I got nine reviews on the last chapter. Well, technically eight since someone had to post a review under chapter two to ask a question, but whatever.
Lots of questions about the dark figure outside of the window.
...
Review replies!
StopTeasing: I'm glad!
FlammableBear: That's a question that will be answered eventually.
VongolaDecima: Rabid fangirl Sakura is such a disgusting trope that I can hardly read stories that still use it. In this story, Sasuke and Sakura have been friends for six years. I think that Sakura would have gotten over her crush on him by then, especially if he never returned her feelings.
Rain-XIX: Yup, I am that same guy. :)
LazyRebel: I was going to answer this question in the chapter itself, but I didn't find the time. So, I'll answer it for you right now. It's pretty simple - there was an odd number of people in Sasuke and Sakura's graduating class. So they ended up as a duo rather than a trio.
AlyssaOtaku69: Let's just say it wasn't Minato - because if it had been, this would be the last chapter of the story for... how should I get this... one of the protagonist's brutal and violent deaths. It's not hard to figure out which protagonist Minato would have gone after, lol.
Alright. This chapter is longer than the previous ones have been, but not by a crazy amount. Still, I hope you guys enjoy! If you like it, don't ever forget to leave a favorite and a follow if you haven't already, and don't forget to leave a review! I read each and every one, and try to reply to them if I can.
Without further ado...
... enjoy!
!Warning! - This entire first scene is essentially one big lime/lemon mosh pit. If you are not comfortable with reading either of those, I will leave a TL;DR at the end of the scene to summarize what happened. You have been warned.
Naruko groaned, a shudder running up her spine, as something unmistakably warm brushed against her leg.
"Sasuke…?" she murmured, cracking open an eye - discovering that her dark haired lover had seemingly disappeared from his spot at her side. There was, however, a form moving beneath the sheets - and something was definitely spreading her thighs apart. She smiled - thanking kami that she had taken a shower after their raucous sex session the previous night, knowing that Sasuke wouldn't have been willing to give her a morning treat like this otherwise… especially considering he came deep inside of her with obvious gusto.
Apparently, that little pregnancy 'scare' hadn't fazed him in the slightest, she thought with a smirk.
"Oh…" she let out a soft moan, as she felt his tongue tease her folds. "Careful," she mumbled. "You don't- argh… want to wake up the neighbors, do you?"
Sasuke let out a laugh. "Are you kidding me?" he said, his voice slightly muffled considering he was half-hidden underneath the sheets. "Considering the way I made you scream last night… if they could hear us through the walls, they would have come over a long time ago."
Naruko flushed. "Oh, be quiet you." she said, reaching a hand beneath the blanket and swatting him. "I did not scream that much."
Sasuke chuckled darkly. "Really?" he said. "Your nose is growing," he murmured dimly.
She swatted him again. "Whatever!" Naruko huffed. "Are you going to eat me out or what?"
"Just taking my time," Sasuke murmured, slipping a finger into her folds, working it around a bit. "I want to enjoy this."
Naruko let out a mewl. "That clone's not going to last forever, you know…" she said. After things had gotten… erm… 'steamy' the previous night, she had decided to forgo going back home - instead, choosing to send a Kage Bunshin to take her place. And while last night had been fun, she definitely didn't want her kaa-san and tou-san to discover that she'd been out all night.
Sasuke chose not to respond. Instead, he withdrew his finger from her rapidly moistening slit, and dipped his head down low - giving it a good lap. "Might want to cut back on the ramen," he grumbled. "Getting a little bitter down there."
For the third time that morning, she swatted him on the ear. "Be quiet, jerk!" she said, her cheeks heating up ever so slightly.
Again, he chose not to retort - instead, leaning down once more. This time, his tongue slipped inside of her folds, Naruko letting out a soft moan at the feel of his warm appendage entering her burning snatch.
One of her hands reached down, slipping into his raven spikes and forcing his head even deeper into her thighs. His tongue felt so good - Sasuke seemingly knowing exactly what buttons to press inside of her. He played her like a well tuned instrument, his skilled mouth turning her into what was essentially a pile of goo on the bed.
A coil wound tighter and tighter in a place just below her navel. As he worked her over, as minutes passed by with her groans growing more hoarse with every lap of his tongue against her folds, it just got closer and closer to the breaking point, until…
"Oh…" Naruko let out a guttural moan, as she came - her juices sloshing down her canal like a waterfall, Sasuke lapping them up, not letting up for even an instant. She shivered and shook, fingers clutching at the sides of the bed.
