Chapter Six

Darkness. Sasuke's head throbbed as he came back from whatever hell-hole his mind had suddenly been dragged into and he gratefully clawed his way towards consciousness.

He opened his eyes and then shut them again.

And then they snapped back open as what he'd seen registered to him.

Fire. Fire everywhere.

Towering above him, high into the air, was a funnel of flame. It twisted around like some kind of demented, burning tornado consuming the oxygen around them in droves and nearly sucking the air out of his lungs. The noise was tremendous and the heat was rapidly becoming unbearable.

What the hell…? He must have only passed out for a few seconds, he realised.

Changing the focus of his eyes, Sasuke moved his wide-eyed gaze to the one who had spawned the spinning pillar of fire. Naruto still sat on Sasuke's chest, and he was twisted around slightly, looking at his handy work.

Though, as Sasuke watched, Naruto suddenly spun back around and threw himself down over Sasuke.

"Shut your eyes!" he yelled over the sound of the roaring fire above them. Sasuke didn't even think; just did it. Something in the voice, Naruto's voice, but not, compelled him to obey instantly.

He was glad he did.

Even as he closed his eyes, he saw the fire twister give a sudden shuddering heave as if it were breathing inwards…

…And then the sky was raining fire.

Sasuke felt his arms sting as it dropped on him and he suddenly rolled sideways, doing his best to get himself and, more importantly, Naruto out of the way of the flaming rain by getting as close to the rocks around them as possible.

His heart was in his throat as he clutched Naruto to him tightly, burying his head in the others shoulder and waited; waited for the stinging pains across his back to stop and for the light on the other side of his eyelids to stop glowing so unnaturally red. It seemed to take forever.

Sasuke remained still for a while after the stinging, the light and intense heat stopped, but eventually he loosened his grip on his blond companion and looked over his shoulder. The night was still lit unnaturally. Everywhere around him there were patches of burning grass and next to him the rocks were blackened.

Sasuke shuddered and fell back. It was then that he realised that Naruto hadn't moved since the twister had exploded.

His hands shaking slightly, Sasuke quickly checked the blond's pulse and then, finding it normal, he checked him over for injuries. There were a few, but most of them were healing rapidly. Sasuke let out an exhausted sigh of relief and sat up.

And stared, his mouth dropping open unnoticed.

The forest was gone.

Gone.

Everywhere there were patches of fire, and further off, towards the edges of the forest there were raging fires where trees that had survived the initial explosion were rapidly being decimated.

Sasuke began to shake.

This was too much. Really. What the hell had happened? What?! What was it that had been looking out of Naruto's eyes? Had it been the Kyubi? So much destruction…Naruto couldn't have done this, couldn't have pulled off a jutsu of this scale. It had to have been the Kyubi.

Something moved.

Sasuke's head snapped around as the movement caught his eye and he found himself suddenly staring at a fully alert ANBU squad.

Of course… Unsurprising. The largest training area in the Konoha region had just exploded; Sasuke felt an overwhelming urge to laugh. Of course there were ANBU here.

As he watched, four more groups of mask clad ANBU appeared and stationed themselves at various points around them. Along with them came other shinobi; every last one of them was armed at ready for combat.

Sasuke lifted one shaking hand and pushed his forehead protector slightly higher on his head. He felt the movement tracked by a hundred eyes. What would they assume had happened? Would they be guessing? Or would they wait to hear their story? They'd laugh when they heard it. Sasuke wanted to laugh. It was funny. Really, it was.

Sasuke let his eyes travel over the faces of the people watching and his mouth turned into a firm frown. The looks he was seeing in their eyes…they weren't funny. What did they think had happened? They had hatred in their eyes. Anger. Contempt. Fury. Loathing.

They were looking at Naruto.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed suddenly. What the hell did they think they were doing, looking at Naruto like that? Who did they think they were? Naruto had just saved his life, why were they looking at him with hatred?

Someone hesitantly stepped forward and Sasuke staggered to his feet, his eyes set into what he hoped was a glare. It was, but had more the quality of a half crazed man suddenly pushed the rest of the way over the edge. His hands still shook slightly, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Stay away," he said, then realised it probably wasn't loud enough. "Stay away!"

The one who had been approaching stopped and suddenly a second person stepped forward.

"Uchiha-kun, we're here to help. It's okay now, you don't have to fight."

