Chapter_Six_Reflect
"So I got made the Hokage."
Sasuke's brows rose. His eyes landed on Naruto's estranged form stood on the threshold. Behind him, the sun; in front – no-one but Sasuke himself.
Slowly, he stood up and walked over to Naruto, ignoring the protesting eyes, the frozen smile upside-down, the silent inquiry in his movement, all that acted a hindrance – and placed a hand right above the young man's heart.
"Our deal. It's becoming complete."
Naruto's eyes, wide, blinked, the eyelids heavy, and Sasuke shielded his sight from the eyesore.
That pathetic, pitiful little question of "why now".
"It is. You know what to do."
Still pressing on and on and on, until the day death did them part.
Naruto's chest rose, a breath taken, the slight noise as it went past his lips and slammed against the windpipe echoing around, before at last the blue eyes landed on Sasuke's dark pair and – widened even more.
"… Yeah," he said, a frown marrying his brows. "I guess so… Time to fulfill our promise, eh?"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Yes. And time for you to celebrate."
Naruto gave him an awkward, small smile, head inclined to the side, hand automatically rising to tightly envelope around Sasuke's, holding it in place – reminding both of them of the promise they'd made.
"Yeah, so it seems… Heh… "
Behind him, the never-lasting, mocking daylight. Sasuke's other hand rested on the small of Naruto's back, slight pressure applied – until the man's body made impact with his own and he felt empowered once more.
"Yes, at last. Are you happy, Naruto? I am, I really am happy for you."
Naruto didn't answer.
Sasuke, in all honesty, could not blame him. Yet, despite the murderous glare, despite the clenching of his fists, the wrinkling of the material and the gritting of his teeth, he would not cease – even if, even if every part of him, the very core of his being included, screamed at him to stop.
Even if… Even if Naruto's very erratic breathing begged for it.
"It's time that you serve them… Time at last. I am really glad, Naruto, for both of us… At last we can finish what we started, right? At last."
The eyes snapped wide shut.
Naruto's breathing calmed down, resigned at last.
Sasuke, without a question, felt a heated surge of hatred for himself. And no-one but himself.
"Finally, after four years, the deal is being fulfilled. Can you feel it, Naruto? Tell me you can; the struggle, the mad fight for mayhem, the one of our souls as the seal gets stronger and more powerful… It is mad. So, so very mad… For your potential demise."
Naruto's hand fell by his side.
Resigned, at last.
(~SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~)
Madara was staring at them. Maybe surveying the damage he'd taken, maybe thinking now, when it was too late, that he shouldn't have left it up to him to deal with the boy, that he ought to have acted before because even he understood now the fight had gone for too long, the parties had sustained great injuries and maybe – maybe, he too, doubted who'd win now.
Maybe, now that it really was too late, he was dubious of Sasuke's ability to defeat Naruto and, maybe, he had realized at last what Sasuke was doing.
That to hell with the plan to win, to hell with all that the power-possessed, self-obsessed man had planned, to hell with it all because Sasuke was getting what he wanted, he was getting it – in hearty, fulfilling sips that cooled him.
In a maddening surge of self-awareness that left him drunk.
Because he'd decided, long ago, to put an end to his revenge, because he'd seen, just moments ago, the end of the tunnel and there was no light at all, only the blurred, still figure of Him with a hand extended in his direction, slowly walking forward as Sasuke took short, slow-paced steps towards him, the hand rising to mirror the gesture.
They'd meet once more, cross paths even in afterlife. Sasuke expected to see him there, be it hell or heaven, as he'd learned from this last encounter that wherever he went, Uzumaki Naruto did, too.
And no Madara, no Fourth Ninja War, no Tsunade, no Kakashi, no Fate, no Will of Fire, no Nothing in this God Forsaken world could stop it.
Madara moved.
Sasuke attempted to stand up – but under his weakening hold on himself, the hands gave out, the face impacting with the ground, sand and dust invading his windpipe, mixing with blood from the many ruptures-and his hands stung, scraped.
Sweat clung into him, reminiscing along with him, thinking back against his best initial wishes to having been struck again and again and all over again, consuming him wholly until he'd all but given in, welcoming, warmly – heatedly –, the innocuous presence of death looming above them.
He gasped out – heard a similar moan of displeasure –, forced himself up on his knees, body slowly responding to his commands and moving by miniscule portions, finally beckoned to a seated position, the hands outstretched before him, pressed flat against the ground.
They'd die together.
He'd not heard of anything more beautiful ever before.
Rejuvenated, he managed to stand up, body moving only rigidly, the brain in vain trying to push more power into it.
All for naught.
But at least – at least he had an upper hand, being more powerful and knowing already the future. Understanding it. Whereas Naruto…
He smirked – smirked – no, laughed.
The barricades long gone, it echoed around as he caved in. So sweetly into the knowledge, into the beautiful reality of dying together, empowered, exhilarated, the surge of power sending electrifying, sizzling jolts all around, the spark flying about, the Chidori formed on instinct.
From the distance close, the pinnacle of perfection and strength, the Rasengan growing impossibly big, fed with hatred within, swirling blue and red as Naruto caved in just as well and the Kyuubi interfered with their poetic death.
Sasuke's laugh stilled, ears listening only to the cracking of his Chidori, to the cracking of Rasengan, doing so in perfect sync as if the chakras understood them the best.
It was perfect.
So… So… perfect… He looked up. The sky, so blue and wide, blind in its folly, clueless to what was to transpire next and Madara – Madara, the fool, gazing down upon him, not knowing a damn thing, not understanding him at all.
His lips twitched, slowly twisted upwards, giving up the control over his facial expressions, the smile pulled onto the face only thanks to the magic of the events to unfold.
And Sasuke smiled.
Naruto charged.
Sasuke's eyes closed, body moving automatically.
Running, hand extending, seeing the heart-eyes opening, blood red and wretched, paying the ransom for the kidnapping at last, no longer fighting.
A clash.
The brushing of the tornado past his ear, cutting into the dark strands, leaving them to be swept away, along with his bits and pieces of clothing, all shredded, along with his-
Hopes?
And the sizzling crackle stilled, the situation calmed and Sasuke felt warm and home, knew he'd achieved his end, knew that-
"Sasuke…"
… Knew that his hand was safely buried in his heart, leaving it to resemble nothing more but a gory mess of blood and tissue, all pushed aside with the brutal force of his genius.
But something was wrong.
So, so very wrong. With the blood on his face, dripping down the lashes, caressing the parted lips, down the chin and onto the ground, at last to accompany the puddle of blood already there, no longer sad for the rest of the life force would soon follow.
But then, what would be left of him?
Of Naruto?
And why… why was… Why was…
Sasuke's eyes widened.
Behind him, the Rasengan hit a rocky wall positioned just a mile or two away, the collision of forces sending a tremor through the ground below.
Naruto's eyes opened.
Now, now, somehow, anyhow, in a twisted tale of love of two brothers, it was his turn to smile that eternal smile.
"I couldn't do it, Sasuke."
A spurt of blood, its imminent explosion from Naruto's back, the hand finally coming out on the other side, leaving him, Him, HIM, impaled.
Through and through.
Impaled and… And.
And-
Sasuke screamed. "YOU IDIOT!"
Naruto's body slid further down the hand, falling forward, held upwards only because of Sasuke, but WHO CARED.
WHO CARED.
Shallow, his breathing, raspy gasps for more.
WHY.
"Our ending, Naruto, OUR ENDING!"
Naruto, against Sasuke's shoulder, smiled.
Sasuke raged, the bloodied hand balled into a fist. "OUR ending… OUR… our… How dare you ruin it?" How dare he… ruin the fate… Defy it, did he? Bullshit. That was a lie.
That was… That was supposed to have been THEIR ending. Together, dying, by each other's hand… the stupid dead last… Again ruining everything. Everything. With his stupid love, stupid friendship, stupid. Goddamn. WORTHLESS MORALS.
"I HATE YOU."
He thrust his hand back and Naruto fell.
Why. Why… Why…
Propelled back by the force known as gravitation, his body dropped onto the ground, a gaping, dark hole where his heart had once been-
"Why? Why… Why… Ruining everything… Naruto… I hate you…"
Buckled underneath his weight, sent down to kneel by him, right next to his dying body.
