Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto anymore than you do; Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-sensei. The thumbnail is used with permission from the wonderful artist fallenkarma.
A/N: My attempt at a Samurai story, I hope it proves to be fulfilling and enjoyable. This story is dedicated to fallenkarma as she provided the inspiration for me to finally pursue the idea of writing a story such as this. Sorry for the lack of updates as of lately, I have not abandoned this story.
"There are men who believe that when one is serving the lord, he first receives the lord's favor and only then makes endeavors in loyalty and his duties. They have understood the matter in reverse. Being able to live in this world is from the beginning by the grace of one's lord. It is a sad thing for men to forget this and, while setting their ambitions yet higher, envy their masters and the world at large." Shiba Yoshimasa (1350-1410 A.D.)
Chapter 13
Getting to a safe location with everyone on high alert to find the one responsible for the Emperor's death was a task and a half and his comrade let out an irritated sigh as she and he had to step off to the side to avoid another group of guards rushing by without even a warning shout. Naruto couldn't help but to feel as though he were viewed as unimportant with the blatant disregard the adults had towards him and his two accomplices but he guessed he could cut them a bit of slack given the situation.
Grunting and adjusting the weight of his best friend so that he could move steadily they set off again walking a bit briskly and still not really able to find a safe location. Naruto wondered about how the pink haired kunoichi knew the castle grounds so well even the chambers where he had spent his time before meeting the Emperor after having shortly arrived. He would have to ask her about that later as she led the way through the halls and checked rooms for occupants, it wasn't until they nearly collided with Itachi who gracefully and effortlessly adjusted his footing to avoid crashing into them.
Naruto was grateful to see a familiar face and felt a bit of guilt run through him at the blink of astonishment and worry that flashed across the elder warrior's face before his mask of indifference fell back into place with a slight bit of irritation directed at Sakura. Naruto made a mental note to ask about that later as well and addressed the eldest Uchiha heir, "We need a good place to keep Sasuke safe."
The blond stood there and waited and could feel the intense gaze of the other boring into him no doubt wanting to know why his younger brother was unconscious, obviously injured, and countless other things he could hardly imagine. He received a raised eyebrow for his statement and then a curt nod as the other turned around and began to lead them farther down the corridor, he made a turn to the left at the end taking them farther into the castle before they came across a stairway leading down and stopped to regard them inquisitively.
"There is much going on and you have your own duties to attend to Uchiha-san," Sakura commented formally and added with a slight smile, "thank you for your assistance."
"I will return once my duties are finished with and I plan to receive the answers I seek when I do," the elder replied with a sharp look at her to which she returned with a glare. That made Naruto even more interested in figuring out what had happened to make the two interact the way they were. In the short amount of time he had spent around Itachi he had yet to see the other lose any amount of his control and temper unless he and his father were speaking about Sasuke. To see even that twitch of a dark eyebrow or the narrowing of eyes as he looked at the pink haired girl made him want to ask a dozen questions.
"Try to take better care of my little brother if you would Naruto-kun," Itachi replied with a smirk that meant he was not blaming him only telling him in that Uchiha way to be careful and watch one another's backs. He nodded and watched as the other turned and left them there to descend the stairs which was difficult with a still unconscious Sasuke but something they managed. As Sakura helped him lower the raven to the ground in a sitting position and rose to turn back towards the corridor leading upstairs he looked up at her, "Hey, we have to stay here."
"I know that, I am merely taking a few precautions in case we are discovered," the other said and if not for Kakashi's training, he would not have seen nor felt the flow of her chakra forming around her. It was green, something he noticed matched the color of her eyes and whatever hand seals she was using as her back was turned to him was creating a thickly spun web in the doorway and before she turned back to him she reached through that web making it shimmer to close the heavy door that was previously open when they had arrived. Her chakra lit the room in a surreal glow momentarily before they were plunged in darkness.
