The Sound of Dreams

AN: I thought a little levity might be in order and perhaps some reflections from the Konoha gang! Also, I have given up any semblance of trying to guess how long this is going to turn out, lol. I have finally decided that while it isn't going to last forever, it will end when the story itself is ready to end. :D


Chapter 60


Orochimaru stared into the mirror, watching the black tomoes spin against the blood red of his eyes. It had taken both himself and the doctor making adjustments to enable the Sharingan to work consistently. They hadn’t found a way to turn it off, much in the same way that Kakashi couldn’t turn his off either. He was certain that with a little more work that they would find the key to turn the bloodline limit on and off, but until then he had an almost limitless chakra reserve to power the vision.

He let his eyes trail to his new right-hand man. He wasn’t as efficient as Kabuto had been, but he would do for now.

“Kyoshiro, tell the men that it’s time to move,” he commanded.

He took one last look at his face, eyes lingering on the deep whisker-like marks. He reached up to touch the reflective surface with a clawed hand before turning and leaving the room.

****************************
Togimeishu waited a full twenty-four hours before acting. Once the remaining Sound-nin relaxed their guard due to their superiors being gone, he woke up the kidnapped girl and together they made their way to the sealed room.

The doctor made the appropriate hand motions to remove the seal and enter. The small girl followed, nervously looking around and fearing that they would be caught.

Orochimaru’s daughter, who had never been named as far as Togimeishu knew, was awake as she always seemed to be and was dressed to go. The doctor nodded his approval and gently motioned toward her.

“Do you have my medicines?” she asked worriedly. She never went anywhere and the move to this base had been the first time she had been outside in a long, long while. The notion of being outside for an extended period both thrilled and terrified her.

The doctor nodded quickly. “I have everything we need right here,” he said, holding up a few scrolls. He carefully tucked them away and guided her out the door.

“We still need to get Ren,” the small child, Yuni, reminded urgently. She didn’t want them to leave the leader of her village behind.

“I know,” Togimeishu replied, “but we have to get him last since there will be a guard on him.”

Satisfied that they weren’t abandoning the old man, Yuni fell silent and followed the medic-nin.

Once they got close to where the prisoners were being kept, Togimeishu waved them over to a small alcove. “Stay here a moment while I disable the guard and get Ren-san out.”

The two girls nodded and huddled close together in the small nook as they watched the doctor disappear around a corner.

Togimeishu quickly strode down the corridor in a business-like manner, subtly readying the syringe in his pocket. He walked up to the guard and nodded absently. “I need to check on the old man,” he informed him.

The guard hesitated a moment before shrugging. They had been told to keep the old geezer alive so if the doc wanted to look at him, so much the better. He led the medic-nin down the hall a short ways and fished out a key.

After the ninja had turned the key in the door, Togimeishu injected him with the contents of the syringe, immediately knocking the man out. He shoved the door open and dragged the guard inside. His eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light as they landed on a crumpled form against the far wall. He quickly went over to make sure the form was still alive, relieved when it jerked away from his hand.

“Come on, we’re leaving.”

Trusting that most of the ninjas here weren’t creative enough to hatch out a scheme to crush his spirit, Ren took the offered hand and struggled to his feet. His body was badly damaged from the beatings, but nothing that could be considered fatal even added together.

A high-pitched scream caught both of their attentions. “Go,” Ren ordered sharply, recognizing the child’s cry.

Togimeishu quickly ran from the room, intent on locating the girls. He rounded the corner to find three Sound-nin surrounding Orochimaru’s child, who was protecting Yuni. The sound of running feet echoed down the hall, drawing closer.

The pale-skinned teen calmly altered her stance and stepped out of her shoes. She then clasped her hands together and channeled chakra throughout her body. Beneath her kimono her legs closed together, flesh melding them into one.

Her pale skin rippled, white scales with a tinge of iridescent purple forming, armoring her elongating body. The upper torso retained the shape of a woman’s body although her face narrowed slightly as the beginnings of a snout formed.

Purple nailed, clawed hands grabbed one of the men and threw him into the wall hard enough to crack the stone. Her tongue lashed out, much like her father’s, wrapping around the throat of a shinobi before dragging him closer so that fangs could sink into his neck. Her tongue casually cast him aside and within seconds he started convulsing and foaming at the mouth.

She picked up Yuni and easily tossed her the full distance between her and the doctor, who staggered as he caught her.

