The Sound of Dreams

AN: Well, things are picking up at work and I now have relatives that are staying with me for about a month. My lead on the story has narrowed down to three chapters! /pouts I hate not having more ready!

Last chapter received more reviews than any chapter previously and I thank you so very much for that!! /hugs and /snuggles!!!

As for the Luffles, you will have to give sadistickiss credit for them! She has gotten me to saying it now, lol!

On the issue of snogging! This was brought to my attention on my LJ site that it was a British term for making out and, as I explained to my reader there, the term is used loosely around the American Midwest as a term for sex. I think that you can blame Austin Powers for destroying any chance for the term Shagging to catch on! Sai will be using it again, so forgive our backwardness and take it with a grain of salt! /grins

As for Kakashi and the Mangekyou: this is a spoiler for the manga if you haven’t read it yet, sorry. But Kakashi does have the Mangekyou Sharingan but it never explains how he acquired it. If they don’t address the issue before it occurs within my story then I will use my own theories! Muhahahaha, errr.. yeah.

Adri and Calista: AFF seems to be cutting your reviews off. I had deleted one from you earlier Adri because the body contained no text. The one that you had posted Calista only contains “I”. While I would like to think that I had left you speechless, I somehow doubt that is the case. Poor Wempu seems to also have trouble with AFF and leaving reviews. /hugs to Wempu!!

And last but not least, Trollmia !! Fangirly squeal!! Thanks for popping in; it meant a lot to me!!


This is kind of a transitional piece used to get the plot ball rolling! Hope you enjoy!!


Chapter 47


Hinata, as was her habit, rose early and readied herself for the day. Not much could force her to change her routine, not even a broken heart.

As much as she would like, she couldn’t deny what she had heard last night. The sound of the boy that she was in love with intimately involved with another. It had taken quite a bit of self control not to use her Byakugan to look, if only to try to prove the sounds wrong.

A part of her would like to have been angry or self-righteously indignant, but she couldn’t bring herself to be. She knew better than most, having fallen in love with the boy that most people seemed to hate, that the heart went where it willed, not where it was bidden.

She would also like to have been happy for Naruto, but a part of her was still a little hurt and bitter. For now she would have to be satisfied with accepting the two boys’ relationship. Perhaps after the pain faded, she would feel joy that they had found the other half of their souls, because it was agonizingly apparent to her eyes that that was what they were to each other.

From the conversations that they had had with Naruto, it had soon become apparent that Sasuke had thrown away his apprenticeship with Orochimaru to save the blonde. Hinata was happy that the Uchiha seemed to be learning what was truly important in the world. While he still seemed bent upon revenge, it didn’t seem to consume his every waking thought as it once did. She smiled to herself. Perhaps only every other waking thought now.

She still didn’t know if she totally forgave him for the incident when he had first defected from Konoha, but she was slowly realizing that the injuries that had been inflicted upon her friends had been done so by Orochimaru’s henchmen, not Sasuke. According to Naruto, the boy hadn’t totally been in his right mind, his thoughts had been poisoned by the venom of the cursed seal he bore. Also, if Sasuke had not gone willingly, more than likely they would have kidnapped the young Sharingan user anyway. Not much would have changed except perhaps Naruto’s own injuries.

Hinata had been surprised that Sasuke had let all these comments pass without protest, but he had seemed completely lost in his own thoughts, his hand unconsciously combing through Naruto’s blonde hair. Naruto had confided in them while Sasame had been in the kitchen, grabbing them all something to eat during their discussions. Hinata realized that while the girl was part of what was happening in Sound, there were many things that the two boys kept from her.

Not that Hinata blamed them. Secrets were deadly things.

At that point in time, Sai walked into the sitting room interrupting Hinata’s musings. His face was devoid of all emotion and expression until he saw the kunoichi. Immediately his lips twisted into a smile and he sat down next to her at the table.

His eyes analyzed her features for a long moment. “You are sad,” he announced suddenly.

“Perhaps some,” she allowed in a quiet voice.