He wasn't afraid of the dark by any means but the utter completeness of this darkness unsettled him. It was deafening and not even holding his hand in front of his face could be seen. Complete silence disturbed him far more than complete darkness so he jumped when he heard the unnaturally loud sound of approaching footsteps and calmed immediately when he felt the now familiar energy of Sakura's chakra. She spoke softly thankfully breaking the eerie silence further, "I worry about finding a source of light but if we do not then Sasuke-kun will most likely kill us on instinct when he regains consciousness."
"Why is that?"
"He is samurai and has shinobi reflexes blended with the reflexes of the noble warrior. Sasuke-kun was trained much like those in his family to forever be on his guard and when at a disadvantage to attack. While I trust that he is one of a rational mind to assess the situation first given the unknown affects that curse mark could have on him I am concerned that he may not be so rational."
"Wow, well that makes sense, you're smart like my-" he cut himself off not wanting to really talk about either of his parents but Sakura seemed to understand what he was saying and there was genuine kindness in her quietly spoken reply.
"Thank you Naruto-kun, you may be surprised by how intelligent the women of this country truly are."
"Yeah, probably," he consented, he knew his mom was and that Sakura and Tsunade were but the majority of people he knew from his village he had never taken the time to get to know seeing as how all they did was look upon him with disgust and resentment. He knew it had to do with his parentage and that his mother was not Japanese but he didn't think it was fair, life wasn't fair though . . . He almost snorted with derision at the very proof of how unfair and painful life could be, especially to his best friend and his parents.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by the hushed groan right beside him and the feel of the person whose shoulder his hand was resting on shifting awake. He said his best friend's name softly with more endearment than he had meant to but only received a breathy hiss of irritation as a response. It was typical of the raven haired boy to act irritated when waking up even though he'd never really been around the other as he awoke he did find it fitting given Sasuke's usual personality. That constant control and calm grated on his nerves more often than not just like the arrogance but they were characteristics that identified Sasuke to him and he was not as bothered by it as he appeared to be because of that fact.
"How are you feeling Sasuke-kun?"
"Like a stampede has trampled over me," the raven replied, an uncommon display of discomfort and honesty. Most of the time the youngest Uchiha hid his pain and would never openly admit to having injuries or feeling discomfort, Naruto knew this from the first time he had seen the other and when they had officially met and all the other interactions they'd had since knowing one another. Maybe the other was feeling comfortable and safe enough around the two of them to show such honesty and that spurred a warm feeling of belonging through him at the thought.
Sakura snorted, a bit loudly, but with obvious humor as she replied, "Well I know that, I would prefer specifics if you will Sasuke-kun."
"It is not debilitating."
"That is not what I asked, how is it you feel like a stampede has trample over you, as you so eloquently stated? Aching, piercing, stabbing, give me a description of the pain you are in," the kunoichi replied haughtily.
"As if ill, such as a cold, a trivial discomfort at worst."
"Good, then you can get to your feet and perhaps light us a fire so that we may see then," Sakura challenged. It could be that her gruffness and audacity to challenge anyone regardless of rank or gender was what had gotten under Itachi's skin earlier. Maybe he should ask about that while Sasuke regained his strength to stop an argument from happening between his two friends. Sasuke had lifted his hand, which was cold to the touch, and placed it over his own on his shoulder and the grip was weaker than what it should be which further encouraged him to ask about the interaction between Sakura and the elder Uchiha heir.
"So, what was that earlier between you and Itachi-san?"
Sakura snorted and a moment of silence passed as though she was considering allowing the distraction or not before she answered, "Itachi-san needs to lighten up a bit."
"Which you were so kind as to tell him directly," Sasuke replied with a hint of amusement in his tone of voice. Naruto felt better hearing both of their voices since he very well couldn't see them. He sincerely hoped that they were not made to stay down here for very long and silence fell over them when a loud shudder above them sounded through the room raising the tension and awareness of just what was going on to their attention once again.
