To PuiChi2 – I know I have been saying this since forever, but at chapter
12, I expected the whole Orochimaru raping Naruto to push it over, but it
wasn't as big a deal as I originally thought it would be, but the reason it
will be now is cause it's heading into the Citrus' Territory.
*** YES THAT MEANS A LIME. ***
And even though I figure you'll read it regardless of the warnings, and regardless of the fact that now a days nothing is to violent or course or sexually explicit for kids... it's a sad world we live in. The rating will change on the chapter that contains the limey bits.
This also means it won't be viewed on the first page when you pull up the Naruto section as those fics only go up to PG-13.
This is dedicated to C.M. Aeris Queen of Insanity who became reviewer number 30 for chapter 36. I am currently in shock over receiving that many reviews. Crap...
Sorry for taking so long. I had expected to get on the comp for Friday, but we ended up cleaning the house... *curses* and I only got to it today... *types as fast as possible*
Chapter Title: 37. Resignation
He fell face first into the dirt just outside someone's doorstep. Lifting himself up to his knees, he spat out the dirt and looked up at where he'd landed. The door was painted a basic black and he frowned at the bleak appearance that offered his no answers. Just as he was about to place a hand on his knee to lift himself up, a breeze went through him and he looked down, nearly blushing at his clothing. Or lack there of. He was standing before a stranger's door, in nothing but a black shirt and a pair of dark blue boxer shorts, and he couldn't remember how he'd gotten there.
He was about to raise a fist to knock on the door when something odd caught his eye, and he realised where he was. Almost invisible to the naked eye, in the upper corner of the door frame was a small crayon-scribble of a red and white fan. Sasuke had once told him that he'd drawn it himself on top of his brother's shoulders. It never would have come up if Sasuke hadn't pointed it out one day, and if he hadn't persisted to learn of his friend's origins. He was at Sasuke's house. He frowned again and, hearing footsteps fast approaching, turned around for an explanation.
The owner of the large house was running up the walkway, head lowered and brows furrowed tightly. He stepped back, startled by his friend's appearance and was even more shocked to see him fighting with his emotions.
"He's not dead." He repeated over and over to himself as he fought with the lock on his door. It didn't seem that he had even seen his forgotten friend. After cursing and dropping his keys, he finally threw the door open, oblivious to the questions that were hurled at him.
"Who's dead?!" Naruto asked, confused beyond reason. He couldn't figure out who or what could have riled up his best friend so much to have him looking like that. He followed him into the house, just barely missing the door as it was slammed shut. "Sasuke, stop and talk to me!!" He yelled, but Sasuke neither saw him nor heard his voice and he suddenly realised how he'd avoided the slamming of the door.
If he'd been solid, the door hinges would have scratched his bare arm, drawing blood. He looked down. No blood. Not even a scratch. He might have been there in spirit, but his body, he realised, was no where near Konoha.
He winced remembering what had happened. The white light flashed before his eyes, and in the shockwave of chakra, his soul had been expelled and shot back to the village it originated from, resulting in his mouthful of doorstep dirt. He couldn't be seen by anyone. He couldn't be heard by anyone.
He followed the distressed boy upstairs and watched as he gathered up all of his weapons. Angrily ripping open every bag he could get his hands on, Sasuke packed up every kunai and shuriken he could find hidden in his room. He paused on the last set of stars, fingering them thoughtfully before flinging them at the nearest wall, letting loose a cry of agony and burying his head in his hands.
"Naruto can't be dead... can't..." He whispered to himself, trying to restrain his fury. Naruto was surprised by the emotion he could sense radiating off of the anguished boy. It hurt for him to see the Uchiha so broken down, as he was used to the boy who didn't care about him. He didn't expect that Sasuke would be so torn about his supposed death. He stepped forward and raised his hand to rest it in an offer of comfort on Sasuke's shoulder, but it didn't do anything except fall right through and he sighed in frustration.
"Gomen Sasuke." He whispered, wishing he could be heard. Suddenly, Sasuke whipped his head around, looking through Naruto with a wild expression on his face.
"Naruto?!" He yelled, frantically, standing from his bed. "Is that you?" He asked.
"Sasuke?" Naruto replied. "Can you hear me? I'm alive!!"
"Dobe..." Sasuke trailed off, shaking his head in disappointment. "I could have sworn I heard his voice." He sat back down on his bed and threw his arm over his face, taking in a deep shuddering breath. "I might be hearing things, but there's no way he can be gone."
"I'm not, you idiot!!" Naruto yelled, frustrated that his voice would work one second and then fail him completely the other. He turned to the door, hearing the door creak open downstairs and hurried footsteps on the stairs coming to the door. Sasuke didn't move.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried out, reaching his bedroom. "Please don't be like this. You're hurting yourself this way." He lifted his arm to glare at her intrusion, but she was persistent. "Onegai, Sasuke. How would Naruto feel to know you were going to get yourself killed over his death. He never liked you being an... avenger... in the first place. How would he feel if you became one over his death?" She asked, stepping closer from the door. Naruto watched, wondering how he would feel if Sasuke went on a killing spree on his behalf. He silently agreed with the girl.