“Take them and go,” she commanded in a sibilant hiss.

“But-“

“Go! You were the only one to ever treat me like a human being. Now give me the dignity of dying for a purpose which my life never had,” she told him firmly, unwavering in her conviction.

He only hesitated a moment before turning, tugging Yuni with him as he headed back for the old man.

Ren had stumbled halfway down the hall toward them when Togimeishu came to him. “Let’s go,” the doctor said, leading them down a side passage.

Ignoring the sounds of fighting, which entailed screams and the metallic clanging of weapons, they followed the twist and turns of the corridor before they found themselves at the entrance, their freedom ahead of them.

Togimeishu took one last look back down the hall, almost hoping that the snake’s daughter had made it through the fight. When she failed to appear, he turned and led them outside. They moved south, heading towards Rain Country in hopes of avoiding Orochimaru’s small army. Once it seemed like the dust had settled, they would then head to Konoha.

***************************
Sasuke leapt smoothly from tree to tree. Any blurriness had been banished at Tsunade’s touch and he could, for the most part, see perfectly fine. Distances gave him a little trouble, but not nearly as badly as before.

Akamaru kept pace with him, Hiroki once again mounted on the dog’s back. Tsunade had wanted the boy to stay behind, but once he had learned they were going to try to save Naruto, there had been no reasoning with him. Sasuke had taken one look at the fear lurking behind the boy’s eyes and the rippling skin before announcing that the child would go under his supervision. Once again Team Eight had stepped up to lend their support.

Looking around at his companions, Sasuke was surprised that Tsunade had been able to recall most of them back in from their current missions so quickly. He had been sure to tell her about Togimeishu Ryou and about the promise he had made to the doctor for the information. Tsunade had looked mildly put out at first but had agreed to dispatch a couple shinobi to go retrieve the boy in Lightning Country. She had known Togimeishu by reputation several years ago and if he would defect from Sound once his son was safe, then he could be a valuable asset.

With Sasuke she sent the complete Rookie Nine (minus Naruto naturally) along with Team Gai including Yamato, Sai and Gai himself. Once Gai had learned that Kakashi had been labeled “vital to the mission,” there had been no holding the enthusiastic jounin back. How the fifteen (sixteen counting Akamaru) of them were supposed to stop a small scale invasion he wasn’t quite sure, but the Hokage had been confident in their abilities to do so.

Their first night out, Sasuke had endeavored to explain how to enter Naruto’s mind to Kakashi.

“It’s like you always say ‘Look underneath the underneath.’ Only in this instance you are looking underneath what’s behind his eyes.”

They had set up three different fire pits so that they could cook more expediently as well as have more warmth in the evening. However, everyone seemed to gather around the same fire as Sasuke and Hiroki. The boy was curled up in Sasuke’s lap as was usual, with his head back against the sturdy chest so that he could watch everyone from the safety of his nii-san’s arms.

“You look past the eyes and into the mind behind them. However, with Naruto you’ll see…” he trailed off, glancing at the others around them.

“I think that most of us, if not all, probably know by now, Uchiha,” Neji stated quietly. “We have put several facts and instances together and came up with the logical conclusion.”

“It’s very admirable that you would try to protect the secrets of a friend from your youth even though you had abandoned him!” Lee added approvingly, missing the collective wincing at his lack of tact.

“I’d say they were more than frien-oof!” Kiba grunted as Hinata’s elbow found its way to his ribs.

“Yeah, really!” Sai agreed. “I don’t have friends that regularly sno- oww!” He reflexively swatted at his neck before glaring at Shino, who was sitting next to him.

Shino merely raised an eyebrow.

“Nii-san and…” Hiroki trailed off with a frown, still having failed at categorizing Naruto properly.

“Kaa-san,” Sai supplied.

“Tou-san,” Hinata corrected with a smile.

“Chichi,” Neji said quietly.

Hiroki’s green eyes lightened. “Nii-san and Chichi love each other very much and they love me. That’s why we’re a family,” he finished proudly. He smiled when a pair of arms tightened around him briefly.

Although one or two sets of eyebrows rose speculatively, everyone was too taken with how cute the kid was to bother reading too much into his words.

“Underneath the underneath,” Kakashi murmured softly enough so that only Sasuke could hear.

Sasuke glanced over at him, a challenging look in his blue eyes.

“I hope you stay this time,” he continued in the same quiet tone. “Because if you leave again, it will break him.”

