Convalescence, Chapter five

The carnivore

She straightened up the creases on his clothing, attempted to tame his tousled hair and made a face. "Now, remember, we're meeting at 6, the barbecue place close to Ichiraku's. Be on time." Swiftly, she turned to leave, but not before leaving that ominous message-"Oh, right, I got Sai to invite Sasuke too, so." She gave him a pleading, cute smile and skipped away.

In shock, Naruto's eyes continued to watch Sakura's figure until she disappeared on the horizon and with her out of his sight, he fell down on his knees, cradled his head in his hands and-

"Nooo, not him!"

-had a very melodramatic moment.

The rookie 9 had agreed to meet up for the first time since ever and get together before the missions started; with the renovations on the restaurant done, it was open and people flocked it like mad, eager to relinquish their worries and have a few gulps of alcohol wash away the memories of the war. It was also the first time in what felt like centuries that he'd get to see all their faces without the dirt, the blood, the filth of the soiled ground and the unbearable, heaving knowledge they could be enjoying in agony the last few seconds on their life together.

But then Sakura had to tell him, all cute, too, while he was helping a group of Konoha citizens rebuild one of the many houses, that there was a bonus guest tagging along. For a while, Naruto felt pity for Sai; undoubtedly, she'd kindly asked him – read as: threatened him – to ask Sasuke but why, why would Sasuke have agreed? Or maybe she'd misinterpreted the message?

A shudder went down his spine.

Pointedly, Naruto ignored the looks others were giving him and muttered something under his breath about life not being fair and people having no brains. This unreasonable anger kept him busy for the rest of the day, for he knew, even then as he was hammering nails in, dozens of another Narutos running around to do various chores at once, that the task of handling Sasuke, should that man show, would be shoved down his throat again.

Who are you kidding, guys? It's not like any of you wants to deal with the teme. Hilarious, really. Why even invite him if we all know no-one's going to like him around anyway? I doubt the bastard's going to have a drink and then a few laughs with everyone. Ugh, just… Seriously. Why?

Despite those mournful thoughts, he had not the heart to speak of this out loud, rather preferring to bottle all up, the visions of botched evening momentarily discarded. And, besides, maybe, maybe it wouldn't go so badly?

… Okay, who am I kidding now?

Botched up evening, wrecked plans and all that, come hither, my precious! With a forced, continuously twitching smile, he came home and prepared, washing the day's sweat off and hoping to pick something not typically orange for a change, yet such a thing didn't exist in his dictionary, so when he arrived to the place only ten minutes late, the signature orange jumper was missing but the pants present. A blanket of twilight had been swept over Konoha which was, on the contrary, starting to spring to life, people of varying ages with great smiles flooding the streets and looking for a source of fun and to relax. They missed this so much, this whole charade of pretending things were okay. Maybe it was time to launch into it as well, because the world wasn't out to get him anymore and the wrinkles had smoothed out, the war over and the life ready to restart.

Naruto stopped right in front of the place, watching the bright light penetrate through the make-shift door, listening to the joyous laughter inside and slanderous accusations spread around by some of the patrons – those, he assumed, under the soothing influence of alcohol.

Heh.

Not knowing what to expect, but quick to succumb to anticipation, Naruto waltzed inside, the curtains-slash-door pushed and the smell of delicious food, the faint aroma of sake and all that combined attacking his senses. His mouth watered and suddenly he was pushed further inside and it was Kiba's arm around his shoulder and many simultaneously murmured echoes of "hello" and "hey" and "finally" coming from all different sides. They had a nice table in the middle of the room, long and large to fit such a big group, yet as there was no tablecloth of any kind to cover it, the line in the middle got his attention and Naruto knew they'd had to join two tables, after all, to fit everyone. Seated on the ground in non-existent order were the members of rookie 9 and Lee's merry group, each and every face sporting a bright grin and, on a whole? Before Naruto knew it, he was flopping down, squeezing between Neji and Tenten and giving his most radiant smile.

"Naruto, you're late!"

"OH! Naruto-kun, glad to see you're as youthful as ever!"

"We never got to talk much, Naruto, did we?"

"Ooooh, look who came, Naruto's here!"

"So troublesome, Naruto."

"Ha, sneaky bastard thinking he can forget about us. Yo, you better have a damn good reason for being late."

"N-narut-to-k-kun."

"Sh, Hinata, don't overexert yourself."

Naruto choked on his drink and barely contained the laughter. Chouji was not so stealthily eating out the barbecued pork from plate; Kiba, sake in his hand, was, in vain, trying to get Shino talking, who was calmly sipping his tea; Shikamaru was listening – or eavesdropping, too lazy to make own conversation – to Ino's animated chatter as she indulged the ever-shy Hinata and Sakura, whose head wouldn't stop bobbing up and down in fervent nods, in a story about an obnoxious customer at her parents' store; Neji was pretending the world didn't exist and this group of fools wasn't in his vicinity – and that by proxy, he wouldn't get their cooties; Tenten was throwing furtive looks at Lee's direction, occasionally taking the sake from his hands and telling him to keep it under control, while trying to get some small talk out of Naruto; Sai was looking at Lee, squashed between he and Ino, blush smeared across his face with the unskilled hand of an amateur artist, too awkward to speak yet but on his best way to get the alcohol talking for him. Naruto, after all, doubted the guy had ever as much touched alcohol, which meant a few gulps in and he'd be dancing on the table.

Somehow, he couldn't wait to see that moment.

Suddenly, Kiba, maybe having had too much of that special drink, roughly put his hand on the table, making it shake. "Naruto! Why were you late anyway?"

Naruto picked up his chopsticks and pointed them at Kiba. "Che, dog-breath, I was busy. Do you know how hard it is to manage so many things at once? I was in twenty, twenty places at the same time."

