A/N: Hello,y'all! Chapter 37 is here at last. We're still wrapping up Rice Country arc for the most part before embarking on the next adventure.
By the way, I have a plot bunny in need of a loving home if anyone is going to take it. It's a bit of a monster, so I'll put in at the end of the chapter before the replies. Feel free to take it if you're inspired. ;)
Again, this chapter is greatly improved by Ashimodo.
Chapter 37: How High The Moon
Saya honestly didn't know how the situation escalated to this point. Now Sasuke was unconscious. Karin was furious and upset. Suigetsu was utterly confused as he tried to stop a fight between her and Naruto. And Naruto went right off the rails and disappeared for the evening.
As for Saya, she was still sitting at her place, taking stock of the madness that had occurred.
"I can't believe him," Karin muttered, her voice shaking like she was on the verge of crying. Suigetsu clearly didn't know what to do. He was never good with emotions, often resorting to laughing them off. With Karin a wreck - the only time they had ever seen her like that - he didn't have any response.
To Saya's surprise, it was Juugo who walked over to Karin. "Is there anything I can help with?" he said.
His calming aura seemed to help the redhead gather herself. She looked around, took a deep breath, and said "Let's get Sasuke to bed." The giant nodded and calmly lifted the limp body of their new comrade. Slowly Saya could see Karin pulling herself together, focusing whatever energy she had left into making sure that Sasuke would get through the night.
Saya was certain then that they would be fine. Now there was just one person she had to check on.
"Are you going after that guy?" asked Suigetsu. He still looked a little unsettled. After all, Karin and Naruto had never fought like this. Naruto had never behaved like this. They had seen Naruto angry and vengeful but never this malicious, never this foul.
"Yes," Saya replied as she got up. "You three take care of the camp and get some rest."
Suigetsu snorted, the only sign she needed to know that he would be vigilant. She then turned to the path Naruto had taken and followed it into the woods. To be honest, she was a little afraid of not finding him. She didn't have the best tracking skills, and even if she did, Naruto had the knack of disappearing if he really didn't want to be found.
Fortunately, he wasn't really in that mood tonight. She could follow his traces down the slope of the hill to the stream. That was where she found him, his feet dangling off the edge of the bank as he watched the reflection of the moon on the gently running water. She made her presence known and was glad that he didn't run, although he didn't acknowledge her until she sat down beside him. "You're not going to say anything?" he asked.
She knew he was waiting for a reprimand, but she couldn't give him any, not until she understood what had happened. "I think we can skip the obvious for now. Are you alright?"
"I'll be fine," he muttered.
"And with Sasuke?" There was a pause. She could feel the tension in his body as he tried to not react to that name but failed. It wasn't hard for her to put two and two together. "He was the one who made you leave Konoha."
Naruto turned to her with a frown. "What did they tell you?"
"Nothing much. Your teacher told me that you left because an important friend rejected you." She paused. "He didn't tell me who, but I can guess that whoever it was, you liked him a lot."
"I didn't like him," Naruto snarled. "He was my rival and an asshole. We hated each other."
Saya couldn't help but notice the hurt on Naruto's face as he said that, like the very memory was painful to him. "If that's all there was, why is he so determined to bring you back?" Naruto didn't reply. She didn't think he had an answer either. Not one that he would accept, at least.
"I don't want to have anything to do with him," Naruto replied.
She sighed. She knew he would be stubborn - that was nothing new. "But you'll have to. He's a part of the Scums now. You can't treat him differently. It breaks the team. You've already seen how Karin reacts to that."
"That's because she has a crush-"
"That's because you purposefully tormented Sasuke," she interjected. "You chose to have snake meat tonight instead of fish. You butchered the snake in front of him when you could have easily done it beside the pond. You insisted on putting the cursed seal on him and then tell us to let him suffer the night-"
"Alright, I get it-"
"-And you burnt his haori, the one with his clan symbol on it," she finished. "Why, Naruto?"
"Because he hurt you."
"He didn't. Leaf shinobi didn't harm me."
"Sure, so they kept you around to have tea and a nice chat!"
