And with the posting of this chapter, I think I will slow down. I am not quite finished yet, and I don't want to stop the story in the middle or climax of the…uh…climax….as it will destroy it. It is all there, truly, but it is not good enough yet. I will try my best.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters (though that would be nice…now a jutsu with food would be great, but impractical. I suppose I could throw Tabasco sauce…it works for Ussop…)
SPOILERS: If you have not been keeping up with the manga and you do not want any inkling of spoilers, you may not want to read. But it is up to you.
* * * * *
Run From You
By Doskoipanda
Chapter 7: Execute
A whole week dragged by without incident. No one reported seeing any solitary nin, Naruto was kept oblivious to the plot, and the Village of Sand did not come up with any new information. Except for a select few shinobi, Konoha began to relax back into its usual pace, and the jounin began to concentrate on other missions.
That was when Kogaku finally struck.
Every night, Naruto would try to retreat to his forest meditation, and every night, he would be followed by Sasuke. There would be little or no communication between them save an initial exchange of insults, followed by long bouts of tension-loaded silence, more insults, then Naruto escaping home again.
It was a pattern, and it was getting rather old, in Naruto's opinion. He needed something to break the monotony. Something new and interesting, flashes of light, puffs of smoke, crazy jutsu, anything like that. He missed the ero-sennin and his kookiness. Even that old pervert was more interesting than a brooding Uchiha.
What the hell did Sasuke want, anyway? A fight? Or something—A FIGHT? Ooh. Interesting.
Naruto grinned a vulpine grin. Tonight would be different, for once. Or at least he hoped it would be, because not only was he bored, he was also finding himself entirely too comfortable with Sasuke's presence. His grin faded rapidly.
He needed to distract himself, to stop thinking about those strange feelings that simmered deep in the bottom of his soul.
Strange, unbidden, potentially dangerous feelings.
With this in mind, Naruto executed The Plan: Trick Asshole Into Being Interesting. After the usual interchange of insults and a short journey into the Konoha woods, Naruto seated himself on the forest floor, settling his back against a fallen log. He could hear Sasuke come to a halt and settle down just beyond reach.
Time to set the bait.
"If you're going to follow me every night, maybe we should do some sparring or somethin'."
Sasuke's Sharingan faded abruptly. "What?"
Naruto rolled his eyes and let his head loll lazily in the direction of Sasuke's voice. "I said, if you're going to follow me every night—"
"I heard you, dumbass." Sasuke's voice was curt. "I'm not sparring, so get that thought out of your head."
One of Naruto's eyebrows twitched. The Plan could not fail so early in the evening.
"Aw come on. I'm bored, you're probably bored, let's do it." Naruto put a wheedle into his voice.
"What are you, three? No." Sasuke did not sound any closer, physically or otherwise. Naruto gritted his teeth. He should have put more thought into baiting Sasuke. Well, he could always go for the classics.
"Afraid I'll kick your ass, huh?" he said gleefully. This tactic was ranked #3 on his list of "Ways To Piss That Arrogant Asshole Off," as it usually had a high rate of success.
"Actually, I'm not, as I know that'll never happen." Sasuke's voice had a touch of satisfaction to it. Said response was ranked #4 on his list of "Ways To Piss That Dobe Off" and while he often bypassed the list in favor of a fight, he otherwise considered it quite perfect.
Naruto fumed, but played cool. "Relax, I wouldn't take advantage of how weak you are," he said nonchalantly.
Sasuke's jaw tightened, as it did whenever he was challenged. "I don't feel like taking it easy on you tonight like I always do," he shot back.
"I don't give you time to take it easy on me, asshole," Naruto retorted instantly, voice shaking with anger. The Plan had obviously failed, and miserably, but Naruto thought nothing of it now. Why the hell am I so pissed? he thought wonderingly.
But he was angry, no doubt about it. Like a tight wire on a stringed instrument, he was wound up enough to snap at the mere touch of Sasuke's barbed insults and comments.
Why this AGAIN? What WAS it with the stew of mysterious emotions that boiled inside him, that made him so sensitive, touchy and downright not himself?!
Oh to hell with that. He was just pissed. He had every right to be. Sasuke was a jerk, this was fact. Naruto's anger had nothing to do with anything except Sasuke being his usual bastardly self.
"So? You want some?" Naruto threw at the Uchiha, voice tight and horribly controlled.
