Yoru No Koishii

Gomen for being so slow. See, there was this little old lady, and she wanted me to look after her cats, and…

Demi & Hime: LIAR!

D’Ceandre: Okay, she’s not that old, and it’s brats I have to look after, not cats. The woman I babysit for came back from holidays last week, so most of my at-home-time lately has been spent sleeping.
But, better late then never, right?

******

Today. In just a few hours, we’ll be back at the compound, and I’ll be with Naruto again.

“Ow!”

“That was not nice at all. Yeah.” I look back over my shoulder, to see Kisame favouring his hand and glaring at Gaara, who’s returning it with his usual uninterested gaze. As I watch, he licks his lips. Deidara’s watching both calmly.

“I would have thought you’d learned your lesson the first time,” I say, strolling back toward them. “Isn’t that the same hand Naruto bit when you wouldn’t leave him alone?" Gaara moves his glare towards me, but I give it about as much attention as I would a leaf in my path.

I had hoped, when we had set out from the valley, that this would be a fairly easy trip, since Gaara still seemed to be in his I’m-going-to-figure-out-just-what-you’re-up-to-before-I-kill-you mood. I had never travelled with Deidara and Nishirachi, but after dealing with Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi for a year and a half, it couldn’t be that bad, right?

Yeah, right.

Gaara’s agreeability lasted until about noon of that day, when he made his first escape attempt. Not that I blame him; between Deidara’s chattering, Takara’s attempts at singing, the damned Gobi no Houkou vessel, who doesn’t seem to have a name, or, if he does, no one knows it, and Kisame’s jokes, I was about ready to jump ship myself.

It was easy enough to recapture him; Gaara never learned any more then the basics of taijutsu, since his ‘ultimate defence’ was always more then enough. Bereft of it, he’s pretty much helpless. But he’s been nothing but trouble ever since then.

“Sasuke-kun!” Takara predictably appears out of nowhere to wrap herself around me. I just ignore both her and the disapproving look that enters Gaara’s glare.

“Are we going to be at this place soon? I don’t like all this walking.”

“Yes, thankfully.” I give up trying to pretend she’s not there and push her away, leaping up into the branches of a tree before she has a chance to grab me again.

We’re having a break for lunch, since Deidara insisted. I would have preferred to keep on, but the others agreed with her, and I don’t feel like fighting with them right now.

I would have gone on ahead, except that I’m sure they would have all ended up killing each other before they got halfway to the base.

Something’s wrong. The closer we get, the more I’m sure of it. If that bastard hurt Naruto, I really am going to rip him to pieces.

There’s a sudden yelp, and there’s a shuriken flying from my hand before I’m even fully turned.

I blink calmly, taking in the scene below. Everyone’s frozen, looking at me. Takara’s stretched out on the ground like she tripped, while the fox is hurrying away, its head and tail held low. Deidara and Nishirachi are in the middle of getting lunch ready, and Gaara's just staring at me, his eyes a bit wider then normal. The shuriken is stuck in the bark of the tree trunk only a few inches from his head. The dog-boy is lying unconscious and tied by the side of the road, and Kisame’s nowhere to be seen.

“You missed.” Oh, there he is, under another nearby tree.

“I never miss,” I answer him, my gaze locked with Gaara’s. I hadn’t actually. I had seen Takara trip over the kit, and I wasn’t aiming for her at all. The shuriken was a warning to Gaara, who had been trying to work his way free of the ropes while no one was looking. By the way he’s watching me now, I think he got the message, at least temporarily. Not that any of my threats stay long; he can be as absentminded as Naruto when it comes to something he doesn’t feel is important. And he’s feeling a bit too safe in the fact that Akatsuki wants him alive.

I leap down from the tree with a sigh, giving Takara a murderous gaze when she tries to approach me again. She finally clues in and decides to go make sure the kit’s all right.

I pause a moment, sensing something, then it’s abruptly gone. Giving a grunt of annoyance, I move over to where Gaara sits, a little satisfied to see him pull away slightly as I come closer.

“Try anything again, and I’ll carve you a new tattoo,” I growl, and he turns to glare at me again.

“When I get this damned seal off, Uchiha, there won’t be enough of you left to worry about tattoos.”

“Not likely. You know how Naruto would react if you killed me.” Not that I was worried about it actually happening, but better to avoid the trouble.

“I’m sure I’d be able to console him.” His eyes widen again, just slightly, as he feels the edge of my kunai pressing into his throat.

“Don’t even joke about it, or I will kill you, no matter what the damned Akatsuki wants. Or worse, maybe I won’t. Orochimaru taught me a lot about keeping someone alive when you didn’t want them dead.”

I don’t tell him that I had been a terrible student. If there was one good thing the snake taught me, it was how little I like to see someone in pain.

“Are you two almost done yet?” I growl at Deidara and Nishirachi, tucking the kunai away again.

“In a bit of a bad mood today? Yeah.” I have to hand it to him, Deidara is pretty nearly immune to my, as Naruto once titled them, ‘Uchiha death glares’.

