Thank you for lovely reviews. I'll try not to disappoint as the story runs
along its strange little path.
A word of warning: This is about when some characters may seem OOC, just because it's an AU and I have a twisted sense of viewing them. There is some blood, a strange interlude and overly long sentences ahead. Read with caution lest you be struck blind.
Small Disclaimer: Not that it's really needed, since everyone must know I don't own Naruto. But legal mumbo-jumbo aside.. I'm just playing with the characters for my own strange amusement.
Discovery of Something More
Explosions, random sprays of arterial blood, wayward flying body parts and screams of the horribly injured. Those were things that Naruto had expected to see when he arrived with his battalion at the fifth line of defense, north west sector at point two-seven. Yet, what he did see was a bunch of ninjas sitting around a clearing in the forest playing five card draw with their shuriken as chips.
"Uh, Kakashi," Naruto frowned up at his commander, "are we at the right place?"
What might have been an affirmative grunt escaped through Kakashi's face mask as he wandered into the clearing, his hands at his side as if he was taking a stroll in the park. He greeted some of the card players with slaps to their shoulders and a few words, and soon, the other commanding officers joined in on the greeting ceremony that was both foreign and disturbing to the highly strung out members of the 121.
"Say, Lee," Shikamaru spoke, his voice a study of puzzlement, "is this how it's supposed to be?"
"It's hard to say. Every reception is different. The last time we were sent out, it was to the third line and the ninjas were playing tag."
This sent a quiet wave of murmurs through the 121 as each ninja wondered if those in battle were all quirky and mystifyingly odd or if it was just the ones they had encountered. Who in their right minds played games in the battle field?
"They are sentries," came the calm voice of Neji as he looked over at the group still engrossed in greeting and cards. "They alert us if the enemy broke through the previous lines. The ninjas you don't see are the real important ones. You can say, the ones you see goofing off.. They're the bait."
That put things in perspective and an 'oh' of understanding swept through the group. Now, the card game didn't seem so stupid or misplaced, but necessary and more dangerous than the actual fighting. They were there in the open, leaving themselves vulnerable to attack so that those not visible could have a better chance of annihilating the incoming enemy forces.
It was a hard gamble, a harsh tactic. It was more frightening than flying body parts.
"Welcome to the war, children," Kakashi whispered softly.
--
Sasuke sat quietly on his assigned tree branch, hidden deeply in the foliage and the moonless night. His duty tonight was as the second shift watch and he would be damned pissed if anyone got through his perimeter. He had already set up various alarm signals and his body was a tightly prepared machine, ready to spring into action at any time. In fact, he welcomed some form of infiltration effort, because he was definitely tired of waiting. Despite his cool façade and uncaring demeanor, he was looking forward to engaging the enemy.
Only then could he see how much stronger he had truly gotten. Only then could he see if he measured up to the murdering, traitorous bastard, the one he had once called brother.
A very small disturbance in the wind had him alert and in position before the unfortunate soul who had crossed his perimeter could even blink. Sasuke quickly jumped behind the intruder and grabbed him by his throat with his left hand while his right one placed the pointy end of the kunai to the jumping pulse at his jugular. There had been no noise and very little waste of motion.
All in all, an efficient and effective collaring of an enemy agent.
"Can't.. breathe.."
Or.. an efficient and effective collaring of a complete idiot.
"Naruto.." Sasuke ground out through his gritted teeth, keeping his voice down to a whisper but still conveying a world of anger, "why are you here?"
"Peeing.. Duh.. Let me.. Go.."
Oh, yes, he still had the dead last idiot boy in a death hold, didn't he. Loosening his grip but not letting go altogether, Sasuke once again asked in a very low voice, "Why are you here, peeing? This is the perimeter."
"You see," the blond one answered just as softly, "my watch is in an hour, I couldn't sleep, thought I'd pee and take over since I'm on right after you."
Strangling back the string of swear words threatening to burst from his lips, Sasuke let go of Naruto completely and stepped back, holstering his kunai back into its rightful place. Only the overly zealous idiot Naruto would venture out into the perimeter in complete darkness in the middle of a battle field to go relieve himself.
"Go back," Sasuke whispered, "I don't need to be replaced before my shift is up."
"No way, nah, no thanks. I'm staying. I'm too damned wired to go back to sleep."
Maybe it was the obstinate tone or the way Naruto stood with his arms crossed and his back to the dark haired soldier. Whatever the reason, Sasuke knew that Naruto would not go back without a fight and that meant a whole load of noises that a secretly placed watch could not afford.
'Damned stubborn fool,' thought Sasuke before he jumped back onto his perch on the tree, opting to ignore Naruto. He said nothing as his blond roommate jumped up next to him and crouched. He knew if there had been enough light to see by, he would see the perpetually annoying blond with that grin of 'I won, heh heh' on his face. If he was not such a restrained and well reserved man, Sasuke would have stuck his tongue out at his rival.
So they crouched on the same branch, keeping watch until the sun started to rise on the eastern horizon. Sasuke had refused to go back to camp once his shift was up since Naruto had so rudely barged in on him, and he'd be damned if he gave the blond boy the satisfaction of seeing him retreat into the relative safety of the camp. He'd stick it out and show that good for nothing that he was entirely much better than him.
