Title: "No Major Harm"

Author: Shaitanah

Rating: R (overall)

Timeline: chapter 411+ (SPOILERS for the latest chapters)

Summary: Look inside you, they said. Naruto looked – and got a lot more than he bargained for. Canon meets AU! + The meeting with old friends arouses mistrust. Sasuke is losing himself to his own dark side, whereas Naruto tries his hardest to blend in.[Sasuke/Naruto] Please R&R!

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Naruto Pilot Chapter also belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Lyrics from What the Camper Hears by Omar Barker.

A/N: My sweethearts, I am still alive! (Joy to the world, eh?) And here comes the continuation of the canon-verse adventure. Thank you for all your lovely reviews! You're made of win.


Chapter 8

Good Till It Goes Bad

I know, despite the terror in that call
That chills my blood and makes me draw the covers tight,
The fiendish yell and ghastly, ghostly wail are all
Some hungry, lonely coyote howling in the night
.

In the middle of nowhere

Naruto squinted suspiciously, scrutinizing the newcomers. A red-haired woman, the watery guy who had fought Sakura back in Konoha, and a giant with a solemn, detached look. Sasuke's team. That bastard! Could have mentioned it somewhere along the way that he was expecting them.

"There was a disturbance," one of the guys grinned, showing his pointed teeth. "But it's settled."

His hand shot up and rested briefly on the hilt of a large sword covered in bandages that he carried on his back. Naruto vaguely remembered having seen this sword on another Akatsuki member.

"I did promise you shark fin soup, didn't I?" the ninja smirked.

The woman rolled her eyes. "He actually wanted to drag Kisame's body here just to show off."

"The sword makes a good enough proof," Sasuke said. "Now we're going to Konoha."

Momentary surprise reflected on his teammates' faces. The toothy guy grinned uncertainly, trying to compose himself.

"All by ourselves then? It's okay. With the Samehada here, I can take on half of the village alone." His lilac eyes traveled towards Naruto, and the grin became wider. "See you brought a hostage."

Naruto moved forth. Sasuke was prudent enough to hold his arm out before him, blocking his way.

"Naruto is not a hostage," he said in a level voice. "He's an ally. Or rather, we are his allies. We're going to defend Konoha."

They stared at him blankly. After a pause, the woman said in a steely voice:

"That's a joke, right?"

"Gee, Leader-sama, your objectives change way too fast!" the toothy guy agreed. His lips twitched into a smile, but the look on Sasuke's face told him the youth wasn't joking. Come to think of it, he never did. He had no sense of humour whatsoever; of that Naruto was pretty sure.

And yet, Naruto thought, enjoying their gloomy puzzlement, even without a sense of humour Sasuke was fun. Especially when he did weird things like that.

The giant was the first to collect himself. His fleeting gaze passed over Naruto and registered him as the newest addition to the group – and thus, someone to be remotely reckoned with. The red-haired woman pursed her lips but witheld any comments. The water-nin snorted in amusement. For his part, Naruto marked them all as potential backstabbers and decided he couldn't be bothered with them. Sasuke was still a number one potential backstabber on the list.

'What have I got myself into?' he whined mentally as they moved on.


It is one of Suigetsu's annoying water breaks. The Mist ninja is sitting under a branchy tree, Kisame's sword lying at his feet. He can't dig it into the ground like he used to do with Zabuza's Head Cleaver, and it pisses him off. The Samehada is heavier, too, and he won't stop whining about it. Karin can't understand why he wanted it so much.

She is standing near the road, supposedly keeping watch, but more often than not her studious gaze drifts back to Uzumaki Naruto who is trying at the moment to start a conversation with Sasuke. Karin knows Sasuke well enough not to be surprised that he hasn't tried to squash him like an annoying bug yet. Sasuke is just cool enough to ignore him.

Karin twirls a blade of grass between her fingers and narrows her eyes. Something is not right.

"What's the matter, Karin?" Suigetsu chortles. "Have you found yourself a new idol? Is Sasuke discarded now? Well, I can get it. Golden hair, blue eyes, those funny marks across his cheeks – the boy's definitely a sweetheart."

Be it any other time, Karin would come back at that with something like, 'So this is your type, huh?' or 'Why don't you ask him out if you like him so much?' But she is too engrossed in her musings now and she barely even hears him. Her lack of response puzzles Suigetsu.

"Everything all right?" he asks, with a note of concern in his voice.