A few moments later, and she finally settled down - her chest heaving, her skin coated with a thin sheen of sweat. She blew a lock of sweat soaked blonde hair out of her eyes, twitching every now and then, her snatch feeling slightly swollen.
Sasuke crawled up to her side, a satisfied smirk curling his lips.
"Hmm," he hummed.
Naruko blinked. "What… what is it?" she asked, through breathless pants.
"Ah, it's nothing." Sasuke said. "I'm just wondering - if you didn't scream that much, why is that I can't hear out of my right ear?" he said, his voice teasing.
Naruko rolled her eyes. And for the fourth time that morning - a record that was likely to be broken in the near future if Sasuke kept this up - she swatted him on the ear.
"Did you hear that?" she grumbled.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
And then, he snaked a hand beneath the covers, giving one of her rosy nipples a good pinch.
"Ow!" she said. "What was that for?"
Sasuke chuckled. "Just a little payback..." he murmured, leaning down - slowly suckling at the tanned skin of her neck. "... girlfriend."
Naruko grinned. "Say that again." she murmured huskily, arching her neck. "Same tone, same everything."
He smirked. "Girlfriend." he repeated, saying it nice and slow, sounding out the syllables.
The blonde shivered. "Now, that's something I could get used to." she murmured. In a flash, she had flattened him onto his back - Naruko swiftly straddling his hips, her arms holding his down. Slowly, she leaned down, pressing her lips to his.
The two kissed for a long minute, before resurfacing for air.
Naruko sighed. "Sorry for being a bit of a tease," she murmured, having been shaken from her stupor of lust by the feeling of his member poking against her thigh. "But I really should get home…"
"Alright." Sasuke said.
She eased herself off of him, climbing out from beneath the sheets and off of the bed. Sasuke remained on the mattress - simply watching her as she dressed, pulling on underwear and slipping into her crumpled and slightly wrinkled clothes from the previous night.
"See you later, Sasuke." Naruko said, coming up to the bed, and giving him a peck on the lips. She smirked. "See you later, little Sasuke." she said, giving his still erect member a peck as well - the stiff pole poking up through the sheets eagerly.
"Hurry up and get out of her," Sasuke grumbled. "You loiter in my apartment any longer, and I'm not responsible for what I or…" He chuckled. "'little Sasuke' might do."
"Mmm... " Naruko said. "Don't tempt me." Once again, she pecked him on the lips, unable to help herself. "Alright, now I'm really leaving. Bye!"
"Bye."
He watched as she departed, slipping out of the bedroom door. A moment later, and he heard the front door open and close.
Sasuke sighed, sitting up in the bed.
It was a strange thought.
He had a girlfriend. Uchiha Sasuke was going out with Uzumaki Naruko. It was surreal. Seriously. He had never even thought about actually dating someone - having been content with his previous life of one night stands, drinking, and concealing those two facts from his overprotective family.
Sasuke just really hoped she didn't want to… go out on dates or something. Where would she even want to go? A carnival? A restaurant? Kakashi had taken them to a ramen stand the previous day when she had been training with them, and he had seen, first hand, how many bowls of ramen she could devour. He didn't even want to imagine how much his wallet would suffer if he took her out to a high end restaurant…
Hmm. It would be interesting to see her wearing a dress. Naruko was some kind of awful morphing of tomboy and girl - and to actually see his girlfriend (Wow, that did sound nice.) wearing a dress? It would probably be a sight to remember.
Whatever. What-the-fuck-ever. Now, he had to take a cold shower for fuck's sake, considering the feeling of Naruko's naked body pressed against his, and images of her clad in a rather provocative dress had begun to fill his mind. Needless to say 'little Sasuke' wasn't looking all that little anymore.
He climbed out of bed, and disappeared into the bathroom - closing the door behind him with a snap.
TL;DR - Naruko spent the night at Sasuke's place. She sent a shadow clone back to her house to take her place. They tease each other for a bit, but Naruko eventually says that she has to go before the clone's cover can be blown. They say goodbye, and Naruko leaves. Sasuke muses about how crazy it is that he, Uchiha Sasuke, has a girlfriend. He gets up, and goes and takes a shower.
A vein throbbed on Sasuke's forehead. His eye twitched, the young Uchiha forced to inhale deeply through his nose, and to exhale softly through his mouth, as he quite literally forced himself not to just snap, and ram a blade through his cousin's heart.
