Tears of Crimson | Chapter 03

Tears of Crimson


Chapter 01


-Two and a half years later-

Naruto jumped from branch to branch in the moonlit forest, his footsteps leaving no trace of his passage as he pursued the dark figure meters ahead of him. He kept his breathing level and his pulse steady, trying desperately to acquire speed on the figure. He gained greater purchase on the ruff bark beneath his feet and leapt forwards, tackling the form to the woodland undergrowth.

They struggled for a moment, before Naruto successfully pinned the person’s arms above his head.

Moonlight streaming through the dense forest canopy, illuminated the pale, raven youth’s face.

Naruto glared down at him.

“Sasuke …” he whispered, a bitter and pained edge to his voice.

“Naruto.” the boy replied smoothly, nodding his head as though in casual acknowledgment. “You mind letting me go?”

“Sasuke, come back with me. We need to go back to Konoha.”

Sasuke gave a short, cold, mirthless laugh. “I don’t think so Naruto”

“Please Sasuke, no one is going to hold a grudge against you. Just come home and we can be happy again!”

“No Naruto, I will gain the power I need to defeat my brother, and there is one way I can quite easily do that.” he said, the cold voice holding a viscous threat.

Naruto gasped as the arms he had pinned above Sasuke’s head turned into two great, black snakes and writhed up his arms, binding him tightly. Sasuke smiled as both snakes stared fiercely at him, their ruby eyes glinting maliciously. They barred their fangs, dripping with venom, and hissed, curving their back as they prepared to strike.

Sasuke’s arms jutted forth from where the snakes’ tails parted and he sat up, stretching the new limbs.

He looked back into Naruto’s face, tilting his head and smiling, almost softly as he reached out a hand to graze a whiskered cheek.

“Now I will get my Mangekyou Sharingan, and you will die.”

The snakes reared back further and lunged forwards, sinking their long, poisonous fangs into the exposed flesh of Naruto’s neck.

“Sasuke!” he cried, blood spraying from the large punctures in his jugular.

The last sound he heard was the maniacal chuckling of the one who he once loved, still loved, before the darkness took him.

-

Naruto sprang upwards, his hair scraping the low canvas of the tent as his head whirled around frantically.

He let out a small sigh of relief as he spotted the white-haired Sannin slumbering in a sleeping bag next to him.

He wiped the cold sweat from his brow and tried to lower his pulse. The nightmares were coming every night, the visions of what Sasuke may have become, what he could do. Almost every evening was plagued by these nightmares, almost. On those rare occasions that he got reprieve from the blood curdling images of terror, he would dream of the warm affectionate smile, messy chocolate hair and equally auburn eyes of his childhood friend. He knew now that his feelings for the dog-nin stretched far beyond platonic. Whenever he dreamt of the boy, Kiba always held him close, whispering words of assurance, and making the horrors of his nightmares disappear.

A bubbling feeling, a mixture of anticipation and anxiety, churned in his stomach; they would reach their journey’s end in Konoha soon. They had traveled the various countries surrounding the land of fire, training non-stop all the way. Naruto considered himself quite a bit more skilled than when they had set off; he had obtained an arsenal of new tricks and improvements on old ones. But no matter how greater his capabilities were, he would only truly acknowledge that he was good when Kiba admitted as much.

His belly gave a fluttering sensation of vertigo as memories of he and Kiba flooded his mind. Soon he would see the real thing, finally, after the years of waiting. But he wanted to take things slow with Kiba, if there was going to be any relationship at all. Naruto knew he wanted to be with Kiba, but it had been years since they had last spoken, a whole assortment of things may have happened in that time; he may have found someone else, or maybe he didn’t even have feelings for him anymore. He shuddered at the thought that perhaps he hated him now, just like the rest of the village.

A silent tear rolled down his cheek as the recollections of those cold eyes glaring down at him, filled with loathing and wishes of ill-fortune, invaded his thoughts. But he had a hard time ever imagining Kiba with those eyes; they were always so happy and care-free.

He felt a pang of guilt as he remembered seeing the pain he had inflicted upon Kiba in his eyes when he had refused to let go of Sasuke, and struck him. He saw now how much it must have hurt him emotionally. Thinking back, he couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen Kiba’s clear interest sooner, mistaking it perhaps for pity. The wandering gazes, the lingering hugs, the way his face lit up around him, the husky edge his voice took on when speaking to him.

He sighed as he stepped outside and stretched. The view of the sparkling dew clinging to the blades of grass in the small clearing gave him a sense of peace, a scarcity that he valued dearly. The bright morning sun gave promise of a warm, clear day, and Naruto couldn’t help but wonder who else might be looking at this beautiful summer’s sky.

-

Kiba yawned explosively as he glanced out his bedroom window at the wide expanse of emerald and azure. The window through which he now watched the wildlife pass was that of his own house. On their sixteenth birthday, the eldest Inuzuka males where always given a small house in the Inuzuka compound until they took a mate and became the alpha of the family, at which point, the previous alpha would relinquish ownership of the main house to the new alpha and become his beta. As Kiba’s father had died some time ago, his mother, Tsume, was now the alpha. He could still remember her bright face as she gave him the keys to his new home.

“It is my privilege as the Inuzuka clan leader to present you with the keys to The Bachelors Den.” she said, smiling proudly as she flashed the keys in his direction.

