NARUTO © Kishimoto Masashi • Shueisha • Studio Pierrot • TV Tokyo. All rights reserved. Non-profit fun ahead!
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Against the Tide
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Chapter Fourteen
Iruka was keenly aware that his reinforcements had arrived, and was relieved. As long as he kept the demon occupied, he knew Kakashi would be prudent enough to use the time gained to set up a barrier such that nobody could leave or enter the area for a certain time. The Mizu-Youma was also aware, his attacks growing more and more impatient. He appeared to be feeling awkward in a human body. Still, Iruka knew he could not last very much longer. Not only did the demon have better stamina - but Iruka also not willingly hurt Naruto as well, no matter how vile the demon inside him was.
On that thought, he faltered slightly. The demon immediately grabbed the chance to implant a kunai deep into Iruka's left shoulder.
Iruka yelped and leapt two steps back, choosing to letting his mangled hand dangle instead of covering it with his free hand. He growled at the demon, then was taken aback to find Naruto's eye colour back to original. The boy had an extremely horrified look on his face, and he stared at Iruka gaping like a goldfish. "Naruto!!" Iruka shouted, hoping his voice would reach him this time. "Naruto! Don't lose to him! Get him out of your head!"
The heavy rain and the distance they stood apart, however, drowned out whatever Iruka had to say to Naruto. The boy trembled slightly, looking at his bloodied hands. He was rapt with attention, as if listening to someone say something rather interesting. His eyes began to flicker back to lifeless blue again. Iruka grit his teeth and dashed forward. If he could only just get to Naruto in time to give him a good, tight, Iruka-styled bonk on the head...
The moment he came near enough, however, he had to quickly change directions.
Naruto was gone. The demon was back.
"Hahahah!!" The booming voice of the demon echoed through the clearing - louder and clearer than the rainfall itself. "So weak! Such a weak mind! Hahah!" He laughed louder, making Iruka fume even more. Turning to look at Iruka, he grinned some more. "It looks like I win again, sensei. Nobody can stop me from harnessing the power of the Kyuubi now!"
Even as the demon declared his victory, he had pulled a kunai out from his pouch. Iruka watched in numb horror as fiery red Chakra began to surround the short weapon, lengthening the blade invisibly. Before he had a chance to react, the blade was already sailing his way at top speed. He gritted his teeth at the last moment and brought his hands up, hoping that the flesh barrier would at least prevent the weapon from endangering his life.
The weapon was blown away in a strong, concentrated jet of wind before it came close to grazing Iruka's upheld arms.
Even the demon was shocked, as he turned Naruto's head towards the source of the wind Jutsu. Not a second later, Kakashi dropped softly from out of a tree, shaking his head. "Tsk tsk," he shook a finger at Naruto, "didn't Iruka-sensei ever teach you to not count your chickens before they're hatched?"
The demon stared at him, bewildered.
"Of course I did!" Iruka, on the other hand, exclaimed with indignance at the apparent slight of his teaching skills. "But what does that have to do with anything now anyway?!"
"Nothing, of course!" Kakashi smiled cheerfully, though he kept a watchful eye over the demon's aura. He turned back to regard the Youma cautiously when he sensed a shift. "Except," he addressed the possessed Naruto, "it means that you are /not/ going to be able to harness the power of the Kyuubi, water-demon."
Naruto's shoulders jerked slightly, and his glazed eyes suddenly focused on Kakashi. "You can't stop me," he snarled. Putting a hand over Naruto's chest, he continued with a leer, "As long as I possess this vessel, you can't stop me!" He had bent his leg and was ready to move away now. "As long as you don't catch me, I have all the time in the world to learn to unleash the power!"
"I'd like to see you try," a bone-chilling whisper cut through the demon's speech. The demon was evidently surprised, for he glanced quickly about himself, flustered, neither knowing nor sensing who or what had just said that. Kakashi raised an eyebrow to the dark skies. From out of the shadows of the forest, Sasuke slowly materialised into sight. His eyes were red and the spirals within were spinning. "You won't be able to get out of this area. You're not going to run away, Naruto."
"Hmph! I am not this Naruto you speak of!" The demon angrily denied Sasuke, then bounded off towards the forest, meaning to escape. He was stopped short when the four-point barrier reacted by repelling him three steps backwards from the boundary of the forest. The demon stumbled, but quickly got onto his feet. He snarled at the barrier, then turned around to face his opponents. "Impossible!" He screeched. "How can you hold the barrier when you're inside it?!"
"Hahah!" It was Chouji, who was standing somewhere atop the tree foliage. "This is why effective Ninja always work in groups, Naruto!"
"Naruto," Shikamaru's voice was next, and he was standing somewhere adjacent to Chouji. His hands were in a seal, and from where the people on the ground could see, there were two shadow-based clones of his on the other sides where Kakashi and Sasuke should have been. "You really are so damned troublesome. Hurry up and kick that demon's ass or something so we can all go home!"
"All of you, shut up!" The demon yelled, flailing his hands about. "Who is Uzumaki Naruto that you should care so much about him? He's useless, stupid, and a jinx! He doesn't want your friendship," he snarled in a semi-knowing smile, "and he doesn't want your pity either."
"Bullshit!" Sasuke yelled back, hands joining together to form several complicated seals. Kakashi recognised the seals immediately. He stretched a leg out to trip the boy, and succeeded. After falling face first into the wet, soggy mud beneath, Sasuke sat up angrily. He snapped, "Kakashi!!"
"Don't be stupid, Sasuke!" The Jounin frowned very hard at the boy. "Are you thinking of obliberating Naruto along with the demon?!"
"I...!" The Uchiha's eyes widened as the import of Kakashi's scolding sinked in. He turned to stare at the still smirking figure of Naruto. "I..."
As if on cue, the demon chuckled. "That's right, Sasuke," he stressed on Sasuke's name, "you won't hurt a hair on my back, because I have your friend's body, and you'd have to kill him first to kill me!"
"You-!!" Sasuke leapt to his feet, ready to dive towards the demon to strangle him into unconsciousness if need be. The demon did not stop his evil grin as he formed the seals to a complicated Jutsu and blasted it out before Sasuke even came close to reaching him. "Suiton! Suikoudan no Jutsu!"
Because of the rain, there was water all over the place. The raindrops paused for a split second, then converged together to form a large ball of water. The ball suspended itself slightly above the ground for a while, then rushed towards the direction where Sasuke, Iruka and Kakashi were.
Sasuke was shocked, and immediately stopped dashing forward. He could only stare as the water drew closer. Behind him, Kakashi was already coming up with a counter. Before anyone had a chance to blink, the huge water bomb exploded into jets and sprays after colliding into the huge block of solid mud wall. Sasuke blinked at the towering barricade of brown before him. He glanced backwards to find Kakashi looking at him with a serious expression on his face.
"Sasuke," he said quietly, "we don't have much time."
The boy was immediately sobered. He turned back to stare ahead of him, where the water had stopped pounding on the wall and the mud was slowly slipping back to the ground. "I know..." he whispered coarsely, a large lump stuck in his throat.
