The Sound of Dreams

AN: Hope everyone enjoys this chapter!! I also hope that everyone is okay with the pace that this story is progressing. It may seem slow at times, but there are certain things that I wanted to say in here and certain ways that I think things should/would progress. If I were to go faster I personally feel it would lose some of its impact and believability. Anyway, thanks for reading and many thanks for reviewing!!


CHAPTER 14

Naruto closed the door behind him and immediately created more shadow clones. If he could train for hours on end with a thousand clones using his wind element, then he could create enough to cause a diversion while Sasuke and the prisoners escaped.

He sent his numerous clones through the hallways, engaging the approaching enemy ninja. He really didn’t care about defeating anyone in battle as long as the others escaped and he could reclaim their packs with the scrolls.

He hurried to Orochimaru’s rooms amongst the melee. He fought when he had to but only long enough until a clone came along to distract the enemy. Back in the pit room a clone was dispersed and he gained the knowledge that they had broken to the surface and were making their way out.

Ducking into the snake’s quarters, he grabbed up the four packs plus his and Sasuke’s coats. Using a henge to appear like the rest of the clones, he started to make his way to the main entrance. His other clones were being beaten rapidly but it didn’t matter as long as the delaying tactics worked.

************

Sasuke cursed inwardly as he felt the poison still sapping his strength. The nausea was worse and the room seemed to dance continuously before his eyes. There was a shout from the group of clones by the wall and daylight streamed through the sloped passage that they had made. They quickly strung the kunai together with the rope and made a makeshift lifeline leading up and out of the tunnel. The clones carefully gathered up those who could not walk and were half crawling, half climbing to the surface.

“Do you need a hand, teme?” one of the clones asked him in concern.

“Che,” he sneered woozily. Ignoring his protests, the clone pulled Sasuke’s arm over its shoulders and helped him to the tunnel. “I can do it on my own,” he growled threateningly.

“Shut up, teme, or I’ll carry you,” the clone threatened back.

Of over a dozen prisoners only two looked wholly able to travel on their own strength. They looked related as they both had shaved heads but for a single stripe of long dark brown hair down the center held back in a queue. Both had dark tanned bodies with tattoos decorating their skin, one more so than the other. The one that was more heavily tattooed than the other seemed a bit older and the other obviously deferred to him. The younger was carrying yet a third man with the same traits, but he was younger still and had the least body art among them.

‘Must be from the same family or village,’ Sasuke thought dazedly. It was then that he realized that Naruto’s clones had just concluded some kind of discussion with the eldest and were now starting to move the infirm through the woods. Sasuke, apparently, was counted as one of the infirm.

“Where are we going, dobe?” he asked the clone that had appointed itself as his caretaker.

“There’s a village a little ways off where we can get help. We are headed there.”

“You are aware that if any shinobi recognize me there will be trouble?” he pointed out.

“Don’t worry, teme. As soon as we get you patched up, we’re leaving again. As long as we make it to the village, these people will be able to get help from there.” He inclined his head toward the tattooed men. “Shirotora and Taka will make sure they do.”

Sasuke sleepily nodded and realized how cold he was. He felt himself shaken roughly within the circle of the clone’s arms. “Stay awake, teme!”

“It’s cold,” he heard himself complain faintly. He was too tired to comment when he felt himself being lifted and held against a broad chest.

“That’s because it’s winter and there’s snow on the ground. And you’re injured and don’t have your coat. Just stay awake a little bit longer, teme. It won’t be much farther.” Blue eyes watched him in concern as the large party raced through the snow-laden trees.

Sasuke could hear vague noises of the other Naruto clones speaking quiet encouragement to the other injured as well. They were doing their best to keep people awake in the biting cold and ran as fast as they could toward help.

Sasuke jerked his head up as he felt a sudden flare of chakra some distance behind them. “What was that?” he asked weakly.

The clone half shrugged. “Dunno. My guess would be either it was to lure the Sound-nin away from us or I got surrounded and had to fight.”

“Are you winning?” Had he been in his right mind, Sasuke would have realized how stupid that question was. At the moment however, it made logical sense to ask.

Naruto’s face smile down at him. “Of course. I’m kicking all their asses as we speak.”

“That’s good,” came the muffled reply. Sasuke buried his cold face against the body carrying him and was attempting to drift off again.