Sasuke hesitated a moment before saying what he considered the most provoking thing he could say to Naruto, but he said it. "You're not worth wasting my time on."
Not worth it.
He knew how much it would hurt Naruto; he half-expected him to take off deeper into the forest. Instead, he was greeted with a thick, heavy silence. Fists clenched, he shut his eyes and felt something in him boil with remorse. "Damn you…why do you make me say such things?" he almost muttered.
"Oh, sorry for twisting your arm." Naruto's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Yeah, if I didn't have my daily dose of shit from you, I'd have such a lousy time sleeping, ya know?"
"I'm sorry."
Naruto hurt his neck from twisting it so quickly to give Sasuke a wide-eyed, incredulous look. "WHAT?"
"I'm sorry." Sasuke looked rather defensive, but the slight flush in his pale face indicated his unexpected if not grudging sincerity. "I didn't mean that—"
"Like hell you didn't!" Naruto snapped.
It was Sasuke's turn to stare. He hadn't known what to expect from his apology, but he certainly hadn't expected the hatred that had just surged into the blonde shinobi's voice.
Naruto's insides were quaking, his body was trembling; the troubled waters inside him was boiling over. Whether the shaking came from anger, hatred or something so deeply sad he had no idea, and he made a gallant attempt at stopping himself, but the words spilled out of him by the force of his tremors.
"You meant it. You always mean it. I'm never good enough to be acknowledged by you, huh? Every time that I do something better than you, you just kill yourself to be better than me. I'm just beneath you, aren't I?!" Naruto's voice rose in pitch. "I'm never allowed to be even your equal, am I?!"
Something was squeezing painfully in Sasuke's heart. "Naruto—"
"SHUT UP! SHUT THE HELL UP! I'M NOT FINISHED YET, GODDAMMIT!" Naruto tried to calm down, sucked in some air to cool the fire in his soul, but it only served to fan the blaze into an inferno. "You and your FUCKING superiority complex make me sick! I used to think that being your equal would be a great thing, but not anymore, you goddamn asshole! I don't know how I ever saw you as a friend! Dammit, I don't even know how I could possibly think that I like you at all, let alone love yo—"
What?
…………..
What?
WHAT THE FUCK?!!!.
Naruto clapped a hand over his mouth in horror. Whoah, whoah whoah shit!! Shit!! Where the hell did that come from?! He screwed his eyes shut and prayed to all the former Hokage and Tsunade-sama to boot that Sasuke had not heard the last of his outburst.
No such luck. When he opened his eyes, Sasuke was standing over him with an expression that could only be described as dangerous.
"What did you just say?" Sasuke asked in a voice that was hoarse and low and altogether not his own.
Naruto seized the opportunity to clamp his eyes shut and hide behind his all-purpose smile. "I said that you're a dickwad. Guess you haven't heard it enough times to know what it means—"
His eyes snapped open as Sasuke seized the front of his shirt and hauled him up, so that their noses were mere inches away from each other. A startled gasp caught in Naruto's throat. That asshole was too close. Much too close. He was reacting to it. Bad. No matter what, he had to get away.
"What did you say?!" Sasuke growled in that foreign voice.
"Nothing…I don't know!" Naruto heaved against Sasuke's grip defiantly. "Get the hell off me!"
But he was sick with fear. Sasuke had heard it, there was no other explanation for his behavior. And Naruto had no idea what would happen now.
Well, the worst thing that could happen is that he'd kill you, Naruto's ever-optimistic inner voice tried to reassure himself.
No. That wasn't true. It could be worse. And as Naruto beheld that unfathomable look in Sasuke's deep black eyes, he hoped desperately that the dark-haired shinobi would simply beat the crap out of him. Beat some sense into him. Pain would be a welcome, concrete change to the jumbled thoughts and painful settlings of his heart.
Because he had his answer now, he had figured out what was bothering him for so long, Kami-sama, he knew. His heart had known before his mind, the words had burst from him with the brazen lack of discretion that he was known for, unexpected words, truthful words.
It had taken too long, but he could now explain the strange empty feeling that gnawed at his soul, the hot yearning for something so close and yet unknown, the irrational need to seek attention from the person that he wanted to protect…to share everything with…to give up everything for …
To love…
He knew. And now Sasuke knew it too.
