Constellations (complete)

In the commotion of trying to clear the house of a stunned council and a particularly discordant group of Hunters, Neji lost track of Naruto.

After checking Sasuke’s chakra levels to make sure they were recovering and that he would be waking soon, Neji went in search of his other lover. Naruto was sitting cross legged under a tree, his whole body shaking with sobs.

“Naruto…” Neji rushed up and wrapped his arms around the broad shoulders.

“I don’t want to die,” Naruto sobbed, clutching at Neji’s shoulders. Tears filled Neji’s eyes and he squeezed Naruto tight.

“I want to see my babies grow up. I want to see our girls with babies of their own.” He shuddered and pressed his wet face into Neji’s neck.

“I want to watch you and Sasuke get old. I want to watch you playing with grandchildren, teaching them the secrets of Hyuuga and Uchiha.”

“Naruto…” Neji whispered, soothing damp blond hair back from Naruto’s cheeks.

“I don’t want to hurt this family. Sasuke…” Naruto shook with shuddering sobs. “Sasuke is going to be so hurt.”

Neji took several deep breaths and forcibly shoved everything, including Naruto’s voice into the box in his mind. With one final long exhale, he stood.

“Naruto.” He held his hand out. Naruto just stared at the hand blindly for many moments.

“Come,” Neji said several times until Naruto, sniffling, took the hand and stood.

Neji led them along a well worn path to the empty building closest to the house. After they were inside, Naruto slumped into a corner and dropped this head on his upturned knees, unable to empty his mind of the desolation lurking there.

Neji let him sit in silence as he moved around the room. Finally Naruto looked up at the scraping and light banging sounds Neji was making. Naruto watched for a while only half aware as Neji righted chairs and brought order to the chaos in the room.

Finally Naruto asked, “What are you doing?”

“A couple of months ago, I discovered that the boys have been using this building as a…headquarters of sorts.” He smiled and brought over an armload of makeshift weapons fashioned from sticks and discarded household items.

Naruto swiped at the wetness on his face and smiled in return, the antics of his children never failing to soothe his soul. As he studied the crudely constructed toys, Neji walked over to a tall cabinet and reached for something on top. He returned to Naruto with a book.

“I had thought one day I’d put this on that wall over there.” He opened the book to a dog-eared page and turned it to Naruto.

“It’s called a castle. And they are called knights,” he said pointing to sword carrying men wrapped in metal. “I don’t want to discourage the use of imagination, but thought this might actually spark some more.”

Naruto rubbed his fingers over the picture and grinned. “Dumb outfits. How the hell do you climb a tree in that getup?”

Neji pressed a brush into Naruto’s hand.

“What do you think? That wall?”

Naruto studied the page, then the wall, then the page again. He nodded and stood. Half an hour later he had a rough placement of the castle, three knights and one horse, along with some trees and a handful of bushes.

Naruto had been lost in brush strokes and images of children fighting imaginary battles, when he heard the door open.

Sasuke…It all crashed back around him and the brush fell from his fingers. Terrified, his breath wedged in his chest as he turned toward the door. Neji moved to his side and gripped his hand.

Was Sasuke going to bail on him again? While some part of Naruto actually thought that might be best, another part knew that his heart would shrivel and die. He made himself look into Sasuke’s face, search his eyes for the pronouncement.

“Naruto.” Sasuke walked over and pulled Naruto into his arms. Naruto’s knees almost gave out as relief swept through him. He clung to Sasuke’s shoulders, wrapped in the shelter of the arms of his family.

“I’ll never leave you alone again, I promise. I’m sorry. Don’t be afraid. I’ve got you, we’ve got you.”

+++

“What do I do?” Sasuke asked. Without interruption, he’d gone right back and started searching for another base. After six days of searching interspersed with catnaps, Sasuke announced to the crowd in his garden that he’d found another base.

The air was thick as everyone considered what happened last time.

“Shikamaru, what do you think?” Naruto asked.

Shikamaru paced for a moment. “You are managing the seal for now?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s send a team. Rather than just blow it up, let’s have a look.”

Everyone digested this and watched Naruto. Finally Naruto nodded.

“Agreed.” He donned his Hokage persona and looked at Shikamaru. “I know it’s not your job as councilor, and I’ll support you completely if you decline, but I’d like you to lead the team. I want you in charge of data gathering. I want you to make the call on what course of action is taken once the team arrives. If you agree, take teams three, six and twelve.”

