I'm so sorry about the wait, folks, I've been caught up in the holiday madness it seems. XD But at least I managed to get a chapter in before Christmas, right? Though I'm not sure if it's a very good Christmas present...you'll see what I mean when you get to the end. It's not exactly the longest chapter I've ever written for this, but it's also not too short. It's somewhere in the middle, at a happy medium. On a side note, I've finally reached page 150 in writing it out. Yay me! Okay, I'll stop chattering on and start typing already. And hey, there's a tiny little bit of a lime in this one! Hmmm...this is turning out to be more of a NaruSasu than a SasuNaru...oh well, it works either way most of the time. XD Enjoy!
Chapter 10
That night, Naruto slept on the floor of Sasuke's room again. Even though the two were now "together", Sasuke wouldn't let Naruto sleep in the same bed as him yet. "That's just going too far, too fast," the Uchiha said when Naruto suggested it, and so the blonde just made himself comfortable on the floor.
For the next few days, both boys were working hard; Sasuke at showing Naruto his true self when they were alone, and Naruto at convincing Sasuke to just act like that all the time.
"You'll make more friends if you're nicer," Naruto pointed out.
"I've already got tens of thousands of girls who want to be with me because of my looks," Sasuke countered. "Imagine how much competition you'd have if I were to start acting nice."
Naruto shook his head. "They wouldn't really be competition, seeing as I know you could care less about girls."
Sasuke laughed, a sound Naruto was still trying to get used to. "I suppose you have a point. But don't you like the fact that you're the only one who gets to see me like this? You're the only one who gets to see me smile, or hear me laugh. Doesn't that make you feel special?"
Naruto thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, I guess it does. Okay, so you don't have to be quite like this when we're out, but you should at least stop looking like there's somewhere else you'd rather be."
"I think I could do that." Sasuke smiled.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Juugo and Suigetsu walked towards Konoha. Juugo looked at his partner.
"So what excuse did you end up giving Madara?" he asked.
Suigetsu grinned. "I told him we're going to Konoha for the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, since Sasuke-kun failed at doing that the last time. I said we'd take care of it, and that's that."
Juugo looked surprised. "He accepted that?"
"Yep," Suigetsu said. "Seems he really wants that Kyuubi."
"It kind of makes me feel bad for Naruto-kun," Juugo remarked. "He seemed like a nice kid when we captured him. He was good company, too. I wish we had him with us to keep us amused."
"Well, I'm sure we'll see him when we get to Konoha," Suigetsu said in response. "I think he's friends with that asshole who killed Karin, as well as that girl I'm going to kill. Plus, I doubt he's the kind of person who'd just stand by and do nothing while his village is being destroyed."
"We're not destroying the village, Suigetsu," Juugo informed the younger teen. "We're going in so you can find that girl and that guy, and I can find Sasuke-kun. If we have to fight others, we will, but that's not what we're there for."
Suigetsu glanced at Juugo from the corner of his eye. "I would've thought that you'd be all for causing as much mayhem and destruction as possible," he said, "but instead you're being all righteous and 'oh, we can't fight people because it's not what we're there for'." He shook his head. "I swear, between you and Sasuke-kun, I'll never be able to have proper fights with anyone."
"Is killing really that important to you?" Juugo asked quietly.
"No, not on its own," Suigetsu admitted. "But if I'm going to go through the trouble of fighting someone, then I want to be able to finish him off too. I though you'd be into that."
Juugo was silent for a long while, staring at his feet. "I was," he said finally, "and I hated it. You know that. You know I have issues with my urges to kill. I hate it, which is why I'm coming with you to get Sasuke-kun back."
"Maybe it'd be better for us both if we just don't talk," Suigetsu suggested.
"Good luck with that," Juugo said in reply. Suigetsu scowled.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"That's it!" Naruto exclaimed, making Sasuke jump. "We're going to the hot springs!"
"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Sasuke asked, and Naruto grinned.
"Yep. Neither of us has been in a while."
"You don't think it might be a little...awkward?"
Naruto shrugged. "I don't see why it'd be any more awkward than when we used to go as kids," he replied.
