Well, here's the sequel to "Moments that could last forever". I hope that everyone who enjoyed the first part will enjoy this as well... (crosses fingers) This story is dedicated to CeruleanCypher and SkywardShadow! You guys really rock my socks, and I'm super-happy that I can call you my friends! :D
Before I go on, there are a couple of things that I'd like to say in the very beginning. I might repeat myself later on sometimes, but I'd like to say everything in advance first:
Firstly, I've got enough ideas/dreams that will last for a couple of chapters... three or four, maybe. And a couple more, I suppose, but that would happen quite a bit later, so I'd have to think of some "fillers" first. I know people don't necessarily like this (and I sure will try on my own, mark my words), but if there are any suggestions you'd like to make or you have any wishes you'd like to pass on to me, feel free to do so. Just remember that I cannot - and will not - "go graphic" unless I get lots and lots of help or if I make fundamental changes in my personality (therapy, perhaps? Ya never know)...
Secondly, I will be going to school again in September. I want to learn how to become a librarian, and the studies will take approximately three years. In the past, I've screwed up big-time with balancing school work, studying and my hobbies, but this time, I simply cannot afford to mess this up. Therefore, I will need some time-out sometimes, and if you will hear anything from me in that time, it will only be very little. However, I will notify you guys about this more or less shortly in advance, just so you won't think I have died or something. And I certainly won't lose my love for writing and/or Naruto anytime soon, so don't worry.
Thirdly, about the length of the chapters: I know that there were some rather long ones in MTCLF, but I certainly don't see a chapter with 10,000 or more words coming up again anytime soon. The way I see it, most chapters will be about as long as this one - the reason for this is the one I stated above. That's just the way it is. Oh, and about songs and inspiration (God knows those two things go hand in hand): I will list the songs at the end of each chapter as the story progresses because I really don't know if I'll ever (manage to) finish it. So yeah, different strategy this time.
But one song in particular will be important throughout the entire story because it is my basic inspiration: it's "Heart Of Stone" by Cher. It gives me goosebumps - a brilliant song! X3
Warnings: OOC-ness (especially the Akatsuki, though hopefully not all the time), motherly!Konan, shonen-ai/yaoi - the main pairing will be ItaSasu; in other words, Uchihacest, so if you don't like one of these things I just listed, turn back this instant!
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Yeah, I know, that was boring, but I'm not all that creative when it comes to disclaimers... -.-;
Now that all that has been said, enough with my rambling! ^__^; The only thing left to say is that I hope you'll enjoy this! Et voilà, la lecture! XD
When Sasuke opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was darkness. He didn't even see the ceiling of… wherever he was – if there was one in the first place – until he blinked a few times and his vision became clearer. And even then, it was only dimly visible.
Where was he? What had happened? Sasuke blinked yet again, trying to gather his thoughts and remember. It felt like he had just woken up from the strangest dream… He squinted a bit, trying to stare at the ceiling, and sighed softly. It was all a blur… a jumble of thoughts that he couldn't make sense of right now. He felt too dazed.
Then he noticed a soft glow that seemed to be coming from his right. Light… Feeling relieved that he hadn't woken up to find himself in utter darkness, Sasuke slowly turned his head and discovered that a candle was burning on a little table. A single, lone candle, but it provided light, and that was all that mattered to him. He shifted to face the small flame, as if it were a fire that could warm him up. His body moved on something soft… very soft, unlike where he had lost conscience. Sasuke could remember that much – he had fallen to the floor. But otherwise, the memory hadn't quite returned yet. Bleary-eyed, he stared at the flame, unblinking, waiting for both more strength and his memory to return.
And then, as he looked right at the brightest part of the flame, his aimlessly wandering thoughts were brought back down to earth with a bang, and he twitched violently as a series of images flashed through his mind:
A smile. A frown. The slender hand of a female gently stroking the cheek of someone lying on a bed. Hands sneaking underneath a shirt as a pair of lips met in a forbidden kiss. Lips that moved as they spoke, making a solemn promise. Eyes that bore a sympathetic look, eyes that shone with an expectant gleam.
And then he heard the voices.
One way or another, I will always be here for you.
I wanna be just like nii-san someday!
