A/N: Hi! Hi! Hi! How is everyone? Again, I'm back! Finally, we're wrapping up the threads in Rice Country arc, and I do have the first draft of the next arc, which turns out to be way longer than I expected. (Actually, since we're at chapter 36, maybe I should have expected that.)
Again, thank you for all your reviews, favs, and follows. I hope you enjoy this one. Also many thanks to Ashimodo for editing the chapter. :)
Warning: some blood and gore but nothing too descriptive.
Chapter 36: Deal with the Devil
"Crap!" was the first word that came out of Kakashi's mouth when Sakura broke away from the group and raced towards Naruto and Saya, the rest of the Scums right behind her. His first instinct was to follow her, but that was going to be a long chase and they might risk Noboru disappearing into obscurity once again. There wasn't a lot of room for improvisation.
"Kiba," he shouted, "Go after Sakura. Find them and bring Sasuke back. Meet me in a day's time back in town." Kiba nodded and took off as if he'd been itching to do so all this time. Kakashi then turned to Shino and Hinata. "We are going for Noboru."
Both of them nodded. Hinata kept glancing over to Kiba, but she followed his order obediently. They resumed their journey west with heavy hearts. Kakashi wondered if they were too late, if maybe he failed the mission and lost Sasuke in one single turn of events.
He kept the main road in his field of vision the entire way to the little village that the messenger told Tsubaki they found the princess, not wanting to have to double-back again after Noboru gave them the slip the last time. And sure enough, as they were about to enter the village, he spotted the convoy of the daimyo and the general preparing to leave.
Kakashi motioned his team to follow and stopped in front of the convoy. A few samurai turned to them but made no move to stop them as they approached as if sensing Kakashi's rather unpleasant mood. "May I speak to the daimyo and General Tsubaki?" he asked, despite being able to just barge in. This mission was diplomatic after all, and that was precisely why he hated it so much his bones were rattling.
The samurai seemed reluctant but, knowing they were ninja, didn't turn them away immediately. One of them finally said, "The lords are getting ready for the travel. Now is not the time."
"Now is the only time," Kakashi said, glaring at them until they looked nervous enough. "The daimyo knows about my mission for the Fire Daimyo, and I am pretty sure he's not going to look kindly on people who brought upon this country the wrath of Fire."
The samurai stiffened at the threat, both fear and indignant anger on their faces, as one of the samurai told them that he would ask for the daimyo's permission. Kakashi figured it would be faster to just follow him in, Shino and Hinata tailing behind. No one made the move to stop them as they walked past the busybodies towards the building both men were in. It was just the humble home of a village leader, but it looked better than most of the stuff Kakashi had seen in this village.
Then there came the protocol, the samurai asked the daimyo's servant about his master's availability, then asked the general's servant about the same thing. Kakashi was willing to wait in silence for so long. He cut the man short and stepped in. "I want a meeting with both of your masters at once," he said. "Tell them I'll be waiting right here."
Some of his displeasure must have come across because the servants scurried away as if a pack of wild dogs was right behind their backs. The samurai quickly took his leave as well, not wanting to be a part of the fiasco that was about to go down. And that would be wise of him. As much as he irritated Kakashi, the jounin didn't think the samurai deserved any more than he had already endured that day. His team, though, would have to be there for the entire thing.
The wait was short enough that Kakashi didn't yet feel the need to make Shino and Hinata go fetch the esteemed leaders themselves. Both men arrived at the doorway almost simultaneously. Both uncertain and nervous but hiding it very well. "Hatake-taichou, may I ask why such gross breach of protocol?" asked the daimyo.
"We'll talk about protocols later, my lord. Right now I want the man I am hunting," Kakashi replied.
The general lifted one of his eyebrows. "Then why are you here and not hunting him?" he said.
Kakashi shifted his gaze to the general and pinned him in place. "That is because he is protected by an influential man in this country," he said before turning to the daimyo. "You would agree that it would complicate the relationship between Rice and Fire if the shinobi is not apprehended."
The daimyo looked decidedly uncomfortable at the remark that someone in Rice had displeased the Fire Daimyo. When Kakashi's eyes flickered back to the general, the daimyo's head whipped to his direction. "You were the one protecting the spy," he said.
The general straightened up a little. There was defiance on his face.
