Illuminating Heaven

Title: Illuminating Heaven / 天照 / Amaterasu

Pairing: Kakashi/Sasuke

Rating: NC-17

Warning: Arousal, violence, blood.

A/N: Set in post-canon. Reviews highly appreciated. A huge thank you to my lovely beta editor ka0richan @ LJ. This fic so would not be what it is now without her!

Summary: Kakashi'd wondered when and if he'd ever encounter his prodigal former student again, but never expected it to be quite like this.

This Chapter: "He couldn't believe that he'd had such an explicit dream about the pretentious asshole who held his chakra hostage"





Exodus



"Rise and shine."



It was the disturbance of air, the rustle of stiff material, that had his eyes snapping open -- before his vision was obscured by something thick and heavy and shockingly cold. Having a pile of clothes unceremoniously dumped on his face was not the way Sasuke would've liked to wake up. With a small irritated growl, he reached up and tugged the fabric down as he pushed himself off the bedroll, blinking the fog out of his eyes. His muscles were humming with sudden tension, body alert as his mind worked to sort through the web of distorted memories.



"We move out in fifteen minutes, so get dressed and have your breakfast."



There Kakashi went again, talking in that infuriating tone that suggested Sasuke had a reason to treat him like a superior. He glanced at the older man, eyes narrowed almost to slits as his mouth tightened. Except, the sight of him triggered a chain reaction of images and memories that came flooding back in the feeling of his hands on him and his cock in him and the sharp points of his teeth at his neck and the cold cave wall against his back and--



Sasuke violently crushed that train of thought. He couldn't believe that he'd had such an explicit dream about the pretentious asshole who held his chakra hostage. Feeling the heat in his cheeks as he flushed slightly, he turned his attention to shoving his arm through one of the sleeves of his yukata. It was just a dream, he told himself. He had no control over dreams.



Dreams were just the imaginary product of a mind that lost control. Sasuke hated the moments between when he closed his eyes and opened them. And if he could've gone on without ever needing any rest, he would've. Sleep pulled down his defenses, made him too unguarded, and it was during that time that his mind liked to fuck with him. Like taking the experience of having his naked body shoved violently up against a wall, the heat of another radiating against it, and sexualizing that violence, making it a pleasurable experience when it was anything but -- save for that leg pressed be-- Sasuke tightened his fist around his yukata top, knuckles whitening, brows furrowing.



Apparently his mind liked to fuck with him when he was awake, too.



"We have a date with the empress. You remember the empress, don't you?" Kakashi asked as he busied himself with checking his gear and restocking the pack he normally wore at waistline instead of reading Icha Icha like he normally would've. After losing sleep and struggling to keep his own arousal at bay, the jounin didn't think reading porn at the crack of dawn was a good way to start off his day, unless he wanted to walk around uncomfortable for the rest of the day.



Sasuke, however, was too busy trying to bleach his mind clean of the dream (though really, it was more of a nightmare, wasn't it) to notice Kakashi's discomfort. He shot him a flat look as he continued to dress silently, vaguely remembering the bitchy actress-cum-empress whose autographed glossy headshot had ended up the object of a certain loudmouth moron's annoying antics. Nevermind the fact that the retard already had an autographed photo from her.



Naruto had bugged him for two weeks straight until Sasuke finally couldn't take any more of his whining and relinquished the object to the idiot after he decided to start staking out the Uchiha complex with a pair of binoculars and a week's worth of instant ramen.



But that didn't come close to the current frustration he was dealing with.



Especially when Kakashi had taken his silence for an inability to remember and continued with, "Maa, I guess it was a while ago, so you've probably forgotten..." Oh right, because it was so long ago and he had Alzheimers. Sasuke let a scoff of derision that Kakashi's lips turned upwards at as he zipped the pack up. "Anyway, she serves very nice tea, and if we get there on time, we might be lucky enough to have some with her."



Sasuke wondered briefly what tea would taste like drunken through a mask, and tightened the thick rope around his waist, movements sharp and filled with irritation as Kakashi continued to talk about tea and how the tea was apparently from some special place in Snow Country and was known for its exquisite taste and aroma. When the jounin started to talk about what kind of delicacies were served with the tea, Sasuke began to consider how he would find a way to get away from this man, and more importantly -- how to unseal his chakra.



If Kakashi had learned a way to seal chakra, then Sasuke would figure out a way to unseal it.



~



After a quick meal of ration bars washed down with water, Kakashi sealed his travel pack into a scroll that fit neatly in his waist pack for easier travel and released the barrier seal that blocked the entrance of the cave. The harsh bite of perpetual winter immediately rushed over them in a gust of icy wind that easily snuck between the folds of their clothing.



"Travel in front of me -- I'll tell you where to go." Kakashi informed his former student, who leveled him with a glare and a slight flare of killing intent. Sasuke must have picked the killing intent up from Orochimaru. He certainly didn't have very good control over it, always so quick to anger (though, that might have something to do with the fact that Kakashi had sealed his chakra...) and not even caring to suppress it.



