Death is the only way to freedom

Chapter: 12: A thing of the past

“Sakura-chan, Wait!” The silver-haired nin finally caught up with the pink-haired woman. ´Damn she’s fast, ´ he thought as he grabbed her arm to stop her.

“…” The young woman was crying. Sobs made her slim body tremble as the tears ran freely down her pink cheeks.

“Oh Sakura-chan…” Kakashi felt a sting inside his heart at her tear filled face; she looked so heartbroken. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gave her a comforting hug.
“Wanna talk about it?”

She glared at her former sensei in disbelief. Since when did Kakashi wanna listen to other people’s problems like that? She decided that she kinda wanted to talk about it… and Kakashi was being so nice to her right now… so why not go with it?

“… I… I feel a bit… betrayed!” Sakura buried her head in Kakashi´s warm jounin vest and drew in his scent. He smelled nice… just like the forest.

“… Why, because Naruto likes boys?”

“… No, I can’t change that… but both he and Sa… Sasuke!”

“You think that Sasuke like boys too?” The silver-haired said. He wasn’t surprised that she thought that, Kakashi had suspected that Sasuke´s growing interest in Naruto wasn’t just friendship but something much more complicated and deep.

“No, I don´t think he’s into… men…just… just… Naruto!”

“Oh and why do you think that, Sakura-chan?”

“The way he looked at Naruto… the way he reacted as he heard about my… confession… Why do all the guys I love turn out to be gay?” She sobbed against the strong shinobi´s shoulder and clenched her fists around his vest.

“Don´t worry… you’re gonna find the one who’s perfect for you too, Sakura-chan… You’re a sweet girl and a beautiful and smart young woman… someone will surely come around soon!” ´you were just so unfortunate to fall in love with two guys who loves each other with out even realizing it themselves! ´

She raised her head to look into his one visible eye. “Do you… do you really mean that, Sensei?”

“Yup… so wanna go and grab some food? My treat?” He let go of her shoulders and took a small step backwards.

“Yes… can we have ice-cream? I kinda feel like something sweet, cold and with a lot of chocolate on top.”

“Sure, I guess the boys have a lot to talk about anyway!” Kakashi wrapped an arm around her shoulder as she wiped the tears from her face and together they walked back into town.

~ # ~

“Are?” The blonde stared at him with frowned brows as the raven-haired heir leaned down; closing in on his face. “What are you doing, Teme?”

“Kissing you!” He smirked as he pressed his lips against Naruto´s.

The raven-haired Uchiha could feel the slightly younger teen stiffen (only his body – you naughty girls/boys heh... heh) as their lips met. He couldn’t help to smirk into the kiss as he sucked seductively on the blonde’s lower lip.

“WHAT THE HELL!!” A hard punch to the chest made the raven-haired male fly backwards. Sasuke fell hard on his ass with a loud dump.

Naruto was on his feet and was staring confused at the Uchiha. `His kisses feel just like… Itachi´s´ the blonde thought sadly. He missed the older Uchiha so much: he had fallen in love with the cold Akatsuki member, even if he had tried not to.

´I loved and respected Itachi… and I´m not sure if this kiss was just meant as a mockery because of my getting out of the closet. Besides that… it’s still too soon to get involved with anyone again… it’s just not fair to Itachi… oh damn I have to ask about the necklace! ´

“That hurt, you know!” The Uchiha growled as he rose to his feet while rubbing his sore bum. “I thought you just said that you liked men kissing you!”

“Baka yaro! I didn’t say that!” The blonde fumed.

“No, you said you liked to f*** men!” The Uchiha smirked as he walked closer to the blonde, who didn’t move away.

“Yeah, you should try it sometime, if you succeed in getting rid off that stick in you ass!” Naruto regretted his words as soon as he had said them. Blue eyes observed the widening smirk on the raven-haired teens face with concern. ´What was that Teme up to? ´

“Maybe if it was with you, Dobe!”

“As if I wanted to be done by you!” The fox muttered. ´He knows I´m no good at lying… maybe he doesn’t notice - if I´m lucky… as if! ´

“Mmmmm don´t lie to me. I promise you a good time, sugar!” Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the shoulders and shoved him against the wall. He pinned the blonde’s arms above his head and claimed his price; a pair of irresistible soft lips.

“Is this just a joke to you, Sasuke? Are you tormenting me because I told you that I´m into men instead of girls?” He tried to free himself from the Uchiha´s firm grip but failed. Naruto was still weakened from the battle, besides without the Kyuubi, his wounds healed a bit slower that usual and it drained his chakra way to fast.

