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Chapter Three?
Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me.
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It had been strange that no-one yet had given him a look saying that he was an unwelcomed stranger…or just a stranger in general. Everyone was just letting him go; not caring. Was no-one suspicious? Had the village lost its touch?
Naruto continued his search for the youngest Uchiha, already having to suppress the anger that Sasuke's very name was stirring in his chest. No trace of guilt would be able to overpower the resentment the part of him that was Kyuubi felt to this day.
Kyuubi had a deeply rooted hatred for the Uchiha ever since Madara had first mastered the arts of the Sharingan. Becoming his slave was the worst thing that could've ever befallen the once powerful beast…and yet. Trapped within the body of a young man, it was the fate dealt to him.
Naruto, in consequence to binding himself to Kyuubi, was forced to harbor some if not all of Kyuubi's emotions, thoughts, and habits. Of course, the trade was more over uneven; Kyuubi was no longer a conscious being, but just an addition to who Naruto now was and nothing else. Though in his true demon state, Kyuubi's appearance was the dominant one.
((I want a pillow pet))
But, no matter what conflicting emotions Naruto was feeling right now…he knew he needed to see the Uchiha just once before he left again.
He clenched his fists and stopped in his tracks when he saw the raven sitting on the dock, gripping his hair in his fists and crying all alone.
"Sasuke…"
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How long had it been?
How long had he suffered?
How was he even breathing?
Was it all for this moment?
He didn't know. He just… he just…
He opened his fists, letting his hands relax for only a moment before his heart pounded against his chest harder than the moment before as he drew in the breath he'd use to yell the name he had meant to say on that one night… The name of the one person he…
Something unhinged.
"Sasuke!"
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The raven jolted, whirling around almost instantly to meet the appearance of a hooded figure that called him. That voice…
And everything went black…
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"I thought you were dead."
"Everyone probably does."
The room was cold.
"Why…why did you disappear?"
Sasuke and Naruto were seated across from one another in the Uchiha's living room on the floor. They had been talking for less than five minutes. When Sasuke had passed out almost immediately after seeing Naruto, Naruto took the liberty of transporting the two of them to the Uchiha compound.
He left the lights off, and he set the Uchiha down on a futon so he could wait for him to wake up. It only took an hour, but Naruto knew he'd never forget it. Within the simple hour Naruto had only to take one glance at Sasuke's body to know what kind of mental condition he was in, and he never felt so sick in his life…well…not this sick in a long time. Or was it just the other day?
When Sasuke awoke he got them both coffee and came back to chat, apparently… But the air wasn't at all light. It was dark and thick enough to suffocate.
Naruto's drink was still left untouched. Sasuke wouldn't understand the reasons for it until maybe later. And the question the raven had just placed into Naruto's hands to answer was being very carefully measured.
Why had he disappeared?
Naruto kept his eyes downcast, knowing it was too much to answer in one night.
"What you really want to know…" he began with his voice sounding very gentle. "Is why am I back?"
Sasuke's body barely stiffened. Just barely. But it was enough for Naruto to catch, so he sighed and dared to meet Sasuke's gaze.
"I had to come back," Naruto said, his double edged voice dying into one and becoming pleadingly simple. Desperate and scared. "Sasuke, I…" he looked down and closed his hands around the glass cup.
"You have no idea what happened to me." He said quietly. "This entire village has no clue what I've lost in order to keep you all safe. If I risked it all now by telling you…" He shook his head.
"I've missed you, Sasuke. I know you've wanted me, too." He looked back up again as Sasuke again became rigid at Naruto's words. The swirling colors of Naruto's eyes caught the light of the moon outside and seemed to flash dangerously. "You've been talking to me. Even when you couldn't see me."
Naruto set the cup down gently. "I want you to know that I've been watching you for some time now. And I want you to know that I'm no longer…something even remotely human."
Sasuke could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rising slightly as Naruto continued to speak. He wasn't really able to comprehend exactly everything that was coming out of Naruto's mouth but he was watching him carefully.