"Doesn't count!" scoffed Kiba, still standing up and looking ready to topple over, but Naruto noticed the clarity in his eyes, knowing immediately the guy was pretending to be drunk. For the kicks, he supposed. "You were told not to be late and, there, you are late. Punishment, you deserve punishment. Right?"

Instead of getting a chorus of "yes", several people laughed and he was ushered to sit down by Hinata, whose eyes briefly flickered to Naruto, before at once a blush overtook her features and she returned to her semi-empty plate, only nibbling on the few pieces of meat she had there. Naruto watched her, own thirst and hunger forgotten, warmth swelling in his chest.

Man, Hinata-chan really is cute… Never noticed that.

She had this air around her, something tranquil and beckoning that made him fearful of ever getting near, as if there lingered the endless possibility of any wrong thought making her shatter into pieces. Yet he'd seen her fight, seen her resolve; the fragile flower, while not an act, was the mask to lure one in and he didn't necessarily consider her the master manipulator. He, at that moment, didn't consider her anything, mind too full with the lulling discovery of her existence. It could have been the air or something in it. He may have been gotten tipsy on the whiff of alcohol spreading from his glass, but he had not the capability to think at all, to see much beyond the currency of her porcelain skin and dark, lush eyelashes that-

-air frizzled, turned chilling and all animated chatter died out; it was the movie that came to an end before the stars could share the last, obligatory kiss, the scene cut off right before the man admitted to loving the woman of his dreams, the sequence interrupted by the unexpected news of a mishap elsewhere to directly affect them even here. One after another, all pairs of eyes turned to land on something or someone and as Hinata did the same, the lavender paleness becoming dark with shock, Naruto, still oblivious to the hairs on his neck that stood up right, followed her line of sight. Oblivious, however, for only so long.

What he saw registered first than the who part essential to any fervent dislike or scandalous exclaim of wrong. Toned figure, exquisite a statue placed in the middle of the room, cut out of pearls and silver with a touch of life, love and laugh. He was mesmerized at first, mind dulled by this and that and the sweet nothings and whatnots of this life, and like a pendulum his thoughts would swing to and fro, but whereas the saying was used to signalize that there existent a bad side to things, in this case, it was all good. All promising, all sweet and thought-nurturing and brainwashing. Until a foreboding sense arrived, for clarity ensued and from this face, one name was derived.

No-one spoke. Struck by him appearing, they choked on own bewilderment.

Naruto leaned back. Eyes were on him again, eyes that followed His line of sight, eyes that saw that Sasuke, in his life, could only ever look at him and no-one else.

A strange grimace of discomfort contorted Naruto's features.

No-one was moving and the whole restaurant had gone deadly quiet. Dimly, he recalled his previous distaste for having invited Sasuke and he remembered he'd called this fiasco. Somehow, he was hit by dim amusement; who would have thought, indeed, that Sasuke in his darkly-clad, foreign glory and immense beauty with spice of life added on top would come? Almost, Naruto scoffed, but he tried to keep a poker face, even if he was placed under tight scrutiny, even if Sasuke was still standing there and no-one had moved the least-

-seriously, guys? Seriously?

He considered all his options, weighing them on a figurative scale in his mind; commit to this or that, maybe feign oblivion, look at Hinata-chan again and seek solace in her heart-shaped face and delicate, small nose… Or feel human.

Damn.

Someone shifted and Naruto, out of the blue, just stood up, expression annoyed and devoid of the joy he'd hoped to revel in before. "Oh, for heaven's sake, seriously." With a mighty huff, he croaked out an inaudible order, leaving his place and watching Tenten and Neji scoot closer to occupy it, before just reaching out to grab Sasuke by the hand and drag him to the place at the far end of the table Neji and Tenten had unwittingly freed. Seemingly complaint, the man sat down and Naruto sat opposite of him at the other end.

Expecting to see the mood resume, determined to see the things go alright, he reached for another set of chopsticks on the table but-

-no-one was speaking. Begrudgingly, Naruto leveled the fearful Tenten unfortunately seated by Sasuke a sour look, a tick in his right brow signalizing he'd just had enough of the whole "let's pretend to be dead" game and silent treatment. Another deep and terrible sigh followed and for the second time within a minute, he stood up – almost bolting to the standing position. "Tenten, switch places with me."

She watched him for a bit, her resolve to remain where she sat arising and the ninja pride coming back to her, but she was actually nudged to go, Neji's elbow inconspicuously buried into her side and thus, nervous, flushed an angry shade of shame, she trudged to exchange the seats and Naruto simply jumped over the table and, huffing, appearing infuriated, took his seat next to Sasuke.

Slowly, bit by bit, some of the previous idle chatter resumed, in measured amounts filling the air, but still the present people were treading carefully around Sasuke, treating any topic with utmost caution, as if he were to jump to any impressively stupid conclusion and demand their blood on his blade.

Moments later, Naruto had had roughly enough, and with a wide smile plastered onto his face, he turned to Sasuke. "So. Hi. You came. How nice to see you? Want sake? Want juice? Tea? Poison? Poison? Tea with poison and sugar?"

Someone coughed. Muffled laughter was heard.

Sasuke put one hand on the table, perfectly composed but this close up, Naruto saw the corner of his lips twitch in mild annoyance and the glint in his eyes shift to something else. Curious, he awaited the glorious ice-breaker, and when it came-"Hn, whatever, Naruto. As long as it's not mouth to mouth, I'll have the tea."

Naruto gawked at him.

Witty comeback, eh?

