The Sound of Dreams

AN: For those of you who had questions, don't worry because Sasuke had many of the same questions and Naruto will answer to the best of his ability!!

While I appreciate all of my reviewers so very much, I wanted to take a moment to thank DirtyAngel for posting because your story Forgive Me 'Cause I Love You was one of the first Naruto fanfictions I had ever read. Strangely enough, I had never seen the show or read the manga either at the time and I was very intrigued with the story. Even though I didn't know who any of the characters were, it was easy to follow and very enjoyable to read. It made me curious enough that I looked up a few more fanfics and then started downloading the anime episodes as well as the manga. I guess you could say that this story is here because of you!

Thanks again to everyone for reading and to those who took the time to review!!


Chapter 10


Sasuke stepped unflinchingly through the bloody remains in the hallway, being careful not to sully his clothing on the foulness. His analytical mind noted chakra burns, claw marks and even bite marks on the bodies. A few times he had to swallow thickly as he noticed that not all body parts were accounted for and that the areas surrounding those missing body parts had teeth marks.

The screams had ended about a half an hour ago around the same time as the fierce burning in his shoulder. He had fought his own battle trying to resist the call of the curse mark, trying not to embrace the power that had been demanding his attention. He was unsure what had caused the mark to flare up, but he was unwilling to surrender to it.

Surprisingly enough, Naruto had not left the hideout. Either he was apparently satisfied with the small-scale massacre or self-disciplined enough not to venture out for innocent bystanders. Or perhaps he just didn't like Sound-nin. Sasuke knew for a fact that if even an iota of Naruto were in control, he would avoid innocents.

Being the only other living thing in the lair, locating the dobe wasn't that hard. Apparently liking creature comforts (he smirked at the pun) he found the fox-bearer all curled up in a nest of blankets on Orochimaru's bed. It would make sense, Sasuke supposed, since the room probably smelled strongly of Naruto's own scent. He followed the four scorched lines on the floor to the bed, the smell of burnt sheets filling the air. Lifting a slightly charred blanket, he saw the blood matted blonde hair and blood covered tan skin of a soundly sleeping Jinchuuriki.

Sasuke sighed. He had better clean him up as much as he could before he woke up. Naruto was, at his core, a kind-hearted person. Not normally good material for being a shinobi, but somehow he made it work for him. He wouldn't handle waking up to his current state well. He would then be sure to destroy any evidence of the massacre. He wasn't sure if the kitsune had been had been in charge or if it had been a twisted form of Naruto's mind. Either way, he didn't want the dobe to see the results.

He grabbed a basin from the top of a lacquered chest of drawers and filled it up with water from the bathroom. Claiming a towel and washcloth, he went back to the bedside. Chiding himself that the body of a blood splattered male, even a blood splattered Naruto, shouldn't be a sexually stimulating sight, he set about cleaning the dobe while trying not to wake him. He froze as the other sniffed the air suddenly and opened his eyes to brief slits before settling back to sleep. Just how much of the animalistic traits did Naruto retain even without the fox's chakra swirling around him?

There were many questions on his mind from what was the status of Orochimaru to what was it like to be in that torrent of power.

He slid the washcloth over strong arms, down a well built chest and over taut abs. He couldn't help but note that there were no scars on all of that tanned flesh. 'Must be nice,' he mused. As he passed the cloth over his navel, Naruto gave a little sighing moan. Glancing up to make sure the blue eyes were still closed in slumber, Sasuke ran his bare fingers over the same spot. The dobe made another interesting sound and the black inked seal flared to life under his questing hand.

Power flared and tingled over his fingers like static, sending little electric sparks straight to his groin. His cheeks flamed slightly as he noticed the blonde-fringed manhood stirring.

"Bastard," a tired voice mumbled from above. "M'lest me later, m'tired."

"Hn. As if," he scoffed in denial. He quickly mopped at his legs and threw a blanket over the sleeping form.

He would give Naruto another thirty minutes. In the meantime, he had some bodies to collect and burn and a plan to formulate.

********************************
Naruto was in a deep dreamless sleep when he felt someone shaking him. He grumbled something about more sleep, but the shaking persisted. Sighing, he opened his eyes to see Sasuke standing over him, looking down at him in vague annoyance. He gave a happy grin. "Sasuke!"

"Get up," came the bland response. "We have things to do."

Naruto's smile faded into a scowl. Not exactly the cheerful reunion he had hoped for, but then again Sasuke was an icy bastard at times. Okay, most of the time.

"Is Orochimaru going to be a problem?" Sasuke demanded in a no-nonsense fashion.

"Nope. He's sealed away now," Naruto replied, patting his belly through the blanket.

"Sealed?"