“Oi! Bastard! Stay awake!”

“HALT!” a voice commanded loudly from the trees ahead of them. Three Cloud-nin dropped down to the ground in front of their large party. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

The larger tattooed man stepped forward. “I am Shirotora from the Ryouki clan of the village of Yama Kiri. We are refugees that have escaped from Orochimaru’s prison. We are in need of medical attention. We are trying to find help.”

The one that Sasuke took to be the team leader nodded and gave a quick bow. “I have heard of you, Ryouki-san. Allow us to escort you so that you will not be impeded further.”

Shirotora gave a nod in return. “That would be most helpful.”

Turning, the Cloud-nin fanned out both to lout out for dangers that could threaten the group and to keep an eye on everyone within the group. An hour later they were entering a large town and being led to a hospital. Once there, two clones stayed with Sasuke as the others dispersed after handing over their precious burdens.

Sasuke was quickly ushered to a room where a doctor examined his ankle. One of the blonde clones explained that he had been poisoned by one of the snake bastard’s foul henchmen. They gave him a generic antidote since they cold not pinpoint the exact type of poison that had been used against him. They stitched his ankle up and dressed his wounds then hooked him up to a nutrient/antibiotic IV drip. As the doctor and nurse left, the sunny blonde gave him a warm smile.

“Ok, now you can rest, Sasuke-teme. We’ll keep watch over you.”

Sasuke was too tired to point out how useless two clones would be were he actually attacked and drifted off into a painless medicated slumber.

*********

Sasuke awoke some time later to the sound of his hospital room door being slammed open. He struggled upright as a porcelain masked Cloud-nin strode into the room flanked by what appeared to be two jounin. Neither Naruto clone appeared to be in sight. So much for watching over his sleep.

“Uchiha Sasuke, you are hereby placed under arrest as a missing-nin of the Leaf. Any attempt at escape will be met with extreme if not fatal force. As soon as you are recovered enough to be moved, you will be transported to the Hidden Village of Cloud. Be warned, you will be watched.” With that, the masked shinobi walked out of the room, leaving one jounin behind to guard him and the other outside the door.

*********

Naruto leapt from tree to tree in an almost reckless fashion. It had taken a few days to lose the last of the Sound-nin from his tail. Now he had to make up lost time and catch up to Sasuke.

He didn’t like being separated from his friend, especially while the raven-haired ninja was injured. Sasuke was the only home he had now. He couldn’t lose him, too.

He was in mid leap when he felt one of his two remaining clones disperse. The information hit his mind even as he registered that he would miss the branch he was aiming at. He concentrated chakra to his hands and caught a hold of the tree, allowing his momentum to carry him up and around to land on his feet. Once settled safely, he reviewed the new memories in his mind.

He was watching from above, hidden behind the ceiling tiles as Sasuke slept a semi-drugged sleep below. Cloud-nin would be back when he healed to take him away, but he planned on escaping come nightfall if he could distract the jounin that guarded his sleeping form.

A nurse came in, escorted by an Anbu wearing a monkey shaped porcelain mask. She injected something into the IV tube leading to Sasuke’s arm, then nodded at her companion. “He’ll sleep for awhile.”

“I want him kept sedated. We will heal him and move him out immediately. We have direct orders not to delay,” the hollow voice behind the mask intoned to the guard. “Stand watch outside. With him out, he won’t be in any condition to escape. As soon as Takako reports for duty, we will head out."

His clone waited until the room was cleared then dropped down to investigate the windows to see if they were a viable escape route. The door suddenly jerked open behind him and he immediately moved to hide by the bed.

The jounin guard surveyed the room suspiciously and the clone masked himself without dispersing. A female guard entered the room and raised an eyebrow as her teammate scowled. The male moved through the room, his senses wide open, trying to feel out any chakra signatures. The clone pressed himself to the underside of the bed, hoping to be mistaken for Sasuke. After all, if the man didn't have a special jutsu or bloodline, he might sense his chakra but not be able to pinpoint it.

"I don't like this," he said to his companion. "His chakra signature is larger now."

His companion shrugged. "Maybe he is healing or replenishing himself. He is an Uchiha after all. I wouldn't be surprised that he is powerful."

He made a non-committal noise and resumed his position outside. The woman walked up to Sasuke and started healing his leg using her green medic-nin chakra. A short time passed and there were no opportunities to escape with the unconscious shinobi. One hit and the clone would be gone and Sasuke would be down to one protector.

