Yoru No Koishii

And the second one. Getting pretty close to the end now. The title will probably be recognized by Robert Jordan fans. It's a game that's considered impossible to win, unless you cheat. It's kind of akin, in a way, to what Sasuke's planning.

Trouble: Thank god, it's almost done.

*Hits her.* Enjoy.

******

It feels so comfortable here in his arms, his hand stroking my hair softly, that for a while, just a brief moment, I can forget about where I am, and what’s just happened.

“Shh. It’s all right.” I flinch slightly as he moves his arm lower in order to pick me up, and I know he notices it, because he stiffens just the slightest bit. I try to hide the wince as he sits and I’m settled into his lap, but he notices that too, of course. Damned Uchiha and their habit of picking up on everything.

“What did he do?” He demands, his voice harsh, and I look up, shuddering and flinching away again when I see the swirling sharingan. He sighs softly, and strokes my hair again, tilting my head back up, ebony eyes studying the injuries on my face.

“I tried to hit him,” I offer, explaining them, “and he hit me back. Then, he chained me to the bed, by the collar and I was trying to get loose.” I press my head against his wet shirt again to hide the fresh tears that were falling.

“I thought… I thought he had killed you,” I sob, wishing I could explain the pain I had felt when I had seen him fall.

“It’s harder to kill me then that,” he says, stroking my hair again.

“I could do it.” I look over at the voice and see Gaara leaning against the wall. I stare a minute, surprised. His red hair is a bit longer then when I last saw him, but that’s not what surprises me. The black rings around his eyes are completely gone, and the pale turquoise looks darker without them. He still looks as moody as ever, though.

“Don’t fight, please?” I glance back up as Sasuke, meet his dark gaze, full of love and happiness, the way they soften when only I’m around to see. Or well, I’d like to believe it’s only when I’m around, since I’ve never heard anyone else mentioning it. I sigh and let my head fall back to his shoulder, wishing I didn’t hurt so much. Not that it’s a big thing; being a ninja, you have to have a high tolerance for pain, but that doesn’t mean we like it.

“Naruto…” He’s hesitating. That can’t be good. “Did he… hurt you?” I know the way he means, and I shudder, hiding my face and pressing closer. I can’t answer him out loud, I don’t want to think about it, but apparently that’s answer enough.

“That Bastard. I’m going to kill him.” I’m sure he’s got his sharingan activated, but as long as I don’t have to look I don’t care. And the way his grip tightens around me is comforting.

“I thought you were already going to kill him,” Gaara points out.

“Yes, but now I’m going to make sure he dies very slowly and painfully. Maybe I’ll cut his balls off and feed them to him…” I shudder, not liking that idea, since it was something I could see the snake doing, and Sasuke pats me absently, still plotting.

“And you’re going to help me,” he says, lifting my chin to give me a quick kiss. I would have liked it to be longer, to renew my memory of his taste, but he’s already moving away, casting the jutsu that releases the bracelets and anklets that lock my chakra away.

I sigh as I feel my chakra flare up in answer, hear the fox snarl as he stretches, reclaiming his territory in the back of my mind. My eyes flash red a moment as he studies the surroundings, giving a contented snort, and retreats again, satisfied.

Sasuke might not have been overjoyed to hear it, but Kyuubi actually likes him. The demon has, well, I guess, mellowed over the years. I don’t think he’d hesitate to kill a human now, or regret it afterwards, but he’d think about it first, and perhaps decide not to.

I can feel the slight itch as my injuries heal, the pain fading more quickly then usual, but then, I haven’t used any of my chakra in ages, so there’s a fair surplus of it.

“Pay attention, dobe. You’re going to have to learn this fast.” I turn to watch as he demonstrates the jutsu he wants me to know, paying careful attention. I’m not sure what it does, but it must be important for him to be teaching me now.

I’ve gotten faster at learning jutsu since I was in the academy, and it doesn’t take long for me to pick up on the gist of the technique, since it seems fairly simple.

“Keep Kyuubi from healing this,” he says, as he slices across my palm. I feel the fox’s chakra moving to that spot and push it back with my own. Kyuubi gives a mental shrug and goes back to enjoying his semi-freedom.

Sasuke puts his cut hand to mine, and we go through the seals with our other hands. I have to admit, I’m curious as to what exactly this is going to do. Then I repeat the phrase with him, in nearly perfect sync, and I can suddenly feel something nudging at my mind. Instinctively I block it.

“Relax, Naruto.” Sasuke murmurs, and I look up at him, still unsure. Then the fox is pulling my barriers down, and I only have time for a surprised gasp before I can sense someone else.

It’s not quite the same as having Kyuubi there. I can feel Sasuke, but not with the same intensity, more emotions then actual thoughts. Mostly, though, there’s a warmth that seems to pulse. It takes me a moment to recognize it as love, and I sigh when I do, moving to hug Sasuke again. He chuckles a bit, but then his expression turns serious.

“You’ll have to go back, just for a little bit, since I’m not strong enough to challenge Itachi so soon.”

“I don’t want to.” I answer, knowing I sound childish but not really caring at the moment. I’m too worried about what he’s going to do once he finds out that I snuck out and went to see Sasuke. There’s no way to hide it now, not with the bruises and limp gone.

He pats my back and sighs, obviously upset. I would have been able to tell that even if I hadn’t had the link I have with him now.

There’s a sudden scratching at the door, and I turn to look as Gaara opens it, seeing the black fox from earlier come bounding in and up on the bed, curling up there and looking at Sasuke expectantly.

“Half-demon,” Kyuubi growls, sounding annoyed. Sasuke frowns.

