The Sound of Dreams

AN: /sigh... I should have been finishing up ch 31 this morning but I was reading yaoi instead. Ah, well..I will try to finish today!

I'm sorry to say that Bastard!Sasuke rears his ugly head in this chapter, but so does Jealous!Sasuke, so they kinda even each other out!

Welcome to my new readers! I changed up the summary hoping that it wasn't as bland as the last one. Hard to make one up without giving away all the surprises in the story! Thanks for reading and thanks for your reviews! I hope having to log in doesn't deter anyone!! I wouldn't know what to do without your feedback!!

Chapter 22


The two young men soaked quietly in the hot water. There was enough room for them both in the large tub as long as they didn't mind their legs entangled together. At that point they were both drowsy enough that they didn't care.

Sasuke cracked an eye open as he felt the pleasurable pressure of a foot against his groin. He looked over at his companion to see languidly closed eyes that would have denoted innocence had it not been for the mischievous grin stretching those wonderfully full lips. "Knock it off, dobe. Play time is over."

Those cute lips turned down into a pout. "You're no fun." The foot stroked gently along his twitching length, trying to tempt him.

He reached down and grabbed the foot, stopping its motions from stirring him up further. "We aren't here to have fun. We're here to resupply so we can go find our training spot." He scowled slightly and decided to emphasize a point to the other before things got further out of hand. "You're not here to be my boyfriend, nor my playmate, nor my fuck buddy nor anything else you might have delusions of in your mind. You're here to help me train so that I can hunt him down and obtain vengeance for my clan. I don't need you for anything else."

Naruto felt a shaft of pain go through his chest not too unlike the one he had felt at The Valley of the End. Instead of surrendering himself to it, however, he let anger try to burn it away. He abruptly stood letting the water sluice off his body as he reached for a towel. "Hmm, we must be in "stoic avenger" mode I see. Mr.-I-don't-need-anyone-but-myself-because-I-am-so-fucking-pathetic-that-contact-wth-another-human-being-makes-me-weak." He stepped out of the tub and began drying himself vigorously. "Well, here is something for you to chew on, Sasuke. Have you ever stopped to wonder why that the two that you idolized so much because of their power, hatred and self-sufficiency, the two that encouraged you to sever all of your ties and isolate yourself, both had partners that they relied on heavily and trusted with their lives?"

Ignoring the intense but unreadable look he received, Naruto stormed out of the bathroom, scooping up the dirty laundry on the way through the door.

*******************
Naruto sat on the small bench in front of the short row of washers, watching the machine vibrate as it spun out the water. Had he been in his normal male form, he would probably be sitting on the washer, letting it shake him up while he tried to sing. Unfortunately, he had to sit lady-like to protect his disguise. Naturally he emulated Hinata in his attempt since none of the other kunoichi he knew had a gentler aspect to their femininity. At least not when they were around him. He had to teach Sasuke his jutsu so that the bastard could be the girl next time. Kami-sama knew he was prissy enough to be one.

Just once he wished the bastard didn’t have to make things so damn difficult and complicated. He would love to be able to walk up to him and touch the raven-haired boy without fear of seeing his dark graphite-colored eyes shut him out and draw away from him. He was afraid of taking the chance of losing him. It would be the one blow from which he could never just stand back up.

The washer buzzed and he stood up with a sigh. Grabbing the clothes, he tossed them in a dryer almost wishing he had washed his orange pants with Sasuke's white shirts just to spite him.

'Maybe I was too pushy, too touchy.' He thought as he sat back down and watched the clothes tumble in circles.

About an hour later, Naruto still hadn't resolved how to handle his friend's hot/cold attitude. The only thing he knew to do was to keep his distance until he was wanted and immediately withdraw again. He grimaced at the thought. What he really needed to do was just be there for his friend, support him and try to help him put the pieces of his soul back together. That and kick his ass a few times a day until he dislodged the stick that was currently imbedded in it.

