The Sound of Dreams

AN: Thanks for all of the support everyone has given me! It means so very much to me. Unfortunately, I think I am indeed going to cut back updates to once a week for now. I am starting on the part where everything is starting to pull together for the climax and writing is actually slower since I want everything to be perfect.

If I were to hazard a guess at this time it looks like you guys can look forward to 20 more chapters after this one. The reason why I say this is that I am working on 54 and have up to 58 planned and I haven’t even touched on the climatic scene yet. As you’ll be able to tell after this chapter, the shit is starting to hit the fan, however. If I get caught up again, I will bump the updates back to twice a week because I don’t want to wait that long for you to read it!!!

BTW, next chapter, SMUT!!


Chapter 50


Sai cradled the sniffling boy against him, at a loss of what he should do to get the child to stop crying. He doubted that Naruto would appreciate him quieting the boy in the same way that Danzou had quieted him as a toddler. After all, they had just retrieved the boy from being shut away in a room by himself, they probably wouldn’t want Sai to put the kid back inside.

So, how to get the kid to stop sniveling?

He decided he would try to approach this from a logical perspective.

“Hiroki,” he said quietly, getting the young boy’s attention. The teary, puffy eyes looked up into his own. “Naruto said he would be back,” he stated calmly. “If he said he would be back, then he will.”

The child looked spectacularly unimpressed as his sobs seemed to renew with a greater volume.

Okay, so much for logic.

“Hiroki,” he tried again. “Do you remember what Naruto said to you exactly?”

Hiroki nodded, but refused to answer verbally.

“He said that he would definitely return no matter what, that he promised he would return to you. Naruto never breaks a promise because that is his nindo. Do you know what a nindo is?” he asked, trying to keep his tone gentle and understanding.

Hiroki shook his head in a negative reply.

“A nindo is a ninja’s most sacred belief. It is how they live their lives,” he explained. “Didn’t Naruto give you the ‘good guy pose’?”

Hiroki looked confused for a moment before his face cleared. He stuck out his thumb and gave a large, wavering smile.

“That’s right, he did. That means he was deadly serious about his promise. Do you know what happened the last time he gave that pose and made a promise?”

Hiroki looked up with curiosity plainly written across his small, red blotchy face.

“The last time he made that promise, he promised that he would find Sasuke and bring him back home. He spent almost three years looking for him,” he told the child.

Hiroki looked at him with large, green eyes.

“Yeah, three years is a long, long time. But you know what? Naruto had made a promise and he always keeps his promise.” Sai thought he should probably leave out the fact that Naruto had yet to take Sasuke home. That situation was a little more complicated than the kid needed to know.

“So, if Naruto promised that he would come back to you, no matter how long it takes, he will come back, okay?” Sai asked, hoping the boy would understand what he was saying and take comfort from it.

The boy sniffled a time or two, but reluctantly nodded. He then promptly curled up in Sai’s arms and fell asleep.

Sai frowned down at the boy in confusion. Why did humans have to go through this stage? It would be so much simpler if they went straight from babies to genin.

He couldn’t help but think that Shino had gotten the better end of the deal by going with Sasuke and Naruto. Had he not been injured, he would have volunteered to go instead and left Shino with the child who seemed to possess such leaky eyeballs. Of course he had no doubt that Shino would have never let him leave alone with the two misplaced-nin, he refused to call Naruto a missing-nin.

Sighing, he was thinking about moving the kid onto the futon when he saw one of his teammates start to stir.

*******************
The three young men moved swiftly through the trees, one in a concealing hooded coat and the other two in Anbu uniforms. With every passing mile, Sasuke seemed to regain his strength, the poison finally fading from his system.

They had opted to go to the capital first. While speed was of the essence, they hoped to get a clue of what or with whom they were dealing. An examination would also possibly give them a better idea of what route the kidnappers had taken to escape.

Although they had a letter from Ren explaining who they were, Sasuke decided it was best to try to sneak in first to see how competent the security actually was.

As they slipped through the city, Naruto noted that while not as large and grand as some that he’d seen in his travels with Jiraiya, it was clean if not exactly prosperous. However, there were no pan handlers or beggars readily apparent in the streets either.

