Here's to the Fox
folder
Naruto › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
15
Views:
1,482
Reviews:
207
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Naruto › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
15
Views:
1,482
Reviews:
207
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Chapter 9
A/N: and here's chapter nine. the one where sasuke cries. huh, who, what, where? yeah, you read me. sasuke *cries*. and no, sasuke doesn't just cry. he cries *again*. god, i love tormenting that boy. anywho, i see i've some new readers; welcome. this is what i've dubbed "watch sasuke thaw before your very eyes", among other things.
and now i'd like to share some thoughts on this piece. since i said this is an AU that doesn't deviate too far from the plotline, i'd like to explain why that's true: 1) sasuke did leave konoha, but since naruto's not of konoha here, kakashi is the one that went after him for three years. 2) sasuke is emotionless, but not emotionally deprived. there is a difference. he has the ability to feel, and i show it off more for this storyline. there were some other points that i've forgotten by now, so if i think of them, i'll let you know. not that it's important, i just thought i'd share my thought process.
the next installment shall be an interlude from gaara's POV, so you gaara fans should get a kick out of that. i think a lot of your questions will then be answered. well then, until next time: love and joy come to you and to you your wassail too, and god bless you and send you a happy new year! (can't you tell someone's in the christmas spirit? ^_~)
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Here's to the Fox: Chapter 9
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It was the dead of night. Sasuke was startled from his sleep by the sharp flare of chakra. It was a familiar chakra, powerful, strong… demonic. Shit. It was Naruto, letting his chakra flare like a fucking beacon for anyone in the world to find him. The Uchiha was barely out of his bed when Kakashi appeared in a cloud of smoke.
“Akatsuki is attacking at the outskirts of the village. And there are a lot of them. Gaara and, for some reason, Naruto are out there with almost all of our ANBU squads. It’s really the damnedest thing: Naruto seems to be emitting a very power, very visible chakra.”
Sasuke said nothing as he continued to pull on his clothes. Grabbing his weapons pouch and walking to the door, Sasuke was actually trying to make it seem that Kakashi hadn’t said anything at all.
“Oh, and Sasuke, we will be talking about this later.”
Damn it. Oh well, Naruto went and fucked up like this; there was no way the secret could be kept for long. He and Kakashi raced across the rooftops towards the training grounds, which were hell and gone from Konoha proper.
When they arrived, the Uchiha surveyed everything around him. Akatsuki were everywhere, fighting many of Konoha’s shinobi. He cast his eyes over Ino, Kiba, Shino, Hinata, Sakura, Akira, Shikamaru, Chouji, Neji, TenTen, Lee, and Tsunade. Then there were the jounin-Asuma, Genma, Anko, Gai, Kurenai, and Ebisu, among others. There was also Shizune, Iruka, Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara. There were mass amounts of ANBU members. But none of them called attention quite like Naruto.
The golden boy was no longer. In his place was the Fox. His hair was that platinum blonde again, red streaks glaring throughout, his whiskers visible and amazingly thick. Sharp fangs protruded from under his lip, gleaming in the moonlight. The normally dazzling blue eyes were crimson, pupils fox-like slits that proved Naruto was something other than human. His skin had that faint red tint again, though the chakra from earlier had receded. He was screaming danger with his very stance. No Akatsuki member came near him, most hanging back while others attacked the shinobi surrounding the Fox.
One of the Akatsuki members glanced over and saw the Uchiha, and then he raised his arm, and the ones fighting fell back. Those of Konoha that had been fighting found themselves without opponents, looking about them warily.
“The final member has arrived. Now the fun begins.”
Everyone took up their fighting stances once again, but a sharp retort from Gaara had them relaxing in confusion.
“You’re an idiot. If you want to live, retreat.”
“Are you kidding? All of Konoha’s finest, and you still had trouble taking us on.”
“Be glad Naruto hadn’t stepped in, if you’re of that opinion. But if you attack again, there’s no guarantee he’ll stay out of it.”
“He’s just a coward.”
“Your bosses told you absolutely nothing, apparently.”
“Shut up. Akatsuki, get ready.”
Again, the shinobi prepared themselves for battle.
“Nobody move.” That deep, quiet voice of the Fox sounded in the clearing. Everyone turned to him, even the ninja who had no idea who he was. “They want me, they’re going to get me. Every single one of them.” He brought his hands up, fingers signing for a jutsu Sasuke had never seen before. “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!”