"What… do you two think you're doing…?" he murmured after a long while, his voice low, his brow knitted, her eyes narrowed and his face extraordinarily dark.
Shisui grinned. "Well… we're gonna plan Itachi's surprise party!" he said, his voice unnaturally high pitched and annoying. A helium balloon was clutched in his hand. "And… I'll be honest with you, we needed a place to put all this stuff!" He gestured around himself, at the great piles of deflated balloons, the party hats, plastic cups and plates, and a variety of other things that you would need for a party.
'Deep breaths,' Sasuke thought. 'Deep breaths.' He was not going to become a nuke nin today. He was not going to commit murder - he had to think of how long it would take to get the blood out of his carpet, out of the couch cushions. 'Calm down, Sasuke.' he told himself.
He had showered, gotten dressed, and had gone out for a long day of training with Kakashi and Sakura. And this was what he had returned home to.
"Okay…" Sasuke said. "So… you fucking break into my apartment, and put all of this shit in my living room?" he snapped.
Izumi grinned nervously. "Uh… well, it was Shisui's idea!" she said, pointing at the black haired Uchiha in front of him.
"Traitor!" Shisui said, his eyes narrowing.
Uchiha Izumi was, as of about four months ago, Itachi's fiancé. Despite her clan name, she honestly didn't have the 'Uchiha' look. Her hair was a soft chestnut brown, instead of black. Her eyes were a warm black, rather than the cold inky depths most members of her clan sported. Her facial features were abnormally soft, giving her an appearance of a teenager despite the fact that she was nearly twenty three.
The two were an odd couple. Where Itachi was stoic, Izumi wore her heart on her sleeve. Where Itachi was a battle hardened warrior, not unused to killing despite his personal beliefs, Izumi made no secret her distaste for the act of taking another person's life.
Sasuke really had no strong feelings towards her either way. If she made his brother happy, that was good enough for him he supposed.
He sighed. Sasuke gently rubbed his brow, realizing that he was fighting a losing battle in trying to get his idiotic cousin to realize what exactly he had done wrong.
"It's going to be at kaa-san and tou-san's house, right?" Sasuke said, after a minute of silence.
Izumi and Shisui grinned at each other. "Yup!" Shisui said. "I've got Mikoto-basan and Fugaku-jisan in on it, but Itachi's over there so much that we can't risk putting all of this stuff in their house." he said.
Sasuke sighed once more. "There's just one flaw in your plan," he said.
"And that would be…?" Izumi asked.
The young Uchiha looked at his two cousins as if they were complete and utter idiots - which they quite honestly were. "Itachi is Itachi." Sasuke said. "Do you morons really think he isn't going to realize that you're throwing him a surprise party?"
"Hey!" Izumi said. "There's no need for insults, Sasuke-kun. And besides, whether he knows it's coming or not, Itachi deserves a good birthday. Remember last year?"
Sasuke did remember last year. Details weren't all that important, but, let's just say it involved three things - a bottle of some of the strongest sake in Konoha, a stripper from the red light district courtesy of Kakashi, and a really, really pissed off Uchiha Mikoto.
…
...
… yeah.
"He still has nightmares about that," Izumi murmured. "Your mom is really scary." she said to Sasuke.
"Tell me about it." Sasuke grumbled. "Whatever. So, seems like you two already have most of the stuff we'll need." He said, picking up and examining a green party hat. "What else is there?"
"Hmm…" Shisui hummed, a hand on his chin. "Let's think. Uh… we still need drinks, we need to send out the invites, oh, and we might as well go ahead and order the stripper- kidding." he said, to Izumi's fierce glare. "What else?" He paused for a moment. "Ah, right! We need another bag of plastic cutlery."
"Seems easy enough." Sasuke said. Itachi's birthday was a scant two days from now - so getting all of that stuff wasn't going to be all that difficult. "Who's getting what?"
"I'll get the drinks." Izumi said. "I don't trust Shisui enough, and you've got bigger things to worry about, Sasuke-kun."
He blinked. "Like what?" Sasuke asked.
"I was going to tell him later…" Shisui whined.
"Shut up, you big pansy." Izumi said. "You're the one in charge of making sure Itachi shows up to this party, Sasuke-kun." she said, blowing a curl of brown hair out of her eye.
Oh shit.
A little context. Last year's birthday party hadn't just been a fiasco - it had scarred Itachi… to the point where he had sworn vehemently that he would never, ever, celebrate another one of his birthdays.
