Mask
By: Shozetsku
Warnings/Authoress Notes:

-Shonenai and possibly yaoi, cursing, OOC-ness, NO flames please! You have been warned! Haters can click the back button! I DO NOT want to hear it!

-that was kind of a mean ending wasn’t it? Sorry about that. Oh and the wait… sorry about that too.

Don’t kill me? If you kill me you won’t find out the ending.

-

Chapter 6: Day 5 – Reaching for the Mask Again

It did not compute.

It did not compute.

It wasn’t happening.

It wasn’t real.

It couldn’t be.

Why? Why did it hurt?

His heart was breaking, it was almost worth throwing away his Uchiha pride and hiding back behind his mask, forcing his emotions back under the lid to escape the pain. But he was too dumbfounded to do even that.

Instead he stood there, watching, frozen with grief, betrayal, sadness and... Longing? He watched as their hands roamed each other’s bodies, there was an air of learned routine about the frenzied movements. And that meant one thing, that they had been doing this for a while now, it wasn’t just some spur of the moment thing. It twisted in the wound that had already been made, making it worse, hurting, searing, bleeding, he felt as if he could cry tears of blood.

Naruto was biting Gaara’s neck enough to draw blood; he lapped greedily at the liquid that presented itself there. Gaara’s eyes opened at the sensation and caught sight of Sasuke, standing there.

“Oh, look who it is Kyuubi.” Gaara sneered, pushing Naruto off of him slightly; Naruto locked his red eyes on Sasuke as well and grinned evilly, “The Uchiha brat. Who’d have thought? What shall we do about this, Shukaku?”

“Part of the arrangement is that it stays of the utmost secret. But how do you make the last of the Uchiha’s disappear without someone noticing?”

“Why make him disappear? Leave the body to be found. You of course would be blameless, you’re vessel is the kazekage and mine is his self proclaimed dearest friend.”

It was barely registering with Sasuke that they were plotting his death.

Naruto and Gaara both stumbled and started groaning like they had headaches, clutching their heads. “B-Back... Off. Damn fox.” Naruto gritted through his teeth. Naruto looked up at Sasuke, one eye red, one eye blue, both with cat silts for pupils. He blinked, they were both red, he blinked again, and they were blue. After about a minute or two both Naruto and Gaara were back to normal, with a certain amount of distance between them.

Sasuke just stood there and watched. He wasn’t going to go anywhere; he wanted a mother fucking explanation. Gaara was the first to recover himself enough to try to explain. “Come with us, this isn’t to be discussed in public.”

Sasuke stood rooted to the spot, “You two are in not state to be going anywhere, your clothes are ripped, and you’re both bleeding.”

The Jinchuuriki looked down at each other, “Well, I’ll be damned, they must not have gotten very far, we’re still wearing pants.” Naruto said, mostly to himself.

“But that’s no good, they haven’t satisfied their thirsts. I don’t want to end up like this twice so soon. It’s always so uncomfortable.” Gaara said, Sasuke noted that they seemed to be very used to waking up all over each other; the thought pissed him off. But it didn’t seem to really be them that did it, and that quelled a small part of that anger.

“Henges, then? It’s up to you Kazekage-sama.” Naruto said, turning to Gaara with a slight teasing note in his voice.

“Please, lets. The LAST thing we need is Tsunade-dono finding out that we got caught.” Gaara said, ignoring the title for the moment.

Once they dawned their henges they made their quick way to Sasuke’s house, because though he was no longer staying at the Uchiha Estate, his, had the biggest kitchen of the three of them.

Once there Sasuke found his medical kit and brought it to them only to find that all they needed was an old rag to wipe away the blood and a new change of clothes. He glared at the two boys in front of him when he was satisfied that there was no way they could get blood on his furniture. “OK, talk. And I am not in the mood for your infuriating ‘beat around the bush, I’m not going to answer your questions’ attitude Naruto.”

Naruto sighed, running a hand through his hair and leaning heavily on the kitchen table, “This is soo against the rules and more awkward then I can begin to tell.”

“WHAT the FUCK did I JUST say you ASSHOLE?” Sasuke asked, emphasizing certain words, but managing, with great restraint, not to start shouting and give his nosey neighbors a reason to eavesdrop. He didn’t bother to stop himself from slamming his hands on the kitchen table, however.

“I am going to answer your question, Sasuke, but for the record this is one, not easy to talk about, and two, something we’re not supposed to talk about. Quite frankly no one’s supposed to know.”

“Know what?! That the Kazekage is having a secret, gay relationship with Konoha’s Village Idiot?”

Gaara growled; he didn’t like Sasuke’s tone or his choice of words. “No. no one’s supposed to know that our seals are weakening to the point that our demons’ are influencing our bodies beyond our ability to suppress them.” He said bitingly from his position against the counter, and he fought the urge to crush the toaster next to him with his bare hands.