Hundreds of Foxes appeared in the clearing, all grinning dangerously at the gathered Akatsuki members.
“What the fuck? Why are there hundreds of, who I’m assuming is, Naruto?” Tsunade threw an irate glare Sasuke’s way. “This is one of the Forbidden Jutsu. How the hell does he know it? Why the hell is he different? Are you sure that’s Naruto? He wasn’t even here at the battle ground!”
“Tsunade, now is not the time!” Jiraiya appeared out of nowhere. As if on cue, the Akatsuki attacked, but the Naruto clones jumped into the fray. Jumping, kicking, punching, biting, and just all around utterly destroying every member in the clearing, the blonde made it abundantly clear that he didn’t need assistance.
And the Akatsuki retreated. It happened so fast; it was as if none of them had been there in the first place. What the hell had been the point of that?
“The point was to test me, among other things.” Sasuke looked to Naruto. Had he asked that out loud?
“I suggest we retire to my office and discuss just what those ‘other things’ might be.” Tsunade stared warily at the blonde. “I want all ANBU members out in the forest looking for any signs of Akatsuki.” With that, Tsunade transported out of the clearing, while all the ANBU members disappeared into the dense foliage. The jounin, with curious glances back to Naruto, silently left the clearing. And then there was just Sasuke and Naruto face to face, with Gaara and his siblings standing off to the side.
“Naruto, are you okay?”
“Tch, teme, what do you think? They were all low rank members of Akatsuki. I could’ve taken them out in my sleep.”
“No, dobe, I mean, are you okay with the situation? Now you’re going to have to tell everyone about Kyuubi.” Sasuke saw Gaara tense out of the corner of his eye. Naruto, apparently, saw it too.
“Gaara, do you think you can go ahead of us and placate the Hokage a bit? Thinking about it, I don’t want her angry before I tell her about me.”
The redhead hesitated a minute, glancing briefly at Sasuke before nodding his head. Motioning for Kankuro and Temari to follow, he started out of the clearing. Sasuke watched them for a moment then turned back to the blonde, who’d transformed back into his normal self. Except he hadn’t activated the henge to hide the whiskers. Those adorable whiskers…
“Are you listening to me, teme?” Sasuke looked into blue eyes. “I asked why they weren’t after you. I thought Tsunade-baa-chan said that… your brother was after both of us?”
“I don’t know, dobe.” Sasuke’s gaze softened from his quasi-glare. “Are you sure you want to tell everyone about Kyuubi?” His eyes widened when Naruto leaned forward and planted a light kiss on his lips. An uncharacteristic blush lit up his cheeks, but the Uchiha was too stunned to care.
Naruto smirked. “Thanks for being worried about me, Sasuke, but it was bound to happen sooner or later. Let’s just get it over with.” Naruto placed his hands behind his head, fingers locking together to support his neck, and began to walk away. He paused after a few steps and turned slightly toward Sasuke. “By the way, how come all your friends are ANBU, and you’re not?” Bright blue eyes gazed curiously at him.
Sasuke stared at the blonde a moment, feelings of shame and guilt repressed through the years tumbling back to the fore, filling his mind with memories better left forgotten. Sure that panic was beginning to show in his eyes, the only things he couldn’t ice over, the Uchiha turned his head away, not wanting Naruto to know his darkest secret. It wasn’t that he couldn’t trust him, more like he couldn’t trust himself. No, Naruto couldn’t ever know the reasons why.
“Come on, Sasuke. Let’s get going.” A hand was at his elbow, gently leading him out of the clearing toward Konoha proper. Slowly Sasuke’s turbulent emotions subsided, leaving a new feeling of annoyance as he realized that Tsunade was waiting just to chew his ass out. It was her favorite game, and it made her happy in the midst of mind-numbing, backbreaking, sleep-depriving work. And Sasuke could admit, if only to himself, he liked making her happy, even if it annoyed him.
~*~
“Uchiha, what the hell is going on? You’d better spill right this minute!” Tsunade glared at Sasuke, letting him know there was no escape. They had returned to the conference room from earlier that day, but this time Sasuke’s peers, after they’d come back from the forest, joined the jounin, as well as Iruka and Shizune. Gaara and his siblings had gone ahead as Naruto had asked and had looked somewhat irritated when the two had arrived. Apparently Tsunade had asked them some questions before that.
