"Just for today, Naruto."

"And you're gonna tell me the reason why?"

"Today is the last day I'll be with you, Naruto."


Chapter 28: End and start


"Today is the last day" he says? What the hell? What's going on!

My surroundings suddenly become pitch black as if I'm thrown into a pit-less hole that I'm supposed to keep falling and falling, so deep that the only source of light which is the opening, speeds further and further away from me until it gets smaller than the tip of my fingers that reach out for that light.

Why...are you abandoning me...?

And then as if someone had pressed the reverse button or the gravity suddenly decided to become an upward force, the light that almost disappeared comes back at me as my body is thrown forward towards it.

What had hit that reverse button, had been Sasuke's warm arm locking my head and the hand reaching out to ruffle the further side of my hair, away from Sasuke.

I turn my head towards Sasuke who looks in the same direction as me, facing away from me.
There are a lot of things I want to ask...
I want to argue...
I want to protest...
I want to complain...
I want to urge...
And tell him not to leave me...

But his warm arm somehow eases my uneasy thoughts and his spoken words make my eyelids come down to take me to a dreamless world.

"Don't worry, just trust me and go to sleep."

Don't worry...

...trust me.


Once I hear Naruto's soft, even breaths telling me that he's asleep, I twist my body to turn upwards to face the ceiling.
A sigh escapes my lips as I think over about my decisions once again.

How many times have I thought this over by now?

I sigh deeply for the umpteenth time resting an arm on my forehead.
Naruto squirms beside me and I jolt in fear of the chance that I had woken him up, because even if Naruto showers me with grenade questions, I won't know how to answer anything.
What's frustrating is that no matter how many times I think about the options I have to choose from, only one seems to stand so solidly before my eyes, blocking the other option.

But Naruto's probably gonna probably go against it... especially since I'm not going to tell the reason for why I'm going...

Naruto doesn't know about his disease at all. Just like everyone else.
They all think it's the curse of the legendary fox that possesses his body when it's just a scientifically proven logical disease, although it indeed is a truly rare case for Naruto since it had been a forced disease.

It truly screws my mind insane to think that I'm going to take the helping hand of that creepy snake-like doctor, Orochimaru. But what that doctor had said...was pain-stakingly true and logical.


flashback

"I was waiting for you, Sasuke-kun..."
My fist and feet come first as an automatic reaction when I feel danger, but it collides with nothing but air.
It's that feeling again... as if no body exists.
Just the voice... produced from thin air.

It gives me a small shudder keeping aiming for the voice that swiftly moves from side to side, presumably blocking all my attacks.
His chuckles that mock me fuel my body in anger to increase the speed of my punch and kicks.

"Now, now, Sasuke-kun. Don't be so rash here. You want to help Naruto-kun, don't you?" the hissing voice says.
The words stop my movement, but that had been a wrong move as I then suddenly feel a huge force pushing me back to the wall behind with my hands pinned high above my head.

He's standing so closely to me that I can't raise my leg to kick him out of the way and his strong grip on my wrists are like human shackles making me have to admit that he is much stronger than me in combat and that there's nothing I can do.

"Now will you calmly listen to what I've got to say, Sasuke-kun?" Orochimaru murmurs right beside my air, giving me a visible shudder.

"Why are you here? How did you get out of jail?" I growl in a tone a few knots lower than usual.

"It seems that you've researched upon the disease," and here, another chuckle before continuing, "but who I am, is not important right now."

It damn sure is important!

"What you should be worrying about, is what is there to do for your precious blond friend... is that not right?"

It is... but,

"I'm not going to let you become involved with Naruto, everagain. I will never borrow a helping hand you'd offer!" I snarl at him.

"Even if there are forbidden researches that could help Naruto-kun out that Tsunade would never agree to do? She's not going to go any further across the danger zone as you are willing to, Sasuke-kun. I'm surprised that she even allowed and transferred your eyes to him, herself."

A sweat breaks down as I really start to wonder how much this person knows about us... no, me.

"My eyes aren't glass-blue..." I state through my gritted teeth.

Yes... that old hag had said that Naruto's speciality kicked in, adapting to the transferred eyes and returning back to its original genetic colour of Naruto's.

"But they're still somehow connected to you, it seems, Sasuke-kun. Because when you express your anger, Naruto-kun's eyes turn into a red colour, and that's a trait that only becomes a phenotypic expression when it feels anger. Surely, that frozen-in-fear look of Naruto-kun wasn't called 'anger', Sasuke-kun...unlike you."

I can hear the smirk on his lips in the way he talks. If what Orochimaru is saying, is the truth, which seems scientifically impossible to prove since the emotions that the eyes react to, are in separate bodies, it means anything may be possible in many ways that hasn't been tried.

Many ways... that involve risks...
Risk of lives... human marmot...
In other words...

...forbidden experiments.

I start to see what Orochimaru is getting at.
Beceause he's a dangerous person who had broken laws into doing forbidden experiments, heis the only one who can go beyond limits of experiments that may help Naruto... even if it may cost my life!

"It seems you're starting to understand what I have in mind, Sasuke-kun..."

Am I willing... to let this man help Naruto...?

"You looked like a guard dog of Naruto-kun's...," hisses Orochimaru, right beside my ear, "willing to do anything that would help him survive... or did I just have the wrong impression?"

His words intoxicate my mind, making it spin endlessly.
It's because of the two options I have right in front of me.
Both have the word "help" in it, as well as "betray".

If I reject this offer, it will mean that I'm letting an opportunity to save Naruto, slide... blocking a chance to extend his life...

But on the other hand, even if I get help from Orochimaru, Naruto's probably going to think I betrayed him and left him behind, if I go with Orochimaru now...

"...I'll give you time. We shall see each other again soon, Sasuke-kun," a low cackling voice becoming distant as Orochimaru speaks his supposedly last words for today and I feel my wrists slowly being loosened.
His presence starts to fade away and suddenly a surge of panic flows through my veins, decreasing the blood several degrees, and I open my mouth to shout.

"Wait!I'll take that offer!"

The surrounding suddenly becomes so quiet and I strain my ears to hear anything over the sound of my pumping veins that rushes my heart to hammer against the ribcage so loudly.

I abruptly choose the latter of my two options, because if I choose the first, I probably can't ever forgive myself and it will burden my life forever.

And for the latter, I could maybe soften the negative effects with this idea...

Just when I think that it had been too late, I start to hear the chuckle.

"I'm very surprised at that, Sasuke-kun. Very well... Come and see me at the gate of the village in the evening. Make sure you properly discuss and have a receiver arranged by this hospital, or else our experiment will be for nothing and will not help Naruto-kun," Orochimaru explains.

"Okay, I got it."

I know who he's talking about. And I know just how to deal with her too.

Now that his conditions will be cleared, he was going to have to meet mine.

"Oi, I have one condition..."


Yes, I know. This is the FAR MOST WORST CHAPTER I'VE EVER WRITTEN!

I'm TERRIBLY SORRY! m(_ _)m

I really didn't have enough time this week (last week now, actually) but I really couldn't extend my submittion any longer.
I probs come back to edit this after I finish with this series, but PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR THIS CHAPTER'S UTTER FAILURE!
I WILL MAKE IT UP TO YOU NEXT SUBMITTION!

(So please don't give up on me yet o(:≧д≦:)o