“Wherever did you get that idea, dumbass?” All right, so I’m feeling a bit touchy. All I want is to get back to my fox as quickly as possible. I’ve been gone nearly two months, something I didn’t plan for, and I really am worried.

“I’m not hungry.” I answer absently when Deidara asks me if I want something to eat, my attention back on that worrying feeling.

******

Finally we start out again: Kisame in the front, then Deidara and Nishirachi, the black man carrying the Gobi, with a very reluctant, and slightly nervous, Gaara behind them. I brought up the rear, along with Takara, who was supposed to be beside Gaara, but so far hadn’t ended up there.

Frowning, I glance behind me, fingering a kunai and ignoring the cautious looks Gaara keeps on tossing over his shoulder. Contrary to someone’s apparent desire, I have noticed the lack of the fox nipping at my heels.

There. I throw the kunai and Gaara jumps as it diverts another that was obviously headed for him. Everything erupts into chaos as nin suddenly drop from the trees around us.

I have to admit, whoever they are, they’re well trained, and smart. Their targets are obviously the demon carriers, since they go right after them.

I back Gaara up against a tree, and Takara comes over as well. Deidara and Nishirachi are back-to-back, the Gobi nowhere to be seen, and Kisame’s just lying about with that sword of his, obviously having fun.

I can hear Gaara’s harsh breathing behind me, and the sand at my feet starts brushing against my feet, but I ignore it, more concerned with the two nin who are attacking. One of them looks more like a porcupine then a human, and it’s hard trying to get close enough to do any damage.

Finally, though, I manage to put a chidori through both. I glance around to see that the other attackers have been taken care of as well, and no one seems to be too badly hurt.

“Hey, neat,” Takara exclaims behind me. I turn to see what she’s commenting on and find Gaara, eyes closed in concentration, with a tiny sandstorm spinning in his palm. I’m surprised, although I suppose I shouldn’t be. I knew the seal wouldn’t hold him forever, but I had expected it to last longer than this.

Not that that little bit is any real danger to anyone. I debate a moment on renewing the seal, but then decide not to. It would take too much effort, and he’ll be fitted with suppressors once we reach the compound anyway.

“It’s a little odd to be attacked here,” Deidara comments, and I have to agree with him. We’re not far from our destination, only a couple hours at the most, and our attackers had been following us for quite a while. And it’s even odder that they went after Gaara first, since Takara was behind me at that particular moment.

“It was almost like a test, to see how strong we were,” Takara pipes up, and I look at her, blinking. For once, she’s making sense. If Gaara had been unsealed, that would have meant that the sand beneath him would have reacted, and to an observer, his being unsealed would mean there was someone who could control him.

Deidara had informed Kisame and me before we had left the valley that all the demons had been found, and there was going to be a gathering at Itachi’s base. But it seemed that it was to be more then just a simple meeting to decide who got which demon. I smirk; even Tsunade herself wouldn’t bet against at least a few deaths at the meeting.

“Hurry up and let’s get moving before someone else decides they want to pick a fight with us,” I snap. If there’s going to be a conspiracy other than mine, I want to find out as much about it as I can before it happens.

******

A little over two hours later, I’m walking down the well-lit halls again, this time with three followers. Both Takara and Gaara have been fitted with chakra suppressors, and choke-chain collars, a new necessity Itachi added.

We’re headed toward the infirmary, since I’ve been informed that all of the demons need to have physicals done on them, and I want to get the kit checked out, in any case. I don’t know where the other three members of our group disappeared to, not that I much care either. All I want to do is get rid of Gaara and Takara and find Naruto.

I freeze as said blond follows my brother out of the infirmary, looking completely at ease, his fingers caught in Itachi’s shirt. He glances up at me, and then looks away again, not giving the slightest sign of recognition. Itachi stops to look at me, but for once I don’t even notice him.

“Naruto,” I breathe. He looks smaller, though it might just be the long kimono he wears. His hair is definitely longer, the back brushing the kimono’s collar and his bangs hanging half over sleepy-looking cerulean.

“Otouto,” Itachi says coolly. “Did you find the Nibi?” Naruto looks from me to Itachi and back, obviously puzzled. I wonder if Itachi brainwashed him somehow.

“Yes, Aniki.” I growl, not sure why I used the title. I want to know what he’s done to Naruto. Takara wraps her arms around me again, and Naruto offers a low growl.

Jealousy? But if he’s able to be jealous, then he can’t be brainwashed, or not completely. Maybe he’s just trying to get back at me for what I’ve put him through. Gods know I deserve it, but Naruto’s never been that type before. And with Itachi?

“Hn. You know what to do with them.” Itachi turns away again, Naruto following docilely behind. I stare after them, my mind in turmoil. Is he just trying to get back at me? Even the fox seems confused, sitting at my feet with its head cocked slightly to the side.

Naruto turns back to look over his shoulder at me. For a moment his eyes clear, and his lips form the first syllable of my name, but then he blinks and turns back again.

He’s just brainwashed, or drugged, or something, right?

******

Right. Next chapter will be up faster, hopefully.