“Is she? Well, that would explain why she’s so smart. Can she understand us?” I’m surprised. Obviously Kyuubi managed to slip into the bond too, somehow, probably while he was destroying my barriers.

“Yes. She’s not old enough to communicate yet, but she can understand. I’m surprised she lived this long.” I can’t help but wonder why Kyuubi’s being so helpful lately, but if he notices the thought he ignores it.

“She was in Itachi’s room earlier,” I comment, moving to pet the soft fur. The fox reaches up to lick my face enthusiastically, and I laugh at the feel of her tongue.

“That gives me an idea.” I turn my head to look at Sasuke, who’s already starting a technique. A summoning one, though I’m not sure what until a large black snake appears. I step back with a yelp. I don’t like snakes, mostly because of Orochimaru’s fondness for playing with them, and, occasionally, putting them places living creatures should never go, and this breed, the black mamba, had been one of his favourites to use.

“It’s all right, Pet. Relax. He won’t hurt you.” He picks the snake up, not looking too worried and moves closer. I move back again, yelping as I hit the edge of the bed and shutting my eyes tight as Sasuke continues to approach.

“Uchiha,” Gaara growls and I open my eyes a bit, just in time to see Sasuke drop the snake into my lap. I yelp again and try to push it off, only to have it suddenly coil around my arm, Sasuke hugging my tightly.

“Hush, Pet. Quiet. He’s here to protect you.” I calm down a bit, noticing that the snake doesn’t seem to be doing anything, just laying curled loosely around my chest and neck. I still don’t like it, though. Orochimaru had explained in detail, with a demonstration in the form of one of his subordinates, just how deadly this snake could be.

Sasuke holds me a moment more, making sure I’ve calmed down, then lifts the snake’s head to speak to it, giving it it’s orders. No one is to touch me sexually deliberately, except for him, or hurt me physically, outside of training. Simple enough. I doubt anyone who knew this breed of snake would dare, anyway.

******

Far too soon for my liking, I find myself standing back in front of Itachi’s door, the cuffs securely closed again. Sasuke gives me a good-bye kiss and heads back down the hall, back to his room. Just a few moments later, Itachi comes from the other direction. He stops, frowning slightly at me, and I cower back against the door nervously. Sasuke’s plan might have seemed good to him, but I want to know what’s going to keep Itachi from just using Mangekyou on the snake.

“You’ve been visiting, I see,” he says finally, and moves in front of me. I close my eyes, sure he’s going to hit me again or something, but he just reaches to open the door, and I fall backward into the room with a yelp.

“Get rid of the snake,” he orders, stepping past me, and I debate trying to run again, but realise it wouldn’t do much good, blocked as I am.

“I-I can’t,” I murmur. From what I’ve seen, Sasuke’s snake has no intention of obeying me. As if to confirm it, it tightens around me a bit more, resting its head on my shoulder and hissing disturbingly close to my ear. I pull my head away, trying to see what it’s doing, but without much luck.

Itachi just looks at me a moment, then turns away, sitting down at the desk in the corner to write something. Hesitantly, I move to the bed, since it’s much better then the floor. For all his talk about power being the only thing of importance, Itachi sure likes his comforts, at least in his bedroom.

It makes me wonder, oddly. What was Itachi like when he was 13? Was he like Sasuke, cold and arrogant and always spouting off about how his companions were holding him back, but secretly enjoying having them around? And no one would ever convince me that Sasuke hadn’t liked having us there, at least after the first few missions. Everyone else would tell you he was a stuck-up prick who would have been happier on his own, but once you got close enough to be able to understand his silences and insults it was clear to see that they meant something more. Or maybe I was the only one who saw it. Ha, and they say I’m the dobe.

“Why did you kill the Uchiha?” I didn’t mean to ask that. I have no clue why I did. It just… came out.

He pauses, then finally answers.

“To test my power.” I consider that.

“But why? There are other things besides power. Friends, and family. And love.” Like Sasuke. “Why didn’t you kill Sasuke?” Another long pause.

“My otouto wasn’t worth the effort.” I consider again. Somehow, that doesn’t seem right. I know about the massacre, it was taught in school. Everyone, from the oldest grandfather, to the newborn children, had been killed, except for one boy.

“That doesn’t make sense. If it was worth the effort to kill helpless babies…”

“If you don’t be quiet, I will cut out your tongue and feed it to you.” I have no doubt that he’s completely serious, so I shut my mouth, though my brain’s still working. It’s come to only one conclusion, and while I might not be as bright as Sasuke or Shika or Neji, it seems to me that it’d be the only conclusion for them, too, if they thought about it. Itachi had spared Sasuke because he loved him.

And wouldn’t that earn me some odd looks, from Sasuke at least. If Itachi loved Sasuke, why had he tortured him with the death of his parents like that, or sent him down the destructive path towards power.

But if the Uchiha clan was anything like the Hyuuga clan, all they really cared about was getting stronger, so it would make sense that Itachi would think that power was all that was important. In his messed up sense of right and wrong, he might actually think he was helping Sasuke. It kind of makes me feel sorry for him now, in the same way I used to feel sorry for Gaara.

Weird.

“You know…” I begin, forgetting about the warning, “I used to be envious of kids like Sasuke and Neji, who seemed to have it all. Talent, and money, and people who loved them, but if that’s all it’s about, power, well, I think I’m glad to be just me.”

“Hn,” Itachi answers, finishing writing and getting up to take the paper somewhere, remembering to lock the door behind him this time. I just roll over, not even really noticing the snake any more, and go to sleep.

******

And there we go. I’d like to say the next one will be out soon, but I’m really not sure. I’ll try, though.