Iruka glanced at Sasuke, then at Kakashi, face decked in confusion. "What's going on?" He asked, wondering openly. A tremendous frustration overtook Sasuke at the question, though Kakashi's expression did not change. From atop the foliage, both Shikamaru and Chouji exchanged a questioning glance. Although the rain was heavy, they could clearly hear the conversation happening below - being Ninjas trained for such tasks. They waited, ears perked and curiosity piqued.
Kakashi knew Sasuke would not respond to Iruka's query, so he took it upon himself to at least let the people involved know what the risks were. "Hokage-sama has decreed," he announced, slowly, "that the department will be assimilated into the rest of the Force..."
"What?!" Iruka drew a sharp intake of breath. Atop the canopy, Shikamaru and Chouji gave each other a flabbergasted glance. The Anti-Youma Brigade had always been touted as the star department of the force. It took up missions nobody could ever solve and solved mysteries nobody had answers to. If it were to be disbanded, the morale of the staff would be forced down notches. What were the higher-ups thinking?
Shikamaru personally, however, was aware of the jealousy among other staff members over the success of the department despite its low staff count and low profile. Dealing with Youma, especially, had been considered a dirty job from since times past. It was no wonder that the enemies of the department would seek to eliminate it immediately upon the first major hiccup Sasuke received for a long time. Shikamaru sighed. It was troublesome enough thinking about it.
"Hokage-sama can't be serious," Iruka managed to blurb after a while. When he saw the despaired look in Kakashi's eye, however, his hope snuffed out. "What was his condition?" He asked timidly. "He couldn't have sentenced such a loyal department to death just like that."
Kakashi did not immediately respond..
"We have to kill the demon by twelve midnight tonight," Sasuke was the one to answer the question. The mud wall began to melt, as suddenly as it came. "...or the department goes." The boy turned from speaking to Iruka to facing the slowly visible demon-possessed Naruto. There was an unspeakable sadness in Sasuke's voice that made Iruka's heart ache.
Between family honour and friendship, there had never been a clear choice.
"Naruto," Sasuke said, softly at first. The demon quirked an eyebrow but did not otherwise respond. "Naruto." He said, louder this time. The demon did not react. "Naruto! Dammit!" Sasuke shouted. "I know you can hear me, dumb-twit!" A hint of bright blue flashed in Naruto's eyes, but only for a split second. The demon frowned, disturbed by the stirring in his inner consciousness.
Sasuke continued, "That stupid demon's right, you know," the Uchiha smirked through his pain, "you're dumb, useless and a jinx to boot. And you know what?" Sasuke made a hand seal. "You're such a damsel in distress, you bloody baffoon. Always needing other people to rescue your stupid ass." The sequence of hand seals continued. "Always needing me to get you out of trouble!" The final seal was formed, and Sasuke closed his eyes.
Kakashi immediately signalled for Iruka to head towards the east, while he himself retreated south. He made certain gestures to indicate that they were to take over Shikamaru's shadow-based clones in the four-point barrier position, and Iruka nodded to indicate that he understood.
At first, Iruka wondered why there was a need for them to retreat and leave Sasuke alone with the possessed Naruto. As soon as he got into position, however, he understood. A large darkness was stretching out from beneath Sasuke at a rapid speed, devouring the surroundings, rendering the entire ground void and dark. Iruka gaped, speechless. He had never seen an illusion like this before and therefore could only guess what its effects were.
"Be careful, my friends," Kakashi's stern but slightly joking voice answered the unanswered question, "and don't fall down into that black patch of land, okay? That's Sasuke's Jutsu territory. It allows him to control the world around him to his whim. Puts him at an absolute advantage over the opponent!" The cheerful voice continued, and Iruka felt his eyebrow twitch at the happy tone. "It's got a time limit though." Kakashi shrugged. "But Sasuke is taking this very seriously. Let's give him some help, shall we, boys?" He put his hands in a seal. "Hold up the barrier, guys! We're gonna block out the rain!"
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Down at their informal arena, Sasuke and the demon faced off. Although the demon was visibly impressed, he did not so much as turn another glance at the impressive Genjutsu. "Sharingan," he did utter after a while. "... interesting."
"I know of something even more interesting," Sasuke countered. "The lifeforce of a certain Mizu-Youma extracted and delivered to the Hokage, then put in the freezer in the laboratory. How's that?"
The demon sneered. "You can't kill me without killing your friend."
Sasuke shook his head. "Wrong," his hand was still firmly clasped in the final seal he had made just now. Tendrils of black nothingness now lapped gently at the sides of the forest. The only thing visible through the black spell was the quartz shaped monument, and the three logs of upright wood adjacent to it. Sasuke made three more seals, and glared hard at the demon with red eyes of spinning spirals. "In my world, Mizu-Youma," Sasuke spat, "I set the rules."
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"They're not doing anything," Chouji wondered aloud, after a few minutes had passed and nothing loud, amazing, or otherwise fatal to either parties had happened yet. "They're just standing there in that patch of black land."
"Chouji, it's an illusion," Shikamaru reminded him mildly, "illusions don't attack people physically. It goes for the mind."
"But still!" Chouji grumbled slightly. "It's so hard to see who's winning and who's losing like this."
Shikamaru stared downwards through the four-point barrier, and had to agree with Chouji. Sasuke stood, in a poised position, hands locked tightly in a seal that if broken, would probably break the Jutsu as well. Naruto, possessed by the demon, had been smiling strangely all the time, even when the illusion stretched around him. It was really difficult to foresee who had the upper hand.
"We'll have to wait and see," Kakashi sighed. "We'll just have to wait and see..."
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The demon smirked, and was forming seals quickly. "I don't believe a word of what you humans say," he snarled. The final seal formed. "Mizu Bunshin!"
A long moment passed, but no water clone of Naruto emerged.
"What!" The demon released his handseal and glanced about around him. "Impossible!"
"You are in my territory now," Sasuke reminded him. "Your Chakra is as good as completely depleted. Now, foul water-demon," Sasuke's eyes widened, and the spirals began to spin into a single point in the boy's irises. "You can't escape, you can't move, you can't fight me, and you are going to return Naruto to me!"
"You're lying!" The demon shot back with a growl. "I know this is just an illusion. You can't hurt me with your illusions!" He laughed bitterly. "And you most certainly won't be able to force me out of the Kyuubi's body! No mind attack can!"
Sasuke snorted. "Would you like to try it, then?"
Suddenly from out from the ground, pairs of hands emerged, surrounding the surprised demon menacingly. The demon ventured to take a step back, out of pure reflex, but was stopped when more dark hands came from underground to stop his movement. He looked straight ahead at Sasuke questioningly, who was still staring at him with the evolved Mangekyou. Then the hands all reached out for him - touching him, digging deep into his body and possession. The demon knew he hollered, but no voice came out - he was just as Sasuke described; helpless to the whims of the controller of this world. He grew even more afraid, when he saw - distinctly, the shadowy arms pull the figure of an unconscious Naruto literally out of himself.
"How is that possible?!" The demon screamed. "This is just an illusion!"
