Scorn-silverstar: no you don't suck…all naruto fans are the coolest!
Feathergurl: im glad you think my writing is good…I think it's okay..;
Trubluewolf eyes: Well mebbe not "trilogy" but the fic is divided into three parts where in each part they get older, or mebbe a new twist?
Watermelon Gal: lol! I love your reviews! Uhm…im glad ppl agree with me with the shounen-ai thing..ahahaha
Ookima: im glad you worry about naruto lol! Of course I wouldn't kill him off…yet…j/k =P
Yumi-sama: I just love Itachi! 3…and I really didn't want to kill him off…he was the source of the angst. sighs
Ookami kage: lol! I'm not a devoted fan of Lord of the Rings as much as you are…and some of my friends…; who did see LotR saw many hidden messages…of suggestive relationships ;
Thanks everyone! I'll try to answer more!
Shadows within a Dream
By: Kisu
A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing! It took awhile to get the next part out because I've been working on my A/U fic…not to mention my GaaNaru one! Here's the next chapter!
Chapter 3.1: The Balance of SanityIt had been two years in a blink of an eye and Sasuke sat grimly on the branch of a tall tree just overlooking the window of the room that Naruto was in. For the first year, Sasuke had hung on to the fact that Naruto would wake up anytime soon. He had asked Kakashi, Shizune, and the Hokage almost every day for the condition Naruto was in. Every day was the same.
So Sasuke decided to take measures into his hands and get into Naruto's room sooner or later. On the 5th try, he almost got in but an ANBU that was coming back from his lunch break saw him and reported him to the Hokage. From then on, he was aware that he was being watched. Not even a Jounin yet, he had bested an ANBU and that was considered highly skilled.
But ever so slowly, he felt himself losing his sanity.
All he could do was the grasp the memories of the blonde hair, blue-eyed Chuunin and hold on.
I always be there for you.
Those words seemed to whisper through the wind as the cool breeze stirred the leaves. He found himself smiling and holding on to hope.
Naruto would wake up. He would definitely wake up.
"Sasuke-kun!"
He looked down to see a familiar pink haired shinobi staring up at him with worried green eyes.
"Sakura." He replied, emotionlessly.
Sakura peered through the green foliage where the silent man sat and raised her hand to wave at him. Just like before, there was no response. "Sasuke-kun, have you eaten lunch today?"
No answer.
She sighed and dropped her arm. Ever since Naruto had gone into his coma, Sasuke had slowly withdrawn further and further away from them. The man would sit for hours in that tree, staring into the room that Naruto was kept in. Other times, he looked for a way to get past the ANBU. But what made them all nervous was the way his eyes were empty. His expression was empty and it seemed like all the life was sucked out from his soul.
Maybe it was because Naruto was his life.
Naruto…
She closed her eyes and silently cursed the blonde Chuunin for leaving Sasuke in such a state. The rest of them didn't fare better. She knew that the Hokage was the most worried out of them all, but she never showed it.
"Sakura." Sasuke spoke up.
Finally Sasuke was going to answer her. She looked up in relief and froze when she met a pair of glowing red eyes.
Sharingan eyes.
"Leave me alone. I don't need your help." Sasuke told her, softly. The fear was instantly replaced by anger and Sakura clenched her fist.
"Baka!" She yelled. "If we don't check up on you, you'll kill yourself! You don't rest, sleep, or eat properly!"
"I never ask for all of you to check up on me." Sasuke replied.
"We want to check up on you! Naruto isn't only a precious to you! He's precious to all of us!" Sakura screamed, tears welling up in her eyes. "You have to get it through that thick-head of yours that Naruto may never wake up!" She instantly clasped her hand over her mouth, horrified her words.
Sasuke shifted on his branch and looked away.
"Leave now." The words were uttered so softly with malice that the wind almost carried it away.
Sakura fled.
Kakashi walked through the hallway of the hospital with his hands in his pockets. Then he paused where it separated into three ways. Going straight would take him to intensive care; going left would take him to the east wing. But going right would take him to Naruto.
He never got enough courage to enter Naruto's room, ever since the first time he visited the man with the Hokage.
He leaned against the wall and sighed deeply through his mask. It was the anniversary of the day the Kyuubi got sealed.
It was also Naruto's birthday.
They had never celebrated Naruto's birthday since he returned home. They never got a chance.
It seemed like in all of Naruto's life, he had only one birthday celebration. Five years ago, he and Iruka had treated him to ramen at Ichiraku's. It was day that he'll remember forever. He was in debt for a week.
He smiled softly and continued straight down the hallway.
His footsteps paused as he spotted a lone figure in the same tree just overlooking Naruto's window.
Then, without a second thought he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Sasuke."
The man looked down and gazed at the Jounin on the ground before looking back up to Naruto's window.
"What do you want, Kakashi?" Sasuke asked without any interest.
"Today is a special day." Kakashi said with a smile still on his face.
"I know." Sasuke replied, icily.
"Do you want to visit the birthday boy?" He asked, softly. Sasuke's chest tightened and slowly he slid his gaze back on the ground.
"I'm not allowed to visit him." Sasuke reminded him of the oblivious.
"Don't worry." Kakashi replied as his one eye glinted. "I'll make it happen." Sasuke silently dropped off the branch and landed before him, with a blank expression. They were eye-level now. "Let's go."
They reappeared in the hospital hallway where Kakashi was contemplating his decision before. Then, they turned right into the deserted hallway. It got gloomier and gloomier as the hallway lights became weaker.
Anger burned through Sasuke's chest. How dare they leave Naruto in this kind of environment?
"This hallway is considered to be a hazardous zone." Kakashi said, softly as if answering his unspoken question. "It keeps the nosy nurses and doctors away. Only the Hokage and the ANBU has access to this area." He might a tiger seal with his hands. "Kai." Sasuke blinked and suddenly they were in a well-lit hallway, just like the others.
