It's All in Your Head
Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing, not even Naruto...
Chapter 3 is up, hope you all enjoy. Keep the reviews coming please!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Tsunade!"
"Hey, you can't-" The guard's protest died on his lips as blood red eyes pierced him, making it very clear that if he got in the way he would be Uchiha-bait.
Not giving him another thought, Sasuke threw open the doors to The Fifth's office and yelled again, despite the fact that she sat only twenty feet away at her desk. "Tsunade, I need a recovery team, and I need it now!" He threw the rescued scroll carelessly onto her desk, his sharingan eyes never leaving her own.
The Hokage got up, the urgency in his voice obvious. "Sasuke-kun? What are you…where is Naruto?" She looked deep into his face, easily seeing past the calm, professional mask and seeing the distress he was trying to hide. Realization immediately dawned. She had seen this expression before, too many times to count, and needed no further explanation.
"Don't answer that," she muttered darkly, turning to the guard who stood timidly at the door, still a bit scared of Sasuke's wrath. "Assemble a recovery team immediately. I want every jounin not on a mission in my office ten minutes ago."
The guard bowed quickly and vanished, rushing to carry out her orders. Tsunade returned her attention to Sasuke, who was staring at the floor, lips in a tight, worried line. "How bad?" She asked quietly, quickly gathering medical supplies into a bag.
"Bad."
"Better fetch Sakura too then."
The Uchiha gave a terse nod, disappearing to locate his old teammate and Tsunade's talented apprentice.
Having carried out her duties as leader efficiently, and now being alone for several minutes, Tsunade allowed herself to sigh, raising her fingers to rub throbbing temples. This was supposed to be an easy mission, a break for two of Kohona's most promising ninja. What could possibly have gone wrong?
Allowing a derisive snort escape, the Hokage shook her head. Trouble followed those two wherever they went. It seemed that they were always carrying each other back from missions more dead than alive, and although it usually wasn't their fault, The Fifth found herself losing her patience.
'You had better be alright, brat,' she thought angrily to her favorite loud mouth ninja.
His breath was coming out in short gasps as he rushed towards Kohona, having given Sasuke enough of a head start with the scroll. Behind him, explosions sounded as the dark figure behind him triggered the traps Naruto had desperately set while running, but they did little good. The man seemed to be unstoppable, completely unfazed by any of Naruto's attacks.
"Damn it," he ground out, skidding to a halt to face the attacker who had caught up to him. Hands forming a familiar sign, he focused his chakra and cried out, "Bunshin no Jutsu!"
A dozen shadow clones and the original Naruto fanned out, taking to the shelter of the trees. Launching an attack on the figure, the young chounin was dismayed as the few hits he managed to land seemed to have no effect on the man. He felt the clones' chakra return to him steadily as they were destroyed one by one until he was alone once more.
Wiping a small trail of blood from the corner of his mouth and grimacing slightly as bruised ribs protested his quick movements, Naruto glared back at his opponent. He was no fool; he knew this was not a fight he could hope to win alone. The man before him was simply too fast, and too strong. All he could do was slow him down and wait for Sasuke to get back with reinforcements.
However, waiting was proving to be a difficult task, and he found himself dodging again as a wave of shuriken flew towards him, only to receive a vicious kick to the stomach, which sent him flying backward.
Spinning in mid air, he managed to throw his own barrage of kunai's and landed on his feet, but his attack was easily dodged.
Cursing again, the blonde focused chakra into his feet, spun, and jumped into a nearby tree, running up the trunk and once again taking off towards the village at top speed. Behind him, the air hummed with weapons thrown with deadly accuracy, and in a matter of minutes his clothes were reduced to rags, small cuts littering his arms, legs, and face. If he didn't reach help soon, he would be dead.
Eyes narrowing in determination, Naruto focused again, collecting a mixture of his Kyubi's chakra into his palm, once again turning to face his opponent. "Rasengan!" he yelled, a ball of blue energy solidifying in his hand, its outer edges crackling with orange sparks.
The man was on him instantly, and he found himself instinctively falling back to a rhythm learned during spars with Sasuke. Dodge, kick, block, punch. Keep looking for an opening.
It was when his mysterious attack's fist found purchase in Naruto's chest that his opening appeared. Crying out as felt ribs break under the powerful punch, he desperately smashed the hand containing Rasengan into this attacker's stomach with all his might, sending the other man flying backwards through the air, crashing through tree trunks as he went.
Leaning heavily against a tree, the blonde gasped for breath, cradling his abused chest with his arms as he stumbled again towards the village.
However, he didn't get far before something smashed into his shoulder, sending him crashing to the ground.
Gritting his teeth, Kyubi's host spat blood, reaching to pull a kunai from his back, but receiving a kick to the face instead. Groaning, he rolled, curling himself into a ball to protect himself.
His attacker laughed cruelly, made several signs Naruto didn't recognize, and suddenly the boy found himself surrounded by yellow energy. Instantly his entire body erupted in searing pain, white flames of agony spreading through his veins. Unable to think, the blonde threw his head back, a scream wrenching from his throat.