The daimyo scowled. "Do you have any idea who you have angered or what influence he has? A pathetic fool like you doesn't understand the delicate relationships our country has with Fire. What chances do you think we have against them? They can squash us at a moment's notice and all your thugs won't be able to stop them!"
"That is why you are the pathetic fool!" Tsubaki shot back. "You know this from the very start and yet you have done nothing. Instead of letting shinobi build a base here in Rice, you drove them over to the Land of Sound and strengthening their position. You let us be surrounded by countries that are now more advanced in military tactics than we are. You are the one who put us in jeopardy!"
"Orochimaru is an enemy of Leaf! What do you think the Fire Daimyo would think if I let him roam our land-"
"You only ever think of Fire's approval. What about what's good for the people here, you old hog?!"
"Why you-"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!"
Kakashi was thankful for the ensuing silence. He wasn't entirely sure what he might do if their argument deteriorated any further. He was already at his limit, and Kakashi didn't like being at his limit. He tended to do very, very stupid things when he was.
He took that moment to take a few calming breaths before saying, "Fire in not interested in your country's shinobi business as long as yours don't pose a direct threat to ours," said Kakashi as evenly as he could, "nor would the Fire Daimyo mobilize his army against you for something like this. Quite frankly, he doesn't have that much invested interest in Rice Country." The two men seemed to be both relieved and disappointed at the news. "What he wants is the name of the person making contact with his courtiers behind his back through the spy. And for that offense, he might do a lot of things. I don't know what he would do to the diplomatic and trade relationship between the two countries if you don't hand us Noboru."
Kakashi spent the next few seconds of silence pinning Tsubaki with a gaze as thoughts flitted across the general's mind. The daimyo was also waiting for the general's decision, knowing that the future of Rice Country might depend on this one answer.
When Tsubaki looked at him again, he said, "If what you need is the name of the person who hired the spy, you don't need Noboru. It was me."
Kakashi's eyebrow lifted at this.
Tsubaki continued, "I normally let Noboru run his spy network however he wants. But if there is any possible ramification to high politics, he must run the mission through me, and I have the power to stop it if I see fit." He paused. "Noboru has been careful. He never takes any mission that can jeopardize Rice. The only mission that involved the Fire Daimyo was the one I commissioned him."
"What. On. Earth." muttered the daimyo as he massaged his forehead. "You have no sense of propriety at all, do you, Tsubaki?"
The general shrugged. "I was going to set a coup d'état against you, my lord. Forgive me if I need to check with your allies first."
The daimyo snorted. "If they are my allies, then they will not tolerate your transgression."
The general rolled his eyes. "You would be surprised how many of your 'allies' actually don't care," Tsubaki replied offhandedly. The daimyo glared at him.
Kakashi didn't know if he should be relieved by this development or not. If anything, this might be a cause for more headache. While he understood why Tsubaki would gather information like this outside the formality of the court, his admission complicated the mission from then on out. Kakashi was no longer on a spy hunt but in the middle of a serious diplomatic incident. They couldn't just whisk Noboru away and let Ibiki process him, but the daimyo had to get involved and there would be a long dance between their respective Foreign Ministries on how exactly should Noboru be processed. Kakashi's job now was to secure the evidence, the statements, and the witnesses before he sent his latest report to Konoha and let everything blow over from there.
"Very well," said Kakashi trying his best to curb his urge to destroy something. "I hope I will have your full cooperation from now on. Daimyo. General."
Both of them secretly sighed almost simultaneously but otherwise did not object. Kakashi just hoped this would go swimmingly now. He really didn't have any patience left for another disaster.
/***/
Sakura and Kiba had been running nonstop through the forest since they parted ways with their teammate. It was hours ago when the sun was still high, and the longer they ran, the worse Sakura felt. She knew the Scums were somewhere in front of them, but without any visual they had to rely on Kiba's and Akamaru's noses to track them down.
It was at twilight when Akamaru led them to a sudden stop. The dog jumped around in agitation between two paths diverging in the middle of the forest.
"They split up here," Kiba told her. "The bigger scent trail is going north and Sasuke's scent is going the other way."
Sakura furrowed her brows. "Why?" she said.
"I don't know," Kiba admitted. "Should we track down Sasuke?"
