Tangled up in Lace

Chapter Four: Debased

Take hope from the heart of man, and you make him a beast of prey.
--- Quida


Naruto barged into Tsunade’s office just in time to see Asuma and Kurenai leave with their respective teams. Tsunade gave him a dark glare for entering in such a manner, even if she was obviously used to it by then. Naruto rolled his shoulders to dispel some of the tension that had crept behind his neck, he felt stared at with an intensity that was unnerving. Shikamaru had said that he was being watched but since TenTen’s return his senses had gone haywire and Naruto knew it had to be ANBU tailing him now, for the sensation to be so strong and his followers so untraceable; it could only be ANBU and that was not only unnerving: it was frightening.

Naruto quickly pushed all these thoughts to the back of his mind and took a few quick steps into the office. “Tsunade-granny! Is there news from Sakura?” Her frown deepened when it became clear to her that Naruto and her pupil still didn’t abide by the rules of secrecy. Naruto scowled back at her. “Come on, I know she was with TenTen! What’s going on? Is she okay? Who’s gonna be their backup? Whose team am I on?”

“Naruto---“

“Shikamaru said there was a whole brigade of Sound jounin closing in on our borders! Why the hell haven’t I been sent out with everyone else already? I know you wanted me to stay in, but that’s ridiculous now, isn’t it?” Naruto demanded, walking up to her in order to better slam his fists on her desk. A tower of papers toppled sideways; Tsunade stared him down with her fingers crossed before her lips. That pensive expression chilled him. “Well!?”

Tsunade sighed and restacked some of the files on her desk, pulling and stretching a taut line of silence between them. “Shikamaru should have known better than to arbitrarily increase your security clearance, but---!” She waved his rising protest down with an ominous look. “I would have told you anyway: Naruto, you’re not being sent out now; nor later, for that matter.”

“The HELL? I’m one of your strongest---”

“Strong is not the same as useful.” Her sharp reproach cut him off abruptly. “It would be too dangerous for Orochimaru to get his hands on you, Naruto—“

“--- but he won’t and I—“

“--- or for you to lose control as you did in Akatsuki. Konoha can’t take that risk.”

Naruto’s jaw snapped shut. He gritted his teeth and felt his cheeks ache dully. “I won’t.”

“You and I both know it’s a possibility. It’s also possible that a Sound-nin might sneak past us, that is Orochimaru’s specialty, after all. I need you stay behind and keep Sasuke under constant watch.”

“What? No! I need to be out there, Sakura might need help!”

“Sakura will be perfectly alright Naruto, she’s setting up a perimeter before returning for a debriefing. You have your orders.”

Tsunade’s dismissive reply only aggravated the fury that coiled within him. Had it really come to this? Did she really believe he would lose control of the Kyuubi in Konoha? Did she? “You can’t honestly th—“

“Naruto!” Tsunade’s sharp cry rang out in her office and Naruto forced himself to hold his ground before her. “You will stay inside Konoha, guarding Uchiha Sasuke. Mainly, because we don’t know if Orochimaru is still after him, but if he is... we can’t afford to have him be recaptured… nor will I give him the chance to defect again.”

Sasuke, defect? Again?

Was this why Tsunade had Naruto under surveillance? Was it another way to keep tags on Sasuke?

Naruto could feel his nails digging into his palm. “He wouldn’t.”

“Naruto…” Tsunade looked up again and suddenly leaned back in her chair, looking very old. “We have conclusive evidence indicating we have a leak. Not a major one, but a dangerous one nonetheless. Someone has been smuggling information to Orochimaru, from inside our borders.”

He wouldn’t…. Naruto’s insides turned to ice. “It’s… it can’t be Sasuke.” It couldn’t be!

“And who else could it be, Naruto? Who else would be able – and willing- to inform Orochimaru on our current ranks and who is away on missions? It would have to be someone within our lines.”

“He doesn’t have clearance enough to get that kind of information!” Naruto cried, slapping a pile of papers from her desk with an angry sweep of his hand. Tsunade’s eyes traced their fall dispassionately before zoning back onto Naruto.

“No, but that has never been a problem amongst the lot of you, as Shikamaru has proven, no? Also, Naruto, your dearest ‘Saki’ moves around the village a lot, and she has the sharingan. Sasuke could easily deduce a lot more than he lets on. His deductive and inductive skills truly make him a perfect spy.”

