Chapter Twelve

Sasuke spent the next two days watching over Naruto, removing the gauze over the holes in his flesh, wiping him down, and getting him to eat. Naruto seemed content to stare at the ceiling and ignore the world around him, seeming more depressed than Sasuke was used to seeing him. Around them, Tsunami cleaned up, Tazuna practically skipped to work, having gotten most of the men in Wave to happily return to building the bridge. Inari moped.

By the third day, Naruto sat up and took a hasty shower, to Sasuke's relief- he had thought he would have to threaten the blond to get him moving, but something had gotten the other up and moving, suspiciously after his body had given a rather nasty jerk.

Tsunami seemed to have finally breeched the wall that separated her from Naruto, after he recovered enough to move about. Having spotted her in the process of cleaning up the mess that Gatou's men had created, Naruto took up cleaning the house with a fanaticism that Sasuke was familiar with. Tsunami had originally been delighted with his help, directing him to areas she needed help with, but that soon turned into concerned alarm when she realized that it wasn't a gesture of kindness that motivated him to clean. He scrubbed her walls, tables, floors, bedroom- whatever was washable was taken, and while the others watched on in disbelief, Sasuke sat by, counted his kunai, and waited it out.

This was normal, this was Naruto, alive and as close to well as he would ever get, and Sasuke wasn't in the mood to complain. Every so often he would feel the chill, remember that brief moment of numbing horror, see Naruto lying there, bruised eyes gazing lifelessly at the sky, and he would look at the blond, just to assure himself that the other was still alive. Never again would he allow such an event to take place.

He also had other concerns, in the shape of a silver haired jounin. For days, he had watched the man watch Naruto with a dark calculating eye. He knew that Naruto was aware of the man watching him, judging by his increasingly hunched shoulders, and the fact that at intervals he would seek out Sasuke's company, standing by him. This would last only as long as it took Naruto's eyes to rove about the house and pick out imperfections, and he would then abandon Sasuke to fix them.

In the end, his cleaning left Tsunami uncomfortable and nervous.

It was half way through the week that Naruto bothered to mention something else that was bugging him, in the form of Kaiza, who had apparently been wandering around the windows and doorway, looking in. His presence was upsetting Naruto, who kept as far from the windows as he dared.

"What do you think he wants?" Sasuke asked, and Naruto threw a weary look in Inari's direction, who was moping, still. "You think he's hanging around because of that whiny little bastard?"

Naruto shrugged, wringing his fingers in silent distress.

By the week's end, they were ready to depart, and Tsunami's home looked better than before they had even arrived. The bridge had been officially completed, everyone was giddy to the point where it was ridiculous, and Sasuke was doubly grateful when they said their good byes and headed home. But no one could be more grateful than Naruto was, it practically showed on his face, sheer relief to be leaving the waterfront, to get the salt out of his skin, and to get newspaper between him and the rest of the world.

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The familiar bustle of Konoha was unexpectedly welcome to him as they moved into the village. Naruto lowered his hood down and stepped closer to Sasuke, anxious to return to the Uchiha compound, where it was safer. He had been sure, at one point, that he would perish in Wave, and he had been so close. Even now, he could remember the quiet, how peaceful it was in that brief moment, where They couldn't shout, coax, laugh, or hurt him. They were simply gone.

He remembered Sasuke's face, pale with horror, eyes so wide. He remembered how angry They were, the rage pounding into him- he didn't know why he had jumped in front of Sasuke like that- was it the ingrained instinct of a ninja?

"Let's head to the Tower and give our report," Kakashi-sensei suggested. "Remember, a mission isn't completely finished until you report it."

"Okay," Sakura smiled as they headed toward the Tower. They were greeted by the Hokage, and a report was given. Naruto didn't pay much attention to what was happening around him or what they were saying- his head was pounding and he feared to sleep; They were still seething, angry whispers echoing in the reaches of his mind.

"Good job," the words cut through to him and he looked up to see the Hokage's dark eyes pinned on him. He quickly averted his eyes and followed the others out of the Tower, Kakashi-sensei stopping at the door.

"You guys go ahead and take the rest of the day off, and tomorrow, to rest."

Relief. Finally they were headed back to the compound. He lowered his hood as they parted ways with Sakura, walking closer to Sasuke, avoiding eye contact with any of the villagers.

