Desire is a State of Mind
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I'm sorry that this one took so long to update. I was close to finishing some other stories and well, fighting a bad case of writer's block for this one. The story has gone in a different direction than I originally planned, but I do intend to finish it. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Kyuubi talking to Naruto or anyone else in bold italics.
Naruto talking to Kyuubi in bold font.
Chapter 14
Suki wasn't sure how long it actually took them to get to the Uchiha Fortress, but she recognized it on sight. It was utterly infuriating. Obito was actually going to use their family's fortress for his plotting. The man might as well be spitting on their family's graves.
"Madara, are you here?" Naruto was still carrying her.
The last female Uchiha wasn't exactly sure what her relative had done to Naruto's mind. Though she was almost certain it involved Genjutsu of some kind. Which meant that she extremely lucky that Naruto was Naruto, even in his current state it was unlikely he would hurt her.
Well at least not much. The fact that her most precious person had snapped her wrists wasn't something that the young woman was too happy about. All in all though, she was rather fortunate.
"He's not in his right mind." The fox was trying to communicate with her. "Go along with their plans until you see an opportunity to kill Obito."
That did seem like sound advice to her. Some resistance was necessary. If she went along with things too easily, they would notice something was wrong. She had to plan this carefully.
Itachi was better at this sort of thing. At tricking people. Suki preferred to rely on her strength or her intelligence, rather than deception. That didn't mean she wasn't capable of wielding the last tool though.
"Done. Though wouldn't it be easier just for you to take control of Naruto?" That would have been ideal.
Naruto smiles down at her. "He'll be here soon and fix your hands. After that, maybe we can find Itachi." His smile was still so kind, even when he was out of his mind.
It was utterly insane. How could anyone smile that way when they were planning to trap the entire world in a Genjutsu?
"That would be good." She sighs and cuddles into Naruto's chest. "He's probably really worried about me and my wrists hurt like Hell."
"He knows that I don't agree with the plan. Overpowering him would be difficult." Wonderful. The fox demon didn't believe he could sneak attack Naruto. "We'll figure something out." That wasn't very reassuring.
Naruto sighs as he kisses her forehead. Those eyes, they looked so guilty. She was the one who should be sorry though.
None of this would have happened, if she hadn't left him in that cave. Suki had been trying to protect him, but it had backfired. She'd find a way out of this though. She'd find a way out of this because she had to. She had to save him (and the rest of the world).
"I am sorry about your hands." Naruto shakes his head. "If you weren't so damn sneaky though, it wouldn't have happened."
Alright. She deserved that. Suki actually deserved a lot more than that. "When this is all over, things will be better." She smiles at him and kisses his cheek. "I promise." After all, once Obito was dead and the truth was revealed things could go back to normal.
She'd be kinder to him. Maybe, Naruto would even want to move into the Uchiha District with her. They'd have to do some rebuilding though. That was fine. It wouldn't take long.
"If you want, you could move in with me. After everything is settled. I'll even let you paint the walls of the house orange if you like." That was love in her mind. "We can also have Ramen whenever you want." Putting up with his Ramen and Orange Fetishes.
He beams at her. "Great. Just think in the new world, we can even have a garden." Right. A garden. "You can grow tomatoes, if you want. I have never seen anyone who is as crazy about tomatoes as you are."
Naruto was one to talk. He was obsessed with cheap noodles. Though that wasn't really the point. He actually still thought they were going to live inside some Genjutsu. Yes, her lovable, blonde had completely lost his mind.
"Damn it!" Suigetsu punches a tree in frustration.
Sadly, Itachi wasn't far behind doing precisely the same thing. One second's hesitation. That was all that it had taken for Naruto to disappear with Suki.
"Don't look so glum." Apparently, that was also all it too for Kisame to sneak up on them. "We know where he's going. Where do all Uchihas go when their backs are up against the wall?"
Suigetsu grins at that. "To buy more rabbit food?" That makes Itachi twitch and Karin smack him upside the head.
The Prodigy in the Art of Murder apparently didn't appreciate the value of having a healthy diet. Suki loved her tomatoes and Itachi loved cabbage. To someone like Suigetsu, that was 'rabbit food.'
