Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I just mess with his characters…XD
Summary: The merge of a demon gives a blessing to the second life. Tough, blond mother-figure & its child…, Akatsuki…, Hebi…, & chaos…
Warnings: superstition, anger, jealousy, little of the violence here & there…, boy-x-boy relationship shall be further on…
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Kyuubi taking"
'Kyuubi thinking'
'Why this…?!'
'Why this… Naruto…'
'I thought you were my friend…'
It's not insignificant to me…
'Why this…'
'I was happy… really-really happy…'
There's no question…
'Why are you doing this…?'
'Ever since that day…when you finally acknowledged me…'
You're one of the one's I want to fight the most…
'Why… why go so far…'
'I made a promise…'
You're my closest friend… Naruto…
'…Naruto…'
'But now… you are seriously trying to…'
"Huh… I told you… it's too late, Naruto!" He charged his left hand with full strength, aiming directly at the source of his prey's life-line… with Chidori.
'No!'
'…'
…
'…'
'…the pain… the unforgivable pain… What is this…? Why does it hurt so much…?
…I can't feel anymore…
I don't care... I don't care if I'm bleeding… I don't care if there's something in my right shoulder…
…I don't care…
My heart… it hurts so much…
…I thought we were friends…
…If that was truly the case… then how stupid am I…?! Sasuke…'
You managed to divert the blow with your left hand at the last second… but in the end it doesn't matter, does it? inwardly smirked Sasuke, as he yanked his hand out of Naruto's body, with the other hand still holding Naruto's jacket's collar.
"You're finished!" Sasuke grabbed Naruto's neck with his left hand and started squeezing it, "this is the end!"
Time slowed down… … …
Slowly Naruto opened his eyes, ignoring the fact that he was being choked to death…, he came to Kyuubi.
"Kyuubi…" Naruto whispered, gazing down at his hands with emotionless look in his once bright eyes.
Without any response, the large fox wrapped one of its tails around its vessel; the fox picked him up from the ground, through the bars, and placed him onto the furry back, leaving one of the tails for support round Naruto's lying figure.
Naruto lay on his own back, staring at the endless ceiling of his mind. Without him even noticing, the landscape changed – creating dark depths of the forest and leaving skies as black and empty as his now crushed heart.
"What should I do?" Naruto's whispers were echoed through the darkness.
'Since he came to me, fully aware of who or what I am… he must be truly desperate,' sighed Kyuubi. 'Annoying mortals!'
The large creature settled its massive body under a huge tree and peered through the thick darkness of the mind's-forest. "You do realize who you are asking…?! I would gladly ponder your head fully hopping for the kill… However, I have my honor; taking advantage of someone's weakness is insufferable."
Naruto kept quite. He was still gazing into the darkness of his now lost mind.
Kyuubi closed its eyes and inhaled deeply. "Let him go!"
Naruto blinked a couple of times but didn't say anything.
"You cannot interfere with one's desires… even if it is for a so called 'friend'. There are always times when we must do things on our own, which can't be helped by anyone but ourselves. Interfere and you shall break the person. If it goes so far as the said person is ready to go for the kill… you should not stand in the way."
"His decision is reckless…! He would be better off if he would go jump of the mountain for all I care, but not skip into the clenches of Orochimaru… although it's just the same suicide anyway."
"He shall learn his lesson."
"You're making poor conclusions."
"I'm saying this because you won't bring him back. I am fully aware of your strength, but… I am also aware of your weakness. You won't have the guts to harm him."
Naruto lowered his gaze, keeping quiet.
"He is determined to go, while you are determined to bring him back without any attention on hurting him…much; as while he is trying to kill you. You'll get nowhere."
"Why is this happening…?"
"Reality check… you should be aware that there are far worse things than this. Especially what you've been through as a child…" Demon stated the last sentence in whisper.
Naruto felt his breath slightly clench. Even though in his mind the time slows down, it still has its pace. And Sasuke was slowly killing him.
Kyuubi heavily exhaled, "…Let him go to whatever the hell the thing is that he is going to, Naruto.
If you keep him here… he'll go mental. And as much as I would like that to happen, I know you'll never get over the thought on blaming that on yourself."
Naruto sat and brought his knees up, burying his face in them.
"Don't hurt him much…, let him fear you and drain him from his strength. You don't have to make him acknowledge you anymore… you already proved yourself… that would be enough… for now…" was the last thing Kyuubi stated.