Yet as he was about to divulge the man and maybe turn him inside out – because, well, why not? – Ino let out a laugh, Kiba joined her, Shikamaru snickered under his breath and Sai made a snide comment about sizes and such and seconds later, conversational starters were being popped all around like glasses of expensive whine, the place filling with loud voices, laughs and semi-comfort summoned by the fact the traitor had not cut him open for those words.

Naruto heaved out a sigh of relief lost in the background noises. A part of him refused to admit there was any relief at all, but another – couldn't help but embrace the feeling as it rocked through his veins and flooded with the thoughts of good time spend with his friends his troubled and heavy mind. He needed the few hours off as much as they did, for however else would the memories of the wars part with them? Gladly, shoulders slumped, figure relaxed even despite being forced to lean against Sasuke, he sipped from his tea-though only to turn green in the face and almost spit it out.

With difficulty, he swallowed the bitter liquid and made a face, tongue stuck out and dangling between his lips like a strangely attached keychain missing its keychain brethren, and his disgust was noted with glee by Kiba who laughed out loud.

"What, don't like sake, Naruto? Come on, you're a man now," commented the man with delight masked in his voice, before launching into a dramatic pause and looking Naruto up and down. In a sly, drawl of a voice, he added-"Well, something like a man. A parody of a man!"

Naruto cleansed his mouth with a mouthful of tea and put the empty glass down hard enough to make Neji's jump. "I AM a man. A true man! I just-ugh, I never got how Ero-sennin could drink this, it's nasty. And baa-chan, too. What do they see in it?"

"I think it's the burn," commented Tenten, her words confirmed by a firm nod from Lee whose opinion didn't account to much in this regard and Naruto waved him off, prompting a scream of uproar from the bushy-browned male.

"Naruto-kun, Tenten-chan speaks the truth."

Naruto made an exaggerated shrug. "Whatever, man, whatever. Damn, I'm starved."

"Have something of this," piped in Neji in a typically cool, calm and composed voice, pushing a bigger plate of eel and salmon sushi in his direction.

Fickly testy, Naruto poked a few rolls with one chopstick. "Where's ramen?"

From the other side of the table came Sakura's indignant tones. "There's no ramen here. Seriously, Naruto, can't you eat anything else?"

He resisted the urge to pout. "'Course I do, just ramen's the best. It's so awe-eekugh." Mid-sentence, he hiccoughed, that sole gulp of alcohol pushing at various ways against the walls in his stomach. The boisterous group of people to hear that roared with laughter, bringing an endearing tint of pink onto Naruto's cheeks; quickly, he hid his face in another glass of tea that he stole from the unsuspecting Neji but as the cup edge neared his lips, a horrified gasp followed by a "NO!" were heard. Naruto was staring at Lee floundering his hands about like a madman and looking as if behind Naruto, a mass-murdering maniac had just swung his sharpened axe back, ready to claim another innocent life.

"Naruto-kun, you mustn't!"

Naruto blinked, pouting at last. "What? Why? What's wrong?"

"That's Neji-kun's cup!"

Neji, hearing this, paused mid-sentence and looked between Naruto and Lee. "Is it? Naruto, you have your own, don't take mine."

"That's not the point!" hollered Lee, close to hysteria and alerting one too many people to his green-clad, eye-blinding persona. "Naruto-kun, if you drink from the cup, you'll kiss Neji-kun."

Neji's hand had almost reached out to re-claim the cup adopted without his consent but then froze instead, eyes in unabridged bewilderment staring Lee down.

Naruto had to share this sentiment. Expression deadpan, he stared at Lee. "What?"

"Serious! It'll be an indirect kiss," said Lee, sitting down – pushed to sit down but the sheepish, awkwardly laughing Tenten who was holding him down by his belt and refusing to let go until he was nestled on the ground comfortably –, nodding sagely. "Naruto-kun, you wouldn't want to do that, would you?" Eyes set aflame burrowed themselves into Naruto's skull. "And Neji-kun wouldn't want that either, I'm sure."

Briefly, Naruto eyed Neji to see the horror-stricken face; without doubt, the man was trying to figure out where this startling worry for his chastity had come from and, maybe, hoping as well Lee wasn't thinking of claiming that indirect kiss as his own as homage to their rivalry. Naruto, in disbelief, shook his head.

"Lee, seriously. It's okay."

"It'd be your first kiss," protested Lee.

"It wouldn't."

"Oh, Naruto-kun has kissed someone already! It wasn't-"-eyes growing impossibly wide, he planted both hands onto the table, wriggling out of Tenten reach to prop himself up on both hands and, there, in the corners of said eyes now unnaturally big and creepy, tears glistened. "You wouldn't have, Naruto-kun, by any chance, shared a kiss with-darling, precious, innocent Sakura-san?"

At the mention of her name, Sakura's head snapped up, looking at the lot with curiosity and trying to find out why her name would have been brought up, when Ino, ever so attentive to everything going on and nothing escaping her attention, whispered it into her ear and Sakura's face turned beetroot red.

"Naruto, what the hell are you telling Lee about kissing me? You've never kissed me," she hissed, already one larger vein threateningly throbbing on her forehead and the amused looking Ino shaking a finger at Naruto.

Appalled, Naruto shook his head side to side, the sudden motion causing his thoughts to clatter against the walls of his mind and rattle loud. "No, no, no! Sakura-chan, Lee was just-"

"Sakura-san, I shall protect your chaste lips."

"Ugh. Lee, please, calm down, Naruto's never kissed me. Such a thing never happened."

"Oh, oh, I see, Sakura-san, I see. I believe you. Then who did Naruto-kun kiss?"

And then, Sakura had nothing to say.

Expecting the truth, Lee turned to Naruto again and Naruto was just staring at him, quietly resentful.

"Naruto-kun, who-"

"Don't ask."

