Title: "Perpetuum Mobile"
Author: Shaitanah
Rating: R for violence, coarse language and mentions of incest (or rather pre-incest)
Summary: Sasuke wants revenge on Itachi who's after Naruto who won't give up on his friend. Things have been complicated from the start, and it doesn't get any better when all three finally meet. [Mild pre-slash Please R&R!
Disclaimer: belongs to Kishimoto Masashi and whoever else that is not me… I really wish I would have thought of such cool characters first))
A/N: I wrote this a long time ago, way before I read the latest chapter. But it kinda fits… a little.
PERPETUUM MOBILE
Sasuke wanted to win. He longed to see his masterful warrior of a brother broken at his feet. He already knew how the blood of his parents felt on his hands and knees; he wanted to feel Itachi's blood now. He wanted Itachi to submit to him, to hold his life in his hands, to put out that eternal cold glow.
And then Itachi spoke.
"You can never kill me," he said.
Sasuke shivered at the sound of his brother's voice and nearly dropped his katana.
"What makes you think so?" he asked defiantly.
"You don't hate yourself enough."
Sasuke wrapped his fingers around his weapon in a more comfortable grip and glared at his brother stubbornly. His heart picked up speed. He leapt forth, aiming his carefully prepared fatal blow at his adversary. Itachi dodged it and parried swiftly.
Sasuke's condition was now beyond despair, beyond exhaustion. He moved incoherently, automatically, working his limbs so hard they were in flames. Sweat streamed down the back of his neck.
Itachi overtook his katana. Sasuke jumped back, feeling the blade graze his damp hand. A microscopic cut on his index finger. Itachi cast his weapon aside; it fell noiselessly into the grass.
Itachi closed the space between them in one instant and grasped Sasuke's wrist. The youth tensed. Itachi took his injured finger into his mouth and twirled his tongue over it gently.
Heated flush covered Sasuke's cheeks. Unable to move, he merely stared at his brother. He was already taller than Itachi, more muscular. He should have been able to surpass him! He should have!
The wet warmth devouring his blood sent shivers down his spine. Feeling tingly all over, Sasuke couldn't utter a word. Itachi's scarlet eyes drilled him with a hard look. Sasuke loathed himself for trembling, blushing and standing paralyzed at this dangerous man's mercy.
"What's the matter, little brother?" Itachi asked, half-smiling.
Sasuke paused before giving an answer. Tongue-tied, he swallowed hard and finally squeaked:
"You… you used to do that… before." And damn if it didn't sound weaker than he would have expected!
Itachi nodded abruptly. "Whenever you were hurt. It stops the blood flow. I'm glad you remember."
"I remember more than I'd like to remember!" Sasuke cut off in a suddenly steely voice. "You wouldn't let me forget… what I hate you for. For taking all that away from me."
The change in Itachi's composure wasn't visible. At least not to Sasuke. But he thought he'd felt it in the way Itachi loosened his grip on Sasuke's wrist, the way it became softer, the way his eyes flared when he said in his usual revoltingly even voice:
"We are unique siblings, after all."
Sasuke darted to the left, picked up his katana and lunged at Itachi again. He couldn't lose to him. Not now. He'd grown so strong. He'd done everything. He'd betrayed myself to get this power, the power he knew he would use against him to win.
'Why don't you just fucking die?' he screamed at him in his mind.
Before long, the familiar electric fire of Chidori was scorching his palm. His heart pounded, an intoxicating mix of the streaks of his chakra flowing all around him and adrenaline. Itachi darted the kunai and slashed Sasuke's wrist, disabling his arm. Grunting, the youth dropped to one knee, evading a series of shuriken stars flung in his direction.
He sprang forth, the lightning bolt exploding in his hand. Something sharp plunged into his side. Blood trickled down Sasuke's chin. He gasped in shock and disbelief as Itachi drove the katana deeper into his flesh.
Sasuke staggered to his feet and threw himself at his brother. The young man grasped him by the hand and tossed him down on the ground. Coughing, Sasuke lay flat on his back.
