The Sound of Dreams

AN: Hi, there! Tuesday morning and I have to leave for work in ten minutes. I still think I am half asleep. Thanks very much for the reviews! I’m glad you all like Sasuke’s hot outfit!! Hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

/hugs to everyone… *stumbles off in zombie-like state* (mistook “off” button for “snooze” button this morning.. bleh)

WARNING: There is a lot of thinking in this chapter!


Chapter 38


Sasuke looked over at Naruto a little worriedly. Ever since they’d had the meeting with Fuuma a few days ago, the dobe had been unnaturally quiet. Stranger yet, he had been thoughtful and contemplative.

He had tried to get the other to train with him, but he could tell that Naruto’s mind wasn’t with it and therefore had decided to practice his new Hell Fire jutsu without him for a bit. However, a silent dobe was getting on his nerves.

They were currently sitting at the dinner table with a full spread of food before them. Sasuke had been hoping with a decent, hot meal in front of him that Naruto would snap out of it. But the blonde was just sitting there, turning his chopsticks over and over between his fingers with that intense but distant look on his face.

“Ya’ know, teme,” he suddenly spoke up. He was still staring off into the distance and his voice was quiet, but at least he was talking. “I’ve been thinking about everything we talked about with Hanzaki.”

Sasuke waited as the blonde trailed off. “And?” he prompted curiously.

Naruto straightened up and began to slowly eat his food. “How many bases did Orochimaru have in Rice Field?”

Sasuke shrugged. “A couple of bases, a few labs and a few smaller cells for other purposes. At least that I know of,” he added.

“How many people are we looking at in those places?”

“Total? I’m not sure. Maybe a minimum of fifty, probably closer to a hundred.” Sasuke couldn’t help but wonder where Naruto was going with this.

“And this is repeated in a bunch of other countries, right?” Blue eyes lifted to onyx ones for confirmation.

Sasuke stifled the urge to lean over and catch those frowning lips with his own and try to coax a smile from them with his tongue. Instead, he nodded, albeit a little distractedly.

“So, we are talking about fighting over a hundred people. And will probably end up killing quite a few.”

“And?” he couldn’t help but question with a small look of confusion. What was the issue?

“They’ll fight back because we are not with the Village of Sound, which they serve. Even the ones that joined for the wrong reasons.”

“Didn’t I tell you before not to feel sorry for killing shinobi, Naruto? Even the ones that have made stupid choices,” Sasuke tried to soften his tone, but it still came out a little exasperated.

Blue eyes sharpened their look into a glare. “You might not care whether you kill people or not, but I do. Especially if they have done nothing to deserve it.”

“So what do you want to do, personally interview everyone you fight?” Sasuke asked a little sarcastically.

Naruto scowled at him. “You know, I’m not as dumb as you think I am. I know that that’s impossible.”

“Then what do you suggest? This was your idea in the first place. We can still easily pack up our shit and leave. So what if they tell people where we were? If we leave we can still be by ourselves and train. Better than chasing Sound-nin all over the damn country.” Sasuke shot the other ninja a glare before attacking his food rather roughly with his chopsticks.

“Why does everything have to break down into a fight with you? Why can’t you just listen without jumping straight into bastard mode?” Naruto gave him a piercing look before continuing. “What I’m trying to get at is that the only reason some of those ninja will fight is because that is what they are supposed to do. We will be attacking them as outsiders. With Orochimaru gone, they have a chance to reorganize the Sound Village and take in some of those people who weren’t on some power kick with the snake. People who wanted to help their country and only had Orochimaru as an option. We shouldn’t be out killing innocent people and potential allies.”

“The moment that they announce Orochimaru as KIA is the moment that the plotting begins,” Sasuke reminded him.

“Maybe so, but if they have an option for the ninja that followed Orochimaru then they might be able to increase their numbers. They said themselves that they lack numbers. If they try to wipe out everyone, they will have even fewer shinobi to hold back whatever the other countries throw at them.”

Sasuke frowned as he tried to work through Naruto’s logic. “So what you are saying is that they reform the Sound Village and open it up to any of Orochimaru’s men that want to join?”