"Who-"

"Don't-"

"-was it?"

"Lee, honestly."

"But who was it-"

"Lee, drop it, man."

"Naruto-kun, this is serious!"

"It's not, please. Leave it be."

"Naruto-kun!"

"Me."

A chilling sensation attacked Naruto. Dense all of the sudden, not comprehending that reply and with notable hesitation, Lee's eyes – and not just Lee's, for the human ear would pick up on the most interesting of vibrations interrupting the airflow with necessity becoming just a matter of convenience – landed on the human whose presence had been forgotten.

Sasuke's fingers held captive his own cup of tea. All about his outward demeanor spoke about nothing, like the volume turned completely down and the images insufficient in getting the message across.

"Naruto kissed me."

It also screamed arrogance and possession and there was a hint of something akin to that in his tone- but Naruto had to be misinterpreting it, for why would the baritone undertones ever hint at that? Why would the voice reek of a claim and the right to continue it, why would-

-not waiting for anyone to act on any urge to scream and run for their lives, too dignified, respectful a man for such puerile antics and display of weakness, Sasuke pushed his cup into Naruto's direction and absently, Naruto saw it filled to the brims. The liquid lukewarm and bearing a greenish tint captivated his attention, the most interesting of things he'd glanced in hours, and without thinking – not understanding why he ought to waste time with thoughts – he grabbed it and tried to drink it.

Tried.

Lee's voice sounded even more terrified and shriller than ever before; they may have been in a C-class horror movie, with the dramatic beats drumming in the background and the murderer's theme music alerting the audience to the his precocious appearance. With the heroine realizing belatedly sleeping with the man had sealed her fate and the hero trying in vain to get to her in time. With no salvation awaiting them and the bright future rendered unspeakably dark and morose. "Naruto-kun, if you drink of that cup, you will share an indirect kiss with Sasuke-kun."

Unfortunately, Naruto had no appreciation for such antics. "Eh? Well."

"Indirect kiss!"

"I know, Lee, but."

"Naruto-kun!"

Then the cup was pushed up and to his lips, bottom up and the liquid swirled down his tongue and throat, swallowed by instinct and gone.

Naruto coughed and wheezed, whipping the leftover tea trickling from the corners of his mouth into his sleeve and glaring at that idiot to have just forced him to drink it. "What the hell was that about?"

Sasuke didn't reply, snatching the cup back.

Lee was reaching frightening conclusions, his excitement levels rising – and the danger in the air born into this world along with the careless words. "Ooooh, I see… You've already shared a kiss, so another won't hurt, right? Sasuke-kun, that was very elaborate of you. See, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun took action."

"Ugh… Right."

Tenten tried to save the situation; again she pushed Lee back into his seat and removed anything alcoholic from his vicinity, before giving Sasuke – then switching to Naruto – an apologetic smile. "Honestly, sorry about him, he gets like this whenever he's had a few drinks."

"Oh, Tenten, no, no, I believe I've stumbled upon a very interesting discovery," protested Lee, thrusting one hand into her shoulder and shoving her away.

Shikamaru, who'd been listening to their conversation all along, properly sat up to address this particular curious discovery with the look of a savage justice criminal. "Lee, that's nothing new that Sasuke and Naruto shared a kiss. It was by an accident over four years ago the day Iruka-sensei assigned us into teams."

"Accident, yes," nodded Lee, but no-one was too hopeful. "But this indirect, second kiss was no accident. Surely, you must have seen it."

"I think," answered Shikamaru, voice serious, grim – Naruto was starting to ponder why, yet he was starting to warm up to the reason and all was beginning to dawn on him. "Sasuke was just tired of your questions. It's just a cup, honestly."

"Oh, tired of my questions. Oh, no, no, I wouldn't dare-well, Sasuke-kun-"-back to Sasuke, looking with glassy eyes-"-I apologize if I offended you. Not my intentions, of course." His words were beginning to slur – and his implications get out of the hand.

Naruto threw Tenten a pleading look. "Just how much did he have?"

"He's lightweight," she explained quickly, nervous. Nervous, why? In fact, she exhibited the same signs as Shikamaru did, as Neji did as, as – the rest one by one falling victim to something Naruto had yet to become aware of.

"Okay, well. Uh, Lee, come on, eat something."

Hearing those words, Kiba took it as his cue to stuff Lee's mouth with something, but Lee chewed it the speed of light and the grace of a pig, spitting and eating with mouth open, grossing out several of the ladies and making Tenten mutter something under her breath before, vigor regained, he rebounded. "Delicious, Kiba-kun, thank you. Won-der-ful, yes. But, Naruto-kun, as I was saying, your second kiss-that is almost sweet, have you considered the implications of that?"

An unpleasant weight settled in the pit of Naruto's stomach. He didn't want to ask – did not, in fact, ask Lee what he'd meant by that, for it was starting to register in his mind; it was a most curious case of perception and reality distortion, as despite his proximity, he would be last to fall to Sasuke's tempest and only then did he realize that for reasons quaint and small Sasuke's jaw had set tightly, eyes narrowed and demeanor – taken on the role of the mass-murderer, all suggesting he was as furious as he was outwardly peaceful and that the C-class horror movie was coming to life. But why? Why that measured anger, the calculation in his eyes? Why?

Lee, blinkered by his unfortunate situation, clobbered on. "Second kiss is, oh, special, yes. First was accidental, but the second-one-sided. Oh, was the first one-sided, too? Not mutual. So bad, Naruto-kun. You ought to fix this, because the next thing you know, everything you do will be one-sided. Bad. Your heart should be in it. All of it, yes, yes. Now, yes, you must pay close attention, Naruto-kun, Gai-sensei taught me a lot about these things. When it's forced, it's called, what is it called-"

-Naruto's eyes widened, face paling, horror growing.