"You're just as weak as before, my foolish little brother," Itachi said, his voice betraying a hint of revulsion.
He turned his back on the fallen enemy, and tears formed in Sasuke's eyes.
"You can't leave me!" he shrieked. "Don't you dare leave me! Come back here, you bastard! Come back and finish the fight!"
Itachi's back tensed if only a little, but he continued to walk away. Sasuke rolled over on his stomach and crawled after him. Blood poured from the wound, leaving a thick trail on the muddy ground. Sasuke picked up the kunai and darted it in Itachi's direction. The Akatsuki ninja intercepted it in its flight and sent it back gracefully. Sasuke barely had the time to avoid collision.
He gritted his teeth. That feeling of helplessness returned like a recurring nightmare from his childhood to haunt him once more. Just like that night. Drenched in blood and mud, he watched his brother walk away, trembling in powerless fury.
Someone was calling him. He was hearing voices in his weakened mind. His friends, his teammates… Everything he'd left behind. Everything that had led straight to this fateful encounter – and he'd lost again.
"Sa-su-ke!"
The youth held his breath. That voice… it was only too real. The bushes moved, giving way to a tall form, a blur of black and orange that ended up squatting beside Sasuke.
"Na… Naruto…" Sasuke breathed, too exhausted even to be surprised. "What the–?"
"Seems like a nasty wound," Naruto observed. "It's all right, I'm here to help."
Before Sasuke could protest, he sprang up and rushed after Itachi. His attack was deflected swiftly. Naruto turned a somersault and ended up on his feet, grinning in his usual irritating manner.
"Well, hello there, Naruto-kun," said Itachi. "Have you finally decided to be reasonable and come with me?"
"Yeah, su-ure!" Naruto taunted. "Right after you beat me!"
Itachi nodded with a small smile. Sasuke's eyes widened. Itachi's voice thundered in his ears: 'I have no interest in you right now.'
Naruto! Sasuke clenched his fists, and a low growl escaped his lips. That fool! Why couldn't he just stay away for his own good!?
He had to admit Naruto was almost flawless. He stood against Itachi's attacks much better than Sasuke himself did. Blinded by emotions, Sasuke reacted sharply to every change in his brother's behaviour and got tired easily – fighting Itachi always affected him too much. Scowling, blabbering and screaming challenges at his adversary, Naruto, nevertheless, acted with the kind of precision that caused tormenting envy in Sasuke's heart.
"I'm the avenger…" Sasuke whispered under his breath. "I live… I breathe for vengeance."
'I have no interest in you,' Itachi's mocking voice snapped at him.
Sasuke shifted, attempting to get up. Pain spread like fire through his body.
"Lie still, Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed, glancing at him over his shoulder. "The others are on their way!"
Others!? Sasuke groaned. Of course Naruto wasn't stupid enough to go after him alone. He only prayed Team Hebi, or the Akatsuki, or whoever would hold those 'others' long enough.
Naruto's Rasengan drew a huge crack over the damp ground. Itachi threw a forceful punch and hit him in the face with his foot. Sasuke caught his breath. He saw Naruto running towards Itachi again, and the world around him exploded with a single phrase that sounded like his eternal sentence: 'No interest in you… No interest in you…'
"NO!!!" Sasuke shrieked, placing himself between the fighters, shielding Itachi. Naruto's fist collided with his hand; he gripped it firmly and spat viciously: "Back off! He's mine!"
"Sasuke! We have no time for this!" Despair was raw upon Naruto's open face. "I'm only here to help you out. Besides, your wound–."
"And whoever asked you to help!? This is my business! Mine alone!"
He pushed at his former teammate brutally. Disbelief in Naruto's bright blue eyes was suddenly swept away by fierce determination.
"I have no time for you," Sasuke muttered.
He turned back to Itachi only to see that his brother had moved to ambush Naruto from the back.
"I'm so fed up with your fucking vengeance!" Naruto yelled passionately. "You were my friend! No matter what the cost, I'll stop you, Sasuke. I swear I'll stop you!"