He finished folding the clothes and took everything back to their room. He unlocked the door and stepped inside, immediately spotting the sleeping form under the blankets on one bed. Closing and securing the door, he gently laid the clean clothes down on the dresser. His eyes shifted longingly over to the occupied bed as he released his jutsu. He was bone tired what with their travels, the great sex and the hot bath. His stomach grumbled but he ignored it as he shucked the hotel robe and slid into the empty bed.

***************************
Red. Everything around him was tinged in the color from the crimson aura that surrounded him to the blood that bathed him. The ground under his feet was red clay as were the tall statues flanking the huge thundering fall that flowed with ensanguined water. Red were the eyes that watched him.

The twitching of a hand-shaped wing was the only warning before the creature in front of him attacked. The two clashed together not with Chidori and Rasengan this time, but with fangs and claws. Talons shredded skin and canines bit into flesh. They were forcibly parted as a well-placed kick to his stomach threw him several meters. Again they charged and grappled. Naruto was able to land a hard uppercut and would have followed through with a kick to the stomach had not the other flapped his wings hard and lifted into the air.

"Why?" Naruto demanded to know. "Why did you betray the village? Why did you betray our friendship?"

The fury on the dark-skinned face was plainly evident. "No, Naruto! It wasn't me this time, it was you! You betrayed the village! You let the demon loose! You killed the Hokage, our teachers, our friends. You destroyed the village and killed everyone! You," his voice hitched and anguish joined the rage in his wildly spinning eyes. "You killed my wife and unborn child. The future of my clan." His voice dropped into a harsh whisper. "You took everything from me." Lightning gathered in his left hand, the chirping birds almost drowning out his next words. "I will not leave you alive this time. This time you will die here."

Naruto watched as the wings thrust powerfully, propelling Sasuke towards him. He stood there and made no move to defend himself. "I killed them all," he whispered, tears welling up and sizzling against the heat of his aura. He shook his head in denial. "No. Oh please, no."

His vision was quickly eclipsed by the brilliant ball of lightning coming at his chest.

"Naruto!"

**************************
Sasuke watched as the whimpering boy sat bolt upright at the sound of his name. A tanned, calloused hand immediately went to his chest protectively. Their eyes met and Naruto jerked himself away from him, gaze filling with both fear and sorrow. Sasuke felt his stomach twist in pain from that look, but believed it was no better than he should expect. He knew better than to believe he could hurt his friend that badly and have it be forgiven and forgotten.

"It was a dream," Naruto breathed heavily but with apparent relief. "The Valley of the End. It was a dream." His pale eyebrows rose slightly in capitulation. "Okay, maybe a nightmare."

"Yes, a nightmare," Sasuke agreed quietly, turning away from the bed.

"You saw it?" he asked anxiously, still befuddled with sleep.

Sasuke slowly turned back to him, a little confused. "Dobe...Naruto, I was there..."

"Some trip, huh?" the blonde mumbled, looking down at the blankets. "The bloody waterfall...the red stained rocks..." He shuddered in memory.

Sasuke was even more confused. "Naruto, what are you talking about? If anything, it was all grey, not red."

Naruto shook his head. "Not the first time, this time. In the dream." His hand went over to his right shoulder and started to absently rub his unmarked skin.

Sasuke repressed a wild urge to yank the other's hand away from the spot. It was too painful of a reminder both of what he had done and that Naruto didn't fully trust him, yet. If he ever would again. "What did you dream?" he asked, trying to take his eyes off of the repetitively stroking fingers.

"We were there again, fighting. I had killed everyone and destroyed the village. You were taking revenge for them and for your wife and child." Naruto's voice had dropped to a wretched whisper.

"Hn. Well that goes to prove that it was just a nightmare. I don't have a wife, nor do I plan on getting one anytime in the near future." The idea of having a wife reminded him of Nara's favorite saying. 'Troublesome, indeed.'

"Sasuke! This isn't a joke! It could really happen!" After his outburst, he looked away from his friend's dark eyes once more. "Look what happened at the lair."