He understood. That conclusion which Sasuke had reached minutes prior to this moment, that thing which Sasuke had deducted it would all come down to, that simple and pure – horrifying moment of truth when Lee, unwittingly, addressed that elephant in the china room. Not an elephant, however, not a china room, but their jointed minds creaking like floors and doors thrown off their hinges and clumsily placed back, like the huge tremulous tsunami wave rising from the water, visible even from a great distance is it neared the nearest coastal city, bringing demise.

"-not consensual, not consensual, what is it-ra-no, was it, well, the first wasn't, was it? The kiss. And the second was forced on you. Naruto-kun, you became a victim of Sasuke-kun, yes, you were, your lips were, what's the word, rap-"

You clueless idiot, Lee.

"SASUKE, NO!"

Alert.

In one second, many things happened; Lee was tugged back, mouth clamped shut by Tenten and Kiba, hands squeezed and glued to his sides to prevent him from fighting them off; the festival mood had come to halt, all stopping in sync and at once; Sasuke's eyes had turned blood red, wide and condemning, radiating the things no-one present could grasp, and Naruto had without thought pushed him down; on back Sasuke lay, Naruto partially on top of him, fingers dug deeply into his shoulders and holding him down. His own breathing was labored not from the effort but emotion and Sasuke's chest heaved up and down, strained. He waited for the moment when the color red receded from the eyes and the calamity deterred, when the banded irises sought his and when all things combined led to feelings of nausea in the pit of Naruto's stomach.

The silence that followed was unbearable. He pushed himself off, the idea of thinking vomit-inducing-

-Sasuke sat up and left.

Tried to.

Naruto blocked his path. "Where are you going?"

Sasuke wouldn't look at him. "Away."

"Why?"

"Naruto, you always ask such stupid questions."

Naruto swallowed his pride. No. That wasn't pride. That was something else. Sasuke wouldn't look at him. Look at me.

"Let it go."

"No."

"Sasuke."

He looked at him, mad but at last. "No." Closer he stepped and the entire room watched them. "I will not sit here and listen to that."

That being the indirect, unwanted, unwitting reference to… Bitterly, Naruto laughed and still blocked his path; at that moment, he couldn't even remember standing up and making it to the exit before Sasuke. "It doesn't matter. Look, Lee-"

"Doesn't know? Lee doesn't know, hm?" Closer, Sasuke's face got, his eyes narrowed, the ghostly warmth of his breath on Naruto's face lethal in its concision. "Do you know, Naruto?"

"Yes." Though gritted teeth, with effort, strenuous, but trying.

In elevated voice, Sasuke would possess all. "Maybe they should know, too, in such a case. Or would you be ashamed, Naruto?"

But failing.

As if slapped, Naruto stepped away. "Get out."

Sasuke didn't move.

It wasn't rage. It was that shame. "Sasuke. Get the hell out."

Sasuke'd not hesitated, just waited to see the crumbling start. About to leave, he went to push past but shoulders collided and-

-a jolt of pain went up Naruto's spine and before he knew it-

-he'd let out something like a sob.

Sasuke's entire frame froze.

There were no tears involved. That had been a slip, an audible manifestation of his despair and Naruto moved back to the table, intending to reboot and forget this had ever happened – maybe find the burn in the alcohol – but Sasuke wasn't letting him go, holding back him and intent upon having this discussion here. Here, in public, with everyone watching them like the newest episode of everyone's favorite reality show detailing the lives of the worst, most dysfunctional couples of the world.

Naruto's blood boiled.

Are you shitting me? He was twisted around, turned on his heels and made to face Sasuke again. Are you honestly, honestly shitting me? You've got to be, Sasuke. You can't be serious about this.

Sasuke may have felt sorry – if he only understood the idea of feeling enough to come in terms with his own feelings, but Naruto snarled, a vicious and caged animal struggling against the hold of own emotions. The distance between them was the distance separating him from the mind-lurching moment of lashing out and becoming a demon without disguise, because there was only as much as he could handle without having to part with a portion of him while giving release to that accumulated bullshit.

"I refuse, Naruto," Sasuke was saying, his words coming as if from greater distance, faint in comparison to the drumming in Naruto's mind.

"Go to hell with your refusal. You refuse, you refuse, blah blah blah. Go to hell."

Sasuke was scoffing, getting just as mad-"This angry little fit does not suit you."

"What would you know about what suits me or not? It's not like you came to visit."

"Steering this in the direction of my betrayal, Naruto? Have you grown tired of feasting on your own lies, gotten tired of believing I can be redeemed?"

"This isn't about what I believe in, stop changing the topic."

"What IS the topic? You with your little fit-"

"Suddenly, you want to hear my opinion-"

"I do."

"-and believe I have one. How convenient, Sasuke."

"Narut-"

"I remember you saying, what was it?"

"Just don't hurt your little brain trying to think."

"Yeah, you would know about hurting people, wouldn't you?"

Low blow.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed even further, resembling slits behind which – rifts leading to wholesome, bountiful rose gardens and he was the executioner, each sweet pink rose cut off, all thorns left to strive.

"It is convenient, Naruto, to blame just one person."

Naruto laughed, lost. "If you used your heart, Sasuke, your actual heart for a moment, ignore its dark color, ignore it bleeds black, ignore it is small and shriveled up from neglect, festering and oozing spike-shaped little tears, you would understand I am blaming both."

Sasuke didn't understand.

Naruto stepped forward and had his hand fist Sasuke's clothes, pulling him close until they were nose to nose, not one inch between, no void, just the emotions waging war against life, just the immense need to get something across – and god if he knew what that was, why he'd launched into this heat and why he found that precise heat the most riveting event of the past dull four years of his life.

