Chapter Summary: An unexpected encounter occurs and Sasuke is forced to face his greatest fears head on.

AN: Hello! Sorry for the long wait! I totally forgot to post this chapter here. And now I have another one complete as well. Hope everyone is doing well and that you enjoy this update!

A Crown of Peonies and Primrose
Chapter 7: Balsamine and Mallow

Sasuke gazed through the flames flickering nearby, watching the patterns that danced across Naruto's face on the other side of their campfire. The forest was silent as night approached. They were about halfway to Suna, and in a day or two the dense woods would taper out into sand and dry brush. Sasuke was already a bit tired, but once they no longer had cover from the sun things would be even more difficult, so he refrained from showing it best he could. Fresh water would become increasingly harder to find, food and shelter, a rarity. His complaints could wait until they were more justified.

He breathed in deeply and studied Naruto intently, who seemed perfectly happy to be camping out in the woods even after so many days of travel. He had a soft grin on his face, and though he did look a bit weary as well, it did little to lessen the brightness in his eyes. He was likely excited to see an old friend. Little things like that had a tendency to energize him.

Their last visit with Gaara had been more than two years ago. At the time, Sasuke had still been coming to terms with his role in Konoha. His relationship with Naruto, though certainly on the mend, had been in the midst of evolving. Compared to present day, it felt like ages ago. Sasuke had spent much of that trip glaring daggers at the Kazekage, and vice versa. So much had changed since then. He wondered if this visit would prove to be better or worse.

Sakura sat next to Naruto. She was picking the dirt out from beneath her nails with a senbon, and Sasuke could feel her gaze on him, watching him watch Naruto. She'd been doing that a lot lately, and though he sensed no malice from her, rather an intense curiosity, it was a bit tiresome at times. He was constantly tempted to hide his thoughts from her, to turn his gaze away from Naruto, afraid of what she might see within it. But lately that fear of discovery had begun to dissipate. He didn't mind so much, if others knew how strongly he felt for Naruto. In fact, he almost…wanted them to know instead.

Behind Sasuke, Shikamaru, Lee, and Sai were already lying down, tucked into their bedrolls and attempting to get some rest. Lee spouted something poetic every now and then, earning scoffs from Sakura, and inquisitive stares from Sai, but for the most part they were quiet as they settled in to sleep. Without the weariness and aches and pains from travel, Sasuke might have found it a very pleasant evening.

It had been a relatively peaceful journey up to that point, and there was no reason for that to change. So Sasuke was surprised when he felt something slightly out of place. It had been a very brief surge in chakra, so faint he wondered if he'd imagined it. He paused for just a moment, the hairs on the back of his neck lifting as he froze.

"What is it?" Sakura asked, noticing immediately as his gaze drifted from Naruto's face towards the darkness of the woods around them. He didn't answer her, his eyes narrowing as he focused on sensing their surroundings. As far as he could tell, there was nothing there. He met Naruto's worried gaze, and didn't register anything more before something whooshed by his head and hit Naruto in the neck. He watched as it happened in almost slow motion. The way Naruto's entire body jolted to the side from the impact, the blood that spurted from his veins. He hadn't noticed in time to use a substitution. Sasuke's eyes widened, and he flinched in surprise. He hadn't seen it coming at all either.

Mere seconds later Naruto's body collapsed to the forest floor in a series of short spasms as several seals streaked out across his neck, and Sasuke's heart practically seized in his chest. Naruto screamed, and both his and the fox's chakra started flickering around his body like they wanted to escape and stay contained all at once. He writhed in place, hand grappling at his neck, his eyes wide and laced with pain. Sasuke lunged towards his body, but before he managed a single step his vision swayed and he was drawn into darkness.

He blinked rapidly, his footsteps halting as the scenery around him morphed into something altogether too familiar. It was the Uchiha compound. Every building was there, the stone pathway beneath his feet, the traditional homes, down to the last detail. If he hadn't been trudging through the forest just moments prior he would have believed himself actually there. But in that moment it was so clearly a genjutsu. It was almost laughable how obvious it was. He smirked, activating his sharingan and attempting to break free from it, but frowned when the scene only morphed before his eyes, this time with the added element of hundreds of dead bodies on the ground. Sasuke nearly choked. There was only one other person that would have known these exact details, and he was dead.

Sasuke faltered. Had his sharingan not activated? It felt like it had, but then again, perhaps that was part of the illusion as well.

His focus broke just long enough for him to succumb to an onslaught of entirely new nightmares. Or were they memories? It was so precise, the way every detail was in the exact place from that one night. And yet…there was something distinctly off about it. Sasuke looked down, peering at the bloody sword gripped in his hand warily. That wasn't…right. When he looked up, a young Itachi stood before him, his expression a mix of confusion and pain.

"Why?" He hissed, and Sasuke staggered back. "Sasuke why?" It was then he noticed the way his brother clutched at his gut, the deep wound overflowing with blood. "You killed them all, why did you kill them little brother?"

Sasuke shook his head and narrowed his eyes. He hadn't…it hadn't been like this. But then there was an influx of altered memories and Sasuke wanted to retch. He saw himself in Itachi's place, sliding the sword so easily into the backs of his mother and father. He watched their bodies fall lifelessly to the floor, neither putting up so much as a fight. He saw himself mutilating the rest of the clan, taking joy in their blood as it smeared over the pavement, and then finally lunging at Itachi, doing the same to him. His sword sank into his brother's body so easily. He tugged at it, trying desperately to wrench it away, but in the end it only caused him more pain. He stared at Itachi in disbelief, caught his body in his arms as it collapsed. His brother's eyes gazed up at him lifelessly, and Sasuke saw himself reflected in them, the anger, the hate, the lust for blood.