Sasuke sighed. This is what he hadn't missed when living with a bunch of psychopathic killers. Guilt and remorse. "Naruto..." He stopped to try to find the words to say what he really meant to say. "It wasn't totally your responsibility at the lair. It was the Kyuubi..."

"I was aware, Sasuke. At some level, I was aware. I was pissed because I had been locked in my mind for months, I was pissed because the damn demon betrayed me and I was pissed because they had kept you away from me for so long. I didn't try to fight the urges as strongly as I would have and I let it have its way." At this point he was looking Sasuke directly in the eyes, daring him to argue the point. "It was my responsibility."

Sasuke slowly let a smirk curl his lips. "And you know what, dobe? Everything that you just said should tell you why you would never let that happen at the village. Do you know that there wasn't one servant among the dead at the lair? There were no innocents, only other shinobi. You couldn't bring yourself to hurt innocents there and you won't hurt innocents later. Don't feel sorry for men who willingly allied themselves with the snake."

"You mean people like you?" Naruto ignored the immediate scowl. "People who didn't do it because they were evil, but because they were just stupid?"

Sasuke found himself sighing again. "We are shinobi, Naruto. Even when we make dumb moves, we are still shinobi and we are responsible for our own actions even when they lead to our deaths. So no, you shouldn't feel sorry for us."

Naruto slowly smiled a ghost of a mischievous smile. "At least you have finally admitted it was a dumb move."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Shut up and come eat, dobe."

Trying to push his nightmare aside for the moment, Naruto hopped out of the bed with forced enthusiasm. "Fooooood!" He sniffed the air happily.

Sasuke slowly let his eyes trail down all of that wonderfully exposed tan skin. "You might want to at least put on some pants or something."

Naruto gave him a genuine leering smile. "But why, Sasuke?"

Lifting his chin when he felt the tell-tale heat starting in his cheeks, Sasuke dared to look pointedly down at Naruto's waist. "Because I don't think you will want to spill hot ramen broth on your pride and joy."

"Ramen!!!" The blonde practically bounced (along with certain interesting parts of his anatomy) over to the table where Sasuke had set down the bags of take out.

"Clothes or no ramen," Sasuke growled. He wouldn't be able to eat with that kind of distraction at the table. Naruto gave him a cute pout before going to the pile of folded clothes on the dresser. He snagged a pair of boxers and started slipping into them. "Hey! Those are mi....never mind." The blonde was already sitting at the low table, pawing through the sacks. He made a mental note to buy some more boxers tomorrow while he was getting supplies. Eying how snug his fit across Naruto's ass, he made a mental addendum to that note to keep buying them in his own size.

Realizing that if he didn't get over to the table soon that he wouldn't be eating anyway, Sasuke quickly sat down and went about rescuing something edible from the Gullet of Doom across the table.

Naruto paused in shoveling food onto the sturdy paper plate to allow his friend to serve himself. Sasuke had gotten the usual range of veggies and healthy food that he was always nagging at Naruto to eat as well as two bowls of miso pork ramen. "Thanks for the ramen, teme."

"Hn, whatever, dobe. Just make sure your stomach doesn't get upset like last time you ate that shit. Otherwise you will be sleeping in the other bed."

Naruto paused and looked up at his friend in surprise. Sasuke, for his part, totally ignored any awkwardness and finished dipping out his portion of the meal. The blonde felt a grin stretch across his face as he recognized the apology for what it was. This was Sasuke's way for making amends for being a dick earlier. So naturally, he had to show his appreciation and acceptance of the apology. "Whatever, teme. You know you would freeze your cold ass off if I wasn't there to keep it warm."

And with that, everything was normal between them again.

****************************
"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes."

"Dammit, teme! I will not stay locked up in the room all day! I had to put up with that shit while you had the run of any hideout we happened to be in. I'm going outside whether you like it or not. Your only choice is whether I go with you or on my own!" He crossed his arms over his chest and gave the raven-haired nin his best glare.