Naruto shook his head, disbelieving. “Granny, you’re not serious… are you?”

Tsunade’s eyes flashed briefly, a sudden moist glow, then it was gone. “I most certainly am. We allowed Uchiha Sasuke to return alive because there was a possibility that he might have regained his senses and there was much information that we could get from him… and we did. However, there was always a chance that this was part of Orochimaru’s ploy too.”

“Orochimaru’s ploy? Granny, Itachi is fucking DEAD! Sasuke has no reason to go back to that snake bastard, nor would he want to!” You don’t know the things I know, you haven’t seen him when--- “If there is a spy, it’s not Sasuke! Besides…” Naruto’s mind whirled and he latched on to a sudden idea, hopefully. “It would be too obvious for him to be the spy, Orochimaru isn’t that stupid!”

“And now you’re talking about someone I know very well, Naruto; Orochimaru may not be that stupid, but he is that underhanded. Sasuke is a perfect choice because he is such an obvious candidate it would be ridiculous to consider him. Hence, he is perfect.”

“FUCK your ‘underneath the underneath’ crap!” Tsunade frowned ferociously at Naruto’s outburst, but she did not move. “Sasuke came back to Konoha willingly, not for Orochimaru but for himself. For himself!”

“There isn’t enough evidence to support that statement Naruto, not when I know for a fact that we have a spy that can only be a ninja, and a low-clearance one.”

Naruto’s shoulders shook with the force of his despair. “Granny… he wouldn’t betray us again.”

”Once a traitor, always a traitor, or so goes the saying. If he does turn coat, or even dares to look like he will, all Konoha-nin have strict orders to take him down.” Naruto felt her final declaration sink into his chest like a blade.

“Sasuke won’t defect.” Naruto wondered if his shoulders would snap off his back with the strength it took him to stay still. His whole body screamed with the strain contained in his next words: “He won’t.”

“The same way you won’t lose control of the Kyuubi?” Tsunade asked, in a deceptively quiet voice.

Naruto jerked and then forced himself to nod tersely, barely able to stop himself from punching a hole through her desk. “Yes, exactly like that.”

Tsunade sighed and closed her eyes with a sad frown. “I won’t risk Konoha on the basis of your gut instincts Naruto. Not this time. Your seal is risky enough after Akatsuki tampered with it, and Sasuke’s curse seal is a problem as well; we still don’t know to what extent Orochimaru can use it. Either way, both of you will stay inside the village, guarded by an ANBU cell. And you will keep an eye on Sasuke, since you are one of the main reasons he still has his head on his shoulders.”

It was the first time Tsunade had let slip just how much Naruto had influenced the outcome of Sasuke’s earlier trials. Naruto had technically known he held a considerable sway over the Hokage’s decisions, but he hadn’t expected to hear it under these circumstances. He realised, belatedly, that it was something he would have preferred not to know.

Granny, did you really risk Konoha because I wanted Sasuke back or…. Or, more probably, she had allowed it because they needed the information of a former Sound-nin and feeding false information to a possible spy was the ultimate victory. Had Shikamaru done that? Had Kakashi fed Sasuke misleading hints at Tsunade’s request?

Naruto felt sick to his stomach, just how much had gone on that he had missed while worrying over his personal problems with Sasuke? Had he been so engrossed that he missed – that he could have really missed – the clues that proved Sasuke was spying for Orochimaru?

No, he isn’t, even if I’m the only one who knows it. Sasuke wasn’t spying for that snake, it was a fact Naruto knew to be the truth, even if he might not be able to outright explain it.

“You don’t have ANBU to spare on us if Sound is really launching an all-out attack,” Naruto countered at last, fixing his eyes on his Hokage. Something roiled uncomfortably in his belly, the sense of being watched increased even further.

“Naruto you have your orders. Stay in Konoha.” She waved her arm at him. “That will be all.”

The skin between Naruto’s shoulders prickled and he rolled them uncomfortably, it was getting harder to keep himself in check. “Sound-nin are less than a day from our borders. Send me out.”

“Naruto, we have this under control. Now go.”

“Granny---“ Naruto growled, feeling the seal in his stomach burn and hating that awareness.