Sakura paused. There was something wrong about this. Why did they take Sasuke with them only to dump him halfway? If he was supposed to be a decoy then they could just drop him on the way, not splitting into two teams. What would that accomplish? The situation didn't quite make sense to her, but her worry for Sasuke was stronger. She nodded.
They went after the trail again in no time, following the darkened path deeper into the forest. The darker it got, the more difficult it got, and the more worried Sakura became. Nothing made sense, and a part of her finally admitted that it was because she didn't know Naruto anymore. This Naruto wasn't the boy who'd left Konoha three years ago. He was someone else, and she had no idea what he was truly capable of. She still didn't want to believe that he might have done something terrible to Sasuke, but it wasn't impossible anymore.
She heard a loud shout from Kiba and quickly looked up, stopping herself almost too fast as the sight before her nearly made her heart stop. In front of them was a giant tree and on the trunk was a cloak, Konoha's, dangling from a katana that pierced through its hood. There was no sign of Sasuke anywhere, but the cloak and the katana was unmistakably his. The encroaching darkness made the meaning of the arrangement even more ominous.
"Shit," muttered Kiba. They didn't know what to say to each other afterward.
/***/
The sky was dark when Sasuke opened his eyes again. The trees above obscured the sight of the moon, but it was clearly there, casting its light down on the thick forest. The only reason he could see at all was probably the light from a fire pit nearby. He tried to remember where he was supposed to be but failed miserably. He remembered making a deal with Saya and receiving a sharp hit behind his neck and then nothing. He cursed Naruto under his breath as he rubbed against the aching spot. Did Naruto really have to knock him out like that?
"You're awake," came a female voice. Sasuke turned his head and saw Karin smiling at him. Her glasses hanging off the V of her strangely low neckline. "Are you feeling well? Hurt anywhere?" she asked.
Aside from his neck, he didn't feel anything out of the ordinary, so he told her he was fine. However, that didn't stop her from hovering as he sat up. An annoyance flared in Sasuke, but he tried not to think too much about it. At least her presence here meant that Naruto didn't decide to just dump him and run off. That was honestly more than Sasuke could've hoped for considering how angry Naruto had been. He had never seen Naruto like that. Naruto had been angry many times, but none of them quite like this, this cold simmering wrath. He was so used to Naruto lashing out whenever he became furious that when the blond didn't, he wasn't entirely sure what was going on anymore.
His eyes wandered around the campsite for a sign of the blond but, to his relief and disappointment, didn't see him around. Then again, his line of sight was significantly obscured by the boulders surrounding the place like the walls of a fortress. The only people he could see were Karin and Saya. He tried to sense chakra but couldn't feel anyone else either.
"We're still in Rice Country," said Karin helpfully, clearly trying to draw him into a conversation, "but we'll be leaving soon."
Sasuke's reply was a nod before looking away. He wondered if there was a way to rebuff her, or simply avoid having to acknowledge her for the rest of the trip. Her eagerness made him uncomfortable, as any attention from the female kind tended to do. After three years of traveling with Jiraiya, he knew all too well what the girls wanted when they sat too close or touched him a little too often. The professional girls Jiraiya met might just be teasing him most of the time, but they helped him recognize women who weren't. A part of him wanted to go back to being oblivious since he could just ignore them without feeling a pang of revolt. It was not that he found women disgusting, just their relentless, unapologetic pursuit.
His eyes landed on Saya, and he heaved a sigh of despondent. If he was alone with Karin, he could just be frank and put her off as strongly as he could. But with Saya around, there was a chance that what he did would reach Naruto, and he didn't think the blond would take too kindly to him being rude to his teammate. Naruto had always accused him of being ungrateful to the attention he had received, and Sasuke only understood later why. But, honestly, responding would just be misleading, and Sasuke didn't think that was a good option either. Ignoring it would be then. He'd just let Karin babble away as he paid attention to something else. It was then that he noticed the bag set by Saya's side. It looked familiar. The scroll in her hand also looked familiar. He was pretty sure they were his.
Then Saya rolled up the scroll and threw it into the fire. Sasuke jumped to his feet and stalked over. "What are you doing?" he hissed, trying to catch another scroll she decided to use as fuel but was too late. "Those are mine."