The dead, breathless smile on his paling, sunken face.
Sasuke stared.
Painstakingly slow, Naruto's head moved to side, the still just boy's eyes penetrating through Sasuke.
How… how was he… still…
Sasuke's body tensed. How was he still alive? Should have died along ago… After all, with no heart, the blood wasn't getting pumped, the oxygen not reaching distributed… That was inhuman, irrational, completely inexplicable, but regardless… If the removal of the heart wouldn't kill him, then the lack of oxygen would.
Naruto would suffocate.
He couldn't-"Why… Tell me why are you still alive?"
Naruto's eyes the color of the sky above narrowed briefly, a silent, maybe snappish inquiry of "isn't that obvious" written all cross, before his lips parted.
Sasuke understood.
His will. His will was keeping him alive.
Leaving him to suffocate.
A painful, disgraceful death.
Sasuke's rage grew. "Why won't you just die? Why? Just DIE already." His fists rose and fell, hitting Naruto on the chest, a profound show of a child's tantrum, a hissy little fit.
"You're going to suffocate, you IDIOT. Just give up. You lost!" A hand curled around Naruto's clothing, his face nearing Naruto's-"You're going to suffocate. Don't you understand? Naruto."
Naruto… The fool… Trying to prove that-
-the sun reflected off the blood got his attention.
On his hand now grasping Naruto's top, the blood shimmered.
His breath hitched in his throat-funny. The irony of life… Who was suffocating now?
He laughed through agony, resting his forehead against Naruto's chest, hair dipped in the blood.
He had to… Why kill this lowly leech? Why? Why, simple.
Because there was the choice he'd made. A long, long time ago, as the lone survivor of the massacre and he wouldn't change his mind even now, never had even when the fool had protested. It was his duty, destiny… That of the last Uchiha. That of an avenger.
"Sasuke…"
It didn't matter the fool had not dodged and had – thrown himself to his own death. Down the cliff, arms wide open as he welcomed its precocious breath on his face. That idiot.
Stupid, stupid idiot… Never cared for him, that pathetic one life that was still nothing in comparison to his – HIS suffering, Sasuke's suffering… Or maybe he'd wanted to. Earned for it. Never admitted it. It'd haunted him.
The thought of killing him.
But he'd never-
"Sasuke… it's alright…"
Destiny… Pre-destined. This meeting. The two of them, meant to kill each other… Stupid. Bullocks. His own choice, his own hands, his… move. He'd made the choice himself, grasped the destiny in his hand, wringing its neck. No being above stood to watch over his life, none but him decided what was to transpire next.
That detail he knew, was certain of it. So this didn't matter. Just another death. Just another stupid number. Just another person slain for the path of a true avenger. Just…
No, he wasn't sure. He wasn't at all. About-"It's alright… it's alright…"
"You… are dying… Naruto… You are dead."
So just die ALREADY.
Just die, please… Please… You are suffocating… Such a stupidly slow and painful death… Undeserving of you… Done by him, performed by him. His hand had struck… His-he sat back, looked down at him, at His hand outstretched in his direction, at the dying life in his eyes.
He knew, of course, comprehended fully, what he'd done, caused and wrought, that havoc, but maybe, just maybe, a part of him had remained blissfully ignorant, a decision opted without his accord, to the reality, to the thing… That small, puny detail that, perhaps, but just perhaps, the blood of his, so hot, trailing down his arm didn't feel as delectable as he'd thought.
No, it was not delectable at all.
Not at all.
Not-
Naruto's hand rose. Sasuke could swear he saw Itachi before him because-why else would the dying man feel compelled to flick him on the forehead? Why that gesture, why-why the finger trailing down, leaving a bloodied path behind.
"Naruto."
Dead, the hand dropped on the ground.
"Naruto…"
Those gentle, soothing eyes saw right through him, but the light in them was dimmed, all that'd made him stand out now vanishing into nothingness.
All because of him not committing to the act of killing him.
Inside Sasuke, all boiled.
"Naruto… I hate you."
Naruto… Why… Why…
He caressed his face.
The eyes started to close.
Just a few seconds left… Just a few seconds left… A few last seconds.
NO.
All power to his eyes, filling them blazing red, both hands on the other's face, close enough that Sasuke could see each and every mark left behind after the years spent chasing him.
Close enough he understood.
Until their eyes met and-right a split second before Naruto's blues forever shut the world off, their minds connected and Sasuke-
Saw black.
"Remember brat, what I told you… That you would regret killing Naruto."
(~SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~)
So Sasuke had betrayed him, it appeared, killing the Kyuubi host instead of gravely injuring him.
Well, no matter, Madara could still extract the beast from him even if it'd take a lot more effort now. And Sasuke would be disposed of shortly after, having been a complete failure in the end.
Madara's only visible eye narrowed. Without further ado, he descended down on earth, right between the unconscious forms of Killer Bee and his brother A. Ah, Killer Bee… A formidable foe, a pity he'd proven himself just as useless in battle as the Kyuubi host, with all that pent up anger of his and aggression… Really, these lowly beings were so pitiful in all their inhuman glory.
For a few more seconds, Madara stared at Killer Bee, before moving past him, thinking he'd extract the eight-tailed beast a bit later. After all, he had all the time in the world and Kyuubi, with the host gone, was more important. And Sasuke still sat over the body, guarding it, maybe.
Funny that he'd appreciate his worth now, after killing him.
Actually, funny that he'd not moved since a while… Almost a minute, actually… Actually…
There was still some residual life in Naruto.
Madara's body halted.
Life… In that boy? With no heart? He should have died by now, suffocated in the least because of his obstinacy and refusal to accept own fate. A foolish thing on his part, but how come he was still alive? He shouldn't be, not unless-
Madara scoffed and walked over to the pair, stopping only once he had a good look on Sasuke's face.
"Sasuke, what are you doing," he hissed, noting the activated Sharingan, the intent look in his face, and the host's almost dead eyes as if frozen mid-way through to closing completely and-the deduction came to him rather quickly, informing him of the reality being that, committing forever and ever to the dementia, Sasuke had entered the dying Naruto's mind.
That fool.
"What are you doing? Sasuke, that will not save him, he is dead already. You're postponing the inevitable," he spoke, calm, cool and collected still even despite the troublesome circumstances. Sasuke could hear him, he knew, and it was obvious he wouldn't respond… But this was getting annoying.
He put a hand on the Uchiha's shoulder.
"Sasuke, cease it at once. There's nothing you can do that would save him. Uzumaki Naruto as you once knew him is dead. He has died. By your hand."
A twitch. Wha-?
Naruto's finger twitched.
What…? Madara's eyes moved to rest on the finger, narrowing in an unspoken suspicion, pondering if he was hallucinating or the boy really had shown signs of life.
Impossible. He was dead. Truly dead. Not even Kyuubi could-
Wai-
The wound on his chest knitting together faster than Madara's mind could process.
The blood suddenly flowing through his veins as vivaciously as the day he'd been born.
The body coming to life the same way as every time he'd fallen asleep and then woken up.
"Impossible-!"
A sudden explosion of force.
A wavelength of determination, then the insane amounts of chakra spilling from Naruto's body, knocking Sasuke over, forcing Madara's body to step back.
And Naruto was standing up, the hole on his chest gone, the eyes frog and fox-like, tinted orange and golden, clothing and hair sticking to him, blood splatter all about.
From the ground, Sasuke called, weak and almost dying, barely enough strength in him to speak up, but the force behind his words was all the more present.
"Remember our deal, Naruto… Now go do it."
Naruto's eyes widened.
Madara's narrowed.
Foolish… "Come at me, Uzumaki Naruto. With all you've got."
Barely the sentence had finished, and a bright yellow flash was charging at him.
Why.
Why did Madara think that-
Suddenly, as if-
-that he could lose.
Sasuke, what happened in Naruto's mind?
(~SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~)
The Parade was over.
The so-called Parade, in reality Charade, had come to its end.
Alright, Kakashi was being a tad too harsh on the folks, mostly when the dialogues, as the elders had called them, otherwise incapable of referring to them in anything but a highly melodramatic way that called for a sense of urgency, had gone truly well, but that wasn't really the point, was it?