Yet, all thoughts of rivalry and irritation left him as he watched the rose and oranges bleed into the cobalt blue of the retreating night sky. Then all he could think was that the sunrise was beautiful. He had not seen it rise over anything other than the thick walls of Konoha in a very long time, so to see it peek over the trees was something to behold. The colors were spectacular, and for a moment, Sasuke forgot that he was in the line of fire, keeping watch with the idiot rival by his side.
"Hey, Naruto," Sasuke said finally, "your shift and mine are over. We should get back."
When he got no response, he turned his dark eyes to the crouched form of the blond. What he saw was the morning sun glinting off his golden hair, giving him an unearthly glow around his head that resembled a halo. It blinded him for a moment, this dance of light among the strands of Naruto's hair, and he nearly reached forward to touch, to see if it could possibly be as warm as it looked. Thankfully, he came to his senses before he could commit that act of stupidity and realized that Naruto was sound asleep.
'How the hell can he sleep crouched on a tree limb? That's some balance.'
It surprised Sasuke that he felt no resentment towards Naruto for being asleep during his designated watch. He felt no anger that the blond had failed in his first given duty in the battle field, he felt no need to wake him up and make fun of him for the rest of the day. Instead, he just wanted to watch the peaceful scene for a while longer, like the way the morning light played in Naruto's hair and how he slept on blissfully with a smile on his face.
The sun crept a little higher in the sky, the glowing hues of sunrise overtaken by the glaring rays of day, but Sasuke did not see the transition. He kept watching Naruto as he slept, not noticing that his face had softened into a smile. Sasuke watched until Naruto blearily opened his eyes, revealing the sleep laden blue orbs to the world. When those eyes focused, Sasuke smirked and tipped Naruto on the shoulder lightly as a good morning of sorts. He had meant it as a friendly thing, really he had, but Naruto must have been still half asleep and Sasuke stronger than he thought, because that gentle tap was all it took for Naruto to fall out of the tree to land in an undignified heap on the forest floor.
In surprise, Sasuke stared at the form face down at the base of the tree cursing his name to the high heavens. Then the last of the Uchiha did something he had not done in a very long time - he laughed.
--
Something suspicious was going on, she knew it. She could smell it in the air as soon as Naruto barged into the campsite covered in dirt and twigs, muttering under his breath about treacherous assholes. Her suspicion only heightened when shortly thereafter, Sasuke, her prince, her dream boy, came into the camp via the same way Naruto had, chuckling behind his raised hand.
Since when did Sasuke chuckle? And why was it that he was doing it now?
Sakura trained her green eyes on the chortling Uchiha heir as he made his way across the camp site, using the full power of her intellect to see if something indeed was going on. It had to be, of course, why else was her woman's intuition going crazy?
She did recall that when she had returned from her watch, she had not seen Sasuke or Naruto in the camp. Not seeing Naruto had not been a big surprise since he had been assigned to watch duty after her shift, but Sasuke, he had the same one as her. She had planned during her watch to corner Sasuke as he returned from his watch and charm him with her intelligence and poise. But alas, she had not found him last night and had fallen asleep rather disappointed. Then in the morning, the first thing she saw had to be Naruto thundering across the camp like a herd of cattle followed by her crush.
Had they spent the night together?
That thought brought a barrage of images that she most certainly did not appreciate parading through her head and she cut off that disturbing train of thought quickly. Of course they had not been anywhere near each other, they absolutely despised each other. How many times had she heard Naruto complain about Sasuke during their three week marathon training? How many times had she seen Sasuke call the blond an idiot or derivation thereof? There was no way those two could spend time together without getting into some sort of a fight. Therefore, as logic dictated, if they had spent time last night within a mile of each other, the whole camp would have woken up from Naruto's screaming antics.
Yes, no doubt about that.
Still, something was damned suspicious.
--
"So, not much action around here for the past few weeks."
For that, Kurenai was glad. Her worries about sending her soldiers into death lessened as she heard the report from the commander of battalion 448 who had been here for the last three months. As far as she could gather from his precise account of what has been happening for the past few months, there had not been any attacks worth a mention for a while now. It seemed that the enemies were all stopped well before they reached even the third line of defense, and for that, she was grateful.
"We're slowly gaining ground. Not enough to notice at first, but we are."
Asuma readily agreed with 448's commander. Not a month ago, hadn't he lost most of 121 at the third line? But it seemed now, very few even breached the second line. It was fortunate that the tides of war so long against them seemed to be turning in their favor.
"They may have more ninjas," proclaimed Gai, "but we have better quality ones!"
Asuma smiled and agreed silently. When he had trained his rookie soldiers, he had not been expecting too much out of them. However, they had surprised him in those three weeks, most especially Shikamaru. From his scores and attitude, Asuma had assumed that Shikamaru was a lazy boy who had no special talents. Sure, his father was one of the top commanders at the first line and was a master shadow manipulator, but Asuma had only seen that Shikamaru had inherited the lazy gene from his illustrious father.
That was quickly amended when Asuma had found out that Shikamaru, despite being lazy and a top notch complainer, was a freaking genius. It wasn't that Shikamaru knew how to do all the jutsus or even cared to learn most of them, but the boy had a brain on him. He was a strategist, a masterful tactician, the kind which came along only every hundred years or so. One of these days, Shikamaru would become a great general and leader, planning victories in his head well before the battle.
Yes, indeed, they had some quality ninjas.