Tsunade banged her fists on the table, cracking it badly. “YOU STUPID BRAT! Let me worry about military decisions, and focus on keeping Uchiha in his place. That will be your mission, and you WILL abide by it.” Naruto’s skin broke into gooseflesh, torn between anger and a sudden sense of acute distress.

“Granny,” Naruto shivered, something cold skittered up his spine. Tsunade straightened as his tone registered. “Something’s off. Do you really have ANBU on my tail right now or--?”

“Right now? Naruto, I don’t have ANBU on you yet, what on earth are you tal…. Oh fuck!----“ And before Naruto could even register the surprise at hearing the Hokage use that particular expletive…..

There was light.

It filled everything, an incomprehensible brilliance that for an instant obliterated all shadows. Naruto opened his mouth to cry out, but no sound came. There was nothing that could carry his voice above the roar of all that brilliance. Then came the sound, then the shaking…

… and then nothing.


* * *

Naruto opened his eyes to the ruin of the Hokage’s office.

He blinked blearily, taking in the holes in the roof and the clouds of smoke that rose towards the sky, blotting out the clouds. The smoke curled in ways the clouds could not, faster and silkier; he thought Shikamaru would enjoy the view. Thinking about that made him aware of just how dizzy he was.

Naruto tried to get up, but a sharp pain made him slip back with a groan. The crumbled walls danced in and out of focus, watery and vague. The curls of smoke were really entrancing for a few moments. “What…?”

“Naruto, stay down!”

Sakura…? She’s back?

He could hear roars coming from outside, those horrible wet yowls that only giant snakes could produce and it made his throat close. A dry swallow made him wince in pain. “Sakura?”

“I’m here!” She called, stepping into the remains of the Hokage’s office. Naruto realised only then that he had been left in the nook between a few pieces of wall, safely hidden by some genjutsu wards. Sakura stepped into his range of vision. Naruto winced at the deep purpling swell above her left eye.

He could hear screams and coded ANBU trills in the background. Roars, a frightful commotion and things crashing and crumbling. Another explosion went off in the distance, it rattled the walls beside Naruto uncomfortably.

Sasuke…

“Sakura, what---“ She pushed him down with both hands on his chest.

“Stay down Naruto, at least until that wound in your side closes a bit more.”

“No way! What the hell is going on? Where is everyone! I was just talking to the Hokage and… and— ” Sakura laid her hand over his side and Naruto hissed, closing his eyes for a moment as the pain made itself known. The burn of her healing chakra let him know just how tired she was, if she couldn’t fully dull the sensation while she worked on him.

“They used some sort of exploding jutsu… we had sleepers amongst the civilians. They set the explosive wards off, it’s a mess all over the place. There was a hydra in the town, but we’ve pushed it back and… Naruto stay down!” She pushed against him but Naruto pushed back, fighting to get up.

Sleepers? In Konoha? Then… the information leak didn’t necessarily have to be…?

“Sakura-chan, where’s Sasuke?”

Sakura shivered and loosened her hold on him slightly. “I don’t know, it’s too much of a mess. This building and the hospital took the brunt of one of the first explosions, but they’re holding up--- Naruto, lie back down! The Godaime told us expressly to keep you here.”

“No fucking way!”

“There are wards set up all over the building. Holes and all, it’s impenetrable for any other than Konoha ANBU and the Hokage herself, we’re safe here for now.”

“Sakura, Sasuke is out there and so is Orochimaru, I have to—“

“No! You have to stay here and keep your nose down for once! There’s a whole army of Seal experts roaming out there, Naruto and they’re looking for you.” Naruto’s breath caught; seal experts? Like Akatsuki’s?

“Saku—“ he stopped as he saw her cock her head to the side to better listen to what was being said into her earpiece receiver. The crackle of static and hushed words made his heart beat too fast for comfort. “Sakura?”

Sakura nodded, more to herself than anyone else and: “Yes, he’s with me. Out.” Her eyes were hard and fierce when they turned to him again. “Naruto, you stay here, understand? Don’t make me knock you out now.”

“I’m not going to lose control, okay? So let me go! Sasuke is---”

She didn’t let him finish: “This isn’t about you losing control, you idiot! They are after you!”

“Who cares!? Sasuke is out there, Sakura! I have to go and find him!”

