I dont own Naruto

Ok so here we have a rather pointless chapter. I really hate that sometimes these need to be included... but sometimes they do. This story is coming along... dont worry... it just isnt number 1 on priority... but i hope you dont hate it :)

“Look I’m not mental. Can you just try to suspend your disbelief momentarily?”

Naruto raised his eyebrow

“You do realise that you’re telling me you’re from some ancient civilisation and that you travelled forward in time aren’t you? Even for a wacko that’s pretty extreme.”

“Dobe I’m not a wacko…”

“Don’t call me that teme!”

Sasuke raised his eyebrow.

“You do know what that means right?”

“Yes I know what it means!” Naruto huffed.

“Well you know where it comes from right?”

“Yes, it’s an insult used in Avesta…”

“Well how would I know it then?”

“Oh come on, I might not be the brightest button but I’m not that stupid. Heaps of people know the legend of Avesta. You’ll need more proof than that buddy.”

Sasuke sighed… he really hoped he would have gone for that one.

“Fine…. What about the cuts on my back, hmmm? How did they heal so fast if I’m just an ordinary human?”

Naruto faltered… he didn’t have an answer to that one. Sasuke smirked as the blonde struggled to come up with an answer.

“Well… well if you’re from Avesta how come you don’t know what the words on your back are?” Naruto asked triumphantly. Sasuke frowned at looked at the floor.

“I… I don’t know.” He said quietly. Naruto was about to laugh at him when he caught the look on Sasuke’s face; pure frustration and sadness. He was frustrated… those words were so familiar… they were on the tip of his tongue, but every time he thought he had it; it would slip out of his grasp. These words… they were important… he knew it.

“Look… I can… pretend… for arguments sake, that I believe you… so… you’re from Avesta?”

Sasuke sighed again.

“Yeah, I’m from Avesta. And from what you’ve told me that book you have there is a reasonably accurate account of Avesta’s history. I came back to… discover the cause of the war… and how to stop it…”

Naruto was silent as he let this set in…

“So… are you the king’s son?”

Sasuke nodded

“His youngest… my brother is the eldest and the heir.”

Naruto frowned.

“You said this was a reasonably accurate history?” He asked, looking at the book. Sasuke nodded.

“You… you do know what happens in the end…. Don’t you?”

Sasuke sighed.

“You mean the bit where I’m supposed to fail and kill myself? Yeah… those bits kind of stood out when you gave me that run down of the story…”

The two were silent for a moment. Naruto opened his mouth to speak again when he heard footsteps on the stairs.

“Oh, that must be Iruka! Hang on… I’ll tell him you’re up.”

Naruto ran out and nearly crashed into Iruka as he came down the hall.

“Watch it Naruto! You nearly killed me!”

Naruto laughed sheepishly

“Hehe… sorry Iruka… oh yeah! Sasuke’s awake!”

“Sasuke?”

“Yeah… that guy I found last night… he’s awake!”

“Wow… he recovered fast! How are his wounds?”

“Come see!”

Naruto grabbed Iruka by the sleeve and dragged him into the living room where Sasuke was supposed to be on the couch. However he wasn’t on the couch anymore.

“Shit… where is he?! Sasuke?!”

“What?” said a voice from the kitchen.

Naruto ran into the kitchen, followed by a more sedate Iruka.

“What are you doing!?”

Sasuke raised an eyebrow

“Well I’m thirsty. And you didn’t even offer me a drink… that’s pretty rude dobe.”

Naruto fumed

“What’s rude is going through people’s things teme!”

“Naruto! Stop… he’s a guest and he’s injured. You should have offered him something to eat and drink! Are you hungry? Oh and I’m Iruka, Naruto’s former guardian.”

“Uchiha Sasuke… and I’m starving actually…”

Iruka, being the mother hen he was, got a little clucky and started to cook breakfast for them all. Iruka liked to cook, so Naruto had always been fed well.

