "It's been forever since I last saw you!"
Although the red-head's expression remained carefully blank, there was a visible shimmer of affection and contentment in his pale green eyes as he gently returned Naruto's enthusiastic hug. "Indeed."
Unperturbed by Gaara's indifferent response, Naruto pulled away with a warm, understanding smile that spoke measures of the undeniable history between the two. Sasuke, who was pretending to be oblivious and uncaring of the situation, gripped his chopsticks tighter than necessary as he forced himself to focus on his food and not on the disgustingly tender scene unfolding behind him.
Naruto glanced worriedly at Sasuke, noting the tense shoulders and stiff back that betrayed the Uchiha's discontentment. Recalling the irrational animosity that continued to stubbornly linger between the Uchiha and the Kazekage despite his finest efforts to quell it, Naruto figured it was best if he kept them away from one another.
The blond scooted closer to Sasuke so that Gaara could squeeze onto his other side; this way, he sat between them and could easily prevent something from getting out of hand. Gaara slid into the proffered seat between Naruto and Sakura, nodding politely at the pink-haired girl who smiled nervously in response.
"Good evening, Kazekage-sama," she murmured respectfully, fighting the urge to squirm under the penetrating stare of the red-head. "I hope your trip was pleasant?"
"It was, Haruno-san," he replied softly, watching Naruto as the blond carefully placed strips of raw pork onto one of the large hot-plates that were strategically positioned along the length of the table. Glancing down at his unattended dish, Gaara was unsurprised to find a small mound of already cooked meat; Naruto had grown a habit of mothering the Kazekage and, while it was vaguely embarrassing, he couldn't resist exploiting the endearing act. A tiny, barely noticeable smile flitted across his face in gratitude and Naruto, who had managed to catch it, smiled gently back.
Fighting the urge to gag at the sickeningly sweet scene, Sasuke roughly got to his feet and began to make his way towards the back of the rowdy restaurant.
"Sasuke, where are you going?"
"Bathroom," he grunted, not even bothering to turn around as he addressed the loud blond. Weaving expertly around people and tables in the crowded area, the ANBU steadily worked his way to the large sign that advertised the bathrooms.
After he exited the washrooms, Sasuke paused, turning to glance at the familiar yet unwanted chakra signal that flared almost indiscernibly beside him.
Having successfully captured the attention of the brooding Uchiha, Sai spread his lips into an obviously fake smile as he continued to lean casually against the wall. "What's got your panties in a twist, Uchiha?" he questioned snidely, cocking his head to the side in a manner of feigned curiosity.
Narrowing his dark eyes, Sasuke frowned slightly before deciding to ignore the obnoxious man by returning to the table without replying. Out of all the things that had occurred during his absence, Naruto and Sai's friendship was possibly the one that Sasuke abhorred the most. It was bad enough that the former ROOT member was meant to be a replacement for him, but then he had to go and actually forge a rather strong bond with his best friend. Stupid wannabe…
The silently fuming man had barely taken a step when he was halted by Sai's next words. "So you're jealous, aren't you?" Whirling around abruptly, Sasuke pinned Sai with a blistering glare as he struggled to keep himself from springing forth and slitting the other man's throat. His ire continued to mount dangerously as Sai merely smirked coyly, seemingly unaffected by the Uchiha's death glare.
"What?" Sasuke practically snarled, his face still coolly blank despite the bubbling annoyance that simmered just underneath his skin.
The brunette shrugged indifferently, meeting Sasuke's icy stare evenly before nodding slightly towards their table. "Gaara and Naruto," he clarified when the Uchiha refused to oblige him by turning around to look. "You're jealous of Gaara and Naruto being so… familiar… with each other."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes further, letting the silence stretch between them before suddenly breaking eye contact and snorting softly. "I am simply wary for Naruto's welfare," he replied coldly, turning his back on Sai again. "The Kakekage tried to kill him once." This time, Sasuke got a few more steps further before Sai interrupted him again.
"Just like how you tried to kill him?" Immediately, the man found himself slammed into the wall with enough force to crack a few ribs, smoldering red eyes glaring furiously into his own eyes as a strong hand slowly crushed his windpipe. Damn, he had forgotten how fast the Uchiha could be when he tried.
Leaning in close, Sasuke tightened his grip around the other man's throat and reveled in the struggled gasps as he made sure he was getting his point across. "Don't speak of what you don't understand," he growled lowly, the bright red of his Sharingan flashing ominously in the dim light.