“Is it because you realize that Naruto belongs with Sasuke and that they were fucking last night?” he asked curiously.

Hinata blushed at his vulgar language. “Gentlemen generally do not use that term,” she murmured, looking down at the table.

“Kiba used the term last night. I personally prefer snogging.” He grinned. “It sounds like more fun.”

“Kiba-kun isn’t anywhere near being a gentleman,” she said with a soft smile.

Sai looked her over curiously for another quiet moment. “Why are you sad?” he finally asked. “It wasn’t as if Naruto was ever your boyfriend. Why are you sad that he is with someone else?”

Hinata blushed a deeper red. “I… I had hoped that maybe one day…” she trailed off, studying her fingers.

“If you want something, you have to go after it. Naruto taught me that by how he kept going after Sasuke,” Sai informed her with conviction.

“I guess that is so,” she allowed quietly.

“Perhaps you didn’t want him as much as you thought you did if you were unwilling to go after him,” Sai ventured.

Hinata frowned slightly as she thought about that. Could it be true that Naruto was more of someone that she had admired and therefore had been infatuated with rather than someone she had seriously wanted to pursue? She shook her head. No, she had true feelings for him, but her shy nature had prevented her from approaching him. Hadn’t it?

She gave a small wistful smile. It was all a rather moot point now either way. Naruto was Sasuke’s and, since Naruto threw 110% of his heart into anything he did, he would likely remain so.

“You know, I still think sex would help you overcome some of your shyness,” Sai stated casually.

Hinata found herself blushing again. “Sai-san, you really shouldn’t say things like that to a girl.”

“Why not?” he asked in confusion. “Shouldn’t you always speak the truth?”

“Sometimes it is best if you hold your opinions to yourself,” she said softly. “It is considered rude and forward of you to say such things to me.”

“Why is it rude? It’s not like I asked you to sleep with me,” he frowned.

Hinata shook her head helplessly, thinking he would never understand.

“Yet,” he amended. “I think I will give you time to get over Naruto first.”

Kiba walked into the room, saving her from having to think of a response to that statement. “Kami-sama, did anyone get any sleep last night? I swear those two aren’t human.”

Silence met that statement.

“I … uh, didn’t mean it like that,” he swallowed uncomfortably. He quickly muttered something about “breakfast” and walked back out of the room.

Sai chuckled at Kiba’s obvious discomfort with the situation. “They are serving breakfast in the kitchen right now. Would you like something to eat?” he asked Hinata.

The girl nodded, more to escape the conversation with the odd boy than out of true hunger.

The two walked into the kitchen to find the rest of their friends going through the small buffet line that was laid out on the bar. There were a few other shinobi as well as civilians in the room grabbing food. They then went through the other door leading into a large room where tables and chairs had been set up to form a small cafeteria to eat.

An older woman pulled a skillet off of the stove and refilled a large bowl on the counter before setting it aside and untying her apron. “That’s the last of it,” she informed the young ninjas in the room. “Better get it while you can. Otherwise you get to fend for yourselves.” Taking her own advice, she grabbed a plate and served herself before heading into the eating room.

Naruto was sitting at the kitchen table, shoveling food into his mouth at an alarming rate. Sasuke had a plate on one of the counters, eating while standing, looking a little bleary-eyed. Shino was at the table with Naruto and Kiba was just joining them.

Hinata and Sai served themselves and quickly joined the others at the table, Sai pulling over a small stool to sit at the end. “Where’s Sasame?” Hinata asked softly.

Naruto made a gesture with his chopsticks toward the other room, letting bits of rice fling off of the utensil. “She’s in there with some friends,” he muttered around a mouthful of food.

“Dobe,” Sasuke grumbled from the counter.

“What?” he asked defensively.

Sasuke merely raised an eyebrow.

Naruto quickly finished chewing and swallowed. “Sorry about that,” he said sheepishly. “She’s eating with some friends.”

Kiba let out an amused snicker. “Have you house broken him yet?” he asked Sasuke.