"This guy," Karin says finally, never looking away from Naruto. "He's a Jinchuuriki, right? He feels very… unusual."

Suigetsu sniggers and nearly spills the swig of water he has just taken.

"Way to go, girl! Whenever did Sasuke have normal acquaintances? Have you met Orochimaru? Or even us!"

A slight frown creases Karin's forehead. She isn't sure how she can explain it to him, what words she should put it into.

"Jinchuuriki are supposed to have two types of chakra," she draws out thoughtfully. "The one that's native to the host, and the demonic one. Usually the native one is predominant. The demonic chakra prevails only when the demon is breaking loose. At least that's how it was with that Bull." She falls quiet for an instant and then adds: "This guy has only one chakra. And it's not human."

Suigetsu swallows noisily. Doubtless, he takes a moment to remember the battle in Konoha and how it ended. His conclusions are so obvious that Karin can read them on his face and she can counter them all. A pact with a demon? No. Merging of two entities? No. Everything is way too predictable, way too impossible for what she can see and feel. This person has never had a human chakra; she knows that much. And this might be the reason for Sasuke to change his mind about the village. But why?..

"Are you going to warn Sasuke?" Juugo asks. Karin jumps nervously. Did he absolutely have to crouch up so quietly?

"Something tells me he might already know," she mutters.

Things are definitely going downhill from here.


Sasuke's team was boring. Not as boring as the squad leader himself; no one could rival him there. But they did have their (quite annoying) quirks, and Naruto was growing warier of them by the hour. He never particularly liked teamwork; and teamwork with teammates you couldn't really trust was hardly very beneficent.

There were, however, a few things about Hawk that Naruto liked. Suigetsu, the former Mist ninja and the former test subject of Orochimaru's, had a pretty gruesome sense of humour which matched Naruto's demonic nature (except chopping people up; Naruto had had enough of this from Kenshi and all in all, he decided he had no particular liking of the Hidden Mist Village). Suigetsu was also the first one to actually start a conversation with Naruto. He seemed friendly; though he was as deceptively friendly as Juugo, the big guy, was harmless. The woman, Karin, was constantly at daggers drawn with him. They bickered over every single thing and did it quite craftily, and soon Naruto decided it was entertaining to observe them. He decided they would make a nice married couple.

For her part, Karin mostly ignored him except for a few weird glances she had flashed him earlier. She was what you'd call a stuck-up bitch to the bone, but that made it easier for Naruto to deal with her. He didn't exactly want to like her. Not like he liked Sakura, for example. Karin was stubborn, self-confident and cynical; in his world she would probably make a fine demon. Or on the contrary, a demon hunter.

Also, Karin had the hots for Sasuke. It was as certain as the sun rising wherever it usually rose as so many songs went, and Naruto found constant amusement in tracking the glances she would send his way. Poor Karin. Obviously, she didn't stand a chance. The bastard had most likely never been interested in girls at all.

Engrossed in his evaluating thoughts, Naruto barely noticed the strange odour that was following them relentlessly. He sniffled uneasily. Another pursuit! Convinced that there were hardly any more people that Sasuke would have expected to join their party, he stopped and declared:

"There's someone on our trail."

To his surprise, Karin said exactly the same thing. The two surveyed each other suspiciously and blurted out in unison:

"How do you know?"

Argh! That woman was annoying! Worst of all, she was most likely no older than Naruto himself, and to take shit from an obnoxious female brat was humiliating.

Suigetsu sniggered. Karin flashed him a scathing look and eyed Sasuke expectantly. Uchiha looked past her, at Naruto.

"Cloud?" The others turned to him. "We were followed by a squad of Kumogakure ninja."

"We saw them. I kicked them off the trail a while ago," Juugo said. Naruto's attention snapped to him temporarily: he spoke so rarely that his voice sounded almost ethereal.

"These new guys," Naruto said slowly, "they don't seem to be following us. I'd say they're avoiding us."

Sasuke nodded thoughfully. The best they could do now was to make sure their paths wouldn't cross. There was one way to ensure that. Team Hawk halted and hid beneath the spreading trees. If they remained motionless, they had a better chance to stay unnoticed. Otherwise, the trace their chakra left in the air was far too intense.