It wasn't real. It wasn't real. He knew it wasn't real. So why couldn't he break free? He dropped Itachi's body from his arms and tried to ignore the way it fell limply to the ground with a loud thwack, standing up and searching around himself for a way to escape. He was shaky and confused. He was starting to mix real memories with fake ones, and that brought about a whole new level of panic Sasuke had never experienced before.

He closed his eyes, steadied his breathing, focused on really feeling, and when he opened them again he saw it. A slight shimmer, a mere tear in the genjutsu. He ran towards it desperately and clawed his way through. He prepared himself to fall back onto the solid ground of the woods. He would activate his sharingan immediately, get to Naruto's side, and destroy whoever did this to them. Except when he landed, it wasn't on solid ground at all.

Sasuke cried out as his body sank briefly, inhaling instinctively as a disgusting liquid filled his lungs. He choked and struggled against the suffocating feeling before straining to swim upwards. It was exhausting, and he thought he might not make it in time. His arms burned as he desperately tried to reach the surface, and when his head finally burst through to fresh air, he spat the liquid from his mouth, eyes widening as he realized he was swimming in a sea of blood.

He treaded anxiously through the viscous liquid until he managed to drag himself free from it, coughing the blood from his lungs and panting as he knelt on the ground. He could feel the pain in his throat, the exhaustion in his body from nearly drowning. He could taste the blood on his tongue, feel it dripping down his skin. His eyesight blurred slightly as he watched it dribble from his body to the ground. He shuddered as he blinked the blood from his eyes.

Why? Why couldn't he see through it?

This was no mere illusion. It was too real. Built on his real experiences, and yet crafted into something much more terrifying. Even Itachi's illusions hadn't felt quite so frightening. The sharingan should have allowed him to escape easily, and yet here he was, caught in his own distorted memories, unable to make use of it at all.

"S-Sasuke?"

The tone was so familiar, and yet…so weak compared to normal. Sasuke raised his head tentatively, swallowing as he realized he was face to face with Naruto. Except he was much younger, his body torn to shreds. They were so close, close enough that Sasuke could feel his tiny gasps of air on his face, and Sasuke shuddered when he realized it was because his fist was in Naruto's chest.

He remembered that day so clearly. He never wanted to revisit it.

"Sasuke it hurts," Naruto whispered. He was older now, the Naruto that Sasuke had become so much more familiar with. His tortured expression bore into Sasuke's eyes, and Naruto lowered his head, staring at the gaping wound with fascination, the place where Sasuke's arm disappeared between his ribs. Sasuke shook his head rapidly as Naruto clawed at his own wound, pulling it wider, making it so much worse. He watched him scream in pain, watched him panic as the blood poured from his chest. Sasuke wrenched his arm away, cringing at the scream that came from Naruto's throat. He reached out towards him, but couldn't reach him, and Naruto collapsed on his knees with fearful eyes. Sasuke shook his head in disbelief, stepping towards him, but the more he moved, the greater the distance between them became. Sasuke tripped over his own feet, running endlessly, until Naruto was so far away from him he could no longer see him at all.

He turned in the empty space around him, searching for anything, but finding himself alone. His arms were covered in blood, and it dripped steadily towards the ground. It was Naruto's blood, Itachi's blood. The blood of every single loved one he'd managed to destroy.

He felt panic set in. He couldn't do this. His breathing quickened and he started to violently shake.

The ground shifted beneath his feet and Sasuke glanced down at it just in time to watch it crumble and cave in. He fell into the hole, twigs and stones scratching at his skin on the way down, his nails tearing from his fingertips as he grappled against the dirt fruitlessly. His body slammed down hard, trapped inside a long rectangular trench, and then he was met with a sight he would not soon forget.

Naruto's lifeless eyes, his body half in decay, Sasuke's old scratched up hitae-ate clenched in a bony hand. And Sasuke screamed. He screamed so much his throat went raw. It couldn't be real, it couldn't possibly be real. He needed to wake the fuck up! He had to regain control of his physical body, so he could activate his sharingan and stay the hell away from whatever place this was.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and focused on his hand. He willed it to move, not just inside the illusion, willed himself to reach into his own pouch to withdraw a kunai with shaking fingers. It slipped unsteadily against his sweaty palm, but Sasuke clenched it hard, lifting it up high, forcing his physical body to comply. His eyes were wide and afraid as he wrenched it down into his own thigh, hard as can be.

It was like he'd been thrown into a bucket of ice when the genjutsu finally broke. He fell forward onto his hands, gasping for air. His leg throbbed where he'd stabbed it, and Sasuke trembled on the ground, taking in his surroundings with panicked eyes. He was back in the forest, enemy nin all around him and the others. Except Naruto and Sakura were gone. And Sasuke hadn't seen what happened.

Shikamaru had several of their enemies trapped within his shadow imitation technique, but he was struggling to maintain the hold on so many clearly strong shinobi. His face was straining under the force, and though Lee was acting quickly, knocking them to the ground one by one, it wasn't fast enough for him to possibly reach all of them in time. Sasuke spotted Sai, standing still, not far away, staring at his side in wonder, a kunai lodged in between his ribs. Their eyes met briefly, and he knew the other had just escaped from a genjutsu as well. One of similar strength if Sai had also been forced to react with such a desperate measure.

