Evanescent Trail

IV

The other side of you



“That’s ridiculous, since Naruto already likes someone else!” Kiba stood on a wooden bench where Sasuke was sitting beside him and pointed at a shocked Sasuke with his sharp nailed forefinger as the words went out of his mouth in a near scream.



One day, during the growing of Naruto’s fifth tail in the fall in which he was absent, Kiba blurted this out of the blue in the middle of his heated discussion with Sasuke --- well more like Kiba’s rantings about Sasuke not deserving his best friend’s affection. They had been grating on each other’s nerves recently every time Kiba would catch Sasuke giving that ‘drooling’ look towards Naruto, come to think of it, there was nothing that Kiba did that didn’t grate on the Uchiha’s nerves and vice versa.



“What?” Sasuke responded as if no one in the Fire country could have been liked by Naruto other than him. They were in the backyard of the school and Sasuke was eating lunch, apparently the bench he was sitting on was under the tree where Kiba liked to take his nap, when Kiba woke up and finally jumped down, Sasuke couldn’t even remember how their topic of argument had been drawn from Kiba’s presence making Sasuke lose his appetite towards him liking Naruto.



The victorious grin that threatened to split Kiba’s face in half at seeing Sasuke lose his tongue in the word war seemed to freeze in the cold air of fall, with the dried leaves drowning the Uchiha’s feet and some landing on his shoulder and the half consumed bentou on his lap. As if he’d just realized he’d done something worth taking his life, Kiba gripped both side of his hair and pulled them in desperate attempt to escape reality as he shook his head repeatedly, squatting on the said bench.



Apparently, Kiba had just said a secret he swore never to reveal to anyone without Naruto’s permission, and to the Uchiha none the less, the fox would have his hide.



“Aaaaaah! I didn’t just say that! I did NOT just say that!” Kiba screamed, appearing oblivious to the black eyes staring at him deny everything he’d just said.



“Yes, you did.”



“No, no, I didn’t just say that! Fuck, Naruto’s going to kill me! No, scratch that, he’s going to fucking castrate me! You!” Sasuke drew his head back a little when Kiba’s forefinger almost touched his forehead. “Don’t you ever tell this to Naruto you hear!? You didn’t hear anything. None of this ever happened!”



And something sinister and evil slowly but surely rose at the back of Sasuke’s mind, as a slow smirk surfaced on his face. “Oh? And what if I did? You being castrated by Naruto sure would be something amusing to watch.” Sasuke said calmly as he closed the lid on his bentou, although he wanted to deny it, based on what Kiba was acting, it’s true that Naruto has his eyes on someone already. And he couldn’t let that happen.



“Then I’ll kill you and make it look like an accident!”



“I’d like to see you try.” The black slit irises warped into a pink hue, darkening as the seconds passed them by, but abruptly turned back to black when Sasuke noticed Kiba’s smell and appearance tensing and going alert as if ready to take on a fight, no he didn’t want an unwanted fight, he wanted to know who his rival was and plan to outdo the bastard, whoever he was. “Either way, Naruto’s not going to trust you anymore if he found out.”



The smirk went back to Sasuke’s face full force as Kiba’s face started to resemble that of a dog’s cornered by the wall and the dog pound security’s net.



“… or, you could let me in on the secret, make me swear never to spit a word. And we’d have a nice little truce between us. Wouldn’t that make Naruto feel happy to see both his friends in good relations?” Kiba didn’t even budge when Sasuke put his bentou aside and rested his arm on the wolf’s shoulder, he just stared on his feet, for the first time actually thinking about things before saying anything. This was about Naruto, Naruto’s trust, he didn’t want to lose that now. He and his stupid impulsive mouth.



“What do you want?” Kiba groaned.



Finally. The smirk on Sasuke’s face became a victorious grin, and he leaned forward to whisper on Kiba’s ear. “Who’s the unfortunate shithead?”



Kiba had half expected Sasuke to ask that, but it still surprised him, how Sasuke’s voice emitted a strong aura to kill.



“Fine. But there are conditions. I trust you not to go back on your words.”