I have loved you from the moment I first laid eyes on you, Sasuke.
Please promise me that even if I ever would hurt you, you will remember my love.
I promise, aniki.
Not all siblings are as close as you and Itachi.
If you want to be like Itachi, you have a mountain of work ahead of you.
I don't want to be anyone's downfall… especially not yours.
My otouto… I love you so much… more than you can imagine…
He looks like nii-san… he sounds like him too… but he… he's so strange.
I would die a thousand deaths to undo the pain I have caused you.
I won't leave you, Sasuke. I promise… I really do.
I had to do this, Sasuke. It was my mission.
Sasuke's eyes widened and got filled with an anxious look as his memory returned so suddenly. His chest rose and fell faster and faster as his breathing became shallow with dread and fear.
Now the memory was almost complete, and all that Sasuke's mental eye saw went down in flames, like an old piece of parchment that had gotten touched by a single spark. His mother's sweet smile faded away as Sasuke remembered that she was dead, having been unceremoniously left behind in their home while her husband was sprawled over her with blood dripping off his chin and onto the floor.
The candle's flame flickered, and still Sasuke stared at it wide-eyed as he watched how everything he had had shattered to pieces. The final puzzle piece fell into place as he remembered a pair of eyes which slowly opened to reveal a Sharingan that he had only seen for the second time in his life that night. Something happened to him then… it was as if he had suddenly left the "normal" world, in a way…
Sasuke, you leave me with no other choice.
And then there had been blackness until now. With his memory finally regained again, Sasuke hastily tore his gaze away from the candle and sat bolt upright, clutching the blankets as he tried to make himself as small as possible. His heartbeat sped up until it was nearly painful… that too felt vaguely familiar.
How could he have forgotten? His brother… his… his aniki… had killed everyone. Because it was his mission, apparently. But what kind of mission was that?! Sasuke whimpered and closed his eyes tightly, trying to deny the undeniable. It was so unreal… for so long, Itachi had been nothing less than his loving, caring older brother – and now? Now he was a murderer who had killed the entire clan out of the blue. Sasuke felt tears well up in his eyes as he wondered exactly how well he had known his brother. Not very well, it seemed. Perhaps no one had ever known him in the first place, otherwise… otherwise surely someone would have seen that coming, right?! He still heard Itachi's voice echo in his mind – Please promise me that even if I ever would hurt you, you will remember my love – but he found it very hard to keep the promise he had made that day. In fact, he found it downright impossible. Itachi had hurt him in a way he had never even dared to consider. How could he think of love now, how could he ever forgive him when he was responsible for their family's ferocious death?
Thinking of Itachi made a new thought occur to him: he may have no idea where he currently was, but who said that Itachi wasn't here as well? He was the only other survivor, and if it really was Itachi's mission to kill everybody, surely he would come back for him.
Nervously, Sasuke flung the blankets aside and climbed out of the bed he had been lying in (how had he gotten there, and who had brought him there?). He had no other desire than to get out of here as fast as he could – preferably without running into Itachi, who might be lurking anywhere, as his terrified thoughts reminded him. His rationality tried to talk him out of the sorrow he felt right now all the same; there would be time for that later on, but first he needed to find a place where he felt safe and at ease. It worked, at least partially.
And so, alone and frightened, Sasuke crept to the door, feverishly keeping up his guard as he opened it only to find an equally dark hallway beyond it.
Trying to calm down since he didn't want to get noticed just because of stressed and quite audible breathing, Sasuke peered first to the left, then to the right. He didn't see nor hear anybody else, but when dealing with shinobi, that didn't mean a thing. But which way did he have to go? Left or right? Sasuke bit his lip as he frantically tried to make a decision as quickly as he could. His heart wanted him to go left, but Sasuke figured that it had led him astray in terms of Itachi, so why trust it now? Instead, he turned to the right and set off.
He always kept at least one hand on the wall as he walked, and since he was trembling all over with anticipation and nervousness, it was no big surprise that both his breathing and heartbeat didn't slow down very much. Sasuke was almost certain that his heart could be heard for miles around – or at least throughout this whole unfamiliar place, if he didn't want to exaggerate so much…
For quite a while, he still didn't see any life signs of others, and he finally allowed himself to calm down a tiny bit; he began to walk with only the fingertips of one hand trailing along the wall as he looked around curiously. There wasn't much to see, however; it still was quite dark, and the walls were very plain with no pictures to decorate them. Sasuke couldn't imagine why anybody would want to live here.
