A/N: Hello everyone, I apologize for the long delay in updating this story. I really have no excuse for the lateness, but I do have a whole list of them, which include everything from school and family problems to extensive writer's block and being unsure about where to make the cut between chapters. I realize that an author who updates only sporadically can be quite annoying and I thank all my readers for their patience and the wonderful reviews. I can't make any promises about when the next chapter will be out, it all depends on inspiration and time, but rest assured that this story will be finished. There's only one more chapter to go and an epilogue, both of which are already mostly planned out. I also have a few other stories in the planning stages, and hopefully working on those will get the creative juices flowing for this one, but I'm probably going to take a break from Naruto after this is finished. However, if any of you guys are fans of Death Note, I have some ideas there, which I'll articulate in my profile. Now that I have thoroughly wasted your time with my rambling and excuses I'm sure you'd like to go on and read the chapter I made you all wait so long for. Enjoy and please review.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Dark Tower series. They are the property of their respective copyright holders and I am making no profit from this work of fiction.
Warnings: Absolutely none. No sex, no real violence, just plot and angst, though those may deserve a warning in of themselves. This is also un-betaed, but I'm super anal about grammar so it should at least be readable. I'm also experimenting with new divisions within the chapter since FF screws with my line spacing. Let me know how you like them, since I may keep them for future stories.
Chapter 6: The Desert
Sasuke cautiously dropped to his knees by Naruto's side. Carefully he lifted the limp boy, arranged him in his arms bridal style, and carried him back towards the shrine gate, struggling to keep his balance as he trudged over the slippery dunes of sand. He heard a soft rushing sound behind him and turned to see Lee, tousled as he was but still grinning, running across the desert. Another body was draped across the thin boy's back, head drooping over his shoulder. In the light of dawn Sasuke could see that the other boy, Gaara he assumed, had a mop of red hair, cropped into short, messy spikes. Teal green eyes met his own as the demon vessel wearily lifted his head to speak softly into his Guardian's ear. Lee murmured something back and soothingly stroked the other boy's hair.
Not meaning to intrude on a private moment, Sasuke averted his eyes, glancing cautiously down on the burden in his arms. Naruto was limp from exhaustion and his head lolled against Sasuke's chest, sweat darkened hair sticking to his skull, but there was a contented smile on his face. Hesitantly he planted a gentle kiss on Naruto's forehead.
- - -
"Gaara and I can guide you across the desert," Lee announced, in between bites of Hinata's soba noodles, punctuating his discourse with emphatic jabs of his chopsticks "I know the Tower you are looking for,"
"You've seen it!" Sasuke said.
"Of course not," replied Lee with an offhand wave of his chopsticks, "No one has ever seen it. It is hidden after all,"
"Then how are you supposed to guide us there?" said Sasuke, rapidly losing patience with the overly cheerful man.
"Such impatience!" scolded Lee, "you should know better, just because something cannot be seen doesn't mean that it is not there. Leave navigating the desert to Gaara and me, and focus on preparing yourself to confront Orochimaru. Now," he narrowed his eyes at Sasuke and pointed the chopsticks threateningly at him, "you should go back to your Vessel and get some rest. We're in for a long day tomorrow,"
Grumbling at the bizarre man's audacity, Sasuke left the dining room and returned to his guest room. He slid open the door and peered in. It still fairly dark, the weak dawn light had only begun to creep through the thin paper walls, and Naruto was an indistinct lump under the covers of the bedroll. Still clad in his rumpled sleeping yukata, Sasuke slid under the blankets, trying to make as little noise as possible. He heard a huff of exhaled breath beside him. "You awake?" he whispered, half-hoping the other boy wasn't.
"Yeah," replied a muffled voice.
There was a long silence.
"Why—?" Sasuke started and bit back the half-formed question. He wasn't even entirely sure what he wanted to ask.
Naruto shifted uncomfortably, pulling the blankets towards his side of the bedroll and exposing Sasuke's legs to the air. Sasuke tugged at the blanket in half-hearted annoyance but ceased when Naruto began to speak.