“You’d better talk, Sasuke. Tsunade-sama won’t go easy if she has to force it out of you.” Kakashi seemed the voice of reason, but Sasuke knew he was just as eager for explanations as the others gathered. A hand on his arm had him taking his glare off of Kakashi and turning it to the source of contact. Blue eyes smiled sadly at him.
“You don’t have to say anything, Sasuke. I’ll do it.”
“Naruto…” The blonde squeezed his arm reassuringly then looked at Tsunade.
“My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I was born in Konoha, the day Kyuubi attacked. The Yondaime sealed the demon within me, and the Sandaime sent me to Suna.”
A stunned silence settled over those gathered. Sasuke’s peers didn’t seem as concerned about the revelation, and why should they be? They’d been infants when it had occurred.
“You’re not serious,” came a choked reply from Asuma. Naruto materialized a kunai from somewhere and sliced his forearm open. The assembled shinobi watched as blood dripped to the floor while the wound began to heal, the hiss of steam permeating the silence. Naruto moved his hand to the hem of his shirt and lifted, revealing toned abs with a dark swirling seal covering the skin.
Jiraiya leapt to the blonde’s side, examining closely the mark on his stomach. He cursed out loud and jumped back a little. “That’s… definitely Fuuinjutsu Shiki Fuujin. This… this is the kid. Arashi’s…”
Naruto smiled a dangerous smile at Jiraiya. Apparently the dobe didn’t want everyone in the room knowing what the sannin knew. Tsunade cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention.
“So you’re the… vessel. And you grew up in Suna. How did you come to be in Reihi?”
“He left because he protected me.” All eyes turned to Gaara. “Naruto was given to the Kazekage as a slave. My caretaker knew Naruto’s story from the Kazekage and told him when Naruto was old enough to understand, as well as a warning to never show off the power that the Kazekage was going to train him to use. One day, when we were twelve, the Akatsuki attacked Suna, looking for me. Naruto’s emotions got away from him, and he revealed his identity as Kyuubi’s vessel.
“When Akatsuki changed their target from me to him, Naruto decided to leave Suna. And we didn’t hear from him for seven years. Then about three years ago, he sent us word that he was in Fire Country. That’s all it said, though. Apparently he was in this Reihi.”
Tsunade was nodding her head slightly in agreement, but Sasuke was caught up on something. Gaara had said that what he was doing in Konoha, why Naruto had invited him, was none of his business. So it was obviously something important. Perhaps even about the Akatsuki, who’d been attacking the blonde for the past three years. So if Gaara was here for the Akatsuki, then Naruto had obviously been in contact with Gaara about Akatsuki’s movements.
They weren’t exactly lying to Tsunade, but they were omitting details. Sasuke wasn’t going to say anything, though. Naruto obviously had his reasons. That didn’t mean, however, that Sasuke wasn’t going to find out what they were, just that he wouldn’t point it out to Tsunade.
Sasuke heard muttering, and he looked around him at the jounin. Some were staring frightened at Naruto, while others were glaring, arguing in hushed tones with the ones next to them. He could understand their anger, but Naruto wasn’t at fault here.
“Why do the Akatsuki want you and Gaara?” Oh, Tsunade meant business if she was referring to the Kazekage as ‘Gaara.’
“They want us to join them, which we’ve refused. So now, they just want to capture us so they can extract Kyuubi and Shukaku and put them into vessels that will obey them.”
“We can’t allow that to happen. Itachi is bad enough without a demon at his command.” Some eyes shifted to Sasuke, but he didn’t acknowledge it. He continued to stare at Tsunade. “Well, now we have to offer you protection, though it may thin our forces…”
“Just protect Gaara.” Sasuke felt a pang of hurt and jealousy. He’d brought the dobe here for protection, and now he was refusing it for himself so they could better protect the Kazekage. A look passed between blonde and redhead, not unnoticed by the Uchiha. “He’s the leader of Sunagakure, after all. Not to mention Shukaku will be vulnerable if Gaara’s caught.”
“What about you, Uzumaki?”
“I’ll be fine. There’s no way they can get Kyuubi.”
“You’re certainly confident, you monster,” called a jounin Sasuke didn’t recognize.
Naruto’s eyes lost some light, but his grin stayed intact. “Confidence is key, but it’s not so much that I’m confident in my abilities as I’m confident that Kyuubi is no longer a separate entity.”
Jiraiya scowled. “Are you telling us you fused with that demon?”
“It was unavoidable when I started to use certain jutsu, such as Forbidden ones.”