"And precisely why I'm burning them," replied Saya. "Taking you on is a risk, Uchiha. I'm not taking chances of you carrying scrolls that can identify you. These have to go."
Sasuke realized then that it wasn't just his scrolls that got thrown out. His travel cloak, headband, and katana were also missing. "Was that why you threw away my gear as well?"
"Just making sure Leaf won't find us," she said. "Don't worry. We'll get you replacements once we reach a town tomorrow. It might not be as good as what a Leaf shinobi gets, but it'll work."
Sasuke was less worried about it not being good than it being what he was familiar with. They were out here hunting Akatsuki, not doing some B-ranked mission. Sasuke would be much more comfortable with the feel of his katana in his hand rather than some sword they picked up along the way.
"We'll have to cover up the emblem on your haori too," said the redhead from beside him. She was standing much closer to him than strictly necessary. "I'm pretty good at sewing. I can take care of that."
"Oh, no, you're not," came a voice from between the boulders. A second later, Suigetsu final slipped out from between the rocks still talking."Remember the last time you practiced stitching my wound? It looked horrible. Not to mention it felt horrible."
"That's because it was the skin!" Karin pointed at her teammate indignantly. "My skill in crafting is pretty impressive, if I may say."
Suigetsu let out a 'psst', prompting Karin to defend her so called 'feminine artistic ability'. Their argument was rather loud and pointless, and Sasuke had to tune them out for the sake of his sanity. His attention shifted instead to the next man coming out from behind the boulders. Naruto was carrying a sack on his shoulder, taking him longer to get through the rocky maze. Sasuke couldn't help but notice that he looked slightly wet, but he got dry clothes on, nearly all black with a sliver of orange down the front, blending most of him into the night.
Their eyes met in a brief moment before Naruto looked away, seemingly unaffected in any way by having Sasuke there. There was no recognition in his eyes, no emotion, and the raven had never felt like he had been seen right through until then. He was invisible to Naruto as the blond walked over to Saya, greeted her with a smile, and plopped the sack down next the fire.
Saya took one look at the sack and looked up at Naruto, lifting an eyebrow as she did so. The blond just shrugged. "It's already night time," he said before he crouched down and pulled out a snake as long as his own body.
"Woah," he heard Karin said. The argument stopped by the distraction. "That's huge!"
"Not really," Suigetsu interjected. "These snakes can grow in size when there's food around, and the pond down the stream has a lot of fish in it. There might be even bigger ones." Then he snorted. "Anyway, it's your turn now, Boss. Show us the snake butchering skill you're so well-known for."
"I don't have any such skill," Naruto countered, but he had already laid the snake on a flat rock and began cutting its neck with a large pocket knife.
"Sure, Boss," Suigetsu said then chuckled. "You're pretty good at artistic disembowelment, though, if I may say."
Naruto threw the snake's head, blood and all, at Suigetsu without as much as a look. The blue-haired man just caught it and laughed. Karin shrieked and complained about the blood splattered about. Naruto countered that it was too dark to do it elsewhere before flipping the snake over and cutting the soft belly.
His hands glided surely and precisely on the lidless body, peeling off the skin like it wasn't much effort at all. Suigetsu might have exaggerated, but it was clear that Naruto knew what he was doing. The moment the stomach was cut opened, the innards just fell out cleanly. Blood was everywhere, but it barely got onto Naruto aside from on his hand and a part of his face where he wiped off the sweat. Sasuke stole a glance at Suigetsu and realized that the man almost looked like he was in a trance just watching Naruto work. His eyes were tracing the path of the blond's knife with utter fascination.
Karin, on the other hand, scowled in distaste. She caught his eyes and smiled almost apologetically. "We don't eat snake meat every day, I promise," she whispered. Sasuke was almost offended. True that he didn't eat wild meat often, but he could stomach a snake if he needed to.
It was Saya who broke the silence around them. She ordered Suigetsu to get Juugo. The man protested but eventually obliged after the kunoichi stared him down. Once Suigetsu left, Karin seemed even more aggressive than she was before. Sasuke was sure she was on the verge of latching onto him when she moved close. "Say, Sasuke-kun, how about you tell me a little bit about yourself while we wait?"
Sasuke's gaze drifted to Naruto, subconsciously looking for a response. There was none. There used to be a response back when Sakura still tried to chat him up, but that might just be because Naruto had liked Sakura. He clearly didn't like Karin in that way. And Sasuke was surprised by his own relief.