“NO!” She cried and Naruto had to blink at the intensity in her voice. “No, Naruto. Our top priority is to keep you out of their hands, understand? Sasuke… he…” She knew, Naruto realised. She had probably known for quite a while that Sasuke was under suspicion. His mind flashed to her and Saki walking arm in arm, to Kakashi, always at the edge of perception when Sasuke was around.

Did Sasuke know he was being fed fake leads for Orochimaru? Did he think everyone approached him to keep him under surveillance? Naruto’s mind twisted around this last thought, cold and fierce: Did they welcome Sasuke back… as a ploy?

Could such a thing be possible… could it? From his friends?

Naruto shook himself, focusing on his more immediate concern. “Sakura, listen: he hasn’t trained in weeks, he’s not—“

“If he’s not at his top form, it’s his fault. He is a ninja of Konoha, he should have known better.” There were tears in her voice; she turned her back on him and rummaged in her medical pack. “He should have known better,” she hissed tensely.

“Sakura…” he whispered, as close to pleading as he’d come.

She shook her head and looked at him over her shoulder. There was a wet film over her eyes, even the bruised one. “Naruto you have to stay here. If they get you… if they do get you and start tampering with your seal… you know it hasn’t been alright since Akatsuki forced it!”

“I won’t lose control, Sakura!” He cried, dismayed by her lack of faith and---

“Naruto! We are INSIDE Konoha, don’t you get it? We can’t take any risks now, not with Orochimaru and not with you.” She looked terrified all of a sudden, it made Naruto’s insides feel like ice. Sakura, of all people, had never doubted him; but her next words brought her fear directly into his mind: “The council has issued the order to take you down if the Sound-nin get their hands on you! Do you understand me, Naruto? We have orders to kill you if there is even the slightest possibility of them having touched your seal.”

(Shikamaru… off the record: am I being supervised?)

(You will stay inside Konoha, guarding Uchiha Sasuke.)

Naruto shivered once, convulsively. He tried to imagine it, to picture Tsunade agreeing to the council’s demands and--- she would have had to agree to them. It was coherent, of course; Naruto could see why they were doing it, it hurt just as much as it made perfect sense---

(You let me worry about military decisions, and focus on keeping Uchiha in his place)

---Tsunade had been trying to protect him. No wonder she’d been so adamant on him watching over Sasuke, she had probably judged it to be the best way to keep him down. Naruto scowled darkly and bit back a hiss of pain as Sakura applied an oily cream to his wound.

“Naruto…?” Sakura whispered. “Do you understand what I just said? Will you stay here?” Sakura squeezed his hand gently, her fingers uncomfortably slick because of the healing ointment she’d applied.

No… Sakura didn’t approach that bastard because she was ordered to. Nor did Kakashi-sensei… They might have been ordered to monitor him, but that hadn’t been why they’d given Sasuke another chance. But Sasuke didn’t know that, and only the gods knew what he believed had been going on.

I have to find him…

“Where is Sasuke?” Naruto croaked. If he could find Sasuke, he would stay down as he was told. Kakashi probably knew where he was, all Sakura had to do was call him over the radio lines; I was simple, really.

“Naruto…” Sakura looked away and Naruto stopped breathing. “We haven’t been able to locate him since the first blast went off.”

Naruto got up and stumbled, holding himself against a cracked wall. “I have to go.”

“Naruto,” she hissed roughly, looking as if she’d break down sobbing right there and then. “Don’t…”

“I have to find him.” He shook his head to clear it. He wasn’t hearing very well out of his left ear. “They won’t catch me, I promise.”

Sakura licked her lips and closed her eyes tightly, fisting her hands on his dusty jacket. “Please don’t.”

“He’s out there.”

“Naruto—“

Briefly, Naruto remembered the way Saki had touched him when he first encountered her again. He remembered the sun reflecting on the surface of the water and Sasuke’s stricken face as a long dark snake barely touched him.

He’s still out there.

He’s still out there and he knows the Konoha-nin don’t trust him.

Orochimaru is out there too.

There was too much that he couldn’t fully explain to Sakura, not at that place and time. “Sorry, Sakura-chan, but I have to do this.”