Naruto flung himself on the ground and picked up a small pebble. This was getting too troublesome, all those chases and weird enemies. He tossed the pebble up and caught it several times and finally decided he needed the second one. He found it relatively quickly. It was slightly bigger and not so smooth but it suited his purpose nonetheless. Naruto started juggling, the tip of his tongue peeking between his lips. It was more fun than watching Sasuke's sour expression anyway.

His activities were soon interrupted by Karin. She stood next to him, tapping with her heel anxiously.

"Get up, Dandelion-head," she said gruffly. "Recon."

Naruto grimaced at the nickname but let it slide. The idea of going somewhere with her didn't seem like a good one, but then again, the sooner they dealt with the problem, the better. They separated in the woods and explored the area. The scent of the chakra, barely perceptible even to Naruto's powerful receptors, lingered teasingly somewhere on the periphery.

"There are a lot of them," Naruto told Karin when they met ten minutes later. "More than a three-man cell for sure."

She wrinkled her forehead and said nothing. He trotted after her as she walked back to the group, humming non-committally to himself.

"How long have you known Sasuke?" he asked.

"A couple of years if you count from our first meeting," she replied promptly, without giving it much thought. "You?"

He chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully. "Life." That should be the correct answer.

"Sounds like a sentence."

Naruto laughed quietly. With Sasuke, it probably was.

He threw his head up resolutely. Why the hell was he being so passive? He set out to defend Konoha. To do that, he needed to make it back at first. He had to make sure Sasuke and his gang of idiots were indeed allies and could provide all the necessary help regardless of their true motives. So why was he doing nothing about it? Why was he letting a bunch of worthless enemy ninja control their movements?

"I'll go check on them again and see what we can do," he said and leapt into the tree. "Maybe we can drive them away."

"No, Naruto, wait!" Karin hissed. "Get back here, you idiot!"

He vanished behind the thick curtain of the leafage, ignoring her. The last thing he heard was her growl of exasperation.


Bushes part, and Sasuke rises to face Karin, only just back from her reconnaisance operation. As she relates to him the details, he can't help looking behind her back, searching for him. Just where the hell is he?

Karin clears her throat, reminding him of her presence. Sasuke glances at her briefly and gives a curt nod.

"Naruto?"

"Gone," Karin states. "He's a blasted idiot. You should put him on a leash!"

Sasuke cocks an eyebrow. That sounds like a really good idea. Soon he'll be thinking how to put it into practice.

Karin goes on fuming, and somewhere in the middle of her ramblings he turns around abruptly, sensing danger. They're coming. No, they're already here!

Karin ducks. Sasuke flings a couple of shuriken to counter their shuriken. They pour on the ground down from the surrounding trees. There are several squads of them. They are all wearing the same sand-coloured Jounin vests and veil-like masks to cover their faces. When a sunbeam glides across one of the forehead protectors, Sasuke frowns and then smirks.

Hidden Sand.

It's been a while since he had any dealings with those shinobi.

This fight should be easy. As soon as they sort it out (who was following who, etc.) they can just part their way as if nothing happened. Things sometimes turn out this way on the road. Suigetsu, on the other hand, may severely complicate things. Sasuke leaps up to him when his sword is at the ready and whispers gravely, "Don't even think about that." If he kills someone just to satisfy his bloodlust, the Sand ninja will never let it slide.

They fight with taijutsu and the basic ninjutsu, as far from the Jounin level as it can get. It makes Sasuke more cautious of them. Clearly they are big fish. It shows in the way they move, the way they attack and parry, in all the clean-cut blows and swift line changes. Big fish that feels the need to pretend to be something that it's not is twice more dangerous.

There is one that keeps at the rear all the time. Sasuke defines him as a figurehead. He is important; otherwise he wouldn't be holding back. He is either too weak or too strong.

Sasuke makes a go for him. Taking out the figurehead would result in ending the battle, no doubt about that. The man leaps back, executing a series of hasty movements that somehow doesn't fit well with his perfectly still posture just seconds before. He flings the shuriken, and the flick of his wrist is slow and lazy like he isn't accustomed to it. There is only one reason for a shinobi to be so awkward with projectiles: they are not his specialization.

Sasuke dodges and comes at him from the flank. A tired, black-rimmed eye stares at him from the slit in the mask. Sasuke frowns. No way.

A swirl of sand coils tentatively around his wrist. Damn! He changes the trajectory immediately, skids over the ground, leaps up and pulls the Kusanagi out of its sheath rapidly. He sends a current of electricity over the blade and attacks.