"Well that too, but I'm sure that Itachi knows what I'm talking about." His partner looks at him.
Itachi nods in agreement. Kisame was absolutely right. "We're going to the fortress." That was the most logical place for Obito to go. It was one of the few places that wouldn't ask questions and it was far enough away from the Leaf, that it was highly unlikely a Leaf Ninja would stumble upon them.
Jugo tilts his head and then smiles. "The place with all the cats?" Yes, exactly.
"Indeed." This wasn't the time for them to stand around and chat about his family's various holdings though. "We need to get going!" Itachi immediately dashes forward. "Obito might not be able to perform the Genjutsu yet, but there is no telling what he is doing to Naruto and Suki."
That and his illness was going to be a problem. He and Suki should perform that eye transplant, but when? They could hardly ask for Obito to take time out of his evil plans to allow them the chance to do the transplant.
Wait. That might be it. That was brilliant! If he and Suki could just feign submission, he might actually do it. It was a gamble though. Perhaps, they could enlist the help of the Nine Tails to watch over them?
"What are you thinking?" Karin blinks as she runs side by side with Itachi. "You have a strange look on your face."
Kisame laughs at that. "Oh he's always got that look." The Akatsuki Member winks at her. "It means that his mind is going a thousand miles an hour. Us mere mortals can't hope to keep up." To which Itachi rolls his eyes.
Sadly, he immediately wished he hadn't done that. The pain was immense, but he hid it as well as he possibly could. There was just no other alternative.
His health issues would have to wait. His foolish little sister needed him now and so did Naruto. They had to hurry. Before it was too late.
That was quicker than expected. "Well done, Naruto." Obito smiles at the other man. "You arrived quickly and you brought Suki with you, but where is Itachi?"
The woman in his arms appeared mostly unharmed, except for her arms. For some reason, the female Uchiha wasn't moving those much. Most likely because she had been injured in her fight with Naruto.
"I left him behind." Naruto looks at him. "She needs her wrist healed. Do we need Itachi for the Eye of Moon Plan?"
It would be ideal. Having all of the Akatsuki would be best. "Not necessarily." He smiles at Suki as he strides over towards them. "She can always just take his place during the extraction processes."
Fortunately for Naruto, that wouldn't be necessary in his case. The other Jinchuuriki were not nearly so lucky. They hadn't been made to see the light in the way that the blonde had.
"That's good." Naruto smiles at him. "The sooner we can get started, the better." His eyes narrow as he looks down at the woman loved. "They can't be allowed to hurt anyone else. Not in the way that they hurt Itachi and Suki."
It was sweet. The kid reminded Obito far too much of himself. Once upon a time, he had looked at Rin that way. That was until Kakashi had struck her heart with a Chidori and ended her life, anyway.
Despite the traumatic memory, Obito forces himself to smile. "Exactly. We won't allow it to happen to anyone else." After all, that was his goal in all of this.
The Leaf's foundation was built on the blood of innocents. It was a wretched place, but the Uchiha man was under no delusions. The other Ninja Villages had equally horrifying histories.
That was why this world could no longer be allowed to continue on as it had. It was the system that had done this. Not individuals necessarily. The foundation of their world was rotten to the core and he would fix it with the power of Genjutsu.
"Yeah." Naruto nods as he looks at Suki. "You understand, right?"
Obito smirks as he heals the woman's hands. She likely wouldn't attack him. Suki would be too worried about hurting Naruto and if she did, well he was confident that he was more than a match for her.
"Naruto, you don't have to do this." Suki looks up at him with pleading eyes.
That was to be expected. It had taken him awhile to come around to the reality of the situation. It was hard to accept that everything you had ever known was wrong, but she would eventually.
The woman either would come around, he would make her come around, or Obito would end her. No one's life was worth more than the fate of the entire world's. Not even that of his family.
"Yes, I do." He shakes his head. "We can be happy there. You wouldn't have to worry about the Leaf coming after you or Itachi ever again." The sapphire eyed ninja's voice was thick with determination. "We could start over. Like you said, we can be together and the two of us can go back to being on Team Seven with Kakashi Sensei and Sakura."