She took a deep breath and blinked, abruptly clearing the moisture from her eyes. “Gods… men!” For a moment Naruto feared that she would punch his lights out, but she seemed to have lost her animosity in a rush. “You have to promise me something, then.” Her eyes were coldly determined, extracting from him more than a promise: an oath.

Naruto grinned widely. “I know, I know: I promise I’ll bring him back.” I’ve been trying to do just that all this time.

Sakura shook her head slowly, a pained smile dawning on her bruised face. “No, Naruto. Not that.” He looked down in surprise; her eyes were the green of polished jade. “Promise me that you will come back safely.”


* * *


The town looked worse than he’d expected. Naruto knew that the children and most of the civilian women had been evacuated already; that knowledge didn’t stop him from feeling a sick fear in his gut.

There were so many bodies everywhere.

(They used some sort of exploding jutsu… we had sleepers amongst the civilians)

For how long had Orochimaru been preparing this surprise attack? How much of the attack TenTen saw was the main attack, and what was the main objective? Teams Asuma and Kurenai had moved out, probably not alone… the Sound jounins TenTen spotted could have been a decoy, to draw the Konoha-nin out. But who were they after? Him? Sasuke? The town? Tsunade? The forbidden jutsu scrolls?

Naruto slipped into the shadow of two buildings and ran towards the civilian areas. If they hadn’t located Sasuke, then he wasn’t in his apartment, so maybe he’d been in one of the tea-houses or… Naruto didn’t want to imagine Saki running through this mayhem, on those silly boots…

Where are you, bastard?

His wounds ached viciously with each step and sweat burned down his back. It was an effort to keep his breathing quiet, which probably meant he still had a broken rib or two, despite Sakura’s ministrations. Regardless of the pain, Naruto moved onwards, dead certain. Sasuke wouldn’t betray them again, he wouldn’t. He was out there, hiding, that was all. He wasn’t betraying them, he was just staying low.

Bastard…

Naruto heard a screech and then a roar unlike any other. He jumped and turned on his heels using the momentum to head in the direction of that sound. He knew that voice; it still gave him nightmares. He knew it well.

Manda.

He could see the purple arc of the monster’s body play itself against the sun, landing heavily on a building that crumbled under the massive weight. The sun glinted off its scales, blinding him for an instant. Naruto squinted and looked again for confirmation.

There was someone atop Manda’s head.

Naruto sped up, barely dodging a Sound-nin, hearing the alarm that was being screamed into a mouthpiece.

I won’t be taken. I won’t be taken!

Sasuke, where the hell are you!?

They were following him now, he could feel them. Deep, deep inside of him, Kyuubi chuckled richly and rolled over in his cage. Naruto felt his belly cramp uncomfortably.

His followers had tapped into Konoha’s radio frequencies, Naruto could hear Sakura’s snapped responses as one of them got too close. Naruto arched away as a chakra-infused hand narrowly missed connecting with his belly. Fear gave him an added boost, he slammed his attacker back and ripped the earpiece from his head in one jerky movement.

“The line is compromised!” He cried in the receiver at the top of his voice, dodging another blow and almost falling off a building. “Do you read me? This line has been tapped!”

“…inter…r--spond…Eag—“ the crackle of static was deafening.

“They have tapped into this line!” Naruto yelled, dodging another blow and landing badly on the cracked remains of a house.

The line hissed, cleared up slightly. “Repeat---? Inter… ?” And then, another voice chimed in, barely discernible and seething: “--- chiha… willing approach--- maru!? Ord---“ Naruto’s heart froze.

“Repeat?” He cried, feeling something hard lodge itself at the back of his throat.

“Confirm--- Uchiha… spotted approaching Oroch----“

The line fizzed and then Kakashi’s voice rose over the din. “Message confirmed, Uzumaki. Line out.” There was only static left after that, loud and terrible in his ears.

Naruto turned numbly, watching his attackers close in on him and, farther away in the distance, Orochimaru’s willowy figure cast a horn-like shadow from the top of Manda’s head. Naruto saw him, saw the long hair, the ridiculous bow at the small of his back. Orochimaru… the man who’d tempted Sasuke away, the man who had touched Sasuke and… He was saying something, laughing and--- staring in a definite direction, mouth moving as his bloodless lips parted in a greeting. Naruto followed the line of Orochimaru’s sight and halted, wanting to throw up and barely able to keep it down. His mind reeled and his steps slowed to a sluggish stumble.

