A/N: Hello again, I finally got of my lazy behind and posted this. This was the last chapter I had partially written last year, so I'm interested to see if and how this story will change as I continue. The basic plot will remain the same, but there are some events which are up in the air at this point. I have begun work on chapter four, but due to real life conflicts during the next three weeks it may take some time for me to finish. I hope that you will all be patient with me and that you enjoy this new installment.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other copyrighted material which may be mentioned in this story. I am making no profit from this work of fiction.
Warnings: None really note worthy, but there is a bit of suggestive behaviour and two male characters discussing sex. So shonen-ai, or BL, whatever they're calling it these days.
Chapter 3: The Realm of Dreams
At first all was darkness, not a speck of light to be seen anywhere. As he stepped through the seam in the fabric of reality, Sasuke felt as though he passed a thousand worlds, each one the thickness of a sheet of rice paper. He was weightless and without form, melting as all the planes pulled at him. Then, suddenly he was standing on solid ground and the world materialized into being around him.
Sasuke found himself staring at endless blue water. Waves lapped against white sand and an ocean breeze tugged at his hair. To his far left he could see palm trees, their wispy fronds bobbing. He had never seen anything like it in his entire life.
"Very nice," Naruto commented, "I haven't seen a landscape this colorful since I brought Shikamaru here. Never seen so many clouds in my life,"
"What are you talking about?" Sasuke said absently. "Haven't you been here before?"
"Of course," replied Naruto with in a superior tone "But this plane looks different depending on the medium,"
"Are you telling me I created this? I've never seen anything like it before." Sasuke said incredulously.
"Not you exactly, but your subconscious mind; it took how you imagined the dream realm and created this place," Naruto nodded sagely, "I've been here dozens of times, on missions for the old hag; it never looks the same. But we should get moving; can't spend all day staring at the ocean. You can put me down now,"
Sasuke, who had forgotten he still held the fox, hastily placed him on the ground. The animal stretched and shook itself, scratching vigorously behind one ear.
"Inter-dimensional travel always makes me stiff. Follow me then," Tearing his eyes away from the seascape, Sasuke followed Naruto in the opposite direction, into the lush forest beyond.
Sasuke had thought, judging by the witch's warnings, the journey would be a silent, cautious one. But Naruto chattered constantly, mostly about nothing at all, and Sasuke found the mindless babble oddly comforting. He did take interest however when the subject turned to the world around them. The fox, for all he seemed an empty-headed fool, was very well-informed when it came to how the dream realm was put together, and on the strange beings that populated it.
"…and then that jerk Shino had the nerve to infect me with fleas. Fleas! But I got him good, bet he still wonders where half the honey from his beehives went,"
"Are you honestly telling me," said Sasuke, "That he can speak to insects?"
"Yeah, but according to him they never have that much to say. Anyway is that so hard to believe? You're talking to me aren't you,"
"I meant to ask you about that," said Sasuke curiously, "How is it that you can talk? Are you the witch's familiar?"
Naruto looked offended "Of course not. I'm no ordinary fox. I'm a half-breed; my mother was one of the spirit fox women and my father was a monk,"
"Not anymore I suspect, if he's your father," said Sasuke in an amused tone.
"So he wasn't a very good monk," replied the fox with the animal equivalent of a shrug "He loved my mother with all his heart, and I don't blame him. She was very beautiful; pure white from nose to tail-tip with shining green eyes and a pink nose,"
"I'm sure she was," said Sasuke as he tried discern how a monk might be attracted to something not even of his own species "But if her fur was white, why is yours red?"
The animal paused "That was because, um, of my grandfather," he stumbled over the word "grandfather" as though it had been hastily interjected at the last moment.
Confused, Sasuke was about to pry further, but at that moment he was distracted by an odd sight. Several yards ahead, the tropical forest ended. Not in the general way of forests, trees thinning until it opened up into a clearing, but simply ended. Behind him, Sasuke could see the sunlight filtering down through the wide tropical leaves, but before him a colorful sunset poured over an endless grassy plain.