He threw himself at Sasuke, thus escaping Itachi's grasp. The younger Uchiha gripped his wrists and tossed him aside. Itachi slammed his foot into Sasuke's back. Blood splattered from his wound. Gagging, he sank on his knees.
The fight went on in the slashing rain. The drops pierced Sasuke's body like needles of ice. And this… everything… all this was simply too much.
The firebreathing shield of Chidori subsided. Sasuke lay still under the heavy rain; his chest heaved with each convulsing inhale. He'd suffered a grave blood loss. That ridiculous cut on his index finger was now a part of the distant past, the past Sasuke was more than willing to forget for it also contained Itachi's moist lips and the scorching fire of his breath.
Itachi glanced down upon him with a cruel smirk.
"You're even weaker than I thought. I guess I might do us both a favour of killing you now."
He closed the space between them, but Naruto forestalled him. He flung himself in front of Sasuke's trembling form and scowled:
"If you want him, you'll have to go through me!"
Devastated, Sasuke could only utter a weak sigh as his role in the play was reduced to that of a helpless observer.
Naruto was shaking, but his very posture radiated resoluteness. Sasuke swallowed a question ready to spring forth from his lips the moment Itachi's metallic voice cut through the noise of the rain.
"Why bother, Naruto-kun? Clearly my little brother does not think you owe him anything."
"Because…" Naruto breathed. Mentally Sasuke prepared himself for another heroic rubbish. "Because he is my friend."
'I'm glad it rains… They wouldn't see my tears. Naruto… You're such an idiot!'
Inflaming tenderness swamped Sasuke. It never did him well to be torn in two. Konoha… His home… Team Seven… These were just silly illusions that tied him to the past. He had to leave everything behind in order to complete his mission.
"Dead last…" Sasuke exhaled, his lips curved into a tired smile.
Naruto stopped trembling and became perfectly still like a marble statue. "Hmm…" he uttered quietly, and Sasuke sensed that he was grinning. So simple, so naïve, so beautiful – that's what his life could have been if he had only let this stupid-faced grinning disaster into his heart. Sasuke's fingers constricted around the kunai.
"As you wish," Itachi said, raising the katana.
"Naruto…" Sasuke called softly. The blond skewed up in his direction inquiringly. "Forgive me."
He drove the kunai into his back. Blood stained his hand. Naruto cried out, more in surprise than in pain, losing control over his body. The katana fell over Sasuke, whistling through the air. He caught the sleek blade between his hands, shifting up into the sitting position in a blink of an eye. Snarling like a hungry predator, he glared at Itachi with identical scarlet eyes.
"If you lose any more blood, you will die," Itachi observed coolly.
"I don't care as long as I get to take you with me!" Sasuke bellowed. "You always said: tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow! Well, I say: now! Today will be the day I'll kill you, dear brother! You shouldn't have left me alive if you wished to postpone the judgment day!"
The blade slipped out of his hands, cutting bloody slices over his palms. Sasuke darted towards his opponent, trying hard to ignore Naruto's moans in the background. The blond pressed his palm flat to the wound. Strange red glow enveloped his body. Sasuke's heart skipped a beat.
A thread woven from Itachi's chakra bound Sasuke's hands. He cried out, struggling out to break free. 'Katon! Gokakyuu no Jutsu!' he screamed in his mind, his lips already spitting fire. It blazed hard, consuming Itachi's dark silhouette. Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut; it hurt as if the sun itself exploded before him.
The wave of fire dispelled. Itachi crashed down on him somewhere from above. His blade severed the ties. Sasuke started to his feet. A low growl thundered through the forest. It was only now that the clouds thinned and the rain stopped.
"The Nine-Tails," Itachi whispered. If he was nervous, he didn't show it; only his eyebrows met in a slight frown.
Sasuke span around abruptly. Naruto disappeared; instead of his the blazing body of the demon-fox was visible. Tense, agile, it was ready to attack, whipping its multiple tails fiercely.
"Naruto…" Sasuke whispered. "Naruto!"