Saya had to count her breath or else she would lose it too. One person mad was more than enough for this conversation. "I know you care about me, and I truly appreciate that," she said. "But this isn't about me. It's about you and Sasuke. If you can't work this out, the teamwork is going to suffer, and you know very well how dangerous that is." She didn't want to remind him of the times he disobeyed her and broke the teamwork. They had already talked about this a few times, and she didn't want to bring it up again on top of everything else.
But she didn't need to, it seemed. He had a contemplative expression on his face before he said, "I'm sorry," although he still wasn't looking at her. "I'll work it out. I just... I need some time."
Saya nodded. She didn't expect the problem to be solved overnight, but at least she was happy that the point came across. "Thank you," she said quietly as she reached out to squeezed his hand. Naruto squeezed back.
There was a small smile on his face as he looked back at her. His eyes were soft. "What would I ever do without you?" he muttered and her heart clenched a little from the sincerity in his voice. It was rare for Naruto to be this open, but she could see that he was worn thin not just by the day's events but by the entire mission. This was one of those times she regretted that they didn't belong to a hidden village anymore, that there was nowhere they could go and hide from the rest of the world without having to fear for their lives. They'd need to find somewhere to lay low soon, or they would crack.
But that was a thought for another day. She got up and tugged at his hand for him to follow, but Naruto just looked up at her and shook his head. "I want to stay here for a while." She nodded and was about to sit back down when he said, "Alone, if I may."
Her first reaction was to not leave him, but his eyes was pleading. His hand didn't leave hers, assuring her that he wasn't rejecting her in anyway. So against her better judgement, she let go. "Don't take too long, alright?"
Naruto nodded and smiled. Although it was hard, she left him like that, knowing that the moment he turned away, the smile had vanished.
/***/
"When I was a kid, I used to think the moon was a giant tofu."
Naruto nearly fell off the branch laughing. It was Yu-chan's hand on his arm that kept his sense of orientation. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he said after he got himself under control. "A tofu?" Yu-chan nodded. Her eyes filled with mirth as she watched him trying to suppress his laughter.
"Because it's white and smooth," she said earnestly, but her eyes sparkled in mischief.
"But there are gray patterns up there," Naruto objected, pointing to the full moon in the sky. "It's not smooth."
"Those are soy sauce!"
Naruto nearly died laughing again.
Yu-chan was also giggling with him. Her eyes crinkled, and she smiled perfectly. Just for that, all the headache of arguing with Kabuto to let her leave the tunnels was worth it. The night spent in the cool breeze on the trees of Kane instead of a warm cozy bed was worth it. The sleep deprivation he was definitely going to have the next day was worth it.
"Naru-kun," she said, taking him out of his reverie, "what about you? What did you think the moon was when you were younger?"
Naruto's brain just froze. He never thought much of the moon. It was there in the sky when he looked up at night - beautiful, cold, and distant, but the only companion in the darkness. "I don't know," he said. "I mean...I watched it all the time, but I never thought about what it is. The moon being there was enough." He sighed. "Sorry, I'm such a downer, aren't I?"
"No, not at all," said Yu-chan. "You've trained to be a shinobi since you were little, so I understand if you didn't have time for fanciful thoughts-"
"It's not fanciful," Naruto said with a violent shake of his head. "I think it's charming. I like stories like that a lot, but... ah... it's just... no one really wants to tell them to me."
Yu-chan watched him closely, her eyes round and black like the fathomless night sky. Then she smiled. "I know a few stories. I'll tell them to you." Naruto blinked at her as she took his hand. Her smile didn't falter but she lowered her eyes a little as she said, "I don't know a lot, though. Because of my condition, I only ever go out at night, so all I know are about the nightly things."
"That's okay," Naruto replied. The idea that she would tell him stories, any story, was exciting enough. "The world is still the world, you know. There's just more color in daylight, that's all," and more life. But Naruto didn't want to say it or to think about it.
"It must be really pretty," Yu-chan said. "I'd love to see it. I know I've seen it, but I don't remember anymore."
Naruto's heart broke a little. In that moment, he was reminded of the despair he felt the moment he realized there was a world out there he could never be a part of, could never experience. He wondered if that has been the same for her being trapped forever in the cold desolate night with only the faded memory of the sun. He wondered how she could still smile like that, like the curse on her body had not touched her soul.