Before the silence could be broken once more by another sound of the violence above them Sasuke's hand fell limply from where it was resting over his friend's making Naruto look to him with concern. Using the hand on the other's shoulder he managed to navigate his hand along his friend's throat, checking his pulse as he went and then up to his forehead which felt icy cold and clammy further fueling the panic beginning to seep into him. He was blinded by the sudden light of Sakura's pale green chakra illuminating the dark hiding spot they were in. Once his eyes adjusted he saw that she had moved to kneel across from him on his best friend's right side. Her hand hovered over the raven's form checking for injuries he guessed and gave pause above the pale throat where Naruto could clearly see the mark of that curse from the ex-Daimyo.
Glancing up at her face he saw that her expression was set in a grim line that held hints of anger and frustration and even a bit of sympathy which Sasuke would not like one bit if he had not fallen unconscious once more. When her eyes met his she offered a gentle smile of reassurance, "He is indeed feeling as if ill and that is what his body is giving off is wrong with him. He needs to rest and recover from the effects of that mark on his neck."
"What other effects are there, I mean besides this feeling ill and that?"
"Why would you ask that?"
"Because this is Sasuke we're talking about, some common cold or whatever can't knock him unconscious without warning! He was pretty much conscious again just a second ago, why'd he fall asleep again so quickly?"
"Sasuke-kun does not have the same defenses as you do, internally or through chakra. It was his own energy that was fighting the effects of that curse mark and as such he is severely drained and exhausted. He may have woken to ensure to us that he will be alright but I did not expect him to remain conscious for very long."
"Is that why you challenged him and insisted he tell you how he was really feeling?"
"Yes," she nodded and then that glowing light faded casting them into blinding, nearly suffocating darkness once more, "I wanted to be sure that there were not dire complications going on. I know Sasuke-kun has a great deal of pride and self control but I have learned that persistence can sometimes pay off and that he is not above asking for assistance when he truly needs it."
"That asking for help bit I haven't seen yet but the persistence part is true," he had a shit-eating grin on his face at those last words even though he knew the other could not see it, his own persistence is what resulted in his and Sasuke's friendship, later they became best friends, and now Naruto knew they could have something more if he could just wrap his head around how they could accomplish that. Right now was a bad time, but he felt more inclined to have physical contact with Sasuke since he knew the other wasn't going to rip his head off or something if he touched him now. His mind was doing a lot of wandering off today, maybe he was just tired, he still had not gotten very much sleep and was starting to get pretty hungry making him aware of how much time must have passed since he and Sasuke were thrown in the dungeon like delinquent children.
"Why were the two of you in the basement prison cells anyway?"
He hesitated a bit before answering since he was again lost in thought when the question was asked. Settling with honesty he replied, "I got mouthy with the Emperor and he thought throwing me in a cell would teach me a lesson."
"And Sasuke-kun, surely he was not being punished for betraying the Daimyo?"
"No, he wasn't. Sasuke was protecting me, told the old man that he would pay whatever consequences he had to in order to keep me receiving a harsher one."
"Idiot," she muttered under her breath, "just because you're the Emperor's great grandson doesn't mean you can disrespect him."
"I know that, but that old man was . . . he banished Fugaku-san and that . . . after everything Sas' has faced it wasn't right . . ."
"I agree with you," she said quietly, her voice resigned with suppressed emotion, "I care about Sasuke-kun too and he does not deserve to suffer anymore. However, the Emperor is the ruler of this kingdom just as the Daimyo's have authority over the villages in which they reside. Even you could be severely punished, even put to death, for showing such disrespect."
"It is still bullshit," he muttered darkly.
She laughed at his choice of vocabulary apparently as her next comment was, "You've met Kiba-kun haven't you?"
"Yeah, why," he asked confused and wondering how she knew Kiba. He had not seen the dog owner, who had talked endlessly about his awesome dog Akamaru most of the time, since they had parted ways in the forest shortly after leaving the village.
