Black as Blood

XVIII

Naruto watched Sasuke leap up into the air, body twisting in the air, a full spiral before the brunette began to fall toward the earth again, kunai flashing toward what would be their dinner tonight. The rabbit didn’t have a chance. Naruto was on his way to collect the poor creature before Sasuke touched down, the brunette slipping up to his side and crouching down, watching the blonde clean their dinner. They camped where the rabbit fell, a low fire cooking the meat as Naruto and Sasuke practiced, never far from the fire just in case. Naruto drew Sasuke close to him as dusk fell and the meat was ready, Naruto leaning up against the trunk of a tree with Sasuke between his legs, back to chest, both chewing on the cooked strips of meat as they whispered to one another. Naruto had gotten better at summoning Kyuubi, the two in near perfect unison so now when Naruto borrowed Kyuubi’s strength, his physical change was more controlled and he kept his sanity as he changed. Sasuke in turn opened up more to him, beyond what Naruto already knew, the brunette leaning back against his lover as they let the fire die around them.

Naruto shifted against Sasuke, tilting the brunette’s head back to steal a kiss, another, and another, until Sasuke had twisted in Naruto’s hold, their bodies pressed flush against another, their mouths hot as they came together again and again, Naruto shifting to get Sasuke into his lap, the two moving together in a grind, Sasuke’s head going back as Naruto bit at his throat, marking the pale column as his own. Naruto purred in response to Sasuke’s quiet moan, the blonde’s hands moving to remove Sasuke’s flak jacket, the material slipping from Sasuke’s shoulders and tossed aside, Naruto’s hands moving beneath the black undershirt and the mesh shirt beneath, fingernails scratching at hidden skin, fingertips finding Sasuke’s nipples and teasing them into raising, Sasuke arching back with a soft moan.

Naruto thought it was the most erotic thing he’d ever seen. His hands slid from Sasuke’s chest as the brunette struggled with his own flak jacket, the material merely opened enough for Sasuke to get at the flesh beneath, mouth hot and wet on Naruto’s skin, breaking blood vessels in an effort to mark the blonde.

Naruto pulled Sasuke closer, his hips arching up into his lover’s, his hands moving to Sasuke’s pants, working them open and down enough to get one leg off, baring Sasuke to him. Naruto purred, an echo of Kyuubi’s, and Sasuke blushed, unable to keep from doing so as Naruto’s hand wrapped around his erection, leisurely stroking as Sasuke writhed on top of him, gasping softly.

“You’re beautiful, you know,” Naruto whispered as he shifted, allowing Sasuke to open his pants, gripping his own need, the two stroking each other in the growing dark, their only light the fire and the growing moonlight. It was almost romantic.

Sasuke snorted quietly, continuing to stroke Naruto’s need until the blonde was growling. Naruto shifted and let Sasuke fall beneath him, fighting to get the brunette completely naked beneath him, Naruto struggling to get his lower half unclothed as his fingers slid from Sasuke’s penis down between his legs to the tight pucker Naruto had begun to violate on a regular basis, his fingers pressing past the tight muscle to delve deep within his lover, scissoring those digits to loosen Sasuke for him. Sasuke only arched and clutched to his shoulders, legs spreading wide for his lover to have a better reach as they moved. Naruto bit into Sasuke’s shoulder, purring as he pulled his fingers from Sasuke’s passage, the blonde pressing his erection against that loosened muscle and pushing in.

Sasuke let out a soft moan as he wrapped his legs around Naruto’s waist, drawing the blonde in deeper and arching up to start the rhythm, their lovemaking slow and sensual for the first few moments of movement, Naruto tasting Sasuke’s skin as Sasuke made wonderful sounds for him, the two moving together in perfect harmony. Then Naruto rolled them, his hands on Sasuke’s hips as he brought the brunette down on his length harder and harder, Sasuke riding him and panting, growing ever tighter around Naruto as the blond thrust up as hard as he could into his beloved.

Finally, Sasuke’s body tensed above Naruto, the brunette leaning forward with a soft cry, his body shivering with orgasm as pearlescent seed became ribbons on Naruto’s collar. Naruto wasn’t too far behind the brunette, the blonde thrusting up into his lover one last time before filling the elder with his own passion, relaxing beneath Sasuke in the afterglow.

Eventually, about the time the fire had become naught but glowing embers in the dark, Sasuke shifted to let Naruto slide out of him, moving to dress yet again and find the warmth of Naruto’s arms, the blonde leaning against the tree trunk yet again, sated and ready to sleep. Sasuke nuzzled his shoulder and curled against him, sighing softly.

“I love you, Naruto,” Sasuke whispered, giving a wide yawn as Naruto wrapped his arms around him, the blonde giving a kiss to the brunette’s cheek.

“Love you, too.” Naruto replied. “Go to sleep.”

Sasuke gave a soft snort and snuggled closer to Naruto, finally closing his eyes and allowing himself to relax, Naruto’s hold and warmth comforting him enough to lower his guard and fall into a deep sleep. Naruto wasn’t too far behind him in that aspect, though he kept on his guard, sleeping lightly just in case. He didn’t have a reason to worry though, as everything was over and done with, and they were on their way home. After all, who attacked on a home voyage?