There was a frantic murmuring going through the room, and those afraid of Naruto before had just become terrified. Some of the male jounin shifted into attack positions, and Sasuke mirrored them. He wouldn’t let anyone attack his dobe. However, his Uchiha glare didn’t have the desired effect, the men too overwhelmed with fear to register that they had an angry and protective Uchiha on their hands. But one look from Kakashi had the jounin backing down, slight blushes of embarrassment and anger coloring their cheeks.
“Calm down, guys. I’m here for one thing; once I take out the Akatsuki, I’m leaving Konoha.”
Sasuke dropped the kunai he’d unconsciously drawn when the jounin had prepared for attack. Naruto was… leaving? He was just going to fight then say goodbye? That wasn’t fair, and it made Sasuke angry. Irrationally angry. He had to leave before he did something he’d regret. Ignoring Naruto’s innocent questions and Tsunade’s demand to know where he was going, Sasuke stormed out of the Hokage’s office.
~*~
Sasuke knew he was being followed, but there was nothing he could do about it. It was Naruto, and he didn’t think anyone could hide from Naruto when he wanted someone found.
“Sasuke, stop!” And he did. There was really nothing else to do. He was in Konoha’s largest park, sectioned off into different parts for different ages. A playground for children was off to his left, a tea garden for women or the elderly off to the right. Somewhere further in was a training area for non-shinobi, where small boys and men gathered for martial arts and sword practice.
“What do you want, dobe?”
“Why’d you leave, teme?”
“I’m not the one who’s leaving, now am I?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Itachi was right. I’m not worth anything, am I? My family left me, he left me, and now you’re leaving me, too. And I should have seen it coming.”
“Sasuke-”
“This is exactly why I never made friends; my father said emotions were a weakness, and friends breed emotions. So, in all logic, friends are weakness.”
“Sasuke, you’re not making any sense!”
“You said you were leaving, Naruto!” Sasuke whipped around to face the blonde. “You said you were fucking leaving!”
“Sasuke, I have to leave!”
“Do you know where I was ten years ago, Naruto? I was fucking getting my ass kicked by my so-called friends! I was so overcome with revenge and what I thought everyone expected of me that I left Konoha and ran right into the waiting arms of a madman!”
“Sasuke…”
“I had to fight everyone here! I nearly killed Kakashi! And do you know what they did? They never gave up on me. Kakashi led a team for three years that was used to search for me. I have never…” Sasuke’s voice broke. “… never in my life felt so wanted! I’ve never had the fortune of someone caring for me! And they… they… And now the one person that I thought could show me the same amount of consideration that Kakashi has is fucking saying that he’s leaving! Now I know it was selfish and foolish of me to ever assume I deserved something like that!”
“Shut up, teme!” Strong arms wrapped around him just before his knees gave out. Sasuke was pulled tight against the blonde, tears he hadn’t known he’d shed soaking into Naruto’s shirt.
“Naruto…”
“Just shut up.” Sasuke lifted his arms to weakly return the embrace. Naruto was still leaving him; if he had to go, Sasuke didn’t want to rely on him so heavily. Besides, the Uchiha didn’t deserve comfort. But he wasn’t about to deny what was offered, not after fifteen years without it. And… it was Naruto. Even if he was leaving, Sasuke wanted to hold him this one last time. He wanted to hold the one he…
Sasuke tensed. The one he what? The one he loved? No, that wasn’t possible. Naruto was leaving; he couldn’t love the dobe. Because if he loved Naruto, it was going to hurt letting him go. Hell, it hurt now just knowing it was going to happen. So, if he loved Naruto, and Naruto left, Sasuke would probably break. So, no, he couldn’t love Naruto. Except…
Damn it, he did love him! And Naruto was going to leave. The one he loved was going to abandon him, just like all the others before.
Sasuke’s weak hold on the blonde turned deathly tight, and his tears fell faster down his cheeks. Well, if this was the last time, he’d make the time last.