He also knew that he would do anything to keep her that way. "I can tell you stories about the day, if you want," he said tentatively. He didn't know a lot about anything, but he planned on nagging Saya to tell him everything about everything from now on.
Yu-chan looked at him with the most brilliant smile. "I'd love to hear them. Please tell me everything!"
Naruto blinked at her. It took him a while to register that Yu-chan wanted him to teach her things she didn't know. She wanted Naruto to be her eyes and ears where hers couldn't be. She asked him to give her what she needed. Naruto had never felt more wanted in his life. He could see how happy she was just by how soft and loving her expression was when she looked at him, how she adored him with her eyes. She made him felt warm, tall, and all grown-up. He couldn't stop the goofy grin spreading on his face. "Sure!" he replied. "It's a promise."
Yu-chan nodded. "How about we seal this with a kiss?"
Naruto was caught by surprised. He had never really thought of kissing her before. The very idea made him rather nervous. "I...I haven't...I've never kissed anyone before..." he said, stuttering all the way.
"It's okay," Yu-chan replied. "Neither have I. We'll be each other's first kiss."
That didn't really dampen Naruto's nerve, but at least he knew that if he could give her a decent kiss, it would be fine. He nodded, determined to not screw up. "Okay."
He leaned forward a little, watching as Yu-chan also leaned in. Their noses bumped into each other, not really knowing how to fit their mouths together. His hands fidgeted, not knowing if it would be okay to touch her face. He wondered how he could possibly know where her mouth was when their faces were too close for him to see. He didn't have to wonder long, though, when she tilted her head slightly to one side. Naruto understood how it worked then. He tilted his head to the other side and leaned in until his lips pressed softly against hers. Her breaths fanned his cheek and her hand squeezed his, clammy palm and all. Naruto knew then that everything was alright, that he could be afraid and nervous and everything would still be fine. Because Yu-chan loved him, everything was alright.
In that moment, with that kiss, Naruto felt like he could give up the world of sunlight and color and warmth if it meant they could be together like this, forever in the darkness.
/***/
Sasuke was jolted awake by a touch on his shoulder. His first instinct was to propel himself out of harm's way, but all he could do was pull free from the touch. His body was too sluggish. His brain was too sluggish. He braced himself for an attack, but there was none. The raven forced his eyes open, and the first thing he saw was a pair of ruby-red eyes behind an equally red glasses. "How are you feeling?" Karin asked, unperturbed by his violent reaction. "You weren't responding when I got near. How bad is it?"
How bad? Bad enough that he didn't want to put his answer into words. His head was heavy. His body was heavy. And his neck didn't like him moving around very much. He grunted as he reached up to touch the offending knot in his muscle and felt the skin burned under his fingers. And he remembered the seal then, etched much deeper than the mere patch of skin would suggest. He wanted to vomit but wasn't entirely sure if it was the side effect of having something embedded into his system or the feeling that he was torn away from his clan, his family, and instead being marked as belonging to someone else.
Karin took him out of his thoughts when she pushed a few tablets and a bottle of water into his hand. "That's for your fever and your strength," she said. "We have a long run today. You'll need the help." He looked at the jagged little pills and wondered if they could truly help him. Karin, however, didn't seem to notice his skepticism as she went on, "You might feel like you're about to come down with something for the next day or so, but trust me, that's way better than what Juugo went through with his seal."
"You're noisy," was Sasuke's reply. She was too loud, too intrusive. She really ought to shut up.
The raven wasn't entirely sure if he had said the last part out loud, but Karin huffed and said, "Now Mr. Asshole is back in business." He nearly dropped the water bottle at how much she sounded like the thirteen-year-old Naruto. Then again, on a second look, she did behave somewhat like Naruto back in those days. Except Naruto wouldn't have snubbed Sakura like that. Why would Karin behave like that if she had been so desperate for his attention the night before?
Karin took in his stunned face and said, "What? Never been called out by a girl before?" Then, after ensuring that Sasuke took all the pills, she took her water bottle and got up. "When you feel a little better, go wash up. The stream is just down hill. We'll meet up here for breakfast before we move."