Shikamaru nodded. “Of course.”

“I…” Sasuke started.

“I need you here.” Naruto cut off Sasuke’s request to go.

Sasuke looked ready to debate for only one second, then deflated and dropped his head. Then he lifted it. “I could leave clones.”

Naruto was torn. He understood Sasuke’s burning desire to act, to destroy the threat to his family. But he also felt the weight of his numbered days and didn’t want to be separated for even a day, much less the weeks this mission could take.

Then he decided that this wasn’t about him and his needs. The needs of those left behind were the priority. If this went badly, he wanted to leave no regrets, no what-ifs or if-onlys.

Finally he nodded. “I’ll leave it up to you and Shikamaru.”

Sasuke looked at Shikamaru, who shrugged. “Your skills are always welcome.”

“Then it’s settled, I’m going.” He turned to the house, but Naruto interrupted.

“Tonight.” He sighed. “You can leave tonight. Rest today.”

Sasuke looked at Naruto and understood. This mission could bring anything and Naruto wanted a few hours together in case of the worst. Of course, he would never let the worst happen, and he would spend the day reassuring Naruto that all would be well.

When Shikamaru said, “Be at the gate at dusk,” Sasuke nodded and turned to the house, pulling at his shirt as he walked.

Naruto found him in the shower, the unofficial meeting place when one man wanted to speak with another alone.

As soon as Naruto stepped under the spray, Sasuke was all over him. In between devouring kisses, he talked. “It will be okay. It will be all over after this and we can spend the rest of our lives in peace. I will never, ever let anything happen to you or to me, to any of us.”

Naruto wanted to believe it, but he’d had years and years of planning for just the opposite. However, he’d also had years and years of practice wearing a mask that showed the hope and optimism that made people more comfortable, happier. He was good at it; indeed the only person in the world who could see through it was his beloved Neji. Not even Sasuke would know. Of course the illusion was helped by the fact that Sasuke refused to see anything else.

Just before dusk, Sasuke cried out Naruto’s name one last time and collapsed on shaky arms onto the broad chest. In spite of the fact that it was his fifth ejaculation of the day, his body was still humming with the need to move. He kissed Naruto one more time and then got to his feet, grabbing first his pants, then this traveling pack.

Neji came into the room with a supply of rations and looked through Sasuke’s weapons pouch. “You will stay safe.” It wasn’t a request.

“Of course,” he grinned. “I’ll put everything in order on this front and then we can put our resources toward getting rid of the demon once and for all.”

Neji watched Sasuke and was tempted to let himself feel the shifting of the universe under that titanium will. He sighed inwardly and hoped that fate and fortune smiled on their family once more, allowing Sasuke to continue to believe he had some role in life’s outcomes.

Sasuke’s spirits continued to run high as, at the gate he made two clones and infused them with consciousness and instructions. He smirked at Naruto and told him not to have too much fun with two Sasuke’s. Then his face filled with fierce determination and he took off, leaving the remainder of the squad to catch up.

Four days later the team stood at the edge of a large clearing and studied a tiny, ramshackle structure in the center.

They frowned as Sasuke lifted his hand from the ground and said, “I only sense one human.” He stood. “Low level of chakra. Fairly malevolent.” He turned to Shikamaru. “I do feel the disturbance that’s pulling on the demon, although it’s not terribly strong.”

The team stood alert and waited as Shikamaru muttered to himself and Sasuke concentrated on the wind and the earth, trying to glean some information from the environment.

Finally Shikamaru paused. “Anything?” When Sasuke shook his head, he continued, “I guess there is no help for it but to take a look.” He pointed at Sasuke. “Let’s send in a clone. Just enough chakra to keep it in existence. Avoid the human for now.”

Sasuke nodded and five minutes later, a Sasuke doppelganger was an arm’s length from the front door. The team watched as the clone opened the door and moved cautiously over the threshold. Just as he disappeared into the darkness, hair stood up on their arms as high pitched laughter filled the air around them.

A microsecond later, the entire compound exploded.

Several of the team were on their toes, however and within seconds, were dragging a laughing, black clad ninja toward the group. But before they got within fifty feet, Sasuke felt the rise in chakra and his eyes widened. Quicker than thought, he threw a shield around those closest to him and just missed being blown to bits by a second explosion.

When the smoke cleared, he realized that the enemy ninja had blown himself up in a suicide move, taking nearly half the Leaf team with him.