It wasn't only Shikamaru that impressed, however. From the way Kurenai had been talking, Hinata had as much potential as her cousin, Neji. They both possessed the Byakugan, and although Neji had more talent in utilizing that special ability, Hinata knew how to manipulate it well enough so that it worked in her favor. Kurenai's only complaint about her was that she had very low self confidence that prevented her from improving faster, but knowing her, she would do something about Hinata's problem.
Then there was the super rookie soldier, Uchiha Sasuke and the Demon Bound, Uzumaki Naruto. Kakashi had told him that even though neither had discovered their true powers, they were both incredibly talented and strong in their own way. Asuma had listened in disbelief, of course, since Naruto had never shown any promise to be a capable ninja. Sasuke, okay, he definitely could see how the last of the Uchiha would improve so drastically in such a short period of time, but Naruto? If he had not been the Demon Bound, he would not have made it into the Special Academy.
But Kakashi assured him that Naruto was not only capable, but very resilient and resourceful. The one visible eye had been utterly serious about Naruto's capabilities, and it had somewhat shocked Asuma when Kakashi told him that even without Naruto tapping into the power of the Demon within him, he could still serve as the key to victory as the Third Hokage wished.
If he could only believe that.
Maybe there was no need to rely on the Demon Bound or any of the children. After all, the enemy seemed to be retreating a bit further each day, hardly denting the wall of their second line. The war might end before the children saw any action at this rate, a prospect that lifted Asuma's burdened heart, and then there would be no need to discuss whose powers were greater, who was a lynchpin to victory and who should be sacrificed.
Yet, fate would not be so kind or so understanding. Despite Asuma's fervent wish that the war be over, despite Kurenai's wish that the children be spared the blood and the gore, even despite all the reports that said that the Sound's attacks were lessening and weakening, war would descend on Battalion 121 like vultures to a corpse.
--
It is a known fact in the universe that when there is a surprise attack, it is supposed to happen at night when people are supposedly off guard and there is a cover of shadows. However, the Sound infiltration unit felt no need to abide by such well established rules of warfare and attacked the fifth line of defense full out on the third day after the 121 arrived.
Naruto was just taking a small break between the two birch trees that stood at the edge of the camp when a loud explosion rocked the earth and sent him pitching sideways into a protruding knob of root on the ground. For an instant, Naruto saw stars dancing before his eyes, then there was too much going on for him to pay attention to the blood seeping from his temple.
Pandemonium followed that earth shaking boom and the entire camp, the ones that were playing cards, the ones taking a short nap, every single one of them, jumped into the air to engage the enemy that seemed to seep out of the forest like slime through a sieve. Shuriken flew through the air in silvery arcs, some hitting soft tissue and some getting deflected by the quick hands of the Konoha ninjas. Fire flamed from various directions, some in straight lines towards an enemy, some forming into animal shapes before running after a group of infiltrators. Then there were the sounds from hand to hand combat, from kunai scraping against bone, from hands ripping off flesh and from fingers displacing internal organs with jutsus. Naruto had never seen anything like it, and even though he was only immobile for two to three seconds after the initial explosion, as he watched the blurring scenes of combat around him, bodies started falling from the treetops.
The first crunch of a body not a foot away from him startled Naruto into action, making his rubbery legs gather and forcing them to run towards an enemy. But the enemies were so fast, he could barely see one as they flitted by him. His eyes could not keep up, not with these ninjas that had to be on an entirely different level than he.
'Shit, shit, shit! What the hell is going on?'
Panic nipped at Naruto's mind, sinking its sharp teeth into the tenuous grip on sanity he had. He could hardly see the enemies, the only comrades he saw were on the ground dead or gasping out their last. The forest was on fire, burning and choking his lungs, blinding his already blurry eyes, and he couldn't find his way to safety, to an enemy, to anything.
Not knowing where he was going, not knowing when he might have to stand and fight, Naruto ran along the forest, afraid to call out the names of his fellow soldiers in the battalion. Where were they, any of them, they couldn't have already died, could they? And why were there so many enemies at the fifth line? By the time the Sound could get this far, their numbers should have dwindled to a manageable level by the first four lines and even if they weren't, they should have heard something way before such a massive force got to them.
So many thoughts jumbled through his mind, running circles around his overloaded brain, and he forgot to pay attention to the things around him. Perhaps that was why he stumbled over a rock and fell forward as a kunai whizzed through the air where his head been only a moment before to sink into the tree just in front of his face.
'Not good,' Naruto thought as he pivoted on his hands to face whatever was behind him. He was ready, wasn't he, to deal with anything the Sound had to throw at him? He had trained very hard and become pretty damned good at fighting. He could take down a few Sound ninjas by himself, if he could only remember what it was that he had learned during his training.
What he saw before him wasn't just a few Sound ninjas. Before his panicked blue eyes stood at least ten or so of the enemy, all of them wearing the symbol of the Sound on their uniforms, their eyes glinting with murderous malice. One of them stepped forward and kicked him in the face before he could even process all the information, sending his body to slam into a tree, knocking the air out of him.
"Well, a kid, is it? I knew Konoha was doing badly, but this is priceless."
Gasping, Naruto stood on his unsteady legs, clutching his stomach as he tried to get breath back into his lungs. The one who had spoken, his eyes the only thing visible above his scarf, was looking at him with a raised eyebrow, twirling a kunai in his hand. Yes, there were ten of them. Ten. A number that exceeded his expectations, a number he should not hope to defeat by himself.
'Damn, I'm pretty much fucked.'
