A/N: For those of you who felt Madara's abrupt attack was too much of a surprise, I repeat: The man has a wealth of power no one's explored in manga or anime. Who knows what he's capable of? For me, the idea of him sensing Naruto's whereabouts, and then watching for the right moment, is totally within his capability.
Chapter 7
Sasuke's life was saved when Naruto put his hand over the spurting carotid artery. Neither of them knew this at the time. Sasuke was certainly hemorrhaging from other places, but this was the worst wound, the one that would have had him dead only moments later.
Night surrounded the wide area lit by Naruto's chakra. There were no sounds in the forest. Any nearby creatures or insects were very aware of the powerful being in their midst and remained quietly watchful. Only the stream, which was little better than a brook really, continued to whisper on its endless way to wherever. This, and the wheezing, wet sound of Sasuke's labored breathing were all that Naruto heard.
That Sasuke was still breathing registered with him slowly. So caught in the terrifying grip of shock, grief, and helplessness was his mind that an hour passed before he realized that Sasuke was still with him. He lifted his head cautiously, slowly, from Sasuke's neck and peered at his face.
Sasuke's eyes were closed. His face was dreadfully white, and his lips were blue. But he was breathing through those parted lips. Naruto chanced a glance down at where his arm rested in cold, sticky blood. He didn't want to look, but felt he had to. He started to move his arm.
"No…don't."
Naruto gasped. "Sasuke? Are you with me?" He propped himself a little higher, the better to see Sasuke's face.
"Don't move. Just…stay where you are."
"Okay. Okay, man, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. But it's lucky Madara is such a lousy swordsman, neh? Couldn't even kill you-"
Sasuke did not feel up to Naruto's rush of excited and nervous yammering, but he felt a small explanation was in order. "It's you," he rasped with difficulty. He was so incredibly thirsty. His throat was very dry and he badly wanted to cough. The idea of jarring his torn body like that had him tense with fear. He kept as still as possible, in case a cough happened anyway, and because so far, his body was in too much shock to feel pain. He didn't want to feel how much pain a wound like this would surely cause. As it was, he felt horribly…loose. Broken. When he could manage it, he spoke again in a hoarse whisper. "Your chakra…Kyuubi's chakra is keeping me alive. It's…healing me."
Naruto looked over Sasuke's body slowly, eyes wide. "It is? But-" Sasuke winced then at the increased volume of his excitement, and Naruto toned it down. He was quiet a moment, swamped with so much relief that it was almost unbearable. He wasn't losing Sasuke. So long as he continued to keep Sasuke near his chakra mode, Sasuke might be all right. His tears ran fresh and hot, but he didn't release Sasuke to wipe them away. "Yosh," he murmured fiercely. "If it's me that's holding you together, then I'm not leaving your side."
Sasuke slit his eyes open at feeling a surge in Naruto's already prodigious output of chakra and found several chakra arms extending over his body to wrap themselves around him as well. Almost immediately the slow drain he'd been feeling lessened; instead of Naruto's proximity merely preventing him from dying, it now began staunching his bleeding. He closed his eyes again, now safe and secure in the knowledge that Naruto would only let him go if he himself was dead.
But that's the way it's always been, that voice spoke again in his drifting mind. He's never been willing to let you go.
Naruto was vigilant. He watched as Sasuke dozed on and off over the course of the next several hours, holding him tightly the entire time. When morning came, he saw that the blood drenching Sasuke had dried to a dark stain. No new blood was evident, and the telltale trickle of warmth that had signaled Sasuke's bleeding had stopped completely some time ago. Sasuke was still gravely wounded, still hovering over the edge of death, but hopefully not slipping into it. Naruto took his eyes off Sasuke's face at last and looked around quickly.
There was nothing to see besides trees and fallen leaves, twigs and more trees. The brook gurgled on, and birds were now accustomed enough to him to chirp at the dawning day. Moving his hands cautiously while keeping his arms around Sasuke, Naruto performed a hand seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." He looked up at the fifty clones. "Go. Find someplace for us, someplace safe and out of sight."
Without a word, the clones nodded and scattered in all directions. Naruto settled back down to wait.
-oOo-
It took less time than he'd thought it would. One clone sent back the information of a large hole hollowed out beneath some upraised tree roots, but Naruto didn't want to expose Sasuke to infection any more than he already had. Another clone found a cave beneath a hill, inhabited by foxes. One clone ranged far enough to reach an open plain, and then beyond that a mountain range that had a village at its base. Naruto felt that was both too far, and too public. Finally a clone discovered a dilapidated shack deep in the heart of the forest. There was a single bed in it, and nothing else. It was almost completely overgrown with vines and weeds. Naruto thought it would be perfect, and ended his technique for the rest of his clones.