Sasuke stood up quickly and advanced on her with a dark, menacing look on his face. She was startled, and stumbled backwards into a wall. A gasp and a snarl erupted when he lifted his arms to either side of her head, effectively pinning her there.
"I don't have to worry about whether or not he would be angry with me, because HE. IS. NOT. DEAD!!" He roared, balling a fist and punching through the plaster of the wall right beside Sakura's head. She winced and shifted her head from the spot, staring up at Sasuke in fear. Both of them noticed the blood trailing down his knuckles and between his fingers, but neither acknowledged it.
"Sasuke." She breathed. "You're only hurting yourself by your denial. Hokage said-"
"I don't give a shit what that bitch said!!"
"Sasuke!!"
"I don't! If she wants to believe Naruto was a pathetic weakling, then let her. I don't. I refuse to believe Naruto was just like other people."
"He was only strong because of the Kitsune. I hate to say it, but it was true. He was forced out of his body by the Kitsune and without that power... he died from being so near the blast." He closed his eyes tightly as if that would seal out her words. She was making him believe. He didn't want to.
Hesitantly, Sakura raised her hands to his shoulders and pushed him away, leading him to sit back on the bed.
"Hokage said that Naruto was a very brave boy, and she's going to give him a Hokage funeral. Naruto would have been so proud." Behind her Naruto snorted. Even though he knew she was only trying to calm down Sasuke, he rolled his eyes at her words. He would have rather BEEN Hokage rather than have a Hokage funeral. The latter was worthless to him.
"Can you be strong for us?" Sakura had continued talking while Naruto had been musing to himself. Sasuke looked up to her and the broken expression on his face caused her to burst into tears.
Naruto moved so he could see Sasuke's face and was shocked to see such pain in his rival's eyes while his face remained as stone. Even now he refused to let himself lose control of his anguish. Now, when he had every right to. Sakura hugged him tightly, sobbing into his shoulder.
"It's okay to cry, Sasuke-kun." She said, her words muffled in his shirt. "It's strong to be able to cry." Sasuke shook his head, frowning.
"I can't cry." He whispered in reply, barely heard by Naruto's sharp hearing. "Not in front of you; not in front of anyone." She continued to cry until he couldn't take it anymore. He pushed her away and stood beside the glass sliding doors of his balcony with his back to her, his body racked with dry sobs.
"Naruto was my best friend." He exclaimed softly. "My only friend... he can't be dead." He began his mantra again, whispering the same words of denial over and over again.
"Sasuke..." Sakura was about to stand up and try to stop him, when the words changed.
"Naruto wasn't weak. I'm not going to his funeral. He can't be dead." Naruto looked from one team mate to another, not sure what he should or could do. "Please leave." She started to object, but he shook his head, dismissing her words. "I'll be alright; you don't have to stay with me as if I were a child." She hesitated, appearing to go over everything she could possibly say to change his thoughts, but couldn't think of anything and nodded. Standing from her seat on the bed, she walked to the door.
"Please don't say you won't come to the funeral." She said softly. "I'll go now, but I'm not going to stay away forever. I don't think you should be alone right now."
"I don't care what you think." He snapped in response. "I want to be alone." She sighed and left the room; her soft footsteps echoing in the hallway until the front door was closed behind her.
Sasuke, sure that she had left, went back to his bed and allowed his body to collapse onto it, weapons forgotten, and began whispering to himself again. Naruto glared at the boy in agitation, wondering how his rival could recede into himself so much. It just wasn't like the Sasuke he knew. If he thought it would do any good, the blonde may have screamed his head off and pulled tufts of hair out.
The shifting of weight on the window sill attracted both pairs of eyes to the newest guest, Kakashi. Their teacher was crouched in the open window, watching the grieving boy sadly.
"What do you want, Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asked resignedly.
"I know how much pain you're going through." The Jounin started off. "It's difficult to lose someone who meant so much to you." The boy shrugged his shoulders indifferently.
"He was supposed to be strong."
"He was, but between him and the Kyuubi, he had the weaker chakra. It was instantaneous."
"Is that supposed to make it any easier on me? Make me feel any better?"
"It's supposed to make you feel better that he wasn't suffering in his final hours." Kakashi frowned as he realised that his young student wasn't going to be making things easy for him.
"I would rather he suffered and lived longer than disappeared quickly without pain. I want him here with me. He was supposed to train me."
"There will be other people that can help you."
"They're not Naruto. Do you really value his life so cheaply?"
"Of course not!"
"Then don't expect me to. I don't know how I'm supposed to go from day to day, knowing I'll never feel his influence in the village again."
"It will be tough but eventually you'll get through."
"I suppose."
"Come to the funeral." Kakashi changed the subject. "I heard you refusing to go."
"Sure, whatever." Kakashi sighed and shifted his feet again, noticing that Sasuke hadn't once moved from the bed and appeared to be fast asleep. "I don't want to believe he'd dead, but I guess I have no other choice."
"You're in shock." Kakashi observed.