"I told you," Sasuke quirked an eyebrow, still staring. "Your mind is now my world, and in my world, I set the rules. If I ask you to lift your right hand," the demon lifted his right hand, and he stared at it in absolute shock, since he had not intended to do so. "...then you lift it. Got it?" Sasuke concluded with a triumphant sneer.
"You... little..." The demon glared hard at Sasuke, quickly lowering his hand. He was doubtlessly under Sasuke's mind control now, but the fact that he could still talk and move on his own will meant that he still had slight control over his body. He began to search his mind for solutions, snarling angrily at Sasuke all the while.
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"Wow, it looks like it's actually having an effect," Chouji remarked with amazement, when the demon suddenly started shouting out in pain. His eyes were laden with fright and desperate struggling. In a curious moment, he raised his right arm and then began to sprout curses at Sasuke yet again. Chouji was amused, but could only guess at what was happening.
"How long are we to wait, Kakashi-san?" Iruka asked, turning his head to look at the older person.
Kakashi frowned again, realising mundanely that he had been frowning a lot more lately. "Until Sasuke makes the demon abandon Naruto's body. Don't give up, guys. This is crucial. Not a drop of rain must fall into the territory," Kakashi projected his whispered voice such that only the Leaf Ninjas could hear him, and they all nodded, knowing they could do nothing but watch on.
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The demon finally stopped snarling. "How can you physically tear my host away from me?! This is impossible!" He struggled to grab on to the slowly withdrawn body of Naruto, only to find that he could no longer touch it. "What!"
"Your hold over Naruto is just a pathetic mind-link, fool," Sasuke said dully, hands clasped so tightly together in his final seal that they were beginning to be drained of blood. "Once you fall to my Jutsu, there's no link in your mind I can't break."
"Why you..." The water demon cursed, but inside, he panicked hard, his mind racing through all the possible things he could use to counter this apparently omniscient Jutsu. His mind suddenly turned into memory lane, however, and he was smirking by the time he was through with his evaluation. If he couldn't break this Jutsu by physical means, there was something else he knew he could try. "Sasuke," the demon said, feeling highly satisfied when he saw the young Uchiha jump with shock.
The demon had chosen to use Naruto's voice, after all.
"I thought we were friends?" He said, using the same voice, face decked with a huge grin. "Were you /lying/ when you told me you'd never hurt me?"
Sasuke's lip begin to tremble. His hand seal weakened.
"Were you lying," Naruto asked, as he withdrew a kunai from within his pouch and held it poised above his heart, "when you said... you wouldn't let me die?"
In what seemed like slow motion, Naruto plunged the kunai towards his heart.
"NO!!" Sasuke shouted, his concentration spent and the Jutsu broken. The darkness began to recede, for Sasuke no longer held the hand seal in place and neither did he provide his Chakra to maintain the illusion. In his fluster, he had completely forgotten that had he kept at the Jutsu, he could have stayed the demon's hand easily through their mind link. His mind, however, descended into terrible chaos when he saw that the demon was going to fatally wound Naruto. He leapt forward at top speed, and before he knew it, had grabbed Naruto's wrist and yanked the kunai away with the other hand. "Don't you dare!!" His eyes began to pulsate back to normal Sharingan. "Don't you dare hurt him!"
Naruto blinked innnocently. Then an evil grin spread across his face. Behind him, he yanked another kunai out of the pouch and stabbed Sasuke through his midriff cleanly. "You're right. I wouldn't dare hurt him. He's my precious vessel - the source of the endless Chakra that I will be tapping on." Slowly, he withdrew the kunai out out Sasuke, then pushed the injured boy away. "How could I possibly think of wanting to hurt him? Thank you so much for reminding me!" He chortled into the air.
Sasuke landed on the grass with a loud splash, into the puddles of water that had gathered there from the rain just now. He held onto his stomach, wincing with pain. The kunai had come near to puncturing a kidney, and he was in great pain. He had not quite recovered from his previous injuries yet as well, so that added to his suffering.
As he struggled to get up, a shadow loomed over him. Before he could open his eyes to look at the demon properly, he received a harsh, well-placed kick to the same spot the kunai had stabbed him in. He cried out at the sudden attack, rolling over at the sheer force of the kick until he came to a stop just near the barrier.
The water demon followed, kneeling down beside the boy and grabbing him by the scuff of his collar. "You are /so/ easy to read, Sasuke," he drew the boy near and shook his head. "I read you like an open book last night, and you're just like an open book now, too. Friends are useless, worthless things, who will only lead you to your doom." He laughed. "Only power matters! Nothing else does!"
By this time, Sasuke had recovered slightly from the pain and dizziness of rolling about. His eyes reflected steel determination, evidenced in the glare he now shot the sneering demon. He tilted his head backwards slightly, and before the demon could back away or let him go, swung forward in with tremendous force and hit his forehead against the demon's forehead with a headbutt driven by great force and energy. As the demon reeled, Sasuke took the chance to deliver a firm uppercut to his jaw, making the demon lose his balance and topple over onto the grass.
Quickly, though, Naruto's body flipped away, so that he now crouched in a poised position facing Sasuke. He emitted a low rumble. Sasuke stood as well, staring at Naruto with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Naruto!!" The Uchiha suddenly shouted, breaking the tedious silence. "Snap the hell out of it already! If we don't capture that stupid water demon by midnight, the Taiyoubu will be dissolved and it's all gonna be your stupid dumbass fault! And because it's all your fault, you're gonna have to be my servant for the rest of my life, you hear? You're gonna clean the floor for me, wash my bedsheets, fold my clothes, fix my roof, heat my bath, clean my dishes, dust my storeroom, mop my basement... - though I don't need you to cook for me. Goodness only knows what kind of disaster you'll put out on the dinner table--"
"HEY!" Naruto's loud voice suddenly screeched through the clearing. "Who the hell said I'm gonna be your stupid little lapdog?! How about /you/ become my servant, huh??! You're such a stuck-up, self-assuming, arrogant prick that I oughta-"
During this time, Sasuke had walked closer to the boy, peered carefully at him, then whacked him upside the head.
"-give you OW! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!"
"Took you long enough to get back," he smirked.
"Get back?" Naruto was confused. "Get back from where? I never went anywhere! I... oh... wait. Oh shit!" The blond retreated a few steps, holding on to his head in visible pain. "Shit! Shit! St... Stay away! Don't come near me!" He screeched, trying to back as far away as he could from Sasuke.
"Naruto!" Sasuke ignored the warning, and like any other sensible person would, took a step closer. "Naruto! Naruto!!"
"I said go away!!" Naruto yelled one last time. In a single, spectacular feat of stealth, he vanished. At this point of time, Sasuke stopped advancing, finally sensing something wrong. Before he could even take a step back, however, he found the wind being knocked out of him. A hand grabbed onto his shoulder, slamming him against the four-point barrier wall.
When he opened his eyes, Naruto was staring at him, murder in his eyes.