“No!” The raven-haired trailed his tongue along the delicate tanned jaw up to the ear where he began to nibble at the earlobe. He smirked as the blonde’s breathing seemed to become heavier and slightly ragged.

“Then… why?” The blonde couldn’t help to moan as sharp teeth bit down on his neck and a skilled tongue licked the red mark. He couldn’t resist the Uchiha… none of them. Naruto parted his lips and let out another lust filled moan.

“I like you, Angel!” Naruto jerked away violently and dropped to the hard wood floor with tears in his eyes.´ why? Why did he had to call him that; Itachi used to call him… Angel.´

“Naruto?! What is wrong… what did I do?” Sasuke knelt down next to the blonde. The raven-hared was confused and wanted to hug the trembling blonde more than anything else in the world right now.

“…” Naruto just wiped away his tears in embarrassment; why did he have to cry in front of Sasuke… of all people… Damn.

“Do you… hate me… now?” The Uchiha asked sadly as the blonde moved away from his touch. He was already afraid that the blonde somehow resented him from the kiss at the hospital yesterday.

“No! I could never really hate you, Teme!” Naruto looked at the Uchiha´s sad expression. “It´s just… well…my last… eh… boyfriend called me that… and… he’s gone now!”

“Oh… sorry!” Blue eyes widened in disbelief at Sasuke´s unfamiliar words.

“Since when does an Uchiha apologize for anything? Besides you couldn’t have known!” Naruto sighed and forced a small smile onto his face.

“Hnnn!”

“Hey don´t start with that shit with me, Sasuke… I´m really not in the mood for something like that!”

“So what are you in the mood for?” The smirk was back on the pale youth’s lips though his crimson eyes were still focused on the wooden floor.

“You’re such a perv… It´s not that I don´t want to be with you or anything… It´s just not the right time for stuff like that right now!”

“Too soon?” The raven asked as he licked his lips seductively. “But I´m really turned on right now! Anata wa sei desu?” He tried his best to convince the blonde to let him (Sasuke) ravish him… even if it was just a little bit.

“Iie… Teme!” The blonde shook his head. “But I would like to ask a favor of you!”

“… What do you need and what do I get in return?”

“… I would ask you if I could have… a last look at Itachi… He wanted me to… have some of his… belongings… for safe keeping!” He whispered as his eyes focused on the floor in front of him.

“What!? Why would Itachi want you to have his belongings… he tried to kill you, Damn it, Naruto… “

“… He saved you… he saved me, though you might not believe it… We… respected each others strength… We have the same past!”

“You’re not making any sense at all, Naruto!” Sasuke leaned back against the wall and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I know the real reason why Itachi killed your clan and why he let you live!” Naruto said with a slow but calm voice. Sasuke stared at him with open mouth and wide eyes.

“You know? How?”

“Something happen to him… something that happened to me as well… are you sure you really wanna know? I will change everything… the way you remember your family, Itachi and your opinion of me!” Naruto felt sick to his stomach. The truth was never a welcome issue in the Uchiha family… everyone had been full of lies and Naruto was afraid that the truth might break Sasuke.

But he still had to know… know that Itachi had a good core… a core that had been corrupted by his clan… yes even his own father. No one had cared to do anything to help the screaming child as the male members of the Uchiha clan had raped him and Naruto over and over; and why? To make Itachi become stronger by taking away his innocence and trust in people.

Naruto knew that the reason for his rough treatment was because they hated his guts and only saw him as a hindrance, a demonic burden and the son of the fourth (a man they hated because he wasn’t easy to manipulate and walked his own way.)

“Tell me, Naruto!” Sasuke said. His voice sounded scared… like the voice of a small child.

“Are you sure?” Naruto looked into Sasuke´s dark eyes and saw the insecurity displayed there.

“Yes… I need to know!” he said as he drew in a deep breath to calm down. How could Naruto and Itachi have undergone something together that made Itachi kill everyone in their clan except Sasuke and how was it connected to the blonde?

“… Alright, but don´t say after wards that I didn’t warn you, Sasuke!” Naruto leaned back to rest against the wall behind him. He lifted his gaze from the floor to look at the white ceiling.

“It happened a long time ago… I must have been six at the time it began and Itachi must have been around eleven. They had already been abusing him long before they began with me… I guess it was because he was older and I didn’t live alone before after I turned six…They always treated him… better than me… well I am just a low life demon, and he was the heir of the clan after all.” Naruto looked to see Sasuke´s reaction. He looked confused… the truth hadn’t reached him just yet.