Sasuke activated his sharingan immediately and wrenched himself to his feet. He threw out several shuriken on wires around him, lodging them into the chests of the enemy nin, even as he staggered against the pain in his thigh. He cast amaterasu quickly, blowing the fire down the wires, watching in fascination as the bodies of the shinobi went up in black flames. He hurried to control the spread, keeping it away from the brush and trees around them, and then flung himself into another nin currently in the midst of forming several hand signs. He wouldn't be caught in an illusion again. His red eyes gleamed down at the man, and a second later Sasuke sliced his head from his body with a chidori infused Kusanagi.

He bared his teeth and trapped another inside his own mind, returning the nightmarish tortures tenfold. Sasuke took sick pleasure in his screams, and it wasn't until Sai broke the man's neck that they stopped. He fought through as many more as he could, the others doing the same behind him. Sasuke paused just long enough to register the cult markings on their enemies' arms. Damn it! They really didn't need this right now. He was ninety percent sure he knew what they wanted too.

His gaze darkened, Kusanagi crackling with lighting and mimicking his erratic thoughts, and he attacked the next man in a rage. Long after he was dead Sasuke stabbed at him, screaming out his anger as blood pooled around the shinobi's body. Sasuke fell away from him in disgust, staring at his coated hands as he breathed in and out rapidly. He was covered in it. So much blood.

Naruto's blood, wasn't it?

He remembered those lifeless blue eyes, the pain filled expression on Naruto's face as he'd put a hole through his chest. Naruto…where was Naruto? He turned around frantically, searching for any sign of a tuft of blond hair. Had he killed him? Had the vision been a memory after all? Sasuke wasn't sure. Why couldn't he remember? Why couldn't he separate the real from the fake?

He didn't even realize he was screaming until a swift punch to the face broke him out of his mental breakdown. Sasuke panted against the ground, and stared up at Lee in shock, gasping for air. His face throbbed violently, but he hardly noticed the pain. He was shaking, and it wasn't until Shikamaru put a hand on his shoulder and counted him down that his breathing evened out.

Lee hovered over him worriedly, his fingers wringing together in front of his body. "I'm so sorry to have hit you my friend, but...,"

"Where's Naruto," Sasuke hissed, as soon as his brain started functioning enough to form the words.

"Safe, probably," Shikamaru reassured him. Sasuke blinked at his surroundings in surprise, sighing as he remembered that the blood was from their enemies, whose bodies were strewn about the forest floor all around him. Enemies he'd helped take down. He breathed in and out shakily, closing his eyes briefly before staring down at his hands. That's right. Naruto wasn't dead. He hadn't killed him. That part at least wasn't real. It wasn't. Sasuke swallowed, sitting up gingerly, wincing as his thigh throbbed from the movement. His gaze shifted to the wound and he spotted the growing deep red stain on his pants. Shit, he was bleeding pretty bad.

Sai stood a few feet away, clutching his side with one hand. He was staring listlessly at the ground, and it would have been disturbing if such an expression wasn't so commonplace on his face. Lee had a wound on his upper arm, which he dabbed at for a moment, before looking down at him in concern. He was just as coated in blood, his arms and legs completely drenched as he unravelled his bindings.

"W-what happened?" Sasuke stuttered, his legs still refusing to support his body. Shikamaru sat back on his heels and sighed in frustration.

"You saw Naruto get hit," Shikamaru commented. Sasuke nodded and took a shaky breath. "They did the same to Lee." He nodded to Lee who held out a strange looking weapon, and Sasuke gripped it between his fingers carefully. It was long and thin, much like a senbon, though several faded seals lined the metal, clearly meant to activate on impact. He remembered the way Naruto had struggled against it, his chakra flowing erratically around his form as it fought to leave his body.

"A chakra displacer?" Sasuke wondered. And then he looked at Lee and snorted. No wonder Naruto was so effected by it. He had an overwhelming amount of chakra inside of him, both his and Kurama's. It would have completely crippled him. And done absolutely nothing to Lee.

"He…disappeared not long after, with Sakura," Shikamaru added. Sasuke breathed in quickly, his shoulders relaxing slightly. He felt almost sick with relief. If he was with Sakura…if they had disappeared together…

"He's…he's okay then."

Shikamaru shrugged, looking out into the forest with wary eyes. "Like I said, probably." He turned back towards Sasuke, looking him up and down with narrowed eyes. "What happened to you?"

"A genjutsu, of some sort."

"It was more than just a simple genjutsu," Sai interjected. Sasuke turned towards him curiously. "Fears. It showed us our worst fears. And greatest regrets." He looked at Sasuke with emotionless eyes. "It was a projection from within our own minds."

"I thought you weren't susceptible to those sorts of things," Sasuke commented and Sai grimaced slightly. It was more emotion than typically showed on his face and Sasuke couldn't help but wonder what he had seen under the genjutsu's control.

"I do not yet fully understand fear, however what I saw was still sincerely disturbing. I'm sure you…understand."

Sasuke nodded weakly and pushed himself up, Shikamaru lifting him beneath his arm. Shikamaru sighed then, turning to look at the bodies, or what remained of them, and Sasuke shuddered as he was reminded of the bloodbath from his mind.

"Mokushiroku," Shikamaru noted, lifting one of the tattooed arms before letting it fall limply to the ground. The cult was rather new, but already growing in size, especially if they were able to send such a large group for this one attack. Konoha had very limited intel on them. Just whisperings. But they appeared to be collecting ninja from around the world with unique talents, often against their will, then indoctrinating them, and harnessing said talents before mutating them. Some of their known targets had included jinchuuriki from the other villages. They should have expected such an attack sooner or later.

"They wanted Naruto," Sasuke said.

"Most likely."

