The Sound of Dreams

AN: Just wanted to say again thanks for the reviews!! I never really realized how addicting it is to get them! I find myself logging on several times a day to see if anyone else has wrote anything! (I'm pathetic, yes I know :D ) Well, the chapters are starting to come a little slower now.. just means I need to work harder on it... I am currently on chapter 19, so never fear, lots of goodness to come!! I do mean to see this through to the end! I've never had so much fun writing before. This is the first fanfiction I have ever written and the first piece of work that I have ever posted before, so seeing the number of hits and reviews go up is really confidence boosting and gratifying!! Thanks so much!!

Chapter 8


Jiraiya took another drink of sake, simultaneously pinching a nice firm behind that was currently perched on the arm of the loveseat in which he was sitting. The red haired beauty giggled appreciatively, cooing at him teasingly. Not to be outdone, the young lady sitting on the cushion next to him caressed her hand down his chest, her dark hair brushing his skin as she leaned in to nibble on his neck. He gave a hum of pleasure, but his heart wasn’t really in it.

He had just arrived at this town after a brief stop in Konoha to report his current findings on the Akatsuki to Tsunade and to check on his brat of a student. He was shocked to say the least when he had been told that the kid had been missing for six months. His former teammate had explained the circumstances causing his exodus from the village as well as a possible theory on his current whereabouts. He had wondered briefly through the tirade (for indeed once Tsunade got going on what they feared had happened to her favorite ninja, it had turned ugly) how many desks the Hokage had gone through in those six months.

His own hand tightened dangerously on the fragile sake saucer at the thought of Orochimaru using Naruto in such a way. The enormous potential of the blonde flushed down the crapper just because those paranoid fucks drove him straight into the snake’s waiting arms. And damn Naruto for not trusting Tsunade and his other teachers, including Jiraiya himself, to keep him safe from the council’s machinations. Although Jiraiya had to admit they had sounded pretty adamant this time.

He tried to console himself by squeezing a barely covered booby, telling himself that it wasn’t possible. Naruto would not have fallen to Orochimaru so easily. And if he had it would just be a matter of time before the frog Sannin found the third member of his former team and ripped his ten-foot tongue out of his big mouth and strangled him with it.

Then, as if Fate was either mocking or blessing him, he saw a familiar, sunshine blonde head pass by a tinted window of the tea house. He jumped up and hurriedly left some coin on the table. After all he might want to return here in the future, no need to upset the ladies. He then rushed out into the cool winter air, scanning the direction he had seen the brat go.

It only took a few moments to draw within ten meters of his quarry. The boy turned suddenly and Jiraiya was staring into a pair of yellow eyes with slit pupils. ‘Fuck…’

The eyes narrowed slightly in a predatory look and the mouth curled up into a smirk. “Jiraiya,” the familiar voice drawled, seeming to savor the name.

Jiraiya felt his whole body tense and shake from suppressed anger. He forced his teeth to unclench so he could respond. “Orochimaru.” He clamped his mouth shut again to halt the large number of expletives that wanted to pour from between his lips.

“Nice weather we are having, ne?” the voice said lazily, amusement crawling through the tone.

“You fucking bastard,” he couldn’t help but utter.

A delighted dark laugh sounded out at his expression. The laugh ended in a gasp as the eyes widened in surprise. Jiraiya watched in confusion as yellow bled to green and green changed to a painfully recognizable blue. Those azure orbs lowered to his and his breath caught in his throat. Suddenly it dawned on him that Naruto had grown considerably since he had seen him. With the longer hair, the body that was no longer scrawny and those piercingly blue eyes, it was like staring at another student he had taught. One that had been dead for sixteen years.

“N-Naruto?” he asked hesitantly.

“Ero-sennin!” The tone was devoid of the older man’s timber and was pure, innocent Naruto.

Even as Jiraiya was assimilating the new twist, a shudder ran through the teenager’s body and the eyes changed again, but stopped at green. “Back. Where you. Belong!” the snake Sannin growled out.

Jiraiya’s eyes narrowed, mind quickly calculating. “You don’t have full control over him,” he stated, certain he was right.

“A minor problem that will be easily remedied,” Orochimaru assured him smoothly.

Jiraiya snorted in disbelief. “Not so easily if it is still happening six months after the fact. The brat is hard to keep down, ne?” he grinned.

A shopping bag was shifted in a grip uneasily. “Is there something you want, Jiraiya? Because I have more interesting places to be if not.” He gave a sudden, nasty smile that didn’t belong on that previously open, smiling face. “After all, playing with two of Konoha’s brightest and most promising takes a lot of energy.”

Just as Orochimaru expected, Jiraiya’s perverted mind came to the wrong conclusion. The white haired Sannin grabbed the other by the front of his shirt and jerked him closer. “They are just kids, you sick fuck! Why don’t you find some other play toys?!”

