Chapter 14: In Return

Notes from the KIT-chan~

:sigh: Yeah—don't have much to say right now. But…yeah. XD

Enjoy~! ^~^ Oh, and HAPPY SASUNARU DAY EVERYONE! =^w^= (and Happy Birthday to Suzaku from Code Geass. ^_^ SuzaLulu forever!)

.::.*~Kitsune~*.::.

~o~

For the rest of the day, everything changed within the shack. It was silent…and depressing. Almost like the very same day when Hinata had died.

At that moment, Sasuke Uchiha was sitting just outside the usual aperture with his knees curled up, looking aimlessly at the sky, as if he were looking for some form of sanctuary within it…a sign of help, at least. But he knew he would find nothing at that point.

Because of him, the only other person he could talk to was gone, and his best friend, on the other hand, was having a mental breakdown.

The raven hung his head, then glanced back towards the inside of the shack, only to see the blonde sitting in the same corner by himself, the same way he had been before—with everyone shunning him from their world, turning their backs on him as if he didn't even exist. To the rest of the children, it was like Hinata Hyuga all over again, and this time, they had become more fearful of trusting yet another, including Sasuke Uchiha.

At that moment, the Uchiha felt bad himself. He didn't know all this was going to happen, more or less…Kiba Inuzuka giving his own life for the sake of them. And he'd only wanted to help. But all that had changed—and not for the better. For the worse.

The raven sighed and turned his head to face the supposed escape route, now rewired and sealed up by Norbert Kyuubi the tyrant, although it was still as messed up as it had been the first time. But still, it seemed impossible to even untangle the first few wires by hand.

Sasuke slowly closed his eyes.

That night, no one had decided to go through the fence when they had the chance, even though they had been looking forward to it for a very long time. Not after they'd seen what happened to Kiba. After that event, some were too upset to even go on with the plan, just as Naruto had been, for Kiba had literally been a good friend to everyone in the shack and could not be forgotten. On the other hand, more than half were too terrified to even take another step, even if it meant going back home. To the children, Kiba Inuzuka had been their leader, and without him, the group was disorganized. Even if they did escape, how would they even figure out where to go without guidance?

The raven paused, then stood up to walk towards the resealed fence. He knelt down and reached his hand out to touch the newly placed wires.

What was he going to do now? He sighed, then leaned his head against the fence closing his eyes. Kyuubi was in town that day, restocking on whiskey and red wine again. He wouldn't be coming back until much later on.

And it wasn't as if anyone cared that he was just sitting out here by himself moping around…

~o~

Suddenly, after a few minutes, he heard a rustling sound.

And then he heard soft laughter. "Sasuke."

The raven blinked, then slowly raised his head to look around.

Again, he heard another wave of soft laughter—and the voice was female.

It seemed as if it was coming from the bushes on the farther side of the fencing surrounding the ranch.

He paused, then slowly walked over to the bushes. The young Uchiha crouched down and peeked through the green bushes, seeing if the source of laughter would be there.

He found nothing. But instead, what he saw was unbelievable.

Behind the bushes, the raven found a gaping hole in the fence, covered with twigs and leaves, but big enough for more than one small child to even slip through. He couldn't believe his eyes.

And from how it looked, there were no loose wires and except for the twigs and leaves, it would be a perfectly clear escape route—foolproof. But then he looked around with cautious eyes, checking to see if it was a trap.

And it wasn't. At that moment, Sasuke could even escape now if he wanted to. But he didn't—he couldn't leave the others behind.

Suddenly, he heard the soft laughter again and turned around. And for a moment, he thought he caught a glimpse of a familiar light blue skirt reaching down to the ground. But the next minute, he saw nothing more.

The Uchiha hesitated for a moment, then turned back to the new escape route. He had to tell the others about this…but would they even listen to him this time? And Naruto… He hung his head.

Then he remembered the blonde's plan. How he wanted to change everyone's hearts for the better…how he wanted to make the world a better place…and how he refused to give up.

Even Kiba had wanted to follow along before. He had told him, as they were taking the tape apart, that he might even consider it when they all got out.

The brunette had laughed.

