Yoru No Koishii

Sorry. I meant to have this out last night, but I think I ate something that didn’t agree with me, so I ended up in bed early. But it’s here now.

And I probably should have mentioned this before, somewhere, but this is kinda going AU, in case someone hasn’t noticed. It hasn’t really shown up that much yet, but it will later. Basically, the Akatsuki aren’t extracting the demons from their hosts, they’re just trying to capture the hosts and use them as living weapons. So that bit about Gaara having Shuukaku extracted didn’t/won’t happen.

Also, while I’m working on getting more up-to-date, the farthest I’ve seen so far is the Valley of the End in the Manga and Tsunade’s arrival in the anime, so please excuse any major mistakes. (Though you can point them out if you want)

******

“No.”

The Akatsuki leader turns to look at me. “It’s not a choice, Sasuke-kun. With you around, the Kyuubi…”

“Naruto.” I interrupt coolly. I don’t know why I bother, but it really annoys me when they refuse to acknowledge that he’s an actual person.

“The Kyuubi will never learn his place.”

“Without me around, you can’t control him.” It’s true, not that I haven’t been encouraging it.

“I’ve already decided to give him to your brother. If Uchiha-san can’t tame him, then we’ll just have to extract the demon until we can find a more suitable host.” I don’t bother trying to hide the scowl that crosses my face at my brother’s name. I’m so close to defeating him, if I can only find that jutsu.

Whirling, I stalk from the room, Kisame bowing to the Akatsuki leader and following me.

I had thought the jutsu must be here, what with the Akatsuki’s obsession with catching and subduing the demon carriers, but apparently they can only make weapons out of them, and I’m no closer then I was before.

“It’s too bad I have to go with you. I’d like to see Itachi break your little pet.”

“Shut the hell up, before I decide to make shark-fin soup.” I wasn’t worried about Itachi actually breaking Naruto. I don’t think anybody could do that, except maybe me. He’ll bend, even appear to be broken, but his spirit’s too strong to truly break. If he could be broken, Orochimaru would have already done it.

No, what I was worried about was what my sadistic brother would put Naruto. I might well come back to find that the bastard had turned him against me, and then all my well-laid out plans would be for nothing. But he’s had enough faith to wait ten years at a time. He has to be able to last a bit longer, right?

“Be at the front entrance in ten minutes.” I snarl, and Kisame doesn’t bother trying to argue. Not that he ever does. He’d be easy to get along with if it wasn’t for his annoying sense of humour. As it is, I’d rather be stuck with my fan club.

I pause in my room, wondering if there’s any way I could leave him a message, to reassure him. It’s not likely. I doubt he’ll see this room again before I get back, if then.

Hell, if we’re both lucky, neither of us will see this building again more then once after I return.

Not that I’ve ever gotten lucky, other then catching Naruto’s attention.

With a sigh, I leave the room, locking the door behind me, and head to the front entrance, finding Kisame already there.

“Come on. The sooner we get there, the sooner I can come back.” And the sooner I can rescue my fox.

******

“This is ridiculous.” I don’t know how they expect me to catch this girl. Maybe they think she’ll fall for my good looks or something.

Admittedly, she’s a lot younger then Naruto and Gaara, only sixteen now, and not trained as a ninja, but I don’t doubt she’s got some form of protection. Her demon is the Nibi no Nekomata, the two-tailed cat, so it’s most likely something to do with puppets or corpses or something.

To make it even harder, we don’t even know where the girl is, other then somewhere in Earth Country. Like Naruto and Gaara, she was hated by her village, and has long since been forced out. Rumour has it that she’s somewhere nearby, but with the mountains in this area, it could be anywhere.

Growling, I toss my backpack down onto a rock, and am rewarded with a high-pitched yelp. Something black skitters out, and Kisame moves to skewer it with a kunai.

“Wait!” the creature backs itself into a corner, and I finally get a good look at it. It’s a black fox kit, and it doesn’t look even half-grown.

“A fox?” Kisame snorts.

“Black foxes are lucky.” I answer, remembering that someone had told me that once.

“Apparently he’s not very lucky, if he got caught by us. Let’s skin it and take the fur back as a present for your pet. I’m sure he’d love it.”

I know he means it as another one of his sick jokes, since he knows as well as I do that Naruto definitely wouldn’t love it. At best he’d see it as a bad joke, at worst, and more likely, he’d treat it like a major insult.

“I wonder where its parents are.” Kisame only shrugs.

“You really are nothing like your brother.”

“Thank you.” I’m sure he didn’t mean it as a compliment, but maybe if I piss him off enough he’ll go away, at least temporarily. It used to work with Naruto.

“If you’re done watching it, can I kill it now?”

“No.” I’m perfectly aware that if he decides he wants to kill it, what I want won’t matter, but since he asked…

“It’ll just die if we leave it anyway.” He points out.

“I know.” I reach out and lift the fox by the scruff of its neck. Surprisingly, other then a shocked yelp, it doesn’t try to fight back. Maybe it’s starved or dehydrated or just plain scared stiff.