What confused him was when he saw people working at tasks that didn’t appear to be necessary. Such as the men that were painting a public building when said building’s paint was still in good condition. Men were sweeping already clean streets and it seemed a few older buildings were being cleared away to make room for newer accommodations or parks.

“Interesting,” he heard Sasuke murmur and shot him a questioning look.

“I told you once before that Orochimaru drained a lot of the country’s resources. It looks like the daimyo is making up for lost time. He’s trying to get everyone back to working again, trying to recover the economy. The question is; how is he paying everyone?” the raven-haired shinobi explained thoughtfully.

They slipped inside of the small palace/large keep with minor difficulty. While the guards weren’t bad, it was obvious that they weren’t shinobi. Once inside, Sasuke found the answer to his previous question.

While they layout was elegantly done, with defense as well as aesthetics in mind, the daimyo’s home was only sparsely furnished. From his only visit with Orochimaru, he remembered the palace have been decorated more opulently. It was evident that the daimyo had started selling off family treasures to pay for the work force within the city.

Sasuke led them to the daimyo’s audience chamber, sure that they would find him there even at this late time of day. He took a look at the guards in front of the door.

“Shino,” he said quietly.

*******************
Tsukuda looked up at the brief, startled exclamation that sounded outside his door. He didn’t even have to look at the dozen guards that lined the walls in the room. They all pulled their weapons as four of them approached the doors.

The doors were opened by one of his men and three young men stood there, one holding a scroll out. The guards took one look at their unconscious comrades on the ground and attacked.

The fight seemed to consist of a lot of dodging on the ninjas’ part with a few punches thrown in to keep the guards on their toes. It wasn’t until one of them finally got a good hit in and the masked face before him vanished in a puff of smoke that they began to worry that they’d been had.

Heads turned swiftly, only to find the two guards flanking the daimyo in body locks and the daimyo sitting there calmly with a katana resting on his shoulder, pressed against the side of his neck.

The guards’ instinctive reaction was to protect their lord and they moved a few steps to do so before their leader’s voice cut their actions short.

“Enough,” he said sternly to his men. “Stand down.”

The guards reluctantly put up their weapons, although they did not immediately return to their posts. There was a popping sound behind them as the other two clones vanished.

“I assume since I am not dead that you want something,” he stated evenly as if the sword didn’t exist.

A scroll was dropped into his lap in reply. He unrolled it and read it carefully. It wasn’t a ransom demand as he had expected.

“If you are indeed trying to help find my son, then why are you here instead of looking for him?” he asked, a tinge of anger creeping into his voice.

The cold voice of the man holding the sword to his neck answered. “One, we needed to see how hard it was to break into this place to get an idea of the minimal skill that the kidnappers would have to possess. Two, we need to see where he was taken from to see if any clues were left. Three, we needed to get an idea of what the surrounding area was like so we could narrow down the possible direction they went.”

“I can tell you which direction they are going,” Tsukuda said heatedly. “They are heading toward Kingin and you should be catching up to them not here attacking my guards!”

He felt one of the ninjas shift, the slight movement betraying his disapproval at his companion’s tone.

“The faster you show us, the quicker we can accomplish our mission,” the same one as before added, slight exasperation at having to explain himself intruding into his tone.

The second shinobi moved suddenly, causing all of the guards to tense. He carefully let go of the man he had been restraining and moved around to kneel in front of the daimyo. He pushed his mask up onto his cloth-covered head to reveal two incredibly blue eyes set into a bewhiskered face.

“Dobe,” Tsukuda thought the one behind him breathed.

“We are going to find your son,” the young man, younger than even his son Katsuro, said quietly. “But to do so, we need more information. Information that we can only get by looking the area over. Information that others who are not shinobi may have missed.”

Tsukuda reluctantly nodded, his shoulders drooping just slightly. He just wanted to be a concerned father for a few moments, but the fact that he was the daimyo prevented him from giving into his concerns and fears.

He stood, still ignoring the sword that slid from his shoulder and back into its sheath. The third shinobi let go of his other guard and stood aside quietly. The one in front of him lowered his mask back down, effectively transforming him from a sympathetic boy into an anonymous killer.

