The Price We Pay

How long they were going, Sasuke didn’t know but when they went silent for a second or two he became aware of a slight almost non-existent sound in the room, almost a sob.

His head snapped around immediately towards the table, gasp bringing everyone else’s attention around as well.

Naruto sat up slightly against the wall behind the kitchen table, bad hand cradled in his lap and other hand pressed to his mouth, try to muffle the sobs coming out, eyes showing only slight moisture since he just didn’t have enough liquid to use and hands shaking as he looked at something open in his lap.

Next to his left leg was two piles of books, three open and on top of each other over the piles.

“Naruto?” Sasuke moved slowly to his side, one hand touching his shoulder comfortingly while he moved to look over his shoulder at the page of the book he had open in his lap. When his uncle questioned what he was seeing Sasuke answered softly, never once raising his hand from Naruto’s shoulder “there’s a picture of a missing teenager named Gai. According to this his disappearance was the same as Naruto and Sakura’s but it was the year before. He was….” He counted in his head “three years older than Naruto.”

There was something about the way Naruto was hunched up on himself and sobbing that made Sasuke realise something horrible. Moving to sit in front of his ‘brother’ without removing his hand he took his chin in his other and made him look at him with a gentle “Naru, look at me please.”

The open grief, horror, pain and shock confirmed his thought, but he had to say it out loud anyway, whether to tell the adults or make it all the more real, he didn’t know “he’s dead, isn’t he.” Naruto nodded against his hand and the adults gasped in horror.

“He was the experiment before you, wasn’t he.”
Again the nod.

“That son-of-a-bitch murdered him right in front of you to break you, didn’t he.”
With a chocked sob Naruto nodded a third time.

“He protected you, didn’t he.”
A forth nod.

Sasuke took a deep breath and spoke his one major thought for the last half a day “where’s Kyuubi? Why isn’t he protecting you?”

As Sasuke watched Naruto’s eyes suddenly flashed, bleeding to deep red with cat-eye pupils, top lips peeling back to reveal long sharp fanged teeth. There was a flash of an oppressive aura and even filled with fury and blood lust he recognised it before it was gone as quickly as it come leaving Naruto to slump, weak and panting with only his grip on his chin holding him up.

Sasuke frowned “Kyuubi is inside you? How did that happen?” Though it DID explain a few things. Namely why the guardian hadn’t been protecting his charge and two why his brother was so weak and sickly, it was this bastards way of keeping control of them both, they couldn’t fight or resist if they could barely sit up, let alone stand.

A thought at the back of Sasuke’s mind niggled him at the thought of the guardian being helpless, solidifying as he opened his mouth the speak again. A memory of Naruto telling him about the day of his parents murder. Whatever he had been about to say was gone as everything made an evil sort of sense and instead this came out “this guy that has you and Sakura and the others, he’s the one who killed your parents, isn’t he.”

Naruto nodded against his hand tiredly.

Sasuke could still remember it as clear as the day he had told him…


FLASHBACK

“You don’t know how I feel so shut up!” Sasuke screamed at the other. He had locked himself in his room the day before, Itachi telling everyone to leave him alone. Apparently he did this every year on the anniversary of their parents murder and would leave went he was ready. Until then they just had to wait it out.

Naruto hadn’t listened and once he had the chance he had climbed like a little monkey out his bedroom window, along the branches of the tree between their rooms and immediately inside.

The room was pitch black and the only light come from where he had come through the curtains. He had started to search his room, calling his name gently, finding Sasuke where he had planted himself between the wardrobe and bedside cupboard, legs pulled up tight to his front and eyes distant as he relived that horrible moment over and over again.

Naruto knelt in front of him, gently calling his ‘brothers’ name over and over again.
When he didn’t react, no matter the volume of his voice, he did the only thing he could think of.
He slapped the back of his head and screamed in his face “TEME!”

The reaction was totally what he’d hoped for and more, the other had blinked, face dropping into fury and roared back “DOBE!” before launching himself at the boy, trying to punch and kick him in his temper. Naruto had seemed to know his mind, that he needed a focus, something to take his emotions out on so he didn’t fight back only lay with his arms protecting is head.

It was the position that suddenly snapped Sasuke out of it, eyes wide and horrified by the way he had been bashing not the murderer as he had foolishly wished but the boy he had come to see as his brother…and maybe more he was too young to know for what it was yet.