He wasn't paying much attention to where he was going anymore, and suddenly, he collided with something soft. Startled, he tried to jump back, but two ghostly white hands grabbed him around the waist and lifted him straight off the ground. Sasuke squeaked and tried to worm his way out of this predicament, but to no avail. His breath hitched when his gaze fell upon the face of his captor: it was just as pale as the hands, with very… snake-like features, in a way. The stranger's eyes were golden and glittered as they looked at him. The pupils looked like none Sasuke had ever seen before – at least, not as far as human beings went. They weren't round, but slits instead, like a reptile's eye.
"Well, well, what have we here?" the stranger asked. The tone of voice indicated that Sasuke was in the grasp of a man whose looks alone might have suggested something different. "Welcome back among the living, Sasuke-kun." He spoke the "s" with a faint hiss, like… well, a snake.
Unsettled by the way this man leered at him, Sasuke squirmed. "W-Who are you? How do you know me?" he asked timidly.
"You don't need to fear me. And who am I, you ask? I'm Orochimaru." So quickly that Sasuke nearly missed it, he winked at him. "We'll be great friends – you'll see."
"Could you put me down? You're hurting me," Sasuke whined. Indeed; Orochimaru's fingers were slowly digging into his sides as he held him up high.
"Poor little Sasuke-kun… just relax, and I'll make you feel better. Loads better…" Orochimaru purred, briefly letting Sasuke glimpse a purple tongue that licked his lips suggestively.
It had been pleasantly warm in the hallway before, but now the temperature seemed to drop to arctic degrees as a voice that came from the shadows said:
"Put him down, Orochimaru. Now."
The two males looked in the direction of the voice, one of them looking wary while the other looked unsure.
"Aw, come on! Why does everyone else get a go at him but I don't?!" Orochimaru asked exasperatedly.
"Don't play dumb with me, buster. You know the rules, don't you? I told Zetsu to inform you."
"He's a scout, not a messenger," the snake-sannin pointed out semi-helpfully.
"Unlike you, he can distinguish orders from simple requests. Now, put Sasuke down!"
Orochimaru huffed and held Sasuke demonstratively close against him. The young Uchiha almost instinctively tried to keep as distance as possible as he pushed against the man's chest as he thought about that lascivious look in the other's eyes; he remembered Misaki receiving a similar look, but not from a stranger. And every child knew that caution was advised when dealing with strangers…
"Well, what if I don't want to?"
"You don't want to know that," the other voice answered softly, though unmistakably threatening. Finally, the speaker emerged into sight, and Sasuke winced as one of Orochimaru's hands dug itself into his rear end.
A pale, blue-haired woman was watching their every move, eyes wandering back and forth between Sasuke and Orochimaru. She wore a long, black cloak with red clouds on it, whereas Orochimaru was dressed more casually. The collar reached up to her chin, and just above that, a most displeased frown could be seen. Sasuke noticed the white flower in her hair and thought that somehow, it didn't quite match her dark attitude.
"Hand him over, Orochimaru, and I will go gentle on you," she said coldly.
"Ha! You lost him, didn't you? Finders keepers, losers weepers," he retorted, digging his own grave even deeper as he said the last part in a sing-song voice.
A shadow fell over her face, and she narrowed her eyes. It was a miracle that one couldn't actually see sparks flying from them.
"If you don't surrender him in the next three seconds, I will stick a kunai where the sun never shines."
The haughty look on her comrade's face faded somewhat, and he slowly started to back away. "You wouldn't dare to…"
"Oh, trust me, I would. I will make sure that you won't be able to sit for a long, long time!"
Foolishly enough, Orochimaru didn't seize the opportunity to comply with her request – read: order – immediately, and Konan snapped. She lashed out, making a swiping movement with both arms, and for a split second, a whistle could be heard as something shot through the air. Orochimaru never stood a chance: he was halfway done with flinching when his clothes got shredded and fell to the floor at his feet, revealing strikingly pink underwear that simply couldn't have been bought in the men's department.