“They planned on doing it to you as well. He told me that he could see it in their eyes. The harder you tried to become like Itachi… the more they wanted you as well… He killed them all to save you from their abuse… he always loved you… and cared about you, even though he never showed it, Sasuke!”

“What are you saying, Naruto?” Sasuke´s mouth felt suddenly very dry and he felt very queasy.

“They raped both Itachi and me as we were children on numerous occasions… they laughed and mocked us… well more me than him but who cares about that anymore. He hated them for it and he hated them for the dirty looks they gave you, his only brother!” The blonde drew in a deep breath. “… Don´t ask me why they would do such a thing to their heir… I never could understand why they did it anyway! “Naruto whispered in a very low tone.

“… Oh God…is it really… true?”

“Why would I make something like that up, Teme? I guess you would rather not have known eh?” Naruto was once more staring blankly at the ceiling. In his mind he was reliving the past. His own screams filled with fear and pain mixed with Itachi´s pleas and cries for it to stop as yet another family member had his way with the young boy.

At some point during the abuse both boys had stopped their pitiful cries and screams as it only seemed to turn their adult abusers on. They had just looked at each other and endured the pain and abuse, losing themselves in the other boy’s tear-filled eyes.

“… “Sasuke suddenly struggled to get up. His vision was blurred from the tears that filled his eyes and he was going to be sick. Sasuke stumbled towards the bathroom and threw up as soon as he reached the toilet. He looked up through his tears as he felt a warm hand came to rest on his trembling shoulder.

“Sasuke, Dai jobu?” The blonde asked softly as he drew small circles on the Uchiha´s back.

“Na… Naruto… I… I…”

“It´s alright…I know how it feels… I didn’t even remember it happened till I met Itachi and Kisame at that in a few years back… that’s why I seemed so spaced out as you showed up; it all came back to me at once.” He sighed deeply as he knelt down next to Sasuke and offered him a towel.

“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” The raven-haired took the towel and wiped his mouth with it.

“Why? You were the only one I could tell… and you left soon after I remembered everything. I guess that I somehow bonded with his pain back then…” Naruto tilted his head to the side and removed a black strain of hair from the pale youth’s face.

“… Why did he try to kill you then?”
“Oh you mean on that mountaintop?”

“Yes!” Why the hell was Naruto talking about this as if they were only discussion the weather or something harmless like that?

“Because I asked him to!” Naruto said calmly as he stared at the tiled floor.

“What?! Why?” Sasuke almost yelled at the blonde next to him.

“… Well… Kyuubi was destroying me from the inside… tearing my soul to pieces at a painfully slow pace… There was nothing I or anyone else could have done to stop it.” Naruto looked at Sasuke with a fake smile on his lips.

“The Kitsune would have used my body to… destroy everything… to kill all the ones I care about… everyone I’ve ever loved… I would rather have died than to let that happen!”

“… I don´t understand… if you wanted to die… then-“

“Why am I still here? Itachi found a way to kill the Kyuubi… well that was what he hoped for anyway as he attacked me with the Amaterasu; it really burns like hell… but I guess it worked because Baa-chan didn’t find any trace of the youma in my body.” Naruto explained with a fake smile.

“Quit smiling like that… this is neither funny nor a happy event. We have to tell Tsunade about it!”

“No, what about your reputation,” the blonde chipped.

“I don´t care. They hurt you and… and even if I still can’t forgive Itachi for what he did… I… I kinda understand why he did what he did.” Sasuke staggered to his feet and rinsed his mouth from the foul taste with cool clean water from the tab. “He deserves a proper burial... somewhere far away from his tormentors!”

“Thanks Sasuke… I know it would have made him happy…” Naruto supported the raven as they left the bathroom together. They walked into the living room and dropped down on the black leather couch next to each other.

“… Um?” The blonde gnawed nervously at his lower lip.

“Yes, what is it?” Sasuke was slightly afraid that there would be more dark secrets on the way as the blonde spoke:

“… Um… About Itachi´s belongings… may I have them? If not… then I want to ask you to keep them safe… he-“

“What do I get in return?” Sasuke looked directly into Naruto´s bedazzling blue eyes.

“Are?” the blonde asked in slight confusion.

“If I allow you to keep the items… what do I get out of it?” The raven asked again.

“In return? I don´t know… what did you have in mind, Sasuke?” The blonde shifted nervously in his seat as he saw a wide smirk appear on Sasuke´s face