Sasuke grunted a reply. He was still not inclined to speak much, which seemed to irritate the girl. She huffed before turning back to packing her bags. Around the pouch were sets of different tablets stowed in clear plastics bottles with labels he couldn't read. A medic, then, and quite a decent one, too, if the effectiveness of her pills was anything to go by. Sasuke was feeling much better now, enough for him to get up and stretch. The aches were fading, and he felt more like himself again even though the seal still burned.
He was finishing up the stretches when Karin, once again, walked up to him and handed him his black shirt and a pack of toiletries, hers presumably. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her, and she raised hers right back. "You don't want to stink, do you?"
No, he didn't. So he took the pack, put on the shirt, and headed out in the direction that she pointed out for him. There wasn't much of a path to follow with the undergrowth the vacant spaces on the ground. The shrubs weren't so thick that he wasn't able to walk through, but they preventing him from getting a sense of direction. The only thing he could use to guide him was the slope of the hill and the faint sound of running water.
Suddenly, there was a rustling of the leaves from a nearby bush, and Sasuke only had enough time to look up when a face with a row of shark-like teeth popped seemingly out of nowhere. The raven nearly jumped but was saved from the indignity by his own slowed reaction. His fright, unfortunately, didn't escape his attacker. "Woah! Did I just scare you?" Suigetsu asked with glee.
The raven frowned at him. How could he not know the swordsman was coming unless, "You suppressed your chakra."
Suigetsu shrugged. "So?" he said with a smirk. The raven glared back. That level of suppression required great control of the chakra system, something Sasuke wasn't quite willing to believe this man could have. But the blue-haired man took his stare as something else entirely. "Geez, you don't know how to take a joke, do you? Anyway, the pond is over there." The swordsman pointed. "Go get your skinny dip."
And with that, Suigetsu walked off. His flippancy was a part of why Sasuke couldn't bring himself to trust the swordsman. What kind of teammate would pull a prank on another team member at a critical time like this? If he was going to be so frivolous, why did he even joined a jinchuuriki in the first place? He wished he could just ask Naruto about it. He wished the blond would just talk to him and tell him how this little band of misfits came to be, how they'd gained Naruto's trust when he couldn't. Or did they? His hands shot up to rub against the inflamed skin. Did the blond really trust his team, or did he trust no one at all?
The bushes parted ways and suddenly Sasuke found himself right beside a pond, or rather a small reservoir feeding the stream. It was a sizeable body of water, enough for a swim if one fancied it. Sasuke was only thinking of a quick clean-up before he rejoined the group for breakfast, but it would be faster to just stripe down anyway. He was looking for a good place to access the pond when he spotted a pile of clothes folded haphazardly on a rock nearby. The clothes were mostly black but with a thin line of orange around a zip. There was only one person wearing something like this last night.
Suddenly the surface of the water erupted, and Sasuke managed to pull out his kunai this time around. But as he stood, waiting for an attack, nothing happened. There was just a mop of wet blond hair bobbing in the center of the pond. The raven breathed out a sigh equal parts relief and frustration. He put his weapon back into the pouch and shouted, "Oi, moron, what do you think you're doing?"
The blond head turned. A pair of blue eyes locked with his, and Sasuke froze. That was probably one of the very rare occasions where the raven felt like he had lost his footing. Naruto didn't react, didn't say a thing as he swam towards the shore. Sasuke's eyes followed him, hoping he would say something — anything.
"I'm done. You can go ahead in if you want."
The raven blinked. It wasn't quite what he had expected. But what was he expecting, really? A pointless bickering they used to have? An angry retribution? Naruto didn't seem like he wanted to continue their exchange from last night. He just walked up the shore, not really looking at Sasuke or particularly cared that he was there. The raven was the one who couldn't take his eyes away as the water receded. The strap of the katana Naruto wore on his back did nothing to hide the sculpted chest, not that he had anything to hide. The sheen of water only enhanced all the contours in the morning sunlight, giving a glimpse of the ripples of muscles down the abdomen.