Sasuke didn't recognise the voice. It didn't matter; he wouldn't have listened even if he had. He didn't respond to the voice, he responded to the eyes – those eyes filled with contempt…contempt for Naruto.

"Stay away!" he repeated and shakily used his left hand to pull a kunai from his belt pouch, "you're not here to help. Stay away."

The second person took another step forward, "Uchiha-kun…."

"I said stay away!" Sasuke shouted and his eyes flashed red. Energy, the energy he couldn't seem to find earlier, surged up in him as he activated his Sharingan and glared wildly at the men who had been approaching. "How can you say you want to help, with those eyes? Those eyes! You want to hurt him, I won't let you, if you want near him you'll have to go through me; I won't let you near him. Stay away!" he wouldn't let these…these people near Naruto. These people, they were the ones who always made Naruto so unhappy. Theirs were the looks that could suddenly steal the smile from his lips just by passing him in the street. And they said they wanted to help? Liars, all of them. He wouldn't let them near him. Naruto was his saviour, Naruto was his light; and Naruto had saved him, saved them both, from certain death. He wouldn't let anyone with those eyes near him.

The man took another step forward and Sasuke put his kunai in his mouth, then pulled two shuriken from his leg holster and threw them quickly, forcing the man to stop walking again, or be hit. He took the kunai back in his hand.

"Stay. Away," he growled again and this time the man seemed to listen, taking a step backwards.

There was a stir suddenly to the right and Sasuke watched out of the corner of his eye as a small group appeared in front of the crowd.

"What's going on here?" a familiar voice demanded.

Sasuke turned a little to view Kakashi more easily. He stared at the man's eyes.

"Hatake-san!" The first man to approach moved quickly to stand near Kakashi and saluted, "Uchiha-kun refuses to let us near. We're not sure…"

Kakashi ignored everything after that and stepped closer to Sasuke, his eyes meeting Sasuke's gaze firmly.

"Sasuke."

Somehow Kakashi managed to layer the simple name with a hundred different inflections, the main ones being 'what the fuck are you doing?', 'what the hell is going on?' and 'are you a lunatic?'.

"Naruto," Sasuke responded and watched as Kakashi's eyes flickered down to the unconscious boy. Concern, irritation, confusion. Nothing else. Sasuke relaxed slightly.

"Make them go away," Sasuke said fiercely, levelling a not-quite-sane glare on his teacher and then at those surrounding them. "Make them leave him alone; he didn't do anything."

"Hatake-san…." The man who had originally approached said nervously and Kakashi waved him to silence and resumed his intent staring contest with Sasuke.

"Why?"

Sasuke growled, "they're looking at him. You can see them looking, you can read what they're thinking; it's in their eyes. He didn't do anything. Make them leave."

Kakashi stayed still for a moment and then stepped backwards and turned to the man behind him, "you heard him, everyone leave. Now."

"But…"

"No 'buts'. And while you're at it, fetch the Hokage."

"…H-hai!"

Around him, ANBU and random shinobi began to hesitantly disappear and Sasuke relaxed marginally. With a breath he allowed whatever power had been fuelling his Sharingan to dissipate, and let himself fall down next to Naruto. He rested a hand lightly on the blond's singed hair and petted it absently.

"Sasuke," the dark-haired boy lifted his head again and looked over at where Kakashi was standing with two others. Gai and Iruka-Sensei. The one who had spoken was Iruka, "is Naruto hurt?"

Sasuke looked into his eyes and saw only concern, and desperate worry.

"Not really. Just tired," his voice almost sounded normal.

Iruka took a hesitant step forward, his mouth opening to ask another question, but was forestalled as a new person arrived. The Hokage.

She met Sasuke's eyes instantly.

"What's going on here?" she demanded and strode forward, towards where he sat next to Naruto.

Sasuke remained silent. Did she hate Naruto, too? If she did, could Sasuke hope to keep her away from him? His hand tightened on Naruto's hair protectively and the Hokage stopped walking.

"What happened?" she asked, a little more softly.

"Nothing," Sasuke said firmly. "He didn't do anything."

Tsunade nodded. "I didn't say he did," she said soothingly, "I just wanted to know what happened, not who did it."

Sasuke hesitated. "We were attacked," he said at length. "He saved my life. Both of our lives. He didn't do anything wrong."

The Hokage nodded again, "can I have a look at him?"