Letting out a half a laugh at his situation, Naruto got into the fighting stance that Kakashi had taught him. Somehow, the terrifying panic that had encased his mind faded away at the sight of enemies before him. His heart no longer beat like a trapped bird and his breath no longer hitched in his chest. Thoughts that had confused and frightened him before receded to the back of his mind as his eyes took stock of the situation. A wall of ninjas stood before him, armed to the teeth, and a forest filled with fire stood behind him. There was no retreat. He had only one option. Here and now, he would stand and fight.
Naruto quickly gathered his chakra and launched into the midst of the Sound ninjas, his fists finding flesh and bone. His leg caught yet another by his throat and slammed him into the ground, then he twisted his body so that his other leg kicked out at the ninja approaching him from the left. All this happened in a split second, just before the enemy could gather their senses and counter him.
He landed painfully on his ankles after his first wave of attack, and got ready for a second round by crouching, his hands dipping into his pouches for kunai and shuriken. However, the enemy surrounding him had recovered, and with a snort of amusement, one of them planted his fist into Naruto's solar plexus, sending him skidding across the rough ground.
Coughing blood and feeling a rib creak in protest, Naruto stood. He'd be damned if he died here, no matter how many Sound ninjas were looking at him like a trussed pig. The main problem was the number. He knew that if there were only two or three, he would be able to eke out a win. With ten, though, he'd need a few more of his blond self to pull out of this mess.
More of him? His eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. Of course! There was one thing he could do to even the odds, after all. Sure, it was something that he had been forbidden to do by the Third Hokage himself even before he had gotten into the Special Academy, but he would prefer to get yelled at by the old man than to kick the bucket.
"Let's go, you bastards!" Naruto yelled as his fingers formed the seals to the one jutsu that he had mastered, "Shadow Replication!"
--
Ignoring the stinging pain in his arm, Sasuke jumped to the side to avoid the water jutsu that sailed through the air. The spout of water formed by the Sound ninja hit the ground just to the left of him, spraying dirt and grass everywhere. As soon as he found purchase on the ground, Sasuke reached into his pouch, pulled out several shuriken and threw them at the ninja who had yet to recover from performing the jutsu and nailed him in the neck and the chest.
Without making sure that he was dead, Sasuke ran again, knowing that there were more enemies than allies in these woods. So far, he had killed three, or was it four, he wasn't too sure, and still, he had not seen anyone from his battalion. What the hell were they all doing? He briefly wondered where Naruto was, grimacing as he did, for it would not be at all like that idiot to miss out on the action.
A sudden mass that appeared before him tried to take his head off with a sword, but Sasuke skillfully dodged and planted his foot into its stomach as he spun. Without pausing, he quickly formed seals with his hands and let out a breath of flame right into the face of the Sound ninja who had dared to attack him. Sasuke hardly heard the muffled scream as he jumped out of the way before the smell of burning flesh could hit his nose. Then he was running again, looking around him for enemies and allies, his hands ready for anything that they had to throw at him.
Something pink fluttered in his peripheral view and being the genius that he is, he knew it to be Sakura. He saw a dark figure in pursuit of her, so he quickly changed directions to where she was running. Sakura was smart, but she wasn't exactly the best soldier. If he didn't help her, she would die, no question.
When he caught up to her, he saw her standing with her back to a wall of fire licking ever closer to her pink hair, kunai in front of her body in a classic stance. Yet, despite her form, he could see the shaking of her arms, the unshed tears in her eyes and the desperate hitching of her chest. When the Sound ninja jumped into the air towards her, Sasuke jumped as well, and positioned himself in front of Sakura before the enemy could land. He felt his arm flex and tense as he blocked the hit that could have crushed Sakura's head in, and kneed him in the weak spot just beneath the sternum. Sasuke finished him off with a fist into his larynx, crunching the man's throat, and then swiftly kicked the body away.
"You okay?" Sasuke asked without turning around, surveying the area around them for more enemies. His eyes burned strangely, and had been for a while; but, he would not risk missing an enemy attacking him because of the damned smoke searing into his eyes.
But then again, his vision was not blurry nor was it hard to see in any way. In fact, in the last fight during Sakura's rescue, he had been able to see the movements of the enemy so much better, almost as if he could anticipate how the Sound ninja would move even before he did.
"Damn it, can you talk?" Sasuke turned and asked irritably, hoping that Sakura was okay and not incoherent with fear. She had to keep moving to survive, as he did, and he could not afford to have a dead weight with him. She merely stared at him, her jaw slightly agape, and he wondered if he really had to carry her.
"Sasuke," he heard Sakura say finally, "your eyes.."
"What of them? Come on, we have to get moving."
With one arm, he pulled up the shell shocked girl up to her feet and started tugging her along with him. She followed, her feet moving on their own accord, as her mind tried to make sense of what she had seen just then.
"Your eyes," she continued, her voice soft but still audible, "they're.. red."
"Yeah," Sasuke replied, his eyes busy scanning the area and his feet moving faster with each step, "it's all the smoke. Can't help it."
"No, no, that's not it. Your irises.. they are red. Sasuke, your eye color is red!"
That made Sasuke pause suddenly, causing Sakura to run into his back with a thump. He did not notice, nor did he even feel her as she clung to his shirt. The only thing running through his mind was that his eyes were red. Red. And he could see things so much better. Red eyes.
Sharingan.
"About god damned time," Sasuke muttered and felt his lips lift into a vicious smirk.
