Shadows within a Dream
By: Kisu
A/N: I went to the Sakura Con yesterday…dead tired…-_- of course, I'm probably not going back next year…but we'll see where my money goes…if I went for the whole weekend, it might have been interesting but I only went on Saturday to check out cosplayers of course! Saw a whole turnout of Naruto characters…and our lil group looked good! ^^ I was black Sasuke…got many compliments! My friends were Shika, Kakashi, and Kin. My other friend went as Rinoa and she was the prettiest there…I guess the time we slaved over the costumes were worthwhile…teehee!
This has 1,000 more words then the previous chapter…Whoo! I'm on a roll!
Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me…T____T
Chapter 2.11: BloodBlood.
He wasn't scared of a little blood.
Just a lot of blood, especially when it didn't stop flowing and washed over his hands.
He hadn't known when he developed the phobia of the sight of blood. He didn't fall apart when he saw spilt blood it just made him nauseous. But of course, every good Shinobi had to learn to deal with gore and the horrors of war. Or maybe it wasn't just blood but the color of blood, a nice shade of crimson red.
Crimson, like the color of Sharingan eyes.
Crimson, like the color of Itachi and Sasuke's eyes.
Eyes of the Uchiha blood limit.
A frown was evident on Naruto's face as he leapt from branch to branch, nimbly with years of practice. Now he knew how Tsunade-Obaachan felt. Trauma had both given them the phobia. But every good shinobi had to deal with it. They had to lock up those feelings in the corner of their minds and forget about them.
However memories were never forgotten, especially when they came back through nightmares.
Jiraiya-sensei had once told him to not lock them up because one day it would make him go crazy.
But it already had made him go crazy once. So what's the chance of him losing his mind again?
…Right?
Naruto paused on a branch and narrowed his eyes in deep thought. He was an outsider in this battle. He knew how much defeating Itachi meant to Sasuke so he had binded his chakra to him. It was the only thing he could do for Cho. This wasn't his fight.
But if Itachi happened to come to life again, Kami forbid…
…he would gladly take him out.
No regrets.
He gazed soulfully at his hand where the seal would appear if Sasuke channeled his chakra.
It was the only thing he could do.
Sighing tiredly, he took off through the trees again and quickly landed beside Sasuke. The Chuunin was waiting for him, his dark eyes observant as he jumped off the branch and onto the spot beside him.
"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked as he stared at him. Naruto shook his head and smiled.
"Nothing." He replied. Sasuke was still suspicious but he said nothing. Naruto turned his face to the area where Sasuke was staring. They could feel Itachi's presence. Out of habit, Sasuke reached down to his leg where his kunai pouch was. Or at least was supposed to be.
"Shit." Sasuke swore when he realized that both of them were empty-handed. He had taken off in a hurry and forgot to grab his weapons. Naruto didn't have any either. A feeling of dread washed over him. They were so close to Itachi, and they were weaponless.
"Here." Naruto said from behind him. Sasuke looked up to see Naruto dangling two pouches that contained shurikens and kunais. "I stole this from Kakashi-sensei." The blonde gave him a crooked smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"What about you?" Sasuke asked, feeling hesitant.
"I don't need any." Naruto told him.
"You're joking." Sasuke frowned.
"This is your fight, not mine." Naruto reminded him. "I'll be there if you need help but you're going to do all the work. This is your dream and I'm not going to destroy it."
"But what are dreams after all?" Sasuke murmured, looking away. They were silent, as Naruto respectfully gave him time to collect his thoughts.
"It's okay." Naruto said, encouragingly. "Here strap these on." Sasuke took them wordlessly and strapped them on slowly. Naruto waited, staring off into space. When Sasuke stood up, Naruto focused his attention back on him.
"Are you ready?" Naruto asked. Sasuke nodded and Naruto began to head out, but Sasuke's hand on his shoulder stopped him. The blonde Chuunin turned and gazed at him with questioning blue eyes. "What's wrong, Sasuke?"
"Naruto. No sacrifices." Sasuke said, solemnly. A flicker of emotion flashed across those sapphire blues too fast for Sasuke to register them. Naruto closed his eyes and smiled.