TBC
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Kage Bunshin no Jutsu-Naruto's shadow clone skill
Fuuinjutsu Shiki Fuujin-Yondaime's demonic soul seal skill
eh, eh, whaddya think? getting a little too... what's the word? crappy? anyway, slight angst here, and i'm hoping the shit will hit the fan in chapter 10. after the interlude, of course. man, aren't you all just excited to read the inner workings of gaara's mind, as told by me? i should just load the interlude completely blank. you know... gaara thinks nothing. ahahahahahaha naw, i wouldn't do that! gaara's gonna have some interesting thoughts, though. well, hopefully. i'll try. damn you, gaara, and your indifferent personality!
oh, and did anyone notice a certain little line in there that said, "nobody move"? yeah, totally wrote that without realizing it. but then, after i found out, i thought it was cool and let it stay. hey, at least naruto didn't die this time.
and now i'd like to share some thoughts on this piece. since i said this is an AU that doesn't deviate too far from the plotline, i'd like to explain why that's true: 1) sasuke did leave konoha, but since naruto's not of konoha here, kakashi is the one that went after him for three years. 2) sasuke is emotionless, but not emotionally deprived. there is a difference. he has the ability to feel, and i show it off more for this storyline. there were some other points that i've forgotten by now, so if i think of them, i'll let you know. not that it's important, i just thought i'd share my thought process.
the next installment shall be an interlude from gaara's POV, so you gaara fans should get a kick out of that. i think a lot of your questions will then be answered. well then, until next time: love and joy come to you and to you your wassail too, and god bless you and send you a happy new year! (can't you tell someone's in the christmas spirit? ^_~)
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Here's to the Fox: Chapter 9
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It was the dead of night. Sasuke was startled from his sleep by the sharp flare of chakra. It was a familiar chakra, powerful, strong… demonic. Shit. It was Naruto, letting his chakra flare like a fucking beacon for anyone in the world to find him. The Uchiha was barely out of his bed when Kakashi appeared in a cloud of smoke.
“Akatsuki is attacking at the outskirts of the village. And there are a lot of them. Gaara and, for some reason, Naruto are out there with almost all of our ANBU squads. It’s really the damnedest thing: Naruto seems to be emitting a very power, very visible chakra.”
Sasuke said nothing as he continued to pull on his clothes. Grabbing his weapons pouch and walking to the door, Sasuke was actually trying to make it seem that Kakashi hadn’t said anything at all.
“Oh, and Sasuke, we will be talking about this later.”
Damn it. Oh well, Naruto went and fucked up like this; there was no way the secret could be kept for long. He and Kakashi raced across the rooftops towards the training grounds, which were hell and gone from Konoha proper.
When they arrived, the Uchiha surveyed everything around him. Akatsuki were everywhere, fighting many of Konoha’s shinobi. He cast his eyes over Ino, Kiba, Shino, Hinata, Sakura, Akira, Shikamaru, Chouji, Neji, TenTen, Lee, and Tsunade. Then there were the jounin-Asuma, Genma, Anko, Gai, Kurenai, and Ebisu, among others. There was also Shizune, Iruka, Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara. There were mass amounts of ANBU members. But none of them called attention quite like Naruto.
The golden boy was no longer. In his place was the Fox. His hair was that platinum blonde again, red streaks glaring throughout, his whiskers visible and amazingly thick. Sharp fangs protruded from under his lip, gleaming in the moonlight. The normally dazzling blue eyes were crimson, pupils fox-like slits that proved Naruto was something other than human. His skin had that faint red tint again, though the chakra from earlier had receded. He was screaming danger with his very stance. No Akatsuki member came near him, most hanging back while others attacked the shinobi surrounding the Fox.
One of the Akatsuki members glanced over and saw the Uchiha, and then he raised his arm, and the ones fighting fell back. Those of Konoha that had been fighting found themselves without opponents, looking about them warily.
“The final member has arrived. Now the fun begins.”
Everyone took up their fighting stances once again, but a sharp retort from Gaara had them relaxing in confusion.
“You’re an idiot. If you want to live, retreat.”
“Are you kidding? All of Konoha’s finest, and you still had trouble taking us on.”
“Be glad Naruto hadn’t stepped in, if you’re of that opinion. But if you attack again, there’s no guarantee he’ll stay out of it.”
“He’s just a coward.”
“Your bosses told you absolutely nothing, apparently.”
“Shut up. Akatsuki, get ready.”
Again, the shinobi prepared themselves for battle.
“Nobody move.” That deep, quiet voice of the Fox sounded in the clearing. Everyone turned to him, even the ninja who had no idea who he was. “They want me, they’re going to get me. Every single one of them.” He brought his hands up, fingers signing for a jutsu Sasuke had never seen before. “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!”
Hundreds of Foxes appeared in the clearing, all grinning dangerously at the gathered Akatsuki members.
“What the fuck? Why are there hundreds of, who I’m assuming is, Naruto?” Tsunade threw an irate glare Sasuke’s way. “This is one of the Forbidden Jutsu. How the hell does he know it? Why the hell is he different? Are you sure that’s Naruto? He wasn’t even here at the battle ground!”