“Black foxes are lucky.” I repeat. “If we bring him with us, maybe we can find this girl faster.”

Kisame only laughs.

******

Two weeks since I left Naruto. The time we took to get here, and the rest spent searching through the mountains. Two weeks, and who knows what Itachi’s done to him.

I swear I’m going to murder Kisame if he cracks one more fox joke or makes one more comment about my damned brother. As if I didn’t know what the bastard’s like.

I wonder where he is. He disappeared as soon as we reached the village this morning, and I haven’t seen him since. Not that I care, really.

“An unusual pet.” I look up at the old woman who’s now standing next to me.

“It’s a gift.” I tell her, not sure why I’m willing to impart the information. “For a friend.”

“A bit more then a friend, I think.” I blink, wondering how she knew.

“Who are you?”

“Obaa-san!” A teenage girl runs up, carrying a basket with various vegetables in it. “They were all out of green onions, but I got some chives. Will that do instead?”

“I suppose it will have to. Takara, meet Uchiha Sasuke-san.”

“Hello, Sasuke-sama.” I stared. Admittedly, it was possible that she heard my name around town, but highly unlike.

“Sasuke-kun, this is my granddaughter, Takara.”

“Hello, Takara-chan.” I answered, cautiously.

“Oh, dear, look at the time. We’d better be going if we’re to be home before dark. You should come visit some time. Just follow the path. Bring your shark friend too.” She chuckles and taps me in farewell on the cheek.

“Take good care of your fox. He’s lucky he found you, I can tell.” Then they both stroll of down the street., Takara casting a coy smile over her shoulder at me.

“Who was that?” Kisame asks, coming up. I frown.

“I have no clue.” I wonder at that last comment about ‘my fox’. For some reason, I don’t think she’s talking about the kit sitting at my feet.

“Well, she certainly seemed to know you.”

“She apparently knows you as well, said I should come visit and bring you.” He frowns, then shrugs, walking away. I pick up the kit and follow.

******

The next morning we’re leaving the village again, despite Kisame’s complaints. I want to find that old woman again.

Maybe, since she seems to know everything else, she can tell me where to find the girl.

It’s just a little past noon when we come across the path. I could swear we’d been this way before, and there was no path before, but it’s here now. I pause a moment, unsure, but the fox kit races down it happily, and I have to follow, if only to get it back.

The path leads down the mountainside, meandering back and forth. Kisame’s soon complaining about how I always seem to be in such a hurry, but I ignore him, as usual, and despite my hurry, it’s still nearly dusk by the time we reach the valley. I can’t help pausing to look around.

It’s beautiful. The grass is just about knee high, and it’s waving in a gentle breeze, while a brook nearby chuckles and splashes happily. The fox kit is happily playing with a pair of regular red foxes. The only sign of human life is a small cottage under the shade of a huge apple tree.

“You came. Obaa-san said you would.” I look up, trying to find the voice and spot Takara stretched out on a branch of the tree.

I pause to take a good look at her. Her hair’s a reddish brown colour, and her eyes are a bright green, almost the shade of…

“You’re the Nibi no Nekomata.” She smiles down at me.

“And you’re cute.” She takes what I suppose is an attempt at a seductive pose. “Are you taken?” Great, another fangirl.

“Yes.” Her smile fades for a moment in disappointment.

“I told you he would say that.” The old woman says, appearing in the door of the cottage. “Dinner’s almost ready. Wipe your feet and wash your hands before you come in.” She doesn’t seem at all surprised to see us.

******

It’s only later, when Kisame’s already gone to bed, in the spare room that she offered to let us sleep in, that I realise just what I’ve stumbled across.

“I know what you’re looking for.” The old woman says suddenly. She insists that I call her Grandmother.

“Hn.” I’m not really paying attention, more concerned with, once again, worrying about Naruto.

“You want Kyuubi no Kitsune’s power.” I turn to look at her, my face carefully expressionless.

“Doesn’t everyone?”

“Don’t play the fool with me, Boy, or I won’t teach you what you want to know.”

I stare. Is this it? Does this old hag actually know the jutsu I’ve been looking for?

“It will take a lot of training, though. It’s not just something you can learn with your pretty eyes.” A lot of training? I can do that. It can’t take any more then a week, right? And then I’ll be able to kill Itachi, and maybe the rest of Akatsuki while I’m at it, and set my sights on repairing whatever damage has been done to my Kitsune.

“Please. Teach me.”

******

What a stroke of luck, ne? But can Naruto hold out long enough?

Chi no Hana: I’m sure Naruto would happily give you Itachi if he could manage it, but I’m not so sure about Sasuke.

Vox: Shh, don’t tell anyone. The government would probably use that info to tax me somehow.

Gingitsune: Yeah, Itachi knows about the relationship, I’d be surprised if there was a member of Akatsuki who didn’t, and that is part of it. Mostly though, he’s trying to give Naruto a bit of a sense of security. It’s not likely that he’s going to get too far if Naruto won’t even look in his direction for fear of the sharingan.
And thank you most kindly.