"Nice try, human!" The demon roared angrily. "You almost got me there! But you know what?" He lifted Sasuke up slightly, then slammed him against the barrier again. "I've had WAY more experience with mind manipulation than you do, foolish boy!" The kunai was back in the demon's hand. "That was your last resort, wasn't it?" The demon whispered furtively into Sasuke's ear. "Well done! But you're getting to be quite a distraction." The blade was lifted up in the air, and Sasuke struggled to no avail to try to get out of the demon's grasp. "Consider this my last resort too, my 'good friend'!"
With a gleam and a swing, the sharp blade buried itself deep.
Deep, into the invisible wall of the barrier just beside Sasuke's head.
Naruto's hand suddenly trembled. His eyes were saucer-wide and his breathing was ragged and heavy. He jumped backwards all of a sudden, dropping the kunai and burying his face in his palms. Sasuke pushed away from the barrier quickly, whipping out his own kunai and leaping forward, tackling Naruto to the ground. He positioned the kunai over Naruto's neck instinctively, regretting it but knowing he had no other choice. He watched the blond intently, deciding he would try to knock him out if he manifested signs of the demon.
Naruto blinked, gulped, and shook his head. He stared at Sasuke with clear eyes. "...me..." He whispered in a shaky voice. "Now... do it now, Sasuke... while you still can!"
"What?" Sasuke blinked in surprise. He could not make out what Naruto was saying amidst the background noise of heavy rain falling on the four-point barrier.
Naruto grit his teeth. "Kill me!" He repeated, so loudly this time Sasuke was sure the Kazekage could hear it. "Do it now while you still can! Do it before he takes over me again! Sasuke!!"
"What the hell are you talking about!" Sasuke punched Naruto in the nose, and the blond yelled loudly in complaint, holding his bleeding face. "I can't believe you're admitting you're weaker than that stupid water demon! Get him the hell out so we can capture the thing and close this case, idiot!"
"Don't call me an idiot!" Naruto screeched back, albeit in very muffled tones due to his broken nose. "I can't control them anymore! They're taking over me completely!" He continued to shout incoherently at his partner. "I don't know how long I can hold them out so just do what I say, okay?! You only have until midnight, right? That's like, twenty minutes!! Hurry up and do it!"
"You're nuts!" Sasuke's voice was loud and horrified. "You're crazy! You're so stupid I don't know what to say anymore! How could..." He gasped for breath, "... how could you even think that I'd kill you for something as stupid as..." He stopped abruptly, when he realised what he was going to say next.
"For your family's honour!" Naruto, on the other hand, completed the sentence for him. Wincing at the impact and import of those words, Sasuke averted his glance, all of a sudden very terrified at the situation before him. "What happened to your promise to your older brother? That you'd make the department worthy enough for the name of the Uchiha?" There was silence. "You can't just let a small thing like me hold you up!" The cheer in Naruto's voice sounded so contrived, Sasuke felt like punching him again.
"Shut up, idiot," the Uchiha said softly. He needed to think. But there was no time. He got off Naruto and stood, staring into space. Naruto stood as well.
"Sasuke," Naruto said, much quieter, much more sombre this time. "Sasuke... even if you don't kill me," there was pain and resignation in the voice, "I won't be me anymore. The Mizu-Youma has embedded himself too deep inside for me to be able to drive him out any longer. Treat it as you're doing me a favour, please..." He smiled. "Kill me, before he breaks out," the smile became a frown. "When that happens... then /I'll/ kill /you/, and that'll be the end... the real end of the Brigade. No one else left to restore it. You understand, right?"
Sasuke stared at a moment into the clear, lucid eyes of Naruto, who was waiting for his destiny to come. He gritted his teeth and shook his head. "No! You shut up! Shut up! Just shut up!! I can't... I /won't/, so just shut your mouth!"
Naruto's quickly grabbed onto Sasuke's wrist - the one holding onto the kunai - before Sasuke could pull away. For a long, painful moment, the boys did nothing but stare at each other, trying but failing to read each other's minds.
"Hey," Naruto spoke up first, giving Sasuke a smile that didn't quite reach his ears, but was genuine enough to give him a glow. "It was really nice knowing you. If you smile a bit more, I think you'd have a lot of friends. And one day..." The boy closed his eyes, pulling Sasuke's hand closer, so that the kunai was now positioned /very/ dangerously over his exposed neck. "... you'll get to know one who'll be the one to break the curse!"
It took Sasuke one second to realise what those words really meant.
One second too late.
The blade slashed cleanly through Naruto's neck. And the lifeless body of Naruto, fresh blood still pouring from the wide gash across his throat, fell into his stiff arms. Sasuke could do nothing but catch the boy in numb shock, trying desperately to will this to be nothing more than a nightmare. A nightmare he had been having every night since he was cursed by the snake demon. He would wake up and realise it was just a silly dream. Then he would meet Naruto in the station, and they would listen to Kakashi rant. Iruka would pass them some files, and they would go visit Sakura for more information. Life would be so normal.
So simple.
But life was not.
Vaguely, from the corner of his eyes, Sasuke could see the Mizu-Youma quickly unhooking its Chakra from Naruto's - for a dead host meant a dead parasite. Instincts kicked in, and Sasuke quickly formed a set of seals. "Kinjutsu... Youma Fuuin!" Quickly, quietly, the lifeforce of the Mizu-Youma was captured by the Kinjutsu, and trapped in a warded bottle. The bottle fell onto the grass, with Sasuke watching it dispassionately.
The mission was a success, but his life was a failure.
Raindrops slowly began to fall into the barrier, as it was released.
Kakashi appeared first, quietly. He took the bottle and wrapped it up further with a scroll. He avoided looking at the slumped figure of Naruto in Sasuke's arms, commanding, "Come with me. We're going to see Hokage-sama now."
Sasuke nodded numbly. He slowly pushed Naruto away from himself, finding Iruka by his side instantly, more than happy to be taking over. He saw Shikamaru and Chouji hovering about in the background, like they were afraid to approach. As he slowly turned to follow Kakashi, he saw the look of sheer despair on Iruka's face, as he cradled the lifeless form of Naruto in his arms, wracked with silent sobs.
Sasuke quickly, and quietly, vanished into the night.
Kakashi stayed behind slightly longer. This time, he did look at Naruto. His expression was unreadable when Iruka noticed him staring, and he stared right back. Kakashi whispered something softly. Something that travelled through the night air into Iruka's ears alone.
Iruka's eyes widened when he heard what Kakashi said. He was about to struggle to his feet, mouth agape and brimming with questions, but Kakashi shook his head at him.
"Just go." Kakashi said out loud this time, so that even Shikamaru and Chouji could hear him. He nodded once, almost pleadingly at the Chuunin, before he, too, disappeared into the night.
The storm slowly tapered off into a mere shower. The clouds cleared overhead, and the moon began to adorn the land with its rays for the first time in the past few months.
Iruka gulped, quickly gathering his charge into his arms and getting onto his feet. "Shikamaru, Chouji!" He bellowed commandingly, and the boys snapped into attention. "Come with me!"
The duo blinked questioningly at him, so Iruka offered them a weak smile.
"All is not lost yet."
He had whispered.
