Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto would I be writing fanfics?? I'd be getting the next part of the story ready!! And I'd be telling him who his father is!! Me no own Naruto or any characters or similarities from the Manga or Anime.
Sweating Bullets: a realization fanfic
Sasuke stood in his windowless room. A small voice inside his head keeps repeating things over and over driving him mad. He jumps up and begins to pace the small room. When that fails to shut the incessant clatter inside his head he begins to train. His kicks are powerful and his punches throw off chakra. Soon his half naked body is covered in sweat. His spiky hair is drooping with wetness. Each movement sends droplets flashing in the torchlight.
His anger grows and he increases his already inhuman tempo; he begins to hit the walls and furniture. Even in the midst of this chaos and destruction he is not satisfied.
Eventually he kicks down the door and works his path of destruction down the corridor leading outside. Perhaps destroying something living, even if just a tree, will abate the demon screaming in his mind.
"Hello me! Meet the real me, and my misfits way of life."
Birds flutter in droves hurrying away from the growing destruction that was their forest.
Sasuke collapses in frustration and exhaustion. He lays on the ground strewn with the ravages of his anger. Images flash through his mind…
Chuunin exams: fighting that red haired guy from Suna
Flash
Sparring with Naruto in the forest
Flash
In the Forest of Death; meeting Orochimaru for the first time
Flash
Coming home finding his entire clan dead
Flash
Academy classes: watching the blonde idiot fail yet again
Flash
Being immobilized against a tree with Naruto fighting that red haired moster guy
Flash
The huge snake rearing up knowing he's done for but then dozens of Narutos bursting it wide open
Flash
The Valley of the End: the determination on that stupid blonde's face
Flash
Sakura begging him not to leave
Flash
The Sound Four's first attack
Flash
Kakashi teaching him Chidori
Flash
Learning chakra control with Naruto in the forest of Wave Country
Flash
Nearly dying in the Mirror dome
Flash
That damn kiss at Academy
Flash
"A dark black past is my most valued possession."
Itachi beating him in the Hotel, and not even after him, but rather Naruto
Flash
The thousands of naruto in the forest facing that monster the red head turned into
Flash
Standing over Naruto at the Valley of the End after the fight
"Hindsight is always 20/20"
He should have never left. He stands up and surveys the changed landscape around him.
"Thinking back it's still a bit fuzzy."
Itachi! He groans, Damn you!! He stalks back toward the enclosure.
"Nice story, tell it to reader's digest!"
-- -- -- -- -- -- --
Naruto lies in the hospital bed. His lifeless body drugged to keep him there.
One thought plays over and over in his mind… Sasuke
"Feeling paranoid, true enemy, or false friend…"
His breathing quickens; he's already coming out of the induced unconsciousness. Their mistake is no one is around to notice.
Cobalt eyes snap open and look around in panic… Where am I??
He gazes left; then right, the last thing he remembers is standing in front of Sasuke…he has formed two clones behind his unsuspecting former, and yet still, best friend.
Sasuke raises his Chidori to strike and…and then everything goes black. He looked into Sasuke's Sharingan and that is all he remembers.
"Anxiety's attacking me and my air is getting thin."
Why is he here—where is Sasuke—he scours the room for some answer. The only think he notices is a single yellow flower in a vase. Sakura…
A memory floods his brain Sakura screaming for them both to stop before they kill each other
:"Well I'm in trouble for the things I haven't got to yet."
He clenches his fists and draws blood as his fingernails cut into his palms.
"I'm chomping at the bit and my palms are getting wet…"
A single guttural cry breaks the silence covering the ripping sound of straps being torn from their metal supports.
"SASUKE!!"
"Sweating Bullets!"
He races through the forest looking for the hideout he cannot seem to find. He can smell the unmistakable scent of his chakra—he's near—so close. His eyes flash red, blue, red, blue…
"Hello me; it's me again!"
He feels the familiar demonic chakra welling up inside him. He tries to subdue it; he's gotten much better at controlling it.
"You can subdue but never tame me."
I WILL DO THIS ON MY OWN…I DO;'T NEED YOU!!
"It gives me a migraine headache; thinking down to your level."
Naruto stops his mad dash through the forest. He withdraws inside himselfsoon he is in front of the fox's cage.
He glares at the demon sealed within him. "I don't need you, so go away!"
"You've always relied on my power when you were in tough situations."
"Not anymore. I know I can do it on my own. I don't need you." Naruto sneered, "I hae more chakra than you could ever give me! Besides you make me lose myself and try to take over I want to remember this!"
"You just keep on thinking it's my fault."
"But you were the one to call on me…"
"That was before…I'm stronger now."
"And stay an inch or two outta kicking distance."
