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Ready
The precipice was crude - desolate, interrupted only by the sparse, but sheer, outcroppings and boulders that decorated the land. Dusty; dry; deserted.
Naruto was perched on one such boulder that sat at the end of the peninsula-like head of the cliff that overlooked the foraged wasteland that bordered between countries. Konoha behind him, Suna most prominently in front of him.
Naruto shifted uncomfortably on the rock, a bead of sweat on his naked forehead.
The temperature was so different in the River Country – hot and humid, chapping his skin, and Naruto's tongue touched against the inside of his lip, relishing in the sweet stinging as the wet appendage brushed across the split there – one wound that the Kyuubi hadn't felt necessary to heal.
The sun glowed with a muted brilliance, setting the sky a brilliant, burning burgundy that Naruto didn't know if he liked or detested.
His finger darted up to wipe a bead of sweat off his upper lip, leaving the one on his forehead to trickle down the exposed skin beside head; over a temple.
The slow, steady chirp of cicadas – unseen but not unheard – pulsed through the evening air: behind him, around him, below him.
His chest felt heavy and unguarded without Tsunade-baa-chan's necklace resting beneath the trademark orange jumper. He found it funny that his chest would feel weighed down without the charm when he'd first found the thing so awkward against his skin. It had taken some getting used to, but now he almost missed it, thinking back to when he'd snuck into the Hokage's office, via the window beside the large wooden desk, and left it on the chair as a farewell gift.
There weren't many times Tsunade-baa-chan had been wrong, he'd found, but the necklace hadn't been a curse.
He could only imagine how she'd react to finding the pendant in her office, and whether she would heed the silent message he'd left for her; "Don't come after me."
Probably not, he frowned, scratching his nose with one finger while resituating himself on the heated rock. Symbolism wasn't what Naruto had been known for when he'd been living in Konoha, finding the entire concept to be "too troublesome" in Shikamura's words. Why bother with something so absurdly out-dated and complicated when he could just say things to the person's face just fine without the complication and hassle of trying to figure out what meant what? Naruto was many things, but eloquent he was not.
The sun had set almost fully now, three quarters of the way sunken behind the chapped, sun-baked horizon, and Naruto stifled a yawn before realizing he was being watched.
He tilted his head back as far as it would go, one lazy, upside down eye scrutinizing the figure cloaked behind him.
"You're late." He intoned slowly, putting more weight on the arm that supported his body and wondering if he could somehow scratch the itch right between his shoulders without looking like an idiot.
A singular black eyebrow rose with the all the incredibility of its owner, and a mouth lined by wrinkles of indubitably sleepless fret answered, "You're early." There was no surprise, and Naruto huffed quietly, returning his head to its upright position when it started throbbing with blood.
A hush had fallen over the valley, and Naruto hummed softly under his breath; a long, continuous, one-noted tone.
"Does my brother know you're here?" The raven-haired man asked, and he could tell he hadn't moved from his spot a comfortable ten paces from the rock.
"Sasuke?" Naruto asked, screwing his nose up in a frown before shaking his head once. "Would I be here if he did?" He countered, praising his good fortune that the solitary nin had been sent out on a mission. "He's helpin' old grannies cross streets. Bastard."
There was affection in the title, carefully tacked on to the end, almost as if an afterthought.
Itachi was quiet, and Naruto nodded, watching the last couple inches of sun sink behind the horizon fully, pausing a moment to enjoy the after-dusk darkness that swept across the plane before standing and turning to fully face the older of the two with a cynical grin on his features.
Dark, wary eyes followed him as he moved forward, towards Itachi and away from his last chance to back out until he was standing mere feet before the Akatsuki member.
"I'm ready." He declared, and within seconds they were gone.
The cicadas continued to chirp without an audience.