Sasuke raised his eyebrow at the pathetic attempt to look intimidating. He then sighed, knowing that he was defeated. Naruto had his "I'm being stubborn and nothing you can say will change my mind" attitude going on which meant that even if Sasuke left him behind, he would leave at the first opportunity. Sasuke really didn't want to picture what would happen if Naruto was out loose on his own. It wasn't as if his friend was a walking disaster...well, most of the time. It wasn't as if he couldn't take care of himself... most of the time. It was just that he had this odd tendency to cause trouble and mayhem wherever he went... most of the time.

"Fine, but you don't leave my side," he finally relented.

"Why, Sasuke, I didn't know you-"

"I don't, so shut up."

"Bastard."

"Moron."

"Jerk."

"Idiot."

"Asshole."

"Woman."

"WHAT?"

"If you are going with me, you have to change into a woman." He gave a sinister smirk. "My sister if I remember correctly. My younger sister. Younger sisters always do what their big brothers say."

Naruto gave a snort of amusement. "You don't know too many girls, do you?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Doesn't change the fact that if you don't do what I say I am going to lock you in this room. Now change and let's go."

**********************
Sai carefully scanned the crowd of the marketplace, keeping his eyes open for anything that stood out. His team was currently in a large town near the border of Sound, trying to pick up some gossip while supposedly shopping for food. They hadn't been on the mission too long, but they had yet to find anything useful. They were going to head out in the morning for Lightning Country, ostensibly looking for Uchiha Sasuke since everyone knew by now that he had defected from Konoha. While the Raikage reported that the missing-nin had escaped custody, he didn't give any details as to how.

His eyes flicked to his companions, watching them interact together seemingly without effort. He had to envy them that. He was still trying to find the best ways to approach people socially and so far he hadn't succeeded very well. For instance, the bugman Shino had seemed calm at the time when Sai had asked him if he kept himself covered because he was ugly. Sai didn't mean to offend him really, he was just curious. After the expressionless stare that lasted a full minute, Sai thought that he had gotten over it. However, in the days that followed he found that insects seemed to be active during winter in this part of Fire Country. And that those insect bit. A lot.

His second mistake had been the honest bit of advice that he had tried to give the perpetually blushing Hyuuga. He didn't see anything wrong with telling her that if she showed off a bit more cleavage and ditched the coat that she would probably get laid faster and thus lose some of her awkward shyness. He hadn't honestly thought the girl would pass out. He also had a suspicion that his chewed up sandals were somehow directly related to the incident.

Lastly, knowing how men joked around with one another competitively, especially when it involved their masculinity, Sai jokingly told Kiba that since he was as loud and boastful as Naruto had been then he must have been overcompensating as well for his small penis. That, of course had been bad enough. He seemed to take it a lot harder than Naruto did. Sai suspected he must be in denial. Sai supposed in hindsight that he really shouldn't have then suggested that Kiba should be jealous of his own nin-dog which was undoubtedly hung better than his master. Afterwards, he was sure never to set his pack down anywhere near the dog since the beast suddenly decided it was part of his territory and marked it every chance he got.

His eyes suddenly swept back over the crowd to a man standing by a fresh fruit vendor. The hood of his black coat was pulled up partially concealing his features and he wore anonymous dark pants. The way he moved however wasn't typical for a standard civilian. This person had been trained how to fight and moved with that knowledge, smooth and gracefully.

His gaze was pulled to the man's companion as said person scratched the back of their head, pushing their own hood off in the process. The hair was the wrong color, the body was the wrong gender, but the moves were the same. Sai had spent quite some time studying Naruto while he had been assigned to Team 7 with the blonde shinobi. There had been something about him that was so different from the other ninja that Sai had been exposed to during his short lifetime. He knew the younger man's body language, knew how his hands moved while he talked, how he bounced when he was either excited or wheedling. But there was something extra added to the mix now. Something that screamed protective in a possessive sort of way. It was evident in how he never strayed far from the other man's side, how he watched when the other wasn't looking and how he scanned the crowd almost unobtrusively, looking for threats.

