Disclaimers:
Oh well, the usual. I'm sure you've heard them all before, the characters don't belong to me, yada yada. I'm feeling annoyed over that fact already! So don't rub it in. *sulking*
Author's Ramble:
This is written a looong time ago, when sudden inspiration hit and I HAD to pen it down. The enthusiasm to finish it wore off soon enough though, but it's back now, the ideas more concrete than ever. So I guess I'll be trying my best to finish it, and while I'm at it, finish the rest of my WIPs too…. It's been too long ___
And comments are as usual, very appreciated and critical for my assessment of how I write. I really wouldn't want to people to read my stuff and go "Oh bugger. What a freaking waste of time." So please, do give me feedback ^__^
That said, I should WARN yaoi-ickish people should boot out as soon as you read this line cause, yes, this is going to be yaoi. And soon-to-be rated R. And will have KakashixNaruto, NarutoxSasuke and possible involvements of Naruto with the likes of Itachi,Gaara, Neji and…..even Jiraiya. (Oh don't glare at me, I'm having enough trouble trying to come to terms with how screwed my mind must be to come up with that too) I'm still working on those ideas though, but hey, don't say you weren't warned. ^___^
Catharsis
k&-'thär-s&s
Etymology: New Latin, from Greek katharsis, from kathairein to cleanse, purge, from katharos
Date: circa 1775
-purification or purgation of the emotions (as pity and fear) primarily through art
-a purification or purgation that brings about spiritual renewal or release from tension
-elimination of a complex by bringing it to consciousness and affording it expression
Chapter 1: Beginnings
"Old hag!! Pervert sennin!" Naruto yelled "Hurry up will you?
Jiraiya looked up from his scribbling in his notebook, when he heard the yells. Naruto was up ahead, jumping up and down waving his arms frantically to catch their attentions and make his point. A twitch began to form on Jiraiya's brow as he looked down once more at his notebook and tried to recall that sudden stroke of inspiration for his latest would-be publish, and found it hopelessly lost. He threw down his pen in frustration and yelled at that hyperactive figure
"Dammit!! I am Jiraiya! The epitome of man! I take NO orders from anyone, especially not from a brat!"
Naruto rolled his eyes at the comment and turned around to move on ahead. Tsunade who was walking alongside Jiraiya and Shizune watched all this with a smile. The brat was endearing in his own way, so much so, that she was willing to overlook the fact that he constantly called her an 'old hag' . Hell, she had beat the living shit out of people for less before. But this boy…this boy, was special. His enthusiasm for life, his unfailing determination, his infinite strength and boundless potential. These qualities set him apart from the rest around him. He will never give up, and Tsunade should know. She had been just metres away from him, when he almost lost his life proving his determination. This quality of his, already outshines most of the many ninjas she had seen in the half century she had lived. So, for him…she will overlook his taunts and pranks. She will protect the village he belongs and loves so passionately, the village he had reminded her she belonged, and will be returning to, after so many years of absence.
They had been traveling for days and thanks to the medicinal abilities of Tsunade and Shizune, Jiraiya's injuries were healed, while Naruto practically self healed himself without his knowing. The journey back to the Hidden Leaf was drawing to a close and the excitement of being back home was evidently showing itself in Naruto's constant urging for them to "move their asses" as he so eloquently puts it.
Naruto was humming a tune to himself, it was going off key he knew, but he couldn't care less right this moment. He was finally going back home, and he couldn't wait. He wondered what Iruka-sensei was doing right then, and Sasuke…a frown settled itself between his brows as he thought of his injured comrade. It was weird, he mused, to verbally, no…in this case mentally refer to his rival as a comrade. Even though he knew deep down, he had already recognized Sasuke as an important comrade, his pride usually got into the way of him verbally spelling that fact out, even for himself.
I guess absence really does make the heart grow fonder, he thought wryly. I hope he's doing okay….well, at least hang in there until Tsunade arrives. Thinking that, he whirled around once again to check on the distance the two sennins and apprentice were making. He was irritated to find that they haven't quickened their pace at all despite all his urging. He made a frustrated growl and was about to yell at them again before he paused and thought better of it. If they're not going to keep up, then he will just have to move on without them.