He was such a ridiculously naïve person. That's all this man wanted, apparently. Naruto wanted to be with his lover and on his old team. He was ridiculously easy to please.
Which would work out perfectly for his own plans. The pure of heart were often the most easy to manipulate and Naruto definitely fell into that category.
"He's dead then?" Kabuto raises an eyebrow at Kana.
The other Sound Ninja nods. "Danzo is dead." Hmm. Well that was unexpected. It seemed the body count of experienced and exceedingly talented ninjas was piling up lately.
First, Lord Orochimaru had fallen and now, Danzo was gone. A fact which didn't bode well for the Leaf Village. He had been the temporary Hokage. Danzo was standing in until someone else could be voted in and as far as the silver haired ninja knew, there was no backup plan.
"It's tempting to attack the Leaf now." He smirks as he pushes his glasses up his nose. "They deserve it, after what they put Lord Orochimaru through." Not to mention, what they had put himself and his mother through.
That was only the beginning though. Who really knew how many people had suffered at the hands of the Leaf Village? No one. The world would be better off without that place.
Kana shakes her head and sighs. "You're right." Of course, he was right. So why was the Genjutsu Mistress shaking her head? "Unfortunately, now isn't a good time for the Sound to strike. Not with the memory of Lord Orochimaru's passing so fresh in all our minds."
Yes, there was that. It didn't take a genius to realize that wasn't all that was making Kana hesitate though. They had only recently gained control of this village. Pulling off an attack when their authority was questionable at best was not something that was particularly likely.
"Very well." He laughs at the thought. "We'll just sit back and watch as the Leaf destroys itself then."
It wouldn't take long. There were simply too many people who wanted to be Hokage and with no obvious line of succession in place, fighting would break out. Fractions would develop. A civil war was likely looming just over the horizon for that village.
Kana smiles at that. "Indeed. He did label Suki Uchiha as a Missing Nin before his death though." Kabuto didn't miss the satisfaction in his colleague's voice at that news.
Bad blood. There was quite a bit of bad blood between the Genjutsu Mistress and Suki. Not that the bespectacled man could blame her in the least. The raven haired woman did bring it on herself.
The way she had treated Lord Orochimaru had been nothing short of despicable. Not only that, but the woman had toyed with him. Used her Genjutsu to taunt him and to see in his mind. To say the least, Suki Uchiha was far from his favorite person.
"Good." Kabuto nods in acknowledgement. "I doubt whoever they select to replace Danzo will be in the mood to reverse that order, anyway." Hopefully, she would be executed and if they were lucky, they might get their hands on her eyes.
Sadly, Uchiha eyes were in very short supply these days. It would be almost blasphemy, for the Leaf not to preserve Suki's eyes. Anyone could see that.
"True enough." She tilts her head at the medic. "Is there anything else that you wish of me?
No. Not really. All they had to do was bid their time. "No. Do feel free to get some rest though. Running a village isn't an easy business and we both need to be in top form for whatever is coming." That much he knew for certain.
"Yes, you're right." She smiles at him. "We do need to be at our best to carry on Lord Orochimaru's legacy, after all." Kabuto nods in agreement and with that, he watches Kana stride off.
Suki would be one dead Uchiha, if Kana ever got her hands on her. A scorned woman was a dangerous thing. A very dangerous thing and Kabuto most assuredly was not going to get in the middle of their feud. His own feud with Suki was bad enough.
A few hours later, Naruto was glad when Suki was curled up next to him. They had found an old bedroom in the fortress. It suited their needs perfectly. Right now, all he wanted to do was sleep next to the person he loved.
Granted, the other ninja drove him crazy. It was also a miracle that the two of them hadn't killed each other yet, but he did love her. The blonde knew that she felt the same. That was why she had spared him.
"I knew you were lying about the whim thing." Her previous explanation had just been a lie.
Suki smiles and rests her head on his chest. "That's because despite lacking any common sense, you have always had excellent instincts." He rolls his eyes at that.
"You're lucky that I love you." Really lucky. "I think that I'm going to make you wear orange in the new world." A lot.