Sasuke smirked, ignoring the indignant squawk from the table. “Not fully.”

They ate breakfast quickly, with Naruto rattling off between bites about everything and nothing. Sasuke quietly set his dishes in the sink and walked towards the door. He stopped behind Naruto, reached down, cupped the blonde’s chin and tilted his head back so he could drop a kiss on those warm lips. He ignored the stares as he calmly informed his lover that he was going to take a quick shower before they left.

He moved to leave the room, hearing the hurried clicking of chopsticks on a plate before the scraping of chair legs announced someone standing up from the table. He felt a presence at his back before he had even properly left the room, hearing Kiba mutter behind them.

“God, didn’t they get enough last night?” the dog boy growled.

Naruto laughed and threw an arm over Sasuke’s shoulder from behind. “Don’t worry, mutt, no sex in the shower. I don’t feel like carrying him all the way to the village. Oof!!”

Sasuke calmly removed his elbow from Naruto’s ribs as he continued to walk out of the room.

“Bastard,” came the mumble from behind him.

**********************
Hanzaki looked over the seven shinobi gathered before him. Normally he would be upset by the added ninja from another village, but at this point in time it would only help them. He wasn’t sure how far he could trust them, but Uzumaki and Uchiha seemed not to mind their presence. Luckily this mission wouldn’t require them knowing too much more than they already likely did.

“After you gave us the information on the other bases,” he began, looking at Sasuke, “we sent out some of our shinobi to check on the more important ones. In this instance, I am referring to the spy network that is based in Grass Country. At first everything seemed to be pretty standard, however as soon as the announcement was made about a new Otokage, messenger birds began to blacken the skies over the base.”

He took a deep breath and let it out contemplatively. “I am beginning to believe that the base is the one key area that is helping to unite the other locations. We need to take out that base and eliminate the man in charge, Kyoshiro. I don’t want to wait until he has roused up the other lairs to move together against us.”

“I knew the little uptight prick would be a problem,” Naruto muttered. He retaliated to the dubious snort of amusement from his lover by sticking his tongue out briefly.

“Regardless,” Hanzaki interrupted, “It is now your mission to remove him from being a threat to the newly reformed Otogakure.”

“What about the other lab?” Naruto asked worriedly.

“We will send some of our own to deal with the last lab,” Hanzaki assured him.

Naruto looked at him dubiously. “That last one was a nightmare,” he said, repressing a shudder as he had a brief flashback to that particular raid.

“We’ll handle it,” Hanzaki said. “We are sending out two teams to make sure it gets shut down. Right now Grass Country takes priority. I don’t trust Kyoshiro, he’s potentially more detrimental to our people than that lab is at this moment.”

Sasame, Naruto and Sasuke nodded in understanding while the other four merely watched the proceedings. After pulling on their masks they stood, Naruto gesturing for the others as well, and took their leave to prepare.

Out in the hallway, a small dark blur suddenly hurled itself at Naruto. Naruto caught the young boy and swung him up on his hip. The familiar green-eyed child raised his hand and lifted the Anbu mask up enough that he could peek under it. He grinned when he saw the whisker marks and bright blue eyes.

“And how are you today?” Naruto asked with a happy lilt to his voice.

The boy smiled and wrapped his small arms around Naruto’s neck.

“That good, huh? You must’ve had ramen for lunch!”

The boy smiled and shook his head.

“No!” Naruto asked in astonishment. “Hmm, cookies? Did you have cookies for lunch?”

The boy gave him a look that said the older teen was being silly.

“Hiroki!” a feminine voice called out in mild exasperation.

The boy hid his face against Naruto’s neck, trying to melt into the older boy. When the woman got closer with an exclamation of “There you are!”, he wiggled away and dashed into Hanzaki’s room.

Naruto gave a good natured chuckle at the great sigh that the woman gave. “How is he doing?” he asked with genuine concern.

“Fairly well. We still don’t know who his family is or what his real name might be. He hasn’t spoken since he arrived,” she said, shooting a worried look at the door the boy had just sped through.

