A Dream for a Dream

A Dream for a Dream

Chapter 10

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Holy crap! Is that Sasuke? No, it’s Itachi! Itachi is screaming? How the hell did Sasuke manage that in the Tsukiomi?! I know my mouth is gaping open, but… Uchiha Itachi is screaming and writhing in pain, his hands clawing at his eyes, which happen to look perfectly fine to me! That is messed up.

Sasuke seems to be coming out of his frozen state, his muscles loosening and sagging. He’s shaking his head as if to literally throw the jutsu off. I can’t believe it! He’s freeing himself! He’s actually managed to escape the Tsukiomi and somehow hurt his brother in the process. It’s amazing!

“Oh Shit! SASUKE!”

Oh God! Oh my God! He’s hurt. He’s hurt bad. It looks like all the blood in his body is trying to spill out all at once! What the fuck is he doing?! Never mind Itachi you idiot! Do something to stop the bleeding! Damn it, where is everybody?! Somebody help him!!

Kyuubi’s grown huge again, he’s already made short work of two of those cloaked bastards. The third is running but Kyuubi will definitely chase him down. Why are the rest of them just standing there staring? Someone needs to get to Sasuke! Damn, I really shouldn’t rush out there with the baby before I’m sure the area is secure. There were only four Akatsuki here, right? Oh hell.

“Neji, Kakashi sensei! You have to help Sasuke!” I run towards them, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Naruto kun, you’re ok!” Turning to the voice, I’m slightly surprised to see Hinata here, but there’s no time to remark on that.

“Sasuke! Over there! Hurry!!” Thankfully that seems to snap everyone out of it and they’re racing for the barrier. Akamaru bounds ahead but the second he touches the chakra ring he’s thrown back several feet. He’s ok but a good portion of his chakra has been sucked out of him by the field. It’s clear that we need to break the circle before we can enter but we quickly discover that we can’t use chakra and we can’t actually touch the tags.

Sasuke’s life blood is soaking into the ground as we speak and every second wasted is one we can’t afford. How do you do anything without either touch or chakra? My frustration is reaching it’s peak and I pass the baby to Neji and get as close as possible to the barrier. Turning before one of the tag I wave my three bushy tails back and forth as hard as I can, looking over my shoulder to see the tag flutter and finally blow off it’s perch. With the circuit broken the shield falls and I rush over to Sasuke’s crumpled form.

--

Did I win? Yes, I think so. I can see him laying there… so much blood. He’s staring right at me - no, through me. Now his eyes are going dull and still. It’s funny, I don’t care about vengeance right now at all. I’m just satisfied that Naruto is safe from him.

Naruto… I never got the chance to explain to him. Hopefully, this counts as a sufficient apology because I don’t think I’ll ever have that chance.

He’s here, hovering over me like an angel! His beautiful eyes look so concerned. I can see his lips forming my name but his voice is so faint. I think he’s holding me. I wish I could feel it.

He’s changed a little but his expression is still completely Naruto. I suppose that if his face is the last thing I see, it’s more than I ever had a right to hope for. It’s probably best this way. At least one of us will live on peacefully, and it should be him.

I couldn’t have stood to live on myself, having to watch him suffer further. He’s finally achieved some happiness. He’s found acceptance, love, the family I know he’s always wanted, and he deserves it. I owe it to him.

I remember when I was much younger, I told Kakashi that I didn’t have a dream. That wasn’t true, or at least it didn’t remain true. And Naruto was never just a small part of my dream, as I once tried to tell myself. He was the very heart of it.

I never achieved the family that had been my original goal. The Uchiha will die out after all, it seems. Perhaps that’s for the best as well? I don’t believe I would have been completely happy even then. Not without him.

This is the way the world works… and it does work. At some point karma finds you and you get what you have coming to you. I can only consider it my fair due.

An eye for an eye

A tooth for a tooth

A dream for a dream

I heartlessly ripped his dream out from under him, and destroyed my own in the process.

He’s crying…

Don’t cry Naruto. The world is full of lost, corrupted and neglected dreams but you at least never seem to run out of new ones.

--

He's gone! He can't be! How can this be happening? It simply doesn't seem possible! Nothing can touch Sasuke... He can't just be gone... But he is. I can feel it. Or rather, I can't feel him anymore. There is no chakra, no spirit housed in this body any longer. I'm not sure what to do. I can’t think. I don’t want to think.

I feel like I must be dreaming and I wish I could wake up. Sasuke, I’m not angry at you anymore.

It hurts knowing that he’ll never hear me say that. Hinata tried her best to save him but we were simply too late. There is silence for a long time as Hinata and I sit here side by side and stare blankly. I don’t really see anything and not even a leaf is stirring. I would almost think I was cut off from the world entirely but I can still smell. There’s the charged scent of chakra from a recent battle and the thick, cloying odor of blood that almost drowns the gentle scent that announces the presence of the still, silent girl next to me. ‘She smells different than I remember’, I muse distantly.

Then I hear a familiar whine. Hinode is leaning as far over in Neji’s arms as he can, his little hands reach out for me and I lift my own automatically to take him and comfort him. Then I look down and blink stupidly at the blood covering my hands. I wipe them off as best I can on my pants, before reaching out once more to take him.

