Black as Blood

V.

Blood flowing freely. Sliding down white. Mingling with clear sweat. Pink water dribbling down the stream. Fierce breathing. Back to back. Alone. Metal tearing flesh, teeth, nails, fangs, claws. Rending flesh, frightened screams, dying, dying, dying, dead. Falling, falling, rushing, fleeing.

Free.

Sasuke jerked upright as he felt his own body hit the ground, eye wide as he stared into the dawn-lit apartment. His body was covered in cold sweat, his breathing harsher than he had ever wanted it to be. He tugged the blanket from his body to check his flesh, to make sure he had received no wounds. The brunette sighed and flopped back down, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes. He’d been plagued by nightmares just like this after being tossed aside like a broken doll. He felt like a broken doll, a precious toy that a child loved while it was young, or it was cool to play with dolls, and then tossed aside, unwanted.

He needed to move.

Sasuke rose from the couch and began to pace, feet lightly touching the floor because he knew Naruto was still asleep, and therefore wanted to make as little noise as he could. He needed to move, to run freely through the woods. He wanted to run. But he couldn’t, not without an escort, and his escort was currently snoring and mumbling something about ramen and cheese. Sasuke shook his head and resumed his pacing, a hand snarled in his hair. He knew he should be resting, should be regaining the chakra he had lost, but the urge to just run wild was overbearing any desire to heal. He fought his desires before, murdering them viciously, always believing he was an avenger and one day Itachi would kill him, despite his claims that he would kill his brother first. He had had no doubts at which of them was the stronger. Sasuke finally lay down on the couch, shaking. He knew he was incredibly fragile at the moment, but pride, what was left of it, anyway, kept him going. Somehow. Sasuke closed his eye.

Naruto woke up with a headache, and groaned. It took him five whole minutes to roll out of bed, push himself up and wobble toward the bathroom. It took him fifteen minutes to shower because Kyuubi kept complaining of feeling soiled in some place Naruto was sure didn’t exist. When he was dressed, he left his room to find breakfast, and paused to check on Sasuke. The elder was sprawled across the couch, his head turned to the side, mouth slightly open. His arm was flung over his head, the other across his waist, just far enough beneath his shirt to reveal his flat, scarred stomach. The pants he wore were riding low on his hips, revealing the sharp bones beneath that pale stretch of skin. Naruto felt himself reddening, and bolted into the kitchen.

Naruto paced as he fixed breakfast for two instead of one, peeking out now and then to make sure Sasuke was asleep, or at the very least, in minor agony from sleeping so awkwardly. But Sasuke hadn’t moved, save for his head turning to the other side, revealing that huge disfiguring scar on his face. Naruto moved closer and watched that scar, studied it, and fought the urge to touch it. Sasuke deserved to have that wound, deserved to have that mark marring his pale flesh, to have that pretty face mauled. He’d turned his back on Konoha, on his friends, on the people who cared for him. Sasuke had abandoned his home for a promise of power and he hadn’t cared what would happen to him. He hadn’t cared how it would affect those who loved him, those who cared so much about him, and who would give anything to keep him safe. He’d given it all up. Sasuke deserved everything he got.

Naruto started back as Sasuke arched off the cushions, a whimper escaping his mouth. His body was taut, muscles straining, and he finally relaxed, flopping on the couch with a soft sigh of relief. Naruto watched, concerned but not too concerned, but he couldn’t help but reach out to touch Sasuke’s hair. He was on the floor with his wrist bent backwards before he even registered movement, Sasuke kneeling on his spine and pinning him there to the floor. Sasuke blinked, as if realizing where he was, scrambling off the blonde and backing up to the wall, eye wide. Naruto groaned and got to his feet, rubbing his forehead and rotating his wrist.

“The hell was that for?” He snarled at the brunette. Sasuke looked pained for a moment, tense.

“It’s just a reflex,” Sasuke said finally, relaxing just barely, looking at the blonde glaring at him, closing his eye in a pained expression. “Orochimaru… used to test my reflexes.”