And Naruto felt his heart break with heavy dread.
"Did you say that you love me?" Sasuke's grip tightened. When Naruto didn't answer, he shook him slightly. "Answer me!"
"Let go—"
"Don't lie to me—"
"I'll say whatever I want, you goddamn arrogant bastard—"
"Did you say it?!"
"WHAT THE FUCK DOES IT MATTER IF I DID?!"
Stunned, Sasuke let his grip loosen on Naruto's jacket. The blonde shinobi immediately backed out of reach, eyes wide and sparking with defiance and something that looked like pain.
Pain that tore and bled and stung Naruto's eyes, howling with triumph at his stupidity. He had ruined everything between them forever. There was no way…
There was no way that Sasuke could—
He shut his eyes tightly. He would not admit it. Not here, not now. It hurt too much.
"It doesn't matter what I said," Naruto managed to choke out. "It's not like it was important or nothin'. "
There was a brief silence. Sasuke's eyes did not leave Naruto's as he took a deep breath. This made no difference, this didn't change anything, his feelings for Naruto—he didn't HAVE feelings for Naruto—he had been right to be so paranoid, but in the face of this…in the light of Naruto's piercing gaze…none of his jumbled, panicked thoughts mattered.
What mattered was truth.
"Do you love me?" he asked softly, asked against his soul screaming at him to stop, to flee while he still had a chance.
For a second, Naruto's soul floated, for just a moment, he dared to dream that he heard the sound of wonder in Sasuke's voice.
But it was only a moment, and for this…for this…he wasn't daring enough.
"I hate you," he said with the confidence he was known for, staring at his former teammate, his rival, the young man that he had come to care for more than anything in the world.
If he said it first, it would hurt less.
And as he prepared to escape, the music hit him.
Sasuke's gaze did not leave Naruto's face, though his focus shifted immediately to the source of the thin, reedy sound.
It was a shakuhachi. The breathy music wafted about them, swirled around them, seemed to become one with the wind that danced among the trees. The player was close to them, obscured somewhere in the shadows of the forest.
The Sharingan flared to life as Sasuke finally tore his gaze away from Naruto and stared intently into the darkness. He could make out a person lurking in the tree cover, a very thin, emaciated individual whose ripped and tattered clothes seemed too large for him, a forehead protector teetering at the top of his small head—
The Hidden Village of Sound's symbol!
As easy as breathing, Sasuke sent three shuriken hurtling towards the little man. A shriek sounded from the shakuhachi, and the projectiles ceased spinning, dropping harmlessly to the ground.
Aside from this brief break in tone, the man did not stop playing, though he opened his eyes and stared at Sasuke with a wild, triumphant look.
The red eyes narrowed. "Naruto, head back to the village. This one's on the list, name's Kogaku." Sasuke said quietly. Get away from here, Naruto. He's after you.
There was no response. "Naruto," Sasuke hissed. "This is serious. We can talk la—"
"Run."
The strained whisper was strange enough, but the command—especially from Naruto—was too unusual to ignore. Sasuke whipped his gaze back to the golden-haired shinobi.
And he felt the air punched from his lungs, felt his chest turn to ice, felt the Sharingan evaporate from his eyes. Naruto stared at him with pupils that were red, fiery orange-red, not the beautiful blue that Sasuke had come to know so well.
"Naruto….?" He asked uncertainly. "What…"
"Run. Please." Naruto said again in that odd voice, that intense whisper.
Fangs, there were fangs in Naruto's mouth. Real animal canines. And that familiar face was changing, the marks on the cheeks becoming more prominent, the eyes elongating into slits.
What was going on?!
A glow grabbed Sasuke's attention, and his gaze shifted downwards to Naruto's middle. Something was shining through Naruto's clothing, centered around the blonde-shinobi's navel—it's a seal, Sasuke realized. A seal that looked a lot like the forbidden one he'd only seen in scrolls, the kind used to banish extreme evil, like the one used to seal the great Nine-Tails so many years ago—
And then he realized it.
The Kyuubi….Naruto…
"No," Sasuke choked. His legs failed him; they trembled violently as the shock rippled down his body. "You can't be…you aren't…"
"Dammit…Sasuke…please…" Something was underlying the plea in Naruto's voice, something deep and unsettling. "Run….don't look…not you…"
"You're the demon fox," Sasuke whispered.