His eyes stopped at the hideous black mark spreading around the navel. The raven recognized the base of it being the Fourth's seal, but it had been expanded and altered until it only vaguely resembled the original. That was probably why the seal was permanently visible now. Sasuke had to wonder what was done to it, by who, and for what? The Fourth's seal held in the Nine-tails, so it was not just unwise but positively suicidal to even try to touch it —
Naruto pushed himself out of the water, and all trains of thought in the raven's head came to a screeching halt when he realized that the blond had gone into the water wearing a katana and only a katana. Sasuke forced his eyes up and across the pond as fast as was humanly possible. His face burned from the heat that seemed to spread through his entire body out of sheer embarrassment. And he didn't even know why he was so embarrassed. It was not like they hadn't seen each other naked before when they were thirteen and had to use the public bath together. How was this any different? Why was his heart thundering out of his chest? And why was the tightness below his navel so bad he wanted to squirm?
The most frustrating thing was that Naruto wasn't self-conscious at all. He didn't even try to cover himself as he dried his hair, not that Sasuke was looking any lower than the blond's waist. Their eyes met for a moment, and Naruto lifted his eyebrows whereas Sasuke had to turn away and concentrate on not blushing.
"What?" the blond asked. "Doesn't yours shrink in cold water, too?"
Sasuke could not, for the life of him, understand why Naruto had to bring that up when the raven was trying the hardest not to think of anything of the male anatomy that could shrink in cold water. He might have been concentrating a little too hard since he didn't notice that Naruto moved towards him at all until the blond was right in front of him. Sasuke thanked the gods that at least the jinchuuriki was dressed now, even though the form-fitted sleeveless top did nothing to hide that muscly pair of arms.
The blond gave him a puzzled look, which Sasuke probably reciprocated until Naruto pointed to his ears. "You're red to here. Are you alright?"
If there was ever a moment that Sasuke wished a tsunami could drag him out to an inevitable death at sea, it would be right then. Despite his best attempt to remain unfazed, Naruto noticed. The pressure inside him finally imploded into the worst response possible. "That's none of your business!" he said, only to want to take it all back when the blond narrowed his eyes at him.
There was a short moment of silence where Sasuke was sure Naruto was going to scream at him, but then the blond snapped his mouth shut. His chin lifted slightly before he said, "Fine, have it your way," then he turned away, and Sasuke knew that he had to say something now, or he was going to screw it up all over again.
"I'm sorry." It seemed to him that saying sorry was the only thing he was good at when it came to Naruto, but he didn't know what else to say. "I was surprised. I didn't mean to yell at you."
He could hear the blond snorted, but Naruto didn't turn back. "You didn't mean a lot of things you did, did you, Sasuke?"
A lump in his throat stopped him from saying anything in reply right away, which was probably for the better. His first reaction never led to anything good. "I meant it when I said I care," he said when he finally found his voice again because it was true - the only true thing he knew would not change.
"Don't bother," was the reply that sliced through Sasuke's heart. "You're useful to me. That's why I let you stay. It's not like I do charity." Then the blond grabbed the katana, slung it over his shoulder, and walked off without a glance back. And that was probably for the best, because Sasuke was sure that there was no way he could disguise how much that simple statement actually hurt.
/***/
Kakashi didn't know for how long he sat there, staring at the Leaf headband. Its weight felt inordinately heavy in his hand. He remembered the slight dent on the left where he had nicked it with a kunai. Sasuke had been distracted then, or the jounin knew he wouldn't be able to get that close.
Yes, Sasuke was a skilled shinobi, more talented and hardworking than most of them, so it was hard for Kakashi to imagine how the raven could have been taken by force, even with an army of shadow clones around him. Except his opponent was a jinchuuriki, enraged and vindictive.
"So that's the message," he said, as he looked up to meet Sakura's gaze. The girl was clearly disturbed by what she had found. The arrangement of the cloak, the katana, and the headband had been eerie in itself, but the moment she and Kiba had taken the cloak down and found the message cut into the trunk behind it, everything had become even more ominous. 'An eye for an eye.' Kakashi didn't know what plan the blond might have for Sasuke, but none that came to his mind gave him any comfort.
"I'll need your report on everything you've seen by this evening. We'll need to send the message back to Konoha as soon as possible," he told his team. Once the report reached the Hokage, protocol dictated that Sasuke would be declared captured and a search-and-rescue plan would be formulated. If Kakashi could have his way, he would be the one leading the rescue and he would do it now, but he couldn't when he had to hold the fort for Leaf in Rice.