"Sasuke, what the fuck are you doing?!"
Ignoring the indignant squawks coming from the blond behind him, the Uchiha kept his gaze locked unwaveringly with Sai's. The previously bustling restaurant was frozen in tense silence as curious onlookers watched the rare clash between two high-ranking ninjas who were known for their control over their emotions. Even Naruto was unwillingly silenced, standing nearby with Neji who had placed a calm, yet restraining, palm against the blond ANBU's chest. The rest of their table watched on in various stages of wariness, ready to react with the slightest hint from their Captain.
Although Naruto longed to leap forward and pull the two men apart, his respect for his Captain kept him in place, his mouth a thin, tight line as he watched his close friends in concern and confusion. He was positive that Sai had goaded the Uchiha into retaliating, the man had an uncanny skill in such things, but it was completely unlike Sasuke to respond so brazenly in such a public place.
His unusual behavior was the last thing on Sasuke's mind as his Sharingan drilled into the other man's eyes, waiting for only a moment before he was presented with what he sought after. Sai, his survival instinct flaring brightly in the back of his mind, reluctantly dropped his gaze and submissively averted his eyes to the side.
Satisfied, the Uchiha let go of his tight grip on the other man's neck, completely disregarding the many cautious stares directed at him as he calmly strolled out the door of the restaurant. As the door swung closed behind him, the strained silence broke abruptly as the diners began to gossip loudly about the instability of the remaining member of the Uchiha clan. Only one table remained silent, its occupants exchanging curious glances as they wondered what might have caused the uptight Uchiha to lash out so brashly.
Naruto and Sakura hovered over Sai, the blond bombarding him with questions while the medic took a look at his bruised throat and cracked ribs. Finally, fed up with the brunette's stubborn silence, Naruto whipped around and launched himself out the door in hopes of dragging some questions out of the Uchiha.
"This is better than TV!" squealed Ino, clapping her hands together excitedly. "I wonder if Sasuke will tell Naruto tonight!"
"Whatever," Kiba snorted, bringing his arms over his head in a stretch before reaching down to scratch one of the massive Akamaru's ears. "If you ask me, he needs to take that prissy 'I-art-better-than-thou' attitude and stuff it up his ass." He paused briefly before continuing with a crude grin, "But I doubt it would fit with that stick up there too."
Ino smacked Kiba upside the head while some ANBU snickered softly at his words. "Kiba!"
"Whaat?" he whined childishly, rubbing the back of his head tenderly. "It's true!"
"He only acts that way because he is better than you," Shikamaru drawled lazily, not bothering to open his eyes as he spoke. Kiba sputtered angrily as the entire table broke out in laughter at his expense.
"I don't think he deserves Naruto-senpai, despite all his skills." All heads turned to the sudden speaker, a fiery-haired girl with equally brilliantly colored eyes. She met all their stares evenly, her hand resting on the head of an elegant auburn colored dog who sat by her chair. Although recently appointed, she had managed to earn the respect of most of the ANBU and was thus unafraid to speak out so boldly.
"Akane, you're only saying that because you've been smitten with Naruto ever since he volunteered to be your sponsor," Kiba teased playfully, reaching across the table to pinch her tattooed cheek. "Isn't Akane-chan so cute with her wittle cwush?"
Reddening to the color of an overripe tomato, Akane delivered a solid punch to Kiba's nose, sending him reeling back with a cry of pain. "Just 'cause you're my cousin doesn't mean I'm less inclined to beat the shit out of you," she threatened hotly, glaring at the man who was now moaning dramatically about the treatment he received from the opposite sex. "And I am not smitten!"
"Sasuke! Sasuke-teme! Stop ignoring me, you duck-butt-headed emo-kid!!"
Frowning at the jab at his gravity-defying hair, Sasuke sped up slightly, weaving deftly through the brightly dressed crowd of villagers who were enjoying the various stalls set up specially for the Festival. Sensing that Naruto's chakra signal was closing in rapidly from behind, Sasuke abruptly switched directions and leapt effortlessly onto the rooftops. Although it would be harder to remain out of the idiot's sight, it would also be much easier to outrun him.
A loud curse and the slight shifting of roof shingles told Sasuke that Naruto had clumsily joined him on the roofs, and with a challenging smirk thrown over his shoulder, the Uchiha launched himself forward. Though Naruto had definitely improved over the years and was more or less evenly matched with him, Sasuke still had the upper hand when it came to speed and agility and he used that to his advantage as he practically rocketed across the rooftops of Konoha.