"You weren't supposed to find out," he said "you have enough to deal with, without adding in any of my problems,"
"Well it certainly seems as if it's one of my problems now," Sasuke said bitingly. He realized his mistake by the shift in the energy of the room.
"No," Naruto said abruptly, his voice hard "This is none of your concern. Focus your energy on surviving the encounter with Orochimaru,"
"But—" Sasuke began to protest.
"But nothing!" Naruto snarled back "You know nothing about this! I've carried this burden since before you were born!" He sat up, his eyes blazing like cold, blue fire in the darkness "I've seen monsters a thousand times more terrifying than Orochimaru and carried one inside my head since I was a kit," His voice deepened to a low growl, "Guardian or not, you're just a child, a mortal child who's stumbled into a world that plays by rules he can't possibly begin to understand. Try defending yourself first before you try protecting me from something you can't even see!"
Wounded, Sasuke retaliated, "If I'm worthless as a Guardian then why did you try to form an attachment with me? What the hell was last night?"
There was an ominous silence. "That…was a mistake," Naruto said with great finality, turning over and presenting his back to Sasuke, "One I won't make again,"
The words were a kick in the gut. Sasuke recoiled, turning to face away from the other boy. A slight feeling of nausea swamped him and he bit his tongue to keep from answering back. What did it matter if a creature he'd known less than a full month didn't want to have anything to do with him? It was like Naruto said: what mattered was preparation for the upcoming battle. He couldn't afford to become distracted.
Hidden by the darkness, Naruto squeezed his eyes shut against the pain he could feel, flowing through the fledgling link he'd formed with Sasuke the night before. The other boy probably wasn't even aware of it; the link was weak and Sasuke's magical senses were not fully developed. Doing his best to ignore nagging feelings of guilt, Naruto forced himself into slumber. The pieces were in motion; all that was left to do now was wait.
- - -
That evening Sasuke sat beside Naruto on the veranda of the Hyuuga home, waiting for their two companions to make some "preparations" as Lee had said with an absurd grin. The silence between them was heavy and stifling, reminding Sasuke of a time when a thick fog had blown in off the coast, shrouding his family home in the thick mist. Sounds and colors had been muted and Sasuke, only six at the time and left to his own devices by uncaring parents, had wandered away and become lost in the haze. His cries were swallowed in the mist and he had wandered as if in a dream until he collapsed. He'd knelt in the dirt for what felt like hours until he was startled from his daze by the sound of hoof beats. A huge, black stallion materialized out of the fog, covered in the blue, red and white trappings of his family colors, a samurai seated on its back. His brother. Sasuke, his face grubby and tear stained, had run to the armor-clad man and been scooped into the saddle.
As he reflected, Sasuke became aware that the hoof beats he heard were not only in his memory. His gaze swung in the direction of the shrine gate. Lee and Gaara emerged from beneath the structure. Each boy held the reins of a horse. The animals were fully saddled and packed, and they tossed their heads, dancing back and forth in excitement as they were led forward. At his side, Sasuke heard Naruto rise to meet their companions and copied him, trying not to look at the other boy.
"There are only two horses, I'm afraid," Lee apologized when they were within earshot, "but not to worry, they're both quite capable of carrying two," He tugged on the reins of the horse he led "Gaara and I can ride Kiri, and Hinode will carry you and Naruto,"
Sasuke looked at the horse doubtfully. The mare stood barely as high as Lee's shoulder and her legs appeared skinny and disproportionate to her body. Wide, dark eyes, nearly covered by long lashes, peered curiously at him as he reached to take the reins. Remembering how his brother's stallion had towered even over his father, Sasuke could not help but look at the tiny mare with trepidation. He also noted the complete absence of stirrups.
With a sigh, Sasuke gripped the reins and a good handful of mane and prepared to swing aboard, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He froze for a moment, thinking it was Naruto, but when he turned back he saw Gaara at his side.
"Do not doubt your mount," Gaara said, his voice a low monotone, "Hinode is descended from the Winds of the Four Directions," teal eyes flickered over to Naruto, who had come up next to Gaara, "Even if she throws you, she will always return," Without another word, the red haired boy turned and crossed towards Lee, who was already mounted, giving Naruto a sharp glance as he did so. The blond bristled slightly and turned resolutely away.