"Yeah, but we're together now," Sasuke argued. "It'll be odd seeing each other naked right now, and could be embarrassing if..." The Uchiha trailed off, blushing and hoping that Naruto would get what he meant. Luck, as it would happen, was not on his side.
"If what? If people see us? I'm sure all of Konoha knows by now that we're together."
"No, that's not what I meant." Sasuke shook his head and sighed. "Oh, whatever. I suppose we could go there. It might be nice."
Naruto grinned in triumph. "Yay! Let's go!" He grabbed Sasuke's hand, and the two boys went to the hot springs.
When they got there and started undressing, Sasuke willed himself not to look at Naruto, because he knew he wouldn't be able to control himself if he did. However, it seemed that Naruto had no similar issue, as Sasuke could feel the blonde's eyes on him.
They walked in silence into the actual hot spring itself, and for some reason, it was empty aside from the two of them.
"That's weird," Naruto said as he slid into the water, "I would've thought there'd be more people here."
"Yeah," Sasuke agreed, getting in next to Naruto and blushing deeply as he did. "Where is everyone?"
Naruto shrugged. "Who knows? But at least this gives us some alone time."
"I don't know, Naruto...what if someone does come in?"
"It's like I said; pretty much everyone in Konoha knows we're together, and we'd only be kissing, so I don't really see the big deal."
Sasuke sighed. "Okay, but just kissing, nothing else." He pulled Naruto close and kissed him deeply. Naruto returned the kiss eagerly, and ran his hands down Sasuke's chest, making the older boy shiver despite the heat of the water. Just as Naruto's hands began to venture lower, the sliding door opened and both boys froze. Sasuke quickly let go of Naruto as they both looked towards the door. Shikamaru was standing there, fully clothed, a somewhat panicked look on his face.
"Sh-Shikamaru," Naruto said with a shaky laugh, cheeks painted a deep shade of pink. "It's not what it looks like, we just-"
"I don't really care about that, Naruto-kun," Shikamaru said quickly, "but the both of you had better get some clothes on and get to the main part of Konoha. Sasuke, this is your chance to prove to the village that you've changed."
"What's going on?" Naruto asked, suddenly alert and serious.
"Are we being attacked?" Sasuke asked.
"No, not so much 'we' as 'Hinata'," Shikamaru replied. Naruto jumped out of the water and raced back inside to put his clothes on. Sasuke followed, though not quite as quickly. Once they were dressed, Shikamaru led them to the scene of the fight.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"Hinata, look out!" Kiba yelled as Suigetsu ran to Hinata, sword raised high. Before Hinata had a chance to even react, Neji was in front of her, and Suigetsu was sent flying away.
"What the hell is that guy doing here?" Kiba asked no on in particular, running to Hinata and helping Neji protect her.
"I believe he was one of Sasuke-kun's followers when we found Naruto-kun," Lee offered, and Kiba rolled his eyes.
"I knew that," he said in exasperation. "But what is he doing here, in Konoha?"
"Maybe he's mad at us for taking Sasuke-kun away," Shino said, "and now he's trying to get him back. It certainly makes sense."
"If that's the case," Neji said, eyes glued to Suigetsu, who was now trying to get up, "then why target Hinata?"
"Who cares why he's here?" Chouji said. "Let's just get him already!"
"I'm with Chouji on this one," Ino said. "Nobody attacks our village and gets away with it!" She and Chouji both rushed forward towards Suigetsu.
"Stop!" Shikamaru called out, running up to the large group of shinobi. Everybody looked at him, then above them as an orange blur flew past. Suigetsu looked up as well, just in time to see Naruto tackle him to the ground.
"Oof!" Suigetsu exclaimed eloquently.
"What are you doing here, Suigetsu?" Sasuke demanded, coming up behind Naruto. Suigetsu looked up – as best as he could – at his former leader.
"Hi, Sasuke-kun," he said. "Can you get this kid off me?"
Naruto growled, and Sasuke crossed his arms, eyes narrowing. "What are you doing here, Suigetsu?" he repeated in a harsher tone than before. Suigetsu flinched, then grinned maliciously.