"Your lewd language, only Kiba-kun would teach you those western curse words. Or perhaps you learned from someone else?"
"No, it was him, how do you know Kiba-kun?"
"Oh, well we're from the same shinobi village. I've crossed paths with a lot of the shinobi of these lands a few times, and some of the other lands as well. The former are not quite as friendly, especially to a female shinobi," her voice had darkened at the last few words she had spoken. He couldn't imagine what it must be like for Sakura, not only as a shinobi, but as an intelligent, outspoken, and temperamental young woman. His mother had to deal with a lot of grief, resentment, contempt, and sometimes even outright hatred for being different and not born within Japan. Sakura on the other hand was born in Japan, but she was none of the things the majority of society considered appropriate for a woman to be.
"That sucks, I wish that people would just learn to accept everyone for who they are instead of who they think they should be," he said with a melancholy tone to his voice. He was aware that his tone of voice and his words told a lot more about himself than Sakura had originally known about him but he didn't mind. It was depressing that even Sakura, a young woman who had a lot to be proud of, was belittled and looked upon with contempt simply because she was not the docile, submissive, quiet spoken young woman who hid in the shadows and appeared to be a dainty flower or something of that nature. Maybe that was why he had never given much thought towards those of the opposite sex yet he remembered Kiba and Shikamaru talking about the girls they knew in their village.
Kiba didn't mind the strong women but he seemed to have a crush on someone that was quiet and soft spoken from what Shikamaru had said. The shadow artist however said that women were too troublesome to bother with right now. Maybe he could start paying attention to those sorts of things now, how people interacted and maybe courted one another, he could pick up a few pointers at least and maybe figure out how to not make it so others could figure out what he hoped would develop between him and his best friend in time. He was curious about all those same things any man was naturally interested in, not ready for all of it just yet of course, but definitely curious.
"Alright, we need to check on what is going on up there," Sakura said breaking the silence once more and pulling him from his thoughts. It had grown rather quiet and there didn't seem to be anymore fighting going on so he nodded, realized she couldn't see him doing that and said, "Alright, you first."
"Oh, ladies first huh," she said with a chuckle, "how kind of you Naruto-kun."
He blushed at her teasing tone and at his own embarrassment, really he told her to go first because she obviously had more experience with fighting other warriors and shinobi bent on killing them than he did. This would only be his second real battle if they had to engage in one and he was nervous and actually afraid about his ability to protect his best friend if someone came at them. She had moved to open up the heavy door to which he was reluctant to leave the raven's side and help her with but did anyway feeling only a slight burn from her defensive jutsu as he did so. He stepped back to give her room to undo her jutsu and waited in a defensive stance until she gave him a short nod.
Once his eyes adjusted to the change from darkness to dim lighting he turned to grab Sasuke kneeling down to pull one of those pale arms over his shoulder and holding his wrist with his tan hand to support him. It took only a short amount of time for Sakura to come over to them and help him carry the raven back up the stairs and into the corridor. They made their way through the hallway and Naruto noticed that they were headed to the room he was given upon arrival at this castle.
She signaled for him to pause outside of the room as she eased her way inside to most likely check that the coast was clear and he slipped the arm pressed against Sasuke's side around the other's waist to better support him as he waited. He turned when he felt a spike of energy coming up from behind him and was relieved by the sight of Kakashi coming up to him. But something didn't feel right and he couldn't place his finger on it, the energy was there, the face was his sensei's, but the energy felt forced, like it was cloaking another's energy and he leapt back suddenly crashing into his room none to gracefully startling Sakura who was standing over the body of an unconscious enemy shinobi.
She was suddenly in front of him and running out of the room where a clash of metal against metal was heard and a loud crash followed it. He looked around his trashed room and moved over to his bed to lay Sasuke down so that his hands were free. Rummaging through his things he managed to find his extra pouch of kunai knives and a pouch of shuriken, it would have to do as he didn't have much else like a sword or anything. It would be great if Sasuke were awake and able to defend himself but then again, if the raven were then they would have already engaged in this battle.