Laughing even harder, the man raised his hands higher, sneering at the writhing mass below him. "Suffer," his hissed, the yellow light growing more intense.
Naruto's vision began to go dark at the edges. He was briefly aware that he was screaming himself hoarse, but didn't care; he just wanted it to stop. 'Make it stop,' his mind sobbed desperately, 'God, just make it STOP'.
And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the pain stopped, disappearing but still leaving his nerves screaming from the pain it had caused. Peering through the inky darkness as his vision failed, Naruto spotted a bloody hand pinned to a tree with a kunai, a rush of movement, and two blood-red eyes looking down at him in panic. "Naruto! Hang on," a rough voice murmured, a warm hand cupping his cheek gently, "just hang on…"
Unable to bare it any longer, an exhausted Naruto surrendered to the blissful darkness, his eyes rolling upwards into his head as he passed out in a pair of strong arms.
Sasuke cringed as he reached out and grabbed Naruto's shoulder, a current of yellow electricity shooting through his arm and leaving every nerve in his body tingling with pain in its path. Shrugging this discomfort aside, he pulled his fallen comrade to his chest, clinging to the younger boy as a wave of fierce protection surged through his veins. To his left, the squad of jounin had sped off through the forest in pursuit of the mysterious man, who had taken flight after Sasuke had stopped his attack with a carefully aimed kunai.
'Bastard!' Sasuke swore at the man, livid. He was tempted to track the man down himself and kill him with his bare hands, but he couldn't bring himself to leave his friend's side. He pulled Naruto even closer, a mixture fury and concern etched in every line of his face
In the back of his mind, he was aware of Sakura rushing to sit beside him, trying to pry his steel grip from the orange bundle he clung to. "Sasuke," she said gently but firmly, "You need to let go. I have to see him!"
Nodding, Sasuke reluctantly released his friend, stretching him gently on the ground before Sakura. As the pink haired girl came across the bruised mass of his broken chest, tears sprung to her eyes. "Oh Naruto," she whispered, carefully wiping a golden curl from his face, "what have they done to you?"
Without another word, she lifted her hands above his chest, bathing the bruises in the pale green light of here healing chakra.
Soon Tsunade and Kakashi rejoined the trio, having abandoned the chase in favor of returning to Naruto.
Without saying a word, Sasuke reached down, scooped up his friend's limp body, and turned to his teacher. Kakashi gave a small nod of understanding and took off through the woods towards Kohona, taking point. Tsunade and Sakura flanked Sasuke and his precious burden, and together the small entourage sped off to the hospital.
Tsunade finally threw her hands up in surrender, turning back towards the bed. She had thrown everyone out of the examination room so that she could check over her patient in peace, and for the most part she had been successful in removing distractions. All parties had left obediently, too afraid of the Fifth's legendary temper to argue.
All accept one that was.
One obstinate brunette chounin still remained defiantly at the side of his comrade, flatly refusing to budge, and matching Tsunade's fury with his own famous Uchiha glare.
After ten minutes of a heated staring contest, the exasperated Hokage had finally surrendered, knowing from experience that although not impossible, removing Sasuke from Naruto's side would be no easy task, and would require time she could not afford to waste right now.
"Stay out of my way," she threatened darkly, gold eyes piercing the dark ones across from her that flashed with victory. The young Uchiha gave one solemn nod of acknowledgement, stepping back to giver her room but not straying more that arms length from the bed.
Not sparing another moment on the lurking, protective shadow, Tsunade turned her full attention on the unconscious blonde before her. His skin was clammy and pale, his breath strained. The tall, muscled chest was littered with bruises and cuts, and a black seal blazed furiously across his stomach, proving that Kyubi was hard at work within his host.
Tsunade took a deep breath and laid two fingers on the center of the spiraled seal, closing her eyes in concentration as green, healing light gathered at the tips of her outstretched fingers. "Kyubi," she called in a hard, commanding tone, earning a raised eyebrow from the young man across from her.
The fox did not answer the Hokage's summons, though Sasuke wondered if it was even possible for such a thing to occur. Although Naruto didn't speak of his inhabitant often, Sasuke had figured out what dwelled within his friend years ago. It was sort of obvious after they fought at the Valley of the End, and the information he learned during his time spent with Orochimaru had only confirmed his suspicions.
But to speak to the demon inhabiting someone? Could you even do that? He wondered if Naruto ever spoke to the fox, a possibility that had never even occurred to him, as it seemed absolutely absurd. He had always just assumed that Naruto was Naruto, and Kyubi was Kyubi, two separate entities that shared the same body but never interacted beyond battle. After all, the fox was evil…wasn't he?
Tsunade, however, was very determined and persistant. "Kyubi!" she shouted for the fourth time. "Damn, useless old fox, I know you can hear me. Answer me, damn it!" She accentuated this order with a harsh jab to the seal with glowing fingers, causing Naruto to grunt and Sasuke to tense in the helpless boy's defense.