Cookie points evenly redistributed, Kakashi still thought there had been no need at all for the peace talks – yes, peace talks, a phrase he rather much preferred; only the incessant pressure put on Naruto's shoulders and the yammering about how he could not meet the Kazekage because of some political status and the upholding of his law and dignity had eventually forced Naruto to yield in and call for the "dialogues", caving into their demands and doing mostly the standing and smiling pretty part. Only, to their dismay, their beloved Hokage had after a few days of patiently awaiting the arrival of his friend lost patience and ordered to hurry up the preparations, eventually sending Gaara the invitation himself with a few notes how the waiting should be reduced to but a bare week.
Ha, he still planned on congratulating Naruto on that little stunt, but their Hokage had been – as per usual – busy with catering to Sasuke's needs and barely showing at all since the delegation had left, so the chances of speaking to him directly these days had slowly turned essentially zero.
Kakashi pondered when that would stop. Maybe a few more days? Well, weren't four days already enough?
He sighed and leaned against the wall, surveying the people passing by on the street.
No, apparently not.
Four days, four weeks… Nothing would help. Hm, this had gone on for too long.
Way too long…
"Sakura, it's convenient of you to show up just here."
Behind him the shifting of shadows until Sakura emerged from the dark alleyway, a deeply troubled look on her face. "Kakashi-sensei, have you seen Neji?"
Kakashi's brows rose. "Neji?" Well, that was a surprise… He'd been pegging her question to be something along the lines of "tell us the truth" or anything that expectant, not this… Normal. Although…
"Well," he started, taking his time, sensing, despite the ridiculously simple quality of the question, the presence of something greater behind it. "No, not for a while. I knew he was around to see the delegation off, but that's it."
Worry creased her eyebrows. "I see…"
She should have been in the hospital, working as per usual, teaching basic healing jutsu or doing classes with their king, not looking for a conveniently male young ninja around her age with no attachments and with no real deeper relation with her.
Suspicious, indeed.
"Did anything happen?"
"No, I…" A frown. "Kakashi-sensei, I think we should exchange information now." Similarly as he, she leaned against the wall right next to him.
Kakashi looked at her from the corner of his eyes; he knew her well enough to understand she wouldn't be saying it unless she had something valuable to share, and thus it was not a matter of trust, but acknowledging the facts. Thinking to stop being so secretive for once, he said: "What do you propose?"
"We need to join forces. This is no longer a petty task. It's crucial that we cooperate in solving this mystery. You and we and all the other jounin." Absently, she looked at the people on the street, walking by in all their blissful ignorance. But here and there, a thoughtful face showed, prompting Kakashi to believe it had begun.
It was starting.
The end to this.
"I'm listening."
"I believe Neji has successfully found out what is between Naruto and Sasuke."
A startled look. Kakashi stared. "You have my full attention, Sakura."
She nodded. "I tell you what we've managed to find out. In turn, you tell us what you know and help us find Neji… Neji… He… He hasn't appeared in four days."
"And you think those two are connected," he commented, getting another short nod in response.
"Yes… He went to see… the message was that only special eyes could see it… His ocular jutsu would have uncovered it then, but how come… How come he's not shown? Not ever since… Four days now…" She paused. Kakashi waited. She looked up. Kakashi wished he could see in her mind. "Kakashi-sensei… Do you think…? Do you think that Naruto would… That in order to keep his secret, he'd go as far as to…?"
Kakashi pushed himself off the wall and walked around her, until the alley before welcomed him with its impenetrable darkness slightly reminiscent of his recent findings, and Sakura's body stood by his side.
"Let's go. You'll tell me the story on the way."
"Where?" she asked just as she joined him.
"Sakura, how many jounin do you think we're talking about here?"
He stepped on, Sakura in tow, a questioning look in her eyes.
Kakashi couldn't help it; he smiled, the sign of marveling at her ever-present child-like naivety. "Let's say we're talking hundreds."
She stopped.
Kakashi let out a hearty smile, hand slung around her shoulders, pulling her along. "And let's say that not even Shikamaru knows about that. Now, how about you start? So what were you saying…? Ah, right. Neji found out. How?"
A moment later, just as the darkness of the alley embraced them, Sakura launched into an explanation, the solitude its parting and greeting gift, allowing them to fully indulge each other in controversial talks of the lowered inhibitions and the putrid secret of Naruto and Sasuke.
If only, however, if only Kakashi had known what the young woman's words would bring.
(~SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~)
Despite its size, hiding something in Konoha could be an issue, mostly if the person hoping to commit to such an act was of a high ranking position, wherein all secrets, even if taken for granted, were slightly bigger than the man in possession himself and keeping them became a problem of power control and relinquishing control.
The Danzo era had died along with the old man, ensuring the questionable pure intentions of all existing parties, Naruto himself all inclusive.
But referring back to the part above, even the Hokage's secret, the bigger the worse, would at one point or another stop being one. The walls of the secrecy would be breached, curious eyes peeking through the cracks, unseeing and seeing, noticing much more than the figurative inch-wide crack in the walls should have allowed.
Thus, it was no wonder that after six weeks, people finally started looking.
With looking came seeing, with seeing came the confrontation, with confrontation – to delusion and confusion, consideration and repentance, prodding and poking, alluding to and referring, inspecting and hating, not comprehending and prying open, to the eventual state of recognition and understand, the reality of finally using the eyes, the ears, all five senses, until all five combined created the sixth.
That was how the people of Konoha started the revolt of comprehension.
How it came to be that from one day to another, the gossip spread until the unprecedented moment of children talking to one another about Them.
Always together.
Wherever Hokage-sama went, so did he. Uchiha Sasuke.
People avoided Sasuke because, as some claimed, they were afraid of butting into his affairs, or maybe of getting that icy glare in turn for daring to speak to their beloved Hokage, but in reality they were simply watching.
Because the love of their current Hokage had taught them to see.
Because his pain, inadvertently caused by them and no-one else, had taught them a great deal about reading underneath the underneath, about the soul and the mind and the heart of every being around.
It was no wonder then they'd kept to themselves the entire time, not ignorance but knowledge garnering them the reputation of too obediently following each word and command – and it wasn't that under other circumstances they would have rebelled a long time ago, but that now – now they had to.
Obey. With love. And passion.
And a hidden agenda.
To protect their Hokage, if necessary, from Uchiha Sasuke.
Because they saw how Uchiha Sasuke looked at him.
They saw the raw lust, the waves of love and the poisonous touch of jealousy whenever their Hokage was approached, whenever a pair of eyes fell on him, whenever a touch grazed him, a voice echoed – called to him, whenever left alone, for even the devil slept, their Hokage interacted with others.
They saw the tailing, the following and stalking, the incessant and immaculate puppy love.
Love.
Still love.
But love, dear friends, love hurt the most.
More than war, more than death, more than loss.
Naruto and Sasuke, stood side by side, would walk down the village, touring it on every day basis, a few hours lost this way, and Sasuke would be the shadow, the guardian behind him, before him, next to him by both sides, and above – the sun, and under – the ground. He'd encompass himself in all around, filling it with his keen, watchful sense of possession, obsession, regression and depression.
And whenever an evil eye scolded the man for it, reproachfully glaring daggers, Naruto would turn around and chastise.
One, two, three people.
The entire village.
No-one to touch Naruto on the behalf and command of Uchiha Sasuke.
No-one to touch Sasuke on the request and demand of Uzumaki Naruto.
And one day, people snapped.
Keeping a secret was straining, painful, slips were guaranteed, but they were smarter than the two, they understood secrecy.
Slowly they gathered, first in a groups of two to three people, growing, like the impending doom, to vast and sheer numbers, until, one late evening, during the era of eternal peace eternally cursed, Kakashi found himself in a great tower with two hundred pairs of eyes staring down at him as he, word to word, retold the tell-tale of Sakura's, the story which left a bitter taste on his mouth and the unquenchable thirst for more in his mind.
That was how, that day – because in that ever-peaceful time, right after the delegation there weren't many job offers and Naruto had been far too busy catering to the needs of his companion, too busy, in fact, to realize that whole of his jounin had not been assigned a mission in days –, all down to one gathered in the most conspicuous and yet unsearched place, on even grounds, disrespecting all differences, ignoring all tiffs of the past and acknowledging only one thing of importance.