He had backed up, horrified while Naruto slowly uncurled and stood swaying and silently looking at him and for some reason that ticked Sasuke off even more. So, he started an argument.

It wasn’t until that fateful line and throwing himself on the bed in an child’s dramatic show of grief that Naruto spoke to him softly, gently “there you don’t understand, Sas, do you think you’re the only one whose parents were murdered in front of him?”

Sasuke froze and slowly looked back “you’re lying.”

“Am I” Naruto said calmly “where do you think I got these from?” he traced the three scars on each cheek “they’re my reminder from him that one day he’ll be back for me, that I am forever his property.”

Sasuke dashed from the bed with a cry of “NO!” as his arms enveloped the blonde, HIS blonde “you belong to no one but yourself!” (Except ME! He thought fiercely.) Naruto was stiff in his arms “I thank you for saying that, Sas, but he’s right. You have the comfort of knowing your families murder is avenged, he died. MY guy is still at large. Even with Kyuubi I can’t stop him when he comes back.”

“Is that why you act the way you do, because you’re hiding the knowledge everyday may be your last?” Sasuke asked, pulling him too the bed to lay on his side, curled up around each other. “Every day I’m free is a gift and I act that way, I enjoy it to the fullest without worrying about consequences. Tomorrow might never come for me.”

“NO!” Sasuke repeated, gripping the other to him fiercely “I won’t let you go! I lost my mom and dad, I’m not loosing my brother too!”

“I’m not your brother” he had said calmly, softly “you have Itachi. He needs you more than me. Have you any idea how much you hurt him by drawing away from him like you do when all he wants is to protect and love you?”

“I don’t care about Itachi” he said fiercely and at that moment he meant every word of it, there was only ONE person that mattered here and now and his brother wasn’t it “and you ARE my brother! We may not have been born together and in the same family, but you’re every bit an Uchiha as I am part of the Unimo’s.”

Naruto just sighed as if deciding it was too complicated and frustrating to continue and they just held each other in silence for a while.

Then Sasuke began to coax the full story out of him, the murders, the slashing and the mans words. He had found out about Naruto being genetically unique at the local hospital somehow and decided to use him, despite his childhood as his next experiment. He had offered his parents money, but they had understandably refused.

When the parents had reported him to the police he had decided not to wait any longer.

After killing his parents the man had decided to ‘have a little fun’ with him first, trapping the child to the floor and fondling him all over, ignoring the boys screams and struggles. But it wasn’t until he had been on the verge of raping the boy, poised at the very point of entering the child without any sort of preparation-to punish him for his defiance he said-that Kyuubi had suddenly made his appearance. He had thrown the man from him, surrounding the child in a warm and soothing red barrier of force and keeping the man away no matter what he tried.

So Naruto had laid there, clothes torn and bruised as well as beaten in an ball, shaking in shock and all the repressed emotions, even when the sound of sirens were heard in the distance, the man cursing in anger and frustration.

The sound caused the guardian to lower the shield temporarily causing the man to rush forward and grasp the boy. “He then gave me these…” Naruto traced the scars on his cheeks one at a time in order they were done “and told me I was his property, his slave so he would come back for me. He would be back to take what was rightfully his once he figured out how to kill or render ‘that interfering fox spirit’ useless.”

“I won’t let you, I won’t let him get you back” Sasuke grasped him to him tightly, possessively. “You don’t belong to him. If I don’t then Iruka and Kakashi will stop him, he can’t get through us five, you’re safe.” He started stroking along his best friends back and spine, feeling the gentle soothing waves of the guardian joining in until the sense of peace and safety slowly soothed the boy in his arms into a deep restful sleep.

After watching over his adopted brother for a while Sasuke found himself soon joining the other in slumber.

END FLASHBACK

“He stopped Kyuubi by forcing him into your body, then keeps him weak by weakening you” Sasuke summed up and Naruto nodded. Suddenly his eyes flashed deep red cat-like and raised from his grip, fangs showing from slightly parted lips and the aura was back full force.

The lips moved and a low growl started, lengthening until Sasuke suddenly became aware of words, growled words but words nonetheless. He frowned, listening closely and spoke “what did you say Kyuubi? It’s difficult understanding you like that.”

“My kit’s higher voice box was damaged by constant agonised screams and chemicals injected directly into them. Some know how to manipulate the lower ones. As an creature of nature I am one, although the human tongue is difficult this way.”