Sasuke lifted an eyebrow at that statement, remembering quite well his short conversation with the child.

“I’m sure he’ll come around in time,” she concluded with a smile. “If you will excuse me?”

Naruto gave a nod behind his mask and stepped aside for the dark-haired woman to tap respectfully at the Otokage’s door.

“Let’s go,” Sasame urged.

**********************
Hanzaki rubbed his eyes wearily. It was getting later on in the evening and the Konoha-nins had been gone for many hours. He was used to running a rebellion but he found that running a Hidden Village opened up a whole new panorama of problems.

He glanced over at the young boy that was seated at the table, happily drawing with an ink brush and scroll. Hiroki was a pleasant enough child. He never said a word, but he was able to convey his emotions and wants readily enough. He had used his expressiveness to make known his desire to stay with Hanzaki and entertain himself by drawing stick figures on a blank scroll.

Hanzaki couldn’t remember the last time he himself had been so care free.

There was a polite knock on the door and a newly appointed body guard stuck his head into the room. “Your tea is here, Hanzaki-sama.”

His lips twisted briefly into a scowl. Men he had known all his life were suddenly showering him with honorifics. The same men he used to get drunk with and gamble away what little money they had managed to swindle off of travelers through this poor village.

He made a curt motion and the guard withdrew to allow Orimi to enter the room. The woman had been with them for several years now, having lost her husband to the hands of one of Orochimaru’s men. She was a civilian, but had helped out in any way she could and was always grateful to them for taking her in and allowing her to help those who stood against the Sannin.

She threw a warm smile toward Hiroki as she knelt and sat the tea tray on the table. Hanzaki nodded at her thankfully and turned his attention back to the scroll in front of him, wondering how he was going to go about contacting the rest of the Hidden Villages to start peace negotiations.

He never saw the blade that took his life.

Orimi frowned as Hanzaki’s neck bled out. Such a waste. He wasn’t a bad man, but orders were orders and as a shinobi she knew better than to let her emotions influence her duties. She carefully wiped the blade on the man’s trouser leg, intending on putting it away when a motion caught her attention.

The boy was standing, staring at her with blazing green eyes. She decided rather regretfully that she would have to kill the child as well. While he only appeared to be five years of age at most, it was obvious that he had an intelligence perhaps a little beyond that of a typical boy of his age.

It was then that she noticed his skin rippling, bulges rising and sinking beneath his flesh. Suddenly his clothing was shredded as his skin ripped open and she began to scream.

The last thing she saw was the glowing green eyes.

*************************
It took the shinobi three days to reach the area of the base in Grass Country. The seven of them ranged out and surrounded the area, searching for patrols and sentries that undoubtedly were protecting the hideout.

After several hours of searching, they regrouped. While Kiba and Akamaru had caught the scent of several individuals, the traces were a few days old. The surrounding area seemed to be deserted.

Naruto frowned at the base suspiciously. Something was obviously going on and he knew instinctively that he wouldn’t like it.

“Give me a scroll and ink,” Sasuke ordered Sai shortly. Wordlessly the Anbu handed Sasuke the requested items. Sasuke opened the scroll, intent on drawing a layout of the base so they could formulate a plan for infiltration only to find that there was already something on the scroll.

His eyebrow twitched slightly as he took in the caricature of himself standing with his left hand on his hip in an extremely feminine pose. He sported large, snake slit eyes, a long forked tongue hanging out of his mouth, his hair was practically standing straight up in the back just like a chicken’s ass and he was wearing his old outfit with an exceptionally large bow tied in the back. Ah, and let’s not forget the anchor and rope tattoo on his chest.

Naruto and Kiba immediately began howling with laughter, Hinata closed her hands over a giggle and he heard what sounded suspiciously like a snort from under Shino’s hood. He glared up at the Aburame but the boy stood there as calmly as ever, his face mostly hidden and showing no expression.

