He stopped and adjusted the black tunic shirt that clung almost uncomfortably tight against his frame. Then he fiddled with the black straps that banded along his forearms up to the joint of his elbows. He was stalling now, and he knew it, but that didn't stop him from crouching down to tighten the black soft-soled shoes one at a time, slowly, spreading his awareness around as he continued to kneel for another moment at the edge of the forest. The beautiful evergreen trees gave out abruptly six yards ahead, into--of all things--an empty wasteland. It looked as if a fire had ravaged the area and robbed the soil of its richness, prohibiting growth for as far as one's eyes could perceive. Like a landscape from a nightmare. Sasuke shuddered. He wasn't sure how long it had been since Itachi's summons had drawn him out of his hiding place, and he also wasn't sure how far behind him Orochimaru was, but he did know that he was tired and he'd give pretty much anything to be able to lie back against the trunk of the tree he was partially-hidden beneath and take a rest. Although, that might not be the best idea. Yeah, nice one, Sasuke. Itachi could be just beyond that next damn tree and Orochimaru could be coming up right behind you to knock you out and drag you back to the laboratory, but you want a nap. Well, isn't that just peachy? He would have smirked humorlessly if he weren't so damn tired. Four days now, it was--traveling from late afternoon to late morning, only taking those few precious hours in between to have a restless, half-paranoid resemblance of something similar to sleep. Add that to the not-eating deal, and wasn't he just fit to trip? Regardless of telling himself these things, the young Uchiha found the ground that had suddenly appeared beneath his rear end quite comfortable. Even the bark of the tree he was leaning against seemed much softer than it had looked just seconds ago. And then (wasn't this always the case in the end?) his eyelids were just too heavy to keep propped open. They closed over his bloodshot eyes that looked more dead than the field just a few yards away and he heard himself thinking: Just a five minute break. A tiny little rest stop. You're only human, Uchiha, you can't just run into battle with Itachi and collapse in the first five minutes from sleep-deprivation, right? Just five minutes…
But since when had Sasuke ever listened to a damn word anyone had to say?
The wind feels nice.
He couldn't bring himself to open his eyes; the sun was just too warm, too good, and the grass was as soft as any bed. He could feel the beautiful green hue of it soaking into his clothing, into his body, cradling him and lulling him into this insanely peaceful state of serenity. Sasuke couldn't remember a time when he had felt like this, and he thought idly to himself that he wouldn't mind visiting this state of existence more often. The thought was joined by the trill of a whistle. It didn't bother or upset him, but it did make him crack one almond-shaped eye open in a half-assed attempt to locate the source of the good-natured sound. He saw that he was on the gentle slope of a hill that rolled downward to the bank of a wide blue lake, and with a realization that for once was not annoyed or angered, he pinned the offbeat melody to someone coming up the hill from the lake toward him. He closed his eye again; he couldn't be bothered to identify the person approaching, he was too content and relaxed to care about anything right now.
Laughter made him quirk one eyebrow as a shadow fell over him, cool and smooth like a silken blanket. He willed his eyes to come open and all he could see was someone standing over him, back-lit by the sun and impossible to see, but there was a hand extended to him. He looked at it, his eyes slightly crossing due to its proximity to his face.
More laughing: "Come on, you dork, get up."
His heart thudded suddenly at the realization of who this silhouetted person actually was. He took the offered hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. He absent-mindedly brushed blades of loose grass from his light khaki shorts and looked into the smiling face of his long-lost best friend.
"You look pale, man," Uzumaki Naruto's eyes momentarily clouded with concern for his darker teammate. "Well, paler than normal."
Sasuke made a face at the other boy. "Watch it."
"You okay though?" his concern won over his self-preservation, and his guard slipped like his smile. Sasuke had to turn his eyes away momentarily: Don't stop smiling because of me… I hate it when you do that…
"I'm fine," he said aloud and slipped his hands into his pockets, looking down to the lake that mirrored the sky. "Where are we, anyway?"
"Hn. I don't know," Naruto tucked his hands behind his head and stared thoughtfully out into space. "Pretty cool-looking, huh? The bank of the lake gets really muddy though."
"What were you whistling just now?" Sasuke looked over at him.
He looked back. "Oh, I don't know. Some song someone taught me a while ago. Why?" In response, the boy in the orange jacket only received a slight headshake. The two of them stood there on the hill as the sun gradually sank a little lower in the sky and the faint purple hues that tied the sunset and the night together began appearing above their heads. The red-orange sphere hanging low over the horizon bathed them both in fire colors. When Sasuke thought this, he remembered his dream with Itachi.
"I dreamt about my brother the other night," he said.
Naruto looked at him, concerned again: "The guy who…?"
"Yeah."
"…well, what was the dream about?"
"A dark place," Sasuke dropped his gaze to the ground which was suddenly very interesting, "where nothing grew and no one lived. And my brother appeared in front of me and said he'd been waiting for me."
"Sounds creepy."
"I should go find him."
"You could stay a couple of more minutes, you know."
Sasuke finally brought his eyes back up to those sharp blue orbs, that he swore could read minds sometimes. Or maybe it was just that Naruto could read people, in ways no one ever thought he could. There were a lot of things Naruto could do that people didn't believe he'd be smart or talented enough to. Sasuke had learned that first-hand.
"I don't think I have the time to stay," he said carefully, watching for the flash of anger or impatience in his friend's eyes. Instead of that, he got a slight wave of a hand and a full-toothed grin.
"Time wasted doing something that makes you happy isn't wasted time," he spoke casually, but Sasuke believed he meant more to what he said. It was rare that Naruto came up with something so thought-provoking. He let himself smile ever-so slightly.
"Dobe."
Naruto made a face at him. "Oh, shut up, Sasuke."
The nap had worked wonders, if not to cause a little disorientation. Shaking his head to clear it and bring his thoughts back to the present, Uchiha Sasuke looked up at the sky to clock the time. The purple streaks had bled outward and almost overtaken the pinkish-orange sky (at least that was what he could make out from the patches between branches). The orange ball of setting fire was to his left instead of in front of him--what lay in front was that dead-looking clearing, he now recalled. And, most likely, his brother.
That tight, constricted feeling in his chest returned full-force and nearly overwhelmed him. Stop stalling! one part of his brain screamed at him. Just go over there, hand Itachi his ass on a silver platter--hell, a gold one, who cares?--and go back!
Go back to where? another voice in his head whispered, and somehow, that was far more unsettling than the screaming. To Orochimaru? Psh. You didn't even need to go there in the first place--
Or are you even ready to face Itachi? a third part said just as softly, but twice as gut-wrenching, if that were at all possible. What if you needed a few more years of training? Itachi has at least eighteen years on you, didn't you ever think about that?
Just GO and kick his ASS already! voice number one returned. You've been waiting for this moment your whole life! And you're no more than thirty feet away from him! Come ON!
You can't do this on your own, Uchiha. You could never do anything on your own before… You should have brought your friends with you--
You didn't have anyone to bring, remember? Just an immature little girl who made googly-eyes at you, and…and…
"Naruto," he spoke aloud and then blinked in surprise when all the voices abruptly silenced. So, that was the answer then: What will you go back to? Naruto. Who could you have taken with you? Naruto. And Sasuke did one of those rare things he did only whenever the blond was concerned: one corner of his mouth lifted into a small grin. And with that, not knowing he was walking toward certain death with a smile on his face, Uchiha Sasuke strode toward the clearing ahead.