"I'm here to get my revenge," the white-haired ninja said.
"On who?" Sasuke asked, and Naruto growled again.
"Who cares?" he said, eyes never leaving Suigetsu's face. "It's not like we'll let him hurt anybody here, right Sasuke?"
Sasuke didn't answer Naruto. "Who are you here for?" he asked Suigetsu.
"The bastard who killed Karin," Suigetsu spat.
"So you want to kill Kiba?" Naruto yelled.
"No, not him." Suigetsu turned his head to look at Hinata. "I'm going to kill his little girlfriend. That way he'll know the same pain and suffering as I've had to go through."
Naruto followed Suigetsu's gaze, then punched him square in the face. "You will not lay a finger on Hinata!" he exclaimed.
"No?" Suigetsu said in amusement. "Then how about I slice her to bits instead?"
"That's enough, Suigetsu," Sasuke said. "You won't be hurting or killing anyone. Believe me when I say revenge isn't the way to go."
"You're only saying that because you failed at your revenge. You made the mistake of feeling sorry for Itachi once you killed him. I won't do the same with this girl."
Naruto glanced at Sasuke, wanting to see his boyfriend's reaction to these words. Sasuke's eyes hardened, and white hot anger flashed through them. Naruto quickly forgot his own anger and got out of the way, knowing Sasuke would want to hurt Suigetsu for that comment. Sure enough, Sasuke gathered some lightning chakra in his hands, and plunged a Chidori straight into Suigetsu's chest.
Suigetsu spasmed as the lightning coursed throughout his body, and Sasuke just kept it going. Eventually, someone picked Sasuke up from behind, giving Suigetsu a chance to recover. Sasuke struggled.
"Please stop, Sasuke-kun," the person who grabbed him said softly, and Sasuke immediately stopped, recognizing the voice. "You know how he is, don't blame him for what he says."
"So you're here too, Juugo," Sasuke stated once he was sure he could speak calmly. Juugo carefully put Sasuke down on his feet, and Sasuke turned to face him.
"I came back to find you," Juugo said. "I can't stand being without you...I swear, if Suigetsu weren't so damn difficult to kill, I would have done so at least five times – and that's just on the way here."
"Well," Sasuke said, glancing back to make sure Suigetsu was still momentarily incapacitated, which he was, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not leaving. Not even for you."
Juugo frowned. "You're not leaving? Not even for me?"
"That's what I just said," Sasuke nodded.
"Then how about for me?" a new voice asked from behind Sasuke. The Uchiha boy turned and stared with wide eyes at the man who stood there.
"Madara," he whispered.
Naruto looked up at the newcomer in surprise. "Wait, you mean this is the Madara you were talking about?"
"You're coming with me, Sasuke-kun," Madara said simply. "You've been a very bad boy, sneaking off like that, but now you're going to come back home where you belong."
"Where I belong is not with you," Sasuke spat angrily. "I didn't sneak off, either, I was pretty much forced to come back here. But I've never been happier, and there's no way in hell I'm leaving again. Not now, not ever."
Naruto could almost see the smirk creep across Madara's face, even though the older man wore his mask. "A touching sentiment, but it wasn't a question or an offer. You're coming with me, whether you like it or not."
"No!" Sasuke yelled. At that moment, several things happened simultaneously; Sasuke started to punch Madara, Naruto tried to stop Sasuke, and Suigetsu got up and started towards Hinata.
"HINATA!" Kiba exclaimed. Naruto looked over to see Kiba hurrying towards Hinata, trying to stop Suigetsu from running her through with his sword, and then Naruto watched, horrified yet unable to move, as Suigetsu's blade made itself a new home straight through Hinata's heart. Naruto heard several voices cry out, then realized vaguely that one of them was his own. Suigetsu pulled his sword out of Hinata, who fell to the ground.
Immediately, Ino and Sakura were on either side of Hinata, attempting to heal her. Kiba, Neji, and Naruto all leapt for Suigetsu.