Naruto nodded, “They’re out for some bloodshed, and while they’re at it they haven’t bred in over a decade, so that’s also an issue.” Naruto paused, looked down at his hands for a moment then looked into Sasuke’s eyes. “No one but a Jinchuuriki can understand something like this. If a Jinchuuriki takes out his demonic needs on another Jinchuuriki who has the same needs then their demon is satisfied for the time being and no one else need be hurt. Besides we heal so fast it’s like the wounds never happened in the first place.”

“So, you’re not really…” Sasuke trailed off. He stared Naruto down but it was Gaara who answered, “We are not like that. Anything that you might see that goes on between us isn’t really us, it’s Skukaku and Kyuubi, and even then, they’re not interested in each other like that. They’ve said as much.”

“There’s nothing between us Sasuke. My heart belongs to another. Not Gaara.” Gaara winced ever so slightly; the words hurt. Though it was true they weren’t like that, it was also true that Naruto was the first one to melt his heart and make him feel human again. Over time he became Gaara’s first crush, so to speak. Maybe somewhere inside him he did love Naruto, but he knew as well as Naruto did, that this was the only relationship they were going to have.

It hurt.

“You realize that this is the WEIRDEST thing that you’ve revealed to me about yourself since we started this whole bet, thing.” Sasuke said, stressing the word WEIRDEST so much that his voice sounded strained.

“Geez! No one knows what to call this stupid bet thing!” Naruto said, throwing his arms up in the air. Gaara smiled lightly, it was such a Naruto thing to do, mask or no mask.

“So now what?” Sasuke asked. And to that neither boy had an answer, Naruto’s forehead hit the kitchen tabletop hard, he drew his arms over himself, and let out a frustrated groan. Gaara wanted to take similar action, it was awkward to let their demon’s take over, it was like blacking out only to wake up exhausted, in pain, and naked either underneath or on top of Naruto. Several times the demons didn’t even do them the courtesy of the seme removing himself from the uke. Gaara shut his eyes at the awkward memories, and their demon’s hadn’t even sated their needs yet. The redhead felt a migraine coming on.

Gaara looked up at Sasuke, “Well we can start with some migraine medication, I’m developing a killer headache trying to figure this out.”

Naruto fished his bottle out of his pocket and threw them over his shoulder at Gaara without looking.“I’m going to need more then the Kyuubi to save when Tsunade finds out we got caught.” Naruto muttered into the table. “I’m gonna end up a puddle of Naruto for sure.”

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, “Why would you tell her?” Naruto looked up at Sasuke, that infuriating all knowing smile back on his face, “Sasuke, it’s not in me to keep things from Tsuande, I’m not wired that way. I can’t lie to a hokage, I never lied to old man Sarutobi, I’m not gonna lie to Tsunade.”

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow, “Wait, just Tsunade? What happened to Tsunade-obaasan?” but before the words were finished coming out of his mouth, he knew. “Another part of your mask?” he asked, knowing the answer already.

“A PAINFUL part!” Naruto agreed as he held up a hand for the bottle that Gaara tossed back at him, again, not looking. Naruto was much more like the ninja his various sensei’s had tried to help him become now. It was true that throwing and catching a bottle was something that Sasuke could have done as a genin, or even an academy student, but to watch Naruto do it was odd. He wondered if Naruto carried that bottle around with him everywhere.

Naruto studied Sasuke, who’d been staring, “I never leave home without this little baby.” He said, shaking the bottle before pocketing it. “I’m going to need a new one soon or I’ll run out.” He said, turning to Gaara who was still leaning against the counter next to the toaster. There was something comical in that, Naruto mused, Gaara and a toaster… he wasn’t sure what was so funny about it, but something made him want to chuckle to a joke that no one else would get.

Gaara nodded, “I’ll have some sent from Suna as soon as possible.” Naruto nodded.

“The abandoned Uchiha Estate.” Sasuke blurted out, causing both jinchuuriki to look at him. “What about it, Sasuke?” Naruto asked, confused, but interested.

“The key word is abandoned, and it was the scene of a bloodbath.” Gaara said catching on, “It’d be a good place to let them loose with minimal damage to people’s property or risk of getting caught. And the setting might please them.”

Sasuke didn’t bother to hide the wince at the blunt stab that Gaara’s words sent right into his heart. This wasn’t something he was suggesting lightly, but part of the reason he was suggesting it was so all his bad memories would be in one place and that’d make it easier to shut away.

“I don’t like you going in there alone. I’ll be sitting on the wall of the estate just in case. There are some precious things in there and if they get near my house I can’t promise I won’t try to kill them, you.” Sasuke said flatly.