Naruto seemed oblivious to the change and merely trotted on ahead, shouting back to him "Stop lollygagging, it's getting late," Cautiously, Sasuke stepped over the line that separated the forest and prairie, watching in fascination as the light around him dimmed into a dusky purple hue. The tall grasses brushed his knees, bobbing and twisting in the dying light. Naruto had disappeared beneath the layer of grass, and only the parted weeds revealed his position. Sasuke followed the tiny path through the tremendous sea of reeds, which rushed in the wind with a sound like waves.
It happened suddenly; one moment the plain was flooded with soft light, the next Sasuke found himself swallowed up by endless darkness. He stopped in his tracks, uncertain of how to continue on. Looking up into the sky, he saw the sliver thin curve of the moon leaking silver light too weak to see by upon the ground. The familiar sensation of standing all alone, with no one to reach out and guide him from the darkness, shivered down his spine.
He could feel the void reaching out to swallow him up with eager fingers, when a soft weight on his leg jolted him from his thoughts and he looked down into Naruto's blue eyes, which he noticed glowed slightly.
"Come on," the fox said, shoving his head against the back of Sasuke's knee "We'll stop for the night soon, there's a small stream up ahead," Slowly the boy began walking again, his eyes having adjusted somewhat to the dim light.
Several yards ahead he began to hear the chuckling sound of water bubbling over rocks, and as he came over a small hillock he saw the dim moonlight reflecting off a small trickle of water tumbling amidst the grass. He could see no reason for a stream to well up in the middle of nowhere, but he realized it did little good to question the strange way this plane worked, and so he chose to appreciate the opportunity to bathe and drink.
Setting his small knapsack on the ground beside him, Sasuke knelt at the streams' edge, dipping his cupped hands toward the water and paused. Giving Naruto a sidelong glance, he said almost casually, "Should I worry about this turning me into a toad?"
The fox shook his head, "No, not a toad, a rabbit maybe, but nothing froggy," Sasuke gave him a rather severe look, to which the fox responded by snickering uncontrollably, "Just drink the damn water, you'll get pissy if you're dehydrated,"
The boy scooped a handful of water and hastily gulped it, trying not to spill the fluid down his shirt. The liquid was icy, so cold it made his teeth ache and chilled him to the bone. Shivering, he rocked back on his heels, silently cursing his desire for a bath. Deciding for the moment to put off that decision, he began to unpack his small bedroll and cooking utensils. He had to squint to see them in the dim light, but he at last fished out his flint pouch and began to clear an area for a cooking fire.
When he realized what Sasuke was doing, Naruto seemed to get a bit nervous and took off, making some excuse about finding a rabbit and advising him to not set the prairie on fire. With only a bit of trouble, Sasuke soon had a cheery blaze going, allowing him to warm his hands before the flames. As he bathed contentedly in the glow, he wondered idly if Naruto was ever going to come back.
As if in answer to his thoughts, the animal popped through the curtain of grass, the bloody carcass of a rabbit clenched in his jaws. Dropping the offering to the ground, the fox licked his bloody chops and spoke, "Here, know how to skin one of these?"
With a nod of thanks, Sasuke unsheathed a kunai from the pouch at his side and scooped up the rabbit. Swiftly he made several skillful incisions around the throat and paws, ripping off the fur easily. Flipping the body over, he slit the belly and removed the entrails and viscera.
Taking the bloody mess in his hands, he glanced at Naruto, "Do you want these?" Sasuke asked in an almost conversational tone.
"Why not?" replied the fox, "but remember, I get a chunk of that rabbit,"
The boy tossed the lumps of flesh at Naruto, who gulped them with great gusto and sat down to clean the blood from his paws and muzzle. The rabbit, spitted on the blade of Sasuke's sword, sizzled over the flames, filling the air with the smell of roasted meat. When it looked sufficiently burnt, Sasuke pulled it off and ripped a haunch out for Naruto, who bit into it amid the sound of crunching bones.
The rabbit was delicious, and Sasuke found himself cracking the thin bones with a knife to get at the sweet marrow. He was rather surprised at how good food and drink tasted in the realm of dreams; it seemed as though it should be a pale shadow of the real thing.
Naruto disagreed, "Haven't you ever had a dream you thought was real? Taste, touch, smell, even color they're all much more intense here," As Sasuke rolled this idea over in his mind, he remembered the icy water and his earlier desire for a bath.
"Is it safe to bathe here?" he asked, looking out into the smothering darkness.