"Hyuuga Neji must be found."
Kakashi looked towards the jounin and nodded.
Another spoke. "Frankly, I don't believe that Hokage-sama would just slaughter his friend, even if it concerns this."
"Agreed. So he must be elsewhere. Hmm… Hyuuga-sama, do you suspect a place?"
Hinata's father thought for a moment. "Difficult to say. It's possible Neji may have simply… Hidden? No. I have no idea. But I also doubt Hokage-sama would have him murdered in cold blood simply for the reason of keeping his secret."
"So it's settled then." The speaker paused. Kakashi's eyes lazily landed on him. "We must find him."
Consensus.
"Nara-san, asking your son would be a loss of time then?"
"No doubt. The matter's gotten very troublesome," said the man, the trademark expression present even in his speech. "To think this started as a small gathering just about two years ago… And now this. Tsunade-sama, couldn't you appeal to Hokage-sama?"
All eyes landed on Tsunade. Seldom did the woman ever speak, for somehow reserved she seemed in the matters of her adopted son. Even now she as lifted her head, acknowledging their inquiry, did Kakashi see the hesitation carved into her deceitfully young face. She wouldn't help.
Rather, she cannot.
"I've tried… And failed. Each and every time. Naruto refuses to see our point of view. He claims he has it all under control, but it's been getting worse lately… Unfortunately, I see no other way but to actually look for Neji and see what he found out, as Naruto and Shikamaru won't say a word… And least of all Sasuke."
Sasuke… Almost like a curse word, noted Kakashi in his mind.
How strange… And just years ago, they'd still glorified the name. Now they detested it. Like they had, once upon a time, detested the Uzumaki.
All lapsed into silence.
All thinking, pondering it over.
Finding Neji would be tough, as even Naruto had his ways of hiding things from them, given how little they still knew even despite their ever-growing numbers, and if Neji had left on his own accord, hidden in a place elsewhere and safe to mull it over… Kakashi didn't want to dwell too hard on it.
Was it truly that much of a horrific thing? Shikamaru, from Chouji's tale retold by Sakura, had sounded despaired and on the brink of something and even his father had looked affected upon hearing the story.
So many people, so many lives affected this deeply by a mere secret…
Whatever it was, the revelation would never remain just that.
Kakashi feared to think what the mass would do once the beans were spilled.
Out of the blue, a young, shivery voice he'd never heard before spoke.
"Um, since we're talking about missing persons and all… Has it occurred to any of you that Iruka-senpai should be found, too? I mean, hasn't he been missing for a while now? And wasn't he, like… Didn't Hokage-sama regard him a brother?"
Huh.
Iruka… Sent off on a mission ages ago, never come back… On a mission. That one, an average chuunin no less, a mission on his own… Pondered the matter over they had, but with no signs of him and with Naruto's claims of corresponding with him on weekly basis, they couldn't even denounce him a Konoha nin.
Nothing to be done.
"Another matter related," spoke Kakashi. He nodded in the young man's direction. "You're right, Naruto and Iruka did regard each other as brothers… You weren't here then, but shortly after Iruka disappeared from the face of the earth, we reached the logical conclusion of Naruto removing him as a liability to him, possibly on Sasuke's request as I still can't imagine Naruto willingly and purposefully severing his bond with Iruka."
"Indeed," spoke another unfamiliar face, a freshly recruited ANBU working directly under Naruto. "It's highly likely Uchiha-san would have done that, he appears highly resentful of any obstacle in his way. I know Hokage-sama and Iruka-san were close, particularly so, so this theory would make sense."
Kakashi listened just idly to the consequent conversion during which tons of guesses at the truth were made, none even remotely close to the truth, before the conversation died and silence welcomed them all. After a while, he coughed, getting everyone's attention and – well, they were hoping for more from the proclaimed genius, but none of that for now, unfortunately.
"Seeing as we've all agreed the information shared to be of high importance, I say it's time then they we let the rookie nine in. After all, haven't we spent enough time isolating them from us simply because of their bonds with Naruto?"
A stupid thing, too, but he'd been greatly outnumbered when arguing the stupidity of that decision, resulting in the rookie nine never having the faintest idea about this.
No matter.
Even if the current gathering had been watching closely for years, in a few days the rookie nine had found out more than they had in the years. To Kakashi, that clearly showed their value.
Still, folks were hesitating a tad too much for his liking.
And so, Kakashi pressed on. "They will not be compromised. Our meetings will not be compromised. Tenten and Lee know Neji better than anyone else. If there's anyone who could find Neji, then it's them. Chouji's presence here is of essence to us. His bond to Shikamaru is our strong point now as he knows Shikamaru inside out. I believe it'd make sense that Shikamaru had left behind many more clues than we're currently aware of. And there's the possibility of Chouji being the key to solving them all."
Someone laughed. "If you're going to address the individual worth of each, I say you don't stop at the Akimichi boy."
"If you believe the value to lay in one, I say your place is not here," said Kakashi back, ignoring the man's bewildered look and the general deep murmur going through the crowd. "I gave you examples. However you interpret them, that's up to you. I was trying to remind you of why we'd first gathered years ago and why he'd not allowed them to join us; idiotically, we'd believed them to disrupt our ranks and not approach the problem objectively as was imperative to us, but their closeness to Naruto and Sasuke best not be undermined, lest we're to face a fate similar to the one of theirs just weeks prior to this meeting; blindness. We need them precisely because of their bond, precisely because of how intricately they've been involved in the matter since the very beginning even without their utmost knowledge. And if you think about it… This avalanche started, if I recall correctly, about three weeks when Sakura finally realized there was something amiss… Like a disease, it spread and sparked a chain of events…"
He trailed off to take a breath, for talking this much was a hindrance to breathing, but no-one dared take advantage of it, letting Kakashi, for all he cared, finish his thoughts.
"Sasuke's hold on Naruto tightened because other than stalk Naruto, he also spies on everyone else, so he knew they were waking up from the stupor, knew what was happening… His distress, the direct result of that, caused Naruto to become more reclusive and seek Gaara's presence sooner than planned, hence him writing him a letter and requesting to hold the dialogues in a week rather than a month. And the dialogues that came too soon, bringing along the only other person alive that's capable of understanding Naruto's feelings, and also a threat to Sasuke. Hence him attacking the Kazekage, hence the little show Tsunade-sama told us about. This chain reaction had shocked us all, but we must see it now… It all coincides… The chain reaction that eventually forced even Shikamaru to come out of his hiding and share this portion of truth with us… The truth we understand way better than anyone else, that the end is not merely nigh, but already standing behind our front door, only one step and a thin wooden wall separating it from us."
No more need to talk.
No more speaking.
Not on his part, anyway.
The gathering understood. It hated to be reprimanded for ignorance, hated to be reminded of truth, but he'd done the good thing. Really, no more games…
Kakashi looked to Yamato be his side, exchanging a brief, knowing look, before Yamato turned on his heels and stalked off to fetch Sakura and the lot.
In silence they waited.
Kakashi found himself zoning out, thinking back to the times when he'd read his beloved book in privacy occasionally only to be disturbed by the exuberant Naruto jumping to and fro about this and that, joyful as ever and filling the otherwise plain day with life.
Hah… I miss those times…
The lot arrived.
Adults were interesting beings; as foolishly drunk on their supposed maturity as they could be, at times they acted the appropriate age and knowledge level, like now; instead of stupidly asking about what was going on and looking indignant or perturbed, the proclaimed rookie nine took their places right opposite Kakashi, next to Kurenai smiling softly at them, knowing all questions would be answered, all expectations met, all perfectly explained.
And it was Tsunade who spoke this time, assuming the role of a leader that suited her the best out of everyone present, and none dared oppose her or claim the right of speech, but not out of fear of her, but respect – and the reality of her really being a fearsome and strong woman.
She made her way to the center of the room and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"This is not the time to be explaining trivial matters so refer to Kakashi and Kurenai, please, with questions about this particular gathering after it's over. But you do deserve to know what we've found out in the past years… To sum it up, nothing much. We know that once a week, Sasuke spends the night in his old home in the Uchiha district and that otherwise he has a room next to Naruto's in his private quarters. We also know, even if ANBU-san will never confirm it directly, that Sasuke usually disregards that room and stays directly with Naruto. We know that essentially they are together twenty-four-seven, that Naruto never spends more than two hours in the company of anyone but Sasuke and that Sasuke never speaks to anyone at all, the only exception to that rule being that one day in week where both are left alone for about twelve hours. We know that in the past two weeks, there have been numerous assassination attempts on Naruto's life and that one such group was dispatched even the last night. Taken care of, naturally," she added, noting their distressed looks.