"Naruto," Sasuke's voice was still ever commanding. Still strong though his emotions wavered the higher pitches human ears would never catch; a sound so subtle that if unnoticed, one would think him to be immensely calm, but in truth, he was unsure. He was half thinking that he had finally managed to commit suicide to be here, talking to him, but, it was all so real. Not to mention that Naruto no longer seemed to be entirely Naruto. Sure, he had seemed to be more mature from what he could remember, but not to this extent. This Naruto sitting across from him wasn't normal. He hardly even seemed human at all, for that matter, just as he had said himself. It was slightly unnerving. That was all. Or at least, that was all the Uchiha was going to admit to himself for now. Everything that was happening at that moment was just so unreal; dreamlike. "Are you…an enemy of this village now?"
The question, this one by itself, seemed out of place; out of character even, for the young Uchiha. And, it caught Naruto a little by surprise.
The swirling irises of Naruto's eyes seemed to move faster so suddenly. His very soul was in a frenzy trying to find the answer to that.
Sasuke reached into the pack tied to his waist where his kunai were found. Naruto noticed this.
"You don't want to fight me, Sasuke." Naruto said dangerously though his voice was controlled.
"Answer, Naruto." Sasuke didn't seem to hear the warning. No, he was trying to focus on something other than the pain erupting in his chest having finally grasped that this was Naruto. Alive.
Naruto pursed his own lips in a bit of a pout, looking oddly cute with one fang protruding out. This answer…would it really matter, he wondered.
"Are you a member of the Akatsuki?" Sasuke took this approach.
Naruto shot him a dark look; menacing.
"Yes." He seethed out in a hiss of something akin to anger. "I am." And he knew exactly why this particular question pissed him off.
Sasuke felt himself stiffen. "For how long?" he asked his eyes widening.
"Since we brought you back." Naruto gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, his anger rising. He couldn't help but feel the raven was somehow ungrateful…but then again, how would he even know? And, just like that, the anger vanished. "That's basically when my fate was sealed."
Sasuke seemed to be locked in a state of wonder.
"Why?" was the only thing he managed.
This response was one Naruto should've seen coming, and did, but the look on Sasuke's features- utterly lost and confused- wasn't something he ever anticipated…though all of his self-worth told him that maybe he should've.
"Why are you…?" The question broke off a bit. Naruto could only guess that the rest of the words were 'a part of that organization'.
Naruto tried desperately to repress the demon that he now was so he could muster up some of what was left of his human emotions. He wanted to know what that look was that Sasuke was hiding behind his black eyes. Needed to know.
But maybe it was easier to just answer the question.
"The night I died, Sasuke…Tell me what happened. What was it they told you?"
This alone seemed to cause Sasuke to snap and whenever he had found the time to let his back go lax from the sheer weight of reality was now being reprimanded; he sat up straight.
His voice then droned out as if he had repeated this a hundred times over.
"I left you at your apartment complex…" his lips were pale. "But, I went back to see if you were okay. When I had left you, you threw me off with your question and I guess I just wanted to see…But then, you room was a wreck," he licked them. "A window across the building shattered and the villagers were screaming. The Hokage was dead. The next day Kakashi told me that you tried to save her. You were knocked unconscious and burned to death in the blaze."
He looked up to Naruto's face only half surprised to find a smile there, soft and sad. It was a look he had well pictured on his loves face for some time now. The look of simple but bitter understanding; sad.
"If only that had been the case." Naruto sighed. "Maybe then I could've died peacefully."
He looked down at his hands placed neatly on his lap. "Sasuke Uchiha," Naruto began; his voice rich with power but melancholy all at once. Sasuke met his sorry gaze. "As you now know, Naruto Uzumaki was not killed in that fire as everyone thinks…Nor did he attempt to save the Hokage. But he was there," Naruto shut his eyes and turned his eyes away to the far left of the room in shame. "and he murdered her that night…And left-" he raised his right hand to his left arm unknowingly and held it there as a minimal comfort measure."-under the protection of the Akatsuki members Konan and Zetsu."
Naruto took in a harsh breath and dared not to look at his old friend…the only one that mourned him. The only one he mourned.
"I did it…to save the village. I promise I did it for that… Granny was…" he repressed a sob and ended up growling with the effort. "I wish I could say I regret it. I may not be happy now but my purpose was served."