Naruto approached the cage, his face mere inches from the bars. He could feel the demon's chakra building up around him. The Kyuubi's eyes flashed fire and the chakra engulfed him, but he never broke eye contact with Kyuubi. It became a stare down and a test of strength. Naruto never flinched as the chakra bubbled and grew around him it was now filling the entire cavern within him.
"Mankind has got to know his limitations!"
"Can you feel my power, human? It's there for the taking; just as always."
Naruto remained stoic, never speaking, just staring firmly at the demon as if waiting for the real showdown to begin. An orange clawed hand forms behind the bars and it passes through without resistance and clutches Naruto. Naruto never blinks as his body is lifted into the air. The Kyuubi draws Naruto to eye level and squeezes…
"Pathetic human!! I can crush you in the palm of my hand."
A loud 'poof' is the first indication that something is not right.
"Kawarimi!? You used that? How? When? What!?"
Kyuubi looks at his clenched fist and realizes he is now clutching a piece of his own substantial chakra.
"Feeling claustrophobic; like the walls are closing in."
Naruto forms a few hand seals and the image of the seal, typically only a ghost in the background if at all, blazes into bright relief.
"You can't do this!! Only the Yondaime Hokagecan reinforce the seal!"
Naruto turns and strides away never again facing the demon.
"I am my father's son," is the only parting explanation.
Naruto looks down at his hands—they are no longer dripping blood, instead rivulets have run down from the crescent shaped cuts in his palms which have already healed, and down his arms where they have dried.
"Bloodstains on my hands and I don't know where I've been."
He renews his pace and speeds toward the spot in the forest he knows he must reach. He knows he's never been here before, yet it is all strangely familiar.
"I'm in trouble for the things I haven't got to yet."
Sasuke knelt outside the clearing he had created. He watched the subtle flight of the remaining birds as he felt the chakra signature grow. It had a remnant of familiarity.
Before he saw the intruder he felt a surge of raw power and a wave of bright blue chakra raced towards him. In a flash his chakra sword is formed; without the solidarity of Kusinagi for it to form around it becomes more club like and yet with a dangerously sharp blade much like an axe.
He crouched in a low fighting stance awaiting his unexpected visitor…
"I'm sharpening the axe and my palms are getting wet."
Naruto felt Sasuke; so close the signature was unmistakable. So close Teme.
Anger fueled his race toward the clearing he could just make out.
A drop of sweat trembled on the tip of a golden spike before crashing to the ground. At that exact moment a surge of chakra burst out from within his tortured soul.
"Sweating Bullets!"
Naruto is racing so quickly he could pass for his father's Shunshin no Jutsu. He cannot stop, the pull of Sasuke so close draws him. He explodes through the last canopy of trees headed straight toward the crouching figure who waits.
Sasuke raises his sword ready to send a blast of lightening edge Chidori blade into his attacker.
A streak of blonde is the only thing that makes him hesitate. A sudden recognition of the strangely familiar chakra makes him freeze in his tracks.
This cannot be Naruto There is too much raw power and strength emanating off the still advancing form—yet there is no mistaking that tan whiskered face and those crystal blue eyes. They're the same shade of blue as the chakra visible around his body, he thinks as he withdraws his blade and deftly deflects the advancing human projectile.
Naruto surprises him by grabbing the hand he uses to deflect and pulls himself through and rebounds back getting in the first blow as he spins around.
Sasuke's head snaps around and back, Uchiha glare firmly in place as he activates stage one Sharingan.
Naruto notices the change in demeanor and stance and draws back falling into a stance good for both quick defense and strong offence.
Sasuke attacks with a series of lightening fast blows which Naruto quickly deflects inserting punches of his own. Sasuke is forced to admit the blonde idiot has gotten faster and stronger. He is waiting for the drawing of the demon's chakra. Armed with the knowledge Madara gave him of Sharingan power over the demon he feels he has the upper hand in this fight.
Naruto collects his chakra and creates clones in strategic locations effectively giving him much of the advantage Sasuke has with his stage one Sharingan. He can see every move Sasuke makes and based on his stance—shift of weight—and movement; he can discern approximately where each blow will land.
This method may be more rudimentary than Sasuke's but it is no less effective.
They trade blows—fists flying, kicks aimed; kunai thrown, shurikin targeting with deadly precision. Neither makes many errors there's only the minimalist of damage done.
Naruto uses his clones with a precision and finally realizes their true advantage in battle as information gatherers and tactical backup. Four rasengun charge toward Sasuke and he deflects them all sending two charging clones crashing into each other where they dispel with a loud double "poof" as their rasengun hit. The third he ducks and deflects the fourth as the third spins around for another attempt. A quick Kusinagi thrust and the fourth is dispelled and the third dissipates as a slicing blow is landed on the backstroke.