"Fuck, we were careless," Sasuke realized. They'd been travelling on the paths, not attempting to hide at all, with their campfire lit late into the evening. They hadn't even made any attempts to disguise themselves, so clearly from Konoha, leaf symbols adorning their jackets and gear. And Naruto was unmasked for once. It was like they were asking to be attacked.

Sasuke turned towards their scattered travel packs. Both Naruto's and Sakura's were missing, which meant she'd had the forethought to grab them before they disappeared. Surely they would have been left behind had they not escaped. That at least, gave him some sense of relief. But it didn't stop him from worrying. "We have to find them."

"Later. We've got work to do first." Shikamaru gestured towards the bodies and Sasuke grimaced.

He collected his thoughts, took a deep breath and pushed his shaking body to move. All he wanted to do was search for Naruto, but Shikamaru was right, they couldn't leave such an obvious mess behind. They spent a few hours disposing of what remained of the Mokushiroku members, dismantling them in search of anything that might be useful at a later time. It was dirty work. Typically ANBU took care of that kind of thing, but they didn't exactly have easy access to Konoha black ops so far from home. And if they left the bodies, or tried to hide them, they risked losing all of the information to thieves or other members of the cult. Thankfully Sai was well versed in extracting secrets from a corpse. Unfortunately the rest of them had to help him do it.

They spent a few hours looking for Naruto and Sakura after that, awake well into the night, but came up with nothing. Sasuke couldn't sense Naruto's chakra at all, which meant they had gone decently far, wherever they were. Or they were dead. He tried not to let that particular worry take control of his mind.

He practically threw his shirt off of his body, growling at the sheer amount of blood that coated his skin. It hit the ground with a wet splat, blood splattering across the dirty floorboards below. His pants were drenched in it too, but there was no sense changing out of them without a place to clean prior to putting on his spare set. He kicked his pack to the side of the small abandoned cabin they'd taken as their own, growling as he tried with little success to calm the shaking in his limbs. It wasn't the most hospitable lodging, but it was the best they could do so late at night and under the circumstances.

Lee walked up beside him sluggishly. His vest was torn so much he didn't even have to lift it over his shoulders to remove it. He threw it in the corner, where an animal skittered out from beneath dust and discarded bones and discarded the extra packs and equipment they now had at his feet. He pulled out some bandages and changed the one tied around his upper arm before slumping on the ground. Shikamaru and Sai trudged in after them, the latter propped over Shikamaru's shoulder. The wound in Sai's side had gone untreated for too long, and it was finally starting to take a toll on him.

Sasuke leered at the hasty bandage he'd wrapped around his thigh, gritting his teeth when he noticed the blood seeping through. There wasn't much more he could do to stop it without Sakura's healing jutsu. He hobbled to the other end of the cabin, running dirty fingers through his hair, before walking back again.

"Uchiha, stop pacing," Shikamaru drawled. "We'll find them."

Sasuke paused, remembering the way Naruto had looked when he'd last seen him. Torn apart by pain. The visions he'd been forced to endure distorted everything as well, and his jaw tightened. Five seconds later he slammed his fist into the wall. The cabin shook, and dust fell to the ground around them sending Lee into a fit of sneezes. Sasuke stood there, looking down towards his feet, hand pressed against the cracked wood.

"I'm sure Naruto is fine," Shikamaru spoke up. "You know it wasn't real, whatever you saw."

"It looked real." Sasuke let out an annoyed growl and stepped away from the wall, holding on to his wrist in an attempt to stop his hand from trembling. "You were wrong, emotions do make you weak," Sasuke snarled. He turned towards Shikamaru, eyes ablaze with the mangekyou. "Look at me. Look at me!" His hands were shaking, his entire body trembling with rage. "I can't fucking control myself because all I can think about is him!" He hadn't felt such overwhelming anger in years. It was driving him insane. Not knowing whether or not Naruto was dead or alive.

Shikamaru stared at him impassively, hardly reacting to his shouts whatsoever. He looked almost bored, except for the small dip just above his eyebrow, which revealed he was actually concerned. He blinked a few times, and then stepped closer, placing a hand firmly on Sasuke's shoulder. "Sasuke, what would you do to get him back?"

"Anything." He answered immediately. Without taking a second to think. Because he knew without a doubt that he would sacrifice his entire being if it meant Naruto was alive and safe.

"There's your strength," Shikamaru said. He looked into Sasuke's surprised eyes, his grip tightening on his shoulder. "Harness it, focus it. We'll find them."

When his hand fell away Sasuke's energy seemingly left right along with it. His shoulders drooped and he leaned against the wall tiredly. His leg was aching more than ever, and all he wanted to do was to curl up beneath the blankets of his bed, in the house he was slowly starting to love again. He could imagine holding Naruto in his arms, pressing his face into his blond hair and just breathing in. He missed him so much already.

"We'll head to our first rendezvous point tomorrow, okay? There's no sense in us running about and wasting our energy any further right now. Besides, both you and Sai have pretty bad injuries, and you need to chill the fuck out before we put ourselves in further possible danger." Sasuke winced at the pointed words. Shikamaru was right of course. He was always right. Sasuke was too unstable to fight should they come across more enemies. And he didn't want to aggravate his leg more than he had to. When he turned to look at Sai he found him stitching himself up, not even flinching as the needle pierced his skin. But the wound was deep. They were strong shinobi, but in their current states they would struggle.

