DISCLAIMER: No, I don't own Naruto.
Now, this is a bit of a different take on what I've usually done. Usually I specialize in the kind of fluff that melts teeth, but after spending a little too much time reading up a bunch of old Time and Life magazine articles about old Ludwig of Bavaria, I started thinking up plot bunnies. I've always wondered, especially given certain evidence in the manga, what would happen should the sharingan/rinnegan go out of control. Would it hurt someone who wasn't of the bloodline? Would it, perhaps, cause the genjutsu to rebound on the user? This is the baseline of this particular story, but no worries. There's plenty of lovin' to go around, with an emphasis on Irukashi and SasuNaru. If you don't care for that sort of thing, the back button is ready and willing. I don't tolerate flaming.
Dream On...
It was eerie, how quiet the desert was. Naruto shivered a little and huddled under his cloak closer to the fire, glancing over at the other still awake. Sasuke was sharpening his katana and polishing the ebony blade, eyes dark as the sky above. Between them lay the fire, little more than glowing red-hot embers, Sakura and Kakashi's sleeping forms. The medic-nin was curled in a ball, exhausted from the fighting earlier, her chakra so heavily depleted that she'd fainted three times before they'd made it to their safe camp. Kakashi was equally worn out, having forbidden Sasuke from using his own sharingan while fighting the remnents of one of Madara's mad little cults, just in case they got ambushed. Again. He sighed a little and rubbed the ever present sand out of his eyes, wishing he could speak. However, due to their position, they'd been talking hand signals all day long, and with Sasuke busy...He suddenly smiled to himself. He waved at Sasuke to get his attention, then proceeded to spell out his question.
You still hungry? Their lackluster rations rested beside him, and he'd had to pack extra when they'd left the Mist Village after it had taken Sakura three days to recover from the attack just after they'd left Konoha. Surely even Sasuke was a little hollowed out now; he'd only had two meals since the day before last. A swift nod followed his actions, and he pulled out one of the bars, tossing it lightly over the fire. The older jounin caught it, and pulling off the cloth cover, proceeded to snarf like Naruto on Ichiraku's half-priced ramen day. The jinnchuriki smiled and held up another, and Sasuke nodded again, eating this one a little slower as he stared over at Naruto.
Feel better? A small smirk made its way to Sasuke's face and he nodded, setting the small cloths in his bag.
Thanks.
No problem. He paused, glancing out over the dunes, and proceeded with his next question, his face growing serious. So, is it just me, or are those bastards finding us far too easily? Sasuke's eyes lost their mischief and his face tightened as he nodded. Due to his time as Orochimaru's, then Madara's 'subordinate', he tended to lose all animation and emotion when he was serious. It was the one time Naruto did not push him to 'loosen up'; Sasuke almost seemed to enter a mode similar to Shikamaru's deep thinking. He didn't quite possess the shadow nin's knack for reading a hundred moves ahead, but he could, and did usually see the patterns underneath what seemed to be chaos. Most people still found it unnerving; Naruto simply chalked it up to a person's change. Sakura still didn't understand it, but...she was growing used to the changes in her friends. He hoped she was, at least...
It's not just you. I thought at first, and Kakashi agreed, that they might be tracking our sharingans, but the attacks...they seem too random. One moment you're the target, the next, me, and so on and so forth. It's confusing, even for me. But they are tracking us. That much is clear. How, I don't know yet. Have you had any strange chakra flows when you're in sage mode or bijuu mode?
Not a one. And I've been looking. Every time we get an ambush, I've been sending out clones in either mode, hoping mostly that they'll see something I won't. Sakura too has, but she's been trying so hard to keep us in one piece that she could barely produce one Bunshin. I'm thinking that maybe you should next time, because maybe the sharingan will do what our eyes can't.
I can certainly try. Let's talk it over with Kakashi in the morning, though; I think that this will go over better as a whole team of equals, ne?