But didn't linger on them for too long.
"We're now sure there's someone controlling them and they are under a jutsu that renders them incapable of disobeying commands. It makes them puppets that do not show emotion, do not react to pain and have enough power to cease some disarray. We're also sure they don't really know what they're doing. They appear to be… monitored, put under full control so all coherent thought is deleted from their minds, you could say, making them very resilient against any mental attacks and prone to attacking anything or anyone that moves, as proven by our past investigation. We do not know where their base is and have been unable to track them down as there is no actual pattern to when their appear, given on some nights they don't come even if the defenses are low, and on some they do. Disorganized, maybe. Shikamaru suspected the last time we met that they were sent to distract us, decoys, but so far we have been unable to identify what should we be distracted from. The only thing that comes to our mind is Naruto and protecting him, but he is well protected, relatively… Hm. And if they are just distractions, then we wonder who in their right mind would sacrifice their lives this easily… We are also certain…"
There she paused.
Kakashi knew what was going to come next. In a way, he didn't want to stand around and see their reactions. In a way, he had no other choice.
"That the jutsu in question is, in fact, an ocular jutsu, and that their leader is actually among our ranks. In fact, we are certain they're being controlled from within our village and that the perpetrator is here even now, positioned very close to Naruto, close enough to know of his schedule, know when the guards shift, know when… Know all inside-out. It is also easily estimated thus, that the ocular jutsu, the only one so far capable of putting someone under that strong of a mind-controlling jutsu, is-,"-someone took in a sharp intake of breath, someone swallowed hard, someone choked on their breath, someone, by all standards, just died a little inside,-"-Sharin-"
"No." Sakura gritted her teeth. "Sasuke would never betray Naruto. He'd never put Naruto's life in danger."
Tsunade looked like she'd been waiting for that answer; she leveled Sakura a cool, hard stare and lowered her voice to an unpleasant, low tone. "Can you for certain make such a claim, even knowing all this?"
For once, Sakura fought the logic. "Can you for certain claim he'd betray Naruto, knowing Sasuke desperately needs him so?"
"We can't know if that's true."
"Regardless," she protested. "Are you making these claims based on actual evidence or just making the easiest and most convenient available conclusion there is? Did you even think for a moment that Sasuke betraying Naruto would make as much sense as Naruto releasing the Kyuubi come tomorrow and wiping Konoha out?"
Tsunade sighed, and subsequently pursed her lips into a thin line. "True enough; the solution is, perhaps, the most convenient one, as an ocular jutsu being the cause was what came to our minds as first. Naturally, there are other possibilities, but they're all essentially the same, revolving basically around a strong ninjutsu and a ninja powerful enough to use it for such warped purposes. But the other part you can't simply deny, Sakura. No-one can. Because it's also convenient how the assailants attack only the posts now properly secured, how the guards happen to be changing shifts just then, how, in many cases, no-one is really there and how those details are known only to a few people; Shikamaru, who makes the changes, Naruto, who approves of them, a few other jounin who've been cooperating with Shikamaru on the issue for a while now, including myself and, of course Sasuke. I know that Shikamaru won't budge at all, he still told us one thing; Naruto tells Sasuke everything. Everything. And what he doesn't tell Sasuke, Sasuke finds out himself. Sasuke knows our village inside out. So yes… Maybe it's a convenient accusation on our side and I do admit it wouldn't make that much sense, given how mad protective Sasuke is over Naruto, but do we even know his reasons? We don't and until we do, he can't for sure claim innocence and can't disregard him as a suspect… As the only suspect we have so far."
No-one objected.
Yet Kakashi knew, despite the harshness of her words, that out everyone present, Tsunade yearned the most for Sasuke's innocence – because then her beloved otouto would be spared the pain of betrayal.
Tsunade's mask cracked, showing the fatigue beneath. "Sakura… There's more… Of course, it doesn't have to be Sasuke… But we need to consider that as a possibility. No-one will budge; Sasuke, Naruto and Shikamaru are the only people who know the truth and Shikamaru couldn't tell us even if he wanted, given the seal. Speaking to Sasuke would be useless and these days Sasuke won't leave Naruto's side, so… At the moment, we can only hope to find Neji and hope that whatever he knows he will share."
"Tsunade-sama." A man on the far end of the room spoke and Tsunade's gaze hardened.
"The most stressing news of the evening, however, are that they're been fewer attacks than before, as if the mastermind behind the attacks was no longer interested in keeping us distracted. Our analysts suspect the attacks are to stop altogether sometime next week with the way they have been paced as of lately, meaning that… Shikamaru's concerns are well-placed. The end is nigh."
The end of the attacks. And after them, what came… Maybe they'd strengthen, enforce, return with more man-power and attack vigilantly their borders, truly intent now upon taking Naruto's life, yet with how little care and thought had been put in them, there was no doubt the analysts were right; the end was nigh.
Kakashi wasn't sure he wanted to know what would come next, but he knew they had to find out before reaching the point of no-return.
Before it was too late…
No longer did any of the newcomers raise a protest afterwards, leaving the gathering to proceed as usually, and only many long minutes later, just as the people had immersed themselves in the guesses of what the end really was and what did it point to, did Ino tiptoe towards him, standing up on her toes, prompting Kakashi to lean closer as in a rueful, conceding tone, she said: "You got the help of a few reliable people, eh? A few my ass."
And despite the gravity of the situation – and the talks of pointed fingers and condemnation in the background – Kakashi couldn't help but laugh.
"What can I say, the clique sort of expanded overnight."
(~SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~)
Once upon a time, NUMBER 16 had had an identity, but that was before he arrived and enslaved him in these chains of make-believe and some twisted plans.
He arrived and put him under that jutsu, showing him a world barren that was 16's mind, stealing all the trees, flowers, all the clouds above away, stealing the light and the air and the sound, until with his mind this emptied of all contents, 16 could only obey his appointed master's commands.
He was just a number now. Sixteen. With no recollection of his past life, of his bright future, only knowing one fact; once upon a time, he'd had an identity. His own. But like everyone else he had nothing now, stripped off his privileges and dignity, dressed in dark, uncomfortable clothing, fed pills that intensified his powers, enhanced his senses, and left him with excruciating cramps in his stomach as for months it'd not seen any food at all, barely coming in touch with water.
But there was another thing he knew, from his master's resentful talking.
That apparently, once upon a time, he and the other numbers had been scum. Thieves and murderers, the kinds of people, he said, wouldn't be missed in this peaceful world.
And NUMBER 16 have no other choice but to listen, incapable of expressing comprehension or showing serenity because wasn't that what he was supposed to be feeling? Knowing that at last he'd been given a true purpose in life, which was to serve his master…
But NUMBER 16 did not feel a thing.
No pain.
No love.
No hate.
No grief or petulance.
He might as well have been a shell, or an empty box on a shelf, waiting for the moment someone filled him.
Master did that, filled him with the purpose; to kill.
And 16 did not understand the implications of that order, how killing meant he was going back to being scum and how only his lack of mind prevented him from figuring out the contradiction.
Only one day, while standing guard and waiting patiently for his master to return, did he feel.
Because in stupidity, in the master's forgetfulness and consequent lack of order to take the special pills, 16 had not felt the need to take them at all, until a few days later, the night of his coming of age – when he was to go and rekindle his destiny, whatever the word meant – he awoke.
And when given that one simple order, NUMBER 16 did not immediately obey.
Because he felt.
"Kill Uzumaki Naruto, understood," he replied in a voice devoid of emotion, turning around-suddenly stopping, a twitch going through his body, a shudder down his spine, a recognition of sorts in his eyes, before he said it-and he said it as he did not understand at all what he was he saying and that he had, in fact, for those few pathetic seconds, freed himself from the man's firm hold – and been free. "Killing that nasty Kyuubi brat, eh? Say, he's the Hokage now. How strange they'd pick a monster to do that job. Might as well let it be and let 'em do the job, no? Kill their own monster."