He carefully rolled the scroll back up and tossed it in the air as he drew his katana. However, the scroll was saved at the last minute by a puff of smoke as a yellow-haired clone intercepted the parchment and threw it to Naruto.

“Naruto,” Sasuke growled. “Give it back.”

“No way! This is too damn funny!” he said with a snicker. He quickly unrolled the paper to get another look, breaking out into laughter once more at the image.

Had anyone doubted that Sasuke actually had a soft spot for Naruto it was laid to rest as he actually hesitated before slicing his katana through the drawing several times until it fell like confetti.

He paused once more as Naruto gave him the largest, hurt blue eyes that he had ever seen.

Pulling the tattered remnants of his pride together, he tried to ignore the look and turned back to Sai. “Do you have any more of those?” he demanded.

“No, but I can make another if you want,” he answered cheerfully.

“Really?!” Naruto asked happily, blue eyes practically shining in anticipation.

Sasuke felt a sigh coming on and held it back through sheer willpower. “Just give me a blank scroll,” he growled.

“Oh! Why didn’t you say so?” Sai held out another roll of paper.

Sasuke, with unwanted input from Naruto, began drawing a layout of the base from memory for the others to view.

“I think the best thing to do would be for Hinata to scan the parts of the base that she can for both people and potential traps,” Sasuke said thoughtfully as he gazed at his drawing. “Shino, the doors are chakra locked. See if you can slip some of your bugs in to scout the place. I am sure that they changed the seal that they had used whenever Naruto and I were last there. If so, we may need your insects to eat the chakra on the door so we can open it without setting anything off.

“We’ll go in with both me and Hinata taking point. Kiba and Akamaru will come in next so that they can warn us if they smell or hear anything. Naruto, Sai and Sasame will guard our backs.”

“Sounds like a plan, bastard,” Naruto agreed.

“Hn,” came the expected reply.

He led them closer to the base, just under cover of the trees and nodded toward Hinata.

The kunoichi activated her bloodline limit and the world shifted to shades of grey and white. Her gaze penetrated the soil and then the stone walls of the lair. She didn’t see any immediate signs of life, but she could detect small chakra signatures that could indicate traps or active jutsu.

“I don’t see anything alive,” she informed the others.

“Shino,” Sasuke murmured.

The teen lifted his arm and a swarm of insects flew out of his jacket sleeve. The creatures made their way to the entrance of the lair and began to scour it. Once they found a small opening, they began to push through, hesitating on the other side for their hive mates.

They took note of sources of chakra as they passed through the halls and searched out various rooms. After some time the tiny creatures returned to their master and reported their findings.

“It seems to be truly deserted,” Shino reported. “However, there are several chakra auras in there that could be anything.”

“I detected that as well,” Hinata confirmed.

“Then let’s see if they left any clues as to their whereabouts or any other useful information. There might be something that can tell us if they have plans for the village,” Sasuke decided. “Let’s go check out those doors.”

Naruto spoke up. “Let Sai check the area in front of the doors. He can send one of his inks in.”

Sasuke, who was unfamiliar with Sai’s style, merely nodded.

Sai quickly made an ink tiger and sent it on ahead. It quickly arrived at the entrance without setting off any devices. Once at the door, Sasuke went ahead and formed the seals that would normally unlock the seals. As expected, nothing happened.

At that point, Shino released his chakra eating insects in a large enough number that they almost covered the door. Naruto barely repressed the shudder at the thought of all of those bugs inside of Shino’s body. It was a wonder the other teen had any room left for his organs.

“Is it just me or is that seriously creepy?” Sai spoke up suddenly. Since everyone else was thinking the same thing, no one said a word.

After a few moments, Shino looked over at Sasuke. “It’s done.” The large swarm of insects came back to him, flying underneath his clothing through his hood and sleeves.

Naruto walked up and pushed on one of the doors. Without the chakra enhancing it, the large stone double doors wouldn’t budge.

“Help me push,” he grumbled to his other teammates. Sasuke moved beside him as Kiba and Sai took the other door. Between, the four of them the doors slowly parted, revealing the darkness beyond.