“Well obviously not just any of them. They should appoint a new Otokage and screen those who want to join. With the greater numbers and with the daimyo backing the village, taking out any of Orochimaru’s die-hards should be easier.

“With the daimyo’s backing, the other ninja will no longer be fighting against outsiders, but rather it will still be their own village that they can return to. It will also show the other countries that the Village of Sound is still active and alive, making them hesitate before restarting a war. After all, Rice Field Country may not have Orochimaru, but it will still have its own ninja village.”

Sasuke turned the ideas over in his head, searching for holes or other flaws. It wouldn’t totally remove the threat of the snake’s more fanatical followers.

“You can further confuse everyone by not telling anyone anything about Orochimaru being gone. It will cause them to hesitate if they aren’t sure the snake is really gone,” Naruto added with growing enthusiasm for his idea.

“But that tactic won’t last very long,” Sasuke pointed out. “Either someone will find something out or get it into their heads to test the new leadership.”

“You and I, along with any others that are on our side, will be able to shut down any attempts on either Sound or Rice Field,” Naruto said confidently.

Sasuke gave him a long look, not sure if he was hearing correctly. “Naruto,” he said in a low, dark voice. “What you are proposing goes way beyond doing a few hired jobs. You are talking about involving us in the middle of a political mess. This isn’t our fight. This isn’t our home.”

Naruto shot his friend a glare. “What do you mean ‘isn’t our home?’ After all, you left Konoha to come here, didn’t you?”

Sasuke scowled, knowing that the blonde was deliberately trying to bait him. “I didn’t leave one group of losers to team up with a group of even bigger losers,” he ground out.

“You mean the loser that’s locked up in my body?” Naruto suggested snidely.

Sasuke’s hand tightened into a fist as he suppressed the urge to pummel the other teen. “Yeah, the one that would still be in control of it if it wasn’t for me.”

“He didn’t have me sealed away that tightly. I would’ve eventually gotten out on my own,” Naruto growled out.

“Maybe in four or five years,” Sasuke said dismissively.

“It’s good for you that I did get out, ‘cause by then you’d be the snake’s whore and your brother would still be alive,” he yelled out angrily.

Sasuke’s eyes widened in shock even as his chest clenched painfully. He was out of his seat and vaulting over the table before he even realized that he was moving. His feet connected with the blonde’s broad chest, knocking him backwards out of his chair. He automatically adjusted his body so that he landed with a foot on either side of the dobe. He reached down and grabbed a handful of shirt to jerk Naruto up as he drew back his fist.

A punch to the stitched wound on his right leg caused him to shift his weight with a low, pained grunt. With his balance off, Naruto grabbed his left ankle and yanked, causing the other teen to fall. Refusing to relinquish his grip on the black shirt, Sasuke ended up sprawled on his back over the blonde’s legs. Continuing to move from the position that he had been pulled up into, Naruto struggled to simultaneously get his legs free and crawl up over Sasuke at the same time.

A knee to the side of the head halted his dubious progress.

Sasuke practically threw himself over the struggling form to try to pin him down. Grabbing wrists, he forced them to the floor as he straddled the younger shinobi’s pelvis. Ignoring the bucking and twisting underneath him, he looked into the teen’s eyes and readied himself to deliver another scathing comment. His lips had parted but no sound emerged.

“Dammit, Sasuke, get off of me!” Naruto yelled almost desperately. Blue eyes snapped and glowed with anger, but underneath that were pain, frustration and loneliness.

Sasuke was confused. He responded to that look on an emotional level that he didn’t understand. Something in him recognized it, identified with it; but he didn’t know how to offer the other boy comfort or relief from it. He didn’t even know what was causing it.

He merely held the other teen down; his eyes searching the face before him, looking for answers. He watched as the panting breaths slowed; watched as the emotions were slowly pulled back inside and locked away. He had never realized that Naruto even knew how to hide his feelings. He was so used to seeing every thought that went through the boy’s mind reflected in his eyes that it had never occurred to him there were things going on in that thick skull that were never revealed.