“Depends.” At that Sasuke retrieved his arm back and put it on his pants pocket while the other he slung on the back of the bench, leaning back as he crossed his legs.



“Whatever we discuss is for eyes and ears only.” Sasuke nodded, and Kiba seeing the affirmative continued. “Don’t let Naruto know you know ANYTHING about it, no hints, no nothin’.” Again, another nod. “Don’t make him cry.” Now this had Sasuke giving Kiba’s serious face a confused look.



“What? Why would I do that?”



“Naruto really likes that person, if you do anything to hurt that person or hurt their relationship, the deal’s off automatically, and I swear on my pride as the next head of the Wolf clan.” The grayish eyes turned into liquid silver. “If you do anything to make him cry, I’ll kill you. Right on the spot, regardless of the time and place. Fuck getting castrated by Naruto.”



Sasuke was never one to be easily intimidated, but by how Kiba looked so serious and how he said those words as if he would actually, and will do it, he felt himself gulp down the nervousness settling at the pit of his stomach. “He already endured a shitload of problems, I don’t want you or anyone else adding into it.”



Sasuke willed himself to calm down, reassuring himself that if ever he comes face to face with the prick he wouldn’t lay a nail on him if that’s what Naruto wanted. “I swear on my pride as the next head of the Cat clan.” Kiba’s eyes seemed to bore through Sasuke’s and the Uchiha was relieved when the wolf finally released him from the scrutinizing stare with a heavy sigh.



“Are we done?” Instead of answering Kiba just stood up, and started to walk towards the door of the school.



“Five thirty in Sunday morning. Akagahara woods. Don’t be late. Meet you at the shrine at the foot.” Was all Kiba said before he disappeared from view.



If Kiba didn’t tell him his name, then Sasuke probably has no idea who this person was, which means he’s from another place, in a working age, outside of school or from another village.



Sasuke clenched the white material on his lap with both his hands. He could already feel his nails itching to burry them to the bastard’s neck.



+++



Okay, maybe he was way too early, he couldn’t believe he’d been too excited, anticipating and dreading for something at the same time that he didn’t even get a wink of sleep. During the previous days, he’d acted as if nothing had transpired at the backyard of their school. He still looked as if he wanted to touch Naruto’s fifth tail like he did at the other previous tails, Naruto still gave a considerable distance between them cautiously, Kiba still found it funny, everything passed as relatively normal, except that now every time he’d see Naruto, he couldn’t keep himself from worrying about that ‘person’.



He’d been waiting inside the ruins of the shrine at the foot of another mountain called Akagahara, it’s fall then so besides the colder than Hades temperature at four in the morning, the brown leaves coming from the trees were so many that it’s already reached past his ankles. Sasuke took his time waiting for Kiba from his perch atop a tree branch, he glanced at his watch again and it was already starting to brighten up.



“Damn it Kiba…” Sasuke was already cursing up a storm inside his brain because of the possibility of Kiba standing him up when the wolf finally appeared, settling on his knees on the other tree branch opposite the one he was resting on, shaking most of the leaves.



“You’re late.”



“You were too early. Don’t tell me you slept the night here. Too excited for the field trip?” Kiba grinned, snickering altogether at Sasuke’s scowl.



“Where are we going?”



“We’re going to tail him. Judging from his unstableness because of his recently added tail, he wouldn’t be able to locate us if we weren’t too close.”



“What kind of morbid creature does Naruto like for him to come in this place?” Sasuke muttered under his breath as Kiba jumped down the tree branch, turning into his wolf form.



“You have no idea.” Kiba answered with a manic grin. Sasuke followed suit then, transforming into a young black panther, watch, accessories, clothes and all dropping on a heap beside Kiba’s.



Akagahara was a place where most traitors during the Great Demon Wars were captured in the human world to be executed or imprisoned in the underground dungeons, it reeked of the smell of their blood and the suffocating powers the talismans and bells emit used to cage them. So Sasuke kept wondering, who this person was. A guard? Or maybe a traitor!? A prisoner!?