“I understand Kyuubi and will ask you to repeat if we have difficulty meanwhile.”

“Good, human. I am Kyuubi, natures fox spirit. The land of my birth and creation was overrun by humans and for centuries I raged, helpless and slowly going insane. Then, fifteen years ago a young couple moved to my den. They were sensitive and the female seemed to have an connection unlike others to the earth of my home, the male had an inborn sense of nobility and justice that made me relax and happy these...children had chosen my den. They soothed my spirit and I became protective of my new kits.

When two years later they birthed a kit I sensed its spirit as akin to an earth soul, a group of extremely rare humans who, centuries ago, merged with earth spirits to link with the planet and be guardians of the plain. But they had died or been killed off about two hundred years ago.

This excited me, there was a legend among our kind that one day an earth soul would arise who would unite all earth spirits and free the earth from the death by humans. This kit was powerful, I would watch over him and do what I had to ensure his future.

From the moment he could crawl, the kit would visit me and because the female saw my presence as a blessing and protection she allowed it. We communicated on an mental level and his skills of the mind improved slowly over the next six human years.”

There was a long furious growl before it faded of to furious words “and then that foul human found out about my kit and his special soul. All he wanted was to use my kit, I had to stop him, to protect him even though it weakened me to use my energy, but I had no choice.”

This startled Sasuke “so all those other times when you used your power to defend or help him, you weakened yourself.”

Naruto\Kyuubi nodded.

Sasuke felt guilty for all those times he manipulated Naruto into using the spirit for his own ends “I’m sorry.”

Naruto\Kyuubi smiled gently at him “I knew what you were doing, child. But you are important to my kit, more so than you know, so I did it to make him, and yourself happy.” Sasuke looked down, ashamed and gathered himself before looking back up “thank you.”

The spirit smiled through the boy and somewhere inside part of Sasuke was joyful at the first real smile on his friends face since finding him, even if it wasn’t HIM doing it. That’s when it hit him, what Kyuubi had just said.

“Wait, you mean he...you said I’m important to him, more so than I know” he managed to continue after a loud swallow “Naruto loves me? Please, Kyuubi, tell me.”

Again Kyuubi nodded, causing Sasuke to whoop loudly in joy and excitement before remembering himself and calming “thank you again, Kyuubi. I’ve loved Naruto from the moment I saw him, although I was too young to know it at the time. Now I’m happy to know it wasn’t one-sided.”

There was a sound behind him, someone clearing their throat and Gaara stepped forward “do you know anything about the guy who has the others and had Naruto? Any information will help, such as name or any tattoos or marks or even a description.”

The red eyes locked to Gaara and remained, not blinking once and soon the man shuddered at the inhuman aura.
But when Sasuke repeated the question the eyes moved back to him.

“I know not his name, and neither does my kit. He always called us slave and forced my kit to call his Master, he would even forced me by torturing my kit. I had too, to protect him. He thought as an spirit of nature if he forced me to submit to him, like an animal I would become his slave and my strength and power would be his to use as he saw fit, but he knows nothing, I truly submit to no one, only my kit can have that.”

“What about description?” There was a long pause and then a hissed “snake, he looks, feels and senses as a snake.”

“Yes but can you describe him? Hair, eyes, features, that sort of thing?” Naruto\Kyuubi frowned and repeated “he is snake.”

“But...” Gaara started but the figure waved it away with one clawed hand, “my energy is low, we will sleep.”

“Wait Kyuubi, can I ask you about this teenager Gai?” The boy sighed “he was there already when my kit arrived. The snake had been using him for a while and he was already mutated and weak. When they were put in the same room my kit almost immediately made friends with the boy.”

This sounded like Naruto.

“When Gai got too weak to survive the snake moved to my kit. The boy tried to stop the snake each time and was beaten for it. Finally one time two months after this started the boy decided enough was enough and tried to force the snake to stop. So the snake punished him by stabbing the boy through the heart right in front of my kit, telling him if he ever rebelled again he would do it to someone else.

That is why when he brought in the other younglings he allowed him to do everything he wished to him, NO MATTER WHAT.”

Sasuke opened his mouth to question further but Naruto\Kyuubi repeated sternly “we must sleep” and laid down on the doonar, curled up and fell asleep.

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