"Yah. Did you know his soul doesn't have any arms? Kyuubi, the betraying little bitch, said that someone had at some point tried to use the same sealing technique on Orochimaru that Yondaime used on Kyuubi. That was why Kyuubi was able to wrap him up in his chakra and suck him into the cage through his seal. He said it had an affinity for the bastard." He gave another grin. "I guess Kyuubi has a chew toy now."

"Hn, so Kyuubi is the one that took him out."

"No," Naruto growled a little testily. "The snake bastard lost because he was too weak."

Sasuke stilled at that assessment. He glared over at Naruto, not sure if he should be angry or not. After all, he had joined the Sannin because of his strength and what he could teach him. "What do you mean, usuratonkachi?"

Naruto scowled at the insult but answered the question. "Well, baka, your precious sensei couldn't handle the power. Or more accurately the pain that goes with it."

"You said Kyuubi betrayed you?" Sasuke's tone was still void of emotion, his mind sorting all the facts so that he could get an accurate picture of what had really transpired.

"Yeah, when Orochimaru showed up in the prison, Kyuubi was supposed to give me power to use in case Orochimaru cut me off from my chakra. The bastard gave it to the fucking snake instead. Thought he was stronger and would let him out more or again or some shit." Naruto shrugged. He should have known better than to make a deal with a demon.

"So, he just blacked out from the pain?" he asked dubiously.

"You try it sometime, teme. His mind couldn't handle it, he broke under the strain."

Sasuke eyed Naruto up and down, not forgetting that he had lasted through another tail and hadn't been screaming like a girl.

Naruto noticed the look and shrugged. "I'm used to it." Though he wouldn't admit it to Sasuke, but having Kabuto and Orochimaru clearing out his chakra channels and increasing his health, he was able to handle the fourth tail better than he had been able to before.

"Hn." Sasuke looked around the room before settling his eyes back on the other occupant. "I'm going to try to get past the traps and wards Orochimaru has around his private scrolls. Why don't you shower and we can see about getting out of here."

"Where are we going?" Naruto perked up.

"Orochimaru had these hideouts tucked all over the place. A handful of them have powerful jutsu scrolls hidden in them. If I don't have a teacher," he looked at Naruto as if to say it was solely the blonde's fault, "at least I can get his jutsus to study. There has to be something to use against him."

Sasuke watched as Naruto wrapped the sheet around himself before standing. He knew he didn't need to ask if Naruto would back out on his promise. He knew he wouldn't. He quashed the urge to seek some kind of reassurance, telling himself that it was just another sign of dobe-induced weakness.

"Are you going to send word to Konoha that you are still alive? I'm sure that your friends are worried." He hated that sly tone of jealously in his voice. Naruto had promised to help him and until his brother was dead that meant the blonde would stay at his side.

The blonde paused, looking down at the pattern on the rug at his feet. "There's nothing there for me now," he whispered before disappearing into the bathroom.

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. "What happened?'

*********************************
Naruto sighed in pleasure as the warm water cascaded down his sore body. He would help Sasuke kill his brother because he knew the Uchiha clan deserved justice. He would be there to watch his back and to protect him. He was ecstatic to have his best friend back with him again. This day made everything that had happened in the last three years worth it.

His smile slowly faded when he realized that if (when!) Sasuke got his revenge, he would head back to Konoha to start on his only other goal. The revival of his clan. 'I...I could live there within the village if I have to. Be a ninja just within the village,' he assured himself. He didn't know if he could bring himself to allow them to place the curse seal on him though. It wasn't right to do that to someone. 'But, if I had to ... just to be near Sasuke... and everyone else, of course....'

A bang on the door startled him out of his thoughts. "Hurry up, dobe!" Sasuke barked.

Naruto blinked, his skin was pruned. He had no clue how long he had been standing there. "Yeah, yeah, I hear ya, teme!" He hurriedly finished washing, studiously ignoring the faint pink that washed down the drain. He only had blurry images of what had happened after he had run through Sasuke's bedroom door while in fox form. He had a feeling he really didn't want details. He only remembered Sasuke shaking him awake after that. He had a sneaky feeling he would be having nightmares about it soon, however.

He turned off the shower and quickly dried off. Wrapping the towel around his hips, he walked back out into the bedroom for clothes.

Sasuke had a fair number of scrolls piled on the bed and was currently sorting through them. There were about four different packs lying around as well. Naruto recognized Iruka's sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed. "Oh cool, you still have it!" Just as he went for the bag, Sasuke snatched it away and tossed it on the bed out of his reach.

"I'm using that one. I have another for you. Get dressed." Sasuke didn't look at him, but Naruto knew his friend well enough that he could tell he was tense.

"Bastard, that was Iruka-sensei's!" he protested. The bag meant something to him. It was the only reminder he had left of his former teacher and pseudo-father figure since his hitae-ate was gone.