Way too big a fish. Why here? Why now?

A wall of sand rises on his way. The Kusanagi cuts through the impediment and hits something else. His arm, with sand slithering over it protectively.

Sasuke clenches his teeth.

They block each other perfectly; neither of them is able to move. Those aquamarine eyes study Sasuke intently, and he knits his eyebrows curiously.

"Long time no see, Uchiha Sasuke," the opponent says in a level voice, not even slightly breathless.

His free hand reaches up and pulls the mask aside, revealing the familiar milky-white face. He looks older. The delicate subtlety of his features is brought forth by the imprint of serenity that has been laid upon them. Sasuke hasn't seen him for years, but he has heard about him. The guy made a Kazekage. Good for him.

"Gaara of the Desert," Uchiha acknowledges him.

A moment of recognition has passed; neither of them cares to move. Why should they? The alignment of the forces is: Konoha's missing-nin against Konoha's ally. Interesting; not to say ironic.

Sasuke is pretty sure they can stay like this forever, two perfect statues, determined and immobile. But the silence is broken by Naruto's outcry. The youth shows up on one of the low-hanging branches, looking like he is about to attack.

Sasuke's breath hitches. He won't recognize Gaara as a friend. He will attack and jeopardize the entire mission, simply because he won't know better.

Can't let it happen.

Sasuke surrenders. It is a barely noticeable gesture: an inclination of his head, the relenting glint in his eyes. The blade of the Kusanagi moves a millimetre – and slips off. The sand charges at him and hits him flat in the chest. It tosses Sasuke aside. He crashes into the tree, causing Naruto to fall off, unprepared. He collapses on the ground near Sasuke, and Uchiha hisses into his ear urgently:

"That guy over there is Gaara, the former Jinchuuriki and the ruler of the Sand Village. Your friend."

"I got it, I got it," Naruto mumbles, realizing his would-be mistake perplexedly.

He gets up and cracks a nervous smile. The Sand nins are still. The Kazekage stares at him blankly.

"Looks like there was a little misunderstanding, right?" Naruto smiles. "Hey… Gaara."

"Naruto," the Kazekage says in his haunting, husky voice, as if having noticed him for the first time.

From the corner of his eye, Sasuke glances at his teammates. They are frozen in their stand against the Sand adversaries, indecisive as to whether they are free to move now. All three of them are watching Naruto. The look on Karin's face clearly says, 'We're screwed.'


Gaara of the Desert had no eyebrows.

Naruto found that it irked him. The guy was creepy. Well, there were a lot more creepy things about him like the sand flying around him at his command, and the blood-red hair, and the kanji meaning 'love' on his forehead (like, seriously… love!), and those empty light-green eyes. Not to mention, he used to be a demon container.

But no eyebrows irked him more.

He couldn't take his eyes off Gaara as they made camp together, the Sand nins and Team Hawk, and sat down by the flaring fire to discuss the situation. According to Temari, Gaara's elder sister who kept looking at Naruto like he could vanish into the thin air anytime, they were making their way to a far-off rendezvous point for the Kage Summit called by the Raikage of the Hidden Cloud Village. (Naruto shuddered: that Cloud just wouldn't leave them alone!) To save time, they rejected formalities and traveled light, masquerading for regular shinobi.

'Kage Summit,' Naruto thought. 'Would Tsunade be there too?'

"I think they'd be pretty interested to know you're with Naruto," Temari said to Sasuke.

"Speaking of which," the other sibling, Kankurou, noted, "they'd be even more interested to know Naruto's alive and well. I'll go send a message."

As soon as he left, Sasuke cast a fleeting look at the shadowy spot near the trees where his team was lounging. One of the birds, Juugo's constant companions, took wing and disappeared beyond the tree tops.

All in all, Naruto liked these people. Instincts warned him against getting too close to them – especially Gaara who had been drilling him with a suspicious gaze ever since they met. They were Naruto's friends. He couldn't say how well they were supposed to know him, but probably better than Naruto himself did.

They were to walk together for a few days. Naruto was pretty sure Sasuke and Team Hawk hated the idea; that alone made him agree to the Sand's proposition without giving it a second thought. After all, who the hell wanted to hear Sasuke's opinion at all?