The fact that this was a trap, that they were expected, hit him and he turned to Shikamaru who had a stunned look on his face.

Then something even more alarming hit him. One of his clones from home had just been destroyed.

“Naruto!” The information from the clone showed an unexpected flair of demon chakra that incinerated a clone with its hand on Naruto’s seal. The last image was of Naruto shooting up out of bed, crying out in alarm.”

“What is it?” Shikamaru was shaking him. “What about Naruto?”

“My clone…” Sasuke shook his head, fear filled his face. “It’s gone. The demon…”

“What about the demon?” Shikamaru was yelling. “Sasuke! What the fuck is going on?”

“I have to go!” Sasuke tried to pull free, but Shikamaru tackled him to the ground.

Sasuke took a deep breath. “One of my clones was just dispersed. A flash of demon chakra…” He pushed Shikamaru off. “That’s all I know.” His voice was rising. “I have to go!”

He was realizing that the other clone would only be able to stay as long as he himself was able to stay awake and that they were four days from home. Naruto was in trouble.

Shikamaru had obviously realized the same thing. He pulled Sasuke to his feet and shoved him in the direction of home. “Go!”

Sasuke was driven to near madness by his fear. Thirty six hours into his flight toward home, his other clone dispersed in agony as it tapped into demon fire while trying to help Naruto contain the raging fox’s chakra.

Another thirty six hours and Sasuke was home. He could feel the difference as soon as he reached the gates. There seemed to be a hush over the whole village. And the chakra of both Naruto and the demon could be felt fluctuating madly, each battling for dominance.

He raced across the threshold of his home and tore through the rooms until he found his family in the back yard.

It was a surreal scene. The children were laughing and playing near the koi pond and Naruto was sitting nearby, leaning back onto Neji, who had his arms around him. As he looked at the pair, Neji kept his eyes averted, but Naruto pushed to his feet, a wide smile on his face.

“Hey, bastard! You’re back!” He strode to Sasuke and pulled him into a hug.

He was soaked. His body was burning up and sweat saturated his clothing. Sasuke pulled back and his heart almost stopped. Naruto’s skin was beet red and blisters could be seen on his face and neck.

“Naruto…”

“Is the team back? Tell me about the mission.” The happy smile never left his face.

“What happened to my clones?”

“Oh, sorry.” Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. “The demon’s being a little bitch. Are you okay?”

“It was a trap. We lost half the team.”

Naruto’s face fell. “Shikamaru?”

“He’s okay. They’ll be here soon.” Sasuke reached up to Naruto’s cheek. “Naruto?”

Now that the smile had left his face, Naruto seemed unable to retrieve it. He tried, but the attempts were wobbly and he finally gave up.

“I’m so sorry, Sasuke.”

“No! Shut up.” Neji had finally joined them, and Sasuke could see that his eyes were red and swollen, as though he’d been crying. Sasuke also noticed that his hands were wrapped in white gauze. He picked one up and Neji winced.

“I’m going in,” Sasuke said firmly. “We should have done this years ago.” Sasuke pulled Naruto by the hand toward the house.

Naruto started to resist then relented and followed. It would take nearly everything he had to keep Sasuke safe inside his mind, but maybe Sasuke needed to see this. He would know that he had exhausted all his options, and he would also know that Naruto had tried his best to fight this to the very end. And, who knew? Maybe the Sharingan was the answer.

“Neji, I really don’t know what’s going to happen when he goes in. Be ready to pull him out?” Neji nodded.

“No.” Sasuke slashed his hand. “I can do this if you leave me alone.”

“I won’t let you go in unless you agree.” Then Naruto’s voice softened. “He won’t pull you out unless it becomes critical, okay?”

Sasuke studied Naruto for a moment and as he watched an open sore ooze below his ear, he felt every ticking second. “Fine. Lie down.”

When Naruto was on his back in bed and Sasuke was in position over him, Neji placed his hand over the seal. Neji knew that Naruto was about tapped out trying to contain the demon and didn’t know how he was going to find enough to keep Sasuke safe, too.

“Neji, your hands…” Naruto smiled gently and pushed his hand away. Neji pulled his hand free and replaced it on the seal. Naruto sighed, and again, relented. He would allow no regrets if he could help it. Burns would heal. Guilt would not.

“Just don’t let anything distract you from Sasuke’s status.” Neji nodded and pulled on every bit of strength inside of him.