Fucking diplomacy.
This was one of the rare moments that he wanted to tear his hair out, but he couldn't. Looking around the room, he knew his team needed him to stay focused. Kiba had been uncharacteristically quiet since he got back. Kakashi could see frustration on the dog-nin's face. Kiba was rarely outrun by his target, and the fact that they had been tricked didn't help matters. By the time they had been able to correct their mistake, the Scums had already crossed a vast lake undetected and the scent trail had gone cold. Kakashi had never seen Kiba so angry with himself. He left Sakura to do most of the talking while he stared with a deep scowl at the furthest wall he could find.
And the news didn't bode well with the rest of the team either. Shino didn't say a word, but Kakashi could almost feel his disappointment. Hinata was taking it worst of all. She looked confused, but Kakashi suspected it was more denial than anything else. "But why?" she asked. Her voice was quiet, but because of the silence of the room, her question was deafening. "If he takes Sasuke-kun with him, he knows he would be followed, right? So why did he..." Her question trailed off as she became lost in thought.
That was when Kiba finally opened his mouth again, his voice tight. "It's clear, isn't it? He wants revenge for Leaf taking his teammate."
Hinata turned to her friend with a frown. "But... but he's got her back now. There's no point-"
"That's irrelevant, isn't it? An eye for an eye. You take my people. I take yours."
"Still, Naruto-kun won't-"
The moment Hinata said that name, Kiba just snapped. If he had looked angry before, he was furious now. "Why don't you just admit that you don't want to see him as a bad guy? He kidnapped Fuyuku and altered her memory, and all you can see is him trying to save a country. Don't you see it's pointless? The moment Fuyuku is back with her father they'll be at each other's throat again. You can't even admit that he'd kidnapped Sasuke. You have to try to justify his actions for him. Can't you just admit that what he did was wrong?"
"I'm not trying to justify him," Hinata countered. "I'm just trying to understand."
"For what?" Kiba retorted. His eyebrows pulled back in a sad scowl. "You're just going to keep on loving him no matter what, are you?"
A blush crept up Hinata's face as she stuttered trying to defend herself. The dog-nin, however, wouldn't hear another word. He got up and left, shutting the door rather heavily behind him. The room was again silent with Hinata staring at the door and the rest of them looking everywhere else.
"Well," Shino began, "that was a long time coming."
"Shino-kun." Hinata blanched.
The bug-breeder ignored her and got up. "With your permission, Kakashi-sensei." The jounin nodded, and Shino left, leaving Hinata behind. The poor girl didn't look like she knew what to do. She kept looking between the door, Sakura, Kakashi, and the cloak and katana laid by his side. The answer didn't seem to be forthcoming to her.
In some way, Kakashi could sympathize. He, too, wanted to have good faith in Naruto, but as time went on, he found less and less reason and more and more doubt in doing so. Naruto, after all, went with Orochimaru. Who knew what that man might have taught the blond, what twisted ideas had he impressed upon him. "I guess the meeting is adjourned, so you're free to go, Hinata," he said as cheerily as he could allow himself, given the situation. The girl quickly took the opportunity to mutter a goodbye and left, running to find her teammates.
That was when he got the chance to study Sakura. She looked tired, but was still able to keep calm. Kakashi wondered how much of it was shinobi training and how much was medical training. He was struck then by how much older she looked with all the lines on her face. "How are you holding?" he asked.
Sakura looked at him in surprise before saying, "I'm fine, sensei. I can still get you the report you want by this evening." She looked firm and confident, but Kakashi wasn't going to be tricked by that.
He shook his head. "I mean, how are you emotionally?"
To his surprised, his student looked offended. "You wouldn't have asked Kiba that, would you?" she retorted.
That remark confirmed Kakashi's suspicion that Sakura was on edge, too. She just hadn't snapped yet. "You're the closest to Sasuke, and you went after him to retrieve him and failed." He stopped to study the look on her face. "I understand that you will be feeling many things right now. If you want to talk-"
"I'll get you the report," she said and quickly got up, but Kakashi stopped her before she could reach the door.