The morning was bright and clear, without a trace of last night's disturbances in the sky. The Sand and Team Hawk moved stealthily in the close proximity of the road, the ninja in the rear checking it constantly for any sign of suspicious movements. Doing this was easy. The idea of being the other's stand-in bothered him, but not as much as the idea of being exposed as an impostor. After all, Sasuke had figured him out pretty quickly. Of course, no one else here had seen him turn into a nine-tailed fox or anything, but the way Gaara watched him was greatly unsettling.

Naruto decided he could use Sasuke's help to keep his identity secret. During the evening halt he marched up to Sasuke resolutely and gave him his most eloquent look.

"How about a little sparring session?"

Sasuke's eyes grew a tad wider, if only for a moment. Predictably, he said no. Shaking his head irritably, Naruto blocked his way, preventing him from joining the rest of Hawk.

"I do realize you'd rather be doing nothing and looking all broody and mysterious. Seriously, though, no one's asking you, so let's get it over with."

He grabbed Sasuke by the elbow and dragged him towards the clearing he had singled out earlier as a nice training place. Uchiha pulled away and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'don't touch me'. Naruto rolled his eyes. How much more difficult could he get?

One of the Sand nins passed close enough to them. Naruto stood next to Sasuke, resisting the rising urge to produce a kunai and shove it between the bastard's ribs. He smiled reassuringly at the Sand nin, waited for him to vanish amidst the trees and then hissed rapidly to Sasuke:

"Listen here, genius! When I signed up for this little road trip with you and your flunkies, I had no idea Naruto's friends would come along for the ride! Every second we're with them, I risk being exposed and you risk losing your leverage with me. Mannerisms and regular behaviour, I can manage, but what about special circumstances? In case you haven't noticed, our fighting styles aren't exactly the same."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Naruto looked around warily, taking in the peaceful emptiness of the copse, and elaborated:

"In other words, whenever I want to sink my teeth into someone's throat, I do it. Literally. Just fire Kyuubi no Jutsu and there we go. Chomp, chomp. As far as I understand, he's a different kind of a fox. You have to teach me."

Sasuke gave a barely visible nod. Naruto released a small breath of relief. Regardless of Sasuke's motivation, he could be a useful coach.

They had fought before, but Naruto had been in a pretty tattered condition and couldn't enjoy it to the fullest. As they checked his taijutsu skills (and found them matching the other Naruto's fairly decently) and went on to ninjutsu, Naruto took his time to enjoy every attack, every counterattack, every fraudulent move. Sasuke was aggressive, but level-headed. He didn't break a sweat throughout the sparring. His mute confidence enraged Naruto and egged him on acting faster, smarter, bolder.

Evading a series of fire jolts, Naruto bent low towards the ground, pressed his palm flat against the rocky surface and struck gently. Coulmns of dirt jetted upwards. Sasuke changed the trajectory of his run and charged at Naruto from above. The dirt shot up, leaving the ground furrowed and covered in holes. Naruto formed a seal to direct the columns towards the opponent. They formed bars around Sasuke who was but a fraction of a second too slow to escape.

Naruto delivered a foxy grin.

Gotcha.

Puffs of white smoke enveloped Sasuke. When it dissipated, Naruto saw a wooden stub with an explosive tag attached to it in the centre of the barred circle. The seal went off. Clods of dirt poured over Naruto. He threw his arms up to cover his face.

As the dirt rain settled down, Naruto rubbed his eyes and glared at his opponent who was standing a few metres away, looking terminally bored.

"Kawarimi no Jutsu," Uchiha said. "Genin-level. The basics." A slight frown creased his forehead. "What's with the earth manipulation? Naruto's chakra is wind."

"Well, I'm sorry! Nobody bothered to enlighten me," Naruto scowled. "What do I do with it?"

Sasuke remained silent for a while. Naruto was about to give him a shake when he looked up at last and dropped one word, "Rasengan."

"Ra… What?"

"It's, well… Looks like a rotating wind sphere. His trademark jutsu."

Naruto pressed up his lips. The description sounded cool.

"Can you teach me?"

Sasuke stared at him with his usual blank expression – and suddenly snickered. "Naruto and I aren't exactly on sharing-battle-secrets terms." In other words, he had no idea how to do it. Naruto sighed. "He learnt it from his sensei," Sasuke added. "Jiraiya."

"But he's dead!"

Sasuke nodded curtly, indicating that it was hardly his problem.