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15/10/2004
Part 15 of 16
(email XD!) XD (at) tougenkyou (dot) net
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Against the Tide
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Chapter Fourteen
Iruka was keenly aware that his reinforcements had arrived, and was relieved. As long as he kept the demon occupied, he knew Kakashi would be prudent enough to use the time gained to set up a barrier such that nobody could leave or enter the area for a certain time. The Mizu-Youma was also aware, his attacks growing more and more impatient. He appeared to be feeling awkward in a human body. Still, Iruka knew he could not last very much longer. Not only did the demon have better stamina - but Iruka also not willingly hurt Naruto as well, no matter how vile the demon inside him was.
On that thought, he faltered slightly. The demon immediately grabbed the chance to implant a kunai deep into Iruka's left shoulder.
Iruka yelped and leapt two steps back, choosing to letting his mangled hand dangle instead of covering it with his free hand. He growled at the demon, then was taken aback to find Naruto's eye colour back to original. The boy had an extremely horrified look on his face, and he stared at Iruka gaping like a goldfish. "Naruto!!" Iruka shouted, hoping his voice would reach him this time. "Naruto! Don't lose to him! Get him out of your head!"
The heavy rain and the distance they stood apart, however, drowned out whatever Iruka had to say to Naruto. The boy trembled slightly, looking at his bloodied hands. He was rapt with attention, as if listening to someone say something rather interesting. His eyes began to flicker back to lifeless blue again. Iruka grit his teeth and dashed forward. If he could only just get to Naruto in time to give him a good, tight, Iruka-styled bonk on the head...
The moment he came near enough, however, he had to quickly change directions.
Naruto was gone. The demon was back.
"Hahahah!!" The booming voice of the demon echoed through the clearing - louder and clearer than the rainfall itself. "So weak! Such a weak mind! Hahah!" He laughed louder, making Iruka fume even more. Turning to look at Iruka, he grinned some more. "It looks like I win again, sensei. Nobody can stop me from harnessing the power of the Kyuubi now!"
Even as the demon declared his victory, he had pulled a kunai out from his pouch. Iruka watched in numb horror as fiery red Chakra began to surround the short weapon, lengthening the blade invisibly. Before he had a chance to react, the blade was already sailing his way at top speed. He gritted his teeth at the last moment and brought his hands up, hoping that the flesh barrier would at least prevent the weapon from endangering his life.
The weapon was blown away in a strong, concentrated jet of wind before it came close to grazing Iruka's upheld arms.
Even the demon was shocked, as he turned Naruto's head towards the source of the wind Jutsu. Not a second later, Kakashi dropped softly from out of a tree, shaking his head. "Tsk tsk," he shook a finger at Naruto, "didn't Iruka-sensei ever teach you to not count your chickens before they're hatched?"
The demon stared at him, bewildered.
"Of course I did!" Iruka, on the other hand, exclaimed with indignance at the apparent slight of his teaching skills. "But what does that have to do with anything now anyway?!"
"Nothing, of course!" Kakashi smiled cheerfully, though he kept a watchful eye over the demon's aura. He turned back to regard the Youma cautiously when he sensed a shift. "Except," he addressed the possessed Naruto, "it means that you are /not/ going to be able to harness the power of the Kyuubi, water-demon."
Naruto's shoulders jerked slightly, and his glazed eyes suddenly focused on Kakashi. "You can't stop me," he snarled. Putting a hand over Naruto's chest, he continued with a leer, "As long as I possess this vessel, you can't stop me!" He had bent his leg and was ready to move away now. "As long as you don't catch me, I have all the time in the world to learn to unleash the power!"
"I'd like to see you try," a bone-chilling whisper cut through the demon's speech. The demon was evidently surprised, for he glanced quickly about himself, flustered, neither knowing nor sensing who or what had just said that. Kakashi raised an eyebrow to the dark skies. From out of the shadows of the forest, Sasuke slowly materialised into sight. His eyes were red and the spirals within were spinning. "You won't be able to get out of this area. You're not going to run away, Naruto."
"Hmph! I am not this Naruto you speak of!" The demon angrily denied Sasuke, then bounded off towards the forest, meaning to escape. He was stopped short when the four-point barrier reacted by repelling him three steps backwards from the boundary of the forest. The demon stumbled, but quickly got onto his feet. He snarled at the barrier, then turned around to face his opponents. "Impossible!" He screeched. "How can you hold the barrier when you're inside it?!"
"Hahah!" It was Chouji, who was standing somewhere atop the tree foliage. "This is why effective Ninja always work in groups, Naruto!"
"Naruto," Shikamaru's voice was next, and he was standing somewhere adjacent to Chouji. His hands were in a seal, and from where the people on the ground could see, there were two shadow-based clones of his on the other sides where Kakashi and Sasuke should have been. "You really are so damned troublesome. Hurry up and kick that demon's ass or something so we can all go home!"
"All of you, shut up!" The demon yelled, flailing his hands about. "Who is Uzumaki Naruto that you should care so much about him? He's useless, stupid, and a jinx! He doesn't want your friendship," he snarled in a semi-knowing smile, "and he doesn't want your pity either."
"Bullshit!" Sasuke yelled back, hands joining together to form several complicated seals. Kakashi recognised the seals immediately. He stretched a leg out to trip the boy, and succeeded. After falling face first into the wet, soggy mud beneath, Sasuke sat up angrily. He snapped, "Kakashi!!"
"Don't be stupid, Sasuke!" The Jounin frowned very hard at the boy. "Are you thinking of obliberating Naruto along with the demon?!"
"I...!" The Uchiha's eyes widened as the import of Kakashi's scolding sinked in. He turned to stare at the still smirking figure of Naruto. "I..."
As if on cue, the demon chuckled. "That's right, Sasuke," he stressed on Sasuke's name, "you won't hurt a hair on my back, because I have your friend's body, and you'd have to kill him first to kill me!"
"You-!!" Sasuke leapt to his feet, ready to dive towards the demon to strangle him into unconsciousness if need be. The demon did not stop his evil grin as he formed the seals to a complicated Jutsu and blasted it out before Sasuke even came close to reaching him. "Suiton! Suikoudan no Jutsu!"
Because of the rain, there was water all over the place. The raindrops paused for a split second, then converged together to form a large ball of water. The ball suspended itself slightly above the ground for a while, then rushed towards the direction where Sasuke, Iruka and Kakashi were.
Sasuke was shocked, and immediately stopped dashing forward. He could only stare as the water drew closer. Behind him, Kakashi was already coming up with a counter. Before anyone had a chance to blink, the huge water bomb exploded into jets and sprays after colliding into the huge block of solid mud wall. Sasuke blinked at the towering barricade of brown before him. He glanced backwards to find Kakashi looking at him with a serious expression on his face.
"Sasuke," he said quietly, "we don't have much time."
The boy was immediately sobered. He turned back to stare ahead of him, where the water had stopped pounding on the wall and the mud was slowly slipping back to the ground. "I know..." he whispered coarsely, a large lump stuck in his throat.