“Tsunade, now is not the time!” Jiraiya appeared out of nowhere. As if on cue, the Akatsuki attacked, but the Naruto clones jumped into the fray. Jumping, kicking, punching, biting, and just all around utterly destroying every member in the clearing, the blonde made it abundantly clear that he didn’t need assistance.
And the Akatsuki retreated. It happened so fast; it was as if none of them had been there in the first place. What the hell had been the point of that?
“The point was to test me, among other things.” Sasuke looked to Naruto. Had he asked that out loud?
“I suggest we retire to my office and discuss just what those ‘other things’ might be.” Tsunade stared warily at the blonde. “I want all ANBU members out in the forest looking for any signs of Akatsuki.” With that, Tsunade transported out of the clearing, while all the ANBU members disappeared into the dense foliage. The jounin, with curious glances back to Naruto, silently left the clearing. And then there was just Sasuke and Naruto face to face, with Gaara and his siblings standing off to the side.
“Naruto, are you okay?”
“Tch, teme, what do you think? They were all low rank members of Akatsuki. I could’ve taken them out in my sleep.”
“No, dobe, I mean, are you okay with the situation? Now you’re going to have to tell everyone about Kyuubi.” Sasuke saw Gaara tense out of the corner of his eye. Naruto, apparently, saw it too.
“Gaara, do you think you can go ahead of us and placate the Hokage a bit? Thinking about it, I don’t want her angry before I tell her about me.”
The redhead hesitated a minute, glancing briefly at Sasuke before nodding his head. Motioning for Kankuro and Temari to follow, he started out of the clearing. Sasuke watched them for a moment then turned back to the blonde, who’d transformed back into his normal self. Except he hadn’t activated the henge to hide the whiskers. Those adorable whiskers…
“Are you listening to me, teme?” Sasuke looked into blue eyes. “I asked why they weren’t after you. I thought Tsunade-baa-chan said that… your brother was after both of us?”
“I don’t know, dobe.” Sasuke’s gaze softened from his quasi-glare. “Are you sure you want to tell everyone about Kyuubi?” His eyes widened when Naruto leaned forward and planted a light kiss on his lips. An uncharacteristic blush lit up his cheeks, but the Uchiha was too stunned to care.
Naruto smirked. “Thanks for being worried about me, Sasuke, but it was bound to happen sooner or later. Let’s just get it over with.” Naruto placed his hands behind his head, fingers locking together to support his neck, and began to walk away. He paused after a few steps and turned slightly toward Sasuke. “By the way, how come all your friends are ANBU, and you’re not?” Bright blue eyes gazed curiously at him.
Sasuke stared at the blonde a moment, feelings of shame and guilt repressed through the years tumbling back to the fore, filling his mind with memories better left forgotten. Sure that panic was beginning to show in his eyes, the only things he couldn’t ice over, the Uchiha turned his head away, not wanting Naruto to know his darkest secret. It wasn’t that he couldn’t trust him, more like he couldn’t trust himself. No, Naruto couldn’t ever know the reasons why.
“Come on, Sasuke. Let’s get going.” A hand was at his elbow, gently leading him out of the clearing toward Konoha proper. Slowly Sasuke’s turbulent emotions subsided, leaving a new feeling of annoyance as he realized that Tsunade was waiting just to chew his ass out. It was her favorite game, and it made her happy in the midst of mind-numbing, backbreaking, sleep-depriving work. And Sasuke could admit, if only to himself, he liked making her happy, even if it annoyed him.
~*~
“Uchiha, what the hell is going on? You’d better spill right this minute!” Tsunade glared at Sasuke, letting him know there was no escape. They had returned to the conference room from earlier that day, but this time Sasuke’s peers, after they’d come back from the forest, joined the jounin, as well as Iruka and Shizune. Gaara and his siblings had gone ahead as Naruto had asked and had looked somewhat irritated when the two had arrived. Apparently Tsunade had asked them some questions before that.
“You’d better talk, Sasuke. Tsunade-sama won’t go easy if she has to force it out of you.” Kakashi seemed the voice of reason, but Sasuke knew he was just as eager for explanations as the others gathered. A hand on his arm had him taking his glare off of Kakashi and turning it to the source of contact. Blue eyes smiled sadly at him.
“You don’t have to say anything, Sasuke. I’ll do it.”