The face in front of him, on the verge of transforming from boyishly cute to a more mature handsome, ran a slick tongue over full pink lips. “I do so love rattling your cage, Jiraiya,” he chuckled. “Now be a good boy and let go.” He watched as the fingers tightened in his shirt, the dark eyes before him glinting in anger. “We both know you won’t attack this body if you think that brat might have a chance.”

Jiraiya let go of his former teammate with a shove. “Watch your back, ‘Rochi-kun, because I sure will be.” The frog Sannin started to turn but stopped. “There is an Akatsuki team in the area. Be careful.”

A hissing laugh sounded. “Worried about me, Jiraiya?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t want your pitiful skills getting Naruto hurt.” With that, Jiraiya gave him a big shit-eating grin and a salute. “Ja ne!”

Nails dug half moon shapes into palms as he clenched his fists in irritation. Making a discreet seal, the teenager disappeared in a curl of smoke.

******************
An hour later, Orochimaru stalked into his private chambers, throwing the large shopping bag on the bed. He was still silently fuming over Jiraiya’s insolence. As expected, Kabuto arrived not long after. The medic-nin was always aware of his comings and goings. Granted he was an excellent spy and that was the other reason why the Sannin valued him, but sometimes it was just annoying.

As his irate master walked over to his desk to start pawing through the scrolls there, Kabuto pulled the clothing from the bag. A couple of black sleeveless shirts with mesh v-necks, some black bikini briefs which he raised his eyebrow at. His hand stopped in shock halfway out of the bag. He glanced worriedly over at the Sannin who was currently unrolling scrolls, glancing at them and then tossing them aside when they didn’t contain what he wanted. Kabuto finished pulling out the loose light-weight pants with the mesh side panels. They looked as if they would cinch shortly below the knees on someone Orochimaru’s current height. They were very… orange. A glance in the bag showed another pair just like them along with a few other miscellaneous items.

The sudden tense silence forced the silver haired man to look over at the now still shinobi. The yellow-green eyes were riveted on the pants dangling from Kabuto’s unsteady grip. With a shouted curse, the Sannin cleared his desk with the swipe of both arms. Those eyes quickly flashed to red as furniture was tossed helter-skelter around the room. Surprisingly, the enraged man never came close to Kabuto or his prize.

************
"I don't care, Kabuto. I am not going to let him win. I will wear the damn thing and I will make it look better than anything he would've picked out," the voice coming from down the hall said stubbornly.

"Orochimaru-sama, I just don't understand why you would give in..."

"I'm not giving in! I just refuse to be intimidated by him!" the voice growled defensively, approaching the corridor intersection.

Sasuke stopped in mid-stride as he felt his jaw drop. He quickly checked to make sure he was neither drooling nor sporting a nosebleed as a sexy-as-hell dobe passed by in the hallway. Kabuto paced by him with his usual guarded face though Sasuke could see him casting anxious glances at the Sannin as two confused looking Sound-nin trailed behind them.

A beaded orange cord held back blonde hair that had grown just past his shoulders in a queue with an intricate knot. A solid black sleeveless shirt clung to the muscled torso and revealed a tantalizing bit of skin through the mesh at the neck. Over that same tautly muscled chest hung a silver-worked black leather strap that held a scabbard across his back in which Kusanagi was contained, ornate hilt peeking over his right shoulder. Over this was a black silk yakama style shirt that hung open and ended at mid-thigh. It billowed and slithered like a thing alive with every stride forward. A black sash was encircled lean hips and knotted on the left side, hanging down to mid-thigh as well with tassels that continued to the knee. That sash held up deep, fire orange pants that flowed and clung much like the coat. Snug across tightly muscled hips and ass, they fit loosely over the legs, allowing the mesh to give teasing glimpses of tanned flesh and making it readily apparent that the figure wasn’t wearing boxers. The pants ended mid-calf where they were tucked under the black straps of toeless ninja sandals.

As Sasuke stared at the retreating back, the figure’s head looked over a broad shoulder straight at him. Eyes flashed blue and a knowing smile curled on the full lips. After the briefest moment, they faded back to green and the smile dropped as the figure looked straight in Sasuke's eyes suspiciously.

Sasuke gave a start as he realized that even in the cool air he was as hard as the stone that surrounded him. Then he had a strange epiphany. He was not homosexual because, aside from Naruto, he had never felt attracted to another male. He highly doubted he was heterosexual because, aside from being curious about Sakura a time or two, he considered most females to be more of an annoyance than objects of lust. Which since the first two were true then obviously he wasn't bisexual. That left him to one conclusion that he couldn't help but smirk at. He was obviously dobe-sexual. The only one that could rile him up either in anger, determination and just recently apparently sexual interest was that damn dobe. The only one that made him consider something besides his own obsession. Although technically being fixated on the idiot could be considered an obsession as well. The one that made him do stupid things like risk his life for others.

He sighed. He should have killed the moron while he had the chance.

After a few attempts he was able to get his mind out of the gutter and back on track again. He still needed to try to talk to the idiot so they could work together on getting them out of this place.

