Chapter 7: Change of Heart
Why not? He had been thinking about their departure for a while now - that was all he had been thinking. For the past two days, he was lost in the world of his own mind, lost within his thoughts. He worked mechanically, doing what he had to do without quite realizing what he was doing. He had been thinking about their leaving for the past two days. He had been thinking about just them themselves. He missed his teammates. He had always told them he would protect them...That he would never let them down. But then he left with Orochimaru, completely abandoning them. When he came back, they were happy, but he could tell there was a thought his two teammates shared he wasn't let in on. And then, a few months later, they left.
Sasuke sighed as he realized what he was eating. Ramen. Sasuke stared down at the pre-made soup, loosing himself again. For an instant, he could've sworn Naruto's face stared back at him through the contents of the soup. But as soon as Naruto's face appeared, it was gone again.
Depressed and alone, Sasuke put the bowl to the side and looked out the window. The clouds were gathering together, already grey. Sasuke left the window and his house. This was good weather to walk in.
A few minutes after stepping outside, it started raining. It didn't matter, though. He always walked in the rain when something had happened. No one ever walked the streets in the rain, and so he was in perfect solitude. The rain falling from the heavens was cold and refreshing - it made him believe the gods were looking after him, crying for him. It reminded him that one was never truly alone, no matter what the circumstance.
Pain struck through Sasuke when he looked up to the sky. Was that Sakura's face up there, looking down on him and crying? Sasuke blinked, and she disappeared. Sasuke collapsed onto his knees, looked down at the puddle he had fallen into. He gasped when Gaara's face stared back at him instead of his own. You have the same eyes as me, Gaara's voice whispered through his thoughts. You are like me. You live for only one reason: to avenge yourself and those around you by killing the one who hurt you. We have the same eyes...Eyes filled with hate, revenge, and loneliness. You, like me, were left alone your whole life. We live only to kill those who wronged us, and verify our existence.
Sasuke hit the water, stood, hurried on. He was shaken by the cold now, but forced himself to continue on. Memories of both his team and his clan flashed through him in rapid succession. But the last...The last was what bothered him most. It had been Itachi, staring back at him over their parents' dead bodies and saying, "You're not even worth killing. If you wish to live, then run. Run, and cling to life in an unsightly way. If you wish to avenge your clan's death, then you must hate me, detest me, until your soul factor of living is to avenge the Uchiha clan - to kill me."
Why had Itachi's words come to mind? Was it because he had lost everything to his Nii-san's hand again? He couldn't think of any other explanation.
Sasuke kicked through a puddle in anger. Itachi was always taking what he held dear! Just when he was beginning to find refuge in Sakura and Naruto, Itachi ripped them away from him! Sure, Itachi wasn't planning on the both of the joining, but he wouldn't be complaining, either. He had ruined his aniki's like again, and this time, he didn't even have to do anything.
A thought hit Sasuke, and he stopped dead. Why not spite his brother and join the Akatsuki as well? Then he could see his friends again, and it would be a practical slap in the face to Itachi. Hey, Nii-san! You got into an evil organization, only for the best ninjas? I did too! Sasuke smiled at the thought. He missed his friends, and this was the only way he had to ever seen them alive again...Besides, what did Konoha have left for him, anyway? Nothing but ill memories of blood and pain. The best thing for him would be to go and join the Akatsuki.
His mind made up, Sasuke turned around and headed back home.
(Sakura)
It was raining. She could tell by both the temperature and the bestill silence that had fallen on the Akatsuki. Everyone had fallen into a sort of deep thought where they had lost themselves. They were all operating mechanically, passing the day by just by staring at one another. After she served dinner and ate, Sakura retired to her room where she proceeded to was up for bed.
Deidara walked in. "Hey, DeiDei." Sakura said as he entered. Deidara grunted a hello, but said nothing further. Sakura walked back over to her bed (the bathroom they both shared was on Deidara's side - the right) and began to get under the covers. She turned her back to Deidara, closed her eyes. About a second or two later, she felt Deidara's eyes on her. "Something wrong?" She asked as she half-turned to looked over her shoulder. Deidara was standing over her, a sort of lustful look in his eyes, and clenching his hands open and shut. He looked away at her voice. "Deidara?" she called his name again.