"Fine, I'll transfer the stuff if you are so damn sentimental," Sasuke growled. "Only an idiot like you would get worked up over a bag."

"It's more than 'just a bag,' ass."

"Get dressed, moron."

'What the hell is his problem?' Shrugging it out of his mind until later, Naruto opened up the armoire and fished out his clothes. He blushed as he felt eyes on him as he dropped his towel and pulled on the black briefs. He yanked the orange pants on and breathed easier when he felt the eyes look elsewhere.

He suddenly stopped as he realized that Sasuke had been looking at his bare ass. And then there was that incident in the hallway previously with the new clothes. Of course that didn't mean that Sasuke would be open to anything between them. Hell, the bastard barely even thought of him as a friend and had tried to kill him on several occasions. He felt the muscles in his shoulder twitch as his hand unconsciously went up to his chest where the Chidori had been rammed through his chest.

Okay maybe having those kind of thoughts were a bit premature. Maybe he should worry about them getting along and not trying to kill each other first.

After all, Naruto had ogled many a girl under ero-sennin's eyes (and a few boys out from under ero-sennin's eyes) but hadn't been ready to sleep with any of them.

Then again, Sasuke had just helped defeat his sensei and save Naruto's life. Maybe he wasn't as much of a prick as he tried to pretend.

"Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to put the rest of your clothes on?" came a scathing voice.

Then again...

"Fuck off, bastard. I have a lot on my mind," Naruto grumbled.

"Let me simplify it, there isn't any ramen here," came the sarcastic reply.

"Do you got a problem, Uchiha?" Naruto demanded angrily.

Sasuke tossed a scroll on the bed. "I thought I had gotten rid of all my baggage when I left Konoha, dead-last."

"Are you fucking calling me baggage, you bastard?"

"Wow, you figured that out on your own?" Sasuke was expecting it, was almost welcoming it, when the other launched himself at him.

Forgetting finesse, forgetting years of shinobi training, the two rolled around on the floor trying to beat the shit out of each other.

************************
Sasuke sat on the floor panting, gingerly prodding a tooth with his tongue. Getting hit by the blonde was like getting kicked by a mule at the best of times. Like a damned draft horse when he was serious about it. Sasuke had to admit he was a little calmer now, more relaxed. And by the look of the stupid smile on the idiot's face, he was as well. He fingered a tear in his white shirt. Oh well, it had been stained from earlier anyway. No big loss.

Naruto turned his head toward him from where his tanned body was sprawled out comfortably on the floor. "Oi, bastard. We should get a move on," he said between breaths. "A while back Akatsuki were in the area. Been a while, I think. My time sense is kinda screwed up. Don't know if they are still around or not and the fox puts out a big chakra signal."

"You're just fucking telling me this now?!" Clenching his teeth to keep from cursing even further, he got up and swiftly started shoving scrolls in bags. "Finish getting your clothes on. Pack what you need. I cleaned out Iruka's bag for you while you were off in ramen-land."

"Sure, if you do one thing," he replied.

"What?"

"Leave that ugly damn purple bow thing behind. It looks so shitty on you."

Sasuke couldn't help but roll his eyes. "No."

"No?!"

He glared over at the blonde. "Not if we are going to have you impersonating Orochimaru as long as we can so we can get those scrolls without fighting everyone for them."

"Oh." He got up and pulled on his black shirt. "But after that, ditch the damn thing."

"Does it bother you?" he asked tauntingly.

"No," he said too quickly and too vehemently.

Sasuke's snort answered what he thought of that.

After packing a bag of personal items they would need for traveling, Sasuke had them each carry an extra bag that was only partially full of scrolls. Naruto pulled on his black silk overshirt and then pulled out a heavy black poncho from the armoire.

"At least he had nice clothes, except for those ugly ass purple bows," he commented, saying the last part loudly to make sure the ugly-ass-purple-bow-wearing ninja understood his opinion.

Ignoring the taunt, Sasuke left the room to quickly change, putting on a tighter black shirt under his standard oversized shirt to help protect him from the elements as well as grabbing his own poncho. He threw some clothes in his bag along with a few personal items. He went back to check on Naruto only to find the younger ninja struggling with the beaded cord that tied his longer hair back.

After watching for a couple of excruciating moments, Sasuke finally stalked over and yanked the brush and cord out of Naruto's hands. He quickly ran the brush through the medium length blonde hair, trying to ignore the warmth as his fingers brushed the nape of the other's neck. He tied the intricate knot with ease and fluffed a couple of spiky locks in spite of himself. "There, you're beautiful. Let's go," he said shortly.

Naruto grinned at him from the reflection in the mirror. "You think so?"

Sasuke quickly turned to hide the faint blush on his cheeks. "Hn."


TBC