He sat down gingerly, dropping his head into his hands. Lee propped himself against the wall not far away, stretching out his legs as he removed a few weights from within his bindings. "Do not worry my friend, Naruto is a strong shinobi! And Sakura is the most brilliant kunoichi of our age. We'll be back together as a team in no time!" Lee said with a nod, and then he turned towards Sasuke with a sparkling grin and a wink. Sasuke admittedly tried not to sneer at him, but despite his best efforts his face still morphed into a disgusted scowl. He wished he had an ounce of Lee's will.

Naruto was whining incessantly, which meant he was fine.

Sakura sighed as she rolled her eyes. She had a feeling she wouldn't be getting much sleep. Between Naruto's constant complaints, and her own worries, there was no way her mind was going to relax enough to let her rest. She turned her head slightly, eyeing Naruto's shadowy form where he kicked at his bedroll on the forest floor just a few feet away. It seemed his chest still hurt from the teleportation seal Sakura had slammed into him in a pinch. She'd left a few bruises behind, but her quick thinking had probably saved his life, and the marks would be gone by morning anyway.

At first she hadn't been sure what to do, just staring at Naruto as he writhed on the ground in pain. The chakra emanating around his body had looked daunting, and it took all of her courage to even reach through the twisting energies and wrench the object causing the problem from his neck. She was lucky she hadn't lost her arm.

It burst free with a disgusting pop, the strange seals on his skin dissipating in a cloud of steam. Naruto had collapsed, panting against the forest floor as his chakra settled back into place, a steady stream of blood leaking from the wound in his neck. Thankfully it had missed his artery. It still bled profusely, but she'd healed it best she could, and it shouldn't be causing him any major problems.

Naruto had been an obvious target, the way their attackers had zeroed in on him from the start. Sakura had recognized the strange tattoos on their arms immediately, and admittedly, panicked a bit. Despite knowing little about them, this particular cult frightened her more than most. While Akatsuki removed the bijuu from their host, and harnessed their power in that way, the Mokushiroku instead wished to control the jinchuuriki themselves. They searched far and wide to collect shinobi with particular skillsets in chakra control and thought manipulation, then mutilated bodies and minds to combine those skills and harness them. It was a debatably worse fate. To be forced to be the one behind devastating events instead of dyeing before they occurred.

She'd acted recklessly, but hadn't been able to come up with any other option on such short notice. Her only thought had been getting Naruto safely away. He was always the priority. There was an unwritten rule for Konoha shinobi to safeguard the jinchuuriki at all times. A rule she wasn't even sure Naruto was aware of. But they simply couldn't risk it. If his control was tampered with, if Kurama could be torn from him and his power harnessed, or he himself manipulated and used against Konoha or other villages, it would create unfathomable destruction, and wars would erupt between the shinobi nations. Not to mention there was the possibility of Naruto's death and suffering.

They'd been careless she supposed. Naruto wasn't as disguised as usual, since they weren't strictly speaking, on a mission. They were delegates, heading in Tsunade's stead to the upcoming nation peace summit in Suna. It was meant to be more of a holiday for them. A chance to get away and meet with old friends while engaging in plans for continued peace at the same time. If threats like these were becoming more prevalent, they'd have to work harder to hide Naruto's identity. Perhaps even send out more organized groups to search for and apprehend the threats. They should warn Gaara as well. She mentally added it to the long list of concerns to bring up on Tsunade's behalf.

Sakura cracked her knuckles before rolling on her side with a huff. Naruto usually didn't need the protection, but sometimes they did get caught unawares, and it was foolish to assume stronger shinobi did not exist anywhere else in the world. This time had been one of those regretful encounters.

It wasn't even so much that they had been stronger. Just better prepared. She hadn't had much time to think. Unfortunately, she'd scrawled out the kanji for the seal a bit too quick, given the circumstances, and she wasn't all that great at sealing at the best of times, so they had absolutely no idea where they were. Neither she nor Naruto sensed the chakra of the others, or the existence of people at all in their surroundings. And if even Naruto in sage mode couldn't find sign of anything, it meant they really were in the middle of nowhere. She should be grateful they hadn't ended up underground or split in half by a tree she supposed. Their best bet was to get some rest, and do a bit of searching in the morning. Maybe with some time to focus Naruto could create a better transportation seal and return them to a rendezvous point.

"Sakuuuuraaaa…"

"You're fine Naruto, just sleep," she groaned. She shifted beneath her own blankets, suddenly annoyed at how trapped her legs felt confined within the bedroll. She swore there were bugs crawling all over her skin too. And though she'd slowly gotten used to such things, having gone on missions for several years now, there were times where even the smallest things annoyed her beyond belief. This was one of those times.

"Sakura." It was softer this time, and Sakura blinked, gaze shifting as she peered up at the bit of starry sky visible between the treetops.

"Mmm."

"How do you know…if someone loves you?"

The question seemed out of left field. But Sakura supposed it wasn't really. All of them thought about the ones they cared for on missions. Especially dangerous ones, where the very people you cared for were at risk. The fact that Naruto was confused about this in particular however, shocked her immensely. "It's hard to know for sure, unless they tell you Naruto," she sighed. "Though I suppose there are little things. Tells. A look in a person's eyes. The way they touch you, act around you, the things they do for you." She wondered if Naruto really couldn't tell. The answer was so obvious to her.

"Sasuke…I," he started, rolling slightly on his side. "I really really love him."

Sakura couldn't help the tiny smile that formed on her face. Something like that might have hurt her once, when she had been blinded by a preteen crush. But now, the idea of her best friend, falling in love with her other best friend…it was heart-warming. "I know Naruto."

"It's obvious?"

"Perhaps not to him. But to me it is. Have you told him?" she asked, and she closed her eyes as she waited for his answer, relaxing against the ground as the cicadas chirped around them.