The only answer she got was Deidara gently climbing onto her bed and sitting on her (She was now fully on her back.) "Dei - ?" She began, but was stopped when Deidara's mouth landed on hers. She was surprised at first, but fell into the kiss and returned it. He let her up for air. "Deidara, what are you...?" Her voice drifted off as Deidara pulled off his Akatsuki cloak and got under the covers with her. Deidara kissed her again, intently, and she felt herself slipping...Deidara let her up again and she tried to speak, "Deidara, I'm - " he probably grew off her speaking again and stopped her with another deep kiss. She blushed firecely when he started pulling her pajamas off. He pulled his off as well, completed a seal jutsu. He backed off her a little, looked her over fiercely. Sakura's eyes widened when she thought, Is he really going to...?
"You're a work of art," Deidara whispered as he lay on her, putting one of his hands down by her. There was a second's pause before the mouth ejected it's tounge and swirled it around.
The hand! The tongue was...It was...
Sakura gasped in delight and threw her hands behind Deidara's head. She brought his face down to hers, kissed him as deeply as a virgin could. Sakura moaned, and Deidara rubbed her with his hands as the mouths got their taste of her. She wrapped her arms around his back, needfully grabbed the skin. He slowly entered, and she arched up. Slowly, he rocked his hips.
They repeated this process several times, before they were too tired to repeat themselves again. Deidara left her, laid beside her on the bed, under the covers. Sakura snuggled up beside him and whispered, "You're a work of art."
Deidara remained silent as he looked up at the ceiling. Then, "Sakura, if I'm ever to die before you, I want you to have my hands, un." Sakura studied him for a moment, then nodded. "Naruto will be back tomorrow with the new member. We'll be training after we watch the fight and settle everything."
"Who's he fighting?"
"Naruto."
Hopefeully, I won't be Sasuke coming tomorrow, Sakura thought to herself. He and Naruto are too evenly matched..."Will we be doing this again sometime?"
"I don't like commitments, un." Deidara said as he looked over to her.
"That's not what I asked," Sakura reminded him.
Deidara smiled. "You know, I like you a lot." They repeated their process.
(Sasuke)
He had decided to leave Konoha for good. He would join the Akatsuki with Sakura and Naruto. He had already arranged to meet one of them at the cliff overlooking Konoha. It was a peaceful enough spot, and it gave Sasuke a good final glance at his village. Silently, he paid his last respects to those he had known. Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Lee, Tenten, Neji, Hinata, Shino, Kiba. He memorized their faces well - they were the people he were to remember when he thought of the Leaf Village.
The Chakra he felt approaching was strong. Could it possibly be...? No, he shoved the thought of Itachi out of his mind. The Chakra was strong but it was also familiar in a friendly way.
Sasuke turned around. The person was well-covered from sight. The neckband of the Akatsuki cloak covered the member's face up to their chin, and the coned hat he was wearing covered his eyes. His head was bent to the ground, so virtually nothing of his face could be seen. But he knew who it was.
"Sasuke," Naruto said as he removed the hat. "Long time no see."
Sasuke nodded, turned back to the sleeping village of Konoha. "Naruto," he began, "let's walk through Konoha one more time." He turned to Naruto, who had fallen silent. "I want a good last memory of my birthplace, the people I'm leaving behind." Naruto didn't hesitate before nodding. Replacing his hat, Naruto followed as Sasuke began to walk away.
They walked for a while, until the sun rose in the east. It had been a clear, crisp night, and so there was no reason for them to hurry. They took that time walking up and down every street of konoha, remembering all the things that had ever happened in team seven. They were silent for most of the time, but Sasuke found it better to remember that way. He smiled fondly as the memories flowed through his mind.
"Sasuke, we should be going now - it's daybreak. I can't be seen."