But when Sasuke was dealing with his chakra held hostage and being treated like a prisoner, he didn't really see a reason as to why he should be diplomatic. Diplomacy wasn't exactly something he excelled at, anyway. It was easier to rearrange an enemy's face than to force himself into the plasticity of smiles that required too much effort for too little reward.



For Kakashi to have him travel in front would ensure that he wouldn't be able to run away, and his movements could be monitored at all times. It was like being locked in a proverbial cage within the walls of Kakashi's range of vision -- a revelation that only heated his conviction and cemented his resolve. He would find a way to escape, and make Kakashi regret that arrogance of his; that self-righteous, self-important way he went about with everything he ever did.



Sasuke suddenly remembered the way bark had scratched at his back and how tight the wire had been when Kakashi tied him up in that tree all those years ago, and preached to him about friendship and precious companions. He'd stuffed his ears full of unrealistic notions of peace and happiness and all that didn't exist in a world as harsh and cruel as the one he lived in. Maybe in Kakashi's world, in Naruto's world, those idyllic dreams could manifest, but only within the lives of those who lived with their eyes always closed, never seeing the reality of the world. How deep it cut. Right to the bone.



Sasuke's eyes were pried open by unforgiving hands, and when he tried to close them against the harshness of the elements, he only ever seemed to grow weaker no matter how hard he reached or how desperately he tried to bridge the gap between righteousness and all that had been lost. It was only when he opened his eyes once more and saw the world as it really was, did he truly understand: he was never meant to close his eyes again after having them forced open. He was never meant to be blind.



So when they moved out across a frozen tundra, snow stretching before them as far as the eye could see, Sasuke looked for an opening, bided his time. He would go along with Kakashi's plans, and just when the jounin least expected, he would make his escape.



The wind whipped against skin like sand, grating the surface of bare flesh unaccustomed to the harshness of the elements.



"Hold it. I sense... four, no, five people approaching," Kakashi called from behind him. "Head for the forest, we need tree cover." They sprinted across the frozen turf towards the evergreen forest just ahead. Sasuke moved mechanically, his lips curled into a slight smirk. If this was an ambush, then this would be the perfect opportunity to escape. Especially when Kakashi moved so that he was alongside him as they darted into the cover of forest, trees a blur of green and white as they quickly traveled -- but not fast enough, it seemed. The killing intent that Kakashi had sensed was now so strong, so close, Sasuke could sense it as well, even with his chakra sealed -- whoever were chasing them were fast.



But before they could move any deeper into the forest, the ground began to rumble, snow falling off trees with the tremors. Kakashi extended his arm for them to halt, and turned to Sasuke as though he were about to say something. But before he could even open his mouth, the shuddering earth split with a deafening crack, and a gigantic icicle stabbed upwards right at them, forcing them to leap apart from each other to evade it.



They were under attack.



~



The forest shook with battle as Sasuke fled, sucking in cold air so fast his lungs burned.



The ninja that had ambushed them wore the same chakra armor from the military compound he'd broken into just a few days ago. For someone who had no chakra or weapons and had to rely solely on taijutsu against ice that rose up and tried to imprison him; frozen tigers that burst out of the ground and tried to swallow him; icicles that tried to stab him -- it'd taken all of his effort to take down the opponent he was fighting, leaving Kakashi behind to handle the rest.



He wondered if the jounin noticed him missing yet, or if he was still so caught up with the fight that he still believed Sasuke was handling his own opponent.



Maybe Kakashi would end up being taken down in the fight, but Sasuke highly doubted that would happen.



Racing across snow and weaving through trees, he caught sight of a river and started to head straight for it, remembering a moment too late that he had no chakra to allow for easy travel over water. But if he followed the river far enough, it would eventually bring him to the sea -- and Sasuke would then be able to locate his hideout. He needed to rework his strategy, and factor in the Kakashi-shaped obstacle that had created a severe hindrance, as well as the power that had been sealed within him.



The river was a silver gash in a too-white landscape, and when it caught the sun overhead, its waters would scintillate, amplifying the light until it blinded. Sasuke was careful not to look at it too much, keeping to the shadows as he remained under the cover of forest, traveling parallel with the river, snow crunching underfoot.



In an arctic world composed of ice and snow, of winter trees that never flowered, the earth froze harder than rock, locking in its lack of life and barren emptiness in perpetual slumber. Maybe if winter lasted longer in Konoha, if the ground froze there too, the people there wouldn't live their lives with eyes closed, unseeing. Maybe they'd be able to understand the world as he did -- how cold it truly was. How large emptiness was.



How it was absence that defined the difference.



~



His breaths came staggered, the air so cold it was painful to suck them in so quickly the way he was -- in breathless gasps.



The feeling of sweat pricking his temples as it dried and the blood hot at his back where an icicle had cut deep into a shoulderblade made for a strange contrast as Kakashi scanned the area for Sasuke, knowing he wouldn't be able to sense his chakra. The enemy was strong -- so strong that they'd even given him a hard time, with nonstop combination attacks of ice. But when he shot through chakra armor with Raikiri and took the leader's heart, the remaining two fled, sensing that he was an enemy too strong for them to handle on their own -- which meant he and Sasuke had to move, fast, before they returned with reinforcements.