The door opened and the Anbu walked back in. The clone vaguely noticed that it was pre-dawn outside. The Anbu tossed a black bag and silken ropes to the male jounin. "Tie and bag him," he said brusquely. "We are leaving now."

After tying a gag in Sasuke's mouth, the male jounin pulled the black bag over Sasuke's head and secured it around his neck. He then went about tying his arms behind him, carefully wrapping the fingers up so they couldn't move to form seals.

The female gathered up Sasuke's belongings, eyeing the katana appreciatively. She stopped abruptly then dove to the floor. The clone "eeped" and made a mad dash to safety. A shuriken halted his progress and the memory ended.

Naruto shook his head and resumed his headlong charge towards his only remaining clone. He could feel it in the distance and he only hoped that this one laid low so he wouldn't lose his bead on Sasuke.

*********************
Sasuke woke to cold. His first thought was to reach out to find his own personal heater, but found he couldn't move. Snapping his eyes open, he only found darkness. Cloth brushed his face, weighed down his hair. An ache in his arms drew his attention to the restrictive bindings around his body. Swallowing, he tasted cotton cloth in his mouth.

Pushing down a surge of adrenaline, he tried to use his other senses to find out where he was and in what situation. He felt something solid against his back and found he couldn't lean away from it. That meant he was probably tied to it. The object was rough and the smell of woods assaulted his nose so it was more than likely a tree. His ass was cold so that meant they were still up north and he was sitting in the snow. A blanket seemed to be covering him from the feel and warmth of it. He could hear the crackling of a wood fire, not very big so probably a campfire then. He faintly smelled food through the cloth of his hood as if it had been cooked and eaten a while ago. The smell sent a shiver of nausea through him, a side effect of the sedatives in his system. Listening closer he could hear two sets of deep breathing, the sound of people asleep.

He heard an almost imperceptible shift of snow behind him and tensed up. What felt like a furred muzzle brushed up against his fingers. He was starting to worry about something trying to make a meal out of his bound digits as a wet rough tongue ghosted over his skin. He frowned in confusion as he felt a tug on his bindings. Was it a nin-dog? The only one he knew that could use them was Kakashi.

"Ah, you're awake," said a voice from the other side of the fire.

The little furry creature froze a moment in panic, then abruptly but silently left.

Sasuke nodded his head since there was no reason to pretend otherwise. He made a muffled noise and drew his knees up.

"Gotta piss?" the male voice asked.

Sasuke gave a single nod.

"Stay put," he said as he moved.

Sasuke refrained from rolling his eyes at the redundant command.

He heard two voices talking, one seemingly put out at first. Then it chirped up. "Oh, sure!" It was a female voice and Sasuke suddenly had a bad feeling.

A lighter pair of footsteps approached him and untied him from the presumed tree. "Hmm, I've been waiting for this," the feminine voice said eagerly.

"Don't molest him, Takako. Just take him to the bathroom," the male voice admonished.

Sasuke could hear the pout in her voice. "You take the fun out of everything, Tanuki." She helped him stand, tossing the blanket aside. Then led him about five meters away from the sound of the fire.

Sasuke blushed in both embarrassment and fury as her hand deftly unfastened his pants and drew his manhood out into the cold. He felt her warmth against his side as she carefully held him, giving into the temptation of a stroke or two. He growled around the gag, protesting her manhandling.

She chuckled and stopped her ministrations. "Unless you wanna piss on yourself, I still gotta hold it."

Sasuke forced himself to try to relax. After a few moments, his muscles unclenched enough to let a stream go. Afterwards, she tucked him away amidst a few more fondles.

"I'm gonna have to get my hands on you some night during my watch. It'll be fun to see if you can perform trussed up like this," she said in a sultry tone.

Sasuke jerked away from her touch with another growl.

She laughed at his actions. "Behave, little boy. I'm the one that's taking care of you right now. So how does some food and water sound?"

He hesitated a moment, then nodded. If they were trying to kill him, he would be dead already. He might as well keep up his strength while he could.


TBC

Rough Translations for Names:
Shirotora = WhiteTiger
Yama Kiri = Mountain Mist
Taka = Hawk or Falcon
Ryouki = can be translated many different ways, but I am going for Enduring Spirit