He didn't feel pain.
He only felt the blade enter his body, felt it impact, first, brush past the katana strapped to his back, felt it enter his body, pushing past the tissue and lodging itself next to his left kidney.
Then it was removed and – NUMBER 16 did not feel – but he let out that gasp.
Then master's voice, rippling with hate, echoed around. "I do not tolerate disobedience."
When NUMBER 16 left the base, he still did not feel a thing.
When he fought, he still did not feel a thing.
When hit numerous times, still nothing.
And when that cool, sharp blade caressed his throat with lethal grace-
-he felt.
For the first time in months ever since losing his identity, NUMBER 16, felt.
He felt pain. And fear. For a few, short seconds. He acknowledged and felt, aware of all, with memories rushing back to him at once.
And he hoped to the beings above, if they ever existed, that they'd find out.
What the foul man was doing to their Hokage behind their backs.
Before it was too late.
And then NUMBER 16 died.
But he died with his identity fully restored.
Died a free man once more.
(~SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~)
"So, here's the deal… Six days since Neji's disappeared. Awesome. Tenten and Lee haven't shown in two, looking for him outside Konoha while the Hyuugas are trying to keep their marbles and not, you know, slaughter everyone in a mad search for Neji. The whole pillage and plunder deal kind of thing. Not saying it wouldn't be fun, you know? Just imagine both branches and their billowing clothes and white eyes with those veins bulging around them and-sort of awesome. Just, don't fancy dying, so, props to them for not losing it, okay?"
Sakura snickered. "Pregnancy's made you very talkative, Ino."
"Oh, shut up."
Well, at least some amusement… Sakura made a grimace and walked.
Ino was wrong about one thing; not two, but almost three days had passed since Lee and Tenten had run to find Neji. Oddly enough, right before leaving they'd reported to Naruto, requesting, quite boldly, to go searching for their lost teammate, and apparently Naruto had looked positively shocked about Neji's disappearance, before ushered to shut up by one warning look from Sasuke and permitting them to go. And take as much time off as necessary.
Maybe he knew they wouldn't be coming back? … Because he'd buried Neji's body somewhere and-okay, no. That stupid paranoid jounin from a few nights back had infected her with his talks of impossible conspiracies and flying objects or whatever.
Sakura shook it off and focused on other matters.
But whatever she did, her mind, after a few moments of pregnant silence, waddled back to Naruto. And Sasuke.
"Sasuke… could you be really… trying to kill Naruto?"
Out loud though she'd spoken, Ino said not a word, merely accompanying her and pretending to be basking in the last sunlight of the day.
Sakura truly appreciated the woman at times like this.
Knowing she'd not be interrupted, knowing she could talk relatively freely of her utmost fears, she relaxed and launched into the rant of why and what, of ifs and buts, of pity and regret. Of sense and sensibility.
A girl from Sunagakure had left her a small note at the outpost at the gate while passing by, a girl Sakura had met on a mission to Sand two years ago and had befriended with as much ease as if a Naruto-possessed-clone, and only because the guards knew of her exploits with the girl did they pretend to be a post office for a few hours, knowing she'd come get it as soon as possible and pick up the words of love written in a remarkably flower-like style.
Sweet of them… But transparent. They'd been there too. Been there, seen her despair… Huh… She smiled to herself and looked towards the gate and the two guards in a small, inconspicuous shack nearby, thinking them to be tapping their fingers impatiently against the wooden table as they awaited her arrival, but once more she dismissed the stray thoughts, fully aware of how easily disrupted from their usual pattern her thoughts were these days.
No progress, no nothing, no… no news and Neji was gone and-how come she'd never asked about Iruka? Had someone, too, placed them under a jutsu as in to forbid them from ever acknowledging Iruka-sensei's disappearance? And why, why in the… holy… Why would Naruto let him go?
Suppressing the irritable sigh from entering the surrounding air, she pressed on, quickening her pace and almost marching to the outpost, her pink hair dimmed in color following in plight. Ino cursed under her breath before catching up to her and shooting her a few annoyed looks which Sakura opted to ignore as she finally reached the place.
The chuunin guarding it smiled slyly and, head propped on the hand, handed her the letter. "Here you go, Sakura-san. Say, Sakura-san… How about a date?"
Sakura took the letter and nodded. "Sure. Thank you."
The chuunin and his companion laughed. "See? I told you she was out of it."
Ino smiled sweetly. "Aw, not that out of it, you know? Just a bit, hm, preoccupied? She'll get it in a few."
Sakura licked her lower lip-
Wait.
… Oh no.
Oh, no. You don't.
A saccharine smile was shot in the chuunin's direction. "Date? Aw, thank you. Such a wonderful idea. I am feeling rather hungry, now that you mention it, so how about we go now? You're paying, right? Oh, Ino! That reminds me~, how about our date, hm? We so need to go out and catch up and all that. Like, all of us. One big date. All seven of us. Including Chouji."
The Chuunin lifted his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, hey, chill, I was just kidding. Besides, I'm sort of glad you're not as violent as usually, otherwise I'd have already been-"
And then he was staring at his own round bottom, slammed against the wall, upside down with the ankles comically by his head, the eyes wide, absent, probably trying to remember when exactly he'd been hit.
Sakura's smile widened, her fist still erected in the air, a vein throbbing threateningly on her temple. "Ha-ha. You're so funny, I actually forgot to laugh, I was so mesmerized by your amazing sense for humor. Oh, do excuse me, I need to go compose myself and laugh elsewhere because I'll be going in hysterics. Ha-ha-ha. Get it? Get it?"
The other chuunin laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, he gets it, alright, just give him a few because he really does need to compose himself."
Sakura's hand fell by her side and she glared nastily at both men in turns, before turning on her heels and turning to Ino-whose expression could have been described only as deadpan.
Sakura stared. "What? He deserved it." Nose high up in the air, she strutted a bit further from the crime scene, Ino stepping after her only after releasing the mandatory sigh of resignation.
There, not that far away from the gate, Sakura opened her letter and started reading. The girl was a coquettish, vivacious one, as obvious from how she formulated all her sentences whether those written or spoken, but the change was a good one in comparison to the gloomy land of Konoha she'd realized she was living in just weeks ago.
And, really… The letter… She groaned.
Ino smiled apologetically. "Sakura, don't let the man's words get to you."
"Ah… I was so looking forward to the letter, too, but now I can't focus. It is true that I am losing my steam… Ah." Another groan accompanied the previous one and disregarding her surroundings, placated by circumstances, Sakura leaned against the great brick wall circling their beloved village and tried really, really hard not to slide down it and curl into a fatal position.
"Sakura… It's going to be alright," cooed Ino, her hand comfortably resting upon Sakura's shoulder.
"Yes, I know… I know… I… I do… I wish Neji came back. And Tenten. And Lee. And… I wish Naruto came back. And Sasuke. And Naruto and Sasuke… And… And just team seven. I… I want team seven back… I want them back…"
The ground below, such a sad, empty sight.
And an adult woman whining. Must have looked pathetic even to Ino but Sakura couldn't snap out of it within moments, suspecting doing so would only postpone the inevitable and at least momentarily caving into the desire to throw a hissy fit would sate most urges to cry and die.
Yes, yes… This was safe. And good.
And good.
She lifted her gaze and stared off into distance.
Off-handed, the comment to follow. "It's turning dark. The night's coming."
"Huh… A harbinger of doom, eh?" Ino leaned against the wall right next to her. Their sides brushed, the warmth of them all just Ino, because right now Sakura considered herself a cold, unfeeling being incapable of showing the gratitude she truly felt, the relief that Ino was there, for her, and the horror – that there was no solution.
There never would be a solution.
And if they were right – and she prayed to gods they weren't – Naruto's heart would shatter in pieces.
If they were right about the betrayal, then Naruto… Naruto would…
He'd die.
She stared off into the distance, seeing only the outlines of the trees having already given into the blanket of night to lay them to sleep.
How she envied them. So… So much. So much.
It hurt.
"A foreshadowing," add Ino after a while, maybe sensing her thoughts, but speaking no more after that, both of them lapsing into comfortable silence occasionally interrupted only by the soft cussing coming from the outpost as the chuunin came back to his senses and, ashamed, attempted to put the show of absolute lack of power behind him.