'I'm afraid," Naruto whispered. He remained silent for a few moments, and then he huffed and rustled beneath his blanket. "I'm not good enough for him."

Her eyes flew open at that, and she turned towards him, staring into the darkness at the vague outline of his form. "What makes you say that?" She couldn't quite see Naruto's expression, but there was something about the way he clutched at his bedroll, how his knees were tucked up against his body, which left a strange ache in her chest.

"I just. I feel like…I'll let him down. Or that…he'll realize he can have better with someone else. That I'm not really what he wants. I mean…why would he want me of all people? I just don't get it."

Sakura's brow furrowed, and she scowled in the dark, wondering where the overconfident idiot she had grown so fond of had disappeared to. It wasn't like Naruto to play himself down in such a way. She didn't like it.

"Naruto. That's enough of that. Don't ever talk down about yourself like that. Anyone would be lucky to have you." She rolled on her side completely, staring at him intensely. "Do you really think Sasuke would have lowered himself to be with someone he didn't actually want? Does he strike you as the kind to be frivolous about these things?"

"Not really, no," Naruto grumbled. He fidgeted a bit, and then sighed. "There were times, before, with the seal…"

"He wasn't himself then. You and I both know that." Sakura stared at Naruto intently. She was tempted to question whether or not Sasuke had put such ideas into his head, but she knew otherwise. That idiot was completely head over heels. He looked at Naruto like he'd hung the stars and moon in the sky. "You two are both unbelievable," Sakura drawled. "Naruto this, Naruto that, Sasuke this, Sasuke that. You've both been obsessed with each other for as long as I've known you."

Sakura rolled onto her back again, glancing up at the sky with a wry smirk. "Even as kids you were all he looked at." She'd been too blind to see it then, but thinking back on their days together, before Sasuke had left…it was so obvious now. They were always going to end up together. Either dead or alive. "And then you chased him across an entire continent, completely disregarding the rules set in place for Genin I might add, and you're foolish if you think he came back to Konoha for anything or anyone other than you."

Naruto was silent, and Sakura could almost feel the doubt rolling off of him in waves. She pursed her lips and scrunched her eyes shut. "Even after screwing each other you're both insufferable."

"What? We haven't…we…," Naruto spluttered, and Sakura whipped her head to the side and glared at him. He froze, even though it was unlikely he could see much of her expression.

"Naruto, quite frankly I don't care what you have or haven't done," she spat. "But I've seen enough marks on you to know you aren't just having leisurely walks on the beach holding hands." Naruto gaped at her his hand flying to his neck in surprise. "And you aren't exactly quiet. Sasuke's genjutsu are strong, but he doesn't always remember to use them. And they have a tendency to…weaken when he's emotionally invested." Sakura didn't mention that she suspected that Sasuke 'forgot' to use genjutsu intentionally half the time.

Naruto jerked in surprise, rolling onto his front and tucking his face into his bedroll in embarrassment. His fingers wrapped around the back of his neck and he whined against his pillow in frustration. Sakura raised her eyebrow at him in the dark. She wanted to laugh, because the two of them were so transparent. Obvious about their love to every single person except each other.

"Why is it I wonder that Kurama won't heal the marks he leaves on you?" Sakura asked.

"Because he's a giant prick that's why," Naruto growled, his head shifting just to the side.

"Or does he know you like having them? That Sasuke likes seeing them?" Sakura couldn't see his skin, but she was certain he was red as a tomato.

"Sh-shut up."

She'd hit the nail on the head. Sakura smirked and chuckled to herself quietly. Naruto was worried for absolutely no reason. Of course Sasuke wanted him. She could have spotted it from a mile away. There was the way Sasuke leered at him, stared at the marks on his neck, even touching them occasionally and tugging his shirt down so they were more readily seen. The way he would lean in close and smell Naruto's hair, gaze at the Uchiha crest that Naruto sported more often than not, almost proudly. Hardly a moment passed when Sasuke wasn't staring at him intensely. He was a possessive fucker. But truly seemed to care about Naruto, so she let it go. It would have been weird if it was anyone else. It would have made her wary. But she also suspected that Naruto, on some level, liked being wanted like that. Craved it even.

He'd probably gone years without being touched or held.

That thought made her a bit sad. Because she could have been a better friend from the start. She could have been there for him, hugged him when he was sad, laughed with him on his birthdays that he almost always spent alone. She wished she hadn't been so blind. That she had valued different things at a younger age. She'd treated Naruto like a pariah for most of their time at the academy, and even well into their early years as team seven. He deserved so much better than that. He was one of the kindest, most sincere people she knew.

Sakura hoped that Sasuke might be able to give him what he needed. That together the two of them might find peace. They completed each other, like partners, lovers should. And Naruto did seem happy with him. His eyes were so bright whenever Sasuke was near. Like his mere presence was all that Naruto needed to get through a day. If there was ever any sign that Sasuke was hurting him however…she wouldn't hesitate to cut him into pieces.

There was a long pause, and Sakura wondered if Naruto had finally fallen asleep, but then he shifted in his bedding, turning towards her fully.

"Sakura."

"mmm."

"Do you think Sasuke's okay?"

"Of course he is, it's Sasuke," she replied, her jaw tightening as she remembered just what situation they'd been left in. "And he's with Shikamaru, Lee, and Sai. The four of them would be so annoying the enemy would probably eat their own hands rather than deal with them."

"Right, yeah."

In truth, she was more than a little worried. There was no telling what their enemies had been capable of. She hadn't had much of a chance to really observe them. And they had been coordinated. The attack was premeditated, and well thought out. If they could shut down all of Naruto's chakra pathways in a matter of seconds, there was no telling what might have happened to the rest of their team. They'd managed to go unseen as well, which pissed her off even more. What kind of Jounin couldn't sense an ambush?