"We'll train," Sasuke said suddenly, glancing back at him. "Tomorrow. Tonight we rest."

Sasuke made them stop at a market to buy more soup and candy bars, which upset him, because now he was seen with him purchasing the goods. What if they poisoned them?

It was as he was agonizing over the possibilities of his poisoning that he spotted Nabeshin leaning against a building, arms folded across his chest, dark eyes watching the villagers as they moved about their lives. Naruto paused, very surprised to see him outside of the compound. None of the other Uchiha ever ventured beyond the gates of the compound, apparently satisfied to lament in their respected places.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked, looking around, having stopped when he realized Naruto was no longer following him. His hand moved toward his pocket, where many of his kunai remained.

"Nabeshin," Naruto whispered, and the ghost looked over at him, as if hearing his words above the noise of the village. He broke into a grin and headed toward them, looking strangely relieved. Several villagers walked right through him, jumping, or shaking their heads at the sensation, though Nabeshin didn't seem to notice.

"There you are," the Uchiha clearly sounded relieved, pale rusted puffs coming from his mouth. "I was looking all over for you."

"Where is he?" Sasuke asked, and Naruto made a quick gesture to where Nabeshin stood. Sasuke stared at the area, squinting, trying hard to see where his relative was, but seeing nothing. "Let's go," he ordered, and they quickly moved toward the compound, Nabeshin following after them. "Tell me everything he says to you."

Nabeshin sent Sasuke a curious look. "You do everything he tells you to?" he asked Naruto, who simply hunched his shoulders and said nothing. When they entered the compound the other Uchiha lifted and turned their heads in his direction, watching as they headed for the main house.

"When you didn't show up for training, I went to look for you," Nabeshin commented, and Naruto reluctantly repeated the words to Sasuke, who looked intrigued. He paused at the porch of the main house as they stepped inside, and Naruto balked at the dust that floated in the air.

Just as he headed for the kitchen to gather cleaning supplies, Sasuke's mother chose that moment to enter, mouth open, dark eyes trained on Sasuke. Naruto quickly turned and rushed up to their room, shutting the door quickly and sitting in his corner, head in his hands. He was afraid to sleep, more than he usually was, because They were angry with him, and he could not bear to feel Their eyes on him. Ever since he had jumped in front of Sasuke and had taken his blows, They had been torturing him. His head ached constantly with Their fury, his stomach cramped, body shook, vision blurred.

Something dropped in his lap and he moved his hands from his eyes to see that it was a candy bar. He nudged it away, knowing that the villagers had seen him with Sasuke when he had purchased them. It was over now, he couldn't eat them anymore, or the soup for that matter.

"Eat it, Naruto. You haven't eaten for days." Sasuke put the candy bar back in his lap.

Naruto shook his head. "It's poisoned now. They saw me with you."

"Don't be stupid," Sasuke snapped, removing his shirt. "They couldn't have poisoned it with me right there, buying them. Besides, you stood outside, no one notices you, so eat it."

Naruto wrung his fingers in agitation, but he opened the candy bar and ate it, knowing that Sasuke was right, and wishing his head didn't hurt so much that it ruined reasonable thinking.

"Huh," a voice came, and he looked up to see that Nabeshin was in the room, looking around. "I've never been in this house before." He looked down at him, then averted his eyes. 'It's weird but, ever since I started training you, I've been..." he shook his head. "It had never occurred to me to leave the compound before. But when you didn't show up, I was compelled to look for you."

Naruto looked in Sasuke's direction- he was changing out of his shorts.

"It's interesting the stuff you hear when no one knows your around," the ghost said, eyes sparkling.

"Nabeshin says he's heard some stuff," Naruto said to Sasuke, whose head darted up in surprise, eyes moving about the room.

"What's he heard?"

"Well, there's a chuunin exam coming within the month, and apparently the Kazekage is going to be present. There'll be ninja from all over, interesting people..."

Naruto repeated his words.

"Chuunin Exam?" he seemed puzzled.

Naruto rubbed agitated eyes. "The Chunin Exam is used to show off the young talent of each village, and a way to avoid war. The other is to assess and promote genin to chuunin level. A jounin can enter his Team after they've completed eight to ten successful missions."

