Chapitre 13: Small World

Saturday came too quickly for someone who had been worrying about it over sleepless nights. Sasuke sensed the distress radiating off waves from the blond and sighed through his nose. Clearly this older brother of the fox wasn't the loving kind. Naruto had shared enough horror stories about his childhood and Sasuke couldn't help but sympathise a little with his pretend boyfriend.

"Calm down, dobe. It'll be fine. Itachi can handle your brother just fine. He's not some ignorant spoilt brat you know? He's more of a genius than I am."

"But…"

A slender finger was placed on the plush pink lips. Sasuke mentally noted how soft they were but forcefully tore his gaze away from them. He looked into clear cerulean eyes and affirmed the blond in a soft voice. "It'll be fine, I promise."

Naruto stared into obsidian irises and nodded meekly. Sasuke had told him once before that an Uchiha's promise was worth his weight in gold. If Sasuke went as far as to give him his promise, then the fox would have to believe it.

Smiling at the fox demon, Sasuke offered his hand which Naruto gladly took before they left the house. Akatsuki café was only a few streets away and Naruto was glad Sasuke agreed to walk there with him instead of driving over. It gave him some time to think and mentally prepare for the meeting.

Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX

The bell rang, indicating new customers as a very feminine looking man grinned and greeted the newcomers.

"Welcome to Akatsuki!"

Naruto cringed at the loud greeting and tugged on Sasuke's sleeve. The raven-haired man nodded to the blond waiter called Deidara and asked if his brother was there already.

"'Tachi is at the usual seat," Deidara replied but leaned in close and whispered. "He has company though... that red-haired beauty doesn't seem to be his usual type. I'll be careful of that one if I were him."

Sasuke nodded. "I'll keep an eye out. Thanks for the heads up."

Naruto raised a brow at the whispered conversation. He could hear them but wasn't quite sure what Itachi's 'usual type' meant.

Those thoughts were chucked aside when a familiar sight greeted the blond. "Kyuu-nii!"

Halting in their conversation, Kurama turned around only to be tackled by a very overgrown kit. "Naruto? You've certainly grown while I was away…"

The blond fox demon grinned and bounced excitedly while he recounted what had happened in his short trip to the human world. Neither demon noticed the looks of amusement exchanged by the Uchihas.

"…And then we're living together."

Kurama blinked owlishly at the conclusion.

"You're saying that you upgraded from pet to pretend lover in exchange for food and lodging."

Naruto nodded enthusiastically.

"Not only that, you'll be attending school on Monday with said pretend lover to ward off the fangirls?"

"Yupp!" the kit popped the 'p' at the end with a shit-eating grin on his face.

The red-haired demon let his head fall. The contact it made with the table shocked Itachi. It sounded loud enough to give a concussion.

When Kurama made no indication of getting up, Itachi got worried. Sasuke watched how his impassive older brother gently tapped on the older fox demon's shoulder. Naruto only pouted.

"Come on Kyuu-nii, it's not that bad. At least I didn't get sold to some creepy old man like you told me."

A muffled reply was the only indication the red-haired man was still alive. Itachi gave up trying to baby the demon and opted to sulk silently as Sasuke called for drinks from a blue-haired waitress.

After the drinks arrived, Kurama reluctantly sipped on his iced tea while Naruto engaged in conversation with a recovered Itachi. Sasuke took the time to study his fox demon's older brother. The man was devilishly good looking with flaming hair that was untamed and wild much like the man when he wasn't looking like a kicked puppy.

"That's interesting. I never thought that I'll ever meet a fox demon, much less two. Say, is my little brother treating you well? Sasuke can be a little moody at times, I'm afraid he'll neglect you. Is he feeding you enough? You look like skin and bones."

Kurama snorted. "It doesn't matter what you feed or how much you feed this fox. It's a black hole in his stomach."

"Hey! I'm a growing kit okay? Say something Sasuke!"

The sophomore shrugged. Just as Naruto was about to launch into a complaining session, Itachi's phone rang.

"Hello? Yes. What? Now?"

Everyone at the table held their breath.

The long-haired Uchiha gave them an apologetic smile. "Yes, I'll be there." As he hung up the phone Sasuke pouted.

"You can't stay for lunch with us?"

Poking his younger brother between furrowed brows, Itachi gave him a soft smile. "Sorry, maybe next time."

Just before Itachi left, the red-haired fox stood up and offered to escort the CEO. Itachi politely declined but Kurama was persistent. For a moment, Sasuke worried about his brother's safety with the crafty older brother Naruto warned him about. Then a sigh came from the blond and Sasuke gave him a questioning look.

Naruto rolled his eyes and whispered, "Kurama's whipped. I don't blame him, your brother is kind of pretty."

"Whipped?"

"Yeah," the kit confirmed as the duo walked out the door, completely forgetting about their siblings. "He usually plays hard to get."

Now that was reassuring. "Itachi's not in danger, is he?"

"Well," Naruto scratched his cheek. "He's not going to be in danger of becoming a bankrupt although I would prepare a chastity belt if I were him. Kurama moves fast."

Sasuke paled. "How fast?"

Naruto grimaced. "I'll give a week."

The two of them sat in silence considering what it would mean in future should their brothers become a couple.

Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX

It was official. School sucked.

Sasuke's relationship with the new transfer student spread like wildfire and Naruto found himself having to avoid three different groups of people. The first being Sasuke's fanatics who wanted to tear him limb by limb. The second was the Sasuke shippers who were obsessed with the idea of two hot men dating. The last was Naruto's newly founded group of fangirls.