But then Saya stepped in beside the blond, a piece of wet clothes in hand, and began wiping away the blood on Naruto's face. He made a small protest as he tried to place the last skewers by the fire. Otherwise he didn't try to stop her, not even when she grabbed his chin and turned his head this way and that to make sure he was clean. If anything, Sasuke thought he spotted a smile on Naruto's lips when he said 'thank you'.
And just like that, a vile feeling seemed to burst out in Sasuke's chest like a sleeping snake finally uncoiling its body in sudden and unsuppressed rage. If it had been bad when he was looking through her memory, this was even worse. Not that he didn't want Naruto to be happy, but seeing that Naruto indeed was happier without him was near unbearable. The irrational surge of hatred towards Saya was also unsettling. The kunoichi did nothing wrong. She was simply looking after her own, and yet...
"Hey, are you ignoring me?" said Karin. Her voice pierced through the swirl of emotion inside his mind, bringing out that same old annoyance he was so used to.
"What?" he replied, not in the mood to play nice any longer.
Karin, however, did not take the hint. "I was asking you to tell us something about yourself, Sasuke-kun. It's good for team-bonding, you know."
Sasuke doubted that was her intention since Suigetsu and Juugo weren't back yet, but if she wanted a game, then Sasuke could play a game. "You already know my name. You already know I'm a Leaf ninja. You've probably guessed my age."
"Well, it's just a guess." She batted her eyelashes.
Sasuke sighed. "I was Naruto's teammate when he was in Konoha. That would tell you, wouldn't it?" he replied, but his eyes were fixed on the blond, who found grilling the snake meat the most interesting thing at the moment. "I'd dare say I was his closest friend." He waited, expecting Naruto to deny it, but the blond said nothing. There was no sign that he acknowledged Sasuke being there at all, and the raven was overwhelmed with the urge to just walk over and turn Naruto his way, forcing the blond to look at him. His mouth blurted out the most instigative thing that came to his mind. "I was his first kiss."
Karin sputtered loudly, and Saya turned sharply his way, but Sasuke only cared about Naruto's reaction. He felt a twisted satisfaction when he noticed Naruto's hand gripping tightly on the skewer. The muscles on his jaws positively danced from the force of him clenching his teeth. It was a small triumph in the grand scheme of things, but Sasuke savoured it because he knew that any minute now Naruto was going to look at him at last.
But just as Sasuke was sure Naruto was going to break the silence, Suigetsu showed up. "What's this?" The swordsman's voice cut through the tension like his massive blade, and it took everything for Sasuke not to glare. It also helped that Suigetsu seemed genuinely perplexed as he looked around and stopped at Karin's stunned expression. "Did something happened?"
"Nothing interesting," was Naruto's reply as he got up from beside the fire. Juugo appeared at the camp then, vegetations in his arms. They were handed out right away. "The snake is almost done. We just need to wait a few more minutes," the blond announced before turning to Saya. "In the meantime, should we get on with that?"
At that, Naruto motioned towards Sasuke, the first time in the evening that the blond finally acted like Sasuke was with them, but there was something almost sinister in the gesture. He couldn't help but notice Saya stiffened. "Wouldn't the boat ride be a better time?"
"Too many people. I don't want to risk it," Naruto replied.
Saya stole a glance his way before looking back to Naruto. She seemed uncertain. "I'm sure Sasuke wouldn't do anything drastic until then."
Sasuke scowled. "Drastic?"
It was then that Naruto looked him right in the eyes, and Sasuke's breath caught. There was no warmth there, just scorn. When Naruto smiled, it looked almost like a mockery. "You never know, Saya."
The way he said it was almost sing-song, and suddenly Sasuke was taken back to the Valley of the End and to the Naruto he met there: contemptuous, untrusting, and malign. The Naruto that was more monster than man. And everyone in the Scums seemed to withdraw instinctively.
Sasuke decided then that the only way to face this monster was to do it head on. "What do you want me to do?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes at him, clearly displeased that he was not properly cowed. "Putting on a brave face now, Uchiha?"
Sasuke clenched his hands. He was not going to fall for that bait. "Care to enlighten me, then?"