Nabeshin nodded cheerfully- Sasuke's eyes burned with interest, and he knew he was mentally counting the number of missions they had done. "Do you think Kakashi-sensei will allow us to enter?"

Naruto shook his head- he hoped not, he didn't want to be a chuunin, he didn't want to have anything to do with Exams, where people watched him, thought about him, talked about him. He shuddered.

Nabeshin shook his head. "It's so strange...it never occurred to me to leave the compound before meeting you, and suddenly, such an urge to find you...Where'd you go anyway?"

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When his students were out of sight, Kakashi turned back into the room and moved back in front of the Hokage.

"How did it go?" the Sandaime asked, dark eyes scanning his face intensely.

Kakashi sighed, shaking his head. "Where do I start?" He looked up at the ceiling. "I've seen behavior that concerns me, behavior that may get him or the rest of the Team killed. Does he suffer from schizophrenia? Any other mental disorder you failed to mention? The newspaper on the walls, talking to himself... I've seen the state of his body, and he's near starvation."

Sandaime steepled his fingers together and gazed out the window. "Believe it or not, he's in better condition than before. Since Sasuke's unexpected arrival, his condition has improved drastically."

Kakashi's brow rose in disbelief.

"Have you ever had him evaluated by a professional? Institutionalized?"

Sarutobi smiled, wrinkles multiplying. "I had the same talk with Umino-san several years ago Can you imagine Naruto within the hands of strangers? He would kill himself, I think. He wouldn't be able to survive in a controlled environment like that- he's incredibly stubborn. Naruto thrives in an environment he can control, and Sasuke may think that he has control over him, but if the boy took a step back and looked at it from a different eye, he would see that it is he that is being controlled."

It was true. He had observed Sasuke's behavior when it came to Naruto- how many times he had heard Sasuke say, 'Naruto doesn't like it.' Sasuke accommodated Naruto, changing many of his habits to mirror the blond's.

"I've never tried to make him take medication, because I could never get him to eat- I can't imagine how Sasuke had conquered that feat." His face darkened. "But he is your student now, Kakashi. Do what you think is best for him."

Kakashi gave another heavy sigh. And what was best?

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Having ventured out of the compound, it seemed that Nabeshin was reluctant to be left behind. He followed them on missions- they were back to the mundane ones, and had a snide comment for everything, words that only Naruto could hear and never bothered to repeat. He noticed his dark eyes seemed to grow more bitter as the days had gone by, most often directed towards the villagers. He watched them with cold eyes, following them as they moved obliviously about their lives, not unlike a predator watching prey..

Nabeshin's silent simmering made him nervous and uneasy, and he found that avoiding the ghost was all but impossible. The only place the ghost didn't go was the bathroom, and understandably, the room where Sasuke's father dwelt.

"I'd be pissed too, if my son wiped out my entire clan too...the little traitor." This was said when Sasuke had tried to make him go back into the room. He had flat out refused, and no amount of pushing, pulling, or threats could change his mind. Nabeshin had watched this with a frown, eyes darting between the two as they struggled in front of the door, Sasuke pulling him, and Naruto flopping to the floor, using his body weight to thwart the Uchiha's efforts.

Sasuke had found a deeper use for Nabeshin. Ever since the ghost had mentioned the Chuunin Exams, the Uchiha had been sending him out to gather information on everyone who was entering. Nabeshin returned with tales of Grass ninja, Sound ninja, Mist ninja, and Sand ninja, which he felt would be of particular interest to Naruto.

"He's a jinchuuriki like you," the dead Uchiha claimed, waiting for his reaction. But this was not news to him, he knew there were others and had absolutely no desire to meet them. He really didn't want to meet anyone in general. Sasuke seemed alarmed though.

"Who is he? What does he look like?"

"His name is Gaara and he's got red hair, rings around his eyes, and a big jar thing on his back. He's not very friendly either."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed in silent speculation. "Stay away from him," he commanded. Lately most of what he said was a command. Naruto's response was to ignore him and continue to do what he was doing, which was cleaning the house; He and his clones tended to make quick work of the house, something that seemed to fascinate Nabeshin.

He watched the clones as they worked, Naruto knew this because when the clones dissipated he knew that they noticed the ghost. His eyes had turned shrewed and thoughtful. What did he want?