The fox snarled and tilted its head backwards, releasing a terrifying growl. The power of ancient, inconceivable evil cloyed the air. For a moment Sasuke forgot how to breathe.
The demon-fox rushed at its prey. Both ninjas jumped upwards to the safety of the tree tops. Sasuke wondered briefly if there still was anything of Naruto left inside.
The four tails of the burning monster knocked the trees down one by one. Sasuke lost grip and tumbled down. The absolute defense of Chidori enveloped his body before the fading aura of his chakra connected with Kyuubi's demonic flare. He sank into the overwhelming heat as if into the hellfire. It eroded the twilight, breaking straight into his mind. Every cell in his body exploded beneath the shield of the Chidori. Sasuke screamed.
Pale moonlight fell upon Sasuke's face. He lay immobile on the ground; the leaves rustled softly over his head. Black skeletons of the fallen trees lined the valley like the remains of a devastating fire. The hills were now barren, shapeless, desolate.
Sasuke forced himself to get up. Naruto, back in his regular form, was sprawled a few metres away from him. Itachi bent over him.
Sasuke flung himself over Naruto's body and spat: "You will not take him!"
Jealousy burnt in his head. He craved Itachi's attention much like Naruto craved his. Why… why didn't his brother acknowledge him!? Sasuke dropped his head on Naruto's chest helplessly and eyes Itachi with painstaking determination. He wouldn't move an inch even if Itachi had to stab him to reach Naruto.
The warmth of Naruto's body underneath his made him feel alive. The blood from his wounds mixed with Naruto's blood. Everything flashed crimson before Sasuke's eyes.
Itachi turned his back on them wordlessly. Of course… Running again like a bloody coward.
"You can't run from me forever, brother!"
Naruto moaned. His heart beat faster, a drumroll to Sasuke's ear pressed flatly to the blond's chest. It was a passionate, yearning heart, the heart Uchiha Sasuke would have died to have.
"Sasuke…" Naruto breathed into his crown.
The youth turned his head; his lips barely brushed Naruto's lips. Their breath mixed; the scent of blood electrified the air, damp earth and ashes clogged their nostrils.
"What happened?" Naruto whimpered.
Sasuke's eyes widened. Didn't he remember? Didn't he have at least the minimal control over his pet monster!?
He sat up, straddling Naruto, his lips compressed bitterly. He punched Naruto in the face with all his might.
"You idiot! How many times should I repeat that I DO NOT NEED YOUR HELP!?"
Naruto wrapped his fingers around Sasuke's wrists gently. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but a groan of desperation was all that came out. His grip tightened. He pushed at Sasuke forcefully and got up. Sasuke tumbled down into the nest of fallen trees. Branches crunched beneath his weight.
"You're so selfish!" Naruto screamed. "You think you can just leave everything behind! Well, news bulletin: you cannot leave me! I'm sorry, Sasuke, I'm your fucking friend! And I'm gonna help you whether you want it or not."
Sasuke laughed coldly. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you now."
Finally Naruto seemed to have lost the power of speech. He was paralyzed much like he'd been during their first meeting at Orochimaru's, and Sasuke felt like embracing him again.
"Why don't you just give up?" he asked wearily.
Emaciated, he wanted nothing more than a few hours of good sleep. Naruto's ragged breath crashed down on him like waterfall. He looked into the blue eyes of his former teammate and smiled.
"Naruto. Say it again, please."
"What?"
"That I'm your friend."
The youth's face brightened into a broad grin. He opened his mouth, but distant outcries in the thicket of the ravished forest made him jerk back. When he looked around again, Sasuke was gone.
'My blood, my chakra in the wind… You'll be able to track me down again. Next time you come, I'll be ready. It's good to have somebody running after you against all odds even if you say stop.'
Naruto lowered his head. His hands balled into fists relaxed; a long quiet sigh escaped his lips. He swallowed the tears, and his lips twitched upwards into a full-fledged insolent grin.
"You're my friend," he said though Sasuke couldn't hear him anymore. "And I swear I'll beat the sense into you."
July – August 2007