The dark hallway had been an illusion. A strong genjutsu that he didn't even realize was there.
"The Hokages had continued a illusional lock on this hallway with seals. They are very strong and reinforced by every new Hokage." Kakashi told him. They approached a door where two ANBU were standing. Kakashi slowly slipped his hand inside his pocket and pulled out his pass. The ANBU nodded and allowed him admittance. "Prepare yourself, Sasuke. In the coma, Naruto might have lost some weight."
Sasuke nodded thickly and the door swung open. He kept his eyes trained on the ground as he followed Kakashi's footsteps and heard the door close softly behind them. His eyes stopped at the foot of the bed and slowly raised his head, intaking the room with its white washed walls and warm sunlight that drifted through the window. The beeping of the machines and Naruto's light breathing was the only thing that showed the occupant in the bed alive. Otherwise, the man that laid there was deathly still.
Naruto was pale and he looked so small in the bed with the white blankets drawn up to his chin. The only brightness in the room was the sunlight and the golden hair that spilled over the white pillow. He walked forward slowly, his chest constricting tighter as his breathing became labored.
"Naruto." He whispered, realizing how loud it seemed in the silent room. Kakashi had sat down in a chair and was keeping his eyes on him, just in case he went over his head. "Naruto." The second time, his name came out lovingly like a lover's caress and he slowly sat down on the edge of the bed.
Sasuke's fingers trembled as he raised them to touch Naruto's scarred cheek that weren't as visible from the lack of color of his complexion. "What have I done to you?" His voice hitched and he ran his slender fingers through Naruto's golden locks. "I'm so sorry, Naruto." He slid off the bed and sank to his knees, his head fell on top of Naruto's stomach and his black hair spilled over the white bed sheet. "Please open your eyes, Naruto. Please. I need to see them, again."
Kakashi sat in his chair for a long time with his eyes closed and Sasuke stayed in his position by Naruto, softly drawing circles on Naruto's chest with his index finger. When the sun began to set, Kakashi straightened and stood up.
"We have to go Sasuke." Kakashi said, kindly. Sasuke opened his eyes and stood up slowly. His joints popped from being in that position for a long time. Sasuke leaned over and kissed Naruto, softly on the lips. Just like a butterfly brushing against a petal of a flower.
Kakashi said nothing at the display but opened the door. When Sasuke exited, he gave one last glance to Naruto and closed it behind them.
On the hospital bed, the occupant's fingers twitched.
With the Jounin exams coming up, Tsunade was uneasy. For one, the Hidden Leaf Chuunins were already qualified to be Jounins, with or without the exams. The second, the other countries have become uneasy from the tensions that have been arising in the country of lightning. And third, what was this trash spewing about the Leaf kidnapping the Raikage's niece? So Tsunade formally invited the Raikage to co-host this year's exams in hope to come to a placid agreement.
"What do you think?" Tsunade asked. Shikamaru, Sakura, Sasuke, Neji, and Kakashi sat were present in her office. She was hoping that the shinobi had any information on the whereabouts of the niece.
"She's here." Sasuke spoke up, quietly. Sakura flickered her gaze toward the dark shinobi standing near the wall and she nodded.
"Her name is Tanaka Cho. She claims to be…Naruto's fiancée." Sakura added. Sasuke tensed slightly and Tsunade sat back down in her chair. She clasped her hands together and placed them under her chin, thoughtfully.
"So she is here?" Tsunade frowned.
"She ran away from her country because her uncle wanted to arrange a marriage for her." Sakura continued.
"Do you know where she is, right now?" Tsunade asked. At Sakura's nod, Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "Find her and bring her to me."
The girl with dark green hair pulled back in a loose ponytail turned her brown gaze over her shoulder. She was being followed.
With the same pace she was going, she turned into an alley and avoided the shurikens that flew past her and embedded themselves in the wall. She glanced at the shurikens and they quivered as they suddenly shot back in the direction they came from. She saw a black blur, as her assailant swept to the side.
"Did my uncle send you?" She asked, straightening slowly.
"Tanaka-sama, I presume." The man slowly revealed himself. "This is a message from the Raikage." He approached her slowly and she took the scroll that was handed to her. With a calculating gaze at the man, she ran her thumb underneath the seal and flung it open. Then, she scanned its contents. "The Raikage wishes for me to deliver your answer."
"Tell him, it will be done." Cho said coldly as she rolled the scroll back up and flung it at him. The shinobi caught it nimbly and bowed, respectfully.
"As you say." He replied, before leaping out of the alley and onto the rooftops. With quick steps, the man was gone. Then, Cho swept out of the alley. She bit down on her bottom lip, hard enough to draw blood. With a sigh, she walked away sadly.
"All right, you're dismissed."
The shinobi bowed and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Tsunade turned to walk to her window. She was just given a report that a foreign shinobi had been in contact with Tanaka Cho. Indeed, the girl played some major role in this situation. She had met with the girl and found her harmless.
Timid and shy even.
But looks weren't everything.
What's important was beneath the skin.
Tanaka Cho was still a mystery.
The Raikage watched as a four Jounins appeared in his presence. His shinobi tensed as they moved a step closer to him.
"Raikage-sama." The woman with spiky dark hair walked forward. "We are your welcoming party into Konohagure. We want your stay to be pleasant and as comfortable as possible."
"Thank you." He nodded.
"This way." She gestured. His shinobi walked closely next to him as they followed the woman through the gates and into Hidden Leaf. Out of the corner of his eye, he observed the others. His eyes trained on a particular shinobi that rounded up the back.
The silver haired Jounin: Kakashi the "Copy Cat" ninja.
TBC!