And Naruto threw back his head and screamed, his voice full of sorrow and pain and a fierce exultation that was not his.
The Kyuubi was free.
* * * * * * * * *
It was late; tears formed in the corners of Sakura's eyes as she yawned. She fervently wished to be like the rest of Konoha: sound asleep in nice warm beds. True, she had volunteered to be on the special patrol that had been called into service when the warning from the Sand Country came, but she hadn't expected it to always end so late…. and she had an early class to teach, curse it all…
Lee smiled at her sympathetically as they made their way towards the jounin office. "It was a long patrol today, wasn't it?" he said gently. "We will soon be there."
The pink-haired sensei nodded and concentrated on walking, putting one foot down, then the next, then the—
She gasped as Lee grabbed her around the waist and ducked into a narrow alley. "What—" she managed to choke before a twenty-foot snake rushed past the opening.
ARGH! Inner Sakura screamed. "AGGGH!!" Sakura seconded. Lee clapped a hand over her mouth. "Ssh," he hissed, looking out at the street. "They will not notice us if we are quiet."
Peering over his shoulder, Sakura could see an alarming number of animals accumulating. Varying in size, bears, cats, frogs, slugs, dogs and snakes filled the streets of the sleeping village, silent save for the whispers of their movements.
"What is this?!" Sakura whispered against Lee's hand. He shook his head in response, pressing himself close as a gigantic wolfhound sniffed outside their hiding place. Sakura focused on the animals closest to her, channeling chakra to her eyes in order to determine whether the animals were illusions or not.
She gasped. Lee stole a glance down at her. "Sakura-san, what is it?"
"These are summoning beasts," whispered Sakura. "Their chakra is from the alternate summoning dimension."
"I see. But this many…" Lee refocused on the masses of animals. "What is the meaning of this?"
"They've been summoned here, but by whom and for what purpose, I don't know." Sakura looked up at Lee. "We need to report to Hokage-sa—"
Her eyes dilated in horror. Rock looked down at her, then realized she was staring at something behind him and lifted his eyes to follow her gaze.
His mouth fell open. A colossal snake towered above the alley they were hiding in, a snake as large as three jounin academy buildings.
Orochimaru's summoning snake, Manda.
The snake struck, whipping its neck against the rooftops of Konoha. Through the crash and shower of falling rubble, screams of surprise and pain could be heard. As if a secret cue had been struck, the animals in the streets began to attack, ramming themselves at walls to find the beings inside, snarling with bloodlust and malice.
Lee cursed and bent his legs to spring out of the alley, but Sakura swiftly held him back. "We need a plan," she said, her voice trembling but her eyes determined. "With this many summoning beasts, they could decimate Konoha in minutes. We need to sweep the entire village." She bit her lip in thought, then turned to look towards the center of the village. "Lee-san, head for the jounin office, bring anyone you can find with you. Once you're there, spread out in a ring, clean the village out. I'll head for the outskirts of the village and do the same thing coming back in. Tsunade-sama must know about this by now, she'll deal with the big snake for the moment. We'll meet in the middle and then help her. Got it?"
Rock did not move. Sakura turned back to look at him, shaking the hair out of her face, her eyes glowing with urgency. "Lee-san?"
His black eyes were dancing with unnerving excitement over the coming battle, but they also vibrated with warmth and admiration and something very intimately tender. He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Then he was gone in a puff of smoke.
Sakura only took a moment to let heat spread over her face, a smile tug at her lips, and then she was flying out of the alley, taking out whatever creature stood in her way.
* * * * * * *
Kogaku brought the flute away from his lips, leering crookedly. "Looks like the transformation has begun," he observed.
Sasuke locked eyes with the sound shinobi. "What did you do to him?!" he demanded.
"Just played some music," Kogaku shrugged nonchalantly. "I guess your friend doesn't have the stomach for it."
Naruto was kneeling on the ground at this point, arms wrapped around himself as if in pain. Inhuman growls and whimpers scoured Sasuke's ears, but he refused to let himself look away from his enemy. "What the hell are you talking about?!" he snarled.
"I am Unjou Kogaku." The small ninja made a mock bow in Sasuke's direction. "I am…was…one of Orochimaru-sama's greatest servants."
"I don't give a shit," Sasuke's hands suddenly filled with kunai. "Answer me. What did you do to him?!"