Sasuke stared after the other boy in confusion; he got the feeling Gaara wasn't talking about horses.
"Oi, you just going to stand there?" Naruto demanded. Startled, Sasuke looked back at him, but the other boy refused to meet his eyes. Biting back an angry retort, Sasuke lifted himself into the saddle and reached down, offering his arm to Naruto, who gripped it and pulled himself up behind Sasuke. He gripped the reins hard at the feel of Naruto's warmth against his back. It should have been a comfort, but the bitter taste of Naruto's words still hung between them. Swallowing down the dense lump which seemed to have formed in his throat, Sasuke nudged Hinode forward, following Lee and Gaara out into the desert.
Sasuke thought later that Gaara's comment about the horses must have been true, since he'd never in his life met a horse which could gallop through the night until sunrise. Hinode's strides were long for a horse of her diminutive size, and her small hooves sent up sprays of swiftly cooling sand as she paced in the wake of the other horse. The moon and an endless blanket of brilliant diamond stars wheeled above them and Sasuke, despite the mass of sorrow lurking in his chest, was hard pressed to suppress his joy at once more being on horseback. He had loved riding ever since his brother had lifted him up on his mount's broad back as a small child and now, the rocking of the horse's motion as smooth as rippling ocean waves, for a brief time Sasuke felt his sorrows lift and take flight.
- - -
It was Gaara who brought their company to a halt. It was a short time before sunrise, and despite the fact that this area of the desert looked no different from any other, he got off the horse and walked without a word to anyone in the direction of the pale light which leaked over the horizon. Once he was a fair way from the two horses and their riders, Gaara stood stock still for a long moment, eyes closed. Slowly his hands twitched and rose from his sides, palms down. The sand before the boy rippled and parted, scooping out to form a deep bowl-shaped impression. The last grains of sand shuddered to a halt and all was still for a moment, then something gleamed at the bottom of the depression. Sasuke watched in amazement as water bubbled up; a new oasis in the desert.
Gaara's arms dropped to his sides "We'll rest here for the day," he said flatly. At this declaration Lee bounded into action, removing several packs from the horses before Sasuke was even able to dismount. He moved with unnatural speed, and a large black tent, made of a tough leather, seemed to blossom near the desert pool.
The tent was cool and spacious within and Sasuke was glad to have a place to escape from the heat, which had just started to build in the desert around them. However, trapped within the confines of the tent, it was almost impossible to avoid Naruto.
He soon found he needn't have worried; Naruto was equally eager to avoid him and spent the day in brooding meditation. Several times Sasuke saw Lee try to engage Naruto in conversation, but he was always brusquely turned aside. Eventually Lee gave up and went to Gaara, who, while he did not brush off Lee's attentions, was hardly more of a conversationalist. Silence settled over the tiny group.
As the sun climbed higher in the sky, heat and tensions mounted. Sasuke tried to sleep, failed, and tried again, only to find himself lying awake on his pallet, restlessly shifting back and forth. Several times he rose and went for water, more out of a desire for something to do than out of real thirst. The last time he stepped from the tent he noticed, to his surprise that the sun was setting, turning the light a ruddy color and casting long shadows in the sand.
Waterskin still in his hand, he paused a moment to survey the scene. A gust of wind teased some of the fine grains of sand from the ground, tossing them against his legs, and brought murmurs of a low conversation to his ears.
"—tomorrow," said Naruto's voice.
"You can't be serious!" Lee's voice rose above his and someone shushed him.
The voices continued to murmur and Sasuke strained his ears, but the wind was gone.
When he worked up the courage to enter the tent once more he found himself almost bowled over by Lee as he exited the tent, Gaara in his wake.