Sasuke allowed Naruto to fall into place a half step from the lord’s side as they moved down the hall. Apparently, the dobe had reached the man and he was more than happy to leave him to Naruto. Six guards boxed around them in an escort, but Sasuke wasn’t concerned. They had already proven their ineptitude when it came to dealing with shinobi. If an attack came, the three ninjas would be a much better defense.

The man led them to his son’s private chambers, where he had last been seen. Sasuke and Shino moved into the room, starting their search.

Tsukuda couldn’t completely suppress the flicker of distaste as the insects poured out of the arms of the shinobi’s khaki-colored coat. The young teen next to him appeared to notice.

“I know what you mean,” he whispered and Tsukuda could almost hear the grin in his voice. “I’m used to it and it still creeps me out.”

The daimyo watched as the one that had held a sword to his throat abruptly froze, his body tense and almost quivering.

“Sasuke?” the boy next to him asked in concern. Receiving no answer, he strode over to the other shinobi and placed a hand on a rigid shoulder.

Sasuke reached up and yanked his mask and bandana off, allowing black spiky hair to spring free.

Tsukuda’s eyes widened as he recognized Orochimaru’s pet shinobi.

“So is Orochimaru really gone or are you and he playing some kind of sick joke?” he choked out.

The dark-haired teen didn’t answer, seemingly trying to deal with some intense internal conflict.

“Are you going to take over Sound now?” he demanded, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Just when he thought he could make amends to his people, amends to his son for having tolerated the Sannin’s activities and not having the courage to stand up against the powerful madman.

The stoic boy finally regained control over himself and gave him a disdainful look. “I generally can’t stand most people, why would I want to be in control of a large group of them and be forced to come into contact with them on a regular basis?”

His eyes returned to facing forward. “The only reason why I joined that snake was to gain enough power to kill the man that wrote this,” he said while gesturing to the blank wall.

Another mask was quickly ripped off and blue eyes studied the wall in confusion. “Sasuke?” he asked uncertainly.

“Dobe,” the other muttered with a whisper of amusement. However, his voice sounded strained and his eyes were still riveted to the wall. He brought his fingers together and channeled his chakra. “Kai!”

The genjutsu released, revealing the previously hidden words.

“It looks like gibberish,” the now revealed blonde said with a scowl. “Prettily written gibberish, but still gibberish.”

Red eyes shot a glare over at the other shinobi.

“It’s code,” said the teen in the hooded coat.

“Well, duh, Shino. I knew that,” he grumbled, sounding slightly embarrassed.

Why were all shinobi so strange? “What does it say?” Tsukuda demanded from the doorway.

“It’s a ransom note,” Sasuke muttered, his eyes taking in the flowing script. He felt his hands clenching and forced them to relax.

“Is it really him?” Naruto asked carefully, eyeing the writing. “And stop glaring at me, bastard, I’m just asking.” He turned his head and met the expected look.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Shino murmured. “If it really is him, why would he kidnap a prince? Especially for ransom?” It didn’t take a genius to figure out who could affect Sasuke in such a manner.

“So it really wasn’t Kingin?” Naruto asked hopefully.

“We can’t assume that it wasn’t,” Sasuke said with a slight shake of his head. “Maybe Akatsuki are involved because of some deal between them.” He frowned slightly. “Although if they are, what they are asking for makes no sense.”

“What is it they want?” the daimyo asked, concern lacing his voice. Things were even more complicated than they had been before and his son was still in the middle of it.

Sasuke glanced over at the man briefly before his eyes were drawn like magnets back to the wall. “They want a meeting with Orochimaru or they will kill the boy.”

“Do they really believe that ol’ snakeface would have been that stupid to go meet with them?” Naruto asked with slight incredulity.

“Would you want to refuse them and risk pissing them off enough that they send their whole organization after you?” Sasuke asked simply.

Naruto raised an eyebrow sardonically.

“Hn, never mind,” Sasuke amended once he realized to whom or rather in Akatsuki’s eyes to what he was speaking.

Sasuke forced himself away from the wall. “Let’s rest up tonight so that we’re fresh in the morning.”

“You’re not going tonight?” the daimyo demanded.