"Gah!" Orochimaru actually dropped Sasuke as he hastily (and awkwardly) tried to cover himself up with the rags that had been his clothes just a second or two ago. But the damage had already been done.
Sasuke didn't hit the floor that day: like a blue flash, Konan was there in time to catch him, and for the second time already, he found himself in the arms of a stranger who was busy wrinkling her nose at her fellow criminal.
"Honestly; if I wouldn't already know that you're hopeless, I might even worry about you. Now clean up this mess – and if I catch you doing this again, then…" She didn't bother to finish the sentence, but instead swiftly produced a kunai which she pointed at him.
Orochimaru growled, but wisely decided to hold his tongue until she was out of sight and even the sound of her shoes couldn't be heard anymore. He wasn't that hopeless… was he?
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Sasuke didn't make a single peep as Konan carried him back to where he had come from. He didn't even try to protest against that – after seeing what she had done to Orochimaru without even touching him, he guessed that such an action would be suicidal.
Naturally, Konan took notice of this silence. Every time she looked at Sasuke, even if it was just out of the corner of her eye, he looked away right on time, as if he feared that he might piss her off if she caught him staring. He was even being dreadfully careful about the way he held on to her: Konan had no explanation for that behavior other than the one that he was desperately trying not to wrinkle up her cloak within his grasp. Now, if she could just persuade him to relax a bit…
"…You slept for three days, in case you've been wondering," she told him.
Sasuke cast a nervous glance at her, but still didn't speak and hurriedly looked away again. Konan decided to give it another try – maybe that wasn't the right subject he wanted to talk about. Maybe that wasn't exactly what he was wondering about.
"Perhaps my previous action rendered you unsure, but you should know that that wasn't the first time he crossed a line. Only last time, he didn't quite succeed, unlike now…"
Sasuke remained silent, however, and Konan frowned as they entered his bedroom again. He wasn't a mute unless she had missed a most recent development, she was sure of that. But what on earth did she have to say before he would answer her?
"Look, is there nothing you're wondering about?" she asked rather dejectedly as she carefully put him back down on the bed.
Sasuke began looking at anything but her as a brief silence fell between them once more. Although Konan tried not to let it get to her too much, this irritated her somewhat, which made her misinterpret his reluctance to speak.
"I'm not a mind-reader, you know," she pointed out.
Sasuke froze, fearing that he was done for. He had just been trying to summon the courage to answer her…! But as he took a closer look, he noticed no signs that she was about to hit the roof. There wasn't much he could read in her expression, but he could tell that much. He blinked, then asked so quietly that it was nearly a whisper:
"…Who are you?"
Konan barely avoided face-faulting when she heard that. Of course! She had just walked in on him and Orochimaru, snatched him away from the latter, and that had been it. She couldn't believe that she hadn't considered the most obvious option as to why he hadn't said a word to her so far. He had absolutely no fault in this. Her features softened as she smiled at him. Just a small smile, but a smile all the same.
"My name is Konan. You don't need to fear me."
"I'm Sasuke," he replied automatically.
Konan chuckled. "I know. I already know who you are."
"Really? How?" Sasuke inquired as his eyes widened in amazement. He was pretty sure that he had never before seen her in his life, so how did she know him?
"Well…" Konan trailed off, pausing as she contemplated how she would answer him. She needed to choose her words carefully, without a doubt…
Just then, the door opened, and Kisame rushed in, looking rather relieved and excited.
"Hey Konan, guess what! Itachi finally woke up!"
Konan jumped at the sudden interruption, but Sasuke's reaction was much more vehement: he gasped and tried to shrink away from Kisame. For him, it was sufficient that the other stranger had merely spoken his brother's name. He pulled at the blankets as if to cover himself with them, but since Konan was sitting on the bed, they only covered everything up to his nose.
"He even knows who I am and everything…!"