She didn't doubt her teammates. Not one bit. However she was concerned about what other cheap tricks the Mokushiroku had up their sleeves. They clearly had some intel on Konoha nin, knew who to attack and with what. Hopefully, their intel was incomplete. They probably put all of their effort into focusing down Naruto and Sasuke thinking the rest of their team would be easy to pick off. She tried to calm herself down with that logic. Her heart lightened a bit when she remembered they had Lee with them. At the very least, chakra obstruction wouldn't do anything to him, and Lee was far stronger than anyone ever gave him credit for. They would have underestimated him.

Perhaps, if Lee had managed to fend them off, she might even let him take her out for lunch. Once. Just once. She scrunched up her face in annoyance and tried not to sigh out loud. If only to keep Naruto from worrying even more. All she could do now was stay positive and hope for the best.

"I hope Sasuke doesn't kill one of them, you know how he is with Sai," Naruto muttered suddenly, and Sakura did sigh then.

"Naruto."

"Sorry."

She listened to him rustle around a bit, clearly struggling to find a comfortable spot on the bumpy ground. It was probably made that much more difficult because his mind was so preoccupied with worries. Sakura closed her eyes, breathing in deeply as she tried to ignore the strange sounds of the woods around them. She needed to rest. There was always the chance they could be thrust into battle again. Fighting so exhausted was dangerous.

"Sakura," Naruto whispered once again, and she nearly shouted at him, but the soft tone kept her from doing so.

"Mmm."

"Thank you."

She blinked up at the stars, her expression softening a bit. She wasn't sure if it was for saving him, or for listening, or perhaps both. But it didn't matter.

"Anytime."

Sasuke was pissed.

After several long hours of searching, Naruto and Sakura were both nowhere to be found. Not a single trace. They'd reached the first rendezvous point nearly an hour ago, and there was still no sign of either of them. He was pacing again. He couldn't help it. At this point he was starting to wonder if the two of them had blown themselves up while teleporting away.

Sasuke ran shaking fingers through his hair and strode out of the underground shelter they were staying in. He couldn't take it anymore, he had to get out and do something or he was going to end up setting the place on fire. He pulled his shirt off with a huff, heading towards the patches of pond water that surrounded the area. If all he could do was wait, he might as well make some attempt to clear away the dried blood on his skin and clothes. Sasuke nodded briefly as he walked past Shikamaru, who was meditating on a rock nestled between the trees at the water's edge. Sai was…somewhere, Sasuke didn't really care, while Lee was resting inside. He'd stayed up on watch nearly the entire night before, not quite trusting that they were in the clear. Sasuke was tired too, but his worry was now keeping him awake and on edge.

He didn't bother rolling up his pants as he stepped into the water and shoved his hands beneath the murky surface to wring out his shirt. Squeezing the cloth helped relieve his tension a bit. His fingers tightened in the shirt and twisted it to and fro, but eventually his grip eased, and he moved on to rinsing off his limbs. The water only came up to his knees, and it wasn't exactly clean, but he scooped it over his arms and legs regardless and felt better for it.

He'd spent so long just staring at the blood crusted over his fingers that he was starting to wonder again just where it had come from. It was driving him mad that he was still having difficulty distinguishing between his memories and the illusions he'd been met with the night prior. He rubbed vigorously at the back of his left hand, watching as the blood melted away from his skin, turning into a pale reddish mist beneath the water. If only he could have washed away his worries so easily.

He stood up and cracked his neck, taking a moment just to breathe in the fresh air when he heard a loud pop, a large splash, and two voices arguing loudly nearby.

"Damn it Naruto! This was my last clean pair of socks! Now they're soaked!"

"Hey I did the best I could! You're the one who sent us into the middle of nowhere!"

Sasuke's head whipped to the side, and he felt all of the air in his lungs disappear as his gaze fell upon Naruto and Sakura standing together in the water a few metres away.

"And saved your life! Ungrateful idiot!" Sakura shouted, and she reached down and pulled off her sandal and sock, tossing the wet cloth at Naruto's face. It hit him with a thwack and slid down his cheek slowly.

"Sakura ewww," Naruto whined, his face falling into a disgusted grimace as he watched the offending garment fall into the pond water below. "Come on, do you have any idea how hard it is to teleport so far when you don't know where you are, and you've never been to the place you're going?" Naruto held his arms out at his sides, and then his face lit up for a moment, and he was leaning in close. "Besides, I bet Lee will loan you a clean pair." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively and then Sakura fumed, chakra surrounding both her fists as her hair billowed out to the sides.

"Okay woah woah! I didn't mean it! It was just a joke!" Naruto shouted.

Sasuke stared at them, completely agape, unable to move from his spot in the water, and when Naruto finally turned his head and met his gaze, it was like the entire world stopped spinning on its axis.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted. His eyes lit up, and then there was a relieved toothy grin flashing across his face. A minute later and Naruto was hopping through the mud and puddles towards him, his eyes widening as he got closer and saw the wrappings around Sasuke's leg. "Sasuke you're hurt!"

He was barely an arm's length away when Sasuke reached out, tugging him close to his body. He wrapped both his arms around Naruto fiercely, trying to stop himself from shaking.

"S-Sasuke?"