Whether he was Itachi's precious 'foolish' little brother or not, Sasuke could tell that he had gotten the short end of the stick on this particular arrangement.
Naruko frowned, as she peeked out from behind the doorway - one of her blue eyes staring intently at the form of her mother, who was gently stirring a pot of ramen whilst humming a song beneath her breath.
Something… was wrong.
A quick glance at the clock told her that it was half past noon.
She had arrived home about two hours ago. Considering she typically woke up at around eleven on a good day, that meant she had to feign sleep for about half an hour after she had switched with her clone - and then begin her 'daily' routine.
But… something had changed.
An hour had passed.
And not once, had her mother yelled at her. Nothing. Not a single, "No leaving your dirty laundry around the house!" or "Come here and take out the trash!" Not a word. Not a zip. She had just been cooking, and cleaning, and not making her daughter do any chores at all.
Naruko cowered. What had she done this time? Had her kaa-san realized where she had been all night? Or… worst of all, had something else happened, to cause her to put on this terrifying act? Had Ichiraku's closed down? Had Naruko finally left one too many pairs of dirty shorts on the bathroom floor? Something just had to be up.
'Okay, think about this rationally.' Naruko mused to herself. 'She doesn't even know you're up yet - I could probably just sneak upstairs, and hide out up there until she cools down.'
Nodding resolutely to herself, she took a step back.
And as if the Hokages themself had forsaken her, the worst possible thing that could have happened in that situation occurred. The hardwood floors of her home were very well polished, and, as she skidded her foot across them - a ear piercing squeak tore through the room.
Naruko cringed.
In an instant, Kushina wheeled around, fixing that piercing violet gaze onto her only daughter. Naruko shrunk, her tanned skin paling. Kushina let the wooden spoon clatter onto the countertop, and then…
… she smiled.
"Naruko…!" Kushina called, her voice soft and sweet, as soothing as a bubble bath after a long day of training. "It's about time you finally crawled your way out of bed!" She positively beamed, her pearly white teeth nearly blinding Naruko.
"K-Kaa-san?" Naruko stuttered.
"Oh… you're looking a little pale, Naruko." Kushina mused. She glided across the kitchen towards her, gently cupping one of her daughter's cheeks. "That's strange. Are you feeling a little under the weather? Kyuubi, are you making my little Naruko-chan sick?"
"Are… you…" A pause. "Is… is everything alright?" Naruko asked, her bright blue eyes practically the size of dinner plates as she stared at her mother.
Kushina's grin widened. "Oh… you know how long it's been since your father and I have gone out on a date." she said. "We had a wonderful… wonderful night." There was a glimmer in her violet eyes, one that seemed familiar to Naruko.
Naruko blanched. 'Oh…' she thought.
"Blegh." the blonde said, sticking out her tongue. "I don't need to know when you and tou-san do… t-that…!" she spat out.
Kushina laughed. "Aww… don't be so melodramatic, Naruko." she said, a hand on her hip. "It's a natural thing that everybody does. You'll understand someday, I'm sure."
"Yeah, yeah." Naruko grumbled. Her mood was improving, now that she knew that her mother wasn't secretly planning her death. "What kind of ramen are we having today?" she asked.
"Miso, your favorite…!" Kushina cooed.
"Yay!" Naruko cheered. "Is it almost done?"
Kushina grinned. "Just a few more minutes," the red headed kunoichi said.
"Awesome," Naruko said. She slid into a seat at the dinner table, rubbing her hands together eagerly. "Tou-san already at work?" she asked.
"He had to go in early to make up for yesterday." Kushina said. She blew a lock of crimson hair out of her eye as she waited for the ramen to cook fully, smoothing out the apron draped over her dress. "How was home when we were out?" Kushina asked.
"It was fine," Naruko said neutrally. "Read some books. Went out and trained for a bit. Nothing all that interesting."
Kushina raised an eyebrow. "You read some books?" she asked, her voice disbelieving.
"Hey!" Naruko said. "I can read, kaa-san!" She said, folding her arms over her chest. "And besides, they were jutsu books." A pause. "I- I'm still trying to develop my wind element, after all."
"Hmm." Kushina hummed, She turned around, putting her hands on her hips. "Just what were you up to last night, Naruko…?" she asked, her violet eyes burrowing into Naruko's bright, blue ones.
Naruko grimaced. "Fine. You got me." The blonde sighed. "I went to Ichiraku's, and hung out there for a while." she said.