Cool. You know, it's weird to think that we're, for the most part, all on level with Kakashi-sensei. I mean, technically you and I should have been put on the missing-nin list and taken out. But...now we're all jounin, and together again. Glancing up, Naruto was surprised to see...a smile? Uchiha Sasuke was actually smiling...there was no way. His face took on a whole new light when he smiled; he looked several years younger, and a lot more like the friend Naruto had grown up with. And he liked to see that. He grinned in response, and let his eyes drift to Sasuke's hands as the other replied.
Hmph...still a baka, but a strong one. And you forget, I was on the missing-nin list; I just got lucky that I knew a whole bunch of fools who seemed to think I was worth rehabilitating. Naruto snorted softly, but his blue eyes softened. It hadn't been easy to get him off the missing-nin list and out of the execution cells...and he would never tell Sasuke or Sakura what he had to do to ensure that his friends would not be penalized for their actions in the past. Some dreams don't come true...but as he looked over the camp, he smiled to himself. Sometimes, the ones you didn't even dare to dream do.
Psh...like that worked. You're still an asshole...but...I'm glad you came along. Our team really works best with you here. I mean, Sai's pretty cool, but you're...I dunno. More level? Nah, we're all crazy, so THAT doesn't work...Sasuke's minute hiss stopped him, and glancing up, realized that something was wrong. Slowly, he expanded his senses, kicking sand carefully over the embers. Naruto moved to squat, reaching out carefully to jiggle Sakura's ankle, while Sasuke did the same for Kakashi. Both woke in silence, and rolling over carefully, one gray eye and a pair of green caught sight of the two guards now back to back, Sasuke surveying the sands while Naruto used his grasp of nature energy to listen and feel for any vibrations coming near them. The Mangekyo sharingan was spinning in the former's eyes, and he grit his teeth, growling very softly. She and Kakashi took up position at their sides, covering the angles they could not.
"Sasuke, Naruto...what do you see?" Came the slightly gravelly voice of their team leader, his own sharingan whirling. That he was speaking aloud was a worrisome sign; usually he communicated in taps, soft whistles, and signs. He sounded a little hoarse, but no worse for wear as Sakura readied herself with flash bombs and smoke pellets. It was Naruto's voice that answered, and glancing up, Sakura realized that he'd gone straight into sennin mode, his eyes darkened by the Sage technique. Never a good sign, if Naruto was serious.
"There's easily a small army here...and I think can just barely sense Kabuto. I know that we've been itching to fight a lot, but I think that this is one of those times that we make like the wind and get the hell out of here. We can't take this. Even with our powers...they're all revived dead." The other three felt chills go down their spine, and Kakashi nodded, unfolding his tall body with immeasurable grace.
"Sasuke, you mastered that teleportation technique, right?"
"Yeah, but it only takes one perso-"
"Take Sakura. Naruto and I will get out of here via summonings. Go!" That last word came out loud and strong, and Sakura found herself scooped up, then falling through time and space, her body feeling as though it were squeezing into nothingness...until they came out in the Sand, Sasuke collapsing at the foot of the Kazekage's tower. Sakura quickly wrapped her cloak around him, alarmed at feeling his temperature drop, and began focusing her chakra on warming his body. He'd done this once before as a demonstration, and a similar effect had occured, thankfully with Shizune around to tell her what she needed to do, and look for in the future. She held his head in her lap, talking softly to him, her focus absolute even as the guards, Temari and Kankuro, followed by Gaara himself, rushed out and tried to make sense of the situation. It was Gaara's quiet voice that penetrated her thoughts, and she glanced up at him with worried eyes.
"Gaara-san...we were ambushed. This time, there were more than we could fight...and Kabuto was there, or so Naruto believed. Naruto and Kakashi-sensei are still out there, because Sasuke could only teleport one. They were going to escape via summonings, but..." Gaara held up a hand to forestall her growing anxiety, and he nodded slowly.