Time went back to its normal pace at the Valley of the End… … …
Naruto felt the lost of his breath slowly drain away. He undeceived his eyes and reflexively grabbed Sasuke's wrist… almost breaking it, if Sasuke wouldn't have pulled it away in time from his neck.
Mixing his chakra together with Kyuubi's, he succeeded in scaring the hell out of confused Sasuke by slowly spreading mixed-chakra around his body – healing the wound with incredible speed and directing a medium amount of killer-intent towards the pride Uchiha.
Their fight continued till the lightning struck the clouded sky. One was trying to shake the other off and miserably dodging all the unexpected blows directed to him specially; while the other was simply trying to come unstitched – directing every deserving punch towards his 'friend'.
Naruto fought with as much strength as he was allowed to; comparing it with Sasuke's level. At the end, he finally brought Sasuke to full exhaustion, thus trying to mimic himself doing the same thing.
He was much stronger than he allowed everyone to see…
"This will be the last of it… Naruto." Sasuke weakly, yet much too confidently, said, already covered in Orochimaru's seal.
Naruto sadly watched his once-was-friend do the necessary hand signs for Chidori. He felt himself flinch at the now tested power of that thing, as well as bringing a slight ache in his right shoulder.
Rising his hand as well, he gathered chakra for the Rasengan.
With one last look at each other, they charged…
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Naruto woke up, feeling a light beating of someone's heart and a breezing wind running through his hair. He lidded his eyes open and blinked a couple of times.
Kyuubi had forcefully made him sleep, since he was mentally deaf and exhausted and wouldn't listen to the fur-ball. That would be because he actually came to a stage on almost killing the poor Uchiha.
Reason for fur-ball's reaction in stopping Naruto was simply the predicament on the banishment from the village for the murderer of the last of the Uchihas.
"Kakashi-sensei…," came a weak whisper from a certain blond. As he recognized who was caring him on the back, jumping from tree-branch to tree-branch, running through the forest towards the village.
Kakashi looked over his shoulder at the crushed 11-year-old, who was looking into nothing.
"Where's Sasuke?"
Kakashi just kept looking at him while jumping through the forest, giving no answers, not even slight sounds of some sort.
Naruto didn't even need to hear anything… he already knew…
Slowly he lid his eyes shut, not bothering for anything… he needed time… he needed space…
He went to Kyuubi and curled onto its back, drifting off to sleep.
Kyuubi glanced at the 'pathetic-excuse-for-a-human' and subconsciously wrapped its three tails around him protectively.
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Kakashi arrived at the hospital and was immediately met by Shizune and two medics. She directed him in, and he quickly followed her.
In the halls they passed Shikamaru and Temari on the way.
Shikamaru, as soon as he saw his blond-friend unconscious, wanted to follow until he felt a hand holding his shoulder, he looked at Temari who slowly shook her head. He sighed and set down.
'Temari looked just as depressed as I was when we saw Naruto, for some reason…' Shaking the thought off… for now, Shikamaru continued nervously playing with his fingers, waiting for any results of his friends' health.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
It's been a month now… a month when everyone from the rescue mission had finally recovered; all save one – Naruto was still unconscious.
Current Hokage became very nervous, since she couldn't figure out why Naruto wouldn't wake up!?
He was practically sleeping; he was not in the stage of comma or anything in that matter… he was just… sleeping.
Not to mention the slick leaches of a council, that kept butting in. Scared that the demon might come out… Slowly they started to take in the newest events to their advantage and try and crush the demon for good, since none of them believed that a puny-child such as Naruto can actually be able to control the power of the devil itself.
Tsunade was targeted back and forth – from the slimy-council till worried-friends of Naruto's.
It took a week long 'research' from Jiraiya to finally understand why Naruto didn't want to wake up.
"He's with Kyuubi," said the old-pervert.
"Kyuubi?!" Tsunade looked at Jiraiya as if he just did a chicken-dance. "Why would he be with Kyuubi?"
Jiraiya shrugged, "I've no idea… Maybe the thing brought him there on its own accord?!"
"Do you think it's taking control of him? Takes advantage while he's in the weakest state? Members of the council have their suspicions too."
"I don't know, Tsunade!?" Jiraiya sighed. He was getting just as confused and scared as she was.
"What should we do? What if it is so? What if Kyuubi will…"
"No!" came a low voice from a new-comer.