Naruto would kick himself later, waking to find a kunai penetrating Sasuke’s back, the brunette using his own body as a shield to protect Naruto’s. The elder could only cough, blood flecking onto Naruto’s chest as the brunette slumped. Hissing, Naruto eased Sasuke off him and watched as the brunette twisted to get the weapon out of him, his flak jacket shrugged on as the wound was left to bleed. Sasuke gave the blonde a pointed stare.

“I’ll let you tend to it after, just move!”

The two bounded away, separating and coming back together, moving as fast as they could. They were being hunted. Neither of them liked that feeling. Sasuke paused on a branch, crouching there as Naruto came to a stand still beside him, their eyes gazing into the dark. Naruto could feel a flux in chakra and instinctively knew Sasuke had activated the Sharingan, that lone orb gazing for signs of enemies. Naruto turned his attention to the dark, watching Sasuke’s back as much as Sasuke was watching his. Sasuke tapped his shoulder after a moment and he and Naruto leapt from the branch, moving quickly to keep their pursuit at bay.

They skidded into a clearing, Sasuke crouching down, pulling Naruto down with him as kunai flashed overhead, shearing the air where the blonde’s head once was. They moved along on their hands and knees, taking cover amidst roots of an old tree, both crouching down to keep from being seen. Naruto sat with his back against the root and craned his neck to peer behind them, lips curling in a soft snarl as he settled back down against Sasuke. The brunette wasn’t paying attention to Naruto’s movements, rather, he was watching the shadows around them, seeing things Naruto couldn’t. The brunette shifted and rolled over the root they were hiding against, Naruto following soon after, the pair peeking over the top, watching the dawn rays of the sun illuminate the branches of the forest, illuminating the clearing the pair waited in.

Sasuke shifted, his hand falling on Naruto’s shoulder, the pair slowly moving from their hiding place into the clearing, Naruto just in front of Sasuke as though he were a shield, Sasuke at his back and moving in synch with the blonde, soon both standing side by side. Sasuke looked from Naruto then to the shadows around them, Naruto turning his attention to Sasuke only briefly before he scented it, that horrible decaying smell. He let out a barking laugh then, hands moving to his hips as Sasuke’s head tilted, eyes widening in almost surprise.

“Don’t you know when to die, Kabuto?” Naruto asked nastily, Sasuke’s eyes narrowing when he spotted the depraved man stalking toward them, a knife gleaming in his fist. His skin was yellow, as though he’d been afflicted with jaundice, his throat bloodied where Orochimaru’s nails had pierced the skin, pearlescent venom still staining the pale stretch. The silver-haired man’s movements were jerky, uncoordinated and dried spit covered the corners of his mouth.

“Where are they?” Kabuto rasped out, approaching the two ninja who dared not move, whether for their own safety or the fact both were incredibly amused at the former Oto ninja’s persistence.

Sasuke sidestepped a swipe from Kabuto’s knife, distancing himself from the silver-haired man and Naruto. “I don’t know. And even if I did know, I wouldn’t tell you.”

Kabuto let out a strangled yell as he made a swipe at Sasuke again, missing Sasuke’s throat by five sickeningly wide inches. Sasuke managed to dance back, no longer underestimating the elder man.

“Orochimaru-sama is meant to be with me!” Kabuto raved, swinging the knife back and forth at Naruto and Sasuke, moving faster than either of the Konoha ninja had given him credit for, the two separating to keep from being one target.

“Orochimaru-sama knows an idiot when he sees one.” Sasuke said, growing tired of the silver-haired man’s rant. He glanced toward Naruto, the blonde shifting as Kabuto gave a strangled yell, the knife chucked straight at Sasuke’s head. The brunette blocked the blade with his hand, earning a cut but otherwise keeping his guard intact. Naruto winced, listening to the grating noises Kabuto was making, wondering how anyone’s throat could make a sound like that. Kabuto was going absolutely mad, words escaping his mouth without any knowledge of what was being said. Naruto stepped up beside Sasuke, watching his lover’s hand bleed as that wolf’s eye and the Sharingan stared at Kabuto.

It wasn’t pity that had Sasuke channeling chakra into his palm, his hand beginning to glow with the beginning of the Chidori Nagashi.

Naruto looked at the brunette as the electricity of the jutsu began to climb up Sasuke’s arm, slowly wrapping around his shoulder. Sasuke’s eyes slid over to Naruto, the blonde slowly nodding in a glimmer of understanding. Naruto shifted away from Sasuke’s body, his hand raising above his head, chakra collecting in his palm, wind combining with the energy, spinning roughly on his palm as the edges of the sphere began to spread, forming a shuriken. As soon as that was complete, Sasuke bolted forward without warning, Naruto only a split second behind him, their free hands clasping as they reached Kabuto, the Chidori Nagashi and the Fuuton: Rasenshuriken flashing forward at the same time, the electricity and wind combining against Kabuto’s chest with more force than Kyuubi’s own fury that nearly destroyed Konoha all those years ago.

Kabuto’s back exploded outward, bone and flesh and blood splattering against the grass and trees as the energy dissipated through the silver-haired man’s body. The corpse flew from the clearing into the forest, hitting the thick trunk of a tree and snapping what was left before it fell like a rag doll to the earth below. The pair stood, hands clasped tight, knuckles white, before Sasuke turned to Naruto, leaning heavily against the blonde, head tucked beneath Naruto’s chin.

“Can we go home now, Usuratonkatchi?”

Naruto finally laughed. “Yeah. Let’s go home, Sasuke-teme.”