"Don't worry. I'm sending out my best teams, and we'll make sure that you and Sasuke are cared for. Can he be moved?" Sakura gauged his body temperature, and sighed in relief as she realized he was stablized. Asleep, too. She noticed that his katana was missing, but he'd likely dropped it so that he could keep a firm hold on her. She smiled a tiny bit, and stroked his bangs out of his eyes, then turned back to the Kazekage.
"Yes. I'll go back out with your teams; I know where we were, and that will give us a good standing point." Temari nodded, and offered her a hand up as Kankuro picked up Sasuke.
"Come on, Sa-chan, we'll get the boys back. Gaara, I'll take Kana with me so that we can send back information." The Kazekage only nodded and turned away, leading Kankuro and the rest of his staff back inside as Temari pulled Sakura away and flung out her arm, allowing a pretty falcon to perch on the gauntlet covering her wrist. Both kunoichi studied one another before sharing a sigh. "Men..." Temari muttered, unfolding her fan. Sakura smiled and tightened her pack before hopping up on the large weapon and holding tight to one of the straps.
"Agreed..." Her eyes darkened though, and she snarled, just a little. "But if any of them have hurt those two...there'll be hell to pay."
Naruto stared, horrified at the sight before him. He'd had to summon Gamabunta when the revitalized corpses overran their camp, and in the process, somehow, Kakashi had rolled off the great toad's back, and disappeared into the crowd of monstrosities. He'd felt sick, and as Gama had turned, curious as to his summoner's distress, Naruto had begged him to go back, to rescue his sensei...
"No can do, boss. I'm under orders from the Hermit to get you to safety...sorry, kiddo. The Fang's gonna have to save himself." Naruto had tried to run off his back, to jump into the fray, and been caught in a pebbled hand, held close to the toad's chest. It was the first time he'd cried that badly since Ero-sennin had died. He'd raged, wepted, threatened, begged, pleaded...to no avail. He couldn't lose another sensei like this...the only real father-figure he'd known his whole life...Three hours later, finally, Gama had let him down to join the teams from the Sand, disappearing so that Naruto could run alongside a few former comrades, waving dispiritedly at Sakura and Temari. It only took them a short time to reach the destroyed camp...and what awaited them was beyond horrific.
Black fire burned away at the corpses, most of which were in pieces and still trying to move. It was fading, but slowly, and the shinobi ventured further in, looks of horror and nausea crossing their faces as they saw faces they knew, melting away as the powerful jutsu was destroyed by the Amaterasu. Naruto felt a chilling numbness start to steal over his body, a sickening non-feeling that made the whole world surreal...it would have remained had he not seen the limp little furball, and he found himself running forward, falling to his knees to scoop Pakkun into his arms. He stroked the pug's head and back, looking him over frantically for any injuries. Finding none, he hugged the nin-dog close.
"Pakkun...Sakura, I found Pakkun!" Glancing up, he realized that the twenty or so shinobi that had come with them were standing still, their eyes wide and hands on their weapons. He stood up slowly, and walking forward, he reached Sakura, who started when he touched her shoulder tentatively. "Sakura?"
"We found Kakashi." There was no sensei attached, no other honorific, no emotion in her bright green eyes as she stared ahead, where they had been sleeping not more than a few hours before. Naruto felt the bile rise in his throat as he turned to face his former sensei, who was sitting on one of the broken stumps, sharpening Sasuke's forgotten katana, his hiate-ate on the ground, cracked in two pieces before him. His sharingan was whirling, aglow with malicious power, and he was singing softly, his mask not hiding the hideous smirk his lips had twisted into. He looked up, and his gray eye widened in a crazed grin. The young jinchuuriki leapt into the air as the katana's blade, charged with the electricity from his chidori, planted itself right where he'd been standing, Kakashi crouched over the hilt.
"Naruto...so good of you to return."