"Feeling is not something to be shut away, Sakura," he said quietly.
There was a pause in which she didn't reply or move from the door, and Kakashi waited. He wasn't good at dealing with emotions either, but damned him if he didn't try. He wasn't going to let her make the same mistake Sasuke did. He had thought that because she was a girl, she would be able to be more forthright about it. From the look of it, he knew he was wrong.
"I can't deal with this right now, Kakashi-sensei," she finally said. "We... Let's get things done first and sort out this mess, then I'll talk to you." Then she turned around. The corner of her mouth lifted slightly. "Don't worry. I'm not Sasuke. I know when I need help."
He could see her lie in that smile, an armour she put on every time something went wrong. He wondered how long it had been there. Probably since Naruto left, he realized. She was forced to grow up so fast in the last three years that there wasn't a trace of the little Sakura of Team Seven anymore.
Kakashi let his head hang when she closed the door behind her. He had never felt so old and so exhausted before. Not even ANBU missions could make him feel so out of balance. In a span of a day, he had lost all three of his students. It was the first time that he finally accepted that Team Seven was truly no more.
/***/
End of Chapter 37
A/N: Here comes the bunny!
"Twenty years after the Axis Powers won the Second World War, Uchiha Sasuke is a university student from the Empire of Japan in Paris. But the golden glow of the City of Light veils the true underbelly, a society so rife with segregation, racial tension, and poverty on the verge of a revolution. The more he knows Paris, the more his eyes are drawn to the uncompromising portrayal of the city and its societies by an artist under the pseudonym Les Neuf Queues, a man wanted by the Reich's Dammerung for his anti-propaganda art and his circle of anti-propaganda artists."
Or a speculative-history AU where Naruto is an absinthe-obsessed Bohemian artist challenging a fascist regime a la Ai Weiwei. For anyone who doesn't know French or German (for which I'm technically part of the group), Les Neuf Queues is a straight translation of the Nine-tails (and a rude joke, probably, since la queue is also a slang for penis in French) and Dammerung is Dawn (and maybe a part of the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda if you want them to).
Now, to the replies.
Mari Wollsch Glad you like it! Here's the update.
Anonymous Hi, sorry for disappearing for so long. It's not very likely that I'm going to drop it for years with a cliffhanger. This plot bunny is the most aggressive fanfic bunny I have had, yet. I don't think it's going to let me drop it off without a fight.
Guest Thank you for coming back! I know I have been slow, mainly because the next arc turns out to be harder to write that all of the previous ones combined. (A lot of world building and back story and 'no, Kishimoto, you're not making sense so I'm going to redo that for you' moments.)
I haven't talked about the Uchiha clan or Itachi yet because, as I recently come to realize, this story's driving POV is actually Sasuke's, and his priorities are significantly shifted from what it was the canon at the same point. So, yes, the massacre got downplayed big time. But we'll get to that because if there is any theme at all to this story (honestly, there isn't), it's about consequences. And Danzo, Konoha, and the Third are not getting away with that. Obito's definitely going to be there, but the fourth shinobi war plot is completely overhauled because 'no, Kishimoto, you're not making sense.'
That's also why I chose to not have Sasuke lived in his family home after the massacre. Even though Konoha clearly has an awful track record of taking care of its own people, I think it still has enough common sense to not leave a seven-year-old in a house, in an estate, where a mass murder had happened. At least, I think the Third does (Danzo, not so much). In all probability, they'd probably try to set him up with a foster family, but Sasuke resisted that idea, so an apartment where he could be monitored by adults would be a reasonable compromise.
As for the mark being on the left, I'll answer you with a question: which side is Sasuke's chidori hand?
castleheart Oh, don't worry. That sex scene was for cringe and horror, not for sexy. So, yeah.
Ielav And that is his downfall, honestly.
Pie 555 Hahahaha! I totally forgot spanking. Or I might have thought it too tame, I don't remember. I can totally see canon!Naruto says that, though. But, yeah, this Naruto is a little too messed up for that. And Sasuke is also struggling with his own messedup-ness, so this is going to be hard.