"Right now it is," replied the fox, "Nothing comes through this area except the Baku, (1)"
"The what?" said Sasuke.
"The Dream Eaters," said Naruto "They're harmless, mostly," Sasuke wasn't sure if he should take comfort in Naruto's reassurance, but without another word he rose and headed over to stream a few feet away.
Carefully, he stripped off his clothes, unwinding the many bandages and folding them neatly on top of a small flat rock. He could feel Naruto watching him and it made him a bit nervous; he hadn't shown his body, or the extent of his curse scars, to anyone since he was younger. The black marks which once only encircled his throat now spread over most of the left side of his body, and were beginning to creep across his back and stomach. Pretending to ignore the fox's open stares, he slipped into the water, gasping slightly as the icy liquid slid across his belly. Quickly he scooped up handfuls of the water and splashed them across his body, rinsing the dirt and grime, souvenirs of his travel to the witch's home, from his pale skin.
He was squeezing the excess water from his spiky hair, which hung down his back in thick locks when it was wet, when he heard something from Naruto that did not amuse him. The fox, after giving Sasuke a once or twice over, gave an appreciative whistle, though how an animal could whistle he had no idea. Giving Naruto a look reminiscent of a wet cat, Sasuke snapped, "What the hell was that for?"
The fox shook its head, "Damn, you're pretty hot under all those clothes,"
"What's it to you?" Sasuke fired back.
"Nothing, I suppose. But I've got to wonder, you got some lucky girl back at home?"
"Hardly," Sasuke said, fuming as he splashed from the water and shook the liquid from his hair. "And if I did it's none of your damn business," The wind curled around his body, drying it as he fumbled for his clothes.
He thought Naruto might back off, but giving him a rather interested look, the fox somehow asked an even more embarrassing question, "You're a virgin, aren't you?"
Reeling backwards in astonishment, Sasuke stared speechlessly at Naruto, who seemed surprisingly calm. "You…you,"
"It's nothing to be humiliated about," the fox remarked with a chuckle "But it does seem a shame to go off on a life-or-death quest without having felt the warmth of a woman's touch,"
His face burning, Sasuke turned away, refusing to lower himself and continue this increasingly uncomfortable conversation.
Naruto however, continued blithely on, "It's not too late you know. Really I'm the perfect person for someone with a 'problem' like yours. In fact, you could say it's my specialty…"
Sasuke was about to ask what he meant when he heard a soft poof and a pair of slender arms wound about his waist. He went rigid, and a shiver worked its way down his spine as—were those breasts?—pressed against his back.
"Sasuke…" crooned a sultry voice in his ear, "What do you say?" Twisting against the constricting arms, Sasuke found himself staring into the huge blue eyes of a giggling, blushing, naked woman. Tossing her golden hair, the woman leaned in close, "How about a kiss?" Panicking, Sasuke attempted to squirm away, but with the woman's tight grip around his middle, he overbalanced and tumbled on top of her, planting his face right between her—his?—voluptuous breasts. She giggled wildly as he struggled, red as a tomato.
"Naruto, you idiot, stop it!"
"What's wrong?" she asked, "Not your type? No worries, I can accommodate. How about something a little more traditional?"
There was another poof, and Sasuke found himself perched atop a black-haired woman with fine Asian features. Her kimono, white and printed with cherry blossoms, spread around her in graceful folds.
"Better, Sasuke-san?" she said, her voice now low and whispering.
"I-…" he began, but was interrupted by yet another poof. Beads clinked and a grass skirt rustled as he stared into eyes as black as his own. An expanse of dark skin, unlike anything Sasuke had ever seen, spread under his hands, full breasts unhindered by binding.
"Come on…" she crooned.
Suddenly, Sasuke was inexplicably angry. The viciousness of his feelings shocked him, but he was fed up, sick of being toyed with. With an enraged snarl he pinned the woman beneath him, crushing her delicate shoulders flat against the ground. A red mist was filling his vision and he could feel the clear-headedness that signaled the rising of his Sharingan. He stared down into the woman's fearful eyes. Trickster! I'll rip your mask off! How dare you deceive me! The false form was melting under his gaze, dissolving… Then Sasuke found himself flat on his back, the spinning wheels of his eyes staring up into the night sky. The woman—Naruto, now he was confused—must have bucked him off.