Taking just a moment to gather is own resources, Naruto breathed deep and then let the path clear for Sasuke to enter.

Sasuke found himself in hell. The heat was sweltering and the visualization of the demon’s growing influence was a red haze with streamers of fire shooting randomly across the landscape of Naruto’s mind. The blond was in agony. His body was being cooked alive.

“Fuck!” Then rage filled him at the thought of anything trying to take his lover away from him, at the thought of anything trying to hurt his beloved Naruto. He narrowed his gaze and looked for the demon.

“Where are you, you fucking rodent?”

Deep laughter filled the area. “Mmm. An Uchiha? How delightful. Are you here for dinner?”

“I’m here to send you to hell once and for all.”

The laughter reverberated around him again. Then a flash of orange swirled around him and a second later, the demon was crouched before him, his feline face wearing a terrible, evil grin.

The demon was outside the cell, but was wrapped in sunshine colored strands that anchored him to the bars and the seal. Naruto’s chakra was the only thing keeping the demon at bay and it was killing him.

Sasuke grabbed the fox’s maw with both hands and, ignoring the heat burning him, he activated the Sharingan and growled, “Kyuubi!”

The demon looked into Sasuke’s eyes and froze. “Gotcha!”

Then Sasuke realized, ‘now what?’ His first instinct was to bring up Chidori and blast the creature to pieces, but knew that would kill Naruto instantly.

So he stared at the demon and his mind raced. Not many options came to mind and those that did were discarded just as quickly. He wondered if he had Mangekyu if that would give him options. Of course the only way for him to gain that was to kill Naruto outright.

And then the hellish heat caused his eyes to burn and tears blurred his vision. The demon laughed again and pulled away.

“Stupid Uchihas. You believed that fairy tale spun by Madara?” The fox slithered around Sasuke’s visceral body again. “Sharingan, indeed.”

Sasuke was stunned. Orochimaru had been a fool. The Sharingan was almost useless against the demon. It only worked while staring directly into the fox’s eyes. If the contact was broken for even a second, the effect was lost. He couldn’t even blink without losing control. And what control? The demon had been held immobile, but Sasuke knew that he hadn’t had any actual control over Kyuubi. He couldn’t manipulate him or even hurt him.

Then he found himself sitting on the floor of the bedroom, pain covering every inch of his flesh.

“Are you alright?” Naruto sat up.

Sasuke looked at Neji who had rushed to his side. “It wasn’t me,” Neji said.

“The demon threw me out,” he whispered and stared at the floor in shock. “I don’t know what to do,” he continued, his tone disbelieving.

He scrambled up and onto the bed, grabbing Naruto by the shoulders his gaze wild. “You’re the greatest ninja in the world. Tell me what to do. Just tell me and I’ll do it.” He pulled Neji onto the bed beside them. “We’ll do it. We’ll do anything. Just tell us.”

“Sasuke, don’t you think if I knew the answer, I would have told you years ago. I would have told you the day you came back. Or the day Neji came into our lives. I would have told you the day my children were born.” A sob escaped him. “I would have told you…”

Sasuke got up and paced frantically. “This is unacceptable. I won’t have it.” He felt completely out of control and it was eating him from the inside. Then he grasped onto something that he could control.

“You haven’t slept. I can do that for you.” He returned to the bed. “You’ll feel better if you sleep, better able to control the demon. And…and you can heal.” His breathing was erratic as he pushed Neji toward the door. “Keep the children quiet.”

At this point, Naruto was ready to give Sasuke anything he wanted. The brunette would have to live with his actions and inactions afterward. Sleeping might only prolong this, might only give Naruto a few extra hours, but it would give Sasuke more. It would give him the comfort of knowing he did everything within his power to change the outcome.

Sasuke sat cross legged at Naruto’s side. “Is this what happened to Neji’s hands?”

Naruto nodded. “After your second clone dispersed.” He smiled. “He wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

“Nor will I. Now show me how strong it is.”

Naruto, very slowly eased back his control, watching his lover carefully, until Sasuke was holding the demon alone.

Sasuke revealed little about how difficult and painful it was to hold the demon in; only the sweat beading on his brow and his measured breaths giving any indication.

“Sleep for a while. When Shikamaru gets back, we’ll meet and figure out what happened and how to proceed from here.”

Naruto stroked Sasuke’s cheek with the tips of his fingers and nodded. Then he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.