“Naruto…” The blonde squeezed his arm reassuringly then looked at Tsunade.
“My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I was born in Konoha, the day Kyuubi attacked. The Yondaime sealed the demon within me, and the Sandaime sent me to Suna.”
A stunned silence settled over those gathered. Sasuke’s peers didn’t seem as concerned about the revelation, and why should they be? They’d been infants when it had occurred.
“You’re not serious,” came a choked reply from Asuma. Naruto materialized a kunai from somewhere and sliced his forearm open. The assembled shinobi watched as blood dripped to the floor while the wound began to heal, the hiss of steam permeating the silence. Naruto moved his hand to the hem of his shirt and lifted, revealing toned abs with a dark swirling seal covering the skin.
Jiraiya leapt to the blonde’s side, examining closely the mark on his stomach. He cursed out loud and jumped back a little. “That’s… definitely Fuuinjutsu Shiki Fuujin. This… this is the kid. Arashi’s…”
Naruto smiled a dangerous smile at Jiraiya. Apparently the dobe didn’t want everyone in the room knowing what the sannin knew. Tsunade cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention.
“So you’re the… vessel. And you grew up in Suna. How did you come to be in Reihi?”
“He left because he protected me.” All eyes turned to Gaara. “Naruto was given to the Kazekage as a slave. My caretaker knew Naruto’s story from the Kazekage and told him when Naruto was old enough to understand, as well as a warning to never show off the power that the Kazekage was going to train him to use. One day, when we were twelve, the Akatsuki attacked Suna, looking for me. Naruto’s emotions got away from him, and he revealed his identity as Kyuubi’s vessel.
“When Akatsuki changed their target from me to him, Naruto decided to leave Suna. And we didn’t hear from him for seven years. Then about three years ago, he sent us word that he was in Fire Country. That’s all it said, though. Apparently he was in this Reihi.”
Tsunade was nodding her head slightly in agreement, but Sasuke was caught up on something. Gaara had said that what he was doing in Konoha, why Naruto had invited him, was none of his business. So it was obviously something important. Perhaps even about the Akatsuki, who’d been attacking the blonde for the past three years. So if Gaara was here for the Akatsuki, then Naruto had obviously been in contact with Gaara about Akatsuki’s movements.
They weren’t exactly lying to Tsunade, but they were omitting details. Sasuke wasn’t going to say anything, though. Naruto obviously had his reasons. That didn’t mean, however, that Sasuke wasn’t going to find out what they were, just that he wouldn’t point it out to Tsunade.
Sasuke heard muttering, and he looked around him at the jounin. Some were staring frightened at Naruto, while others were glaring, arguing in hushed tones with the ones next to them. He could understand their anger, but Naruto wasn’t at fault here.
“Why do the Akatsuki want you and Gaara?” Oh, Tsunade meant business if she was referring to the Kazekage as ‘Gaara.’
“They want us to join them, which we’ve refused. So now, they just want to capture us so they can extract Kyuubi and Shukaku and put them into vessels that will obey them.”
“We can’t allow that to happen. Itachi is bad enough without a demon at his command.” Some eyes shifted to Sasuke, but he didn’t acknowledge it. He continued to stare at Tsunade. “Well, now we have to offer you protection, though it may thin our forces…”
“Just protect Gaara.” Sasuke felt a pang of hurt and jealousy. He’d brought the dobe here for protection, and now he was refusing it for himself so they could better protect the Kazekage. A look passed between blonde and redhead, not unnoticed by the Uchiha. “He’s the leader of Sunagakure, after all. Not to mention Shukaku will be vulnerable if Gaara’s caught.”
“What about you, Uzumaki?”
“I’ll be fine. There’s no way they can get Kyuubi.”
“You’re certainly confident, you monster,” called a jounin Sasuke didn’t recognize.
Naruto’s eyes lost some light, but his grin stayed intact. “Confidence is key, but it’s not so much that I’m confident in my abilities as I’m confident that Kyuubi is no longer a separate entity.”
Jiraiya scowled. “Are you telling us you fused with that demon?”
“It was unavoidable when I started to use certain jutsu, such as Forbidden ones.”
There was a frantic murmuring going through the room, and those afraid of Naruto before had just become terrified. Some of the male jounin shifted into attack positions, and Sasuke mirrored them. He wouldn’t let anyone attack his dobe. However, his Uchiha glare didn’t have the desired effect, the men too overwhelmed with fear to register that they had an angry and protective Uchiha on their hands. But one look from Kakashi had the jounin backing down, slight blushes of embarrassment and anger coloring their cheeks.