--
TBC
--
A word of warning: This is about when some characters may seem OOC, just because it's an AU and I have a twisted sense of viewing them. There is some blood, a strange interlude and overly long sentences ahead. Read with caution lest you be struck blind.
Small Disclaimer: Not that it's really needed, since everyone must know I don't own Naruto. But legal mumbo-jumbo aside.. I'm just playing with the characters for my own strange amusement.
Discovery of Something More
Explosions, random sprays of arterial blood, wayward flying body parts and screams of the horribly injured. Those were things that Naruto had expected to see when he arrived with his battalion at the fifth line of defense, north west sector at point two-seven. Yet, what he did see was a bunch of ninjas sitting around a clearing in the forest playing five card draw with their shuriken as chips.
"Uh, Kakashi," Naruto frowned up at his commander, "are we at the right place?"
What might have been an affirmative grunt escaped through Kakashi's face mask as he wandered into the clearing, his hands at his side as if he was taking a stroll in the park. He greeted some of the card players with slaps to their shoulders and a few words, and soon, the other commanding officers joined in on the greeting ceremony that was both foreign and disturbing to the highly strung out members of the 121.
"Say, Lee," Shikamaru spoke, his voice a study of puzzlement, "is this how it's supposed to be?"
"It's hard to say. Every reception is different. The last time we were sent out, it was to the third line and the ninjas were playing tag."
This sent a quiet wave of murmurs through the 121 as each ninja wondered if those in battle were all quirky and mystifyingly odd or if it was just the ones they had encountered. Who in their right minds played games in the battle field?
"They are sentries," came the calm voice of Neji as he looked over at the group still engrossed in greeting and cards. "They alert us if the enemy broke through the previous lines. The ninjas you don't see are the real important ones. You can say, the ones you see goofing off.. They're the bait."
That put things in perspective and an 'oh' of understanding swept through the group. Now, the card game didn't seem so stupid or misplaced, but necessary and more dangerous than the actual fighting. They were there in the open, leaving themselves vulnerable to attack so that those not visible could have a better chance of annihilating the incoming enemy forces.
It was a hard gamble, a harsh tactic. It was more frightening than flying body parts.
"Welcome to the war, children," Kakashi whispered softly.
--
Sasuke sat quietly on his assigned tree branch, hidden deeply in the foliage and the moonless night. His duty tonight was as the second shift watch and he would be damned pissed if anyone got through his perimeter. He had already set up various alarm signals and his body was a tightly prepared machine, ready to spring into action at any time. In fact, he welcomed some form of infiltration effort, because he was definitely tired of waiting. Despite his cool façade and uncaring demeanor, he was looking forward to engaging the enemy.
Only then could he see how much stronger he had truly gotten. Only then could he see if he measured up to the murdering, traitorous bastard, the one he had once called brother.
A very small disturbance in the wind had him alert and in position before the unfortunate soul who had crossed his perimeter could even blink. Sasuke quickly jumped behind the intruder and grabbed him by his throat with his left hand while his right one placed the pointy end of the kunai to the jumping pulse at his jugular. There had been no noise and very little waste of motion.
All in all, an efficient and effective collaring of an enemy agent.
"Can't.. breathe.."
Or.. an efficient and effective collaring of a complete idiot.
"Naruto.." Sasuke ground out through his gritted teeth, keeping his voice down to a whisper but still conveying a world of anger, "why are you here?"
"Peeing.. Duh.. Let me.. Go.."
Oh, yes, he still had the dead last idiot boy in a death hold, didn't he. Loosening his grip but not letting go altogether, Sasuke once again asked in a very low voice, "Why are you here, peeing? This is the perimeter."
"You see," the blond one answered just as softly, "my watch is in an hour, I couldn't sleep, thought I'd pee and take over since I'm on right after you."
Strangling back the string of swear words threatening to burst from his lips, Sasuke let go of Naruto completely and stepped back, holstering his kunai back into its rightful place. Only the overly zealous idiot Naruto would venture out into the perimeter in complete darkness in the middle of a battle field to go relieve himself.
"Go back," Sasuke whispered, "I don't need to be replaced before my shift is up."
"No way, nah, no thanks. I'm staying. I'm too damned wired to go back to sleep."
Maybe it was the obstinate tone or the way Naruto stood with his arms crossed and his back to the dark haired soldier. Whatever the reason, Sasuke knew that Naruto would not go back without a fight and that meant a whole load of noises that a secretly placed watch could not afford.
'Damned stubborn fool,' thought Sasuke before he jumped back onto his perch on the tree, opting to ignore Naruto. He said nothing as his blond roommate jumped up next to him and crouched. He knew if there had been enough light to see by, he would see the perpetually annoying blond with that grin of 'I won, heh heh' on his face. If he was not such a restrained and well reserved man, Sasuke would have stuck his tongue out at his rival.
So they crouched on the same branch, keeping watch until the sun started to rise on the eastern horizon. Sasuke had refused to go back to camp once his shift was up since Naruto had so rudely barged in on him, and he'd be damned if he gave the blond boy the satisfaction of seeing him retreat into the relative safety of the camp. He'd stick it out and show that good for nothing that he was entirely much better than him.