“Well you and Naruto go and sit down and I’ll make you some food… you shouldn’t be up yet anyway…”

“Stop mothering him Iruka!” And with that Naruto stormed out. Sasuke smirked and followed the boy out. Naruto didn’t lead him to the living room; he took him up some stairs to the second floor of the house. A door was open and Sasuke could see Naruto’s form sprawled out on a bed.

“Teme, you shouldn’t just walk into people’s rooms.”

“Well you didn’t invite me in dobe.”

“I think that was the point. I don’t want to catch crazy.”

Sasuke sighed… so they were back to this were they?

“Look I’m not crazy. And I’m not asking for anything from you either… you just happened to find me. Seriously… who takes some stranger into their house?”

Naruto glared at Sasuke

“Yeah well if it wasn’t for me you’d still be lying on the street hungry wouldn’t you? Jeez… it wouldn’t hurt to show a bit of gratitude…”

Sasuke smirked and walked over to the bed, sitting on it and leaning over Naruto. Naruto stiffened slightly as Sasuke leaned in close to whisper in his ear.

“Do you want me to show just how grateful I am…Naruto?” Sasuke purred in the boy’s ear. Naruto whimpered slightly at the feeling of Sasuke’s breath hot on his ear and neck. Sasuke pulled back slightly to look in Naruto’s eyes. They were huge with the pupils dilated almost all the way, hiding a great deal of the cerulean colour, his bottom lip caught just between his teeth. Sasuke chuckled throatily.

“I didn’t think so” he said, and moved off the bed to look at the bookshelf on Naruto’s wall. Naruto didn’t recover quite so quickly though.

‘Teme… what kind of stunt was that?!’

“So you like history?”

“You mean legends?”

Sasuke raised his eyebrow

“Oh yeah… you don’t believe any of this do you?”

When Naruto was young he believed in all these different myths and legends. Now he was older, and while he didn’t believe them the way he used to, they still fascinated him and he loved to read about them. Sasuke grabbed the book with the legend of Avesta in it.

“I’m going to read this now.” He said. He didn’t ask; he told. His arrogant attitude was wearing down on Naruto’s nerves a little.

“Hey! Who said you could?”

“Well I’ll need something to do while I heal up, wont I?”

“Teme! Heal up somewhere else!”

Sasuke smirked

“Oh so you’re going to throw an injured person out in the cold… thanks a lot.”

“Oh you’re not that injured!”

Sasuke was about to retort when Iruka called them down for food. Naruto gave Sasuke a scathing look as he walked out of the room. Sasuke just smirked as he followed him out.

‘Wow...’ Sasuke thought as he saw the spread in front of him. Iruka made waffles, bacon and eggs, grilled tomatoes, toast, fresh fruit juice and coffee. Naruto plonked down into a seat and began shovelling food in his mouth, before a cough from Iruka reminded him that he had a guest. To be honest he didn’t care, but the last thing he needed was Sasuke making smartass comments about his eating habits. Sasuke carefully lowered himself into a chair, wincing slightly as the skin pulled across his back. It was the first sign he had made since he began walking around that he was in any pain. Naruto felt a little bad for him, and resolved himself to be more understanding. Iruka had seen the wince and looked at Sasuke sympathetically.

“I should take a look at your back after we’ve eaten ok Sasuke?”

“That would be great… I don’t want to reopen any of the wounds…”

“Do you remember how they got there?” Iruka asked kindly. Sasuke was halfway through a mouthful that he finished before he answered.

“No… I have no idea” he said truthfully. His expression and tone were so sincere that Naruto believed him. Iruka sighed, feeling sorry for the boy.

“Do you have any family or anything around here that would be looking for you… or worried?”

Sasuke shook his head

“To tell you the truth I don’t even know where I am exactly… I don’t really remember much… But I don’t have any family… it’s just me…”

Iruka always was to kind hearted. Stories about being lost and alone nearly made him cry… and this time wasn’t any different.