He was sure Naruto heard the challenge there, but the blond seemed to restrain his reaction. "Ever heard of the cursed seal?" he said calmly. Sasuke scowled. The cursed seal? But wasn't Orochimaru already dead?
Saya interjected then. "It's not like the one Orochimaru used. This seal doesn't interfere with your normal chakra system. After it settles, you won't even feel it." She paused. "But if you betray us, the cursed seal will be activated, and an intense pulse of chakra will be released, effectively-"
"-burning the pathways," Sasuke finished the sentence. There would be no way of using a jutsu again.
Saya nodded. "At the worst, it would kill you," she said before turning to the blond. "That entirely depends on the kind of seal Naruto wants to put on you."
Sasuke's gaze shifted back to Naruto and it dawned on him that this was Naruto's seal, a mark of submission to him. A part of Sasuke rebelled against the idea, but he knew that if he refused, Naruto would leave him here. Naruto simply didn't trust him enough to let him in.
But he wasn't going to jump into this blind. "I'm willing to take it, but I don't see the point. You know very well what my goal is. You already know I'll keep my side of the bargain."
Saya sighed. "It's not really about our deal, Sasuke," she said, before unzipping her top and pushed the fabric off her shoulder. Sasuke would have been puzzled if his eyes didn't catch the black mark on her shoulder where it joined with the collarbone. This seal looked nothing like the one Sasuke saw on Naruto three years ago. Instead of the three tomoe, the seal started at a black dot in the middle with three narrowing edges curving outwards like a three-bladed shuriken. The end of the edges spiralled into a black ring of scripts but didn't penetrate through. The seal indeed looked dormant, but that made it more sinister somehow. This was Saya, someone who was clearly important to Naruto, who was loyal to him beyond question, and yet there was the seal right on her skin, ready to unleash the moment he suspected her of treason.
He looked to Suigetsu then. The man just smirked before pointing towards his back. "Mine's in between the shoulder blades. I liked the idea of a tattoo there, so I made Naruto place it there. You wouldn't believe how much that guy complained about that place being hard to bite." Suigetsu's smirk became even wider when he caught Naruto briefly glaring at him.
Sasuke turned to Karin. She looked at him and pulled the edge of her pants down enough for him to see the seal on her hip. As for Juugo, the man simply replied, "Mine is on the back of the neck, but it's different."
"It lets Naruto control Juugo when he goes on a killing spree," explained Suigetsu. "It's the only seal that can actively control the chakra system. If Naruto activates the chakra pulse in that-" then he whistled and dragged his thumb across his throat.
"It's a precaution," Juugo said. "My killing urge is unpredictable and we don't know for certain how much control the seal has. It's better if there is a way to kill me quickly if worse comes to worst."
Suigetsu just huffed. "As if there's such a thing as a great loss of a human life." Juugo didn't reply.
Sasuke just watched them and the question that kept coming up was 'why'. Hadn't they been friends and teammates? Hadn't they been together long enough to trust each other? Why did Naruto place the seals on them? And, probably the most puzzling of all, why did they take it?
"So," Saya began, "will you take the seal, Sasuke?"
Sasuke took another look at Naruto, but the blond just stared at him waiting for the answer. And he knew there was no other answer but, "Yes."
Saya took another look at Naruto, and the blond nodded. She then reached into her bag and pulled out a brush and an ink cartridge. "Take off your tops," she said as she stood up and walked over to him.
Sasuke shed his haori and the black undershirt, pulling it off his head, when Naruto suddenly said, "Between his neck and shoulder. Left side."
Sasuke didn't understand why Naruto had to be so specific on where to place the seal, but he didn't object. Saya sat down behind him and began to draw a circle of scripts around that position. "This is for containing the seal," she whispered. Sasuke could hear her hands move in quick succession before placing her palm on top of the circle. Sasuke didn't feel anything much. There wasn't even any discomfort so far.
Then Saya stepped back, and he felt another presence kneeling down behind him. His heart thundered in anticipation. Two hands, rough and powerful, went under his arms and grabbed firmly on his shoulders, pulling him against the firm body behind. "Are you really going to do this, bastard?" Naruto whispered in his left ear, and in that moment he sounded like the Naruto he knew again. Sasuke knew he was probably too optimistic to think that Naruto was concerned.