Sasuke, at this point was just trying to soak everything in, though every fiber of his being wanted to scream out that Naruto was lying…but then…how else would he even be here?
"And, truth be told, I hate this place…But my memories are here. You're here." Naruto appeared to be talking to himself. "Madara may have been able to break me, but as long as I have this place then…There's always somewhere to come back to…"
"Naruto…" Sasuke spoke up catching Naruto's bizarre eyes. "There's a mission being discussed, deciding whether or not a squad should take the risk of trying to locate you at the Akatsuki's lair."
"You'll never find it." Naruto answered softly. "I got rid of Jiraiya's spies myself…"
Sasuke was taken aback once more. "You don't…want to be found."
"If I'm found and recovered this village dies. My leader wins, and the world will go to hell's gates." Naruto sighed. "This village needs to go on believing that I died that night." He stood up. "I'll leave it to you to be sure that I'm never found or mentioned again."
Panicked, Sasuke got to his feet in a moment of breath. "Don't!" His hand extended.
Naruto looked to the raven in shock. "Sasuke…"
Sasuke held on to the fabric of Naruto's sleeve. "Don't…" He repeated more solemnly.
Naruto studied Sasuke for a moment longer before a small look of understanding overtook his features.
"Sasuke…" he smiled again sadly. "You know I can't stay…"
"Then stay the night!" the raven snapped in desperation though the tone was of course anger. "You can't… You can't just disappear."
Naruto's heart wrenched; a hurt that he hadn't felt in years. He placed a tender hand upon the paler flesh and held it gently.
"Sasuke, I… I'm not the same Naruto you remember. I'm something…someone completely different. You don't know what you're asking me to do in staying."
Sasuke frowned and pulled Naruto a hair's length away from his face. "You're such a goddamn hypocrite!" he hissed at him. "I've suffered enough here alone- You can't leave me again. Not like that…like this…"
"No…"Naruto shook his head slowly. "I can't."
He looked at Sasuke for a long and thoughtful moment. He gently removed himself from pale and hesitant hands.
"I'll leave a part of myself with you. We can keep in touch this way…" He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Much to Sasuke's confusion a golden light appeared at the center of Naruto's stomach and enveloped the room, soaking Sasuke in warmth unlike any other. It was so peaceful, like a lullaby.
"Shion," Naruto's voice rang out like a dream.
Sasuke opened his eyes to find himself standing within that same warm light but looking at an elegant Naruto looking more like a wild fox demon than before; his hair fell well past his knees and was much darker with hardly any traces of blonde, but his eyes were the pure cerulean blue Sasuke remembered though the pupils were slitted and Naruto's ears were now perched at the top of his head, fox-like and covered in red fur.
He stood in front of a small blonde haired Kitsune with bright orange eyes and small pointed teeth.
Naruto smiled at the little boy and turned him toward Sasuke.
The boy's eyes alone made Sasuke's instinct of 'danger' set off. This child was bloodthirsty. You learned to recognize things like that when you come across it a shit load. Excuse my language.
"You will not harm this man, Shion." Naruto purred into the child's ear, relaxing not only Sasuke but the boy as well; his shoulders eased up.
"Sasuke," Naruto turned his intense gaze to him then. "I will leave you Shion. He's…a creation of mine. As much a part of me as any son I could ever have born to me. You can say he wandered in, but don't let Jiraiya get a good look at him. Ever." He narrowed his eyes to create the necessary emphasis. "I can be traced through Shion, here." He patted the child forward. "He's my gift to you Sasuke. I'll see you again… Farewell."
Sasuke opened his eyes to find himself being kissed by Naruto himself. He stood there in shock before Naruto disappeared altogether. It wasn't until he was gone did Sasuke realize there was a weight in his arms.
The blonde haired child slept in his arms, tiny, and younger than he had appeared in that dreamlike state.
Sasuke's knees caved in under him and he fell with the baby in his arms, his heart wrenching between happiness and sorrow.
He missed him already…he missed him and he wished he had felt that warmth again…That kiss.
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((Next!))