Sasuke was there, standing before Manda.

But it wasn’t Sasuke.

And it wasn’t Saki.

It wasn’t anyone Naruto knew.

He – it? - wore dark purple robes, of a similar cut to Orochimaru’s. With his black hair let loose and his lips painted a deep garish purple he looked like… he looked like…

“NO!” Naruto cried, leaping down.

Something rammed into him from behind and pushed him out of the range of an explosion that gone off right beside him. Arms encircled his waist and Naruto judged it had to be a friend if it had saved him. They landed in a dusty heap. Naruto’s nose finally placed the flowery scent of the arms around him.

“Sakura-chan!” He cried, dismayed and relieved at the same time. Sasuke turned, wide eyes red like blood, lips open to say something… and Manda charged for them.

Naruto felt his belly burn, feeding him the power needed to summon a brutally sized rasengan, but he was forced to dispel it when a group of ninjas with dark looking seals made a leap for him. Naruto turned, confused by the dizziness and the pain his body kept registering. Sakura kicked an enemy ninja away and Naruto scrabbled for a kunai just in time to see Manda’s ivory fangs gleam – like the pearls on that blouse of Sasuke’s, he thought incoherently – and Sakura jumped in front of him and punched Manda in the face.

Naruto’s jaw went slack in pure awe as Sakura packed enough strength into that one blow to send the front half of the giant snake flying backwards into a building. Its roar of fury made the blood freeze in his veins. Sakura leapt for it, hair flying around her face and blood pouring from her fist.

“Get Sasuke!” Her scream was lost in the depth of Manda’s next bellow.

Naruto watched her pull her arm back and then turned. He sent a kunai flying into the face of a Sound-nin while trying to spot Sasuke through the dust and the sweat that was trickling into his eyes. There was a stitch in his breath, the muscles on his wounded side were threatening to cramp up again.

I won’t be taken down.

“BASTARD!” Naruto cried, fury overpowering any other emotion he might be feeling.

I you are really doing this, if you are really doing this… I will kill you myself.

A hissing chuckle brought him round and he saw them at last. Orochimaru’s leg was wrapped around Sasuke at an oddly elongated angle and Sasuke was smiling, nodding, accepting the embrace. Orochimaru whispered something in Sasuke’s ear and Sasuke smiled and nodded again, leaning into the arch of Orochimaru’s haphazardly twisted limbs. Above them, a Konoha ANBU watched it all and roared furious and indiscernible words into an his mouthpiece. Naruto turned again as if in slow motion, his stomach heaved when Orochimaru licked Sasuke’s neck over the cursed seal and--- No… no… NO! I’ll kill him!

I’ll kill you, bastard! I’ll kill you!

Then Naruto saw the way one hand was subtly reaching for something under his purple robes, he saw the twitching in Sasuke’s jaw, that muscular tick that he knew so well. Sasuke turned his neck into the kiss with a smile, the ANBU above them couldn’t see anything but Naruto saw: Sasuke was fishing for something under his shirt.

It won’t work. His mind supplied, heart stopping for a moment. It won’t---

Orochimaru’s smile turned feral.

Naruto dashed towards them, seeing disaster unfold before him, incapable of looking away.

Orochimaru’s hand stroked Sasuke’s cheek, his neck, down a shoulder and suddenly grasped the arm that had been going for a weapon. The sickening crack that followed made Naruto’s throat close up. Sasuke closed his eyes and let out a hoarse gasp as streaks of black skittered under his skin and all over his face. His arm was twisted unnaturally behind his back. Orochimaru laughed, leaning back to lift his chin and grin wolfishly. Sasuke arched back in pain--- Orochimaru threw his head back to laugh mockingly --- and Sasuke lifted his head with frightening speed and spat a senbon needle straight into Orochimaru’s exposed neck. The choked shriek that followed was bloodcurdling.

Naruto’s fist impacted with Orochimaru’s face just in time, sending both Sasuke and the snake flying. Sasuke landed badly on his arm and Naruto rolled towards him, conscious of Orochimaru’s chilling hiss behind them as he turned at the last minute, the ANBU’s cries were still audible over the rage of Manda’s bellows---

--- someone cried out.

“Kuchiyose no jutsu!”