"But dreams don't come true unless you want them to and actually do something about it. You actually have to try in this world."

The Inuzuka chuckled and looked up at the sky.

"And to think of it, at the rate on how Naruto's working his butt off…things might actually work out."

He looked at Sasuke.

"What do you think, Uchiha?"

The raven closed his eyes, and got up.

He had to get them to trust him again.

~o~

"What do you want now, Uchiha?" a boy asked with an annoyed tone. "Haven't you already done enough?"

And when the raven had mentioned the word "escape" again, the children immediately stopped what they were doing and looked up at the raven with morose expressions on their faces.

"What makes you think this will work?" another boy asked.

At that moment, more children began to argue in disagreement.

But then Sasuke spoke again, in an unwavering tone. "I made a mistake, and now I'm fixing it by helping you all."

"But what can you do!" a boy blurted out. "You're just like the rest of us! You were dragged here by that fool as well, and he tricked you, too! What makes you think you're any smarter than us?"

"Wrong," the Uchiha spoke firmly, looking into the boy's eyes. Then he looked at the others. "Unlike you, I had a choice."

The children murmured.

Naruto stared at the raven with a blank expression on his face.

Sasuke went on. "You see, I wasn't taken from my home like the rest of you. I ran away from it, and I chose to come along with Kyuubi because I thought he'd understand me better than my parents ever would."

Gasps were heard.

The Uchiha closed his eyes. "But I know that was wrong. I shouldn't have run away from home like that, and I shouldn't have chosen Kyuubi, who lied to me, over my parents who truly did love me no matter what. And I realized this mistake after a certain someone literally changed my heart." He looked into Naruto's eyes. "He helped me see just how blind I was, and now I have a better view of this world we live in right now. And I believe we can even make this world a better place, if we just tried. And…I'm starting by fixing my own mistake—by helping all of you get out of this dump!"

At that moment, the blonde stiffened a little.

The Uchiha raised his head. "Now then…who's with me?"

However, the children only became doubtful, afraid of the outcome of this. So they turned their backs on the raven and walked away.

Sasuke turned to look at Naruto, to see if he had listened to him, but found that even he had turned his back on him and walked away like the others.

But what the raven didn't see was the unsure but soft expression on the blonde's face.

~o~

The Uchiha sighed and sat down on his usual patch of hay. At least he tried.

Soon, he saw his blonde friend again, sitting on another nearby patch of hay.

Sasuke winced, then slowly got up to approach the latter yet again. He had to talk to him again.

The raven sat down next to Naruto and was silent for a couple of minutes.

The blonde made no response as well.

Finally, the Uchiha spoke calmly. "Dobe."

Silence.

Sasuke paused, looking down at his feet. "I don't expect you to forgive me or even talk to me again…but I just need you to listen to what I have to say."

Still no reply.

But the raven still went on. "I'm sorry about what happened to Kiba. I know that he was your best friend, and how much it hurts."

Silence.

"…but I didn't want any of it to happen. All I wanted was to help."

No response.

"But he was a good friend to me, too. Don't get me wrong."

The blonde slightly shifted his eyes towards the Uchiha.

Sasuke chuckled. "He was the one who actually talked to me when you weren't around. And that whole time…"

Naruto listened.

"…he mostly talked about you."

No response.

The raven went on. "Hn. He told me…how much he thought of you as his best friend. And he told me how bad he felt hurting you all the time."

The blonde stiffened.

"Dobe, he said he'd already forgiven you a long time ago…but he couldn't figure out how to get the words out. And he told me how bad he felt seeing you trying to help the other kids in this shack, not even bothering to think about yourself."

Naruto froze.

"You don't have to worry about me anymore."

"He wanted to make it up to you, to take some of the burden off your shoulders. Kiba still cared for you, Naruto. That's why he helped me the other night—because he wanted to help you. And he even wanted to go along with your plan to change the world, thinking that it would make you happy."

"Why are you telling me this?" the blonde spoke in a shaky voice. "What does it matter to you? Why…why do you even care?"

"Because…I'm not gonna let you throw everything away like that."

The latter looked up at the raven, eyes wide.