Sasuke nodded, followed Naruto back.
From there to the Akatsuki base, the two were completely silent. Sasuke vaguely wondered what Sakura would say to him, and he also wondered if Naruto had told her what he had said...She'll get over it, he thought to himself. But I thought I'd never see her again, which is why I acted so cold...I had to get over her, too. He decided to try and explain it when he saw her.
They must've been walking longer then he thought, because by the time Naruto told him they had reached their destination, he was sweating.
Naruto stopped, turned to him. "You sure you want to do this, Sasuke? You're leaving - "
"What? There's nothing for me left in Konoha whatsoever. This is the best thing for me." Sasuke looked at the cave, and knew it continued straight. "My only regret," he began, "is that I'm following the same footsteps as my brother."
All was silent, before Naruto advanced and called to him, "Let's go, then." Sasuke nodded, followed after him.
Naruto led him through the Akatsuki base, bringing him to a dark black room that could've been big enough to hold the whole of Konoha within its perimeter. Naruto instructed him to wait, and so he did.
Sasuke turned his back, activated his Sharingan.
Unexpectedly, he could see through the darkness. The stadium was as big as he had predicted. But on the right side...There were people, in bleachers, watching.
That was when he spotted her pink hair. She was sitting between a blond-haired boy and Itachi. Sasuke shuddered at the sight of his Nii-san. The fear of him had not loosened in the least...
On a quick glance, Sasuke noticed Sakura was biting her lower lip, gripping the bar in front of the bleachers until her knuckles turned white. She looked anxious, as though she knew what was going to come and didn't want to see it. Her eyes glued to the battle area, Sakura watched intently.
Now aware of his surroundings, Sasuke knew what was going to happen. He looked back to where Naruto had been, just in time to see the kunai being thrown his way. He jumped aways from the kunai's trajectory range.
Naruto had attacked him. He took a few steps toward Sasuke, removed the Akatsuki cloak and slashed Leaf Village forehead protector, and through them to the ground. "Sasuke," Naruto began, "I'm not fighting you as a Leaf Ninja, nor an Akastuki member. I'm fighting you as myself, and representing only myself, Uzumaki Naruto."
Sasuke nodded, threw his forehead protector to the ground. "Naruto," he answered, following the same line of speech Naruto had, "I'm not fighting you as a Leaf Ninja or a Sound Ninja. I'm fighting you as myself, and representing only myself, Uchiha Sasuke."
The two of them fell into their stances, waiting for the other to move. Naruto's hand twitched by the pocked he carried his kunai in. Sasuke watched the hand. But he could see what Naruto was planning already. He was twitching his hand deliberately so that he wouldn't notice as Naruto formed a seal with his other hand. About fifty Naruto's encircled him, all smirking. Which was the real one? Shadow Replications made each a perfect copy of the rest, and so there was only one way to tell...
Sasuke jumped up as high into the air as he could, activated the Breathing Fire: Phoenix technique. Taking in a deep breath, he forced all of the air out of his lungs. The fire fell down upon all Narutos, but he hadn't seen any explode...
"You're going to have to think higher then that, Sasuke!" All the Narutos yelled from behind. Sasuke spun around to see fifty Naruto copies pulling their arms back for a punch...
Sasuke covered his face, took the blow. Only, it wasn't in many different areas as he had anticipated - all fifty of the Naruto fists had combined themselves together and had concentraited their strike on one area: the stomach. He was expecting the blows to be so concentrated, and so it only hurt more. Coughing up blood, Sasuke fell back out of the air and skid to a halt on his back.
Naruto landed on his feet, calmly walked over to Sasuke. By now, Sasuke had already commenced his plan...
While Naruto was staring down at the Shadow Replication, the real Sasuke jumped down on him from behind, exerting all his Chakra into the kick.
Naruto collapsed onto his shoulder. Was he excited or had he heard a few bones crack...? Before Naruto could get up again, Sasuke pulled him to his feet so that Naruto was forced to look him in the eyes. "Is that the best you've got?" Sasuke taunted. "Akatsuki standards must have dropped."