The campus was huge and Naruto had no clue where he was heading. All he knew was that he had to avoid three groups of crazy humans and his legs took him up to the roof of some old facility.

The lock on the door gave out when the kit slammed into the door, giving the blond a quick escape from the angry Sasuke fans. Panting, the kit barricaded the door with his body and prayed that they won't come to the roof.

It wasn't till the screams and thundering footsteps faded away that Naruto came out of hiding. Lunch was almost over and the fox felt the hunger gnawing at his stomach walls. The phone Sasuke gave him vibrated and Naruto fished it out to check the notification.

"Where are you, dobe?"

Unseen ears perked at the sight of Sasuke's name in his inbox. Typing quickly, the blond sent his reply. His pretend lover must have been clutching onto his phone because almost immediately, the reply came.

"Stay there. I'm coming. You haven't eaten have you?"

"Nope."

"Good. You better finish all the food I'm bringing for you. I don't want Itachi nagging at me for not feeding you."

Naruto beamed. Maybe school wasn't so bad after all.

Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX

"How do you manage to eat twice your weight and not gain an ounce of fat?"

The blonde pouted. "That's not twice my weight! I could eat even more you know? Besides, I skipped breakfast when you woke up late."

Sasuke grimaced. Last night had been terrible. After Naruto's insistence of sleeping on the bed with him in his human form, Sasuke couldn't sleep a wink. Itachi's teasing didn't make it better. He was just about to fall asleep when the alarm rang.

"Well, you were tossing and turning all night. Whose fault is it that I woke up late?" Sasuke fibbed and almost regretted it when the fox appeared teary.

"I'm sorry…" the golden-haired kit added a sniffle. That had Sasuke internally panicking while he awkwardly hugged the fox demon.

That was how Ino Yamanaka caught them. "I knew I'll find you here! You can hide from Sakura but you can't hide from me."

Sasuke jolted and Naruto hid behind the Uchiha on reflex. She had been the leader of the crazy shipping fangirls. Sakura was the girl in charge of Sasuke's fan girls who hated him to the core. Apparently he 'made Sasuke gay'.

"Relax," Ino sighed at the defensive behaviour. "I'm not going to give away your position. So now, you can tell me why a fox demon is suddenly transferring to my school and playing lovers with Sasuke?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You know her?" he asked the golden fox who shook his head.

"Well, I'm not surprised Kiba hasn't told you about me. He's far too busy courting Hinata to bother. I'm Sai's mate."

Naruto gaped. "Sai's mate? Sai has a mate?"

Sasuke was annoyed. "Can someone please explain what's going on?"

The blonde female walked over and made herself cosy beside the boys. Naruto grinned nervously and explained that Sai was Kakashi's adopted nephew.

"And who is Kakashi?"

"He's somewhat an adoptive father of mine. He and Kurama have been friends for a long time. He's also the leader of the werewolves in Japan since the Sengoku times."

"Sen-" Sasuke choked. "That's even before Kurama was born!"

Ino giggled at Sasuke's shock. "Yes, werewolves can live a very long time. Unfortunately, the bloodline is getting thinner with every generation and the older ones being hunted to near extinction. Kakashi's probably the only true blood werewolf in Japan."

Naruto sighed. "Why did people think they were dangerous? Werewolves have been nothing but a nice bunch, except during a full moon."

Shaking her head, Ino changed the subject. "So? What's a fox demon doing in the human world and playing lover with a human male? I heard from Kiba that you were a charmer. Did the passing guideline become easier?"

The blond demon growled, startling Sasuke. He hadn't heard such a hostile greeting ever since their first encounter. However, Ino barely flinched. The girl only rolled her eyes and stared at the bristled fox.

"Your illusion is coming undone, Naruto. It's merely a question. I have nothing against you taking on a male mate. Kakashi has taken a male mate. He's just yet to claim him."

That calmed Naruto down. "The guideline hasn't changed, it's still females. I've secured eighteen so far and many more to come. Sasuke is the human who picked me up in the storm and gave me shelter. He's my current owner until I get my mark of maturity. It's an agreement that I repay my debt by pretending to be his lover."

The werewolf mate didn't seem to buy it. "Are you sure that's it? The Sasuke I know would never go all out to provide for another person. Yet here he is, bringing you lunch that obviously wasn't bought with your money."

At that remark, the young Uchiha stepped in. "It's the duty of a pet owner to provide for their pet. Naruto has helped me a lot by diverting Sakura's attention. Although I see now that a new problem has surfaced."

Ino snorted. "Trust Anko to redirect her attention to the newest hot topic."

Sasuke shuddered at the mention of the Naruto fan group's leader. Ino took no notice and turned to the fox demon. "Well Naruto, it's nice to meet you. Kiba told me to say hi. I hope you'll visit again because Kakashi says his mate has been pestering him about you since that day. I have to go before Sai goes crazy and tracks me down."

Sasuke and Naruto watched the blonde leave and blinked. "What just happened?"

"Guess she wanted to say hi?" the kit supplied earning himself a flick on the forehead.

Sasuke ignored the whine of protest and stood up. He offered a hand to the pouting demon who accepted the help gracefully. "Well, I'll see you after class."

Naruto sighed. "I hate school…"

"Me too," the Uchiha nodded. "Me too."