"He's fine."

Tsunade began to walk forward again, slowly, "I'm sure he is, but I want to make sure. I think everyone here would feel better if I made sure."

Sasuke studied her for a moment and then let his eyes flick behind her to where Iruka hovered anxiously. He nodded.

Tsunade smiled and came the rest of the way over, kneeling next to Naruto and resting her fingers lightly on the boy's temples. She closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them again, nodding.

"You're right. He's fine, just exhausted. Now," she suddenly turned to Sasuke and looked him over, "I want to look at you too."

"I'm fine," Sasuke said and glared.

Tsunade lifted an eyebrow, "you're covered in burns and blood. You look much worse off than Naruto; I just want to make sure."

Sasuke glared at her suspiciously.

"It would make me feel better," she said.

Sasuke pressed his lips together and then nodded slightly, letting her lift her fingers to his temples.

Almost instantly he felt a soothing power flow into him that seemed to make him feel better than he had in weeks, and simultaneously began to drag him into darkness.

He struggled against it, but it was impossible to resist.

The last thing he heard before the darkness engulfed him completely was Tsunade's voice.

"…Severe shock…mind and body are exhausted…let him rest…"

Aching.

Pounding.

Throbbing.

His brain felt like it was on fire. His head felt like it was suddenly far too small.

He burned.

"Sasuke-kun?! Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke winced as the voice pierced straight through his skull, slicing away anything that might have resembled coherent thought.

"Sasuke-kun," a hand that felt so cold against his skin that it burned clutched his left arm, "are you all right?"

Sasuke growled, an action that he regretted immediately, and struggled to lift his arm, to move it in some way and get the freezing/burning hand off of him.

Eventually he opened his eyes and then shut them again as sunlight stabbed straight through his eyeballs and into his brain.

"G'off" he mumbled; attempted to mumble. It hurt his throat to talk and the incoherent moan he had managed came out sounding scratched and broken.

He needed water.

"Sasuke-kun?"

Damn her, would she just shut up! Sasuke forced his eyes open again and focused them as much as he could on the pink smudged blur at his bedside.

"Water," he said very precisely, managing to get it above a whisper this time.

The hand on his arm, much to Sasuke's relief, disappeared; as did the pink blur.

He was slowly getting used to the pounding behind his temples, but that only let him become more aware of his other aches and pains. His right arm throbbed, his chest stung, and almost every inch of skin along his back, shoulders and the back of his legs felt hot and tight.

"You have to sit up, Sasuke-kun," the pink blur came back into his line of sight. He wished she would lower her voice, the sound sliced through his skull like a knife.

A hand wriggled itself between Sasuke's shoulder blades and the bed, irritating his hot skin and sending a new blossoming of pain across his shoulders, up his neck and down his back. He grit his teeth and forced his weak limbs to get him up into a sitting position. His head spun and his vision swam.

"Here, Sasuke-kun," something cold was pressed against his lips. Water. He drank greedily as Sakura held the glass for him, finishing it in seconds. The glass disappeared once it was empty and then Sakura put her hand on Sasuke's arm again, attempting to push him back into laying down.

Sasuke growled.

Turning his now cleared eyes to the girl in an icy glare, Sasuke shook her hand off and asked the first and most logical question on his mind.

"Where's Naruto?"

Sakura ignored him. "Sasuke-kun, you have to lay back down; you have to rest," she tried to push him down onto the bed again.

Once again Sasuke shook her off, he was feeling better by the second now that he was sitting up and had had something to drink.

"Where is Naruto?" he asked again.

"Sasuke-ku-."

Sasuke's non-existent patience ran out and he grabbed Sakura's shoulder tightly, yanking her to within an inch of himself.

"Where. Is. Naruto?" he ground out and Sakura flinched.

"S-Sasuke-kun, Y-you're hurting me…"

Sasuke shook her, "where?!"

"He's with the Hokage!" she exclaimed, pained. "She wanted to have a private talk with him."

Sasuke released his grip and pushed her out of his way. He swung his legs out of the bed and quickly stood and almost sank to his knees as the world abruptly began to swing out of focus.

"Sasuke-kun, what are you doing? Sasuke-kun?!"

Sasuke ignored Sakura and staggered his way across the small hospital room, to the door.