And Sakura just stared.
Up ahead, the forests were fast asleep. Who cared that at least one additional hour before the arrival of the moon? Who cared at all. Such trivial matters. And to think she actually wanted to invest time on those.
In – did the trees sleep?
Did the animals tuck each other to beds?
Did the grass tickle them under their feet?
Did the fur feel soft on touch for them?
Did they understand how much she envied them?
In the distance, the shadows loomed.
And one neared.
Huh.
She watched it with absent-minded interest, dispassionate still, as it neared them, not even caring it couldn't have been a tree as trees weren't shaped like humans and definitely did not take such long and heavy strides like humans did.
Barely she saw them at all, the two shapes moving side by side – running, in fact, their strangely synched breathing reaching ever her ears, the panting and heaving – all that obvious sighs of exhaustion-
Oh, maybe they were injured?
However terrible the thought, it soothed her to know she could take her mind of the recent findings, because work was good and keeping her hands busy was beautiful. Liberating, in fact.
A very de-stressing thing to do.
So she made that one step in their direction, maybe hoping to meet them mid-way and – grotesque, no doubt, the macabre of her thoughts as she prayed for heavy injuries, life-threatening ones, the gruesome and disgusting kind – they neared her again, their steps thundering (bad ninja, sure, because a good ninja doesn't let others become aware of their presence) about viciously, snapping at her conscious mind, bringing forth the worry-
-sparking something, too, and she saw them clearer now, the outlines of their figures, the clothing-the-everything-recognized it-
-and their voices-
"Sakura."
She tripped over her feet, fell forward-caught in time by-"Iruka-sensei. Neji. I-"-tears in her eyes-no. Fully aware now.
Yes, yes. So clear. The world.
Ugh, this clarity.
Worse than oblivion, worse than the act of taking one's life. Worse than-oh my god.
She shook. "Iruka-sensei. Iruka-sensei! Iruka-sensei. You're here you're herehere-Iruka-sensei." Such a child. At twenty-two burying her face in his chest and weeping.
Weeping. Crying. Tear-stained.
And for weeks – lie. A fat lie.
"Sakura… I'm here, don't worry. It's okay. It'll be alright."
For YEARS holding back, ignoring the subconscious mind telling her through dreams and simple mistakes of everyday life, such as repeatedly getting distracted by the sight of couples holding hands and cutting herself on paper, or waking up covered in cold sweat, or ignorant to the word love and bond because they cut deeply, but she saw him and he was the beacon of light she hadn't been aware of until now and he was that everything she could and would and wanted to and should should should should HAD TO-
Rely on.
Now.
Now… More than ever before.
Such a beautiful world it was now.
So simple and pure.
And Iruka-sensei holding her.
And crying. Liberated. At once.
"PLEASE!" She shoved him back, hands clasped around his shoulders, holding onto him firmly, strands of hair in messy ways stroking all of her face, wet from the tears, from the despair embodied. 'PLEASE! Please… save him… Please, save Naruto!"
Please…
Iruka's hand rested on the mop of her hair. "Don't worry, Sakura… I am back… To set things right."
"We are back," announced Neji and-such a compassionate man, no? For, too, placing that single hand of support, all she ever wanted, on her hand, intertwining their fingers and allowing her to relish in the timely warmth of his touch. "We know the truth. The entire truth. And we really are here to do just that."
"Set things right," echoed Ino.
Sakura chanted the words in her mind.
Vigorously, she nodded.
"Then do it."
(~SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~)
"It's a simple deal, really… What do you say, Naruto?"
"… Ah… Fine, Sasuke. Let's do it."
(~SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~)
Something hurt in his chest.
Neji knew. It was only a matter of time before everybody else found out, that much he knew.
But he knew not how he'd react to it, whatever he'd do once they all knocked on his front door and requested the explanation they undeservedly had been denied all this time.
Suddenly, Naruto knew he'd never exactly thought it through, never paid the thought enough heed to sacrifice a few moments of his time with Sasuke to reflect on the past with future combined, never known for a second that with the arrival of truth, he'd be rendered useless, sent back in time to relive the first years of his life when – lone and sole – he'd known nothing at all.
Only the hatred of the villagers.
But his friends wouldn't hate him for that, never for-for...
The pen in his hand broke in two uneven halves – stunned, he let it fall from his fingers and fall onto the ground.
Friends.
At twelve, finally he'd learned the meaning of those words, yet hadn't he discarded their sacred meaning just four years later? Ignored the friends of his, left their pious belief in his goodness to remain just that – a belief separated from truth by a great schism built between.
What exactly gave him the right to assume that still they were friends? Maybe their persistent seeking of truth as per claims of both Sasuke and Shikamaru, maybe because he'd witnessed their drive himself and seen the fire burn in their eyes, but he'd told them off, hadn't he? Said to wait, said that all in due time whilst thinking to himself the whole time that he didn't want them knowing.
So what right he had? To call them friends. To assume they'd care.
To assume that after all was over and the secret out in the open, they'd remain there, knowing he'd been a ruthless and cold bastard to them for years in row, not once caring to look over his shoulder to check if still they were following, simply taking it for granted. Simply telling himself the entire time – they'd wait and see. And be there.
So much delusion.
Such mad folly. Such demented, illogical thinking.
"Naruto, you need to stop sulking, you've been at it for hours. Let me in." An impatient knocking on his door.
He gritted his teeth.
Hate him, would they? Farfetched, the very idea, but far too possible to soothe his irrational, thoughts, to keep him sane.
But he didn't need them so that was alright, right, because he had Sasuke and haha oh gods that was so freaking awesome and funny and he totally didn't need anyone else but him no other friends no people just Sasuke and he'd be happy and all that and villagers boo and and andandand-
"NARUTO."
The desk broke – splintered.
Pieces of wood flying all around them.
A primal growl filtered in the room.
The door was kicked in. The hero rushed in. Ha-ha. How romantic of him, that knight in the armor on the horse with all that galloping and all that.
Ha-ha.
That was so hysterical.
So humorous!
Oh, that keen sense of humor! That glamour! Oh, the beauty of it!
"… Naruto… What the…"
Naruto whooped and whipped around, a Cheshire smile on his face. "Sasuke, I broke my pen~!"
Sasuke's eyes widened – behind him ANBU appeared but he ushered them away with a single motion of his hand-oh!
Naruto latched onto Sasuke, hands gripping his shirt. "Sasuke! You should become the Hokage~! Ne? Do it for me? Well, I mean, whatever, right? They listen to you anyway."
Tee-hee.
"What the… hell are you on? What's wrong with you?"
"Oh-nono! Don't change the topic. Be the Hokage?"
Sasuke gave him a frown. Boo! "No." Double boo!
Naruto pouted. "Why not?"
"Because-you're bleeding, for god's sake."
Naruto berated him with that finger erected in the air moving side to side. "Nuh-uh, Sasuke, that's not a reason, not at all."
Sasuke slapped the hand away-why?- and grabbed Naruto by the shoulders.
"You're bleeding from your chest."
"What?"
"How come you don't-shit."
Naruto blinked, flailing a bit as Sasuke's hand curled around his collar and dragged him to the couch where unceremoniously he landed and Sasuke sat on top of him, straddling him-it felt so very strange, made Naruto's head spin and-now that he thought about it, there was a dull ache in his chest.
Sasuke's fingers ghosted over his sides before pushing his clothing aside, untying and unfastening that seemingly simple yet actually complex layer of clothing that was the traditional Hokage robe.
His chest exposed, Sasuke drew in a sharp intake of breath and cursed loudly.
"It's bleeding. Bleeding."
Naruto smiled. "Is it?" What was?
He looked down, noting the small gaping wound right above the heart, the reddened circle much wider in diameter around it, inflamed and turning darker, the tissue eventually bursting open, blood pouring from it in a ticklish trickle of something warm cascading down his body.
Now that he thought about it, it did hurt.
Quite a lot, in fact. Quite… Tremendously, in fact. But how was-
Clarity.
"Naruto, you fool. What are you doing?"
Sasuke's eyes were-hysterical. And. Horrified. Deeply. It was carved there. In his wide, dark eyes. Everywhere, prodding at Naruto's mind, prompting him to snap out of it-to cease the insanity, to stop it to-
-see the light.