“Either your son is already dead or they’re waiting for Orochimaru. Either way a night won’t make a difference,” he said emotionlessly.

“Sasuke!” Naruto protested.

“No,” Tsukuda interrupted despondently. “He’s right. If he is dead, then time doesn’t matter. Rest so that you have a better chance of freeing him tomorrow. If he is dead,” he said as his eyes narrowed, “then rest so that you can bring me back their heads.”

Sasuke nodded at him solemnly, understanding his rage and pain intimately.

***********************
Sasuke opened his eyes slowly. The chest beneath his arm had been rising and falling steadily for some time now. He briefly wished that it was bare skin beneath his cheek rather than cloth, but they were in a strange place and it was better to be prepared than comfortable.

He slowly sat up and looked down at the whiskered face of the one that he cared about so much. He wanted to slide his lips over those of his lover one last time, wanted to run his fingers through his hair once more so that he could fix the sensations in his mind. A memory that he could lose himself in while his body died.

He couldn’t take the chance of waking Naruto up however. He turned and, as he picked up his sword from beside the bed, deliberately started hardening his heart for what was to come. He had stood and taken a few steps toward the door when he heard a voice speak behind him, no trace of grogginess in its tone.

“I thought we were past this,” it said in both understanding and irritation.

“I’m just going to the bathroom,” he said without any inflection.

“Don’t fucking lie to me, Sasuke,” Naruto said in exasperation. “You were sneaking off in the middle of the night. Again.”

Sasuke wasn’t sure to which instance that Naruto was referring and thought it better not to ask. “This is something that I need to take care of,” he murmured. He didn’t want Naruto anywhere near any of the Akatsuki members.

“And it will be taken care of,” Naruto assured him before his voice hardened in determination. “But together. There is no you anymore. There is no me. There is only us.”

Sasuke wanted to throw those words back in his face. He wanted to say anything to piss the other boy off enough that he left him, so that he wouldn’t try to come along. He wanted to verbally tear him apart so that he could push him away to physical safety.

Maybe a few months ago he could have done so. Maybe he could have crushed the affection that those blue eyes held when they looked at him. Maybe he could have silenced the need that his voice held when he cried out Sasuke’s name in the throes of passion. Maybe he could have let those painful talons rip his lover’s heart apart when he walked away.

But now he couldn’t.

His throat closed over the words that his lips tried to speak. His heart sabotaged his brain’s logical attempt to keep his lover safe. His heart knew that dying in battle, fighting for what they held dear, was infinitely more acceptable and welcomed even, than betraying his love with false words of rejection.

He fucking hated this bond at times.

But not as much as he cherished it.

His shoulders slumped in defeat. He turned back around, placed his sword carefully by the bed and crawled back in next to his best friend and lover.

“The things we do from now on, we do together,” Naruto said firmly but with tenderness as well.

Sasuke gave a deep sigh and then pressed himself against Naruto. An arm went around him and he had to hold himself back from snapping at his friend. He didn’t need to be cuddled right now. He needed to pull up all of his anger and hatred and focus them on his goal.

The thought crossed his mind that he should be making love to his mate right now; sharing what could possibly, what was most likely, going to be their last moments together.

The thought was enough to completely derail the images of why he had to obtain his vengeance. It shattered his attempts to build his rage into a cold blaze within his heart. Instead it left him seized by a piercing ache, by a panic that he hadn’t felt in years. Tomorrow, there was a more than good chance that he would lose Naruto.

Someone else important to him would die.

Naruto let out a surprised sound as lips sealed over his demandingly, almost desperately. He almost melted when he realized he would get to spend this night in Sasuke’ arms after all. He had made no advances of his own for fear of rejection, but it was clear that Sasuke wanted him tonight. Naruto would have shouted his glee to the heavens had his mouth not been occupied.

Sasuke deepened the kiss aggressively, thrusting his tongue into the other boy’s mouth. Naruto put up the front of challenging for dominance, but readily submitted when Sasuke grabbed two fistfuls of hair and tilted the blonde head the direction he wanted it so he could plunder the depths of his warm, slick mouth almost harshly.

Sasuke clambered on top, straddling Naruto’s waist and continued kissing them both into oblivion.


TBC