Both of the Sannin looked at Iruka standing in the door-way. "Naruto is just desperate…" Iruka closed the door behind him and went to sit on the couch, "As much as Naruto is confused or suffers right now, he will never allow Kyuubi to take over… that much I know… I fear that he's just unable to confront anyone right now…
…Maybe even ever again…"
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Naruto was mentally kicking himself for the pain and suffering he had caused to his real friends. Chouji and Neji were at critical state, with the rest of them pulling through with minor injuries. He himself would have been in the middle of Chouji's and Neji's state if it wasn't for the Kyuubi.
Thanks to Kyuubi's strong scent, he was able to sniff the status of his friends, who were at the same hospital as he was put in.
By the time the month had passed, he finally settled down. Knowing that everyone was now fully healed, he started regaining his own strength – physically and mostly mentally. So he settled himself for meditation, and kept on sleeping for another week.
The blond-boy locked himself in his mind… he didn't allow anyone to either search it or enter it… he simply blocked everything and everyone.
Tsunade was by all means not happy with that. She wanted Naruto out of his mind and on to his feet as soon as possible.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
"What are you doing, Naruto?" Iruka was sitting next to Naruto's bed on the chair, gently running his fingers through sleeping Naruto's hair. Naruto was now really skinny, not that the he wasn't skinny before, but now it was just too much. His hair grew over his shoulders; however, his skin color remained just as lively as ever.
"I didn't want to face anyone…" suddenly said the dry voice of Naruto's.
Iruka almost screamed, but instead he settled for falling of the chair.
"IDIOT!" Jumped Iruka from the floor, and stared his luxurious speech,
"What-did-you-think-you-were-doing? Do-you-have-any-idea-how-worried-I-was? Do-you-know-that-all-your-friends-are-pounding-Tsunade-and-me-every-night-and-day-almost-non-stop? Do-you-have-any-…"
"I'm sorry…" whispered Naruto, leaning himself against the headboard and lowering his eyes to look at his hands.
Iruka momentarily calmed down. Feeling a rush of guilt going through him, he took a seat on Naruto's bed and pulled him into a tight hug. Naruto returned the hug, thus calming down himself.
Hearing Iruka's scream, the door swung open revealing one worried Hokage. Seeing Naruto awake, she pushed poor Iruka away, who had to suffer another fall to the floor for the second time, and jumped Naruto into another tight hug, making Naruto blink more than once.
She let him go and prepared herself…
"YOU IDIOT!" roared Tsunade.
"I already said that!" stated the lying Chunin on the floor.
"What were you thinking?" she continued.
"I already said that too!" meddled Iruka, making himself comfortable on the floor.
"Why didn't you wake up?"
"…Nope… must have forgotten about that one…" loudly thought Iruka.
"DAMN IT, IRUKA! Get off the floor and shut up!" roared Tsunade, making Naruto blink more than he had already.
The current Hokage looked back at Naruto and calmed, "How are you feeling?"
"I think… it should be asked… the other way around…" Naruto quietly stated, staring at Tsunade's unusual behavior.
Tsunade glared at chuckling Iruka, who seeing her looking at him turned his chuckle into cough.
"I'm ok!" said Naruto laughing a bit himself; earning warm looks from both adults.
Then he saddened, already aware of what they are going to ask him. Turning his gaze to the window he said, "He… got away. I couldn't… retrieve him…"
Naruto told them about the fight he got through with Sasuke; skipping the main events he concluded the story as a failed mission.
Tsunade was now sitting on the chair by the bed, with Iruka sitting at the end of Naruto's bed.
"Naruto… why didn't you wake up?" finally asked Iruka.
"I needed time… to think…, to calm down… and… to accept… the truth," Naruto answered honestly.
"Naruto… were you with Kyuubi?" wondered Tsunade.
"…" Naruto didn't answer. He was scared and somewhat ashamed that he went for the comfort to the demon and not to the ones that were worried about him.
The fox knew him well and would never foist him with countless questions. Even though Kyuubi despised all living things, mainly people, it never judged him for anything; it was more pleasant for Naruto to stay with the demon than anyone else.
"Naruto… if you're scared, don't be… we won't tell anyone… we're just worried. Please tell us if you were with Kyuubi?!" asked Iruka.
"Yes…" hesitantly confirmed the blond.
Tsunade jumped, "Did it take advantage of you? Did it scare you or threaten you in some way or other?"
Naruto just shook his head and said, "Kyuubi… … …comforted me."
And for the third time that day Iruka had to fall to the floor, however this time – out cold.
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