Which of course is how their eyes met across the square.

It was the last piece of information that Sai needed to be sure who he was looking at. No one else could have those expressive eyes, even if they were the wrong color. Sai gave a small smile of greeting.

A finely arched black eyebrow quirked slightly, then the figure nodded in return.

Sai gave a stretch of his neck, dipping down in the direction he wanted to meet him.

The pale face scowled slightly, wondering if it was a set up.

Sai deliberately lifted a mocking eyebrow and slid his gaze to his companions as if to say "I could always tell them you're here" and back.

He saw the other's lips twist slightly and could almost imagine the 'humpf' of breath leaving the body. The eyes rolled in resigned agreement. The figure turned to the other dark-haired, pale-faced person and murmured something. Sai caught the word "restroom" mouthed. The other nodded and his quarry walked calmly toward the direction he had indicated.

Sai glanced at his companions, two of which were still arguing the benefits versus the disadvantages of the longevity of raw meat as trail rations. Shino, quiet as always, merely watched the two. "Gotta take a leak," he informed them and anyone else who happened to be listening. He slipped away without waiting for a reply and made his way to whom he was sure was Naruto.

Giving a last look around, Sai stepped into the mouth of the alley and shot a grin at the girl waiting for him. "Damn, I knew you didn't have a penis worth talking about but I didn't think you would go all the way to being a girl."

The girl gave a low growl. "Shut the fuck up, Sai, and tell me what you want."

Sai gave a laugh. "You do realize that you're contradicting yourself?"

"Whatever, man. Are you here to drag me back or something?"

Sai stepped closer to the girl, making the conversation appear more intimate than it was. Naruto glanced up at him in surprise then seemed to realize what he was doing and relaxed again. "That was one of my orders. Luckily however, that was the one with conditions attached to it that I can manipulate. So, let's say you trade some information for your continued freedom?"

Naruto eyed him warily for a moment. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

"Who's on top or do you fuck him while you're a girl?" he asked curiously.

"Sai!" He cuffed the ninja upside the head with a small hand.

Sai grinned, pulling a reluctant smile from his detainee. "Okay, seriously, tell me where you've been for the last few months and the location of any other of the bases."

Naruto hesitated a moment and then shrugged, realizing that telling the other ninja wasn't going to hurt him or Sasuke somehow. He began by telling him of the location of a lair that Sai knew had been the location of a massacre, then the location of a base in Lightning Country that had been apparently conducting human experiments, and then of a small base in Grass Country that Sasuke had said was a central point in Sound's spy network.

Sai nodded through the quick explanations, knowing that they couldn't spend too much time away from their companions. He glanced up to see the Uchiha watching him from across the square warily, waiting for him to make an aggressive move towards Naruto. Sai flashed him a cheerful smile, watching with some amusement as the other narrow his eyes in irritation. "I take it you are with him voluntarily?" He knew the answer, but had to ask so that he could report it with a clear conscience.

"Yeah, I promised I would help him with his brother," Naruto said quietly.

Sai leaned in and nuzzled the dark locks around the feminine ears. He could see Uchiha stiffen from here before starting to stride their direction. "Last question. Where's the snake?" He felt the body tense beneath his where he had pressed them to the wall during their conversation. "Quickly, Naruto, before your boyfriend finishes pulling out his sword."

Naruto whipped his head to the other side and saw Sasuke not far from them, his hand behind his back and beneath his coat. His red eyes were fixated on Sai like a predator's and his aura started to slip his tight control. "He's still in here with me or rather in with the fox, behind the seal," he said hurriedly.

Sai nodded. "I'll find you later." With that he leapt to the rooftop and vanished in a black blur.

With the disappearance of his intended prey, Sasuke turned his burning red gaze to Naruto. "We're leaving. Now."

TBC