**********************
Naruto pulled his arm back inside his prison and snickered to himself. The look on Sasuke's face had been priceless. Granted anyone that didn't know the stoic avenger well wouldn't have noticed too much, but to Naruto's eyes he had looked ready to seizure. With Sasuke it was all about the eyes. Ignore everything else and the eyes could tell you what he was feeling. Of course what he didn't realize is that for most people even Sasuke's eyes were an enigma.

However, he had to be more careful. He had been deliberately trying to avoid Kabuto so that the man wouldn't tell Orochimaru of his forays. The less Orochimaru was consciously aware of how close Naruto was to the surface, the safer he would be and the more time he would have to try to get himself out permanently.

Naruto looked around his prison trying to find a viable way to lure the snake bastard in there. The Kyuubi had agreed to feed him power in the fight for control. After all he was sealed in here just as effectively as Naruto due to Orochimaru's jutsu. At least with Naruto freed, he was able to extend himself outwards at times.

Sighing, he started widening out the hole with excruciatingly slow results, waiting for an opportunity.

************************
Days crept by for Sasuke.

Orochimaru had holed himself in his room, pouring through scrolls. While that wasn’t uncommon given the Sannin’s lust for knowledge and power, this time it was different. There was a frantic sense to Orochimaru’s research. He knew that his sensei was trying to find a way to silence Naruto permanently, but he found himself helpless to do anything. Kabuto wouldn't let him get near the blonde no matter how much hell he raised. Finally, Orochimaru had hit the roof so to speak and yelled out that if he "didn't stop being a whiny little bitch" that he would get fed to Manda, the boss snake summons that had a nasty disposition on a good day.

Considering the fact that after almost three years Sasuke had never heard the Sannin speak in that manner, he decided to kick Naruto's ass for the insult as soon as the blonde was freed. However at the moment, with access to Naruto cut off, there wasn't much he could do besides train and wait.

************************
It was several weeks later that his patience paid off. It was evening and he was asleep on his narrow bed. He was dreaming of peeling hot clothes off an even hotter body when he felt another presence in his room. Without hesitation, he grabbed a kunai from beneath his pillow and jumped up, ready to fight. He wasn't prepared to see Naruto's blue eyes looking at him in the darkness. Without preamble, the teenager spoke.

"I need you to go into my mind like you did before and suppress the purple chakra barriers before either Kabuto notices me missing or he wakes up."

"If I do this will you help me avenge my clan?"

A long pause, then, "Yes."

"No trying to drag me back to Konoha?"

No pause. "No."

Sasuke nodded then activated his Sharingan. The two figures, one clad in boxers and a tee and the other in a knee length black silk robe, looked into each others' eyes. "Hurry, he senses your chakra!" Naruto urged.

Sasuke once again found himself in the sewers of Naruto's mind. A brief thought about how appropriate that was flashed through his mind before he repressed the frivolous tangent. He stood before a wall of familiar dark purple chakra and knew that he couldn't merely pass through it. Extending his hand, he touched the barrier and hissed as power shocked painfully up his arm, dancing along his nerves.

As he fought the power down, he could see a figure appear on the other side through the purple haze. A faint voice, as if coming from a distance, murmured, "..suke, behin.." He glanced behind him to see Orochimaru in his true form coming up the sewer tunnel. His dead looking lower arms were covered in blue chakra.

Ignoring the burning pain dancing through him, he put himself against the barrier again, trying to quell the power that formed it. He forced everything he had at the portal, his ears catching a cracking and shattering sound before he was grabbed and thrown from Naruto’s mind.

Sasuke picked himself up off the bedroom floor, watching his friend. Naruto's body didn't move although it quivered where he stood. His eyes were vacant but flared through the yellow, green and blue colors and back again. He quickly dressed, sliding his sword through the rope obi, wanting to be ready for anything. His own eyes widened as red became the predominant color in the other boy's gaze and the pupils pulled into slits.

The door slammed open and Kabuto quickly surveyed the room. "What did you do?!" he demanded.

Sasuke adopted his usual expressionless mask and lifted a shoulder negligently. "They decided to fight it out." His gaze sharpened as the medic-nin pulled out a scroll. Not bothering to wait and see what he was trying to do, Sasuke pulled out his sword and attacked.

*****************
Naruto saw the barrier drop just before Orochimaru evicted Sasuke out of his body. As soon as the purple disappeared, Naruto drew deeply from his own chakra reserve. It felt so good to be able to do that without restriction.

Orochimaru pulled from the same power pool, though his deepened to a blackish purple color once within his spirit form. Only his arms retained the pure blue of Naruto's chakra. They faced each other silently; the only sound was the dripping of water.

drip

Noiselessly, Naruto shifted, "muscles" tensing, ready to attack.

drip

Orochimaru slowly brought those blue glowing hands up.

drip

Naruto charged as Orochimaru started making hand seals.


TBC