He wanted to run outside and help the kunoichi but his instincts and his own emotions told him to stay right where he was and alert in case anyone else managed to break into his room. The door was open since it was fairly battered from his crash landing and the enemies having torn through his room like a force of nature so he could clearly see the two engaged in battle in the hallway. The Kakashi imposter had changed to his original form, dark clothes, and mask over his face, dark hair on his head, and twice the size and age as his younger opponent. He was a bit fascinated by Sakura's movements, power, certainty, and precise and deadly movements made up the dance she was engaged in.
He figured that it must be something that anyone who regularly engaged in battle had in common, not one wasted move and that dangerous quality to each move they made. Before long he could feel the familiar spike of energy coming from those he knew. He felt through their energy more thoroughly so as not to be caught off guard like he had with the guy the pink haired kunoichi was fighting. He knew them, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Itachi were on their way. He would have never guessed that the two of them would be making another appearance so soon and marveled at how seemingly quickly they had arrived. There was someone else with them but he couldn't pinpoint who it was. Maybe they were fighting with someone else right now or maybe they had comrades with them.
When the four appeared to assist Sakura he found the answer to his silent inquiry quickly enough as they easily overpowered the enemy shinobi. Itachi turned on the younger woman with a glare intense enough to catch the walls on fire. She met his glare squarely as Kiba came over to him to slap him on the back in greeting and Shikamaru turned to give him a nod before his attention went back to the pair glaring daggers at one another. Naruto could see the twitching of the elder raven's eyebrow from where he stood just inside his room.
"I told you to remain hidden and make certain both of them stayed as such. Why do you feel you have the authority to disobey the order of an elder?"
"Disobey an elder? You're too damn cocky and arrogant to be considered such. You're brother needs medical attention soon and there were no obvious signs of violence taking place in our vicinity."
She was definitely angry and most likely it was that arrogance and audacity from Itachi that flared hers to come to the forefront. Her hands were clenched into fists at her side and she was not backing down or looking away from the other's face regardless of how heated his glare became. This was truly the most emotion Naruto had seen on Itachi's face in regards to anyone outside him family, well baring Kakashi who was obviously considered family to the Uchiha brothers given their interaction with the older shinobi.
"Who gave you the impression you were wise enough to make decisions that could have endangered the lives of my brother and Naruto-kun?"
"Who gave you the authority to give me orders?"
"I am older, wiser, more experienced, and a member of the Uchiha clan."
"I wouldn't care if you were one hundred years older than me you still would not be wiser," she bit back at the other before continuing with, "and more experienced in what exactly, throwing your weight around? Member of the Uchiha clan or not, I am not someone to be ordered around by an arrogant ass of a man with too much pride to see the logical thing to do."
"Logical," there was actual incredulousness in Itachi's voice, this was entertaining to watch so Naruto turned to sit on the edge of his bed and cradle his chin in his hand with his arm propped on his knee. He didn't need to get closer to them to hear them with them yelling the way they were. He knew he was missing something very obvious taking place but he found it almost amusing nonetheless.
"Logically you should have remained hidden, an inexperienced shinobi in training and an unconscious Uchiha are more a liability-"
Well that stung and dampened his mood exponentially but his suddenly pained expression took on a look of startlement when Sakura shoved at the other's chest and said in a loud but dangerous tone, "They are hardly a liability you pompous samurai, I was more than certain that should we have been outnumbered you and others would come running to our aid should we have needed such. I am fully capable in battle as is Naruto-kun," she finally looked away from the other to glance at Naruto meaningfully and thus alerting the elder Uchiha of his presence once more.