"All right. But, no sacrifices from you too." Naruto replied. Sasuke paused and nodded in agreement.
Satisfied, Sasuke headed out to where Itachi was and Naruto lingered behind. He gazed up into the sky, and watched as the clouds moved slowly pass. He could hear the buzzing of the bees and the soft chirping of the sparrows. A warm smile crossed his face. This world was truly beautiful.
No regrets.
He had none at all.
***
Sasuke stopped on a branch close to where Itachi was. In a moment, Naruto landed next to him silently. The blonde's expression was blank, emotionless like the many times before when he had fought. Sasuke sighed inwardly and Naruto turned to look at him.
"Ready when you are." He said, quietly. "I'll back you up, Sasuke."
Because I'm always there beside you.
Sasuke nodded and jumped off the branch and to the clearing below.
***
Itachi cursed and hunched over, coughing but blood. That brat had given him a harder blow than he had thought. The Rasengan that Naruto had hit him with gave him a harsh blow to the chest. But it was the aftermath that mattered. The chakra from the ball had slowly spread through his body, inflicting on every muscle and organ. Like an evil disease and worse yet, the Rasengan had been laced with the Kyuubi's chakra. He wiped his mouth and stood up slowly, smiling as he caught sight of his younger brother in front of him.
"So, you've finally come. Sasuke." He greeted him.
"What happened to you?" Sasuke asked, deadpanned. Itachi smirked and sighed, dramatically.
"I seemed to have underestimated a little fox." He shrugged his shoulders. "So tell me, little brother." He watched Sasuke's eyes slowly turn from its dark onyx to a crimson red. "What is Naruto to you?"
"None of your business." Sasuke replied, coldly.
"Are you sure about that?" Itachi chuckled. "You seem to risk your life to save him, every time. I'm sure it's more than friendship."
"Hm."
"If you want to, I'll share some tips on how to seduce him." Itachi commented slyly. "It worked for me."
"You shamelessly fucked him." Sasuke hissed, angrily. "I'll never forgive you for that."
"Aah." Itachi's smile widened. "Temper, temper. I wonder if you'll use him like a tool—and discard him after you're done."
"Shut up." Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "I'm not like you."
"Or maybe you are." Itachi said, as his eyes caught his.
A sparrow flew wildly between them and distracted Itachi from their staring contest. The sparrow had been a warning from Naruto to not step into any traps. Sasuke made the first move by disappearing and reappearing behind Itachi. His older brother deflected his attack and Sasuke pushed off the ground, doing numerous hand seals in the air. But before he had finished, Itachi had appeared behind him and landed a swift kick to his back. Sasuke grunted and gasped when Itachi's arms snaked beneath his arms and around his neck. They plummeted to the ground and Sasuke couldn't move.
"Itachi! You-" Sasuke hissed, struggling. They hit the ground at full force and Sasuke couldn't move. "Baka, you got hurt too." He said, confused.
"Not really." Itachi's voice came from above him and Sasuke found himself lying next to a log. Itachi swept his cloak aside and drew out his katana. With a smile, he held it high above him. Sasuke's eyes widened and he froze in horror. Itachi smiled smugly and he brought his katana down, only to be intercepted by several shurikens. A blur darted past Itachi and Sasuke felt himself being lifted up and brought into the trees. Itachi was distracted by more shurikens.
"Sasuke, are you all right?" Naruto asked. He tilted his head to the side. "You didn't call on my chakra."
"I think I have a few broken ribs." Sasuke grunted, feeling it was hard to breathe. He closed his eyes and concentrated. The seal on his palm appeared and swirled rapidly as he felt powerful chakra channel from the seal and up his arm to throughout his body. "It's powerful." He managed to gasp as the wonderful sensation instantly healed all his injuries. When he collected himself, he looked down to see Itachi fighting Sasuke.
"A clone." Naruto explained. "It's still your fight. But call me if you need me and don't forget to use my chakra."
"And the shurikens?" Sasuke frowned.