Yet, all thoughts of rivalry and irritation left him as he watched the rose and oranges bleed into the cobalt blue of the retreating night sky. Then all he could think was that the sunrise was beautiful. He had not seen it rise over anything other than the thick walls of Konoha in a very long time, so to see it peek over the trees was something to behold. The colors were spectacular, and for a moment, Sasuke forgot that he was in the line of fire, keeping watch with the idiot rival by his side.
"Hey, Naruto," Sasuke said finally, "your shift and mine are over. We should get back."
When he got no response, he turned his dark eyes to the crouched form of the blond. What he saw was the morning sun glinting off his golden hair, giving him an unearthly glow around his head that resembled a halo. It blinded him for a moment, this dance of light among the strands of Naruto's hair, and he nearly reached forward to touch, to see if it could possibly be as warm as it looked. Thankfully, he came to his senses before he could commit that act of stupidity and realized that Naruto was sound asleep.
'How the hell can he sleep crouched on a tree limb? That's some balance.'
It surprised Sasuke that he felt no resentment towards Naruto for being asleep during his designated watch. He felt no anger that the blond had failed in his first given duty in the battle field, he felt no need to wake him up and make fun of him for the rest of the day. Instead, he just wanted to watch the peaceful scene for a while longer, like the way the morning light played in Naruto's hair and how he slept on blissfully with a smile on his face.
The sun crept a little higher in the sky, the glowing hues of sunrise overtaken by the glaring rays of day, but Sasuke did not see the transition. He kept watching Naruto as he slept, not noticing that his face had softened into a smile. Sasuke watched until Naruto blearily opened his eyes, revealing the sleep laden blue orbs to the world. When those eyes focused, Sasuke smirked and tipped Naruto on the shoulder lightly as a good morning of sorts. He had meant it as a friendly thing, really he had, but Naruto must have been still half asleep and Sasuke stronger than he thought, because that gentle tap was all it took for Naruto to fall out of the tree to land in an undignified heap on the forest floor.
In surprise, Sasuke stared at the form face down at the base of the tree cursing his name to the high heavens. Then the last of the Uchiha did something he had not done in a very long time - he laughed.
--
Something suspicious was going on, she knew it. She could smell it in the air as soon as Naruto barged into the campsite covered in dirt and twigs, muttering under his breath about treacherous assholes. Her suspicion only heightened when shortly thereafter, Sasuke, her prince, her dream boy, came into the camp via the same way Naruto had, chuckling behind his raised hand.
Since when did Sasuke chuckle? And why was it that he was doing it now?
Sakura trained her green eyes on the chortling Uchiha heir as he made his way across the camp site, using the full power of her intellect to see if something indeed was going on. It had to be, of course, why else was her woman's intuition going crazy?
She did recall that when she had returned from her watch, she had not seen Sasuke or Naruto in the camp. Not seeing Naruto had not been a big surprise since he had been assigned to watch duty after her shift, but Sasuke, he had the same one as her. She had planned during her watch to corner Sasuke as he returned from his watch and charm him with her intelligence and poise. But alas, she had not found him last night and had fallen asleep rather disappointed. Then in the morning, the first thing she saw had to be Naruto thundering across the camp like a herd of cattle followed by her crush.
Had they spent the night together?
That thought brought a barrage of images that she most certainly did not appreciate parading through her head and she cut off that disturbing train of thought quickly. Of course they had not been anywhere near each other, they absolutely despised each other. How many times had she heard Naruto complain about Sasuke during their three week marathon training? How many times had she seen Sasuke call the blond an idiot or derivation thereof? There was no way those two could spend time together without getting into some sort of a fight. Therefore, as logic dictated, if they had spent time last night within a mile of each other, the whole camp would have woken up from Naruto's screaming antics.
Yes, no doubt about that.
Still, something was damned suspicious.
--
"So, not much action around here for the past few weeks."
For that, Kurenai was glad. Her worries about sending her soldiers into death lessened as she heard the report from the commander of battalion 448 who had been here for the last three months. As far as she could gather from his precise account of what has been happening for the past few months, there had not been any attacks worth a mention for a while now. It seemed that the enemies were all stopped well before they reached even the third line of defense, and for that, she was grateful.
"We're slowly gaining ground. Not enough to notice at first, but we are."
Asuma readily agreed with 448's commander. Not a month ago, hadn't he lost most of 121 at the third line? But it seemed now, very few even breached the second line. It was fortunate that the tides of war so long against them seemed to be turning in their favor.
"They may have more ninjas," proclaimed Gai, "but we have better quality ones!"
Asuma smiled and agreed silently. When he had trained his rookie soldiers, he had not been expecting too much out of them. However, they had surprised him in those three weeks, most especially Shikamaru. From his scores and attitude, Asuma had assumed that Shikamaru was a lazy boy who had no special talents. Sure, his father was one of the top commanders at the first line and was a master shadow manipulator, but Asuma had only seen that Shikamaru had inherited the lazy gene from his illustrious father.
That was quickly amended when Asuma had found out that Shikamaru, despite being lazy and a top notch complainer, was a freaking genius. It wasn't that Shikamaru knew how to do all the jutsus or even cared to learn most of them, but the boy had a brain on him. He was a strategist, a masterful tactician, the kind which came along only every hundred years or so. One of these days, Shikamaru would become a great general and leader, planning victories in his head well before the battle.
Yes, indeed, they had some quality ninjas.