Kushina rolled her eyes. "That's what you were afraid of?" the redhead said. "As long as you locked the house up, you can go out. You're eighteen, Naruko, but I'd at least like you to be honest with me." She snickered. "Reading books…" she said, a smirk on her face.
"Whatever," Naruko said, huffing.
As soon as Kushina slid a bowl full of steaming miso ramen in front of Naruko, she dug in - a bright grin on her face, and a pair of chopsticks in her hand.
'Speaking of Ichiraku's..' Kushina thought. 'I haven't been there in a while.' Maybe she should go there later - she was sure Teuchi was missing one of his favorite (and most lucrative) customers, and she was sure that Ayame-chan had some gossip that she'd loved to hear.
"Yeah… so, Shisui and Izumi are going to throw you a surprise party.
Itachi stilled. "..."
Sasuke sighed. "Itachi," the younger of the two brothers said. "You're going."
"... no."
Another sigh. "Do I have to inform kaa-san about how you and Izumi decided not to save yourselves until marr-"
Itachi stood up suddenly, his dark eyes staring down at Sasuke.
"You wouldn't," he growled.
Sasuke climbed to his feet as well. They were about the same height now, although Sasuke was about an inch taller than Itachi.
"You're not getting out of this, Itachi. I will sign your death warrant if I have to." Sasuke said, his voice dripping with promise.
Unlike his cousin, and his sister-to-be/other cousin, Sasuke had a little more… tact. Rather than, you know, breaking into Itachi's house, he had knocked on the door. Itachi had put on a pot of tea, and now the two sat - well, stood now - on opposite sides of the dining room table.
Itachi grit his teeth. "I-" He paused. "You… you'd do that to your own brother…?"
Sasuke felt a faint smirk curl his lips involuntarily. "Rest assured, if you still want to skip your birthday part, I'll make sure that I leave some flowers on your grave."
The two brothers continued to stare each other down, until finally, Itachi relinquished. He dropped back down into his seat, cradling his head in his palms. "Argh…" Itachi groaned. "I knew that I should have gotten rid of that spare key beneath the mat."
Sasuke had decided to drop in on his older brother about a year prior, and, well he hadn't gotten an answer when he had knocked on the door. One spare key slipped into the lock, and he was allowed access - and from inside of the apartment, he could distinctly hear the moans and grunts emanating from the bedroom. He had put two and two together, and in the end, Sasuke had obtained the perfect blackmail material.
Okay, he could admit he was being a little (a lot) hypocritical, considering Itachi had slept with one woman whom he was going to marry regardless, and Sasuke had slept with at least a dozen in a series of one night stands before his meeting Naruko. But, firstly, Itachi had no knowledge of that, and Sasuke would like to keep it that way. And secondly, nobody had ever suggested that an Uchiha played fair.
"Chin up," Sasuke said, making his way around the table and clapping Itachi on the shoulder. "If it gets as bad as last year, I'll put an end to it. Alright?"
"Alright…" Itachi murmured. He groaned. "You mind grabbing that bottle of sake from the cabinet?" he mumbled. "And a shot glass."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he said, smirking.
"Grab yourself one too." Itachi grumbled. "And never, ever tell kaa-san that I drink."
He let out a chuckle. "I'll keep that in mind," Sasuke said, as he grabbed the sake and the shot glasses - plunking them down on the table. He drew up a chair closer to Itachi. "I didn't think you were one to keep alcohol in your apartment," Sasuke commented, as he filled the small glasses nearly to the brim with the warm, brown liquid.
"Izumi says it's for 'special occasions'." Itachi said. He downed it all in one go - letting out a refreshed sigh. "I think this occasion is as good as any." He glanced at Sasuke, his eyes half lidded. "You weren't really going to tell kaa-san about me and Izumi doing... that, were you?" he asked.
"Probably not." Sasuke admitted. "But… seriously. If it gets out of hand, I'll drag you out of there myself. Alright?"
Itachi nodded. "Hey… Sasuke?" he said, after a moment.
"What's up?" Sasuke said.
Itachi's eyes narrowed, his face darkening ever so slightly. "Try to blackmail me again, and I'll talk to Hokage-sama about putting you on permeant Tora watch." he said, his voice low.
Sasuke blanched. Itachi was very influential in Konoha, and considering who the Hokage was… he wouldn't be surprised if the Yondaime would allow Itachi's threat to become reality just for a good laugh.
"Alright." Sasuke said.
