Live to Hate, Hate to Live
Chapter Ten: Turn Back Time
Naruto could only see darkness where he was. He knew he had to be inside of his own mind. Naruto wasn't the kind to fool himself even when he wanted to. He was realistic, at least the real him was. Sure, he was a little dense, but he wasn't going to not see what was right in front of him.
This wasn't the first time that Naruto's consciousness had turned inward and sought out something. However, this was the first time that he could find nothing.
"He's really gone," Naruto whispered, his voice echoing in the dark chasm. The cerulean blue eyes, normally alight with so much emotion, were downcast as he wrapped his arms around himself. He felt extraordinarily cold as he sat there in the dark. "He's really gone."
Not many people know that Naruto always liked the Kyuubi himself. Sure, he hated what the Fox had done, but Kyuubi had been a pillar of support for him. Naruto would go to the Fox a lot once he had learned how to go deeper into himself to find the Demon.
And now the Demon was missing. Naruto still wasn't sure how Itachi had managed to take the Kyuubi no Kitsune from him as Naruto could only remember few parts of their last encounter. There was a lot of pain, ripping through his torso like fire. He could feel the burning swelling up and down his arms with each swipe of the knife that Itachi wielded only a few short weeks before.
"I need you, Kyuubi," Naruto sobbed. He didn't know how he would get his friend, his life support, his Fox back. He just knew that if it wasn't going to happen soon, then he might die. HE was scared without Kyuubi. He was scared. He didn't know what he should do anymore. He didn't know what he could do.
Sighing to himself, Naruto wondered if he should bother going back into the realm of consciousness. It confused him. Shouldn't he want to go back to where his friends are?
Friends? A voice asked him, leering through the darkness of his mind. They aren't friends! Would friends leave you in the clutches of Uchiha Itachi?
Friends! They are my friends, Naruto shouted back. He tried to block out the voice in his head.
Unfortunately, such a thing was impossible to do. The voice laughed at him, reveling in the boy's despair. Naruto did his best to ignore the voice, but how could one ignore something that echoed around at him, attacking him from all directions.
Just who was this voice?
Why was it tormenting him like this?
Couldn't it just leave him alone? He was mourning here! Was he so hated by himself that he wasn't even allowed to mourn in peace?
But no, the voice was laughing at him, goading his insecurities and fears to release themselves.
Sasuke had been with Naruto ever since finding out that it had been Itachi that had attacked him. The boy's condition had been stabilized and he was hooked up to an IV, still unconscious from his latest encounter with Sasuke's older brother.
Sasuke shuddered with anger. How could the dobe not tell him that it was Itachi that was doing this? What was it that made the blonde comply with the demands of Itachi? Several pieces of the mystery had fallen into place, but there were so many puzzle pieces missing that Sasuke still couldn't grasp the full picture.
The Kyuubi… Naruto held the Kyuubi within him.
The Kyuubi was gone.
Naruto was being intimidated by Itachi for God only knows how long.
Naruto… was going to die if they couldn't recover the Fox.
Sasuke knew that he should be questioning why the hell he was still sitting here when he could be out trying to recover the Fox for his teammate, but he didn't have the will. Upon hearing about Naruto's life expectancy, he felt everything drain out of him. He didn't know what he should do anymore.
All he could think of was staying by Naruto's bedside. Hours passed. Hikaru came and left every so often, but never said much. Sasuke wouldn't respond to her questions or statements anyway, so after a while, she stopped even greeting him.
He didn't care.
He was happier when he was ignored.
It meant that there wasn't a constant calling of his name. There weren't people trying to rip the clothes off his body. There weren't people trying to take his limbs home with them. He would be perfectly happy if he was just ignored.
But he wasn't happy, even though he was being ignored. Naruto was… dying. Without the Kyuubi no Kitsune to keep him alive, the blonde highlight of the entire village of Konohagakure was dying. That was impossible to fathom to the boy. That couldn't happen.
Such things shouldn't happen to people like Naruto.
Yet he had had his share of cruelty in his life. Sasuke had seen it, and had done nothing. Maybe it was Sasuke's fault that Itachi preyed on Naruto. If it was, Sasuke didn't think he would ever be able to forgive himself for it.
He sighed, hating his brother even more by the second yet he still didn't feel any motivation to go and destroy Itachi. Everything was sucked out of him. He didn't care about avenging the Uchiha Clan or anything. He didn't care about killing Itachi anymore.
He cared about Naruto. He cared about whether Naruto would live or die. He cared about the stupid blonde boy that was his only sunshine in this close-minded and somewhat hollow town.