He estimated that the shack was at least twenty miles from his present position. Under normal circumstances he could make it in an hour, the way his clone had. Carrying Sasuke…he didn't know. He didn't even know if he should move while Sasuke was in this state, he only knew that focused on Sasuke the way he was, he really wouldn't be able to defend them. He'd just feel better with some kind of shelter around them, no matter how flimsy it was. He decided to try at least.
Carefully, going so slowly that his back and arms screamed in protest at the strain of trying to move while remaining motionless, Naruto got to his knees. He held Sasuke in both arms, and used an additional six chakra arms to wrap around and over Sasuke from neck to heels. He waited several seconds before getting one foot under him. Then the other. He squatted there, anxiously monitoring Sasuke's breathing and pallor, before he eased himself upright and to a standing position. He let out a breath once this first hurdle was mastered.
He walked very, very slowly; Sasuke's upper half felt horribly disjointed. His chakra arms held on tightly, preventing Sasuke's torso from moving. He was able to scan a few feet ahead, watch his footing, and keep an eye on Sasuke, but it was difficult. Trying not to move or disturb Sasuke with his natural gait was also hard, but he did it. He'd do whatever it took to make sure Sasuke was all right.
It still took him the rest of that day to get there. He was starving. His limbs shook from maintaining chakra mode for so long. He'd been in chakra mode more or less for a week, minus the few hours before Madara had struck. He hoped it didn't run out, not now when he needed it so badly. Night had fallen long before he finally crested a tiny hill and saw the shack nestled in a dip in the land. It leaned drunkenly against a large tree.
He made his slow way down to it, slipped on some dry leaves, and nearly took a header down the tiny hill. A few extra chakra arms quickly sprouted from him to brace against the ground and keep him steady. He was panting in the aftermath, and clutching Sasuke tightly.
Sasuke didn't wake up.
Naruto got to the shack, struggled to pull open the door that seemed to have rotted shut, and finally managed to step inside. His chakra lit the interior.
It was clear that no one had lived inside it for decades. Squirrels and chipmunks squeaked and scampered away through a hole in the roof. Vines actually hung from this hole to the earthy floor, where they crept and twisted in a natural carpet. Naruto eyed the bed. It was narrow. The mattress was a mere memory of a whole and useable piece of furniture. Great bunches of stuffing or whatever was in it were visible in the rips. Some animal had clawed it completely to shreds. Naruto saw tiny eyes peering at him from the stuffing, and figured something was nesting in there. He turned to the floor and gently lowered himself to his knees, before laying Sasuke out carefully.
It was a relief to stretch out and relax his muscles. They were all, without exception, tense and kinked into knots. He breathed a shallow sigh, looked Sasuke over tiredly from head to toe, then rested his head on a cluster of leaves near Sasuke's shoulder, still holding him. He struggled not to fall asleep. In doing so, he dropped into a dazed stupor of wakefulness that was nevertheless deaf and dumb to anything but Sasuke's breathing, and his own aches and pains.
Some time the following morning he roused himself enough to realize they needed food. He could barely spare the energy, but created a single clone for this purpose. The clone came back later with water from the brook in Sasuke's flask, Sasuke's sword, the jacket Naruto had left behind, and a whole haunch of deer meet. Naruto had the clone tip a few drops of water past Sasuke's lips. He drank the rest, then sent the clone out for more after it had cooked the meat outside. He also instructed it to find something larger than a flask to hold more water in.
Naruto then inspected himself as best he could. He was a mess. Blood was dried all over one side of his face, and all over the rest of him, but he couldn't let Sasuke go. Not for anything. Sighing, he reached for the meat the clone had left near his hands.
-oOo-
After eating (an awkward thing to do when you were holding someone), he felt better. Not great, but better. He put his head down again with some measure of comfort, and Sasuke groaned weakly. Naruto decided he'd better get a look at the wound at last, and gently eased his arm from around Sasuke's torso, leaving the chakra arms to hold him.
Dried blood peeled and cracked away, releasing a small amount of fresh blood in the process. Sasuke cried out in a faint voice, especially when Naruto pried the halves of his shirt away from the crusted blood. Naruto winced in sympathy.
It was bad. Very, very bad. The wound was gaping and raw, but even so, Naruto could see where the bone was trying to reconstitute itself. For a wonder, the bones that had been neatly cut were healing in alignment with each other. Sasuke's right lung, probably severely damaged last night, seemed to be whole and working. It was gross to look at, but Naruto made himself look. He was worried about such a wound being open to the air, but could see no way to bandage it.
Just then the clone came back with the water (in a sizeable wooden barrel, of all things), and he had the beginnings of an idea. While he mulled it over, he instructed the clone to set about concealing the shack with whatever greenery and stray branches it could find. Anyone able to sense his chakra would see right through this. As protection went, it wasn't great, but it was better than nothing.