"Go ahead," he replied, bracing himself.
"You might want to bite on something," whispered Naruto, "coz, I am not going to stop even if you scream."
The skin on his neck was prickling from the warm, wet puffs of air grazing his neck, distracting him from the situation at hand. And the next thing Sasuke felt was two fangs piercing into his skin and a burning pain like nothing he had ever felt. The muscles around his neck cramped in protest at the intrusion of an alien chakra that forced its way into his body. He had to bit down on his lips to prevent himself from screaming, but it didn't stop the sound of distress that was coming out. It took all of him to fight the urge to break away from Naruto's hold.
By the end of it, Sasuke's body was burning up, reacting to the unfamiliar addition to its system. But he didn't have enough time to recover or even to brace himself for the fall when Naruto finally released him. The muscles on his left shoulder and arm kept convulsing uncontrollably, like they were trying to break free from each other. Sasuke could barely stop the noises he was making.
"Sasuke-kun," called the redhead kneeling next to him in concern. She touched his forehead and shouted. "Suigetsu, get me a bed roll."
The reply he heard wasn't from Suigetsu. "Leave him, Karin. The night wind will take care of the fever."
He heard Karin saying something back but couldn't really make out what with the ringing in his ears. His vision was getting blurry. His focus was going in and out as his eyes darted about the scene before him. Naruto's silhouette looked entirely too dark in front of the fire that somehow was also too bright. He could barely make out his haori in the blond's hand until it was dropped into the fire. Sasuke tried to get up, tried to say something then, but his words were gibberish and his body was rebelling against him. He landed face down, struggling to control himself, but he was losing fast. The only thing he could do then was watching the Uchiha emblem burn.
/***/
End of Chapter 36
A/N: If you need to know, the clothes Naruto's wearing is based on Shinomori Aoshi's (sans the trench coat). In my defence, Aoshi is the only other ninja to wear black and orange (but mostly black) and look good in it.
Brenda992 Okay, Sasuke in more traditional Japanese clothes, then. :) I owe Orochimaru's death scene to Ashimodo. I didn't plan on giving so much detail, but Ashimodo was adamant that I did, so we came up with this. I'm glad you like it. I hope you like this one, too. :D
Guest I'm so glad you like the original plots. I was afraid I was going to alienate my readers with that sometimes. And that's kind of critical because most of the stuff will be original now with the canon elements pulled in. I hope you'll like that, too.
You are too kind, also please have a box of tissue. I hope you also like this chapter and the chapters that are to come. And thank you so much for reviewing.
Guest Well, there's two things going on here, actually. One is that Saya is Naruto's teacher despite her insistence to the contrary, so he definitely has a pretty high level of respect for her and her opinion. Second, the leader doesn't have to be the one calling most of the shots, especially if s/he knows that there is someone who's better at making certain types of decision for her/him. The leader is more the one with the goal or the vision, and his second-in-command(s) is the one sorting out the mess to make it happen subservient to that vision. And Naruto knows Saya is more objective about Sasuke than he is, so he could have vetoed but he trusted her to make a better decision than him in this case.
Djfuller Never apologize for long reviews, my friend. A short shoutout is great, but a detailed feedback is even better! That's how I learn what works and what doesn't, so don't feel bad about taking your time. I really appreciate it.
I'm glad Fuyuku's reunion with her father was doing something for the reader. Since she is an original character, I was a little afraid I was going to lose some of my readers there. Maybe I did, but at least some of you are still on board. Hideo actually becomes one of my favourite character to write because I think he's really strong, not in the shinobi kind of way but as someone who tries his best to face tragedies with grace. It's a balance I find fascinating because, as you said, he tries not to be sentimental to protect himself but at the same time he doesn't completely close himself off because he has Isao. He still has friends and cherishes his connection with people. I am going to miss writing him a lot for sure.
Sasuke joining Naruto is going to raise a lot of havoc on both of them and everybody around. Stay tuned for that, and some more of Suigetsu being the psychopath that we were told in the canon but never got to see it, in the next arc.
turtleontherockI am doing relatively well. Thank you! I have been balancing life and preparing the next arc. That's why it has taken so long.
Sazuco I'm glad you like it! I'll make sure you don't wait forever for the next chapter.