Sasuke just squeezed him even tighter, pressing his nose into his hair and entangling his fingers in the blond strands. He met Sakura's gaze over Naruto's shoulder, eyes wide open and teary. Her expression softened immediately, and she smiled faintly before approaching to take a look at his injury, wet sock long forgotten. She didn't bother trying to move him, instead unravelling his atrocious bandaging attempt and immediately tending to the wound right then and there. Sasuke held fast to Naruto the entire time. He hardly even registered her prodding fingers. His only thought was keeping Naruto close as can be. Naruto didn't struggle in the hold, though his fingers clenched in Sasuke's shirt nervously, and he kept trying to twist his neck to look up.

It took just a few minutes for Sakura to finish her handiwork, and when she stood and stepped away, Sasuke glanced towards her and nodded. "Thank you. Sai will need tending to as well," Sasuke muttered, and then he grabbed Naruto's hand before dragging him away.

"Sasuke! Sasuke wait!"

Sasuke ignored Naruto's shouts and pulled him through the water towards a dry patch of land, and then tugged him along behind him as they walked out in between the trees. Twigs scraped against his legs, and though Naruto tripped over several roots along the way he didn't pull away or attempt to stop him. Sasuke threw him up against a tree once they were far enough away for some privacy. He tore open his shirt, hovered a shaking hand over Naruto's heart and fervently checked the scar just above his belly. Perhaps it was foolish, but he needed to know. He needed to make sure it had all been an illusion. That Naruto was safe, that he hadn't left him to die yet another time.

Sasuke stared at the scar intently. He remembered the poison tip that had caused him so much difficulty, and he pressed his fingers against the long healed skin. He dragged them up higher, finding no new wounds, no other scars, before looking into blue eyes desperately. Naruto stared back, searching his gaze for answers with worry.

"Sasuke?" Naruto whispered, reaching out to brush his fingers over the skin of Sasuke's face. "Sasuke, it's okay. I'm…I'm okay."

Sasuke knew that now, but he still felt such desperation. He needed to be closer. He needed to feel him breathing against him, listen to his heart beating rapidly, to his voice crying out in pleasure instead of pain. Sasuke kissed him then, a bit roughly, hands gripping Naruto's hips hard enough to leave marks. He didn't even care if someone was creeping on them from the bushes, he just needed Naruto.

He wasn't as gentle as usual, and perhaps he should have felt more guilt in the moment for that, but his only concern was being inside of Naruto then and there. He needed to be connected to him, to feel completely surrounded by him. Naruto gasped out his name as Sasuke pressed their lips together and slid his pants from his body hurriedly. Sasuke didn't even take the time to prepare him, his hands too unsteady to do much of anything other than lifting him up against the tree.

Naruto's arms flew around his neck, and Sasuke grunted as he pushed inside his body. The initial slide was tight, and Naruto grimaced but didn't complain, grasping at him with a similar sense of urgency. He was impossibly hard too, and Sasuke gripped his erection and thrust inside him erratically.

"Sas-," Naruto breathed into his ear, his legs tightening around Sasuke's hips as they ground together. They moved like that for a few minutes, but the bark was raking at Naruto's back, and Sasuke's legs began to tire from the strain of holding him, so he slid to the ground, his knees hitting the soil hard as they rocked together a bit slower than before. He went deep and with intent, pulling grunts and moans from Naruto with each thrust.

He was sure it must have hurt. The roughness of the ground, the lack of oil, the fierceness of his hold on Naruto's hips and cock. But Naruto's arms wrapped around him, fingernails dragging along his shoulders as he gasped out his name between heavy breaths of air.

"Sasuke, Sasuke, ah!" he cried, and then Naruto came between them suddenly, and Sasuke grabbed him as he shuddered. When Naruto latched onto him just as hard he felt his throat tightening as his eyes burned and started to water. He wasn't crying. He was absolutely not crying. Except the tears were running down his face in droves and his shoulders shook as he held fast to Naruto's still trembling body. They fell to the forest floor together, Sasuke holding his body up with his forearms as he looked down at Naruto, his tears falling onto his face one by one. He held Naruto's head in his hands, thumbs rubbing at his temples as the droplets landed on his skin and Naruto blinked up at him in surprise.

"Sasuke?" Naruto whispered, and he pressed his fingers gently beneath Sasuke's eyes, across his face, until Sasuke kissed him again. Their lips moved together wetly, but Naruto pushed him away, just enough to look him in the eyes. The tears just wouldn't stop. No matter how hard Sasuke fought against it, they only fell harder.

"Sasuke what happened?"

"It doesn't matter," Sasuke slurred.

And it didn't. Not now that Naruto was there, back at his side, unharmed. He wished he could better explain, but instead he fell against Naruto shakily and wrapped his arms around his body. Sasuke held him impossibly tight and cried unabashedly into his shoulder. Naruto's fingers ran through his hair, stroking down his back and back up again. Sasuke didn't know how long he cried. His throat was dry, his face heated, and his nose stuffed and filled with snot, and yet still, more tears came. And all the while, Naruto lied there patiently, holding him in his arms.

"Sasuke, I love you."

The words startled him, and Sasuke froze, hiccupping slightly as they were muttered into his ear. Naruto loved him. Naruto did. Him. Of all people. Sasuke gritted his teeth and held him closer, pressing his brow against Naruto's shoulder as his nails dug into his clothing. He felt the little kisses against his hair, the side of his face. The touch behind his ear.

"I love you. I love you so much." Naruto whispered again, and Sasuke shook his head and squeezed him desperately.

"I-idiot," Sasuke stuttered. Naruto loved him and he didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve him.

He hated himself more than anything for not saying it back.

AN: Thanks for reading! Would love to hear what you think!

Balsamine: Impatience
Mallow: Consumed by Love