“Oh… that’s so sad… well; you’re welcome to stay here as long as you need Sasuke”

Sasuke smiled at him, a sincere, genuine smile.

“Thank you” he said simply. Naruto couldn’t believe it. Some sop story from Sasuke and Iruka opened their home to him! What if he was a maniac or something?! Iruka didn’t even know that Sasuke was a complete nutball! Naruto didn’t say anything though… he just viciously attacked his food. Sasuke raised an eyebrow but kept his comments to himself. Iruka looked at his watch.

“Jeez… I have to run! I’ll call Tsunade over to come check you out again Sasuke… Naruto clean up the kitchen will you?” And with that Iruka grabbed his keys and wallet and ran out the door.

‘Great now I’m alone with the psycho…’ Naruto thought as he cleared the table.

“Do you want a hand?”

“What, manners now?” Naruto scoffed.

Sasuke smirked. “I have excellent manners thank you. When someone opens their home to you it’s only polite to help out.”

Naruto rolled his eyes.

“Whatever… you can help me stack the dishwasher…”

“How?”

Naruto turned to face Sasuke, his eyebrow raised.

“What?”

“I’ve never stacked a dishwasher before…” Sasuke looked innocent… almost…

‘Cute…’ thought Naruto… before quickly shaking that blasphemy out of his mind.

“How could you have never stacked a dishwasher before? And you know… if you’re from Avesta shouldn’t this be like… ancient technology for you?”

Sasuke glared at him

“Well I was a prince remember… I’ve never been in the kitchen and helped with dishes! And yes, this is very primitive so how would I use it anyway?”

Naruto rolled his eyes

“Oh the poor pampered rich kid… jeez… come on I’ll show you…”

Sasuke followed Naruto out of the dining room and into the kitchen. Naruto opened the dishwasher and began putting in the plates.

“See, not that hard. You do it now.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes at being treated like a child but bent down anyway. The plates fell from his hands as he cried out, the skin on his back tearing open again. Blood leaked through the shirt Naruto had given him and he fell to his knees.

“Shit! Are you ok Sasuke?”

Sasuke gritted his teeth as he carefully stood up. Breathing heavily he replied,

“I’m… I’m fine… don’t worry about it… I’ll just need to be more careful.”

Naruto frowned.

“You’re not ok! You’re badly injured! Come on… Let’s get this shirt off so it doesn’t stick when it dries…”

Sasuke nodded and grabbed the hem of the shirt and slowly lifted his arms, before whimpering slightly and letting them fall again.

“I can’t…” he whispered. Naruto looked at him sympathetically before grabbing the hem of his shirt.

“I’ll try not to hurt you” he said softly.

“What are you going to…”

Naruto grinned

“Don’t worry… I’ve done this a hundred times! Anyway, brace yourself.”

Sasuke got a little worried when Naruto told him that… but instead of doing anything painful or dangerous Naruto began ripping the shirt in short, sharp jerks, until he had ripped from hem to collar. He then ripped the sleeves so the shirt just fell away. Sasuke gasped a little as the shirt caught on the half dried blood on his back, but Naruto’s hands gently pulled the fabric away from the skin, causing only minimal pain. Sasuke gave a sigh of relief when Naruto stepped back, the job done. Naruto breathed out heavily.

“I really liked that shirt… oh well. Come on into the bathroom and I’ll clean you up.”

Naruto sat Sasuke on the edge of the bath and got a clean towel and some water to clean the blood off. Seeing the words carved into Sasuke’s back made Naruto cringe again. Sasuke shuddered slightly as the towel wiped away his blood and exposed the cuts underneath.

“You know… I… I’m not lying….about Avesta. I really am from there…” Sasuke said softly. Naruto didn’t say anything, but every time he wiped away the blood off Sasuke’s back, some of his disbelief wiped away as well.

See... pointless... oh well... it is an important chapter even if a great deal doesnt happen... I'll try to update soon

LittleCrane