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Days went by, he and Naruto returned to their usual routine of D-rank missions, though he chafed at them. He wanted another high ranking mission, and he didn't want to clean houses, retrieve animals, paint fences, or plant vegetables (Naruto had no problems doing any of these things.) Sasuke himself spent many nights mulling over whether Kakashi-sensei was going to enter them into the Exam. He sent Nabeshin out to spy on Team Eight and Ten, discovering that Yuuhi Kurenai was speculating it; Nabeshin had followed her home to find this out.

There was something else he discovered. Nabeshin would not listen to him unless Naruto was the one giving the commands. He had discovered this when he had waited for the ghost to return with news of Sarutobi Asuma's decision and hadn't received any.

"Has Nabeshin returned yet?" he had asked one night before he had gone to bed. Naruto had blinked up blearily at him, having not slept in three days and having a harder time understanding him because of it. The blond had then glanced at the door.

"He never left," he had murmured, surprising him.

"What do you mean? I told him to follow Team Ten to see if they're going to be in the Exam."

Naruto had shrugged, leaning over the book he was reading. "He says he doesn't have to do what you say."

"What about you? Does he have to do what you say?" he'd long gotten over the idea that the whole compound was filled with relatives he could not see.

It turned out Nabeshin had, because the next day Naruto had said randomly that it was unknown whether Sarutobi-sensei was going to nominate Team Ten. Ever since Nabeshin had become their spy, it at first was confusing. He didn't know if Naruto was talking to him or just repeating the ghost's words, especially when he had stopped saying 'Nabeshin says.'

In the end, he had to settle for knowing that anything longer than half a sentence was Nabeshin's words.

Lately he had been thinking beyond Konoha- actually he had been thinking about Haku. Haku had been tougher than them, more powerful than he had thought a kid his age could be, despite having Itachi for an elder brother. It made him think that there was much more to learn outside of Konoha, than there was inside of it. Training was moving too slow here, for him and Naruto, and he wanted to learn more, more than Kakashi-sensei was teaching them.

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Sakura glanced ahead at her teammates glumly, feeling another wave of depression fall over her. Ever since they had returned from Wave, each day had been more miserable than the day before. It appeared that Sasuke and Naruto had forgotten her. They rarely talked to her, interacting only enough to get the missions done, and Naruto didn't interact at all. It was hurtful and frustrating. She had tried to change- being more serious during training, practicing things she had never cared to do in the Academy. Kakashi-sensei continued to help her with her endurance, building up more chakra, working on her kunai skills. She wanted to show them that she was useful, that she wasn't just a girl, but it seemed they had forgotten her. It was like the Academy all over again, and she still couldn't help but to blame Naruto for this.

Naruto came to a stop quite suddenly, but this time she halted before bumping into him, His hooded head was always bowed, his gaze, from what she could tell, was usually focused on the ground, and she often wondered how he managed to not walk into Sasuke, especially since he walked so closely to him. His head lifted slowly, she could see two blue eyes under his hair, and they were focused on something across the street. Sasuke turned back, his sharp dark eyes scanning the area and falling on someone.

Sakura turned to look, spotting a small group across the street. Immediately she saw that they were Sand- nin by their hitai-ate, one a red head with shadowed green eyes, a girl with sandy blond hair, and another boy with purple paint lining his face. The red head was giving her the creeps- she could feel his killing intent from the other side of the street, his eyes focused on Naruto.

She looked at the hooded blond, and for once he didn't look his usual miserable- instead his face was empty, red-rimmed eyes trained solely on the Suna-nin. The moment became more uncomfortable, for both boys hadn't moved,and it seemed the others weren't going to either- except the purple faced boy, who was steadily looking more pissed. Then Naruto gave a jerk, his eyelids fluttering until he lowered his head and turned to continue heading toward their meeting place. Sasuke paused to give the Suna-nin another cold glance before he too moved on. Sakura remained, trying to puzzle out the animosity- maybe it was a guy thing..?

"Coming Sakura?"

His voice startled her, she turned to see Sasuke and Naruto waiting for her. They were waiting for her. She still existed! She quickly followed the boys as they headed for the bridge, feeling like she could take on any challenge.