Head down, Naruto replied with a chuckle, "Don't you realize what you're doing?"
"Hmm?" Sasuke asked with a slight tilt of the head.
Just then, something grabbed him from behind and clenched claws down into Sasuke's shoulders. He immediately dropped Naruto, shouted out. As he leaped away, Naruto shouted, "You're falling for every single one of my traps!" The thing clawing into Sasuke's shoulders kicked him in the back, hard, and threw him into the ground. His back cracked painfully, but he stumbled to his feet again. He had to at least see what had grabbed him like that...
It was Kyuubi-Naruto! Had Naruto lost control of himself already, or was this just a trick? Perhaps Naruto was trying to scare him into a retreat...
Sasuke backed up from the red, slanted eyes, giving himself some room. He studied Naruto with his Sharingan, tried to work everything out. He could see the Kyuubi's Chakra flowing through Naruto, alongside his own. He tried to predict what Naruto would do next, but it was useless when he wasn't moving. The Sharingan could predict a person's movements, but it couldn't read their mind. Sasuke jumped back, threw a test kunai.
It was a shadow replication! Sasuke's eyes widened as the replication exploded.
"Rasengan!" came a shout from behind. Sasuke had enough time to glance behind himself. Naruto's red eye gleamed as the light of the Rasengan hit it. So Naruto really wasn't faking. He had lost control, enough for the Kyuubi's Chakra to run through him freely. However, he had also been able to contain the beast to his advantage. Impressive.
Naruto's attack hit him square in the back. It had been too quick to dodge, and so he had no other choice. Naruto used Sasuke as a pillow as the two of them fell to the ground. Pain shot through him, almost completely clouding his mind.
But he had one trick left. The one move he swore never to call up again. But if he was to ever join the Akatsuki, he had to show them his true capabilities. He had to admit, thought, that he was afraid to use it. What if he lost control, went wild? What if he accidentally killed Naruto?
No, that wouldn't happen. He thought to himself, Last time I was able to keep a good hold on myself, so hopefully...Sasuke stood, let his head hang. He felt the numbness all around him, filing him as well. Deep, deep within himself, he felt the burning soul that was the hell of the Uchiha Clan. The monster within them all that was used as the ultimate weapon. It was the fire within them that kept them all alive...
He ignored the painful strikes of kunai as they dug into him. He carefully listened to the demon as it muttered to him. Not ready yet, Sasuke thought to himself, snapping back to reality. He opened his eyes, looked up. I have to by some time...Naruto was about one hundred feet away from him, watching him intently. Sasuke stared at him, thinking. I might not even have to call 'it' up if I use my Chidori...
Sasuke ran toward Naruto, carefully planning. From right about here, he'd have a good striking distance. Sasuke stopped. Naruto had tensed up as he approached, but loosened a bit when he stopped. "All out of options already?" He taunted. "You're weak."
The words echoed through his mind. You're weak. They brought up painful memories of he and his brother. You're weak, Itachi always told him. Why are you weak? Because you lack hatred. Itachi would always whisper 'hatred' in his ear so that he felt contempt and scorn for his Nii-san - so he felt the hate Itachi thrived on. But, through the combined love of Sakura and Naruto, he had promised himself that he would never need hate to live. And he didn't. He used hate only to find the ambition to chase after his brother.
Groveling up some of that hate, Sasuke found the strength to want to attack his best friend. He activated Chidori, dug his hand into the ground, and ran toward Naruto. He would win and prove himself worthy of being an Akatsuki member. He would beat Naruto and prove to the both of them - Naruto and he - that he was the better of the two for once and for all. Sasuke brought up his arm, aimed for Naruto's heart.
At that exact moment, Naruto had flung forward with his Rasengan. The two of them jumped up into the air, bearing arms aimed at one another, ready to be the giver of the final strike. The two of them hit one another's hand, flew back due to the collision. The distance between us, Sasuke thought as he landed to the ground on his feet, Has not changed at all. Just as me and Itachi are equals, so are Naruto and I. What have I been doing with my training? Why can't I beat them?