Slowly he sat up, feeling the battle blood in his veins drain away. Several feet away, on the other side of the fire, Naruto, in his fox form, stood bristling. Every hair on the animal's body stood erect, and his ears were pressed flat against his skull.
"Never," hissed Naruto, "Never look at me with those demon-eyes again,"
Slightly taken aback by the easy-going fox's change in temperament, Sasuke retaliated, "Then don't do that again, idiot," Without answering, Naruto disappeared with a low growl and a flash of brush tail.
Naruto had not returned by the time Sasuke had settled down for the night, and he was beginning to wonder if the fox meant to abandon him. Turning restlessly in his bedroll, his seal aching fiercely, Sasuke watched the fire, which had died down to a glowing bed of coals. At last the grass across the fire parted and Naruto stepped into the pool of light.
Sasuke ruthlessly quashed the feeling of relief which spread through him at the realization he was not alone. Their eyes locked across the dying fire.
"Did I hurt you?" Sasuke said at last.
The fox snorted "Hardly. I'm not made of glass or anything. What the hell is wrong with you anyway?"
Sasuke shifted uncomfortably in his bedroll, hand automatically going up to touch the seal's point of origin on his neck, "It happened too fast; no one has ever touched me like that. My family always…stayed away,"
He paused a moment, half-afraid Naruto might laugh, or interrupt, but fox remained silent and he continued "They were afraid of the curse, that it might spread, and made sure never to get too close. You were the first person who was willing to look past this monstrosity and offer me intimacy but you did it so carelessly…like it was meaningless,"
Several moments passed in silence before Naruto gave a long-suffering sigh, "You're such a melodramatic bastard. Look, I'm sorry, okay? I probably went about it the wrong way, you're so damn fun to tease, but if it makes you feel any better, if you'd accepted my offer it wouldn't have been meaningless,"
"What do you mean?" Sasuke whispered "I mean the offer is still open for the future, even if you just need to be close to someone, without sex. I understand wanting that and not being able to get it,"
Sasuke's cheeks heated a bit, "Thanks," he mumbled.
The fox gave a good-natured chuckle "Well if I'd known you were going to be such a woman about it I would have been a little gentler. Though I did technically buy you dinner first,"
"Raw rabbit doesn't qualify as dinner," said Sasuke stiffly.
The fox shook his head, "Whatever, it's late and I'm tired. Let's get some sleep," Naruto began circling his body in the grass, padding it down to make a soft nest, while Sasuke rolled onto his back, trying not to flinch as the movement sent a wave of pain through his seal. Unfortunately the ears of foxes are keen and Naruto caught his hiss of indrawn breath.
"What's wrong?" the fox queried, leaving his spot in the grass. "Are you injured?"
"Of course not, idiot," Sasuke grumbled "Now go to sleep," He doggedly shut his eyes and was just trying to will his exhausted mind into slumber when a squirming, fuzzy body tried to cram itself in next to him.
"What the hell are you doing?!" he snapped "Get out of there!"
"Shut up for a damn minute and let me do this," Naruto shot back.
Before Sasuke could ask again what he was doing, the fox jammed his cold nose into the side of his neck and shoved, trying to get the boy to expose his throat.
"Move your fat head out of the way," the fox groused "I'm trying to get to the seal, to the point of origin,"
"What!" Sasuke exclaimed, half-sitting up "Don't touch it, it's dangerous! And that hurts you moron!"
"Magical fox spirit, remember?" said Naruto, "I think I'll be okay. And stop whining and squirming around, this will only take a minute. You're worse than a kit getting a bath,"
Sasuke hesitantly lay back and turned his head to the side, trying not to jump as he felt a warm, rough tongue stroke across the three irregular teardrop shapes which formed the seal's central point. The warmth eased the radiating pain and Sasuke felt himself melting against it. Naruto chuckled, burrowing deeper into Sasuke's bedroll to nestle against the boy's side.
"What did I tell you?" he snickered "Magical fox spirit,"
"Shut up, moron" murmured Sasuke as he drifted off to sleep.
A/N: These chapters keep getting longer. I feel a bit odd about the ending, but I suppose that's natural considering the long span between the first and last parts. I hope you enjoyed this and please drop me a review.