Even though he himself hid many of his thoughts and zealously guarded his privacy, he didn’t want Naruto doing the same thing, especially with him. He didn’t want to face the idea that there might be things that he didn’t know about his best friend and lover. He didn’t like the idea that there were depths to Naruto that he had never guessed at or had dismissed the notion of existing.

Naruto had always been the one stable thing in Sasuke’s life. Different from everyone else, the blonde had always seen Sasuke as himself not just a family name or the victim of a great tragedy. He somehow knew that no matter how far he went and no matter what happened; Naruto would always be there for him. Granted, it might be after the dobe had beaten the hell out of him for whatever stupidity he had committed, but he would be there.

He didn’t want those blue eyes to hide secrets from him. Secrets ultimately led to betrayal and betrayal from Naruto would be so much worse than the betrayal from his brother. Naruto was the glue that held him together. Without Naruto, the broken pieces would shatter.

“Naruto,” he breathed against the other teen’s cheek. The dark blue eyes refocused from an abstract point on the ceiling to the dark grey-black eyes in front of him. "Talk to me," he demanded softly.

Naruto looked away and tried to compose his feelings into rational thoughts that he could attempt to explain. Sasuke wouldn't understand his need to have people surrounding him. The older shinobi had always been in the spotlight in one form or another and had no clue what it was like to be shunned and ignored. Just the sight of Sasame able to walk down the street and having people acknowledge her presence had brought envy to his heart. When he had finally made some headway in having people who respected him and saw him as a friend, he'd had lost it all again.

"I guess that I just wanted to help. It felt nice that someone actually needed me. That," he drew a shaky breath before continuing, "That I might have found a place that accepts me. That I can belong to." He looked up at Sasuke with bright blue eyes that were glassy with the beginnings of unshed tears. "I traveled a long time with ero-sennin, but I always knew that I had a home to return to. I don't have that anymore. I had to leave all the people I care about behind or let myself become a prisoner in my own village."

Naruto sniffled, trying to force the burning sensation in his eyes to subside. "They were my friends, my own kind of family, and I just feel like I'll never get to see them again."

"And you wondered why I tried to break all my bonds," Sasuke murmured quietly. "All they do is cause pain and make you weak."

"No! I don't believe that, Sasuke. I became strong because of you. Because of my feelings for you. I've always been stronger when I fight for the ones I love," Naruto declared vehemently.

Sasuke was staring down at him with an odd look on his face. 'Did he just say...? Did he just imply...?'

That taloned grip around his heart was radiating a warmth that burned in his chest. Naruto's pain showed him every reason to sever any ties, but Sasuke couldn't bring himself to deny that he basked in the feeling that was surging through his slumbering heart. Every look, every caress, every kiss that they shared caused his comatose organ to beat with slowly awakening life. Even if this sensation ended up causing him agony, he couldn't turn away from it.

"You really are an idiot, dobe, if you can't see that you're already needed."

Naruto's eyes widened in both disbelief and cautious hope. Sasuke let go of his wrists as he moved them and wrapped his arms around the older teen's neck. He pulled Sasuke down to him and buried his face into the dark silky hair, inhaling the scent that was uniquely his lover's.

Sasuke braced himself on his elbows and knees as the blonde clung to him with the apparent intention of never letting go.

***********************
Shino watched as Sai showed the drawings of Sasuke and an unknown female to the gate guards of the small town across northeast of the Fire Country border. It irritated him that they were retracing their own steps in an effort to find the two ninja that they should have been trailing all along. By waiting so long, they had effectively lost all trackable trace of the missing shinobi. Shino had a feeling that had been Sai's plan all along.

While Shino was starting to believe that Sai did indeed want what was best for Naruto just as Shino himself did, he also believed that their two ideals of what that best varied greatly.

Naruto needed to be brought home and helped through his obsession with his ex-best friend. The Uchiha had made it very clear that he wanted nothing else to do with the village and was focused on his own personal goals. A person could not rescue someone who didn't want to be saved. Naruto needed to face reality and move on with his life.

Even if he had feelings for his ex-teammate like Sai seemed to imply, there were other potential mates in the swarm.