Itachi straightened and gave a short nod to him in greeting to which he didn't feel much like returning and instead looked to Sakura who was coming to his room ignoring the others to cross the room and lay a hand on the pale forehead of the younger Uchiha. She let out a sigh of relief which made him feel a bit better considering that she'd said Sasuke needed medical attention soon earlier. Itachi had entered the room and asked calmly, his mask firmly in place but his face still slightly flushed from the argument he and Sakura had, "How is he?"
"He will be fine, in time, and with much rest. He needs a few medications that only the medics have to replenish his energy levels."
"I thought Uchiha's didn't have chakra," Kiba commented breaking the tension in the room a bit.
"My family preferred to let others believe this as my clan has mostly engaged in the way of the samurai as of late."
"Sasuke-san and yourself fight with many of the shinobi movements fused with the ways that samurai train," Shikamaru commented in his bored tone of voice. Naruto hardly ever saw Shikamaru get excited over anything and since he and Kiba had made their presence known and he had noticed how crowded his room had become he took the time while everyone talked to look the unknown shinobi over. This shinobi was definitely female and she looked a bit nervous and unsure and when she noticed his staring she blushed and ducked her head. Huh, that was not what he was expecting from a shinobi, maybe she wasn't one, she hadn't really engaged in the battle but she wore the same sandals and had the hetai-ate that the other two carried. Maybe he was just confused because he knew Sakura and Tsunade were shinobi.
He winced when he was smacked upside the head and then pulled off the bed in a headlock by Kiba who growled at him, "Stop staring at Hinata-chan you jackass, it's rude."
"Sorry, I just didn't recognize her is all."
He was released and turned so that he was facing the other who looked up shyly at him and nodded to say quietly, "K-konnichi-wa."
"Uh, hi, sorry about the staring, I'm Naruto."
"Nice to m-meet you, N-Naruto-s-san," she said with a blush dusting her cheeks. He wondered how she didn't pass out with all the blushing she did and why she was so nervous. It was endearing though and he thought she was cute with how easily she was embarrassed, he grinned, "Same here."
"Hinata-chan is just nervous is all," Kiba commented to which he snorted as she blushed harder and ducked her head, "Now whose being the jackass?"
"You two grow up, there is enough going on without your antics," Shikamaru reprimanded the two argumentative teenagers to silence them. He ignored the affronted glares he received from both and the nearly non-discernable giggle that came from the prementioned Hinata. It was Itachi who brought everyone back to the difficulty at hand regarding his own incapacitated younger brother. He did so with a simple pointed look and then by turning his attention to the patient one of the two known Medical Nin was currently attending too. When the bright blue eyes of a blond haired shinobi in training focused on his best friend once more he noticed the reason for the nervous and worried aura coming from the elder Uchiha and the pink haired kunoichi.
As he looked closer he was able to see a very different and more sinister energy at work on his friend. There was a chakra the color of a poisonous night shadowing the bright blue that he often knew to be Sasuke's true energy. There were times when that aura was a deep red that could closely resemble the color of blood but when that was present he knew his friend was upset, now that darker chakra seemed to be suffocating the red and the blue he had become accustomed to. Slowly he cast his eyes away worry eating away at him as his thoughts raced through questions that he knew he had to find the answers to in order to help his friend.
When his own eyes met with those familiar and yet different obsidian orbs his mind only raced faster because of the rush of adrenaline he felt upon seeing behind those masks those of the Uchiha clan were infamous for having to see the genuine concern and trepidation that lay there before him. Turning his gaze aside he let his own thoughts run through his mind in the hopes that he could somehow figure out how to remedy this situation before his friends' energy was completely overpowered.
"Naruto-kun," Itachi called out interrupting his thoughts before they could even fully form, he would have ignored the other if he did not know firsthand that the consequences would be dire should he do so. "Yes Itachi-san?"
"A word," the elder said with a slight nod of his head before he removed himself from his brother's side and walked out of the room without another word or motion. With a hesitant sigh he did as he was requested and followed the taller raven out into the hallway far enough away to not be overheard but close enough to keep an eye on the sleeping Uchiha in the room. In the few short paces Naruto had already thought through the reason why his own chakra was not so affected by that curse mark from the snake like Daimyo and that it was likely the only reason he was not affected had to do with the dormant demon sealed inside him.