"Come on," Lee said, his voice tight with controlled tension "It's time for us to leave,"
Sasuke began helping Lee to take down the tent and repack the horse's saddlebags. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of Gaara squatting down on the sand near the oasis. His eyes were closed and he had one palm flattened on the ground. In the other he grasped a short stick, with which he was drawing something on the ground. Naruto, a serious look on his face, was crouched nearby, peering intently at the sand. As if he sensed the other boy's gaze, blue eyes flickered up and met Sasuke's. Swiftly, Naruto's hand came down and wiped the drawing from existence.
- - -
Their second night of travel was not nearly as enjoyable as the first. This new section of the desert was covered in huge, sloping dunes. The slippery sand and steep sides of the dunes made the going slow, and the horses' sides were soon streaked with foam as they labored up and down the seemingly endless hills of sand. Tempers were short all around. Naruto and Lee remained stonily silent and Sasuke's seal was on fire with pain, as Naruto had done nothing the past two nights to ease it. Even Gaara seemed troubled, staring moodily out into the desert night, occasionally glancing towards Naruto, who purposely ignored him.
They had made only a few miles when Sasuke saw the sky beginning to lighten on the eastern horizon and he forcibly swallowed a curse of frustration. The only bright spot in the evening was that they seemed to have reached the edge of the sand dunes, where the rolling hills opened up into flat cracked earth and dead scrub. Gaara silently guided them towards the open land, fingers flicking to smooth a section of the earth beneath them. Lee began setting up the tent once more, and Sasuke moved to help him.
"Any water?" said Lee tersely, pounding a tent peg into the ground with a little more force than necessary. Sasuke jumped slightly as the wooden peg sank several inches down and the earth around it split.
"No," replied Gaara, his voice flat.
No more words were spoken.
- - -
Sasuke was awoken several hours after dawn, by a pain in his seal which nearly bent him in half and an overpowering drive to leave the tent. He was on his feet, staggering through the tent flap, before he realized the flap was open, not closed to protect against the blowing sand and overpowering heat. The anomaly was enough to stop him in his tracks for a moment. Gaara stood by the open flap, eyes unshielded against the sun as he gazed out into the desert. Behind him, Sasuke could hear the rustle of blankets as Lee rose from his pallet, but he didn't need to look at the line of fox prints stretching across the flat scrub to know that Naruto was gone.
Gaara's flat emotionless eyes met his for a moment and, without a word or backward glance, Sasuke followed the line of tiny paw prints out into the desert.
He couldn't have said how long he trudged through the desert, his eyes fixed on the single curving line of tracks before him. However, as he followed he became aware that he was following the trail by more than his own volition. A powerful compulsion, that made him slightly nauseous and felt, if he could have described it, like serpents in his mind, was drawing him towards the northwest. The pain in his seal also grew from a background annoyance to a persistent ache as he continued to move. He might have tried to turn and run if not for another call, elusive and weak beneath the first but still palpable. It was warm and sounded like the thin high yip of a fox.
Sasuke was dizzy with exhaustion, his lips cracked from the dry air of the desert, when he finally raised his eyes from the line of tracks in the dust.
The blazing sun glinted off the sides of the iron tower, jutting like a black thorn out of the cracked earth. It was utterly smooth and round, without a single window, rising hundreds of feet to end in two wicked horned points. A pair of wide arched iron doors, closed and without any sort of visible handle, were cut into the side of the tower, etched in high relief with the images of intertwined serpents. A small, challenging figure stood before them, waiting for him. Cold, red eyes with inhuman, slit pupils stared out from beneath spiked blond hair and met Sasuke's own.
He felt his heart twist.
"Sasuke Uchiha," said Naruto, his voice low and growling, "this is your final challenge,"
A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I really did have to cut it about there. I originally intended to have this chapter include their fight as well, but I eventually decided to have it in the next chapter, for various reasons. I hope you enjoyed it, and that you take the time to review. I enjoy contructive critisism, but squeeing is always appreciated as well :)
If anyone actually cares, I named the horses "Hinode" for the Japanese word for sunrise and "Kiri" for the word for fog. Now I usually hate randomly included Japanese words, especially if the author doesn't actually speak the language, but I really did want to name the horses and used an honest-to-god paper Japanese-English dictionary to come up with the names, so I hope they're correct. If not feel free to correct me.