"No, stop!" Sasuke yelled, and the three boys turned to look at him.
"You're not defending him, are you, Sasuke?" Neji asked slowly.
"No," Sasuke said, "I was just going to warn you that you can't hurt him as he is. He'll just turn his body into water."
Suigetsu grinned, showing off his pointed teeth. "It's true," he said.
"Then how are we supposed to make him pay for hurting Hinata?" Kiba growled.
"Let me incapacitate him first," Sasuke said, gathering a Chidori in his hand once again. He started towards Suigetsu, but there was suddenly a hand on his wrist, holding him back.
"Oh, no you don't," Madara breathed. "I can't have my little pet helping these Konoha brats, now can I?"
Sasuke clenched his teeth and surreptitiously activated his Mangekyo Sharingan. "Hey, Suigetsu!" he called. The white-haired ninja looked over, and was instantly caught in Sasuke's trap. "Naruto, Kiba, Neji, NOW!" the young Uchiha exclaimed, and those three boys snapped out of their surprise just long enough to all leap for Suigetsu and kill him together. Because Suigetsu was under Sasuke's genjutsu, he didn't have a chance to dodge the attack, not even partially.
Madara's hand tightened on Sasuke's wrist, making the latter lose his concentration and break the jutsu. "I think that's enough dawdling," the older man said. "We're going now, Sasuke-kun." With that, he poofed away, taking a very unwilling Sasuke with him. Juugo disappeared as well, leaving his fallen comrade there.
"NO!" Naruto screamed, and clawed at the air frantically as if he could somehow bring Sasuke back that way. None of the others paid him any attention, however.
Kiba got up, away from Suigetsu's dead body, and went to where Ino and Sakura were still kneeling over Hinata. "How is she?" he asked. "Is she okay?" The two girls looked up at him with tear streaked faces.
"Kiba," Sakura said gently, "I'm so sorry. We tried everything we could, but we can't-"
"Then bring Tsunade-sama here," Kiba insisted. "She's supposed to be the best medical ninja there is, right?"
Ino and Sakura exchanged worried looks, then looked back at Kiba. "Kiba," Ino tried, "she's gone. Not even Tsunade-sama can bring her back now."
"No!" Kiba yelled, shaking his head. Tears formed in his eyes. "You're lying! It can't be true!"
Ino bit her lip. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
"No," Kiba said again, more softly this time. He dropped to his knees and held his head in his hands, and just broke down completely. Ino and Sakura each placed a hand on his shoulders, and Akamaru gently licked his master's face, whining, but Kiba pushed them away. "Leave me alone, all of you," he muttered, and when none of them moved, he yelled, "Go away!"
The three of them hesitantly left Kiba there, and the dog lover scooted closer to Hinata's body. He cradled her in his arms and wept. Nobody bothered him.
GAAAAAH! I feel so horrible! I'm sorry, Kiba, I really am! I'm so upset with myself for doing this, but...it had to be done. For the sake of the story, it had to be done. Now, don't get me wrong, folks, I love both Kiba and Hinata, and I hate hurting either of them (let alone both at the same time), but it's necessary for later plot. Le sigh. I was crying as I wrote that last part, with Kiba's reaction to finding out that Hinata's dead, which in and of itself should've been a sign to me to not go through with it. It takes a lot to make me cry due to something I read or watch, but it takes even MORE to make me cry due to something I write, so when it does happen, I feel even worse about whatever I wrote.
In any case, it's done. The last chapter before Christmas (and possibly the last for the year, depending on what I'm doing next week). Hey, did anyone else notice that Madara was kinda acting like Orochimaru for a moment there, just in the way he was talking? Oh well. It worked. I just sorta went with it, you know? XP Merry Christmas to all of you that celebrate, and I apologize if you don't. I'm going to go ahead and display my ignorance by saying I have no idea when Chanuka (I'm pretty sure that's the actual way to spell it) or Kwanza or any of those other holidays are/were, but if you celebrate a holiday that isn't Christmas or New Year's, then have a great one! And please try not to be too mad at me with this chapter...it was necessary.