Ignoring the sardonic laughter of that much mentioned Kyubbi which he was regretfully realizing he could hear more clearly with every passing moment he also noticed that along that frame of logic he could discern that Sasuke's chakra was definitely being overrun by the Daimyo's curse mark. Considering the sinister feel of that aura poisonous was a good descriptive word to describe the effects of the curse mark. He wondered if Sakura, as a medical Nin could feel or at least sense those effects taking place.
"What are you thinking Naruto-kun?"
He looked at the elder Uchiha heir questionably caught off guard that he was being asked to give his own thoughts on what was going on. He thought about all that had just run through his mind and tried to come up with a way that he could explain it without looking as though he had lost his mind. There was a chance that the other was aware of the dormant demon inside him but he couldn't remember properly whether or not the other was aware with everything steadily becoming complicated with every passing moment.
"I can see chakra, Kakashi-sensei was training me, teaching me to control my own chakra and I can see it. I don't know if it's normal or not but-"
"It's unique and rare but not unheard of, get to the point if you will Naruto-kun," the other said cutting him off effectively before he ran off on a tangent.
He nodded, "Well that curse mark or whatever it is emits its own chakra. Right now its overshadowing Sasuke's to the point where I can hardly see his chakra anymore, either one of them."
"Either one of them?"
"Yes," he said with a nod, "Sas' has two chakras, red and blue. I can only see the red when he's upset and the blue is his normal chakra. Anyway, the other energy is dark, really dark, and it's purple and sinister. I thought of it as poisonous and it's crowding Sasuke's energy too much."
"Poisonous, dark, sinister chakra, you can feel what kind of energy it is as well as see the colors of the chakra itself?"
"Yes, so maybe we could-"
"Boost Sasuke's energy by feeding him our own so that it can stand a chance against the energy that curse mark gives off," Sakura added alerting them to her sudden appearance at their side. When he looked he saw that Hinata was kneeling over his best friend's form and her pale blue chakra glowed around her hand as she tried to figure out for herself what the problem was.
"How would that be possible, it takes a great amount of chakra to-?"
"Can it Uchiha-san," Sakura snapped making the other glare darkly at her as she continued without giving the elder time to finish whatever it was he was going to say; "That's where Naruto-kun comes in, he has a great deal of chakra, too much to be normal."
"But I can't tap into that when it belongs to-"
"Yes you can," she said sternly, "you did so before when you engaged in battle with the Daimyo."
"That was different and I had no control over that in the least," he argued.
"Well I suggest you take control," she argued back and grabbed his wrist to pull him back into the room explaining as she did so, "there are a lot of us here that can assist you with maintaining control. All you need to do is focus on feeding Sasuke-kun your energy."
"Sakura-chan this is really dangerous," he argued as he was directed to sit down on Sasuke's left side while she knelt down on his best friend's other side. Hinata took residence at the foot of the bed and Itachi stood only a few steps behind him. Shikamaru and Kiba looked lost but intrigued and kept their distance. He noticed that they were strategically standing well within sight of every opening in the room in case any enemies should arrive and that Itachi and Hinata were also keeping an eye out for trouble.
He jumped when Sakura grabbed both of his hands in hers and held them over Sasuke's form with the palm's facing down. She looked up as she removed her hands from his, "Just keep them like that and concentrate on summoning your chakra to your hands. I will guide your chakra to Sasuke-kun by using the same movements I do while healing, got that?"
"Yeah," he said apprehensively, he closed his eyes and did as he was told focusing on his own chakra at first and then with softly spoken directions began to dig deeper for the demon's chakra. The Kyuubi of course challenged him and he quickly went through what he, Sakura, and Itachi had discussed and how they planned to save Sasuke. The demon laughed at him saying that it had taken him long enough to come up with that plan and actually freely gave his energy. He was so kind as to make a lewd comment about his best friend being his pet but he ignored the comment.