Iruka glanced at Sasuke, then at Kakashi, face decked in confusion. "What's going on?" He asked, wondering openly. A tremendous frustration overtook Sasuke at the question, though Kakashi's expression did not change. From atop the foliage, both Shikamaru and Chouji exchanged a questioning glance. Although the rain was heavy, they could clearly hear the conversation happening below - being Ninjas trained for such tasks. They waited, ears perked and curiosity piqued.
Kakashi knew Sasuke would not respond to Iruka's query, so he took it upon himself to at least let the people involved know what the risks were. "Hokage-sama has decreed," he announced, slowly, "that the department will be assimilated into the rest of the Force..."
"What?!" Iruka drew a sharp intake of breath. Atop the canopy, Shikamaru and Chouji gave each other a flabbergasted glance. The Anti-Youma Brigade had always been touted as the star department of the force. It took up missions nobody could ever solve and solved mysteries nobody had answers to. If it were to be disbanded, the morale of the staff would be forced down notches. What were the higher-ups thinking?
Shikamaru personally, however, was aware of the jealousy among other staff members over the success of the department despite its low staff count and low profile. Dealing with Youma, especially, had been considered a dirty job from since times past. It was no wonder that the enemies of the department would seek to eliminate it immediately upon the first major hiccup Sasuke received for a long time. Shikamaru sighed. It was troublesome enough thinking about it.
"Hokage-sama can't be serious," Iruka managed to blurb after a while. When he saw the despaired look in Kakashi's eye, however, his hope snuffed out. "What was his condition?" He asked timidly. "He couldn't have sentenced such a loyal department to death just like that."
Kakashi did not immediately respond..
"We have to kill the demon by twelve midnight tonight," Sasuke was the one to answer the question. The mud wall began to melt, as suddenly as it came. "...or the department goes." The boy turned from speaking to Iruka to facing the slowly visible demon-possessed Naruto. There was an unspeakable sadness in Sasuke's voice that made Iruka's heart ache.
Between family honour and friendship, there had never been a clear choice.
"Naruto," Sasuke said, softly at first. The demon quirked an eyebrow but did not otherwise respond. "Naruto." He said, louder this time. The demon did not react. "Naruto! Dammit!" Sasuke shouted. "I know you can hear me, dumb-twit!" A hint of bright blue flashed in Naruto's eyes, but only for a split second. The demon frowned, disturbed by the stirring in his inner consciousness.
Sasuke continued, "That stupid demon's right, you know," the Uchiha smirked through his pain, "you're dumb, useless and a jinx to boot. And you know what?" Sasuke made a hand seal. "You're such a damsel in distress, you bloody baffoon. Always needing other people to rescue your stupid ass." The sequence of hand seals continued. "Always needing me to get you out of trouble!" The final seal was formed, and Sasuke closed his eyes.
Kakashi immediately signalled for Iruka to head towards the east, while he himself retreated south. He made certain gestures to indicate that they were to take over Shikamaru's shadow-based clones in the four-point barrier position, and Iruka nodded to indicate that he understood.
At first, Iruka wondered why there was a need for them to retreat and leave Sasuke alone with the possessed Naruto. As soon as he got into position, however, he understood. A large darkness was stretching out from beneath Sasuke at a rapid speed, devouring the surroundings, rendering the entire ground void and dark. Iruka gaped, speechless. He had never seen an illusion like this before and therefore could only guess what its effects were.
"Be careful, my friends," Kakashi's stern but slightly joking voice answered the unanswered question, "and don't fall down into that black patch of land, okay? That's Sasuke's Jutsu territory. It allows him to control the world around him to his whim. Puts him at an absolute advantage over the opponent!" The cheerful voice continued, and Iruka felt his eyebrow twitch at the happy tone. "It's got a time limit though." Kakashi shrugged. "But Sasuke is taking this very seriously. Let's give him some help, shall we, boys?" He put his hands in a seal. "Hold up the barrier, guys! We're gonna block out the rain!"
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Down at their informal arena, Sasuke and the demon faced off. Although the demon was visibly impressed, he did not so much as turn another glance at the impressive Genjutsu. "Sharingan," he did utter after a while. "... interesting."
"I know of something even more interesting," Sasuke countered. "The lifeforce of a certain Mizu-Youma extracted and delivered to the Hokage, then put in the freezer in the laboratory. How's that?"
The demon sneered. "You can't kill me without killing your friend."
Sasuke shook his head. "Wrong," his hand was still firmly clasped in the final seal he had made just now. Tendrils of black nothingness now lapped gently at the sides of the forest. The only thing visible through the black spell was the quartz shaped monument, and the three logs of upright wood adjacent to it. Sasuke made three more seals, and glared hard at the demon with red eyes of spinning spirals. "In my world, Mizu-Youma," Sasuke spat, "I set the rules."
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"They're not doing anything," Chouji wondered aloud, after a few minutes had passed and nothing loud, amazing, or otherwise fatal to either parties had happened yet. "They're just standing there in that patch of black land."
"Chouji, it's an illusion," Shikamaru reminded him mildly, "illusions don't attack people physically. It goes for the mind."
"But still!" Chouji grumbled slightly. "It's so hard to see who's winning and who's losing like this."
Shikamaru stared downwards through the four-point barrier, and had to agree with Chouji. Sasuke stood, in a poised position, hands locked tightly in a seal that if broken, would probably break the Jutsu as well. Naruto, possessed by the demon, had been smiling strangely all the time, even when the illusion stretched around him. It was really difficult to foresee who had the upper hand.
"We'll have to wait and see," Kakashi sighed. "We'll just have to wait and see..."
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The demon smirked, and was forming seals quickly. "I don't believe a word of what you humans say," he snarled. The final seal formed. "Mizu Bunshin!"
A long moment passed, but no water clone of Naruto emerged.
"What!" The demon released his handseal and glanced about around him. "Impossible!"
"You are in my territory now," Sasuke reminded him. "Your Chakra is as good as completely depleted. Now, foul water-demon," Sasuke's eyes widened, and the spirals began to spin into a single point in the boy's irises. "You can't escape, you can't move, you can't fight me, and you are going to return Naruto to me!"
"You're lying!" The demon shot back with a growl. "I know this is just an illusion. You can't hurt me with your illusions!" He laughed bitterly. "And you most certainly won't be able to force me out of the Kyuubi's body! No mind attack can!"
Sasuke snorted. "Would you like to try it, then?"
Suddenly from out from the ground, pairs of hands emerged, surrounding the surprised demon menacingly. The demon ventured to take a step back, out of pure reflex, but was stopped when more dark hands came from underground to stop his movement. He looked straight ahead at Sasuke questioningly, who was still staring at him with the evolved Mangekyou. Then the hands all reached out for him - touching him, digging deep into his body and possession. The demon knew he hollered, but no voice came out - he was just as Sasuke described; helpless to the whims of the controller of this world. He grew even more afraid, when he saw - distinctly, the shadowy arms pull the figure of an unconscious Naruto literally out of himself.
"How is that possible?!" The demon screamed. "This is just an illusion!"