Impossible… that’s…



“Oi, if you don’t keep up we’re going to lose him!” Sasuke snapped out of his musings when Kiba whispered harshly towards him, enough for him to hear. He didn’t believe it at first when Naruto actually showed up at the front gates of Akagahara in his five-tailed fox form carrying a small bag in his mouth, there was nothing but just ruins there so everything including the security was lax, there were some minor traps, but even if Naruto did activate them, he evaded them easily. Sasuke was surprised how Naruto could be so nimble with every dodge, then again, he should have expected it from a fox like him.



They were thankful it was windy that day, that their voice, the sound of leaves being disturbed because of their paws would be carried away by the wind. They were brought into a tunnel of some sort, like a cave with two opening on each end Kiba let Naruto inside for maybe a few minutes before they followed, and they were always halting in the middle. They had to be extra careful, since in a tunnel where everything is blocked including some of the light even a stray sound could be heard, even their breathing had to be shallow.



At the end of the tunnel was a little streak of light, growing larger and larger and eventually, where Naruto had disappeared.



“Where the fuck did he go?”



“Let’s stay here for a while.” Kiba lay on the cold ground of the tunnel-like cave, curling as he yawned with his lack of sleep.



“What? If we lose him-”



“Relax, we won’t. I’ve been there couple times already.”



“Where are we going anyway?”



“You’ll find out soon enough. Never thought you to be the impatient type Uchiha.”



“That person, what… what kind of creature is he?”



“You sound so sure that it’s a boy.” Kiba said in an amused tone.



“He’s not!?”



“Well, with those looks and that super unsophisticated personality, it’s hard not to imagine him being liked by a guy--- but yeah, you’re right. He’s a guy.”



“You’ve met this person?”



“You couldn’t really say ‘met’. I only come with Naruto, but other than that, I leave them alone to spend some time with each other. Weird guy.”



“Weird?”



“Well, everybody around Naruto’s weird.”



“This coming from you?”



“Shut up. I can’t tell you how he is, but I can say he’s kind, to Naruto at least. Every time Naruto talks about him, you could see hearts on his eyes. Angels prancing around his head. I wish he’d stop.”



“What clan is he from?”



“Ahh… that sort of thing, you should see for yourself. But let me tell you, right now Sasuke, you don’t stand a chance.” At that Kiba slowly got up and straightened, shaking his head and scratching the back of his right ear with his hind leg. “Let’s go.”



As they treaded towards the light, Sasuke’s heart rate began to quicken, he’s got no idea what awaits for him at the end of that tunnel, to be honest, he was afraid of what he would see. But when they finally got through the tunnel and the light cleared up his vision that went blurry for awhile because of its intensity, all he saw was… more woods.



The place was clearer than the one at Akagahara, it was filled with trees, leaves, and other animals, but somehow even if they looked the same, it felt different. Like the smell of the air, and the serene surroundings.



“Where are we?” No doubt, the place looked cleaner than Akagahara, it looked as if someone was taking care of the said woods, but then he saw some litters, squirrels running around, climbing up the trees…



“Come on.” From the soft damp ground of the woods they arrived at a concrete road bordered with bushes and trees, more and more the scenery started to feel different, there were no traps for example, it felt… calm and at the same time, unsettling to be there. All the while Kiba kept quiet, Sasuke didn’t know what Kiba was being cryptic about, he wasn’t even sure if this place was in the Fire Country’s map, he’d never seen anything resembling Konoha’s smell or air, or sound.



Finally they ended up in a large fenced thatched house, Kiba halted quickly at the sight of an opened shoji at what appeared to be the back garden, they were at least twenty meters from it and Sasuke knew they could have walked nearer, but all the same they could still hear and watch clearly from that long proximity with their heightened demon senses.



“Shit, he’s still-” Sasuke didn’t know why Kiba suddenly ducked from behind the bush blushing instensely, but he followed suit almost as quickly, hiding on his perch behind a rather thick tree adjacent to Kiba’s hiding place. The dark panther couldn’t help but stare at Kiba, wondering what he was mutely gesturing with his hands, covering his eyes, making a cutting swaying motion that it began to annoy Sasuke and just turned to looking at the house again.