"Goddamnit, Teme!" Naruto cried out in frustration, struggling to keep up with Sasuke's superior speed. Not wanting to resort to using Kyuubi's chakra just for a measly chase, Naruto opted to use one of his more favored techniques instead.
Sasuke glanced behind him when a surge of Naruto's chakra flowed over him, signaling that the Kyuubi-container had used a jutsu of some sort. Cursing mentally at the sight that met his eyes, Sasuke pumped more chakra into his legs to further increase his speed, hoping to get out of sight before Naruto made his move.
The blond, on the other hand, was grinning widely as he stood on the back of a relatively large, green frog, wisps of smoke from the kuchiyose no jutsu still curling around them in lazy swirls. "C'mon, Gamatsuri, let's catch ourselves an Uchiha!"
The frog croaked loudly in concurrence before crouching down low, the muscles in his hind legs bunching up as he prepared to leap. Then, like the spring of a trap being triggered, the two of them blurred into barely distinguishable colors as they whipped forward rapidly in a ground-eating hop that brought them less than 20 feet away from Sasuke. Gamatsuri's webbed feet had barely touched the shingles of the roof before they were leaping off again, coming within arm's reach of the Uchiha this time. Instantly, Naruto grabbed for the back of his yukata but missed as Sasuke dodged easily with the grace of a true Uchiha.
Realizing that outrunning the blond was impossible now that he had his cursed fast frog, Sasuke came to a gradual halt, facing the triumphant Naruto who was now standing beside his summoning. To be defeated by an amphibian of all things, how demeaning.
Noticing the murderous glare that the Uchiha was sending Gamatsuri, Naruto diverted his attention to himself before his faithful summoning ended up in the kitchen of a French restaurant of some sort.
"You ready to tell me what's got you so worked up yet, or do you wanna play another round of tag?" he questioned playfully, smirking at the raven-haired man. Sasuke snorted in reply before turning his back on the blond and sliding down onto the roof. Taking that as an agreement to talk, Naruto dispelled Gamatsuri after a murmured thanks and treaded over to sit beside his best friend.
The two sat in companionable silence, taking comfort in each other's presences as they contemplated various matters. Eventually, Naruto was the one who took the initiative and spoke up.
"So why exactly did you feel the need to go all alpha-male on Sai? I mean, I know his face is annoying to look at but I'm sure you're used to it by now, considering you see it every time you look in the mirror," Naruto jibed with a grin, his bright blue eyes twinkling lightly in the faint glow of the Festival lanterns and the moonlight.
Sasuke didn't answer, shrugging slightly as his eyes stealthily ran the length of his friend's figure. The man's yukata was now thoroughly rumpled and wrinkled and there were some food stains visible, but he still looked breathtaking in the Uchiha's eyes. Grunting softly in annoyance at such out of character thoughts, Sasuke turned his intense gaze up to the sky above. Sensing Naruto's impatience, Sasuke sighed in mild exasperation.
"Hush and stop fidgeting. The fireworks are starting," Sasuke murmured quietly. Naruto looked up in excitement, momentarily forgetting about the entire Sai business as the first of the fireworks exploded in an array of brilliantly sparkling colors.
"Uwah! Sasuke, they're so cool!" The Uchiha grunted in agreement, watching the display in silence that was broken only by occasional gasps from Naruto and the boom of each firecracker exploding. After almost 20 minutes of comfortable silence, Sasuke was shaken out of his almost meditative state by a strong, tan hand pulling lightly on the sleeve of his yukata. Turning his attention onto the blond beside him, he was curiously surprised to see the usually bold man looking shy and bashful.
"What is it, Naruto?" he asked softly, entranced by the timid blush on the other man's cheeks.
"Ne, Sasuke…" Naruto trailed off, glancing down before looking up again and meeting Sasuke's eyes with a beautiful smile. "I'm glad it's you I'm with right now."
Sasuke, taken aback by the surprisingly affectionate words, blushed lightly before smiling back and nodding in agreement.
"Me too, Naruto. Me too."
AN: Ok so that was the first chapter, I hope you liked it. Please review if you can, and I'll upload the second chapter as soon as I can. Take care! Oh and P.S. Gamatsuri and Inuzuka Akane are characters I made up, so don't be surprised if you've never heard of them before.