Everyone seems to take this as their cue to start talking, offering condolences. Neji is telling Hinata how he is sorry for the loss of her husband. That draws my attention instantly. So he did marry her after all. That explains why she’s here, I suppose. The others must have picked up on my surprise. Hinata tearfully stutters out an explanation but I wave off her concerns. It’s not like I’m shocked or anything, I simply hadn’t had time to think about it.

I put my free arm around her and drag her close, apologizing as profusely as I know how. I didn’t even get a chance to congratulate her on her marriage before she became a widow, and that is a painful thought, especially when, for all intents and purposes, her husband is dead because of me.

I apologize both for her loss and for the fact that I will be unable to attend the funeral. Hinata just clings to me and cries, telling me it’s not my fault and that she’s glad I’m safe and that Sasuke would be glad too. I just rub her back, humming in reassurance and letting her take her time to pull herself back together. Finally she seems to realize that she’s hugging a baby along with me and she pulls back, staring at him in wonder.

“Oh Naruto,” she whispers. “He’s beautiful.” The tears are building in her eyes again and the last word comes as a quiet sob. “What’s his name?”

“Hinode.”

“It suits him,” she exclaims with a watered down smile. I ask if she would like to hold him, attempting to help her feel a little better, though I know nothing will really diminish her grief. My own eyes are red with tears and I guess I’m also trying to distract myself a bit.

It’s hard to distract yourself from a tragedy that surrounds you physically though, so with utmost care, I slide Sasuke’s head off my lap, laying it gently on the ground. If I could focus only on that pale face, I could almost believe that he’s just sleeping. I want to believe it.

The bloody mess below his face destroys the image and without warning my body gives a heave that I swallow back and fresh tears blur my vision. I need to do something with myself. I need to feel useful. I need to clear away this horrible sight.

Leaving the baby to Hinata’s care for the moment, I attempt to find that sense of duty and emotional detachment that ninja are so famous for and slowly lift the limp body of my once best friend. Kakashi quickly moves to help me and I give him a weak smile of gratitude. It falls flat, I know, but he nods in understanding anyway.

Neji joins us once he’s done making absolutely certain that Itachi is dead. It’s an understandable concern with a powerful and tricky weasel like him. We can’t afford to take any chances. Then, together we begin to prepare Sasuke’s body for transportation. The last true Uchiha deserves a proper funeral in his home village.

Ino stands guard over Hinata and the baby while Kiba has begun to drag the corpses of our enemies together to be burned. I glance up when Kyuubi walks back into the clearing. The body of the fourth enemy is slung over his shoulder and he tosses it easily onto the pile before going to hover around the woman who holds his child, watching her every move carefully.

A strong fire jutsu from Kakashi (one that reminds me painfully of Sasuke) has the bodies reduced to ashes within moments, leaving only a cloud of slowly settling smoke and the usual sickening scent behind.

Suddenly, Kiba turns and tosses a strange blue object to Neji.

“What do you make of that? I found it with one of the Akatsuki.”

“Hmm…” Neji frowns pensively, turning the thing over in his hands to feel the smooth texture and examine every inch. He activates his byakugan and looks again.

“It’s empty.” He sounds surprised when he finally speaks, the veins around his eyes fading as he looks back up at us.

“Uh, so…” Kiba’s head tilts curiously.

“I mean, not physically empty. It has no chakra signature of any kind. Every material has a certain small amount, that’s how my bloodline limit works. Byakugan does not ‘see’ creatures or objects. It sees their chakra. I see the chakra of everything, no matter how miniscule. I can’t see this. It is completely void, a hole in my vision. And a much larger hole than its size would indicate.”

“Perhaps this is what they meant to use to contain a demon.” My attention snaps to Kakashi at this suggestion. On some level I’d recognized that Akatsuki’s goal must have been something like that but this is the first anyone has actually mentioned of it. A number of questions are rising in my brain like a flash flood.

“It makes a certain sense. Demons can manipulate all chakra. They can use that ability to escape any trap. Look how easily Kyuubi escaped Naruto. If they were to have any hope of keeping him under control, they’d have to put him in a container that had no chakra for him to manipulate. There would be nothing for his own chakra to affect and no other chakra for him to reach out to.”

“So you think it was me they were after?” Kyuubi’s sudden question was more of a statement, and Kakashi shrugged.

“That seems like the logical conclusion,” Neji agrees. “They set up this clearing for some ritual, probably to get you into the container. The chakra absorbing shield was added to keep you from making use of anything outside the circle, and maybe to keep Naruto from helping you as well. There’s no way to know the full details. We should have tried to capture one of them alive.”

Kakashi shakes his head. “That could have been dangerous and moreover, I sincerely doubt that one of 'them' would have broken under even the most strenuous form of questioning.”

“Now might be a good time to tell me what you do know,” I finally interject. “What the hell happened here? How did they even know we were going to be here?” My friends are flinching a little under my glare and I feel sort of bad but I need to know where this huge information leak originated.