“Calm down, guys. I’m here for one thing; once I take out the Akatsuki, I’m leaving Konoha.”
Sasuke dropped the kunai he’d unconsciously drawn when the jounin had prepared for attack. Naruto was… leaving? He was just going to fight then say goodbye? That wasn’t fair, and it made Sasuke angry. Irrationally angry. He had to leave before he did something he’d regret. Ignoring Naruto’s innocent questions and Tsunade’s demand to know where he was going, Sasuke stormed out of the Hokage’s office.
~*~
Sasuke knew he was being followed, but there was nothing he could do about it. It was Naruto, and he didn’t think anyone could hide from Naruto when he wanted someone found.
“Sasuke, stop!” And he did. There was really nothing else to do. He was in Konoha’s largest park, sectioned off into different parts for different ages. A playground for children was off to his left, a tea garden for women or the elderly off to the right. Somewhere further in was a training area for non-shinobi, where small boys and men gathered for martial arts and sword practice.
“What do you want, dobe?”
“Why’d you leave, teme?”
“I’m not the one who’s leaving, now am I?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Itachi was right. I’m not worth anything, am I? My family left me, he left me, and now you’re leaving me, too. And I should have seen it coming.”
“Sasuke-”
“This is exactly why I never made friends; my father said emotions were a weakness, and friends breed emotions. So, in all logic, friends are weakness.”
“Sasuke, you’re not making any sense!”
“You said you were leaving, Naruto!” Sasuke whipped around to face the blonde. “You said you were fucking leaving!”
“Sasuke, I have to leave!”
“Do you know where I was ten years ago, Naruto? I was fucking getting my ass kicked by my so-called friends! I was so overcome with revenge and what I thought everyone expected of me that I left Konoha and ran right into the waiting arms of a madman!”
“Sasuke…”
“I had to fight everyone here! I nearly killed Kakashi! And do you know what they did? They never gave up on me. Kakashi led a team for three years that was used to search for me. I have never…” Sasuke’s voice broke. “… never in my life felt so wanted! I’ve never had the fortune of someone caring for me! And they… they… And now the one person that I thought could show me the same amount of consideration that Kakashi has is fucking saying that he’s leaving! Now I know it was selfish and foolish of me to ever assume I deserved something like that!”
“Shut up, teme!” Strong arms wrapped around him just before his knees gave out. Sasuke was pulled tight against the blonde, tears he hadn’t known he’d shed soaking into Naruto’s shirt.
“Naruto…”
“Just shut up.” Sasuke lifted his arms to weakly return the embrace. Naruto was still leaving him; if he had to go, Sasuke didn’t want to rely on him so heavily. Besides, the Uchiha didn’t deserve comfort. But he wasn’t about to deny what was offered, not after fifteen years without it. And… it was Naruto. Even if he was leaving, Sasuke wanted to hold him this one last time. He wanted to hold the one he…
Sasuke tensed. The one he what? The one he loved? No, that wasn’t possible. Naruto was leaving; he couldn’t love the dobe. Because if he loved Naruto, it was going to hurt letting him go. Hell, it hurt now just knowing it was going to happen. So, if he loved Naruto, and Naruto left, Sasuke would probably break. So, no, he couldn’t love Naruto. Except…
Damn it, he did love him! And Naruto was going to leave. The one he loved was going to abandon him, just like all the others before.
Sasuke’s weak hold on the blonde turned deathly tight, and his tears fell faster down his cheeks. Well, if this was the last time, he’d make the time last.
TBC
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Kage Bunshin no Jutsu-Naruto's shadow clone skill
Fuuinjutsu Shiki Fuujin-Yondaime's demonic soul seal skill
eh, eh, whaddya think? getting a little too... what's the word? crappy? anyway, slight angst here, and i'm hoping the shit will hit the fan in chapter 10. after the interlude, of course. man, aren't you all just excited to read the inner workings of gaara's mind, as told by me? i should just load the interlude completely blank. you know... gaara thinks nothing. ahahahahahaha naw, i wouldn't do that! gaara's gonna have some interesting thoughts, though. well, hopefully. i'll try. damn you, gaara, and your indifferent personality!
oh, and did anyone notice a certain little line in there that said, "nobody move"? yeah, totally wrote that without realizing it. but then, after i found out, i thought it was cool and let it stay. hey, at least naruto didn't die this time.