The entrance gates of Hidden Leaf Village came into view, and Naruto couldn't quell the warm rush of excitement bubbling in him, or suppress the loud yell of "Yesss!!!". He ran forward as fast as he could , and ignoring the bewildered glances sent his way by the people upon his entrance into the village, he minutely decided to make his way to see how his fallen comrade was doing.
As he approached the Sasuke's apartment Naruto thought of how he should make his entrance. He grinned as he made his decision. He threw open the door .
"Hey Sasuke! I've bested you once again! Wait till you see! Nyahahaha……" his laugh died on his lips, dramatic entrance forgotten. The apartment was deathly quiet, and a foreboding feeling was beginning to creep up his spine. Naruto slowly removed his burdens and left his bag on the floor before moving towards Sasuke's bedroom. He pushed the against the partially closed door and strained to look into the darkened room.
"S-Sasuke?"
Naruto could make out the lines of a bed, and as his hand fumbled along the wall, searching for a light switch, his eyes never broke contact with bed. When the lights came on, Naruto inhaled sharply. Sasuke was lying on the bed, looking pale and …. Dead. Naruto moved forward quickly and was immensely relieved to see the shallow rise and fall of his chest, which indicated that Sasuke was indeed alive and breathing. A deep pain was settling in Naruto's heart as he assessed his rival. As his eyes took in the sallow skin, the grave pallor, the thinness and lines of sickness that was etched into his face disturbed him and added to the feeling of…wrongness to what he was presently witnessing.
He barely managed to move fast enough to dodge the weapon that whizzed past his head, missing its target by mere millimeters. As he stumbled backwards and reached quickly for his kunais before rounding on his attacker. His eyes widened in surprise as he took in a shocked Sakura by the door still poised in a battle stance.
"N-N-Naruto?!" she squeaked.
"Sakura!! What the hell were you doing trying to kill me?!" Naruto harrumphed indignantly as he replaced his kunais and folded his arms. He was nearly bowled over when Sakura barreled into him to give him a hug. It was all he could do to keep his eyes from rolling out of their sockets in surprise. /Absence does make the heart grow fonder…/ Naruto though bewilderedly.
Sakura released him quickly and looked apologetic. "I saw the front door open…I thought…I thought perhaps someone was here to harm Sasuke-kun…..maybe Orochimaru or one of his subordinates….sorry…"she finished meekly.
"Ha! Thanks to my superior reflexes and amazing skills, was I able to dodge an attempted assassination. Or I wouldn't be standing right now."
"I said I was sorry!" then Sakura's eyes turned accusing. "You left without telling any of us where you were going! Have you any idea how worried the rest of us were?! Iruka sensei almost went mad with worry, until he was told by the elders of the village you had went on a mission with one of the Sennins, when he barged into their quarters in near hysteria to report your absence!"
Naruto was immediately gripped with overwhelming guilt as he imagined Iruka's actions in his head. And the agitated glare Sakura sent him was not helping either. "I-I'm sorry." he sputtered.
"You should be!" Sakura retorted haughtily as inner Sakura distantly mused at how quickly their roles had reversed in the past minute. She then looked past his shoulder at the still form lying in bed. The spark of life that shone in her eyes before dulled as she was reminded of the reason why she came here in the first place. Naruto noticed this and hesitantly asked "Had he been like this….the whole while?"
"Yes…he hasn't improved very much at all since Gai sensei brought him back. Most of the time he's sleeping, and dreaming of nightmares. And nothing would wake him…and …"Sakura's voice sounded broken as she described their teammate's condition.
"Don't worry Sakura, Tsunade's here to heal him, he'll be dancing around in the pink of health in no time."
Sakura managed a smile as inner Sakura gave a snort at the image of Sasuke dancing around. Then she realized she was missing out on something. "Tsunade?"
"Eh? Oh yeah, she's um, our Fifth Hokage apparently, and an expert at medicine I think. And she's -"
"One of the legendary three Sennins." Sakura finished for him.
"Huh? You know her?"
"Did you ever pay attention during history lessons Naruto?" came Sakura's exasperated reply " The three Sennins are renowned throughout the entire ninja community! Each one of them possess powers that rival the Hokage's….no wonder one of them is going to be the new Hokage."
"Whatever….I seriously doubt she can be one though! She's rather incompetent, rash with money, bad-tempered, and rolls in bad luck, or so the pervert sennin says." complained Naruto "I'm going to be the Hokage someday, so I hope she doesn't screw the image of the Hokage up before I get to become one."