What the hell was Kiba being so-



And Sasuke’s eyes bugged out.



There behind one of the trees just a couple of yards away from the backyard of the house was Naruto in his fox form, he slowly began to turn, the hind legs morphing into tanned thighs, legs and calves, the front turning to arms and hands, his blonde hair swaying with the light breeze, covering his naked back, but what surprised Sasuke the most was how the tails and the ears didn’t appear like they were supposed to.



“Don’t look!” Kiba was suddenly beside Sasuke, whispering harshly to his ear in close proximity looking like he just caught his daughter watching porn video, if he had the hands to do it, he’d have covered Sasuke’s eyes.



“Wh-what is… what is this!? How can he—how could he turn into a human form this early? It’s not even close to mating season yet!” Sasuke whispered back, already in the verge of shouting if not for the fact of the possibility of them getting caught.



Kiba slouched his back after that, following the movement with a heavy sigh he sat beside Sasuke as they both watched Naruto kneel down and pull out a set of clothes from the bag he was carrying in his mouth earlier. After the undergarments he slipped on a simple orange tee, loose slacks and a pair of sandals, he tied his long hair at the back with elastic making his wild forelocks frame his face and neck.



“There you have it, Sasuke.”



“What, ‘there you have it’? I don’t understand a fucking thing!?”



“When it comes to these things, you’re abnormally slow. And you’re the topnotch of the class.”



“I don’t need insults, Kiba. How the hell can he turn into a human form!?”



“You know the answer yourself. The question is ‘why’, right? Demon foxes have an incredibly large amount of power to support the transformation, they don’t actually have to mate first to be able to do that. Even a kiss or a more intimate action can bring it up. But I’m no person to confirm if Naruto’s chastity is still intact, since I don’t have a weird hobby of peeping like that toad freak does.” No, Sasuke couldn’t believe this, not if his tail would be cut for it.



“What… I-I don’t get this at all.” From their perch, they saw Naruto jump inside the house regardless of the tall fence barricading it as if he was used to doing it.



“Let’s get closer…” Sasuke followed Kiba with uncertainty, but as they got nearer, the truth slowly unraveled in front of him.



Naruto passed the exceptionally large carp filled pond of the garden and went straight to step on the porch, Sasuke’s ears twitched, straining his ears to get a clearer sound for the blonde’s voice. “Gaara?”



Gaara?



Sasuke turned to Kiba’s indifferent face, and supposing how Kiba’s expression didn’t change and how the wolf nodded at his questioning look, he got his first question answered. Gaara, was the creature’s name. “Looks like some lizard to me.” Kiba snorted at Sasuke’s first impression, true, the guy was missing some necessary hair above the dark rimmed eyes.



The half opened shoji fully slid open, Naruto remained standing on the porch and slowly sat on it as if waiting for the person to come out. The blonde wiggled his toes as he stared at them, swaying his legs back and forth while the sound of steps approaching towards him grew louder.



“You were gone for awhile. I thought you’d never come back.” His was a voice so impassive, it gave shame to Sasuke’s own. His hair was a flaming red color, handsome eyes rimmed with dark color bearing blue green irises, he wore a simple cotton robe tied close on his waist.



“Hi.” Naruto looked up and smiled at Gaara, while the stoic man gave a small smile of his own as he looked down the blonde. “You were waiting for me?”



“Yes.” Gaara leaned down, bracing a hand on the wooden post beside Naruto that slid down as his knees gently descended on the smooth wooden floor, his other hand he used to hold Naruto’s chin, preventing Naruto to move his head away and they kissed, eyes both closed, shoulders that were once tense relaxing and legs that were swaying coming to an abrupt stop.



Sasuke?



Have you ever thought what it would feel like to become human?



Sasuke now realized what those words had meant, months ago, those words made him lose sleep for countless nights on end, but he forcefully pushed it at the back of his mind, ignored it. But when you tend to ignore something, doesn’t it mean that it’s been in your head all that time?