"Let me get this straight," Naruto said. "The only two people who can do this Rasengan thing are: the other Naruto who's temporarily or, what the hell, maybe even permanently unavailable, and the guy who taught him how to do it – and then kicked the bucket! Perfect! Anything else I should know?"

Sasuke folded his arms across his chest and was looking at the deformed ground absent-mindedly. "Kage Bunshin?"

"What the–? Can you teach me that?"

Looking at Sasuke now, he felt really stupid. Like he was a pushy schoolboy trying to get his sensei's attention. Naruto cringed. He'd rather die than call Sasuke 'sensei'. Or even 'senpai'. Or anything at all that doesn't have any insult hidden somewhere.

"I could teach you a simple Bunshin no Jutsu," Sasuke said, still hesitant. "Illusory clones. But the Sharingan reads them. If you were to fight against me or Madara, we'd know. Naruto creates solid bodies and each of them has a percentage of his own power. That's an advanced technique."

Naruto glared at him. It enfuriated him how he managed to speak so hypocritically high of his counterpart, yet still managed to bring him down.

Sasuke formed the seals, and a second later an exact copy of him stood beside him. Naruto gaped at the clone, starry-eyed. It reminded him of meeting the other Naruto back in the trial cave, and he thought it might not be such a bad idea to learn how to make copies of himself.

He repeated Sasuke's gestures hastily, but nothing happened. He growled and tried again. And again. And again.

"Dead last," he heard Sasuke mutter.

"You shut up! You are the last person I'd learn from if I had a choice."

Half an hour later he issued a triumphant call, pointing at the ground. Sasuke who was half-asleep by the fallen trees at the meantime cocked his head and surveyed the nearly dead body lying at Naruto's feet.

"That looks familiar."

His voice sounded emotionless as usual, but his eyes gleamed with derision. Naruto snarled at his remark and continued with his attempts. Oh, he'd show this smug ass the true power of spirit! He'd learn to make these stupid clones! Lots and lots of them to make Sasuke sick of yellow and orange. And then he'd advance them to that other, solid bodies level! All by himself!

Naruto couldn't say how much time had passed when Sasuke finally separated from the trees and started walking back towards the camp. He called him by name quietly. Naruto ignored it. His body was pulsing with a spectre of new sensations, exhausted, but he continued to channel his chakra, and that single nearly dead clone was only half-dead now. Big progress.

"We need to speed up tomorrow," Sasuke said. "You have to rest."

"I'll catch some sleep later," Naruto waved him off. "You be off now."

"Naruto–."

The youth turned to face him, his eyes blazing with fierce determination.

"Haven't you figured it out by now? It's pointless to try and get me to change my mind. I might not be the Naruto you know, but my name's still Uzumaki Naruto, and that translates as 'never give up'!" He clenched his fist and shook it in the air. "If I say I'll do it, I'll do it. That is my way."

He turned his back on the startled Sasuke and concentrated in his work. A few moments later he heard Sasuke leave.


His face looks almost feral. His eyes sparkle feverishly, and his teeth are bared and clenched stubbornly, and the whisker-marks are thick and bright against his skin.

"If I say I'll do it, I'll do it," he exclaims with passion. "That is my way."

Sasuke has already seen these eyes and this face. He has once seen Naruto stick a kunai into his hand and let the poisoned blood flow until there was a possibility of him dying from blood loss.

'The mission continues!'

'I will protect you all.'

'This is my ninja way!'

Sasuke shakes his head. Impossible! Why do they have to be so alike and yet so different? Maybe Naruto is just screwing with him? Maybe this silly story about another world is just a make-believe? Perhaps he's feigning partial amnesia and… Oh, hell, no! Naruto isn't smart enough, or calculative enough, or… Just not his style. Naruto is straightforward and pig-headed. He wouldn't fake indifference just to make Sasuke come home. Sasuke is pretty sure he is still in control of this situation.

Sasuke leaves him in the clearing for the night and returns in the morning, expecting to find him exhausted, lying alseep beneath one of the trees. But the clearing is empty. The youth takes a look around.

"Oi, Sasuke! Up here!"

Huh?

Sasuke tilts his head back – and clenches his jaw to keep himself from gaping. The trees are dotted with copies of Naruto. Orange-clad figures hang there in clusters, bright, boisterous, real. Sasuke activated the Sharingan.

No. Way. In. Hell. The dead last has made Kage Bunshin.

A couple of Narutos hop off the tree and stroll up to him leisurely, grinning their identical grins.