There was smoke everywhere, but all Naruto could really feel and see was the shaking, painfully tight grasp of Sasuke’s shaking hand in his. Sasuke’s chest heaved, and a rough gagging sound was torn from his throat, a thin streak of something oily and astringent dribbled from his lips. Naruto stared at Sasuke, realising that it wasn’t bile that he was spitting out, the scent was too ----something. Again, something that made no sense.

Naruto tightened his hand on Sasuke’s broken arm and heard the muted groan at the back of the other’s throat. He wanted to demand and answer, an explanation to what he had seen, but he didn’t know what to ask or how to do it.

You stupid fuck… you stupid, stupid fuck… he could have killed you, he could have… He let go of Sasuke’s arm, too tired to even breathe.

Sasuke held onto him nevertheless.


* * *

The end of the fight passed by in a daze, mostly – Naruto found out later – because he’d hit his head at some point, and what had been trickling into his eyes wasn’t sweat but blood. A few things stuck in Naruto’s mind however: Sasuke’s dark and disturbing jutsus, there was a beautiful irony in seeing them turned against Orochimaru. There was a disturbing memory of Haku in seeing Sasuke perform seals one-handed.

Gamabunta had cut in on Sakura and Manda’s little dance, just in time.

Naruto felt himself being pulled out of the way and watched Sasuke’s chidori rip through the stomach of one of the ninjas trying to get to the Kyuubi’s seal. He might have sympathised with the enemy, it was a pain he knew in the flesh. Sasuke pulled his fist out of the steaming innards and turned to look at him.

“Are you alright?” He cried through the clamour of Manda’s roars. Naruto blinked and Sasuke growled, dispatching one last Sound ninja. Sasuke was shaking badly: something was terribly off in his movements. There was a crack of chakra backlash and they both turned to stare off into the mayhem that went on behind them.

In a circle of broken buildings crowned by the branches of a few fallen trees, the Godaime Hokage and the Sannin Jiraiya took on Sound’s Shodaime Otokage. Naruto’s eyes hurt and he couldn’t quite follow everything that happened. He did know that Sasuke was keeping their attackers off and, well, it wasn’t so terrible to collapse into a crouch to try and get his bearings back. Kyuubi was kicking up a racket inside of his head, which was dizzying enough without the concussion.

Jiraiya kept Orochimaru off himself and Tsunade, warding against a jutsu that glowed with dark bloodlusty chakra. He pushed forwards, aiming for his former team-mate; Tsunade was faster, her face even more twisted than Jiraiya’s and infinitely sadder and angrier.

Sasuke covered for Naruto even though one of his arms was limp and twisted oddly and he looked about to pass out. Naruto regarded that detail with a faint sense of worry and then watched numbly as Tsunade punched Orochimaru into the ground. Her screams of fury were deafening, there was too much emotion there for Naruto to puzzle through. She put her whole weight into her punch and kept hitting while Jiraiya took down the attackers that tried to intervene.

Tsunade kept punching until Orochimaru no longer grunted and each blow was greeted by a wet, slippery sound. She stopped when Jiraiya gripped her arm and shook her, screaming something incoherent directly in her face.

Naruto closed his eyes when he heard Manda’s summon disappear in a blast of smoke; he opened them once and thought he saw tears on Jiraiya’s face, but that was ridiculous, and he dismissed it.

Sasuke was talking to him and Sakura was saying something to Kakashi in the background. That meant they were all safe, didn’t it? He struggled to open his eyes again a fraction.

Doesn’t it? Or…?

Naruto closed his eyes to the sound of something hitting the ground beside him. Sakura’s voice, as though muffled through silk, was calling out Sasuke’s name in frantic tones. Naruto’s mind pricked at that, fighting to stay awake for a moment, helplessly reaching---

Bastard… don’t you dare…

--- but it hurt too much stay awake.

Even Sakura’s voice faded into nothing after that.

Not only is another world possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.
-- Arundhati Roy


For the record, there are FEW things I find more difficult than writing battle-scenes, plus, there was a lot that I had to put into this chapter, so it took some serious smoothing out. This was my 'oh, surprise! Konoha IS a ninja-town after all'-statement.

Reviews make my day! <-- Hints? Me? Naaaaah. Also: much love lavished on Asuka for lending me Saki, go READ her fics!