It wasn't only Shikamaru that impressed, however. From the way Kurenai had been talking, Hinata had as much potential as her cousin, Neji. They both possessed the Byakugan, and although Neji had more talent in utilizing that special ability, Hinata knew how to manipulate it well enough so that it worked in her favor. Kurenai's only complaint about her was that she had very low self confidence that prevented her from improving faster, but knowing her, she would do something about Hinata's problem.
Then there was the super rookie soldier, Uchiha Sasuke and the Demon Bound, Uzumaki Naruto. Kakashi had told him that even though neither had discovered their true powers, they were both incredibly talented and strong in their own way. Asuma had listened in disbelief, of course, since Naruto had never shown any promise to be a capable ninja. Sasuke, okay, he definitely could see how the last of the Uchiha would improve so drastically in such a short period of time, but Naruto? If he had not been the Demon Bound, he would not have made it into the Special Academy.
But Kakashi assured him that Naruto was not only capable, but very resilient and resourceful. The one visible eye had been utterly serious about Naruto's capabilities, and it had somewhat shocked Asuma when Kakashi told him that even without Naruto tapping into the power of the Demon within him, he could still serve as the key to victory as the Third Hokage wished.
If he could only believe that.
Maybe there was no need to rely on the Demon Bound or any of the children. After all, the enemy seemed to be retreating a bit further each day, hardly denting the wall of their second line. The war might end before the children saw any action at this rate, a prospect that lifted Asuma's burdened heart, and then there would be no need to discuss whose powers were greater, who was a lynchpin to victory and who should be sacrificed.
Yet, fate would not be so kind or so understanding. Despite Asuma's fervent wish that the war be over, despite Kurenai's wish that the children be spared the blood and the gore, even despite all the reports that said that the Sound's attacks were lessening and weakening, war would descend on Battalion 121 like vultures to a corpse.
--
It is a known fact in the universe that when there is a surprise attack, it is supposed to happen at night when people are supposedly off guard and there is a cover of shadows. However, the Sound infiltration unit felt no need to abide by such well established rules of warfare and attacked the fifth line of defense full out on the third day after the 121 arrived.
Naruto was just taking a small break between the two birch trees that stood at the edge of the camp when a loud explosion rocked the earth and sent him pitching sideways into a protruding knob of root on the ground. For an instant, Naruto saw stars dancing before his eyes, then there was too much going on for him to pay attention to the blood seeping from his temple.
Pandemonium followed that earth shaking boom and the entire camp, the ones that were playing cards, the ones taking a short nap, every single one of them, jumped into the air to engage the enemy that seemed to seep out of the forest like slime through a sieve. Shuriken flew through the air in silvery arcs, some hitting soft tissue and some getting deflected by the quick hands of the Konoha ninjas. Fire flamed from various directions, some in straight lines towards an enemy, some forming into animal shapes before running after a group of infiltrators. Then there were the sounds from hand to hand combat, from kunai scraping against bone, from hands ripping off flesh and from fingers displacing internal organs with jutsus. Naruto had never seen anything like it, and even though he was only immobile for two to three seconds after the initial explosion, as he watched the blurring scenes of combat around him, bodies started falling from the treetops.
The first crunch of a body not a foot away from him startled Naruto into action, making his rubbery legs gather and forcing them to run towards an enemy. But the enemies were so fast, he could barely see one as they flitted by him. His eyes could not keep up, not with these ninjas that had to be on an entirely different level than he.
'Shit, shit, shit! What the hell is going on?'
Panic nipped at Naruto's mind, sinking its sharp teeth into the tenuous grip on sanity he had. He could hardly see the enemies, the only comrades he saw were on the ground dead or gasping out their last. The forest was on fire, burning and choking his lungs, blinding his already blurry eyes, and he couldn't find his way to safety, to an enemy, to anything.
Not knowing where he was going, not knowing when he might have to stand and fight, Naruto ran along the forest, afraid to call out the names of his fellow soldiers in the battalion. Where were they, any of them, they couldn't have already died, could they? And why were there so many enemies at the fifth line? By the time the Sound could get this far, their numbers should have dwindled to a manageable level by the first four lines and even if they weren't, they should have heard something way before such a massive force got to them.
So many thoughts jumbled through his mind, running circles around his overloaded brain, and he forgot to pay attention to the things around him. Perhaps that was why he stumbled over a rock and fell forward as a kunai whizzed through the air where his head been only a moment before to sink into the tree just in front of his face.
'Not good,' Naruto thought as he pivoted on his hands to face whatever was behind him. He was ready, wasn't he, to deal with anything the Sound had to throw at him? He had trained very hard and become pretty damned good at fighting. He could take down a few Sound ninjas by himself, if he could only remember what it was that he had learned during his training.
What he saw before him wasn't just a few Sound ninjas. Before his panicked blue eyes stood at least ten or so of the enemy, all of them wearing the symbol of the Sound on their uniforms, their eyes glinting with murderous malice. One of them stepped forward and kicked him in the face before he could even process all the information, sending his body to slam into a tree, knocking the air out of him.
"Well, a kid, is it? I knew Konoha was doing badly, but this is priceless."
Gasping, Naruto stood on his unsteady legs, clutching his stomach as he tried to get breath back into his lungs. The one who had spoken, his eyes the only thing visible above his scarf, was looking at him with a raised eyebrow, twirling a kunai in his hand. Yes, there were ten of them. Ten. A number that exceeded his expectations, a number he should not hope to defeat by himself.
'Damn, I'm pretty much fucked.'