"I still have a few tricks up my sleeves." He replied, happily.
"I'll take it from here. Thanks." Sasuke said, jumping toward the ground as the clone dissipated from Itachi's kick. He concentrated on the seal on his hand again and Itachi's eyes widened in surprised as he felt the strength of the chakra. He channeled the chakra to his limbs and ran toward Itachi.
***
How are you holding up, Brat?
"I'm good." Naruto said, as the seal burned again. He slouched down so his back was to the trunk of the tree as he watched Sasuke run toward Itachi. Channeling chakra was a huge strain on his body. But the Kyuubi was contributing his chakra to aid his host. For every one part of his chakra, three parts were the Kyuubi's. But the supply of chakra had to end sometime.
Break the seal if it the strain is too strong.
"I got it." He murmured, his blue eyes never leaving the scene below.
***
Sasuke never felt this powerful and he loved every moment of it. Was this how Naruto felt every time he fought? Was he that strong? Slight resentment clouded his thoughts for a brief moment before he shook them off to clear his head. His speed had doubled and was almost as fast as Lee with his weights off. The chakra that he had channeled to his feet made him almost fly though the air and run with barely touching the ground.
He slammed his fist into Itachi's chest and elbowed him in the side. Itachi grunted, coughed up blood and was knocked back several feet.
"I see." Itachi mused as he took hold of the situation. "You're using Naruto's chakra. Are you that weak?"
"I'm an avenger." Sasuke whispered before disappearing and reappearing next to him. He knocked him into the air, followed by numerous hits and punches. Sasuke slammed his leg into his back and successfully delivered his 'Lion Combo'. Itachi slammed into the ground, causing the trees to shake tremendously. This didn't help at all, since he had been previously been weakened by Naruto's Rasengan.
Itachi got up on his feet, discarded his cloak and face Sasuke, with his katana in his hand. "Let's finish this." He said, softly. Sasuke flew up in the air and several kunais headed straight toward him. Itachi smirked and deflected the kunais. But Sasuke continued to hurl them at him and Itachi swung his katana gracefully.
Sasuke channeled another amount of chakra through his body and mixed it with his own.
"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" He yelled before his chest rose a he blew a huge amount of fire from his mouth. Itachi smirked brought up his left hand to make a few seals. But as he did that, his arm pulled against something and he triggered a trap.
"What the-" Itachi managed before being pulled toward the trees by invisible strings. So that was Sasuke's plan. He looked up when he heard a peculiar sound. It sounded like a thousand birds in the air. "Chidori…" The electricity coming from Sasuke's left arm was enormous and it glowed with bright blue with a purple tint. His younger brother ran toward him, gripping his left arm. Itachi reacted at the last minute and flicked his right hand that was holding his katana. He deftly cut through the strings binding him and moved out of the way.
Sasuke's arm slammed into the tree he was tied to and wood chips flew everywhere.
***
Naruto.
"Geez that bastard sure is greedy." Naruto commented. His brow was drenched in sweat and the strain on his body had become more apparent. He only had half of his own chakra left and worry was evident in the Kyuubi's tone. "He's using my chakra for everything."
Naruto, you should break the seal.
"Huh. It seems like I haven't found out how to do that yet." Naruto laughed. "But I know it'll wear off soon. It doesn't last for long."
…
"Daijobu." Naruto grinned at the worry that filled his mind. "Just a little bit more. Sasuke almost got him. But he has to be more careful now since he used his Chidori once already."
Your soul is bound to him, correct? So if you die, he dies?
"I wonder if that is so." Naruto replied, softly.
***
Sasuke stopped to catch his breath. His arm was now stuck in a tree. He gave a great huff and stared at his arm, noting how the sweat trickled off of him and how his body was screaming from all the exertion.
Just a little bit more.
He wondered how Naruto was doing. His dark eyes wandered to the spot where he knew the blonde was sitting in. To his far right, Itachi leaned heavily on his katana. Sasuke planted his feet and pulled at his arm. With a burst of chakra he got his arm free and turned around, panting heavily.