“If I ever leave again, it will be with him beside me,” Sasuke said in a low tone, hoping everyone but Kakashi missed it.

To Sasuke’s other side, Sakura couldn’t help but wonder if it had been Naruto instead of her who had offered to go with Sasuke on the night of his departure for Sound if the avenger would have agreed.

She didn’t know what had transpired this past year between them, but Sasuke was different now. Different from even the first time they had seen him after he had left.

He wasn’t as dead inside, as if he was hollow and void of all emotions. The way that he held the child in his arms was proof of that. She wondered, rather wistfully, what he would have been like as a husband as well as a father.

She blinked as she felt eyes on her. Hiroki was staring at her as were the members of Team Eight as Gai spouted on in the background about youth, love and springtime in some combination. For some reason she found herself blushing and wanting to move away from Sasuke. It was disconcerting to know that others could read her so easily.

Surprisingly, Hinata came over and sat down beside her, nudging Akamaru over a little. The large dog bared his teeth in a canine smile and flopped over onto his other side. Hinata reached out and scratched his chest, causing the white dog to thump his tail against the ground.

As Sasuke and Kakashi continued their discussion, Hinata spoke quietly to Sakura. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay with Sasuke back?”

Sakura looked at the pale-eyed girl uncertainly. Why would the Hyuuga heiress be having this conversation with her? “I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be? Sasuke-kun is back now and we’re going to save Naruto. Everything will be back to normal.”

Hinata nodded absently, wondering how to broach the subject of relationships. Perhaps it was better for Sakura to find out on her own, but Hinata was concerned for Naruto in that instance. A surprised Sakura was not always a rational Sakura. Sasuke would probably shrug off anything that she might say, but Hinata knew that Naruto would take it to heart.

“You know, while we were with them in Sound, both Naruto and Sasuke agreed to take care of Hiroki. Depending on what penance Sasuke has to pay upon his return, they very well might move in together,” Hinata speculated quietly.

Sakura gave a small laugh. “Those two would kill each other if they lived together.” She suddenly stopped when she found the humor lacking in the statement. “I hope the council takes into account that Sasuke came back to warn us about Orochimaru’s plans. Especially if we’re successful in getting Naruto back.”

“I’m sure they will be and I’m sure we will be, too,” Hinata assured the other girl.

At that point Ino wandered over, curious as to what the other two girls were talking about. Tenten stayed over by her teammates near the other fire.

There was some shifting around as they made room for the newcomer. “What’s up?” Ino asked casually.

“Just talking about the current situation,” Sakura replied. “I wonder if Tsunade-shishou will even let them keep the boy. She may have him be adopted by someone else.”

Hinata made a face. “Hokage-sama may control our lives as ninja, but she cannot dictate to us how we live our personal lives as long as it doesn’t affect our missions.”

“Yes, but they both had left the village,” Ino countered. “And plus, I would think Naruto might be a special case.”

Hinata could feel herself bristling. “And why would that make a difference in how he’s allowed to live his life?”

Ino held her hands up at the two glowering girls before her. “I’m just saying that they would naturally want to be careful until the Akatsuki matter is cleared up. I definitely don’t want him to fall into their hands. They almost killed the Kazekage,” she reminded them. “I don’t want to see that happen to Naruto no matter how annoying he can sometimes be.”

Over on the other side of the camp, the rest of the teens were huddled together to discuss the current state of affairs.

“…so we really need to stick by him when we get back to the village,” Kiba was saying. He checked on Akamaru to see how his partner was doing and saw that the nin-dog was keeping Hinata company. He shot a grin their way before turning back towards Neji, who had started speaking.

“I will talk to my uncle. I am sure that I can get him to refuse the council’s request for the seal,” he murmured with a dark look in his eyes. There was no way he would tolerate such a seal being placed on the vivacious blond. Neji owed him too much as did his uncle. Naruto had had a positive effect on both him and Hinata; his uncle shouldn’t even have thought about agreeing to such a request.

“We just need to talk to our parents and make sure that they throw their support behind Naruto,” Chouji said while fishing in his pack for another bag of barbeque chips. “If the clans are behind him, then they will have to be more careful in how they handle him.”

“Heh, I see hanging around Shikamaru has rubbed off on you,” Tenten said with a grin.

“The main key to Naruto’s happiness will be in how the Uchiha is treated,” Shino said quietly.

Shikamaru made a displeased noise.