Why he had a strange urge. Strange. Not welcome. Bad. Bad, go away, go before-

-I want to kiss him?

Despair. It spread around.

No point in whispering, all were listening. No point in pretending, no point in indulging any part of him, because it didn't exist and as quickly as it'd made itself known, it disappeared. "Sasuke… What do you refuse to do? Be around people you don't care about? Fine, then go. Or be around me because-because what, really? I am only that stupid, stupid, worthless piece of shit that wasted four years on you, so go on again, and get the hell out of my sight, but you will not mistreat my friends, you will not blame them for not knowing because you do that and I blame you for not knowing, too. And you will NOT dishonor those four years. If you refuse to be here, then refuse as a human being and walk out without hate. For once, Sasuke, walk out without that stupid spite that you feel. Just walk out like you know that whatever happens, a new tomorrow can erase that and you won't have to walk out again."

-he tried to move.

Despair. "Just once, Sasuke."

You don't know me.

I do.

You don't.

I do.

Don't lie.

I can't.

A great moment of silence arrived. By all means, those present indulged their minds, firmly convinced this male was to massacre them next, for however else was he to react, this vile son of the Uchiha with zest for hate? Naruto knew they expected a grand spectacle, a violent finale and he saw some inching to the exit, tiptoeing there. He also saw that Sasuke's eyes were heavy with pride and sad hate, but also – also something strange and else that he could, in fact, place, for he'd seen this face on him before. Before, when-when Sasuke during that act, while inflicting pain, drowning in despair and being as vulnerable as the day of his birth –stroked Naruto's face.

Violently, Sasuke freed himself from Naruto and then – simply walked past him to take his seat at the table again, the spot between Neji and he left unoccupied and Naruto afforded to stand there for but one brief moment, before waltzing to his place as well, sitting down and downing in a glass of sake.

No-one was speaking and he pondered if they were scared out of their minds, shaking in their seats and considering an early departure – or if they trusted him enough to know he'd done his best and stopped the apocalypse. Whichever the answer, awkward, Kiba shifted in his seat, cleared out his throat, a disturbed expression on his face.

"Ah… Do you guys, um, want a room? I mean." He coughed harder this time, eyes shifty and a twitch on his lips that sowed greater discomfort, but Naruto couldn't blame him, if he had to will himself to stop the creation of that idea. "I think we all need a refill, right guys?" Not waiting for an answer, he motioned for the nearby waiter. "Please, a refill! Sake for everyone!"

The waiter, flabbergasted, jumped to life, as pale as his white uniform, before quickly scrambling to his feet and coming with smaller, white bottles of sake on a wooden food tray that he redistributed all around, hand quaking visibly only when he placed one in front of Sasuke. Kiba took his own, stood up and thrust his hand into the air.

"On us! Let's drink on us! I'm glad, guys, that we still get to meet after the war. I know many fell and I consider myself lucky that out of us, not one had to become a casualty of the war. Let's honor what we have, honor our lives, our future and those that did fall." It was a short speech but everyone – every soul in the place – lifted a small sake bottle, whispered a phrase uniquely their own and took a gulp from the liquid.

A shiver went down Naruto's spine as again the burning stuff cascaded down his throat.

This time, the party resumed without any further wait and more mindless chatter and laughter filled the air, but this time no-one dared speak to Sasuke, no-one dared even look at him and he felt pitying look on his figure, thought he felt everyone's dismay and regret for that and, idly, Naruto's fingers curled around the chopsticks, mind elsewhere.

Miraculous discovery; Kiba did end up getting drunk, way more drunk than Lee had ever been during those fights when an impromptu late afternoon alcohol snack was devoured and his unlucky opponent got pushed onto the receiving end of his drunken fist. No-one paid his antics much heed, safe for sharing many laughs, pushing him around and getting him to do stupid things, share even stupider, terribly exaggerated stories but otherwise, even with one person happily drunk, the evening was progressing marvelously. Rather, it was splendorous, a fantastic evening with his friends and even many hours in, when it was nearing midnight, no-one had excused themselves, saying it was too late and duties starting early morning would not relent.

In the meantime, the patrons had switched out, some leaving earlier to crash into their beds after an eventful night and the owner of the place, seeing their merry group had yet to meet the desired level of satisfaction, proclaimed he would close with their departure, so for as long as they ordered, ate his food, drank his sake, he would serve them. That way, when time did graciously near midnight, the restaurant seemed to become all-inclusive for them, housing mostly their little yet loud company. Other potential customers thought to enjoy a moment inside, but seeing their camaraderie made them smile fondly and turn on their heels at once, thinking, maybe, that those children that protected their future – deserved that one night off.

Naruto watched with eyes bright and swirling with warmth as another man, a new appointed jounin, walked inside the restaurant, saw who was occupying it, made an amused face and was gone. Almost, he giggled, giddy and flushed in the face, yet far from even tipsy with how he'd ignored all similar drinks and preferably indulged himself in much food and frivolous talk. Idly, Naruto looked around to note that they'd dispersed all around, no longer confided to one table but sharing such tremendous, dramatic stories they needed to walk back and fro the entire length of the place and that some had opted for a nap in the far corner of the room. Surprisingly, it was Hinata with Shino occasionally stopping her worn out body from hitting the floor, calmly eating his barbecued pork and pushing Hinata's body up whenever it slanted towards the ground, and Shikamaru, for a change, was alive in own sense, making everything happy-go-lucky and a tidbit sanguine with the portion of charisma Naruto never knew he could possess. Naruto realized he was itching to ask him for tips how to make girls roar with laughter the way he was making Tenten and Ino clutch their stomachs and even screech, tears gathered in the corner of their eyes, but stopped himself before making the move.