Teme of the year Oh, you're too kind. I do try to make it as good as I can get it to be, and I'm glad you think it is. XD I actually have no idea how popular my story is if at all, so that's news to me. Are you sure it's not another 'Mirror Image'? (I'm just hopeless with titles, so, you know, it's quite plain.) Dark!Naruto IS hard to write, so I sympathize with anyone trying to write him. My feeling has been that Naruto had potential for darkness before the Valley of the End just as Sasuke had the potential for light. It's just that after that point in the canon they became a symbol of light and darkness and hence the characters became very clear cut, like in CLAMP X/1999 when Kamui chooses side and Fuma becomes his alter ego. (This also kind of tells you how old I am to be referencing X/1999.) That was why I had to start at the beginning otherwise he wouldn't have made sense to me either. I'm also glad you like Sakura. I have issues with how Sakura was written in the canon that I just cannot not rewrite her. (I think I just have issues with wasted potential with Naruto story in general.) I didn't know it's going to be this slow a slow burn to be honest with you, but I'm glad people can tell the development is there. I just think the boys are just too broken to be together as they are, so character's' development are in order. I hope you'll be around the cheer them on. (Looking at the number of chapters in the next arc and... oh, god!)
ColorfulNympho Ahhh, can I say I'm not really into the sexy bits? Not right now at least. I can promise you there will be sexy bits, but I'm more for intimacy than sex and those two are just terrible at it right now. Actually... there might be something that can be counted as molesting in the next arc...maybe.
dancibayo Yeah, Hideo and Isao seems to be discarded, aren't they? I'll actually miss writing them, too. Haha, I like that you think Naruto is a jerk. People kept saying that Sasuke is a jerk before the timeskip, which he was, but Naruto is as much of a dickhead when he wants to be. I totally agree with you that Naruto's dad wouldn't like what his son's become. I mean, Minato seems kind of straight-laced to me. I think there's a lot of depth and angles we can go into in talking about Itachi and his decisions. I'm still wondering how to get that across since he's not going to be a POV. You might not like it is what I can say, but I hope you read on. And thank you so much for reviewing! Hope to hear from you again soon.
RavenPainter I'm excited, too, because it means I can actually make things happen now. *Blowing up champagne poppers* Oh, Sakura. Many things is going to go wrong from this, although it'll be some time before we get to see things from her angle. Poor girl did not ask to have two destructive prime idiots in her life. Thank you so much for taking the time to write the review for me. It's always great to hear from you. I hope you enjoy the coming arc, too.
Chameleon Incognito Wow! Binging on 35 chapters is a feat! And I am glad you think they're still in character even with the role-reversal. I'm always a little anxious about that, since they are getting further and further from their original characters and settings as the story progresses. And yes, Naruto does know that Itachi killed the Uchiha clan. Orochimaru might have let that slip at some point. But I don't think he grasps the full emotional impact the massacre has on Sasuke. Sakura knows from the intel inside Konoha because she does like snooping around with her apprentice privilege, and, I mean, two of her best friends are in Konoha Intel after all. :D
Wolf and MR Lover Ah, thank you for your lovely comment. It had, indeed, made Christmas rather merry. The grammar is a result of Ashimodo's editing, so hands to the man.
Guest Hahaha! Now that you mention it, I can't shake off the mental image of Naruto doing the Jurassic World (you know, Chris Pratt with three raptors scene that had gone viral with zookeepers XD). I am now wheezing from laughing too hard.
Actually, you've raised an interesting point. I didn't start out thinking of the clones as having personalities per se. I just think that since nothing can be perfectly copied, each of the clone would have been slightly different from Naruto, reacting to the environment in a slightly different way even if they have all the same information, but I guess that's what personality is? It's a really interesting thought. The name Menma isn't really meant to be for one clone, just something Naruto uses to call a particularly unruly clone in the batch because it irritates them. Of course, it's also a reference to 'Road to Ninja'. XD
I actually do know Fuyuku's story after this, but I'm not sure when or if she's going to come back into the main story. I hope she does since I'll get a chance to share that story then. Sasuke, despite being called a genius, has always been rather impulsive, I feel. I mean, did he ever have a good plan for anything in the canon? Not really. And yeah, technically it's not an abduction, but it is where it counts. *winks* Thank so much for reviewing!