Letting out a half a laugh at his situation, Naruto got into the fighting stance that Kakashi had taught him. Somehow, the terrifying panic that had encased his mind faded away at the sight of enemies before him. His heart no longer beat like a trapped bird and his breath no longer hitched in his chest. Thoughts that had confused and frightened him before receded to the back of his mind as his eyes took stock of the situation. A wall of ninjas stood before him, armed to the teeth, and a forest filled with fire stood behind him. There was no retreat. He had only one option. Here and now, he would stand and fight.
Naruto quickly gathered his chakra and launched into the midst of the Sound ninjas, his fists finding flesh and bone. His leg caught yet another by his throat and slammed him into the ground, then he twisted his body so that his other leg kicked out at the ninja approaching him from the left. All this happened in a split second, just before the enemy could gather their senses and counter him.
He landed painfully on his ankles after his first wave of attack, and got ready for a second round by crouching, his hands dipping into his pouches for kunai and shuriken. However, the enemy surrounding him had recovered, and with a snort of amusement, one of them planted his fist into Naruto's solar plexus, sending him skidding across the rough ground.
Coughing blood and feeling a rib creak in protest, Naruto stood. He'd be damned if he died here, no matter how many Sound ninjas were looking at him like a trussed pig. The main problem was the number. He knew that if there were only two or three, he would be able to eke out a win. With ten, though, he'd need a few more of his blond self to pull out of this mess.
More of him? His eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. Of course! There was one thing he could do to even the odds, after all. Sure, it was something that he had been forbidden to do by the Third Hokage himself even before he had gotten into the Special Academy, but he would prefer to get yelled at by the old man than to kick the bucket.
"Let's go, you bastards!" Naruto yelled as his fingers formed the seals to the one jutsu that he had mastered, "Shadow Replication!"
--
Ignoring the stinging pain in his arm, Sasuke jumped to the side to avoid the water jutsu that sailed through the air. The spout of water formed by the Sound ninja hit the ground just to the left of him, spraying dirt and grass everywhere. As soon as he found purchase on the ground, Sasuke reached into his pouch, pulled out several shuriken and threw them at the ninja who had yet to recover from performing the jutsu and nailed him in the neck and the chest.
Without making sure that he was dead, Sasuke ran again, knowing that there were more enemies than allies in these woods. So far, he had killed three, or was it four, he wasn't too sure, and still, he had not seen anyone from his battalion. What the hell were they all doing? He briefly wondered where Naruto was, grimacing as he did, for it would not be at all like that idiot to miss out on the action.
A sudden mass that appeared before him tried to take his head off with a sword, but Sasuke skillfully dodged and planted his foot into its stomach as he spun. Without pausing, he quickly formed seals with his hands and let out a breath of flame right into the face of the Sound ninja who had dared to attack him. Sasuke hardly heard the muffled scream as he jumped out of the way before the smell of burning flesh could hit his nose. Then he was running again, looking around him for enemies and allies, his hands ready for anything that they had to throw at him.
Something pink fluttered in his peripheral view and being the genius that he is, he knew it to be Sakura. He saw a dark figure in pursuit of her, so he quickly changed directions to where she was running. Sakura was smart, but she wasn't exactly the best soldier. If he didn't help her, she would die, no question.
When he caught up to her, he saw her standing with her back to a wall of fire licking ever closer to her pink hair, kunai in front of her body in a classic stance. Yet, despite her form, he could see the shaking of her arms, the unshed tears in her eyes and the desperate hitching of her chest. When the Sound ninja jumped into the air towards her, Sasuke jumped as well, and positioned himself in front of Sakura before the enemy could land. He felt his arm flex and tense as he blocked the hit that could have crushed Sakura's head in, and kneed him in the weak spot just beneath the sternum. Sasuke finished him off with a fist into his larynx, crunching the man's throat, and then swiftly kicked the body away.
"You okay?" Sasuke asked without turning around, surveying the area around them for more enemies. His eyes burned strangely, and had been for a while; but, he would not risk missing an enemy attacking him because of the damned smoke searing into his eyes.
But then again, his vision was not blurry nor was it hard to see in any way. In fact, in the last fight during Sakura's rescue, he had been able to see the movements of the enemy so much better, almost as if he could anticipate how the Sound ninja would move even before he did.
"Damn it, can you talk?" Sasuke turned and asked irritably, hoping that Sakura was okay and not incoherent with fear. She had to keep moving to survive, as he did, and he could not afford to have a dead weight with him. She merely stared at him, her jaw slightly agape, and he wondered if he really had to carry her.
"Sasuke," he heard Sakura say finally, "your eyes.."
"What of them? Come on, we have to get moving."
With one arm, he pulled up the shell shocked girl up to her feet and started tugging her along with him. She followed, her feet moving on their own accord, as her mind tried to make sense of what she had seen just then.
"Your eyes," she continued, her voice soft but still audible, "they're.. red."
"Yeah," Sasuke replied, his eyes busy scanning the area and his feet moving faster with each step, "it's all the smoke. Can't help it."
"No, no, that's not it. Your irises.. they are red. Sasuke, your eye color is red!"
That made Sasuke pause suddenly, causing Sakura to run into his back with a thump. He did not notice, nor did he even feel her as she clung to his shirt. The only thing running through his mind was that his eyes were red. Red. And he could see things so much better. Red eyes.
Sharingan.
"About god damned time," Sasuke muttered and felt his lips lift into a vicious smirk.
--
TBC
--