Sasuke wasn't sure whether he was dreaming or waking, but time for him seemed to have no meaning. Sometimes he was a child, sometimes he was as his present self. Sometimes he saw Naruto, sometimes he saw strange phantoms from his past. Naruto was twelve, or sixteen, or sometimes he looked to be the Fourth Hokage himself, but always his solid warmth and tingling chakra was firmly against Sasuke's body.
Sometimes Naruto whispered to him in this dreamy state to hold on, and he wanted to reply that he was holding on. Holding on to Naruto, and the power he could feel moving through them both. Naruto's power. It was awe-inspiring and humbling. He tried to move closer to it, to that feeling of being cherished, but his body wouldn't move. Once he managed to croak out "Hold me tighter", but his voice didn't make any sound, so maybe Naruto didn't hear. But then Naruto was squeezing him with carefully restrained strength, so maybe he did. Sleeping or waking, though, those blue eyes were rock steady on his face, despite the darkening circles around them. And when the shakes started, and he was by turns boiling alive and frozen to the bone, Naruto murmured to him that it would be all right. That everything would be all right if he just held on. Deep in his mind, where consciousness and sanity were hiding, Sasuke dug in and did just that.
Naruto was strained to his absolute limit and beyond. Sasuke had been running a high fever for the past three days. He was hot to the touch, and his cheeks were bright red while the rest of his face remained pale. The wound was slowly knitting itself. Much faster than such an injury would have done ordinarily, but it seemed ridiculously slow to Naruto, who was forced to hold his chakra mode without respite, and who needed the clone to keep their water supply fresh, hunt, and keep watch. Sometimes he slipped into a weird, open-eyed sleep, only to jerk awake and find his chakra mode still in place and his eyes grainy and sore.
He bathed Sasuke's wound and dressed it precisely every twelve hours, using the strips he'd had the clone make from his jacket and T-shirt. He kept Sasuke's brow cool with stream water soaked into rags the clone made from Sasuke's waist wrap, and cleaned him whenever he soiled himself with more of the rags. Sasuke's belt was fixed to the wall to form a makeshift clothesline. The clone kept the rags washed and hung them to dry on this line. All the while, Sasuke tossed and turned, dozed and woke in a fit of fever-induced delirium. Naruto kept him hydrated as best he could.
Three days. So stressed was Naruto's body that he thought he might end up as delirious as Sasuke before long.
The forest was uninhabited by people. People only ventured into it at its edges. They didn't penetrate this deeply into it. He himself had never been this far into the forest, preferring his safe, simple home near the outskirts. Dangerous things lived deep in the forest. Sure enough, he'd been attacked not once, but twice during his long journey. The first time had been a fox. He'd sustained a bite to one leg, which was why he was limping now. The second time had been a large snake, which had thankfully missed him. He'd needed to run painfully on his injured leg for a long time before he'd found a safe place to hide.
Afterward, he'd resumed following the one he'd been chasing for so many days. He could feel him. Not the powerful companion, just him. There was a thread connecting them, something that drew him onward. Ever onward, though his poor legs hurt him terribly from so much traveling. He sensed the one he was chasing had stopped, and had been stopped for some time now. He might be able to catch up to him at last.
-oOo-
He did. Finally. He stood on the small hill looking down at what appeared to be a large mound of vines and branches. Moving slowly and painfully, he limped down to the shack, and inspected it more closely.
He could dig under the side of the shack, but he was too sore. He smelled the one he sought, and raised his head toward the shack's roof. After some nosing around, he carefully climbed up the inlaid branches and tangled vines. Found the opening in the roof. Poked around it carefully, then dropped/fell inside.
The fall would have hurt a lot more if the earthen ground hadn't been carpeted in more vines. He found the one he'd been chasing, as well as his powerful companion…and another slightly less powerful companion. This third one looked at him for a while, then went back to watching the two sleeping ones. He deemed the atmosphere safe enough to approach, and went directly to the one he wanted.
There was an immediate sense of homecoming. The thread connecting them throbbed in recognition, hummed at this proximity, and he was happy. Tired, sore, and happy.
Sickness. He could smell it, especially in all the sweat pouring from the one he'd chased. Most of the sickness was in the sweat, but there was hurt and bloodsmell on him too. He peered into the sleeping face, but the eyes were closed. Then he looked to the companion, and found his eyes closed too. The companion murmured and rolled over, and his power winked out, just like that. The third one keping watch vanished with a sound that startled him badly, and then there was nothing. Nothing but him and the two sleeping people.
Moving slowly, the rabbit Sasuke had handled limped up to the space that joined the Uchiha's neck and shoulder, and settled himself in this cozy hollow. Its nose was against Sasuke's collarbone, paws tucked neatly beneath its head. It stayed that way, weary but alert in its happiness at being reunited with Sasuke. Unwittingly, the rabbit took up the watch that Naruto's body was too exhausted to maintain anymore.