“I agree with Shika,” Chouji said quietly. “We almost died to prevent him from leaving and he hasn’t said two words to us.”

Shikamaru sighed, knowing that Chouji didn’t have a mean bone in his large body but rather was hurt by what he saw as a silent rebuke.

“He’s changed,” Kiba stated, which surprised the ones that had been members of that particular rescue squad since Inuzuka had been the first to declare Sasuke an asshole once he got out of the hospital. “Well, at least he’s less of a jerk off,” he amended.

“I wonder why that is,” Neji said with a hint of curiosity. It would be interesting to find out what had finally broken through the Uchiha’s one track mind.

“Oh, that’s easy,” Sai announced. “He got laid.”

Chouji immediately started choking on a potato chip.

Shikamaru’s eyes widened as things fell into place. “How troublesome,” he muttered.

“So, Sasuke-kun has found someone to share his youthful spirit with?” Lee asked, seemingly happy for the Uchiha.

Kiba snickered. “He certainly shared something alright.”

“So, who’s the lucky girl that finally got to Prince Frigid?” Tenten asked curiously.

“It’s not right to gossip about Uchiha’s private life,” Neji lightly reprimanded them.

There was a moment of silence as they all stared at the Hyuuga.

“So, who is she?” Chouji asked, breaking the spell.

“Not a she,” Sai said gleefully, liking this game of “shock your fellow shinobi.”

Neji’s eyes widened this time as a suspicion began to form in his thoughts.

“Sasuke is spending his springtime of love with another boy?” Lee asked in confusion.

“Yyyep,” Sai drew out.

“Oh. My. God,” Tenten breathed out. “They aren’t… it wasn’t… it’s him, isn’t it?”

“Yyyep,” Sai confirmed with sadistic enjoyment.

“Who?” Lee demanded.

“For how long?” Tenten asked excitedly.

“Since before we found them,” came Sai’s response.

“I wouldn’t doubt that it had been since before he left,” Kiba added.

“Unlikely,” Shikamaru countered.

“Gah, Kiba, you pervert!” Chouji said with a scrunched up nose. “They were kids!”

“Oh, please,” Kiba said while rolling his eyes. “Are you trying to say you didn’t know what it was for when you were twelve?”

Chouji blushed and muttered something into his potato chip bag.

“What what was for?” Lee asked, still confused. “And who is he sharing his wondrous, youthful love with?”

Sai’s breath heaved out of him. He grabbed a scroll out of his pack and unrolled it in front of Lee. Lee’s face went pale and then very, very red.

“Th-that’s… N-N-Naru… ru,” he stuttered out.

“Yyyep,” Sai confirmed.

Tenten looked over his shoulder, gasped and then gave a frighteningly gleeful cackle. “Sai, can I keep this?”

“Sorry, it’s an original,” he said with a shake of his head.

“Can you make me a copy?”

“Sure!”

“Th-they’re… they’re…” Lee was still staring at the mentally-defiling picture.

“Screwing,” Tenten supplied.

“Snogging!” Sai practically sang.

“Mating,” Shino clarified.

“Bumping uglies,” Kiba added.

“Making luurrve,” Chouji chuckled.

“Engaging in adult activities,” Neji said repressively.

Everyone looked over at Shikamaru expectantly. He sighed before contributing. “Having anal intercourse.”

Lee’s eyes stayed glassed over in shock for a moment longer before he suddenly sprang to his feet. “Yosh! They are expressing their trust and camaraderie in the most passionate way possible by opening not only their minds and hearts but their bodies as well! I have such respect for their youthful vigor and unquenchable spirit of friendship!”

By now Lee was practically shouting as tears of joy ran in rivulets down his cheeks. His eyes blazed with his flames of youth until they collided with a pair of very pissed off blue ones.

It was pretty damn apparent to Sasuke what (or rather who) they were talking about. Under the intensity of his glare, the group quickly broke up with Tenten dragging Lee out of fireball range.

“So, Sasuke,” Kakashi drawled, watching his ex-student’s face closely. “Just what did you and Naruto do in all that time you spent alone together?”

Sasuke didn’t deign to answer even though he felt his cheeks heat up slightly under the intense scrutiny. “I think it’s time that Hiroki and I went to bed,” he grumbled.

“Of course,” Kakashi agreed. “Want to make sure that you are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed tomorrow.”

Sasuke shot him a suspicious look before carrying the sleeping form of Hiroki to their tent.

TBC