It was time. He felt it and he knew Itachi felt it.
One of them was going to die.
Sasuke closed his eyes and concentrated, and Itachi smiled knowingly.
"So this is the end?" Itachi murmured softly, as he peered out of hooded eyes to where his younger brother stood. "I've been waiting for this day." That last evasion of his had taken almost all of his energy and his chakra supply was very low.
Sasuke made his move and Itachi straightened, shifting his stance into defense mode and readying his katana. A kunai came from his left and Itachi bent slightly as it whistled past his face, slicing through a lock of his hair and leaving a cut on his cheek.
He saw bright purple at the edge of his vision and he inhaled sharply as Sasuke's arm tore through his back and out of his chest. His blind spot.
Itachi coughed and the katana and his hand fell to the ground, blood dripped from the wound and off of Sasuke's arm.
"Gomen nasai, Aniki." Sasuke whispered for his ears only. "I really do love you." Itachi closed his eyes as a moment of regret filled him.
"You didn't take only me, Sasuke." Itachi told him. "You should always think before you act. Because by then, it's too late."
"What do you mean?" Sasuke frowned, narrowing his eyes. Itachi smirked weakly.
It started feeling cold.
Itachi's eyes had become heavy and his body was slowly losing feeling.
"You gave me what I wanted, little brother." He said, sadly. "It doesn't seem like I want it anymore." His eyes closed and a smile crossed his face. "Thank you for freeing me. I'm proud of you." With that, Itachi slowly fell forward and Sasuke could only watch with wide eyes as his older brother landed on the ground.
***
Aniki.
"Sasuke-chan! If you continue this up, you'll get all the girls!" Itachi laughed hugging Sasuke. Sasuke growled and pulled away.
"It's embarrassing, don't hug me in public." Sasuke frowned. Itachi's laughing expression softened as he looked down at him.
"Ah I see." Itachi said, ruffling his hair. "Well, Okaasan and Otousan are out again. Where do you want to eat tonight?"
Aniki.
You were always there for me.
But now---
What have I done?
***
Sasuke stared at his arm in horror before dropping to his knees and shaking his brother's shoulder. "Aniki." He whispered. "Wake up."
But Itachi didn't stir, only that contented smile lingered on his face. "Aniki!"
You gave me what I wanted.
It doesn't seem like I want it anymore.
A million thoughts crossed his mind.
What did he want? What didn't he want anymore?
Sasuke stood up quickly. His dream was fulfilled and Itachi was dead. His family was avenged. He held in bitter tears as guilt ripped through him and turned on his heel. Fear lanced through him as he made a mad dash to where Naruto was.
I'll be right there beside you.
"Naruto!" He yelled, coming to the foot of the tall tree. "Naruto!"
The blonde was sitting on the same branch as before, his back toward his tree. His arm hung limply at his side, his other arm was draped across his midsection and his eyes were closed.
"Dobe! Stop sleeping on the job!" He yelled, as he stepped forward. There was a soft sound as his sandal came in contact with something wet. He frowned and turned his head upwards. A drop of red fell from Naruto's fingertips and onto his cheek. He blinked and slowly moved his head to the ground and stared at the puddle of blood he had stepped in. "Naruto!"
As if it was an answer to his call, Naruto's limp body slid off of the branch, leaving a trail of blood and fell toward him. Sasuke leapt up and caught him, but sent them both crashing to the ground from his lack of strength. With effort, Sasuke sat up and shook Naruto.
"Oy Dobe. I defeated him with your help." Sasuke said. "You can wake up now, Naruto."
Still, he didn't respond. The tears that he had held in were slowly escaping his control and were trailing down his cheeks. He raised his hand and placed his fingers below Naruto's nose.
He wasn't breathing.
TBC! O_O; OMG OMG! What will happen next? Ahh…Angst…indulge it. NaruGaa in Episode 80! Did you see the way the leaf was on top of the pile of sand? Hidden meaning! ….; Anyways…I see everything as slash now.
Next chapter will end the second part and then the third part begins! Whoo! Yes, this is a trilogy…or an attempt at it…^^;