Who knew, Shikamaru, who knew you had in it in you? Naruto thought, a sly grin on his face.

Feeling like he had to stretch his legs for a bit, he made his way to a standing position, the legs only somewhat buckling under his weight, not used to such exertion after hours of stuck in the same position and Naruto stretched his arms above his head, yawning and making various faces, the joy of this evening having fully replaced his blood.

Then, of course, it occurred to him to look for Him and his eyes landed on every figure in turn, before seeing that one lone person seated against the wall in a position screaming "don't approach me", eyes closed either to stop the images of people acting stupid from contaminating his lone ranger posture or, maybe, a victim to fatigue, too.

Frowning, Naruto looked around again, but as he saw no-one had noticed, slowly he made his way towards Sasuke and flopped down right next to him with a loud grunt. Sasuke had wound up to be a silent companion throughout the night, barely reacting to any conversational or emotional stimuli and only indulging himself in silence. Naruto looked at him, curious if Sasuke had stayed because of some unknown, gripping emotion to see what he'd missed out on, or for… For who?

His frown deepened and he poked Sasuke in the shoulder. "Wake up."

Sasuke opened his eyes, hues shifting to land upon his figure with an inquiry of "what do you want?" and Naruto drew his legs to his chest and huffed, not knowing what he really wanted but knowing he refused to leave.

"You're not talking to anyone."

Silence again.

"Oh, come on, give me at least a 'hn' or something."

Nothing.

Naruto glared at him and again he poked Sasuke, this time in the side, hoping to finally elicit something out of him, but as Sasuke would not react to any stimuli, Naruto bristled and pinched his cheek. Hard.

That got his reaction.

Surprised still in that subtle way, Sasuke flashed him a dangerous look and Naruto beamed at him. "Oops?"

The man's chest rose heavily up, then descended down, the breath leaving him in ragged intervals, prompting a curious look from Naruto; obviously, he was maintaining his reputation as someone highly elusive, secluding himself willingly from the rest and enveloping himself in an air of unapproachable mystery that he'd seen no-one but Sasuke operate in a manner that still made him an attractive companion. Attractive in that sense you'd want to speak to him all the while, of course. Of course…

Naruto gulped and let out a heavy sigh. "Are you even enjoying yourself?"

"No."

Finally an answer, although-Naruto winced. "You could try."

"Why bother?"

Marvelous. Two words encompassing a myriad of things. Naruto couldn't find it in him to blame Sasuke for not trying, just as he could not blame anyone else for the attempt; he'd seen before Ino sending Sasuke furtive looks and even Sai eying him all greedily, like he wanted to, genuinely wanted to speak and find out more, and he thought Shikamaru, too, had felt the touch of that contemplation, but no-one had acted on any such suicidal tendency, speaking to the others instead, the idea of liking Sasuke put out.

Naruto knew there was anger on his face, anger, strangely enough, directed at his peers for the cold shoulder and ever-so-silent way of expressing their distress, but again, with the many things involved, no-one could suffer from being blamed and Naruto licked his lower lip. "Fine, talk to me then."

Sasuke's eyes had yet to leave him. In them, he saw the question "is that a good idea?" and Naruto's heart lapped eagerly at the opportunity to say "no" and get him to leave the man's presence, but they had things to talk about. Too many, in fact, to leave them to rot or hope the touch of time wouldn't overlook them.

Maybe, it was that fact that him feeling so naked under unwavering Sasuke's stare. Placating any need for escape, Naruto looked back with equal doubt and strength. "We have things to talk about. Anything. We could talk about, hm-sparring, oh, yeah! Or what we're going to do and such, or how you're doing, or about. About."

Sasuke's lips parted. Before the words were formed, Naruto knew what he was going to say.

"Or we could talk about something very specific."

About that.

Dark amusement flickered in Naruto's eyes. Mister verbose and eloquent himself failed to properly address it. Figures. "Nah, not about… that."

Sasuke shifted, one leg outstretched in front of him and the right hand pressed against the ground, weight shifted to the wrist and the five fingers evenly spread out and hugging the flooring.

"This peace won't last forever." As simple as that, this foreboding, honest message.

Naruto fretted. "You're weird, Sasuke, you're absolutely the weirdest person I've ever met in my life and, man, I've met some strange folks."

In the middle of the room, Lee jumped on a table and starting reciting an obscure poem he'd just composed, an ode to youth, power and strength, before falling down, curling into a ball and crying about how he was happy they were all together like this; Kiba cried along with him and they hugged each other, Ino and Sakura laughing at the display of emotion but choking back a few sobs of their own. Neji muttered something about idiots and Hinata gasped for this time, Shino, being too immersed in a conversation with Chouji, did not manage to catch her; she fell forward, hit the ground and, a nice, large, red bruise on her forehead, she looked around with the eyes of a startled deer caught in highlights. Tenten jumped over to her, pulled her close and offered her a drink and Hinata blushed ferociously and took one sip, before asking her if anyone had seen her fail, to which Tenten replied with a joyful "duh!" and proceeded to laugh as Hinata neared fainting.

Naruto watched it with a strange weight on his heart. He felt wrong to be in their presence, distanced from the whole display of friendliness he'd once dreamed of stealing for himself and now, next to Sasuke, in their little dark and isolated world, he couldn't help but feel – he didn't deserve them.

"This peace won't last forever," repeated Sasuke, leaning forward and as he did so, his shirt with the low cleavage – maybe a trick to ensnare to ladies and capture their fickle attention – crumbled forward, the creases created offering gratuitously a peek of his chest and the thin line, that scar.