However, just as Sasuke was about to voice his protest of the Fifth's manhandling, the blonde's eyes shot open and his head snapped towards the woman leaning over him. Sasuke looked hopefully to the pools of blue he knew so well, but was startled to find them glowing a bight red instead, the pupil displaying an almost feline slit.
Steely orbs glared venomously at the Hokage, narrowing as they brought her into focus. "Damn, you meddling old hag," the voice was deeper and strong; clearly Naruto's but also carrying the underlying tone of something larger, older, and much more powerful. "Can't you see I'm busy?"
The voice raised goose bumps on the back of Sasuke's neck. He had heard that voice once before…
Tsunade brushed the threatening insults aside, determined to get what she needed from the demon within her patient. "Nobody knows what's wrong with him, and I can't get him to wake up. You were the only one there."
"As usual," came the cruel, bitter reply.
Golden eyes narrowed dangerously. "We don't have time for this! I need to know what happened to properly treat him, and if I don't he could die. And if he dies, you die."
"Don't try to threaten me you damn mortal!" The voice roared furiously to the Fifth, matching her glare for glare. "I know full well the consequences of his death, and thanks to me it wont be approaching for quite some time."
A mixture of exasperation and relief sprang to Tsunade's face and she let out the breath she had been unconsciously holding. "He is alright then?"
"Fool, do you think I'd waste time on you if I didn't have things under control?" the voice snarled, clearly losing patience. "However, the brat is still a mess, broken bones, fried nerves...It's going to take me forever to fix all this." If Sasuke hadn't know that that voice belonged to a demon who had lived for thousands of years, he would have sworn it was whining.
Tsunade straightened up to her full height, still attempting to get information out of the grumbling and obstinate demon before her. "Then when will he wake up?"
Orange eyes glared angrily, fed up with questions and eager to get back to his host. "When he is good and ready. His system has undergone an enormous shock, and even I can't be sure what the full extent of the damage is." The demon turned his glowing eyes to Sasuke, and suddenly a feral grin spread out across the whiskered face. "But there are defiantly going to be some interesting side effects."
Throwing his head back, Kyubi let out a bark of laughter, chortling at his own private joke. Finally he turned his head back to Tsunade, eyes still glittering in amusement. "Yellow electricity." He offered simply, amusement growing as he saw Tsunade's eyes widen in understanding.
Without another word, the orange eyes faded back to blue, which promptly rolled backwards, and Naruto's head once again fell limp onto the pillow.
Sasuke squirmed a bit at the look Tsunade was shooting him, still trying to comprehend the bizarre conversation he had just witnessed. The hokage was looking at him with an odd mixture of emotions: surprise, disbelief, pity, and…yes, he was sure there was a hint of amusement.
Clearing her throat, the Fifth excused herself, rushing off to look something up in one of the many old dusty volumes she had in her office.
The only one remaining in the room, Sasuke sat in the uncomfortable chair, staring at the boy before him. The hospital bed made Naruto seem so small and weak, not at all how he was supposed to be. The room was silent except for the soft beeps of several machines monitoring his friend and Naruto's soft breathing.
Looking out the window, Sasuke felt the familiar guilt creep into his mind again. He shouldn't have left Naruto alone in that forest. He had known that it was too dangerous. He should have stayed behind and let Naruto go ahead with the scroll. Then maybe the other boy wouldn't have been here right now. Then maybe Naruto wouldn't have been hurt. Then maybe his friend's screams wouldn't haunt his dreams for the rest of his life…
Sasuke shuddered as he heard those horrible screams echo through his head once again. Screams of pain, of desperation. He had been completely helpless, too far away to reach his friend but close enough to hear his heart wrenching agony carry through the forest.
He slammed his fist on the table near Naruto's bed, upsetting a class of water. "I should have done something, damn it!"
He once again looked to the bed, but his friend still laid unconscious, deathly pale against the sheets. Sasuke ground his teeth and dropped sullenly into a bedside chair once more.
There was a moment of silence. Then, '…Sasuke?'
The dozing head shot up, brown eyes peering eagerly at blonde's face, but were surprised to find it completely motionless. "Naruto?" He looked around in confusion, sure he had heard the other boy's voice.
The body before him stirred and let out a groan. 'So dark…where…?'
The words had been faint, no louder than a whisper, but he was almost positive he had heard them. Sasuke's eye twitched as he stared at the other boy's unmoving mouth. "Naruto?"This time there was no response. The body before him lay still, and not a sound could be heard except for the faint beeping of the heart monitor.
Sasuke sat down, taking a deep breath and running a shaking hand through locks of black hair. 'That's it, I've finally lost it,' he thought shakily to himself. 'You're hearing voices in your head Sasuke, not a good sign.' Sighing, he let his head fall to rest on the edge of Naruto's bed, his eyes closing heavily. It had been a very long day….
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aw, Kyubi talks tough but you know he loves Naruto...poor Sasuke, is he losing his mind? And what will become of our number one, hyperactive ninja? Chapter 4 is coming soon...