“Doesn’t look like anyone left the lights on for us,” Kiba commented. His nose picked up the scent of people, food, unwashed sweaty clothes as well as several other smells that were typical of a barracks that had been closed up for a few days.

They cautiously walked in, noses and eyes scanning before them. Sai quickly sent his painted tiger just ahead of them in case the presence of chakra set off a trap. They stopped at an intersection in the hall.

“This base isn’t the biggest, but it is still extensive,” Sasuke commented thoughtfully. “There doesn’t seem to be anyone here so let’s split up and search the place for anything that might point to where they’ve gone.”

Sai spoke up. “We overheard some guards when we were in this area a little while back. They spoke of some kind of monster in the basement. I don’t know if they meant literally or not, but it is something to keep in mind.”

Naruto looked over at Sasuke who, in turn, shrugged. “I never heard anything about it,” he said in reply to the unasked question.

“Shino, stay at the front and watch the doors. Send your insects if someone shows up or you need help,” Sasuke said. He believed Shino would be the perfect one to watch their backs because even if he was taken out, the insects would follow his last orders and alert them.

“Hinata, go with Sai. Kiba and Akamaru, go with Sasame and I’ll go with Naruto. Meet back here in thirty minutes. I just want a quick sweep over the place to make sure that it is really empty and there aren’t traps around every corner. Once we meet back up, we’ll search for information.”

In his mind, those were the best pair ups. Hinata seemed to get along with Sai better than the others. She could be his eyes and he was an experienced fighter. Kiba and Akamaru had heightened senses and could guide Sasame through any traps that they might encounter and, he reluctantly admitted, Sasame was a decent fighter. Last but not least, he and Naruto knew each other’s styles and worked well as a team usually. They were both strong fighters and Sasuke could see things that Naruto would never be able to pick up.

He noticed the looks that the others were giving him. “What?” he demanded irritably.

Team Eight and Sasame merely shrugged and moved into position. Naruto was giving him a soft smile that somehow made him self-conscious, but Sai saved him from the sensation.

“Why do you get to go with Naruto? Maybe I want to go with him?” he asked with the hint of a whine in his voice.

“You need someone with you that has better than normal senses,” Sasuke growled, not liking that someone was questioning his instructions.

“Then let Naruto go with Hinata and I’ll go with you!” Sai said with a smirk. He mentally chuckled as two pairs of eyes suddenly narrowed at him. Normally he wouldn’t be doing this on a mission, but no one was here and he just had to take a moment to play.

“Hinata doesn’t need the distraction,” Sasuke stated succinctly. “And you and I know nothing about how to work together. Naruto and I are a better team.”

“But wouldn’t Naruto be a distraction to you as well?” Sai walked up into Sasuke’s personal space, keeping Naruto within his peripheral vision. “Besides, you and I could get to know each other better and then maybe we could make a good pair.”

Sai was ready for the hand that grabbed the back of his half shirt and allowed it to yank him away from Sasuke. “You’re not funny anymore, Sai,” Naruto growled. “Now get going, we have a mission to finish.”

“Anything you say, midget dick,” Sai grinned.

Sasuke quickly grabbed Naruto to keep him from doing bodily harm to the brunette.

“Sai,” Shino suddenly barked. Once the Anbu looked over at him, he continued in a calmer tone, “This isn’t the time or place for this. You have your orders now follow them or does being Anbu not mean anything anymore?”

Sai paused as several different sensations passed through him. He knew that these were his own emotions, but he was still not very good at identifying them. He was Anbu and yet he wasn’t. His life had had meaning through serving Danzou, but now he didn’t and the Hokage didn’t act anything like his former sensei.

Upon meeting Naruto, something inside of him had resurfaced, had awakened and Sai craved that feeling. But now Naruto kept most of his attention on Sasuke and Sai wanted some back for himself.

Was this what they called jealousy? Was he jealous of Sasuke?

“Let’s get going,” Sasuke said, heading off down the hall.

The others took that as their cue and split off.

TBC