Ino begins the explanations, telling me how she was attacked outside of Konoha by Itachi. I really do feel bad now. That must have been a huge blow

She’s apologizing and blubbering all over the place. I can’t blame her for what happened though, who can manage to fight off the Tsukiomi. Well… apparently Sasuke can… could. Oh shit, I’m going to cry again.

I cut her off, spouting out exactly what I’m thinking, before any tears can squeeze their way out. Thankfully it grabs her attention and the rambling halts while she thinks it over.

“He really threw off the Tsukiomi?” Kiba asks.

“Actually, it seemed more like he took it over. The effects were back-washing over Itachi. He was freaking out while Sasuke looked perfectly clearheaded.”

“Is that even possible?” Kiba is frowning skeptically at me. Does he think I’m confused?

Ino answers for me.

“It might not be as far fetched as you think. After all, Sasuke is an Uchiha, the ability is in his blood even if it had been lying dormant, and he did show quite an aptitude for mind jutsu. He wrenched himself out of mine. Nobody had ever been able to do that before. If Itachi said or did something to get him riled up enough, I wouldn’t put it past him to find a way.”

A moment passes in silence, while everyone considers the implications of this and the loss of such a talented and determined shinobi. At least I assume that’s what the others are thinking.

Kyuubi’s arm slides around me, bringing me back to myself and a heavy sigh escapes me.

“The village has suffered a great loss today. You should bring him back.” I really don’t feel much like visiting or talking anymore. All my earlier excitement just seems stupid now. “I’m sorry I can’t help.”

Ino’s rushing to assure me that I’ve done all that could be expected. I don’t feel like I’ve done anything at all. I should have saved him.

…That’s what I should have done.

I turn to Hinata and reach out to take my child back. I’m finding it difficult to look her in the eye, but I force myself to do it. Her tears make me flinch.

She gives me the baby and then suddenly throws herself at me, hugging me tight around the waist, while somehow managing to avoid squishing Hinode.

“Naruto… It’s not your fault… none of this. You know that right?”

I nod dumbly, staring wide-eyed at her pleading face.

“You won’t avoid us will you?”

I shake my head quickly.

“You should know that he felt terrible about what happened. He didn’t hate you… at all. He didn’t really mean any of it. He wanted to find you, to apologize. He still thought of you as his very best friend Naruto. He… he really cared about you. So much. He… You were… He cared about you.”

She seems to be having trouble getting out the right words, so I’ll take pity on her.

“I understand Hinata chan. It’s Ok.”

She shakes her head, fresh tears coming. She looks almost frustrated with herself. I manage to get an arm free and hug her back.

“I know you want to make sure that I hear what he wanted to say. He was really lucky to have you Hinata chan. Don’t worry, I already forgave him a long time ago.”

“Thank you Naruto,” she sighs. “Promise you’ll keep in touch.”

“I promise.”

As we turn to leave, much more sober than we came, I look back over my shoulder once or twice. I can’t help but worry a little about Hinata. To have lost her husband, and so soon, it must be devastating. I can’t imagine the wreck I’d be if something happened to Kyuubi.

As if he could read my mind, Kyuubi rests a warm, comforting hand on my back, giving a little rub.

“Don’t worry yourself too much Naru chan. She has many friends and family to watch over her, and she’ll probably feel better after the baby is born. It should give her some focus.”

Surprise straightens my weary spine.

“Baby?”

After a second of thought, I whirl to face him.

“That’s what that scent was?!” Kyuubi nods gravely

“A pregnant widow is a sad thing, I know. But as I said, I believe it will give her a new sense of purpose and something to focus on. She seems the type to make a good mother.”

“We have to support her as much as we can! There must be a way to set up regular visits. This is Sasuke’s child after all. I could never abandon my best friend’s child. I need to be there for them. I could bring Hinode and teach them both some techniques.” (Yes I’m rambling. Kyuubi’s obviously right. This has certainly commanded 'my' focus quickly enough.)

Kyuubi just hums in agreement and we fall silent while my mind continues to race around the possibilities. Then it starts to hit me that Sasuke won’t be a part of any of these plans.

“Are you ok?”

The whisper startles me. I hadn’t realized that I was crying. I swipe away the wetness and shake my head, turning to him with some approximation of a smile.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. He always wanted to defeat his brother and continue his bloodline. It's all that he ever wanted in life. I’m just glad that he managed to complete his two major goals before the very end.”

“That is something to celebrate.” Kyuubi agrees.

FIN

A/N; Oh my god I'm so horrible! *sobs* How depressing. And didn't even get it out as quickly as I should have. I got roped into making everyone's Halloween costume and I totally forgot about this for awhile. I made you wait this long and I didn't even give you a happy ending! Oooooh the pain! I feel like such a bastard.

Oh well, at least I'm finally finished with this. And may I never write another story like it. (By which I'm refering to the style not the tragedy. Sometimes a good tragedy can be very satisfying.)

As always, I want to thank everyone who took the time to write such encouraging reviews. Without you, I really would have given up this time. This particular project sucked the life right out of me, but you guys kept me going. dagget luvs you!!