Sasuke stared back with a blank expression on his face.

~o~

The two didn't speak another word to each other for the rest of the day and sat quietly on their own stacks of hay on separate sides of the room.

Everyone was quiet at the same time—so quiet that the silence was deafening.

Until the door banged open.

At that moment, all children froze as Norbert Kyuubi stood in the narrow doorway with a twisted grin on his face. And from the look of it, it was as if he had taken too much to drink at the town bar—he was seriously intoxicated.

But the man was used to it. Ever since he'd lost his wife, he became isolated and lonely—surrendering himself into cigarettes and liquor. And sometimes…one couldn't help but feel a little pity for the guy, deep down at the bottom of their hearts. Naruto was one of them, as he'd mentioned before.

The masked man chuckled and stumbled into the shack with a giddy expression on his face. "Hey there, kiddies," he slurred.

But all were as silent as mice…terrified, wide-eyed mice. God knew what this man was going to do to them next.

Kyuubi laughed raucously and clumsily took another step towards the children. "I bet you're all wondering why I'm here now, ain't that right, children?"

Some began to cringe.

The tyrant chortled again and looked around. "You see, I like all sorts of games—don't get me wrong, kids. Y'all know how fun-loving Norbert Kyuubi is."

Other children stiffened.

"…but there's just one thing," Kyuubi chuckled. He raised his head to look at the children with another stupid grin on his face. "I need a new playmate."

This time, everyone literally froze.

The masked man laughed as he saw the horrified looks on the children's faces. "I know how you kiddies just love to play these days." He took a step forward into the crowd, causing the little ones to take a few steps back.

"Well, then…" the tyrant chortled darkly, gesturing towards the children. "How about it, guys? Who here wants to be Uncle Kyuubi's new pal?" At the same time, he briefly glanced at Naruto, who gulped upon eye contact.

The raven stiffened. Hadn't this monster already done enough?

At that moment, the masked man began to stagger towards the young blonde sitting on the stack of hay. Naruto shrank back.

Kyuubi snickered and reached out his hand, clumsily brushing it against the latter's cheek.

The blonde began to tremble and closed his eyes, not wishing to take another look at the man, who'd already done more than enough to make his life miserable.

In an instant, Sasuke's face became rigid.

The tyrant began to chuckle sinisterly as he saw the son of his deceased enemy cringe with fear under his hand, savoring the long-term revenge he was taking.

At that moment, the Uchiha clenched his fists. Again, his heart became filled with rage and contempt. But this time, he did not wish to show it. This time…he didn't want anyone else getting hurt because of it. So he did something entirely different.

"Eh?" Norbert Kyuubi muttered as he noticed the raven now standing in front of the blonde, looking into his eyes with a blank expression on his face. He scratched his chin. "What do you want, twerp? Can't you see I'm busy here picking my new friend to play with?" He began to advance towards Naruto again.

"Stop," the raven merely spoke in an unwavering tone, holding his ground.

The masked man stopped and stared at Sasuke with a baffled, drunk countenance. "Huh? And why should I listen to you? Are you the King of England?"

"No," the Uchiha spoke firmly. He looked into the tyrant's coal-black eyes. "I'm your new playmate. Take me instead."

The children gasped and froze.

Naruto's eyes bulged, and his mouth gaped. "Sasuke…"

But the raven didn't look back. His face only grew a bit grim.

And Kyuubi's eyes widened, intrigued by the sudden offer. "Hmm. Well, then—aren't talking business today?" He scratched his chin, interested. "I think I might agree with you this time, Uchiha. Unlike Naruto here, I don't even think you've been inside the magical castle of King Kyuubi once, now have you, my little mushroom?"

The man was literally a sick fuck. But the alcohol…just made him eccentric.

Naruto trembled. "Sasuke, no!" he whispered frantically. "You don't have to do this! You'll—"

But the blonde didn't get to finish his sentence.

"Hey!" the tyrant yelled, now infuriated all of a sudden. In an instant, the masked man had knocked Naruto to the ground, his eyes gleaming. He hissed at the blonde. "No talking to my new best buddy, you little shit! Back off!"