You don't have enough hatred, Itachi's voice haunted him, and he knew it was time. He dug deep within himself, felt the monster claw at him beneath the surface.
(Sakura)
She had sat most of the time, anxiously biting the side of her lower lip and gripping the bar in front of the seats until her knuckles turned a painful white. She was sure her hands had cramped shut around the poles by now, but that was the last of her worries. The minutes she saw Sasuke trailing behind a very late Naruto, she knew. She knew it was going to be a long and painful battle for the both of them - they were too evenly matched for it to be over quickly.
When Itachi had seen his aniki, Sakura noticed, out of the corner of her eye, his ring finger twitched. Had he not expected it to be Sasuke Naruto was fetching, or was he expecting it?
Deidara, however, chuckled. "Who's this guy? His hair looks like a duck's ass, un."
Sakura didn't take her eyes off the stadium. "Uchiha Sasuke," she whispered. She saw Deidara look over to her out of the corner of her eye, heard him repeat the name. Out of the corner of her other eye, she noticed Itachi was staring at the stage just as hard as she was. Sakura leaned forward in her seat, eager to see the outcome.
Naruto left Sasuke long enough for his guard to fall, then returned, removing his cloak and slashed forehead protector. He told Sasuke he was fighting him as himself, and only for himself. Sasuke said the same as he threw his headband to the ground.
The two of them fell into their stances, and a few short moments later, Sasuke was encircled in about fifty Narutos. Sasuke had then jumped up and activated the Breathing Fire:Phoenix technique was burned them all. The actual Naruto had gotten away, as well as the other forty-nine Narutos. They all came in from behind and concentrated their power to hit Sasuke in one area: the stomach. Sasuke hadn't been expecting the blows to be so concentrated, and he fell back.
Then Naruto calmly walked toward Sasuke. But Sasuke had left a Shadow Replication behind and moved behind Naruto. When he let his guard down completely, Sasuke attached from behind, striking Naruto's shoulder with his leg. There was a sickening sound of bones cracking, where Sakura leaned further forward and whispered, "Naruto!" Sasuke pulled Naruto to his feet, taunted him.
He wasn't expecting a shadow replication of Naruto to come from behind and dig sharp claws into his shoulders. Sasuke screamed out, dropped Naruto. The feint Naruto kicked Sasuke's back in and dropped Sasuke to the floor. Sasuke forced himself up again and looked into the eyes of the Shadow Replication. He slowly began to back up.
Sasuke let his head drop, stayed there for a while. Naruto threw several kunai at him, which all hit, but Sasuke remained unresponsive. Then, he looked up and jumped back. He threw a kunai at the Replication, only to find it was a Replication.
From behind, Naruto attacked with Rasengan. Sasuke was able to look back briefly, before the attack hit. Naruto used Sasuke as a pillow as the two of them fell to the ground.
Sasuke laid where he and Naruto had hit for a while. Then, he returned to his feet. He thought for only a few minutes before he dug his arms into the ground and activated Chirdori. Naruto simultaneously activated Rasengan, and the two jumped toward each other. They were too evenly matched, and went flying from the impact of the other's attack.
The two of them maneuvered through the air and landed on their feet. Sasuke dropped his head again for a longer while then before. Presumably bored, Naruto stepped up close to Sasuke and reactivated his Rasengan. He said something, but Sakura wasn't sure exactly what he said. The seats were about fifty feet up, and so hearing was at a minimal.
Sasuke looked up again, and shock ran through Naruto - he stepped back, almost completely losing both his Rasengan and his stance. Sakura stood to get a better look, gasped. The Sasuke she knew was no longer there - this Sasuke had large, demon-like wings, and his face had changed completely. He wasn't Sasuke anymore, he was...A true monster.
Sakura gripped onto the silver bar so tightly her knuckles began to bleed. She stood there, hardly able to move, and said to Itachi, "What is this, Itachi-san? What has Sasuke done to himself?"