"I told you," Sasuke quirked an eyebrow, still staring. "Your mind is now my world, and in my world, I set the rules. If I ask you to lift your right hand," the demon lifted his right hand, and he stared at it in absolute shock, since he had not intended to do so. "...then you lift it. Got it?" Sasuke concluded with a triumphant sneer.
"You... little..." The demon glared hard at Sasuke, quickly lowering his hand. He was doubtlessly under Sasuke's mind control now, but the fact that he could still talk and move on his own will meant that he still had slight control over his body. He began to search his mind for solutions, snarling angrily at Sasuke all the while.
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"Wow, it looks like it's actually having an effect," Chouji remarked with amazement, when the demon suddenly started shouting out in pain. His eyes were laden with fright and desperate struggling. In a curious moment, he raised his right arm and then began to sprout curses at Sasuke yet again. Chouji was amused, but could only guess at what was happening.
"How long are we to wait, Kakashi-san?" Iruka asked, turning his head to look at the older person.
Kakashi frowned again, realising mundanely that he had been frowning a lot more lately. "Until Sasuke makes the demon abandon Naruto's body. Don't give up, guys. This is crucial. Not a drop of rain must fall into the territory," Kakashi projected his whispered voice such that only the Leaf Ninjas could hear him, and they all nodded, knowing they could do nothing but watch on.
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The demon finally stopped snarling. "How can you physically tear my host away from me?! This is impossible!" He struggled to grab on to the slowly withdrawn body of Naruto, only to find that he could no longer touch it. "What!"
"Your hold over Naruto is just a pathetic mind-link, fool," Sasuke said dully, hands clasped so tightly together in his final seal that they were beginning to be drained of blood. "Once you fall to my Jutsu, there's no link in your mind I can't break."
"Why you..." The water demon cursed, but inside, he panicked hard, his mind racing through all the possible things he could use to counter this apparently omniscient Jutsu. His mind suddenly turned into memory lane, however, and he was smirking by the time he was through with his evaluation. If he couldn't break this Jutsu by physical means, there was something else he knew he could try. "Sasuke," the demon said, feeling highly satisfied when he saw the young Uchiha jump with shock.
The demon had chosen to use Naruto's voice, after all.
"I thought we were friends?" He said, using the same voice, face decked with a huge grin. "Were you /lying/ when you told me you'd never hurt me?"
Sasuke's lip begin to tremble. His hand seal weakened.
"Were you lying," Naruto asked, as he withdrew a kunai from within his pouch and held it poised above his heart, "when you said... you wouldn't let me die?"
In what seemed like slow motion, Naruto plunged the kunai towards his heart.
"NO!!" Sasuke shouted, his concentration spent and the Jutsu broken. The darkness began to recede, for Sasuke no longer held the hand seal in place and neither did he provide his Chakra to maintain the illusion. In his fluster, he had completely forgotten that had he kept at the Jutsu, he could have stayed the demon's hand easily through their mind link. His mind, however, descended into terrible chaos when he saw that the demon was going to fatally wound Naruto. He leapt forward at top speed, and before he knew it, had grabbed Naruto's wrist and yanked the kunai away with the other hand. "Don't you dare!!" His eyes began to pulsate back to normal Sharingan. "Don't you dare hurt him!"
Naruto blinked innnocently. Then an evil grin spread across his face. Behind him, he yanked another kunai out of the pouch and stabbed Sasuke through his midriff cleanly. "You're right. I wouldn't dare hurt him. He's my precious vessel - the source of the endless Chakra that I will be tapping on." Slowly, he withdrew the kunai out out Sasuke, then pushed the injured boy away. "How could I possibly think of wanting to hurt him? Thank you so much for reminding me!" He chortled into the air.
Sasuke landed on the grass with a loud splash, into the puddles of water that had gathered there from the rain just now. He held onto his stomach, wincing with pain. The kunai had come near to puncturing a kidney, and he was in great pain. He had not quite recovered from his previous injuries yet as well, so that added to his suffering.
As he struggled to get up, a shadow loomed over him. Before he could open his eyes to look at the demon properly, he received a harsh, well-placed kick to the same spot the kunai had stabbed him in. He cried out at the sudden attack, rolling over at the sheer force of the kick until he came to a stop just near the barrier.
The water demon followed, kneeling down beside the boy and grabbing him by the scuff of his collar. "You are /so/ easy to read, Sasuke," he drew the boy near and shook his head. "I read you like an open book last night, and you're just like an open book now, too. Friends are useless, worthless things, who will only lead you to your doom." He laughed. "Only power matters! Nothing else does!"
By this time, Sasuke had recovered slightly from the pain and dizziness of rolling about. His eyes reflected steel determination, evidenced in the glare he now shot the sneering demon. He tilted his head backwards slightly, and before the demon could back away or let him go, swung forward in with tremendous force and hit his forehead against the demon's forehead with a headbutt driven by great force and energy. As the demon reeled, Sasuke took the chance to deliver a firm uppercut to his jaw, making the demon lose his balance and topple over onto the grass.
Quickly, though, Naruto's body flipped away, so that he now crouched in a poised position facing Sasuke. He emitted a low rumble. Sasuke stood as well, staring at Naruto with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Naruto!!" The Uchiha suddenly shouted, breaking the tedious silence. "Snap the hell out of it already! If we don't capture that stupid water demon by midnight, the Taiyoubu will be dissolved and it's all gonna be your stupid dumbass fault! And because it's all your fault, you're gonna have to be my servant for the rest of my life, you hear? You're gonna clean the floor for me, wash my bedsheets, fold my clothes, fix my roof, heat my bath, clean my dishes, dust my storeroom, mop my basement... - though I don't need you to cook for me. Goodness only knows what kind of disaster you'll put out on the dinner table--"
"HEY!" Naruto's loud voice suddenly screeched through the clearing. "Who the hell said I'm gonna be your stupid little lapdog?! How about /you/ become my servant, huh??! You're such a stuck-up, self-assuming, arrogant prick that I oughta-"
During this time, Sasuke had walked closer to the boy, peered carefully at him, then whacked him upside the head.
"-give you OW! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!"
"Took you long enough to get back," he smirked.
"Get back?" Naruto was confused. "Get back from where? I never went anywhere! I... oh... wait. Oh shit!" The blond retreated a few steps, holding on to his head in visible pain. "Shit! Shit! St... Stay away! Don't come near me!" He screeched, trying to back as far away as he could from Sasuke.
"Naruto!" Sasuke ignored the warning, and like any other sensible person would, took a step closer. "Naruto! Naruto!!"
"I said go away!!" Naruto yelled one last time. In a single, spectacular feat of stealth, he vanished. At this point of time, Sasuke stopped advancing, finally sensing something wrong. Before he could even take a step back, however, he found the wind being knocked out of him. A hand grabbed onto his shoulder, slamming him against the four-point barrier wall.
When he opened his eyes, Naruto was staring at him, murder in his eyes.