Eyes wide, air caught in his throat, Naruto grabbed Sasuke's shirt and opened it like a book, getting a bewildered stare from the man and a warning from his own mind, because this-

"Why? Why didn't it heal?" Panicky eyes sought Sasuke's.

Sasuke – looked him in the eye, tranquil, a self-proclaimed martyr with the voice of reason and lulling intent. "Some scars are not meant to heal."

As if burned, Naruto recoiled but he could not stop the touch, could not stop a hand from pressing against the scar and feeling the thin, frail and protruding skin under, the heat that mingled well with his own and the reawakening, unconscious caress of regret under his own skin. Sasuke continued to watch him, too many thoughts etched into his eyes to be put apart, properly categorized; that wouldn't be doing him justice and his feeling capability, Naruto now saw, was far greater than his heart, overcoming him with ease and becoming the driving engine behind ever step. Maybe, the man didn't know it himself how susceptible to feeling he was or how vulnerable at this current state and Naruto's hand shifted to right, feeling the curve of Sasuke's chest – and the pitter-patter of his heart caught in the ribcage, set aflame by the desire to be free.

"Why don't you talk, Sasuke?"

"We're talking right now."

"Why don't you talk about what you want and feel?"

He didn't reply. Naruto feared he'd say – he'd done that weeks ago, though only to have a different opinion forced down his throat, though only to have a heinous backslash forced down his mind. At the mention of heinous – bile rose in the back of Naruto's throat and this time he pulled away entirely, sitting back, pressed against the wall and nervous.

Sasuke didn't bother hiding the scar.

Naruto heaved out a sigh. "You really are weird, Sasuke." Soon afterwards, he felt the striking eyes on him and he fought the urge to look back – before, a split second later, caving in, no struggle ever taking place.

The reason and intent morphed. A trembling passion in the form of Sasuke's mellifluous voice flooded the air around them. "What happened…"

Naruto stopped – his heart, mind, thoughts, emotions stopped, trapped in a continuum, in the memory of the past-

"I won't have you forget about it, Naruto."

He refused to let his eyes widen, to show the fear, because Sasuke was a predator, he was – a carnivore. He devoured the flesh succulent, sullied anything supple and at that moment – he looked savory himself, that one last meal Naruto wanted to enjoy to its fullest, but he did not, frozen in that position too close to him, too close – and suddenly, at that very moment, there was no distance, no detachment.

Against his wishes, he had found his attachment and token of affection, his own memento.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, burning so hot the sun was put to shame and leaving all Naruto's thoughts singed, turned into ash and – yet, held in one place, no liberation offered to them.

"What we did, Naruto…" He reached out, caressing the tanned cheek that tried to disappear and pale under his touch, instead growing hotter and softer on contact, succumbing to the hand that languidly, a mockery of sensuous and yearning, traced the three whisker marks. A tide of fearful "no"s and "god"s swept Naruto's mind off the cliff and he was freefalling and the ground – further and further away.

The carnivore marked the spot where he'd begin the feast, fingers dug in Naruto's hair and head pulled closer so they were nose to nose, skin to skin, heart to heart – truth to truth.

"I will never let you forget about it. The way you are now, Naruto, I want to destroy you." The Carnivore had spoken. He made a deal. He would not relinquish his hold. In his words – such heavy the truth, hard, harder than any blow and hit or touch. In his eyes – too much to tell. One thought mixed with the other, one infected another, another touched the first, one annihilated the third, fifth and hundredth, and the second – spread its wings around, the wings made of wires covered in guts. "You can hate me or you can love me. But I will not let you ignore me. I will not let you forget me. As you are now, you are torn, maybe, and you can choose to hate, you can choose to love. Hate me, Naruto, for all it's worth, milk that feeling for everything it can give you and, eventually, become one with it. But never, never dare dream of forgetting me. What we did… What we did to each other, soiled each other's mind, what we both let happen…" He gritted his teeth. "I will first cut and kill, separate flesh from bone and bask in the glory of one kill, than let you ever have that memory disappear. I will not be forgotten."

He backed away.

"If nothing else, then just that one thing belongs to me and no-one else."

As if in trance, Naruto watched Sasuke get up and walk away.

Eyes that were hypnotized landed on a blank spot ahead, all outside world disappearing.

Love and hate, is that all I have to choose from? Do I either accept and love, or do I hate? Could I ever hate you, Sasuke? Could I ever feel hate? Even for what we did on that floor, that one night?

The curse was set in place.

From that moment on, he could never forget.

Ino's hurried, breathy voice disturbed him from his reverie and with the early morning sun peeking from the horizon sprinkling the air with warmth, Naruto stopped to look her.

She ran towards him, flushed and panting, giddy-looking and smiling too much. "Naruto, I have one favor to ask of you."

He blinked but listened and, moments later, his shocked voice echoed around the vacant street.

"Ehh, a date with Hinata-chan?"

Disclaimer: The characters, story and other elements belong to their rightful owner, Kishimoto Masashi. I gain no profit from writing and publishing this on the Internet.

Full summary: See first chapter.

Rating: M as mature for sexual themes, violence, blood. Heavy shounen-ai, slash, eventual… We'll see if eventual SasuNaru or corpse-slash-corpse-in-mass-grave-because-they-killed-each-other.

Warning: Don't read if easily squeamish or if you're not mature yet to handle mature topics such as sex and… That strange sex they had. I'm saying it now – no rape. Just sex. Which makes what they had even worse. There will be swearing, HEAVY shounen-ai and much twisted stuff not suitable for children or those weak of mind. You have been warned.

A/N: ._. I am tired. Thank-you for all the reviews for the previous chapter :3 I tried to reply to all… Hopefully, you enjoyed this one, too D: If so, drop me a review ;) I love those, always will. And now. Rest my eyes. Dx