"What do you say now, huh?"

"Hn."

Naruto groans, disappointed.

"We have to move," Sasuke says casually, hoping his dumb astonishment wasn't too obvious.


Fighting Sasuke was… Naruto couldn't explain the feelings it roused, but it felt so natural. They had been thrashing another clearing during the halt at the end of the third day of their crossing with the Sand nins for no less than two hours, and neither of them seemed to get particularly tired of it. Thanks to occasional tips Sasuke was kind enough to be giving, Naruto had polished his fighting style enough to show it off in front of the small crowd that had gathered to watch them after dinner.

"Is there a chance they'll just kill each other and we'll be free to go?" Suigetsu quipped, chewing on the straw of his water jerrican.

"And where exactly would you go?" Juugo asked, disinterested.

The Mist ninja muttered something inaudible to himself. Gaara's siblings chuckled almost in unison.

"Come and get me!" Naruto baited.

A barrage of kunai stood on his way. Swift tongues of fire glared in the metal. Naruto moved like a lightning flash, multiplying as he sought a better angle to perform his attack.

"Yee-haaa!" Kankurou cheered. "Naruto-kun, go, go, go!"

Naruto grinned and propelled himself towards Sasuke, creating a short cut that was barely visible even to a Sharingan eye. It felt really good to have supporters.

A streak of sand cut in between him. Naruto darted aside automatically. Sasuke was nearly struck in flight, but he landed before the sand reached him and assumed a defensive stance.

Panting, Naruto looked up and saw Gaara standing a few metres away, his hand extended forth, his palm open. Particles of sand floated all around him.

"We haven't finished our Chuunin match, Uchiha Sasuke," he said emotionlessly.

A corner of Sasuke's mouth quivered slightly. His hands darted up, the Kusanagi sliding into his grasp. Waves of Chidori streamed over the length of the blade, making it unstoppable. He lunged at Gaara, crashing the sand shield that rose before him. Within an instant the Sand shinobi vanished, leaving but a swirl of grits in his place. Naruto darted up to Sasuke, looking concerned.

"Do you guys have a score to settle or what?"

Sasuke replied with his customary "Hn." It was all he could say before another volley of sand was sent in his direction. Naruto jumped out of harm's way and joined the spectators. He could use a break and some entertainment, and this fight looked promising.

Gaara barely moved at all. His jutsu were far-range and really powerful, so that their effect could be overridden only by Sasuke's speed. Uchiha threw taijutsu into action. Sometimes he was but a blur, his lightning chirping and crackling wildly all around him.

Gaara threw his hand up. A wave of sand crashed over Sasuke and grasped him before he could wriggle out, just a little faster than he was. He drew a Chidori-charged kunai and drove it into the continuous sand stream. Gaara tossed him towards the surrounding trees like a rag doll.

"He's brilliant…" Naruto exhaled. He had never seen anyone keep his cool like that. Even Sasuke's blank eyes would fill with emotions on occasion, be it anger or sorrow. Gaara, on the contrary, stayed serene and impassive no matter what.

"Yeah, like you've never fought him before," Kankurou chuckled.

Naruto shifted uncomfortably. "That was a long time ago."

Indiscriminate jolts of fire shot in Gaara's direction. The sand wrapped around him like a protective sphere. For a moment everyone was still. Naruto held his breath.

With a low rumbling that sounded like a beastly roar, a giant fire dragon rushed up to the sky and vanished beyond the thick shroud of darkness. Sand needles broke off the sphere and darted towards Sasuke. The sky swelled with a swirl of thunder-clouds. Naruto frowned. This didn't look good.

Abrupt rain streamed down on the clearing. The Sand nins jumped up, clearly unaccustomed to it. Amused by their reaction, Naruto noticed Sasuke's attack in the nick of time. Wet sand and a pair of Chidori-charged shuriken made a bad combination in Naruto's mind. He produced a clone that dashed towards Gaara and intercepted the shuriken before they hit the sphere. The force of the blow would probably equal a bullet hit. The lightning jolted through the clone's body, and it burst with a quiet 'poof'.

The real Naruto jumped at Sasuke and struck him with a swinging blow. His foot connected with Sasuke's jaw.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Naruto screamed at him.

The deadly crimson in Sasuke's eyes faded to black. They stood opposite each other, panting heavily under the hot rain. Then Sasuke bolted. Naruto clenched his fists angrily and rushed after him.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing!?"