"Nice try, human!" The demon roared angrily. "You almost got me there! But you know what?" He lifted Sasuke up slightly, then slammed him against the barrier again. "I've had WAY more experience with mind manipulation than you do, foolish boy!" The kunai was back in the demon's hand. "That was your last resort, wasn't it?" The demon whispered furtively into Sasuke's ear. "Well done! But you're getting to be quite a distraction." The blade was lifted up in the air, and Sasuke struggled to no avail to try to get out of the demon's grasp. "Consider this my last resort too, my 'good friend'!"
With a gleam and a swing, the sharp blade buried itself deep.
Deep, into the invisible wall of the barrier just beside Sasuke's head.
Naruto's hand suddenly trembled. His eyes were saucer-wide and his breathing was ragged and heavy. He jumped backwards all of a sudden, dropping the kunai and burying his face in his palms. Sasuke pushed away from the barrier quickly, whipping out his own kunai and leaping forward, tackling Naruto to the ground. He positioned the kunai over Naruto's neck instinctively, regretting it but knowing he had no other choice. He watched the blond intently, deciding he would try to knock him out if he manifested signs of the demon.
Naruto blinked, gulped, and shook his head. He stared at Sasuke with clear eyes. "...me..." He whispered in a shaky voice. "Now... do it now, Sasuke... while you still can!"
"What?" Sasuke blinked in surprise. He could not make out what Naruto was saying amidst the background noise of heavy rain falling on the four-point barrier.
Naruto grit his teeth. "Kill me!" He repeated, so loudly this time Sasuke was sure the Kazekage could hear it. "Do it now while you still can! Do it before he takes over me again! Sasuke!!"
"What the hell are you talking about!" Sasuke punched Naruto in the nose, and the blond yelled loudly in complaint, holding his bleeding face. "I can't believe you're admitting you're weaker than that stupid water demon! Get him the hell out so we can capture the thing and close this case, idiot!"
"Don't call me an idiot!" Naruto screeched back, albeit in very muffled tones due to his broken nose. "I can't control them anymore! They're taking over me completely!" He continued to shout incoherently at his partner. "I don't know how long I can hold them out so just do what I say, okay?! You only have until midnight, right? That's like, twenty minutes!! Hurry up and do it!"
"You're nuts!" Sasuke's voice was loud and horrified. "You're crazy! You're so stupid I don't know what to say anymore! How could..." He gasped for breath, "... how could you even think that I'd kill you for something as stupid as..." He stopped abruptly, when he realised what he was going to say next.
"For your family's honour!" Naruto, on the other hand, completed the sentence for him. Wincing at the impact and import of those words, Sasuke averted his glance, all of a sudden very terrified at the situation before him. "What happened to your promise to your older brother? That you'd make the department worthy enough for the name of the Uchiha?" There was silence. "You can't just let a small thing like me hold you up!" The cheer in Naruto's voice sounded so contrived, Sasuke felt like punching him again.
"Shut up, idiot," the Uchiha said softly. He needed to think. But there was no time. He got off Naruto and stood, staring into space. Naruto stood as well.
"Sasuke," Naruto said, much quieter, much more sombre this time. "Sasuke... even if you don't kill me," there was pain and resignation in the voice, "I won't be me anymore. The Mizu-Youma has embedded himself too deep inside for me to be able to drive him out any longer. Treat it as you're doing me a favour, please..." He smiled. "Kill me, before he breaks out," the smile became a frown. "When that happens... then /I'll/ kill /you/, and that'll be the end... the real end of the Brigade. No one else left to restore it. You understand, right?"
Sasuke stared at a moment into the clear, lucid eyes of Naruto, who was waiting for his destiny to come. He gritted his teeth and shook his head. "No! You shut up! Shut up! Just shut up!! I can't... I /won't/, so just shut your mouth!"
Naruto's quickly grabbed onto Sasuke's wrist - the one holding onto the kunai - before Sasuke could pull away. For a long, painful moment, the boys did nothing but stare at each other, trying but failing to read each other's minds.
"Hey," Naruto spoke up first, giving Sasuke a smile that didn't quite reach his ears, but was genuine enough to give him a glow. "It was really nice knowing you. If you smile a bit more, I think you'd have a lot of friends. And one day..." The boy closed his eyes, pulling Sasuke's hand closer, so that the kunai was now positioned /very/ dangerously over his exposed neck. "... you'll get to know one who'll be the one to break the curse!"
It took Sasuke one second to realise what those words really meant.
One second too late.
The blade slashed cleanly through Naruto's neck. And the lifeless body of Naruto, fresh blood still pouring from the wide gash across his throat, fell into his stiff arms. Sasuke could do nothing but catch the boy in numb shock, trying desperately to will this to be nothing more than a nightmare. A nightmare he had been having every night since he was cursed by the snake demon. He would wake up and realise it was just a silly dream. Then he would meet Naruto in the station, and they would listen to Kakashi rant. Iruka would pass them some files, and they would go visit Sakura for more information. Life would be so normal.
So simple.
But life was not.
Vaguely, from the corner of his eyes, Sasuke could see the Mizu-Youma quickly unhooking its Chakra from Naruto's - for a dead host meant a dead parasite. Instincts kicked in, and Sasuke quickly formed a set of seals. "Kinjutsu... Youma Fuuin!" Quickly, quietly, the lifeforce of the Mizu-Youma was captured by the Kinjutsu, and trapped in a warded bottle. The bottle fell onto the grass, with Sasuke watching it dispassionately.
The mission was a success, but his life was a failure.
Raindrops slowly began to fall into the barrier, as it was released.
Kakashi appeared first, quietly. He took the bottle and wrapped it up further with a scroll. He avoided looking at the slumped figure of Naruto in Sasuke's arms, commanding, "Come with me. We're going to see Hokage-sama now."
Sasuke nodded numbly. He slowly pushed Naruto away from himself, finding Iruka by his side instantly, more than happy to be taking over. He saw Shikamaru and Chouji hovering about in the background, like they were afraid to approach. As he slowly turned to follow Kakashi, he saw the look of sheer despair on Iruka's face, as he cradled the lifeless form of Naruto in his arms, wracked with silent sobs.
Sasuke quickly, and quietly, vanished into the night.
Kakashi stayed behind slightly longer. This time, he did look at Naruto. His expression was unreadable when Iruka noticed him staring, and he stared right back. Kakashi whispered something softly. Something that travelled through the night air into Iruka's ears alone.
Iruka's eyes widened when he heard what Kakashi said. He was about to struggle to his feet, mouth agape and brimming with questions, but Kakashi shook his head at him.
"Just go." Kakashi said out loud this time, so that even Shikamaru and Chouji could hear him. He nodded once, almost pleadingly at the Chuunin, before he, too, disappeared into the night.
The storm slowly tapered off into a mere shower. The clouds cleared overhead, and the moon began to adorn the land with its rays for the first time in the past few months.
Iruka gulped, quickly gathering his charge into his arms and getting onto his feet. "Shikamaru, Chouji!" He bellowed commandingly, and the boys snapped into attention. "Come with me!"
The duo blinked questioningly at him, so Iruka offered them a weak smile.
"All is not lost yet."
He had whispered.
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15/10/2004
Part 15 of 16
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