As for the matter of the Kyuubi, Shino didn't know why the village elders were making such a big deal out of it now if Naruto had had the demon under control all this time. He might have understood the animosity a little better had Naruto been more like Gaara who, when he was still a jinchuuriki, seemed to have minimal control over the demon at best. Hell, he would have been one of the ones demanding something to be done had Naruto been a killer like the Sand's Kazekage had been. But that wasn't Naruto.

The loudmouthed shinobi had done nothing but his best for his village as far as Shino could tell. True he was a bit unconventional, but then there were several others that Shino could name that were as well. Actually, come to think of it, most of the jounin were odd in one form or another.

Granted they needed to protect the blonde if people were after him and his power, but he was still a human being and still a part of the village. He should be treated as such.

As for Orochimaru, if the Sannin was really behind the same seal as the demon fox, then he was no longer a concern. If he was a concern, then they needed to perform whatever secret jutsu that the Hokage could get her hands on and force the soul from Naruto's body so that they could be rid of the snake once and for all.

No matter which way Shino looked at it, Naruto needed to be taken back to the village for his own good.


Kiba looked around in boredom. He would much rather have been on a trail instead of visiting villages looking for traces of his friend. He paused at that particular thought. He wouldn't deny that he and Naruto were friends, but still, there were things that friends should have known about each other. Though he had to admit had he been in the blonde's position he wouldn't have wanted the few people who treated him normally to know about his curse either.

But by this point in time, Naruto should have trusted them to understand and not to turn on him.

What he couldn't understand was why the damn blonde kept chasing after that black-haired asshole. After everything that the Uchiha had not only put Naruto through but others as well (himself included), he should have been left to rot in whatever snake pit to which he had voluntarily submitted himself. And for Sai to imply that Naruto was in love with the bastard...

well...

He guessed it was the only fucking explanation that made sense for the blonde's behavior.

Kiba wouldn't judge; even if Naruto did have piss-poor taste in men.

However, he couldn't blame Naruto for running if the council had suddenly decided that locking the blonde up was the best for everyone. Being a little on the wild side himself, he could understand not wanting to be chained up. Personally, he thought the council should be looking for ways to help Naruto not use him, but perhaps that was why he would never make Hokage.

But the actions of the council went against everything that they had been taught that the Hokage stood for in the Academy. Someone who was supposed to stand up for the people in the village, someone who was supposed to love and protect all within its walls shouldn't stand by while this was done to a dedicated shinobi.

Naruto had done too much to help too many people in their village to get the short end of the stick like this. Kiba would be damned if he stayed quiet on the matter when they got back. He would make sure he raised hell and would get everyone he could to join him.


Hinata discretely looked around the village with her Byakugan activated as Sai talked to the guards. She hoped that they found Naruto as well as Sasuke soon. She wanted to do everything in her power to try to help evict Orochimaru from Naruto's body as well as help in whatever way she could to keep her friend safe from the evil shinobi looking for him. She didn't want him to end up like Gaara almost did after they had extracted the demon from the Kazekage.

As for Sasuke, first she wanted to make him understand how upset she was when she had seen the condition of all of her friends from three years ago when they had first went after to him, trying to prevent his defection. This understanding was to be conveyed through her newly developed and honed skills and would hopefully involve a lot of pain on his part. After she felt she had sufficiently communicated her displeasure, she then wanted the prideful idiot to understand that there were people in Konoha that did care about him and were strong enough to have taught him what he thought only the evil Sannin could.

She looked over as Sai rejoined their group. He had that fake smile plastered on his face that she detested so much. To her eyes it was easy to see that it wasn't real. It made her curious to see what a real smile would look like on his lips.

"They came through here," he announced as he rolled the scroll up containing the inked pictures.

"So now what?" Kiba asked a tad impatiently.

Sai looked up and then turned his head towards the west. "I have a hunch where they might be," he said thoughtfully.

"We'll continue to the next village," Shino interrupted. "I don't feel like going on another one of your detours. We will handle this in a methodical and systematic manner."

Sai gave a careless shrug. "I don't mind. That just gives them that much longer before we find them."

Shino's lips compressed into a thin line, but he didn't dignify the statement with a retort.

Sai gave him a large, happy grin reminiscent of a certain blonde's. "Shall we?"

TBC