The wind whistled in his ears. They were already far enough from the clearing when Sasuke came to a halt and turned to face his pursuer.

"That was a full-blown battle jutsu!" Naruto yelled. "Were you trying to kill him? Use that against me if you like, but not against people who did nothing to you!"

To think that for a moment Naruto had actually wanted to help this bastard! He was shaking with fury, his teeth bared in a snarl.

"Now tell me the truth!" he demanded. "I know you're using me. I'm beginning to think you're more trouble than you're worth. After all, who do you think the Leaf will believe: you, the missing-nin, or me, Uzumaki Naruto, the hero? It'd be a lot easier for you to kill me." He paused, then added gloomily: "Him too, you know. Your Naruto."

"I wouldn't do that," Sasuke said coldly.

"What kind of an idiot are you taking me for?" Naruto scorned. "You've had plenty of opportunities to off me… both of us! Why the fuck are we still alive?"

'Talk to me, Sasuke,' he prayed inwardly, 'don't just cut me off like that. I deserve the fucking truth!'

Sasuke's voice came out hoarse and uncertain, but his words startled Naruto.

"I don't feel so lonely when I know you're alive."

Naruto blinked. "Do you mean it? Or is it your way of telling me to–?"

"What's the point in me telling you to do something?"

That was… reasonable. Naruto couldn't hold back a nervous laugh.

"Why are you running away all the time?" he asked quietly. "What does it matter if I'm alive or dead if I… he is not with you?"

Some random impulse commanded him to reach out towards Sasuke; his fingers brushed Uchiha's forearm. Sasuke intercepted his hand and studied the lines on his palm impassively. Naruto glanced at him, and suddenly an uncontrollable feeling of loathing for this person came over him. Hatred mixed with pity, mixed with understanding, mixed with some other feeling he couldn't quite wrap his mind around. It flooded him, as though it had been whispered into his mind by Sasuke's own lips. His breath came out harsh, jarred.

"You're such a scumbag, Sasuke," he spat, with a note of infinite contempt in his voice. "You keep acting so cool and tough with me, but I know you haven't killed me because I remind you of him! And you could never kill him!"

He fell on his knees, suddenly short of breath. Tears prickled in his eyes. Why did he feel betrayed? He didn't even like the guy, for hell's sake!

Sasuke lowered himself near him. Once again, weariness made itself known, leaving a clear imprint upon his face.

"I can kill you anytime," he said. Obviously, he didn't believe his own statement.

"You keep plotting and betraying," Naruto said hotly, "but you know you'll fail. If he isn't here to stop you, I am. I'll never–."

Sasuke wound his arm around Naruto's shoulders gently. That light embrace made Naruto's eyes grow wider in confusion. He throat was tight. Sasuke leaned closer and whispered, his breath rolling against Naruto's cheek in heavy puffs:

"You don't have to forgive me."

"Sa…"

"He doesn't have to forgive me."

Naruto clutched at his shoulder. They had been friends. In another life, not his life, but the life he could have had, he had been friends with this person. It hurt so much, but he welcomed this pain. 'If I don't hurt, how do I know I live?' someone had said – trillions of years ago.

He pulled away. For a moment his blue eyes, shocked and sad and angry at the same time, were all Sasuke could see. He wanted to rise, but Sasuke held him firmly by the elbow. He drew closer, his eyes closed. The tip of his nose brushed Naruto's whiskered cheek. The youth stiffened.

"I have no choice," Sasuke said in a rushed whisper. "I've long since lost it, in everything I do. I'm not searching for anyone's forgiveness but the dead. Theirs is the only approval I need."

"But they can't give it!" Naruto protested. He touched Sasuke's hand tentatively. His fingers were cool and strangely delicate. "You're the one doing this to yourself. Choosing pain and solitude." Naruto gave his hand a firm, persistent squeeze. "Look me in the eye and tell me that's what you want! This so-called vengeance. Tell me you don't want a normal life!"

He could feel Sasuke's lips hover so close to his cheek. Part of him wanted to feel the contact; part of him rebeled against it.

"Everyone follows their own path," Sasuke said huskily.

"You must have had some dreams before… you know…" Naruto said. " Remember them and live. What's done is done."

Sasuke rose abruptly. The space that had only just been filled with his body was empty now. The air heated by his breath began cooling off.

He was gone.

Naruto slumped his shoulders. This would never work out.