Wolf and MR Lover Awww, thank you. You're so kind. About the marks on the Scums, I will get to that (way) later because there is a reason. Yeah, the canon wasn't good at talking about consequence, was it? It bothers me, too, that no one seems to take the malice in Sasuke's actions seriously. Ino was crying for him at one point. I was like, what? Girl, you need to get your lenses cleaned big time. (As for Naruto, well, he's Naruto. His perspective about Sasuke is so freaking skewed I don't know where to start.)
Actually, Naruto being a goody-goody after the timeskip is one of the thing I dislike about the canon. I think Kishimoto kept most of his character okay and he still had some depth, but I felt like the depth slowly got corroded over the years by the idea of a good man. And I just don't like what he became in the end because being good is actually a complicated and nuance thing. And none of that really got talked about.
Hahaha, well, yes, Menma in that scene is a manifestation of a deeper parts of Naruto, I'd say, including his frustrations. Or rather, Menma's the one who doesn't give a shit about anyone and just says it as it is.
Guest Oh, I'm glad it's exciting. There was so much talking going on I was afraid it was going to be boring. And, yeah, Naruto is cold right now, but he thinks it's justified. *sigh*
Brenda247 You mean, Poe's Usher? Well, I can see some parallel between Roderick and Madeline and Itachi and Sasuke in that they took each other and their clans down with them. (Except, Sasuke survives and Madeline doesn't.)
guest I'm glad you like that part. Actually, that was the most fun I have had writing Kakashi. I agree with you that this man has to have some political skills, but he's just so done with everything. He's basically warming the seat for Naruto when he takes the job, I feel.
I love your assessment on Naruto's romancing skill. XD Well, Naruto's pissed right now, so he's just being a dick. (It's petty, I know, but Naruto's not perfect.) And Sasuke kind of deserves it, too, in some way. He'll have to be the one romancing first if he wants results. (But can he, though? I mean, he's Sasuke.)
I've always felt that Suigetsu is sooo underrated in the canon, so I'm planning on pulling him up a bit. I'm glad someone feels the same. It'll be interesting to see his side of the story even though he's not going to be a POV. And we'll talk about the cursed seal later (way later), too.
Thanks so much for reviewing! I hope you'll like the next arc, too.
ScarletRedWings Ah, thanks! :D I'm glad you think Sasuke's character is good. I agonize over writing him a lot. As for Naruto, he comes surprisingly natural to me. (What that says about me, I do not know.) I can tell you that the fight will be between Sasuke and Itachi. That's kind of the part of the deal between Sasuke and the Scums. As for how it's going to turn out, that's probably another 20 chapters down the road. (I am so sorry for how long this story is. I'm terrible at writing anything short.)
Awww, thank you so much. You're too kind. And never apologize for a long review. I really appreciate the fact that you take your time to let me know how you feel so I can write better for you guys. I like Kakashi being cool, too, but I kind of want to see him at his limit because that where I think the real character comes out. And I LOVE writing him in this chapter. It's kind of sad that the focus will be heavy on Naruto and Sasuke for a while (for an obvious reason *wink*), but I do want to get back to writing him soon.
Teme of the year Oh, I savour writing Kakashi terrorizing those people so much you have no idea. He is ready to set shit on fire if he's not getting his way that's for sure. Actually, I struggle a lot with Sasuke beginning from this chapter because he's now begun to grow beyond his characterization in the manga. And he has to, otherwise I don't see how he could enter and stay in a romantic relationship at all. so I'm going to be working on a blank canvas from now, and it's terrifying! Like, half the time I have to ask someone 'do you think Sasuke would do this?' and there's no easy answer because we're charting unknown territory now. Can't say I'm not excited, though.
Oh, I did not know that there were recommendations going around. (Probably because I'm so old that I'm not in anyone's circle anymore.) I'm really glad you and your friends like my story. I hope it's going to be worth your time at the end of all this (I mean, it's probably going to go over 100 chapters at this rate, which terrifies me, but well, it's going to get written one chapter at a time regardless.)
dancibayo Yeah, Naruto is going to be broody and a dick for a bit before he starts giving Sasuke a chance. Please cheer them on!
coffeepurple I actually just realize through your comment that my Naruto is a tsundere, isn't he? (Well, at least for now.) I'm glad you like Saya's and Naruto's friendship. :) I like writing them, too.