Gaara pushed off the counter and sent him an authoritarian glare that he must have developed after becoming Kazekage. “You don’t have the right to order us around.” He said flatly, his voice telling volumes of how the subject was closed. But Sasuke was prideful himself and didn’t back down.

“It’s my property, my suggestion, and like it or not I’m privy to your little secret, wouldn’t you rather know where I am?”

Naruto pushed off the table and leaned back in the chair, “Hoo, he’s got you there Gaara.”

Gaara glared at Sasuke, “And how will you sitting on the estate wall NOT attract unwanted attention? We don’t want others involved.”

“I’ll buy a bouquet of flowers and sit on the wall looking broody, people will give this place a WIDE birth.” Sasuke said without hesitation.

Naruto whistled, “Again, point for Sasu-chan.”

On instinct, out of temper, and without thought, Sasuke threw a kunai at the side of Naruto’s face, causing a breeze, ruffling the boy’s hair, and barely nicking the blonde’s ear. Sasuke had not aimed for Naruto, and Naruto had known that, or he would have dodged, but he’d meant to make a point. The point was clear; Sasuke had no more patience for Naruto’s antics.

There was a long moment of silence during which the tiny cut, to which Naruto had acted like he hadn’t even felt it, healed. Naruto shot a look at Gaara, and for another long silence they debated with their eyes. Naruto raised an eyebrow after a while and Gaara shut his eyes, even to Sasuke, who had NO CLUE what was going on, knew that Gaara had lost the argument.

“We’ll take you up on your offer Sasuke.” Naruto said finally, his voice noticeably absent the joking attitude he’d up until recently had.

“Only because we have no other choice.” Gaara cut across him. Sasuke nodded, and went to the nearest florist’s praying Ino wasn’t on shift.

The giggling blonde girl wasn’t, it was the much more centered mother whom he bought the roses from. He’d put on the slightly depressed broody look that said volumes and yet told her not to ask. Naruto and Gaara made their merry but quiet way to the Uchiha Estate, there would be nothing weird about Gaara walking with his Konoha escort, even so late at night. When they were doubly sure that no one was paying them any mind, they slipped inside the complex and waited for Sasuke to appear on the wall so they could let loose their demons.

“Do you think he’ll watch?” Gaara asked with a certain amount of discomfort, “That’d be weird.”

“The first time was against his will,” Naruto reminded Gaara, “I doubt he’ll watch. He’s not sick or interested in either of us like that. Or if he is he’s either denser then my mask or really good at hiding it; which he’s not supposed to be doing in the first place because of the bet thing.”

“That stupid thing needs to be named properly, it’s so ridiculous to say ‘bet thing’.” Gaara said with a bit of annoyance, not at Naruto, but at the term.

Sasuke appeared on the wall, the simple bouquet in one hand, the other wrapping his knees to his chest, even from a distance it didn’t seem like Sasuke had any intention of watching them, he looked like he as going to brood while looking at the Uchiha Estate, which he more or less was.

Naruto and Gaara felt the push from within themselves and let the demons take over. Eyes turned from blue and green to red and gold as the demons surveyed their environment.

“Well. This is the most considerate place they’ve ever picked. The ground is still rank with the blood that flowed like a river within these walls.” Shukaku said with a grin that split Gaara’s face manically.

“And that blood is of the damned Uchiha clan. It is a nice setting.” Kyuubi agreed. “They’ve wasted most of the night and if we’re caught out by daybreak there’ll be hell to pay. Let’s get started then.”

“I had the same thoughts.” Shukaku said and they set upon each other like rabid animals. Again they were ripping into one another, feeling the pain of being cut themselves, biting and being bitten, kissing and humping, kneading and groping, thrusting and pulling. The frantic undulating of their bodies mixing with ever more blood and cum was a truly macabre sight to behold, but Sasuke did. It was sick, inhuman, it was his friend and a person he trusted, they were having rough, bloody sex, and if the sight of it with his sharingan wasn’t enough, the sounds made it so the tears falling down Sasuke’s face were not faked. Of course he’d cast a simple silence jutsu over the area and himself, but he could hear them within the jutsu.

The one late night passerby that did see him wondered if he even realized he was crying. He just sat there, shoulders set, completely still save to breathe and blink and yet the tiny rivlets cascaded down his cheeks relentlessly, catching the light of the nearest streetlamp. That lone person also wondered why the boy’s sharingan was blazing, if only for a moment, before remembering what was on the other side of that wall; that reaction was probably inevitable, given what he’d witnessed there. They walked on, unnoticed, or ignored, to go about their daily life.

It was more painful then he imagined it could be, and though he watched and watched he could not figure out why it hurt him. He barely registered where he was anymore, he concentrated on the shadows and the wild glimpses of the two below, on the sounds and the smell of blood and cum. It wrenched his stomach, and he couldn’t figure out just what part of it was so painful or why. He was torturing himself, he knew, but it was his nature.