Itachi's emotionless voice answered, "He's done nothing to himself - this is a curse all Uchihas are born with. He's just learned to call upon it."
"But can he control it?" Deidara broke in.
"That all depends on Sasuke's will power. If he does loose control, all we have to do is something that will trigger his actual mind and force him to remember."
"You're so calm about it, Itachi-san."
"You don't seem any less, un." Deidara replied.
Sakura nodded. "Shock does these things to you."
The three of them, plus the rest of the Akatsuki, watched as both Naruto and Sasuke were taken over by their inner demons.
Naruto backed away from Sasuke slowly. His Rasengan deactivated, and he backed up again. The creature that was Sasuke was slowly following him, growling. Any false move, Sakura thought as she watched, anything too fast or sudden, and he's dead. She could feel the tensed air all around the Akatsuki as they watched with bated breath. Even if Sasuke lost to Naruto somehow, he would be admitted, just as Naruto had when he lost to Itachi. They now knew exactly how powerful Sasuke was, and there was no way they'd let such an oppertunity slip. Sakura gulped, hoped Sasuke didn't accidentally kill Naruto.
Speaking of Naruto, he jumped back, convincing the Sasuke-creature that he was an enemy. Sasuke swung, hit Naruto. Naruto went flying, skidded on his back, burying deep into the ground. Dazed, he slowly got up, swaying and almost falling as he did so. Sasuke jumped up andused those leather wings to actually fly. He flew over Naruto, who jumped out of the way.
It was a meticulous game of cat-and-mouse for quite a while. As fast as Naruto could jump away, Sasuke could fly and follow. What was Naruto going to do? There was no way of telling.
Until, that is, Naruto was stupid enough to throw a kunai at the creature. It picked him up and threw him into the far wall. There was a loud cracking noise as Naruto's back hit the wall, and he blacked out.
Sakura couldn't keep it in any longer. "Naruto!" She shouted, pushing her head over the railing. "Naruto, get up!" There was no response from Naruto.
The Sasuke-thing had departed. Where had it gone? Sakura looked around, but there was nothing to be seen.
Then, suddenly, he landed on the railing, exactly where Sakura was. His hands were holding it just outside hers, his feet between hers. She could feel his breath on her face, could feel the radiating heat from his body. He tilted his head at her sight, in a curious way.
Gulping, Sakura slowly released her hands from the railing, slowly took a step. Sasuke jumped onto the platform where she had previously been standing. Breathing heavilly, she took another step back. Sasuke took another step towards her.
Unfortunately, Sasuke looked past her and spotted Itachi. He instantly smacked her away, hitting her cheek and deeply cutting it. Her head snapped to the right from his hit. She fell back, feeling the flesh wound and gasping at the sight of her own blood. The real Sasuke would never have hit her like that...
She had to think of something and quick. Sasuke was quickly approaching Itachi, and there was no way Itachi could fend him off in that state. Something that would trigger his actual self...What could she do that would snap Sasuke out of this?
The answer came to her almost immediately, and her heart leapt.
Sakura got to her feet, all the while watching for the perfect opportunity. Adrenaline rushing through her, she stood and forced herself to run in front of Itachi. She paused and stared into Sasuke's demon-like face for only a second before she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him as passionately as she could. She held his face in her hands, felt it as it contorted back to Sasuke's normal form. She saw the beast-human's eyes widden. Slowly, the Sharingan fadded away, and the wings slowly retracted. Sakura backed off him, held his face in her hands. "Sakura," Sasuke began, "don't let me do that again." He collapsed into her arms.
Sakura nodded, whispered in his ear, "I promise." She wasn't sure if he was awake to hear it or not.
A/n
Aha! How do ya like that one? Little - okay ALOT - of Deidara and Sakura in the middle , that I'm very fond of. Because of it, rating shall increase to M. There will be further scenes, so be prepared! Well, that's enough for tonight, so later the next chapter is: Chapter 8: Coming Clean