"Orochimaru-sama valued me highly," Kogaku continued, giggling with ill-concealed glee. "In fact, I was so special that he never let me show myself in battle—"
The sound shinobi jerked instinctively as a kunai thudded into the ground a hairsbreadth from his foot. "I'm not playing around," Sasuke growled. "Explain. Now."
Kogaku let his lips spread apart in a sinister smile, completely unafraid. "Of course, of course, forgive me. How rude of me to treat you so, Uchiha Sasuke." He cleared his throat. "Orochimaru had a back-up plan in the unlikely event that he were to die. You see, he had to have you no matter what."
"Predictable," Sasuke said in contempt, valiantly hiding the fresh shudder that ran through him. "I already made it clear that he can't have me."
"Yes," Kogaku spread his arms wide as if embracing the night. "You chose your village over the power Orochimaru-sama offered you. You chose your friends, that whimpering cub there, over unimaginable potential."
Don't let him provoke you, don't let him provoke you. Keep him talking, he may tell you how to help Naruto, Sasuke chanted at himself, his grip tightening painfully on the weapons in his hands. "What do you want with Naruto?" he asked, malice making his voice low. "Why are you after him?!"
"No, no, no, no," Kogaku shook his head. "Orochimaru-sama is still ultimately after you, Uchiha Sasuke. It is a great honor to be held in such high esteem, isn't it? As for your dear Uzumaki, he is a vital component in capturing you."
Trying not to let his confusion show, Sasuke's mind raced rapidly. Naruto, a component? A tool to capture him? What did they mean for him to do?!
Kogaku let loose a squealing laugh, then stopped abruptly. "Uchiha Sasuke, what if there was no village, no friends, nothing left for you?"
Sasuke kept his face impassive, though a growing sense of dread began to grow in his stomach. "You tell me," he said.
"Orochimaru-sama knew you, you know. He knew what would hurt you the most, and that's why I was so important to him." Kogaku lifted his shakuhachi and caressed it lovingly with his fingers. "I can do what all his other men cannot."
"You can't resurrect him." Sasuke said derisively. "No one can."
"Of course not," Kogaku smiled. "Orochimaru-sama himself is the only one that can do that. But he needs me….he needs me to help him."
Sasuke said nothing. Kogaku continued to finger his shakuhachi. "You see, Uchiha, my music is filled with a great amount of chakra. I can use it as a force to protect myself….and I can do other things with it too."
"Like what?"
"The ability to summon without a contract is within my music's power as well."
A brief silence followed. "I see." Sasuke said dispassionately, a great hole of fear growing in his stomach. Konoha…
"My music has awakened thousands of summoning beasts," Kogaku grinned. "By now, they must be tearing your hidden village to shreds."
Sasuke swallowed, strengthening his resolve. "Konoha defeated Orochimaru once before. Like hell they'd lose to a bunch of animals," he said confidently.
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama thought that too," Kogaku nodded in agreement. "But he figured that even the mighty Hidden Village of the Leaf wouldn't be able to handle the Kyuubi."
It was as if Sasuke had been struck blind. The kunai dropped from his fingers as numbness overcame his limbs. "You're releasing the Kyuubi?!" he meant to scream, but it came out weak with terror. "Are you mad?!"
"Only a bit," Kogaku conceded, smiling widely. "But not as mad as you will be once you see your comrade destroy everything you've ever loved."
No, Sasuke thought, horror and disbelief crushing his heart.
Naruto is still—
The sound of uneven footsteps gave Sasuke new focus. He whirled to see Naruto attempting to run for the trees, hunched over like a wounded animal.
The black-haired shinobi was in front of the blonde in less than a second, gripping him by the shoulders, holding him back. "Naruto!" Sasuke said roughly, desperately. "You've got to stop!"
A clawed hand scrabbled at the front of Sasuke's shirt, then Naruto raised his face to the other's. Sasuke swallowed hard. The blonde's eyes were slitted and brilliantly red, but he thought he could see something far in their depths, something that was not murderous and powerful.
Fear.
Sasuke's grip tightened as he felt something like vertigo wash over him, a horrible thought spreading its ice-cold fingers over his raw psyche, the thought that Naruto was…
Naruto was….
Daylight never escapes the night.
Where is he?!
Where are you, Naruto?!
* * * * * * *
Thanks for reading, please review!