The blue-eyed boy slowly raised his head from the floor and gulped.

But despite Kyuubi's rage, the raven calmly knelt down beside his blonde friend and helped him up, looking at him reassuringly. The same look Kiba had given him before…

"Don't do it," Naruto spoke in a soft, desperate tone. "You idiot, don't do it. Please, I'm begging you…"

The Uchiha only gave a soft chuckle. He looked at the blonde, stroking his bushy hair. "We're even now, dobe. This time…you don't have to worry about me."

The blue-eyed boy stiffened, his eyes wide.

But before Naruto could even respond, Kyuubi had already punched Sasuke across the face.

The raven cried out in pain as he hit the ground, clutching his cheek that now had a purple bruise.

"Sasuke!" the blonde cried.

The tyrant growled and yanked the Uchiha up by his arm. "I just said, don't talk to them!" he snarled. "You're mine now!" He hissed, dragging the raven towards the shack door.

Naruto was horrified. "No!" he shouted, grabbing Kyuubi's leg.

But the masked man merely shook the blonde off and whirled around, kicking him in the stomach. "Shut the fuck up already!"

The blue-eyed boy clutched his stomach and cried out in pain. Then, he looked up, desperately reaching his arm out as if there was still a chance that he would be able to save his best friend.

"Sasuke!"

But the door slammed shut.

And Naruto lay on the ground in defeat, his eyes filled with utter melancholia. "Teme…"

~o~

That afternoon, the blonde had spent his time out in the usual spot, absent-mindedly fumbling with a few blades of tall grass. His countenance was blank, and his eyes were sullen and dull.

"We're even now, dobe. This time…you don't have to worry about me."

"You don't have to worry about me anymore."

"I'm not gonna let you throw everything away like that."

A tear fell down onto one of the blades of grass Naruto was holding. "You stupid idiot…" He raised his head to look up at the sky with sad eyes.

What the heck am I gonna do now?

At that moment, he shifted his eyes towards the two unique stars in the distance, but noticed that one was now duller than the other.

The blonde gasped. Then he buried his head in his knees and growled.

Suddenly, he whipped his head up and glared up at the sky. "What the hell are you all expecting me to do now? Huh!" Then he lowered his head again and sobbed.

But at that same time, Naruto heard a wave of soft female laughter coming from afar.

The blonde sniffled and raised his head up slightly. And he saw nothing.

But just when he was about to lower his head again, he heard the laughter again and a small whisper.

"Naruto."

Almost immediately, the blue-eyed boy stood up with an awed countenance. He recognized the voice.

…but he couldn't believe it.

~o~

Eventually, Naruto followed the voice into the bushes, where the laughter finally stopped.

And the blonde couldn't believe his eyes.

A tall woman, with fair skin and long, light blonde hair was standing in front of him. She was wearing a bonnet and a baby blue dress that reached down to her feet. And she was smiling at the surprised latter.

The boy's eyes widened in disbelief, and his mouth gaped.

"…Okami?"

But the only response he received was soft laughter.

Naruto shrank back and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming. But when he opened his eyes to look in front of him again, the woman had disappeared.

Instead, a large gaping hole replaced her, and it was covered in twigs and leaves. It was yet another hole in the wired fence, but bigger than the others he had seen. From the looks of it, about two small children at a time could fit through the aperture unnoticed, for the opening was completely camouflaged by the bushes surrounding it. And no one was guarding it.

The blonde winced as all of it sank into his head. The perfect escape route…

And at that moment, Naruto thought he heard the woman laugh yet again.

~o~

Notes from the KIT-chan~

Sasuke finally steps in to save the day, huh? T_T (By the way, I was playing Super Mario at the same time—fighting Bowser—when I was writing part of this. XD Just for those of you who were curious. ^^")

:sigh: The next chapter will be the biggest turning point of the story. I can tell you that right now. Stay tuned for the next chapter, because you do not want to miss it. OwO

Until then…Happy SasuNaru Day everyone~! =^w^=

.::.*~Kitsune~*.::.

***As usual, reviews would be appreciated muchly. ^~^ Salamat! (that's Tagalog/Filipino for Thank You)***