Kushina hummed as she strolled down the street, a bright grin on her face. Even at the age of forty two, she was a beauty indeed - long, crimson hair that fell to her mid-back, and curves that any woman would kill for. Despite that, everyone that knew her would say that it wasn't her body that attracted people's attentions, but rather her boisterous personality.
She was bouncy and bubbly, retaining an energy that most would lose in their teens. She smiled at everyone she walked past, greeting most of them by name and making sure to slip a bill or two into the collecting hats of some of Konoha's homeless. She was a beloved figure in Konoha, second perhaps to the Yondaime himself.
There were dozens of ramen shops within the village that would likely offer her a dozen bowls for free. But, there was one that she always went to, one that held a special place in her heart. She remembered coming here when Ichiraku Kenji, Teuchi's father, had still been alive and running the shop. She remembered giving congratulations to Teuchi when his daughter, Ayame, had been born.
And she had made sure to imprint that kind of loyalty in her daughter, Naruko. Even though she was supposed to be sheltered from the village, Kushina made use of the henge to sneak inside of the shop with her also disguised daughter, and thoroughly addict her blonde angel to the heavenly food that was Ichiraku's.
Today, business was rather slow for them. As she ducked into the stall, she counted only a single customer sitting at the bar.
"Kushina-san!" Ayame said, a grin spreading across the brown haired girl's face. "What can I get you today?"
"A miso will do, Ayame-chan." Kushina giggled. "If you have any left that is. I bet Naruko gobbled it all up when she was here last night." the redhead said, smiling brightly.
Ayame frowned. "What do you mean…?" she asked. "Naruko-san wasn't in here yesterday."
"She… wasn't?" Kushina said, blinking.
Ayame shook her head. "If she was, I don't remember her coming in." she said. "And I worked a double shift yesterday." A pause. "Oh, wait! She came in for a bit, but it was for takeout. She looked like she had somewhere to be, if that helps any, but I don't think she said where she was going."
As Ayame turned and disappeared into the back, to whip together the ramen that had sated a thousand stomach cravings, Kushina's head was spinning.
Naruko had come to Ichiraku's, but it had been for take out. She hadn't gone home - as much as she detested it, her daughter was a slob, and there surely would have been empty ramen cups scattered about the living room. And... if she didn't go straight home with the take out, then, that begged the question…
… where did she go?
A mere blur shot towards her face - and with hardly a nanosecond before it would have connected, Naruko managed to catch the kick that would have likely dislocated her jaw and knocked out a couple of teeth.
Sasuke smirked.
And then, he leapt off of the ground with his other foot, spinning in midair and catching her around the midsection - sending both her and him tumbling to the ground. As quick as a flash, he was back on his feet, as was she.
This time, Naruko took the initiative, fainting with her right hand only to send a crushing haymaker towards his stomach with her left. He threw himself to the side just in time, her punch so powerful that he could almost feel the shockwave from where it would have hit him.
He struck out, grasping her leg tightly. With ease, he lifted her up - intent on sending her sailing into the trees that surrounded the clearing where they were fighting. However, she reached an arm down, grasping tightly to his wrist and refusing to relinquish her grip even as he began to spin, and spin.
After a moment, she let go - and instead of going into the trees, she timed it so that she could land gracefully about five meters away.
Naruko flashed him a grin. A clone appeared at her side, and before he could react, a ball of chakra was spinning in her hand - the Rasengan if he remembered correctly. He stood still, his feet perched, his eyes narrowed.
The Kage Bunshin at her side didn't dispel, as he expected it to. Instead, it grasped the original Naruko tightly by the arm - and spun it. Once, twice, three times, building up momentum - until, the clone propelled Naruko at him.
It was a low powered Rasengan, of course. She wasn't actually going to hurt him - if it made contact, the most it would do was give him a nice bruise on his chest. But he didn't know that.
As she slammed into him, she grinned in triumph - before frowning, as Sasuke's disappeared, a log replacing where he had been a moment before. Clearly, he had set up a substitution in the woods, as he leapt out of the forest a moment later.
The Rasengan still clutched in her hand, she charged at him once more, her grin feral and her eyes fiery.
A familiar sound filled her ears, of a thousand birds chirping at once. Blue lightning encased Sasuke's hand, and with the sharingan alight in his gaze, he charged at her as well.
His Chidori was low powered as well, at the most giving her a nice shock, and at the very worst giving her a small burn. But… again, she didn't know that.
Time seemed to slow, the eternity before their collision stretching on forever. Red eyes met blue, both of their teeth gritted, his lightning infused hand mere inches away from the swirling ball of chakra.