Clarity.
Clar-
He gasped.
Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. No. NoNO.
NO!
Sasuke's hand clamped around his mouth just as the blood-curling scream left his lips.
His insides were boiling. Muscles retracting. Excruciating. Body convulsing. All originating from his chest. Sending waves of pain embodied throughout his entire body.
Above him, Sasuke panicked. Laid down on him and Naruto dimly realized he couldn't have been trashing, not with the body firmly pressed against his, not with the other hand holding him down, but-
Sasuke whispering in his ear. "They didn't betray you. You love them. They love you. Naruto. Think about it. THINK." Realize it.
Myriads of flashes, myriads of them cursing him to damnation eternal, showing him sceneries of the past – hated and ignored, isolated with none to keep him company-oh god they did not deserve him but to die they did but to-
"NARUTO!"
-but to-to-
"Do you want to die? Naruto… No. No… Stop it. Stop thinking about it. Stop-"
Naruto looked at him.
His beautiful, perfect, Sasuke.
And his blue eyes said – I can't.
Sasuke cried out something and the hand from his mouth was removed-replaced by something else. Warm. Very warm.
Naruto shut his eyes.
Sasuke's other hand released him.
That much trust… Did he feel he'd not trash then, not fight it? The breaking. Of that stupid seal. And how it hurt.
Hurt.
But the trust… Explicit… Of course, expected no less from his Sasuke.
Only he had this much in him… No-one else.
Naruto rested.
A few hours later, drenched in cold sweat, covered in own blood – with Kyuubi's chakra already producing enough to replace the one lost – and with every cell inside his body aching, the aching reduced to numbness, the numbness making the body cease its shivering.
Sasuke pulled away.
The weight disappeared, a shuddering breath was taken and Naruto took in a sharp intake of breath that hit his lungs like blizzard. Tiredly, the eyes opened and-"Did you… just…?"
Sasuke scoffed. "Figures you'd think of that when you almost just died." A pause. "What were you thinking? Fool. You know the conditions. You set them, too, remember? You know what happens if you don't keep your end of the bargain."
"I…" Yeah. Death. Poetic. He gulped. "Neji knows."
"Yes, he does. And it means nothing. They will find out. That's all there is to it."
"… Sasuke, I don't want them knowing."
"… Hah." He laughed. "It's too late for that now. And it doesn't matter. Whether they know or not, it's not that big of a secret anyway. And maybe it's for the best."
"How?"
Once more, Naruto felt Sasuke's weight on top of him – the warning as his heart skipped a beat, surely to tell him one such thought and he'd die, right? … Right? – and the man's breath touched his face.
"Finally they will understand us. Don't you want that? Understanding, what you always strived for. At last they will understand you. Us. Naruto." Sasuke's hand cradled Naruto's, then placed it against own cheek. "Why we need each other, why they can't separate us… Why this is the way it's meant to be. Finally. It's what we've wanted for a while."
Naruto's eyes lazily found Sasuke's. "Did we really? Huh…" Transient, his smile. "Never knew you yearned for that too."
"You did. You just never looked."
"… Yeah. You're right. I should get back to work…"
"Idiot. No. Take a rest for a few days. They won't notice."
"They will, Sasuke, they'll make the connection."
"So?" Sasuke's voice turned raspy and husky. Naruto had to avert his eyes.
"Don't give me that so. I need to do it."
"And you need to do it looking like death had washed over? A great idea. Reckon they'll accuse me of torturing you when no-one's looking, right? No, thanks. You need rest. For a few days at least."
Naruto didn't object. Not any longer.
Not because he agreed for a change with the rationalized objection to his stubborn nature, but because he'd be with Sasuke – his Sasuke. As if they didn't already spend all the time together.
But that was a petty detail. Naruto didn't care.
As long as Sasuke was there, he was happy. Would be.
Happy.
"Alright… Fine… Fine…"
Fine, Sasuke.
(~SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~ SoleisSoul~)
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but the story idea is mine alone.
A/N: So far, I've received three anonymous reviews, which is sad because as they are anonymous, I can't reply to them :\ It's what I usually do, you know? But I decided to change that : ) Reply to them though I can't, I can still thank you guys and from now on, I will express gratitude in each and every following chapter.
So, to you anonymous reviewers, to you signed reviewers, thank you very much for sparing a few moments of your time to write a review. It means a lot to me, it's what keeps me going and it's what ensures the story's survival. Please, to you reading this, do review. You are welcome to give me a critique, argue with me about the plot, the progress and development, you're welcome to give me questions and express your opinions freely. As a proclaimed grown-up, for my ID surely does claim such an obscene atrocity, I can handle all. : )
Now, as for this chapter…
It's long. I actually cut it short, removed the last 4 000 words; they will appear in chapter seven. I did it because I realized I couldn't stop at that part and would need to whip out at least 3 000 more words to keep the consistency and flow of the story and not cut it mid-thought, and I didn't quite fancy the idea of a 20 000-word-long chapter, so you'll have to excuse me, I suppose. :\
Anyway. Lots of flashbacks. And things really did get complicated? In the teaser for this chapter, I mentioned an appearance of a weapon… Know who the weapon is? Yup, Iruka. Oh, boy… Has anyone of you ever wondered when that guy would make an appearance? I mean, come on… Iruka needs to be present in a Naruto fanfic ; ) That's a given he'd be there to watch over Naruto. And, oh boy, his appearance sure will result in many interesting scenarios…
And in the case of this chapter, the flashbacks weren't chronological, well… The last wasn't. The last scene was actually a flashback, a scene that took place shortly after Neji left, I just refused to place it in chronological order D: I thought it'd be best as the last scene. And not italized, since I wanted it to look… Fresh, not to emphasize the fact it happened in the past. You know? Anyhow… Cherry on top, anyone? So, any idea what happened to Naruto? I know, I do… Can you figure it out? No. Derp :B
Now, I truly do pity Sakura. See, I quite like her as a character as in Part II she finally got useful and grew a backbone – and a remarkably bold, vivacious personality which I love. But I torture her so… Ah, she really does handle it the hardest :\ Well, don't worry, nothing's as bad as meets the eye~! And in Soul II, well… Who says she'll spend it gripped by this heinous, repulsive fright? Not me. Uh-huh… c:
And see? Neji didn't die. Yay! Damn, the Hyuuga wouldn't go down easily, let me tell you that ; )
And I wrote this chapter in one day. Oh, boy xD That's 17 000 words in one day. Oh, boy, I am mental.
Also, did you recognize one very concrete scene? It appeared in chapter two, the very first scene depicted, but elaborated on now, added and completed at last, so finally you know how the fight had gone and, even, why exactly Sasuke had told Naruto he hated him… And you also know that whatever happened, happened in Naruto's mind. Literally.
And that in next chapter, you might just find out the truth.
Forgive any spelling/grammar mistakes. I'm so tired. x_x
In next chapter, the end starts.
Rating: PG-13 for themes, blood, swearwords (most of which have yet to make an appearance).
Summary: At twenty two, Naruto has achieved all; a Hokage at last, a man respected and loved, he rules his nation with compassion and understanding, bringing together lost families and friends, and disposing of those that dare oppose his peace. And Sasuke ever-so-faithfully stands by his side, an unchanging status for almost six years, and after these six years, people, villagers, their teachers and friends finally start to ask: "What is happening between Naruto and Sasuke?"
Setting: Six years after the Fourth Ninja War, so all ages have been changed accordingly. Naruto is the Hokage, but how exactly he achieved the status will be revealed step-by-step, along with many other details related to the "rookie nine" and all other characters.
Warning: There will be no OCs, only, perhaps, some OOCness which I'm partial to as anyone else, so that's excusable. Don't go around calling this yaoi, as Sole isn't yaoi, it merely contains strong shounen-ai hints. The purpose of this story is not to indulge anyone's perverse fantasies involving Sasuke and Naruto, but to elaborate further on the complex relationship they share as demonstrated in both manga and anime. With that said, I love the pairing, but I'm not promising anything. Story will contain basic Japanese honorifics.
Thanks for reading. Remember to R&R! x)
If you have any questions, add them in a review or message me personally :)