Sasuke stared at the unconscious form of his friend. Naruto was hooked up to several machines in order to ensure his survival. One of these machines was a ventilator. Sasuke hated the idea of the fact that Naruto couldn't breathe on his own. His arms were punctured with more tubes than the Uchiha could count. He wondered why all of this was needed to Naruto.
After all, Naruto had always been really good at healing himself. He would break his arm training and have it heal in three days, if that much. But here was his blonde moron, unconscious and hurt and Sasuke didn't think he could do anything about it.
He hated that. He hated his own weakness. He knew that he should be out searching for Kyuubi in order to save Naruto but he couldn't do something like that. He couldn't move from this place. He was stuck here, lost in his own thoughts as he stared at the sleeping face of his rival.
Morning came quickly, along with Tsunade in the morning. She swept into the room, looking at the two sleeping there. Even though it was against regulation, she figured that the Uchiha should stay here. He was, surprisingly, the only one that Naruto subconsciously felt comfortable around. However, when he was conscious, she wasn't sure that Sasuke would be of much help.
Not with Itachi being the boy's tormentor for God knows how long. Still, as she stared at this unusual morning spectacle, she could only guess the bond the rivals had formed over the years and hoped that Sasuke would not have to lose that bond like he lost his parents.
She would have to have a word with Kakashi. These boys needed to be watched, and in order to do that, she needed to know more about their relationship. The only person to talk to about that was their very own teacher, and perhaps their teammate, but she knew (from experience, as Team Seven was almost exactly like her own genin team years ago) that Sakura might be more than a little biased about Sasuke.
After all, she had been the same way about Orochimaru. Back then, he hadn't been such an asshole.
But these memories were not something that she could dwell on at the moment. Careful not to disturb the boys, as they both looked as though they needed sleep, she checked up on Naruto to make sure that he was healing, even if it was only a little bit at a time.
Hours had passed since her morning visit to Naruto's room, and yet she was still dwelling on the subject of the two boys. Sasuke would, if needed, be stopped from going after Itachi. However, he didn't seem to be in a rush (which was a surprise to her).
"Naruto only has a month to live," she murmured aloud as she sat back in her chair.
"What was that?" a masculine voice said next to her.
Tsunade yelped and swung her fist towards the voice (merely a precaution). She wasn't surprised to notice that she had managed to hit Jiraiya square in the nose.
"Ow! Dammit, Tsunade!" the man yelled, cradling his bloody nose.
Tsunade carelessly handed him a tissue. She sighed. "Itachi took the Kyuubi somehow," she told him, not one to be beating around the bush.
Jiraiya's eyes widened. "But… when they were sealed, it's a known fact that to remove the demon is to literally kill the host!" he growled softly.
"And that's what's happening. Naruto is dying," Tsunade replied softly.
Jiraiya blanched. He didn't expect to hear news such as this when he came to bother Tsunade this afternoon. He didn't expect that blonde brat to die until long after he himself had succumbed to the sands of time. It was simply the fact that the boy was too stubborn to die.
"Who did this?"
"Uchiha Itachi," was the answer he was given.
Jiraiya's eyes turned to ice and he gritted his teeth in malice. "I'll kill him."
Tsunade smiled softly. She had been hoping he would bother her today. She needed someone she could trust to go on this mission. Who better could she trust then her old teammate? She knew he was a pervert and would much rather spend days hiding and scoping out the women's baths… but when on a mission, he was usually serious, especially if it was one of this importance. If it wasn't for the brat, neither of them would be in Konoha.
So this would be the least that they could owe him. "Jiraiya, you are hereby granted the mission to find and get the Kyuubi no Kitsune back from Uchiha Itachi. I want you back here as soon as possible. Do not fail me."
Jiraiya nodded. He was glad she didn't make him have a team. He worked better alone.
"I'll be in touch," he said before jumping out of the window.
Tsunade stared after him. "You better be," she murmured softly. "Godspeed, Jiraiya. I hope you succeed."
Claim your right to science
Claim your right to see the truth
Though my pangs of conscience,
Will drill a hole in you
I seen it coming like a thief in the night,
I seen it coming from the flash of your light
So give me strength,
to face this test tonight
If only I could turn back time
If only I had said what I still hide
If only I could turn back time..
I would stay for the night
Aqua, Turn Back Time
Kyuubi-kun's Korner!
Well, there's chapter ten. I'm sorry it took me forever to make it… but its finally here. I had a bunch of it written, btu it was too short, so I finally got my ass around to writing the rest. I hope you enjoyed and I hope you can forgive my lack of updating.