It was his nature to take painful things and relish in them, to turn them over and other in his mind until they made him crazy. Even Naruto had said that, Sasuke thought. And the pang in his heart at the thought triggered images of a pair of merciless red eyes, the terrible hybrid of red and blue, the blonde idiot, the shaggy haired real Naruto. Of their fights and their moment’s of friendship. And the pangs got more frequent, more painful. He tried to look away but only saw the place that had been haunting his dreams again, and in his mind he saw it bathed in blood again.

The memories of his family, both brutal and happy stung his beaten, worn, dying heart. It was going to kill him, or break him; he knew that he’d known it for years. Why else would he have put the lid on his heart in the first place? Why else would this pain that almost literally racked his whole body feel a bit familiar? It was because he’d felt this before, and had sealed his heart away so it could sleep and in time heal. Only to take it out again before the healing was even nearly done.

Dawn was coming; it couldn’t be anymore then an hour away. But he didn’t want to face it. He buried his eyes in his arms and let the roses fall to the ground.

--

When Gaara and Naruto came too it was past dawn; they were naked in a drying puddle of they’re own various bodily fluids and sore to all hell. Their clothes, or rather, Sasuke loaned clothes were ruined, barely tatters were left. Gaara had that foul taste in his mouth that told him that Shukaku had chosen to put things in his mouth that shouldn’t be there. Naruto’s sensitive nose caught the scent of recent sex and blood and it made him want to gag. All in all it was nothing out of the ordinary.

They henge’d clothes and tried to get their bearings. They’d moved from the spot they’d started from, leaving an indecent bloody trail down two streets and up another. Naruto looked up at the spot Sasuke had been that night, not expecting him to still be there.

But he was. In roughly the same position no less. Had he stayed the entire night? Naruto wondered, or has he simply fallen asleep? Naruto wasn’t sure he liked either option. He went to Sasuke and made to shake him but Sasuke unfolded himself from the crouched position on the wall, he stood to face Naruto and simply said, “I’m tired.” before leaving without another word.

Sasuke went home and slept the night off. He woke before mid-day and cleaned his home top to bottom just to give himself something to do. He didn’t bother to call in sick it’d be a lie. Or maybe it wouldn’t be a lie, but he didn’t feel like dealing with lots of people that day, one in particular.

His strategy for staying away from people and that person in general failed, because Naruto was the one to show up at his door asking why he never showed up all day through the door. Sasuke hadn’t answered the door, but Naruto didn’t let that stop him. He made a clone on one side of the door and then substituted himself for it, guessing the door to be rigged with traps.

It was. And Sasuke cursed that it wasn’t the old Naruto that was supposed to act like enough of a fool to set them off on purpose. Naruto stared at Sasuke who stared back.

Naruto sighed, “Sasuke what’s going on?”

Sasuke sighed, “I’m done.” He said quietly.

Naruto blinked, “Sorry?”

Sasuke’s face formed his old smirk, “I said I’m done playing this stupid little game, dobe.”

Naruto couldn’t say anything. Sasuke just folded his hands and sneered, “Tongue tied?” he asked, “That’s pretty hard to do to this Naruto. But none of that really matters now, in two days this game will be over or you can stop playing around right now. Personally? I don’t have time for it, and I don’t want to talk to you, so kindly get your ass out of here.”

Sasuke undid the traps and held the door open for Naruto, but he didn't move. “It seems like neither Naruto can take a hint. I said get the fuck out.”

Naruto frowned as he walked back towards the door, “I always knew you to be better then this, stronger then this; did I even know you at all?”

Sasuke, frustrated already with the blonde, repeated the word with venom, “Out.”

“I liked you Sasuke. I really, really did.” Naruto admitted, “I liked you because you were strong, because you were weak in a good way, and because you were dedicated. Even after you kick me out today, I’m still going to like you.” Naruto was just on the other side of the threshold when Sasuke slammed the door behind him. He didn’t care if the door hit the boy in the ass. He made himself not care.

End of the maskless

Yeah, yeah, I left you for so long on such an uber cliffhanger.
Yeah, yeah I’m mean and cruel to do it , yeah I know you are going to threaten me to not leave it for so long again.
Yeah, yeah you want me to update soon.
Yeah, yeah you liked the chapter I KNOW that. But tell me why! If I see “five word or less reviews” again I’m just packing my fics and abandoning entirely without bothering to finish this.

As it is when I finish these bloody fics I’m leaving them up and leaving the site anyways. No if’s and’s or but’s and please don’t ask why. I don’t feel like explaining it 50 times.

Review please. After reading the authoress notes.