He worried about Sasuke, with only taijutsu to defend himself, having lost sight of him soon after the ambush began. Was he okay?



Smearing a bit of his blood against his thumb, Kakashi wasted no time summoning Pakkun. He'd find out, one way or another.



~



They had the brat cornered in a tree.



Ryoumaru's team tracked the target after he fled the battle, leaving behind the other ninja to deal with Touya's team. They'd looked at each other in surprise when the boy suddenly abandoned his teammate and shot out through the forest, moving so fast that, initially, it had almost been impossible to keep up with him. Their target was an assassin who had taken down the military stronghold they had, which still smoldered with strange black flames. They knew nothing about him -- other than what he looked like, and had orders to capture him alive, if possible -- or take his head.



Seeing as there was only one of him and four of them -- the strongest ice ninja in the Opposition -- Ryoumaru saw him more as a rat in a cage than a serious force to be reckoned with.



But the boy didn't seem to have even a shred of fear or concern as he looked about him slowly, taking in the sight of the team surrounding him, before he quirked a brow and gave an unimpressed, "Huh."



And the next moment, he was gone -- a blur moving almost too fast for the eye to see along the forest floor.



"AFTER HIM!"



~



It was too much.



The moment Sasuke flipped over a roaring tiger, an icicle shot up to stab at him, barely missing by a hair's fraction.



It was too fucking much.



When they'd ascertained that he could only fight at close range, they began hitting him with one mid-to-long distance ninjutsu after another. The speed and force of each attack were so close together, it took all of his energy to dodge, giving him little time to retaliate.



It had seemed like a good idea at first -- run and try to take them on one by one, to level out the playing field. But they had the elements in their favor and used ice to assist in the speed of their chase, created obstacles for him to overcome, walls of snow that threatened to crush.



Before long, he was surrounded again -- this time, in a circle of trees with the sky watching impassively as earth shook and broke apart.



Using the torque of sheer speed to drive him vertically up a side of a wall of ice before leaping to another, his body strained against the force as Sasuke drove his elbow into the only kunoichi's spine with a sickening crack. Relying on his momentum, he whirled and landed a brutal Konoha Daisenpuu, feeling the satisfactory crunch of ribs cracking under his foot as the girl hurtled back down to earth.



He didn't have any time to see if his final blow had the impact he desired -- icicles shot at him from every direction, and he let his body fall in a vertical drop before bounding off the ground in a flip, picking up speed once more the moment he was back on his feet. How Lee managed to do this in every fight, Sasuke wasn't sure -- it was hard enough with one opponent; let alone four.



At this rate, his body wouldn't be able to hold up.



The sudden attack from overhead drew his gaze up -- and there was a flash of blinding white when the sun shot through the ice and took out his sight the moment he dodged.



He couldn't see.



He couldn't fucking see.



He blinked his eyes furiously, focusing his energy into reaching out his senses and dodged -- barely -- when he felt the rush of air and a whistle of sound that signified an icicle hurtling in his direction. A tremor shot up his leg, and without a moment's pause he leapt, just as the ground shattered apart with another attack.



His heart thundered. Clenched.



Here in a world plunged in darkness, where vision had been ripped from the root and there was only the roar of sound and the rush of sensation that dove in to compensate for what he suddenly lacked, Sasuke had never felt more powerless or smaller than at any other moment in his life -- save for the one that had defined it.



Then there was a crack, crunch, tremble and a rush of air and whistle all at once, and all he could do was leap in a direction he thought was right --



Something heavy and warm barreled into him from the side in a blow so hard the wind was crushed out of his lungs. He tried to lift his hands up to fight, but his arms were pinned down against his sides by a stronger pair, the scent of moist earth and warm masculinity overwhelming as it wrapped itself around him and filled him with steady reassurance as they hurtled through the air--



Pain shot through his body as snow and ice seared up his back and stabbed into his skin like little pieces of frozen, shattered glass, Kakashi's weight crushing him. Kakashi's body shuddered on top of his, his breath coming in broken pants, labored and painful, hot and humid right against his throat. And then Sasuke noticed something wet trickling onto his chest, where his yukata had slipped open.



Something warm.



And unexpected emotion, so violent in ascent, rose, clawed its way up from the pit of his stomach and shot straight through his chest. It inundated him in such an overwhelming wave of pure feeling that he couldn’t grasp onto long enough to make any sense of. With his world dark and coming apart at the seams, control unraveling, it was -- like--



--genjutsu, when he was brought down to his knees with his hand in Kakashi's chest, feeling the sharp crunch of bone and the hot rush of blood, so sticky and warm and wet--



--just like the moisture he felt on his chest.



His hand trembled as it found Kakashi's shoulder, moving cautiously down his side, towards the site of the spill.



And when his fingertips encountered something hard and chillingly cold, Kakashi's breath hitched...then stopped.



-----------



TBC....