And then, they connected.
"Rasengan!"
"Chidori!"
Contrary to the moment just before their clash, the actual collision lasted a split second. One second, they were both trying with all of their might to break through the other's jutsu - the next, both of them were sent flying back, as a shockwave of static electricity and chakra burst from where their hands had met.
Considering the low power of their techniques, they didn't go very far - both of them landing on their feet a few meters away, panting and heaving, their bodies sticky with sweat and grime.
"Draw?" Naruko said.
"Draw." Sasuke replied.
They walked over to each other, before collapsing onto the ground. Naruko was ready to go a few moments later, but Sasuke took a little longer to recover.
He brushed a lock of sweat soaked hair out of his eyes. "Not bad," Sasuke murmured.
"You weren't so bad yourself,' Naruko said, grinning. "Where did you get Kakashi-nii's technique from?"
"I'm his student." Sasuke said.
"Mmm… now that I think about it, that should have been obvious." Naruko admitted, tilting her head thoughtfully. She looked at him, pursing her lips together. "You alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Sasuke grumbled. "I'm just really looking forward to shepherding Itachi tonight at his birthday party." he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm going to just love watching him flinch at every girl there who isn't kaa-san or Izumi." A pause. "Scratch that, just Izumi." Sasuke added.
Naruko chuckled. "I kind of wish I could come and help you with that," she admitted. But, she couldn't. Naruko couldn't even fathom that would happen if they went public with their relationship… although she figured that it would involve Naruko's permanent captivity in her room, and Sasuke's brutal and painful death at her father's and mother's combined hands. And that was without even mentioning Sasuke's family.
Sasuke opened his mouth to say something - but something stopped him.
There was a small poof. A toad, so small that Naruko could have fit it in the palm her hand, appeared in front of them.
"Naruko-chan!" it said. "Minato-chan said that he wants you to be home by nine." Without another word, it disappeared, in the same puff of smoke in which it had appeared.
Sasuke chuckled.
"What?" Naruko said.
"It's nothing." Sasuke said, smirking.
She poked him in the cheek. "Spill it, mister!" Naruko insisted.
"Alright…" Sasuke said, chuckling once more. "I just think it's kind of amusing. The legendary Yondaime, the man who took down eight thousand Iwa nin in a single day, and his summon is toads."
Naruko frowned. "What do you mean by that?" she said. "Toads are awesome!"
"I'd have expected something a little more fearsome." Sasuke said. "Like a bear. Things like that."
"Please…!" Naruko said. "Don't act all high and mighty." she said. "What can you summon?" she asked.
"I don't have a summon." Sasuke said.
"Why not?" Naruko asked.
He shrugged. "I never it gave it much thought," Sasuke admitted.
"Hmm…" Naruko hummed. "Why don't you give it a shot? I mean, maybe your summon could be something really cool, like a hawk, or a tiger!" She snickered. "Or maybe it'll be a rabbit or something like that." She grinned. "The jutsu is easy, Sasuke. It's-"
"I know what it is." Sasuke said. "I copied it with the sharingan when you were doing your demonstration." he said.
"Alright!" Naruko chirped, clapping him on the shoulder. "Do it then, come on! Rabbit or tiger, let's see!"
Sasuke sighed. Gently, he climbed to his feet, walking a few meters to give himself some distance, before turning back towards Naruko.
He harshly bit his thumb, slathering blood across his palm. He flashed through a series of seals, before slamming his hand into the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" he called out.
A white puff of smoke engulfed him.
Naruko waited.
And waited.
The smoke gradually dissipated… and Sasuke was gone. Aside from a drop of blood on the grass, it was as if he had never been there at all.
Naruko staggered to her feet. "Sasuke…?" she whispered, her eyes widening.
A moment passed, and he was still gone.
"Sasuke…!"
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Water…
It was cold. Bitterly cold, as if he had been tossed outside in the dead of winter with nothing but his undergarments on. A draft blew through his hair - his skin crawling with goosebumps.
Where was he…?
It was dark. Incredibly so. He was lying in what seemed to be a small pool of water… so cold that he could feel his body temperature dropping just being in contact with it.
He climbed to his feet, shivering ever so slightly.
A breath.
And then, he activated his sharingan.
He stared at scales. His gaze climbed up, and up, and up, and up - until it finally reached the top of what he was looking at.
"Nice of you to join us… Sasuke-kun."