Naruto isn't finished yet he forms another round of clones who attack simultaneously: Sasuke accurately predicts their trajectory and jumps into the air at the last minute causing the quartet to have to think quickly or collide into each other.
The two on the East and West path reach out their empty hand and East flips West up into the air after Sasuke. North allows his momentum to carry him forward into a roll and South leaps over him using the body as a jumping block to gain height shoving his rasengun up after the rising Uchiha.
Sasuke smirks; as if that little trick could work on me…he forgets about the Naruto who is now charging down from above in one of his first basic moves, the simulated version of Sasuke's ShiShi Rendan he copied from Lee.
Naruto forms a rasengun. Drawing wind nature chakra into it and carefully contemplates his angle of descent and the force needed to thrust it at just the right moment. If only those laughing fools at the academy could know he wasn't an idiot; he just was severely discouraged because he couldn't control the vast amounts of natural chakra his body produced. His techniques were always perceived as weak because he couldn't do the simplest tasks—Kakashi had finally realized Naruto's dilemma; that's when he came up with the Taiju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu training technique. Naruto had to burn off the extra chakra so he could focus what would be a normal amount for an average ninja. When he did he was more successful than even Kakashi had predicted.
What he learned was chakra control—his own chakra control—and now; now he could do those stupid simple exercises that had always eluded him.
"My Hands in here…"
Naruto hurtled toward the ground and the object between him and it, at an alarming rate. Sasuke never noticed because Naruto had used his earlier chakra signature from his dispelled clone to target a location to use his father's jutsu that caused everyone to call him Konoha's yellow flash. One moment Naruto was using his clones to propel himself into the air the next he was crashing through the barrier between him and the ground, which just happened to be Sasuke.
In the nick of time Sasuke felt the chakra flowing through him. He moved slightly, just enough to make Naruto's intended knock out tactic reduce to one hell of a blow, but short of a knock out.
Naruto landed on the ground in a light stance facing Sasuke. The expression on Sasuke's face was unreadable. He was cut and bleeding from where the Fuuton Rasengun had hit him. Naruto wiped his bloodied hand on his shirt.
"Bloodstains on my hands…"
Sasuke raised Kusinagi and formed a chidori blade across him. He felt strangely calm, and surprisingly the anger he had unleashed earlier was gone. Now it was a battle to prove just who was stronger. His face was concentrated and a little shocked. Right now they were at a draw, although he didn't want to admit it.
He raised Kusinagi to strike.
"Big axe…"
The two forces raced toward each other.
"Sweating…"
Naruto had formed a rasengun in one hand without clones.
"Sweating…"
Sasuke drew his chidori Kusinagi over his shoulder to strike.
"Sweating…"
Naruto pulled his arm back preparing to thrust forward.
"Sweating…"
The halved the distance.
"Sweating…"
Each face set in determination and strength of will.
"Sweating…"
They knew this would decide who the best was for once and for all.
"Well me it's nice talking to myself. Oh credit to dementia. Someday you too will know my pain, and smile its black toothed grin."
They met in the middle and their jutsu both hit their target. Neither deflected, neither pulled back. They both gave it all they had. If one or both of them died they would finally know their answer. This was a clash that had built for years.
"It's a war inside my head. Won't take a day off I'll be dead."
There was no turning back now. They stood; Kusinagi impaled through Naruto's abdomen, Naruto's hand impaled to the elbow in Sasuke's chest. They panted and coughed blood. Each wound could have been fatal. By some stroke of luck or miracle it didn't seem either was. Naruto would be healed by the fox, he always was; why would this time be any different? Sasuke was strong. He had defeated his brother, Orochimaru, and his own past; he couldn't die now. Sasuke slowly withdrew Kusinagi from Naruto's stomach. He retracted his chidori when the blade was completely withdrawn; it had helped seal the wound. Naruto was doubly lucky. He had Kyuubi's healing power, and Sasuke's chidori had sealed the wound. Sasuke wasn't so fortunate. He had a gaping hole in his upper chest. Naruto hadn't aimed for the heart; he'd used his left hand to form the Fuuton Rasengun. It had punctured Sasuke's lung though and it had collapsed.
"My icy fingers claw your back, here I come again!"
Naruto sent pulses of chakra into Sasuke's wound as he withdrew his hand. It wasn't Chidori and wouldn't heal the wound, or even seal it like Chidori had, but it was chakra filled with healing intent.
They sat there and stared at each other. Sasuke could no longer deny it, Naruto was his equal.
What did that make him?
"Feeling paranoid, true enemy or false friend."