"As if you can, idiot." a hoarse voice croaked behind him.
Both Naruto's and Sakura's heads snapped to the owner of the voice their faces caught in the identical expressions of disbelief.
"Sasuke-kun! You're awake!" Sakura rushed to his side, and began fussing over him, relief coursing through her and her eyes were becoming suspiciously blurry. She sniffed a little as she poured a glass of water from the pitcher on the bedside table.
Naruto was so overwhelmed by relief that he was willing to let it overshadow the fact Sasuke had called him an idiot. "Sasuke! How are you feeling now?" genuinely concerned for the boy who was too weak at the moment to even sit up. Sasuke gave a tired grunt in reply as Sakura helped feed the water to his dry cracked lips.
Somehow, the image didn't sit right with Naruto, that his rival was too feeble to help himself to a drink. And the fact that he was weak enough to be able to swallow his pride, and allow someone to feed him….it was just simply wrong.
"Tsunade's here, you'll be fine!" Naruto blurted out unthinkingly. The sudden urge to reassure had failed to allow Naruto to foresee the current embarrassment, in admitting his concern, that he's finding himself in now. Sakura just blinked at him, while he could have sworn Sasuke was smirking. He scratched his face and looked aside, "Uh, well, what I meant was that, um, Tsunade's here for that purpose, and uh…." a sudden thought strayed in "Oh yeah! Why didn't Kakashi do his healing thing for you? He did it before didn't he? During the chunnin exams…what?" Naruto frowned when he saw Sakura's expression change into a troubled one.
"Naruto, you left before you knew, Kakashi sensei got into a fight with…with…."Sakura bit her lip, reminded suddenly of her slip and turned fretful eyes on Sasuke, afraid of continuing . She was scared that the very mention of Itachi would set Sasuke into a fit or something..
Sasuke had tensed up for a while before forcing himself to relax. "Itachi…." he finished for her. "He fell victim to same jutsu as I did, before I even went to find you."
"So….how is he now?" Naruto asked hesitantly, processing this new information. All this while he had assumed his sensei was well and about, doing his best for Sasuke.
"He hasn't woken up at all since, Naruto…." Sakura said as her voice took on an odd hitch that hinted to everyone she was trying not to cry. "The other jounins have taken turns in watching over him, and during the visits I made, I could hardly notice any improvement."
"I-I'll go visit him later." Naruto found himself at a loss at what to say. His mind was being overloaded with all these events, first the rush of coming back to the village, then finding Sasuke in the state he was in, and now, to top it all off, Kakashi's fallen state.
Sakura noticing Sasuke's escalating fatigue, said quickly "Ah, Naruto, I'll be heading there now as well, I'll go with you. Sasuke-kun, we should leave you to your rest, and get your new Hokage to tend to you as soon as possible."
Sasuke gave the barest of nods before sleep settled over him once more.
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"So what have you been doing during your time away?"
Naruto looked up from staring at his activity of kicking pebbles while walking. "Huh? Um….oh yeah, I left with pervert sennin to look for the old hag, and he taught me this new jutsu! I had this bet with the old hag that I'll master it, and she lost." Excitement sparked in his eyes once more. Sakura smiled at that.
They chatted while making their way to Kakashi's apartment, and Sakura had to admit, Naruto's enthusiasm-in the way he talked and acted, seemed to dissipate the gloom like a ray of warm light. She wondered why she couldn't see it before, how his personality lights up everything about him. Even in the worst of conditions, he was able to convey a sense of hope, an assurance that everything's going to be alright.
"You know, Naruto….you should never change." Sakura said with a smile.
"Nyahahaha of cou-…..eh, huh?!" Naruto gaped at her. Recovering quickly, he laughed "Are you falling in love with me already Sakura-chan?" as he blew her a kiss and ran off.
"Baaaka!!" she yelled and gave chase.
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Author's ramble part 2:
Yes, yes, I am well aware that this has been an all too boring chapter, and certainly drag-gy beyond belief…. I was planning to write more before concluding the first chapter, but I thought I'd spent the time for more development on chapter 2 instead. Oh well, as said, I'll certainly appreciate it if I can get some feedback on this, as little as there is to comment on =___=;;
Forgive grammatical errors and such, I don't have a beta-reader, and English isn't my mother tongue. ___