It was a snake. A snake that was at least as tall as the Hokage's monument, and as wide as his apartment. It was colored a dark grey, and it was staring down at him. Venom trickled from the fangs that jutted out of the roof of it's mouth, the drops so fat that it exploded against the floor, showering his feet and pants. Thankfully, the venom seemed to be harmless - at least, against his bare skin. He imagined that would be entirely different if it was inside of his body…
"Who… what the hell are you?" he murmured. It was so quiet that even considering its relative distance from him, the snake could hear him.
"I am known as Queen Nozuchi." the snake rumbled, it's voice slamming against his eardrums. "However, you may address me as Nozuchi-sama."
Sasuke felt his breathing quicken. He took a step back - as if that would help. The snake was so monstrous that even if he were to Shunshin away from it as fast as he could, it would likely still be able to crush him.
It peered at him with those golden eyes, the size of bay windows. Judging him. Examining him. Seemingly staring into his very soul.
"What am I doing here?" he asked a moment later, fighting to keep his voice steady, to prevent the fear that he was feeling from infecting his every movement.
"You were the one that came here, Sasuke-kun." Nozuchi murmured. "I did not summon you - so, I imagined that you attempted to use the Summoning technique, without having signed a contract before hand."
Sasuke stared up at it, wide eyed. "What… how does that explain why I am here?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
Something that sounded like a mix between a hiss and a chuckle escaped Nozuchi's enormous mouth. "I see you are uneducated in this matter." it said. "If you have not signed a contract before hand, the Summoning technique will not summon anything - rather, it will reverse summon you, to the creature that you are most attuned to."
"W-what?" Sasuke said. He was… attuned, to snakes? "No…!"
"You do not have a choice in the matter, Sasuke-kun." Nozuchi slithered. "You are in my home - my domain. You have seen me, and only three kinds of people may see me, Sasuke-kun." it said. "Those who are to become partners with the snake-kind… those whom are already partners with the snakes… and those who will soon be dead." A pause, Nozuchi tilting its head thoughtfully. "What do you say, Sasuke-kun? Which of those three are you, which of those three will you become?"
What… what could he say? Nozuchi had laid out the facts simply.
Become a partner with the snakes… or die.
The choice was obvious.
"Okay…" Sasuke said, his voice hardly above a whisper.
"Good," Nozuchi said. "You are a strong one, Sasuke-kun - I can sense that much. However, you will still have to pass the test. Stay still. Do not struggle, for that will merely make it worse."
"What do you- oh shit!"
A snake had slithered up his foot, unbeknownst to Sasuke as he had been staring up at Nozuchi. Up and up it went, curling around his frame, until it wound tightly around his body - it's glistening fangs angled just a few inches from his fragile skin.
"This is Aoda." Nozuchi said simply. "He has been in hibernation for a very, long time." It dipped down, so close that Sasuke could see the whites in it's golden eyes. "He was born around the same time as you," Nozuchi said. "He's been waiting for you, lying in wait for the day when you would finally come, Sasuke-kun." A pause. "Let us hope you pass this test. Aoda…" Nozuchi murmured.
"... commence the ritual."
Before he could react, Aoda has sunk its fangs into his neck. It felt as if someone was pumping liquid nitrogen into his veins. His whole body shivered, seizing up. He went numb, his face turning sheet white, his eyes drifting back to a dull black.
"ARRGHHH!"
Pain. Pain unlike anything he had ever felt before. His body convulsed, falling to the ground, every one of his limbs on fire. It felt as if a thousand kunai were stabbing him all at once, again and again, never ending, never stopping. It kept going and going- oh please, someone help him, anyone, kaa-san, nii-san, Naruko, help, help help help hel-
The world faded into darkness.
There will be answers in the next chapter. And more likely than naught, more questions as well.
If you're curious about the summoning technique, whether it will actually do that, here's the answer that I found. It was never specified in the manga whether that would happen, but the anime says yes, so that's good enough for me. For people that are following the Boruto anime, Boruto did not use a blood sacrifice, or the right hand seals when doing the summoning jutsu.
If you liked it, don't forget to leave a review - I read each and every one, regardless of the content, and will try to reply to you if I can. If you haven't already, don't forget to favorite and follow the story as well. Thanks for reading, guys, and as always have an absolutely terrific day.
P.S. I have a tumblr now. Follow me there for updates on stories, progress on the next chapter, stuff like that. bige2955 tumblr com/ That's the link. Add periods where they should be, and it'll take you there.