His eyes opened when he felt the sinister energy resonating from himself fighting with the energy from the curse mark. The reddish orange energy from the fox demon and the dark purple and poisonous energy from the Daimyo's curse clashed and merged together before the darker energy was consumed. It was like watching a light show or fireworks going off. When his energy reached Sakura so that she could pass it on to Sasuke she suddenly pulled her hands back as if burned when it touched her.
He made to withdraw his hands to check on her but she shook her head violently, "No, I'm alright, keep going." He gave a brief nod and continued watching her as he left his hands as they were. Telling his unwanted hitchhiker not to overwhelm his best friend earned him a laugh and slowly but steadily things began to look up for his unconscious best friend.
Some of the color returned to that pale skin, hard to notice but when an Uchiha is pale he looks as though he is a ghost and when the life returns it is still noticeable. Maybe that had to do with his own awareness of the other more than anything. His light blue and red chakra grew stronger and while the red was darkened by the poisonous energy of the curse mark it was not turning to that purple color which meant that the two were likely merging.
He only pulled his hands away when Sasuke shifted those obsidian orbs opened to blink up at him and everyone else in the room. He grabbed a pale hand when the other lifted it to most likely cover his eyes or something and grinned at the other. He was awarded with a slight smile before the other turned his head to his elder brother, "What is going on?"
"Naruto-kun is a genius," Sakura offered with a grin that rivaled his own to which Sasuke snorted and looked at him quizzically for confirmation or clarification on what she meant. He shrugged in embarrassment and released his best friend's hand when the other made to pull it free. When everyone focused on him expectantly his now freed hand shot up to the back of his neck which he rubbed nervously, "I-uh . . . Well I can see chakra and could see the three different ones, Sakura-chan was the one that came up with the idea."
"But I would not have been able to come up with a way to remedy the situation if you had not mentioned the different chakra's and that the curse was emitting it's own energy," Sakura explained with a smile. She reached across Sasuke and messed up his hair with an affectionate laugh before pulling away and getting to her feet.
"I think it's time that you two got some rest," she said with her hands on her hips and a stern look on her face. Itachi made a noncommittal sound behind him and looked to his younger brother, "Rest, we will keep guard," to which Sasuke made a sound close to a snort of derision in regards to being told what to do. But he consented by closing his eyes which was the signal for everyone to vacate the room. He made to get up so he could make a pallet on the floor but Sasuke grabbed his wrist with his eyes still closed and without saying a word.
He looked at the other startled but stayed where he was until everyone exited the room, Itachi was the last to leave and on his way out he grabbed something off the floor and made short work of propping it up to create a makeshift door where his ruined door would have been. He nodded his thanks to which he received a nod in return.
Turning back to Sasuke, who still had a hold of his wrist he sighed, "I take it I'm to sleep sitting up then?"
With a grunt the raven haired teen shifted on the small bed to make room for him and turned to lay on his side with his back to him. Feeling a bit awkward about sharing a bed with his friend he was hesitant about actually lying on the bed next to him. He removed his shoes while still sitting on the bed and ran a hand through his hair to stall.
"Baka, lay down and go to sleep already," the other grunted irritably. He chuckled at his friend's impatience and did as he was told curling up on his side so that their backs were against one another's. Closing his eyes he took in the safe feeling of having his best friend at his back and succumbed to the exhaustion that had weighed him down all this time and fell into a comfortable and untroubled sleep. It had been a very long few days and while the death of his parents was still very real and very painful being close to his best friend again helped with every moment that passed.
TBC . . .
I sincerely apologize once again for the lack in updates but as my computer crashed (damn laptops) it is very difficult to submit new chapters. I am in the process of typing the hand written versions of the chapters I have written and hope to submit them soon. Thanks for reading and for your patience.