"Sasuke-kun, please! You have to rest!" Sakura put her hand on Sasuke's shoulder, only to have it slapped away immediately. "A-and you can't leave," she added desperately, "the room is being guarded!"

Sasuke pulled the door open, and attempted to step out only to have a hand plant itself firmly in the centre of his chest. Slowly, waiting for his eyes to focus, Sasuke traced the line of the hand until it became an arm, then a shoulder, then a person.

An ANBU person.

"I can't allow you to pass," the masked figure said firmly.

"Get out of the way!" Sasuke glared.

"Please go back into your room," the ANBU said, accompanied the words with a slight push.

"Sasuke-kun…. Please…."

Sasuke glared at the guard for a moment and then stepped backwards, slamming the door behind him. Even he could tell that it would be useless to attempt to fight his way out in the condition he was in.

Turning, he pushed back passed Sakura and sagged down onto the bed. He glared at her through his fringe as she hesitantly approached.

"How long has he been gone?" he demanded.

"I...I don't know," Sakura stopped walking, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, "maybe an hour?"

"Hn…"

"S-Sasuke-kun…."

Sasuke rubbed slightly at his left temple. "Go away," he said steadily, glaring at the floor. His head was beginning to throb enough that it was drowning out the rest of the screaming pain his body was in and the adrenaline that had somehow got him to the door was vanishing rapidly.

"But Sasuke-kun…"

"Go away, now!" he snapped, flinching at the loudness of his own voice.

"It's okay, Sakura-chan."

Sasuke's head snapped up at the tired sounding voice that came from the doorway. Naruto stood there, his hand on the handle still as he finished pushing the door open and stepped inside.

"You should go now," the blond continued and stepped aside enough for her to get passed him.

"But…"

Naruto sighed, "we've got some talking to do, Sakura."

"I-I'll come back later," she said uncertainly and walked slowly out of the room, staring at Sasuke until Naruto shut the door behind her. He paused for a moment and then turned the snib on the handle, locking the door.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke was the first one to speak and Naruto turned to look at him in surprise.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired," he replied and walked over to sit on the second bed in the small room. "Are you okay? Tsunade-san said you took a lot of damage and you've been unconscious for two days."

Sasuke grunted and finally lay back down in the bed, putting his left arm over his eyes, "I ache from head to foot," he replied.

The following silence was uncomfortable, but Sasuke wasn't sure he should break it. He wanted to ask what had happened in the Forest. The pillar of fire, how had Naruto done that? What had happened? …But he wasn't so sure Naruto would appreciate the questions – especially since that was probably exactly what the Hokage had been asking him.

"Was it the Kyubi?" he asked finally.

"The Kyubi's power," Naruto replied slowly, "yes."

Silence again.

He wondered what Naruto had spoken about with the Hokage that had made the blond so quiet.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Sasuke said finally, keeping his voice flat. He could feel Naruto's eyes on him suddenly and he struggled not to look back.

"Yes," Naruto said finally, "Tsunade-san just gave me a lot to think about."

Sasuke finally gave in to his urge and lowered his arm so he could look over at Naruto. The blond was looking down at his hands as he plucked at the plain white blanket that covered his bed.

"Like what?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto pressed his lips together tightly, "Just… Just some information about the Kyubi I didn't know before. Oh," he looked up suddenly, "and the Chuunin exam. Because of the accident it's been postponed, and relocated."

Sasuke sat up, "relocated? Where? Postponed until when?"

"Hidden Dark Village," Naruto replied. "And it was postponed for two weeks. Enough time to let everyone who was coming get to the new location."

"Two weeks," Sasuke repeated.

"Yeah," Naruto suddenly seemed to look less tired; his eyes sparkling slightly. "Now we can still go! I'm mostly healed already, and that old-hag-Hokage said she'd make sure you're in perfect shape to get there. I can't wait, I haven't been to Hidden Dark before; I've heard that most of the village is underground and that they have some specialized jutsu' for seeing in the dark and moving around in caves!"

Sasuke had heard the same things. "It'll be…interesting," he said, his mouth twitching up slightly into a smirk.

"Yeah, definitely!" Naruto grinned and then scrambled under his blankets. "Have to heal first, though," he said. "I'm going to sleep; you should too."

Sasuke nodded slightly and lay back again, listening intently until he heard the tell-tale signs of Naruto sleeping, and then, a small smile on his face, he let himself drift back into darkness.