The Bachelors Den was the nickname for the house in which he now resided. The one-story building had all the things he could need; a kitchen, living room, dining room, bathroom, laundry room … But he always went back to the main house for the mere convenience of not cooking or doing laundry.

Other than the change in residence, and the marginal development in skill level, not much had varied since Naruto’s departure. Hinata, for reasons that Kiba thought were not entirely selfless, had tried and failed to make him forget about Naruto and go out with someone else. But Kiba couldn’t do it. The hole in his heart where the energetic blond once dwelled could not be filled by anyone other than Naruto himself.

Kiba sighed again and got out of bed, nearly treading on Akamaru’s tail in the process. That’s another thing that changed; the tiny pup that could ride atop his head was no more, replaced instead by the great bear of a dog before him. Not that Kiba had noticed the change; Akamaru was always with him, and he had not seen the difference everyone else plainly saw.

He showered, dressed, ate a small bowl of cereal, and exited the small house, Akamaru in toe. They followed the well worn path down to the lane out of the Inuzuka district and traveled across the derelict streets of early morning Konoha until they entered the dense forest brush of training ground 7. He glanced wistfully back at the apartment building that once housed his blond crush, searching hopelessly for any recent signs of habitation, but found none.

Akamaru gave a whimpering bark that translated into: “He’ll be back soon, master.”

Kiba turned to the dog and nodded solemnly, continuing his trek into the forest.

Memories played across his mind as he took in the picturesque view of the spot he had had his first kiss. The grassy riverside hill was another thing that remained unchanged, except perhaps the tendrils of the willow tree hung closer to the ground. He sat in its shade and stared at the smoothly flowing water that threw rainbow facets over his chest and face. Akamaru sat down next to him and looked out over the river.

They always did this; whenever they didn’t have a mission or an early morning training session, they would come here at sunup and pass the time in a comfortable silence. Hours would pass by as they sat in this meditative state. Kiba would think of missions, the latest issue in their county’s affairs … and of course Naruto.

If he was to be honest with himself, he would have to say he was completely obsessed. Every day, from the time he woke to the time he laid his head to rest, 90% of his thought processes was wasted on the fox-boy … Well … not wasted. Anything concerning the object of his affections could not be considered wasted in his eyes.

Even now as he stared at the shimmering water and stroked the sleeping Akamaru beside him, he could almost see his wavering reflection in the water, almost smell his intoxicating aroma, almost make out the soft rising and falling of his chest as he breathed calmly …

“Hey, Dog-breath!”

… could almost hear the childhood pet name he had given him …

“I said hey, Dog-breath!” came the voice, louder this time.

Kiba spun around and his eyes locked with those he had been dying to see since the day they last parted.

A moment passed as Kiba stared, unbelievingly into the deep sapphire spheres and the wind blew past them, ruffling their hair and clothing.

“Naruto!” cried Kiba, sprinting to his feet and embracing the boy fiercely.

The blond reeled back slightly from the force of the hug before smiling and returning the embrace.

Naruto felt a happy bubbling in his stomach as he realized that nothing had changed between them, and their embrace lingered until Akamaru gave a disgruntled bark.

“Holy crap! Akamaru!?” said Naruto, turning to the dog.

Akamaru gave a short bark and bounded forward. He got up on his hind paws, placing his front feet on Naruto’s chest as he licked his cheek affectionately.

Naruto laughed and patted the dog on the head. “Wow you’ve grown!”

“So have you.” said Kiba, letting his eyes roam over Naruto’s new body.

Steel bands of thick muscle wound their way up the boy’s frame now, much like his own body, and, despite the baggy clothing, he could tell there wasn’t an inch of anything other than muscle.

“You’re as tall as I am now.” said Kiba, comparing their heights.

Once Naruto had dislodged the massive dog from his chest, he too looked over the new Kiba. “Yeah, I might even be a little taller.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” he said, laughing.

Naruto gave Kiba a crooked grin. Kiba felt his heart skip a beat as he took in the blonds striking face, filled with unconcealed joy.

It was at that point that Naruto’s stomach gave a loud growl.

“Hungry?” asked Kiba, though no real answer was needed.

Naruto scratched the back of his head bashfully. “Hehe, I guess a little …”

“Let’s go grab a bite to eat.” suggested Kiba.

Kiba smiled impishly as a thought occurred to him, walking closer to Naruto. The blond froze as Kiba put his mouth to Naruto’s ear.

“It can be our first date.” he said, his voice now low and husky.

A shiver of pleasure ran up Naruto’s spine as the warm breath swept over his ear.

He blushed a deep shade of scarlet as the words formed a cotent notion in his head.

“D-date!?” he stuttered.

Kiba’s smirk broadened as he heard the stammering in the blonds tone.

Turning, he walked in the direction of the village. “C’mon, Naruto! Don’t keep your date waiting!”

Naruto glared at the back of his head, irritated by the apparent swavy smoothness with which he had made their lunch arrangements.

“You’re paying, Dog-breath!” yelled Naruto, running to catch up with the dog-nin.

Kiba let out a barking laugh and continued towards the village.

Whatever the meal would cost, it would be a small price to pay for Naruto’s company.

____
A/N: Sorry this took so long to post, my Beta took a while with it. Hope you enjoyed it! Comments are appreciated!