Kisame's further rambling was pretty much ignored as Konan concernedly took notice of Sasuke's evident apprehension. The innocent and inquisitive look was gone from his eyes and had gotten replaced with fear, aversion and bitterness instead. It had been quite a while since she had last seen such a look on a child's face, and she by far didn't enjoy seeing it again. She had only just begun to think of ways how she could appease Sasuke when something Kisame said made her stop zoning out on him:
"…Oh, and you know what the first thing was that he said when he woke up? 'Sasuke'!"
Sasuke winced and tugged even harder at the blankets. He looked downright frantic, and Konan knew that she had to do something right now.
"Yes, thank you, Kisame!" she said loudly – much louder than necessary. "Why don't you go wait outside in the hallway? I'll be along in a moment."
"Geez, why do you yell at me? Here I am, bringing good news to you, and you yell as if we're at opposite ends of Fire Country…!" Kisame complained.
"Kisame!" Konan snapped.
"Huh?"
"Out. Now."
There was no mistaking that tone of voice… and knowing this, Kisame made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a squeak as he backed out of the room, his hands slightly raised in defense.
"All right, all right already… I'm going… gone… forget that I even was here…" he muttered, and the rest of his words were cut off as the door closed again.
Konan huffed, thinking about how only a man was capable of rushing in and being so inconsiderate, then turned back to Sasuke, who was trembling slightly and goggling at her, clearly terrified.
"I was right… he's here…" he whimpered.
"Yes, Sasuke; he's here," Konan replied softly. "That's why you're here in the first place."
"I can't stay here – he wants to kill me! His mission isn't over until he has killed me too! He already killed everyone else…!" That was all Sasuke managed to say before he averted his gaze and bit his lower lip, struggling not to cry as the memories of that fateful night overcame him again.
"Sasuke, try to calm down a bit. He may be here, but he won't kill you."
"How do you know that? Why… why are you so sure?"
"Because…" She paused, not liking this conversation at all. She knew what she had to say next, but she wished she wouldn't have to say it. "…If you don't want to see him, that can be arranged," she told him.
Sasuke nodded desperately. "I don't want to see him. I don't ever want to see him again!" he added for good measure as raw hurt became visible in his eyes.
"Listen, I know that you… that this is very hard for you, so I'll skip that second part for now. Let's just settle with the fact that you don't want to see him, okay?" Konan suggested evasively. Sasuke just stared at her in a way of saying that he wasn't apt to change his mind, and she sighed. "I need to leave for a while, but I'll be back. I advise you to stay here unless you want a similar incident like before happening again."
Sasuke muttered something she couldn't understand before curling into a ball on the spot, covering himself with the blankets. Konan simply watched him for a moment, then she hesitantly reached out and touched his hair, lightly running her fingers across the thick, messy strands. Big onyx eyes regarded her, and Konan suddenly wondered if she was only imagining seeing something seep through the boy's mask of sadness: a wisp of appreciation and gratitude. She dearly hoped that her imagination wasn't playing tricks on her.
"If there's anything you want – something to eat or drink, for instance – just tell me, hmm?" she said.
"Thanks," Sasuke mumbled almost shyly. Konan secretly thought that this made him pretty adorable.
"Don't mention it," she whispered and moved her hand from his hair to his cheek, giving it one gentle stroke before she stood up and headed for the door. Before she left the room, however, she turned back one more time only to find Sasuke staring at the candle again. What she would give to know what he was thinking… maybe then she would have a better idea of how she could help him deal with the situation. But she mustn't be too hasty, she tried to tell herself; first of all, Sasuke needed time. He needed lots of time, and in the meantime, she would try to help him as good as she could. Yes, that sounded like a plan, she thought triumphantly.
"Sasuke?" she called in a low voice.
"Yeah?" he asked back, halfway rolling over.
"…Welcome, by the way," she continued, offering him another smile.
The corners of his mouth twitched upwards. It wasn't much of a reaction, but it was a start. And that was why Konan was satisfied all the same as she finally proceeded to leave the room and deal with Kisame, who was awaiting her impatiently in the hallway. Now she would have to visit Itachi – and she would certainly be considered the bearer of bad news when she would have to tell him that his precious brother was terrified of him and refused to see him. And one thing was for damn sure: she dreaded his reaction, she really did.
So, um... how was it? I hope it was acceptable...
Please review; I sure would appreciate it! :)
Till next time! (waves)