Did they sell orange lingerie? They had to. He'd get her some of that. Naruto had never really had an interest in such things until Suki's Sexy Genjutsu attacks. (Well at least not more so than any other teenage male).
Suki makes a face at that. "Do you have any idea how ridiculous I would look in orange?" What was she talking about? "Orange walls are one thing, but on me?"
"Well I think you'd look hot in it." Then again, the woman could probably make a potato sack look cool.
It had annoyed him in the Academy. Suki could show up in anything and make it look awesome. Hell, even when she used to eat at lunch and her cheeks would puff out like a chipmunks because she took too big a bite, that had been cute. Not that he was ever going to tell her that.
Suki kisses him and smiles. "You're sweet." Yeah. He was. So she should really stop being so damn sneaky. "I guess I could possibly humor you." Really?
She must have actually felt guilty about the cave thing. Naruto had never expected her to cave on wearing the color orange. Pun fully intende.d
"Awesome." He looks at her with concern. "You hungry?"
Suki shrugs at the question and laces her fingers with his. "Not unless you are." Maybe, she was scared to be left alone. Scared, but she didn't want to say it.
That would be like her. The woman was the most stubborn person that he had ever met. Well other than himself. Naruto was totally more stubborn than her. Believe it and it was a good thing that he was or else Suki might be dead by now.
"We can always eat later." He smiles at her. "I'm just glad that you're here."
"I'm glad that I'm here too." She smiles at him as Naruto returns the favor by lacing his fingers with hers. "As long as I'm with you, I know that everything will turn out as it was meant to in the end. You have the annoyingly, enduring habit of always saving the day at the last minute."
Tsunade sighs in her hospital bed. She was still too injured to resume her duties, but she was annoying aware of what was going on around her. That meant that she had a job to do.
She had to protect the Leaf. Danzo was dead and that meant a new Hokage had to be appointed. At the very least, another temporary one. Once word got out that Danzo was gone, the village would be extremely vulnerable.
"Tell the Council that I am recommending Kakashi for the position." He was an excellent choice.
The man certainly had the experience and was a formidable fighter in his own right. Even better than that though, Kakashi had never wanted to be Hokage. That meant he was the perfect person for the job.
He would be taking the position out of a sense of duty for the village. Not because he wanted to be famous. Not because of his pride, but because he cared. That was the type of person who made the best leader.
"A-Are you sure, My Lady?" Shizune looks at her with concern.
Tsunade knew that was only to be expected. She was quite frankly lucky to be alive. She wouldn't held it against the other woman, if Shizune thought that she wasn't coherent enough to make decisions like this.
The fact of the matter was that Tsunade was fully in her right mind. Not only that, but she had a job to do and nothing was going to stop her from doing so.
"I'm sure." She nods her head weakly and smiles at Shizune.
The other ninja cared about her. "Right! I'll get right on it, My Lady." That's why she had asked to make sure that this was truly what Tsunade wanted and the busty blonde did appreciate it, but that didn't mean that she was going to change her mind.
"Good." Tsunade smiles despite her pain.
Shizune gives her a brave smile. "Kakashi is going to be so surprised when he finds out that he's the next Hokage." That was damn true.
"AHHH-CHOO!" Kakashi sneezes while working on rebuilding a house.
Gai grins at his best friend. "You know, they say when you sneeze, it means someone is talking about you." To which the CopyCat Ninja wipes his nose and rolls his eyes playfully.
He didn't believe that for a minute. That was just an old wise tale and nothing more. Anyone who believed that was just being silly.
"I highly doubt that is true." Otherwise, he would be sneezing a lot more often.
One didn't get to be a Jonin, without a lot of people talking about you. If that was actually true, Kakashi would be doing little else than sneezing and that would be rather annoying. He'd have to constantly be changing his mask!
Gai pats him on the back. "You never know." The man was now grinning at him with his stunningly white teeth. "Now, we've got a job to do." The man's smile should be classified as a lethal weapon. "If the Power of Youth is on our side, we might be finished by sunrise." Right. The Power of Youth. Whatever that was supposed to mean.