“Like how? Attacking you in the middle of the night with knives?”

Sasuke’s lips drew into a tight line, and he said nothing. Naruto paled a little bit, and swallowed. He looked away and then back at the brunette, eyes narrowing as doubts bubbled up in his head.

“Yeah right. You were going to be his vessel. Like he’d damage your body.”

Naruto stalked into the kitchen, and he heard Sasuke follow hesitantly, steps light across the floor until they stopped in the threshold of his den and kitchen, Sasuke’s attention on the offerings on the table.

“You made breakfast…?”

His voice was soft, tired, as if he’d been expecting to be left to fend for himself. Naruto nodded, already struggling with his air of cruelty. Sasuke really didn’t deserve to be punished like Naruto was treating him. But Naruto hated him, and justified his cruelty by his hatred for his former friend.

“If you don’t want it, don’t eat it.” Naruto replied nastily, slamming the fridge door shut as he moved to the counter to fetch a glass, pouring the milk into the cup before sniffing it. He made a face and dumped the milk down the sink, and tossed the carton in the recycle bin by the trashcan.

“No one’s made me breakfast before.”

That caught Naruto’s attention, turning to stare at the other shinobi suspiciously. He felt a little proud that he’d been able to provide Sasuke with something he’d never had, but smothered the feeling before it could change his mind on how to treat the traitor. He snorted and moved to find some orange juice as he heard the brunette move to sit at the table, poking at the eggs in the ramen as if he couldn’t bring himself to eat it just yet. Naruto watched him out of the corner of his eye, gauging reaction. Those chopsticks moved, and Sasuke pressed his hands together in thanks before beginning to eat. Naruto reddened as he heard a purring noise from his roommate, and turned his face away.

“What about your parents?”

“Mm?”

“Your parents. Didn’t they make breakfast for you?”

“I wasn’t given any attention until I mastered the fire jutsu. Only Itachi stayed by my side, but it wasn’t very much.”

“And you hate Itachi.”

“Not anymore.”

Naruto paused again, turning away from the fridge and moving to sit across from Sasuke, staring hard at him. Sasuke watched him back, head slightly tilted, eye watching Naruto’s own. The blonde said nothing, did nothing, just stared as Sasuke stared before he finally sat back, his face puzzled.

“Why not?”

Sasuke didn’t reply right away, eye now downcast, as though he was ashamed. Silence pervaded the area for a good long while, and Naruto’s curiosity led to anger the longer he was left unanswered.

“Fine! Don’t tell me, jeez.” He got up again and moved back to get his juice when he heard it. It was soft, barely discernable above his clacking and noisemaking, but with Kyuubi’s hearing, the shaky sigh was as loud as if Sasuke had been obvious about it.

“…There are… things…” Sasuke began hesitantly, looking at a point beyond the threshold of the kitchen, away from Naruto, “that my family has done… that have caused many people to suffer. My brother… in his own way… avenged those people.”

“You mean when he…?”

“Yeah.”

Naruto was silent again, and he finally sat back down to eat his cooling ramen, noticing Sasuke had seemed to lose his appetite. The brunette wasn’t looking at him, but rather the sliding glass door in the den that led to the balcony. Naruto glanced over but saw nothing, so he finished his own breakfast before moving. He made to touch Sasuke’s shoulder, but stopped, drawing back and moving to clean up.

“You should eat. Tsunade’s going to want to see you today.”

Sasuke made an assenting sound and turned back to his ramen bowl, eating almost like an automaton. Naruto shook his head and let Sasuke go shower while he cleaned his remarkably sterile kitchen, despite the little mouse that liked to steal the grapes he left out on the counter. Naruto listened to the water run, and thought about happier times, and smiled a little. The water shut off, and he could hear Sasuke moving around. He turned when he felt the other’s presence and stared for a good five minutes before pushing the brunette out the door and toward the Hokage’s compound. He fought the desire running through his veins and blamed it on Kyuubi.