Naruto looked into Sasuke's eyes. He hadn't meant to kill him. He'd wanted to hurt him, but not kill him; exactly as Naruto had done. His arm was numb and he couldn't move it, the effects of the Fuuton Rasengun on his own body. Sasuke collapsed onto his side blood drizzling out of the wound. It wasn't gushing, though, and he knew he could make it if he got treatment quick enough. Naruto crumpled next to Sasuke as if in slow motion. They lay there unable to move, not speaking a word, but their eyes saying everything.
You're my best friend.
I know, you too.
"Anxiety's attacking me and my air is getting thin."
Their bodies began to shut down. They couldn't go seek help. Sasuke's lung made it hard for him to breath. He began to take short, slow breaths. It looked like he would pass out. Naruto began to pool blood internally. His breathing was ragged and you could tell he was in a great deal of pain by how fast and shallow it was.
"Feeling claustrophobic like the walls are closing in."
The brightness of Naruto's eyes began to fade as Sasuke's vision swam in and out of focus. Naruto lost sight of Sasuke's pale face as he began to lose consciousness.
"Bloodstains on my hands and I don't know where I've been."
Neither heard the scream from the blonde and pink haired kunoichi as they arrived at the unsettling scene. They looked at the devastation and at the fallen figures in the middle of the clearing. Sakura rushed to Sasuke's side, Ino to Naruto's. They each began to work tirelessly on their fallen friends. Sakura couldn't stem her tears as she worked on the man she still thought she loved. Ino was stoic and worked diligently on Naruto's crumpled form. The other two members of the team stood off to the side. There was nothing they could do. Shikamaru watched as the girls worked on the fallen shinobi of Konoha. Chouji merely stood and watched. He saw how Ino methodically worked to stop the bleeding inside Naruto's abdominal cavity.
He glanced at Sakura who had controlled her emotions and was working on Sasuke. She had already gotten his chest to begin to knit together, and his prognosis looked better all the time.
As soon as the girls gave the go ahead they transported the pair to the hospital.
Naruto awoke to a bright beam of sunlight falling across his face. He groggily opened his eyes and focused on the shaft of light. He turned his head over to the second bed in the room. To his surprise Sasuke occupied it. When he glanced at Sasuke's face he saw the pale man begin to stir. He couldn't suppress a huge grin when those coal black eyes focused on his.
"Once you committed me, now you accredit me."
Naruto began to chuckle softly. Sasuke merely scowled. He couldn't hold it though…and the unemotional Uchiha Sasuke smiled.
"My own insanity…"
"Dobe," he said softly; the insult now a term of friendship.
"For your stupidity."
"Teme," came the affirmative reply.
They spent a month in the hospital. Naruto was well enough to go after a week, but he stayed to talk to Sasuke. Tsunade came in daily to yell at them both. Sakura brought fresh fruit and flowers to brighten their room.
It had become an unspoken agreement that Sasuke would have to find somewhere to go, and since he was still the sole Uchiha he had the reserves of their money to fall back on. He had to pay a good portion of it for reparations for his actions, but he still had enough to buy a sizeable apartment. Tsunade had convinced the elders to allow Sasuke back in the village as a welcome hero because of his role in eradicating Orochimaru and Itachi.
Sasuke never told what he knew about his brother, except to his best friend. He also confessed about Tsukuyomi and Mangekyou Sharingan. He and Naruto discussed how they had neither one pulled out their most devastating weapons.
Naruto received the greatest gift he'd ever been given. Sasuke admitted they were equals.
Two weeks after their hospital release found them at the old training grounds. They faced each other, ready for a training match. Kakashi stood observing, but not interfering. Naruto was a Jounin now, and Sasuke would have the right to test in the future.
They chased each other, kicking and punching conserving their energy. Each knew the level the other had obtained and they didn't either one want to lose to the other. They had reached an agreement that they were equal, but they still had a lifelong competitive steak within them.
They faced off again, solid stances ready to clash yet again…
"I'm chomping at the bit…"
Naruto bounced on his feet ready to charge…
"I'm sharpening the axe…"
Sasuke tensed then relaxed ready for whatever naruto would throw at him…
"Oh here I come again!"
They charged, both just a flash. Kakashi almost had to get his Sharingan out to keep up with the intense sparring.
"Who--oah!"
Flashes of chakra shone through the training ground as the two fought and parried, kicked and punched. Neither would lose, neither could win… They'd never let this rivalry fade, it was their most treasured relationship.
"Sweating Bullets!"
Well that's it. My fic based on the Megadeth song Sweating Bullets. Going from Sasuke losing his mind, to Kyuubi talking to Naruto, to both of them deep in realization and almost death. (I thought about killing them off, but I just couldn't do it)