"Maybe." Kakashi looked as though he was about to say something else, but instead, he disappeared from the sill, opting to let Sasuke work through his problems on his own. From his own experiences, he knew it would be a harsh living, but Sasuke was old enough to take care of himself. He was just glad that Sasuke wasn't any 'closer' with Naruto, otherwise he might have spiralled into despair, much the way Jiraiya did when Orochimaru left the village the first time.
"He can't be dead." Sasuke repeated to no body in particular. "He can't..." He paused, shaking his head and changing his mantra "He IS dead. He is dead. He is dead..."
~~~~~~~
Yeah... a very Sasuke-esque chapter, focusing mainly on Sasuke's grief. I know it seems pointless... and it pretty much is... but at least Naruto isn't dead forever. Heck, he's not even really dead. The Kyuubi has his body, and his soul is in Konoha. To be honest, there's a bunch of things mentioned that foreshadow things that are going to come up in the very very very near future.
Who really thought I had killed off Naruto? I adore him!!! I would never kill him off. He's the star!!
Trubluewolfeyes gave me a relly funny idea, but yeah it was the Kitsune's chakra that made that blast. Actually, it was sort of like a magnet, the blast was caused by the expulsion of Naruto's soul... like how one side of a magnet is repelled away from another magnet.. kinda like that.
Miko, obviously you didn't see it coming, because he's not dead. Also, the woman actually did ask about Naruto and the village in order to get his trust and let the Kyuubi out for a bit. I'm glad that most people were surprised. I hate it when the fic becomes too predictable.
Dark Mimiru-Chan and TheTrueSilver are pretty quick to have picked up that he wasn't dead... course I don't actually think I'm that good at hiding things like that.
To clarify things for Naruke, Tsunade didn't take him from the village. That was the woman. Naruto met up with her at the gates. Tsunade was stuck in the office doing paperwork to shut up Kotetsu and Izumo.
I think that's answered as many questions as needed to be answered.
*** YES THAT MEANS A LIME. ***
And even though I figure you'll read it regardless of the warnings, and regardless of the fact that now a days nothing is to violent or course or sexually explicit for kids... it's a sad world we live in. The rating will change on the chapter that contains the limey bits.
This also means it won't be viewed on the first page when you pull up the Naruto section as those fics only go up to PG-13.
This is dedicated to C.M. Aeris Queen of Insanity who became reviewer number 30 for chapter 36. I am currently in shock over receiving that many reviews. Crap...
Sorry for taking so long. I had expected to get on the comp for Friday, but we ended up cleaning the house... *curses* and I only got to it today... *types as fast as possible*
Chapter Title: 37. Resignation
He fell face first into the dirt just outside someone's doorstep. Lifting himself up to his knees, he spat out the dirt and looked up at where he'd landed. The door was painted a basic black and he frowned at the bleak appearance that offered his no answers. Just as he was about to place a hand on his knee to lift himself up, a breeze went through him and he looked down, nearly blushing at his clothing. Or lack there of. He was standing before a stranger's door, in nothing but a black shirt and a pair of dark blue boxer shorts, and he couldn't remember how he'd gotten there.
He was about to raise a fist to knock on the door when something odd caught his eye, and he realised where he was. Almost invisible to the naked eye, in the upper corner of the door frame was a small crayon-scribble of a red and white fan. Sasuke had once told him that he'd drawn it himself on top of his brother's shoulders. It never would have come up if Sasuke hadn't pointed it out one day, and if he hadn't persisted to learn of his friend's origins. He was at Sasuke's house. He frowned again and, hearing footsteps fast approaching, turned around for an explanation.
The owner of the large house was running up the walkway, head lowered and brows furrowed tightly. He stepped back, startled by his friend's appearance and was even more shocked to see him fighting with his emotions.
"He's not dead." He repeated over and over to himself as he fought with the lock on his door. It didn't seem that he had even seen his forgotten friend. After cursing and dropping his keys, he finally threw the door open, oblivious to the questions that were hurled at him.
"Who's dead?!" Naruto asked, confused beyond reason. He couldn't figure out who or what could have riled up his best friend so much to have him looking like that. He followed him into the house, just barely missing the door as it was slammed shut. "Sasuke, stop and talk to me!!" He yelled, but Sasuke neither saw him nor heard his voice and he suddenly realised how he'd avoided the slamming of the door.
If he'd been solid, the door hinges would have scratched his bare arm, drawing blood. He looked down. No blood. Not even a scratch. He might have been there in spirit, but his body, he realised, was no where near Konoha.
He winced remembering what had happened. The white light flashed before his eyes, and in the shockwave of chakra, his soul had been expelled and shot back to the village it originated from, resulting in his mouthful of doorstep dirt. He couldn't be seen by anyone. He couldn't be heard by anyone.
He followed the distressed boy upstairs and watched as he gathered up all of his weapons. Angrily ripping open every bag he could get his hands on, Sasuke packed up every kunai and shuriken he could find hidden in his room. He paused on the last set of stars, fingering them thoughtfully before flinging them at the nearest wall, letting loose a cry of agony and burying his head in his hands.
"Naruto can't be dead... can't..." He whispered to himself, trying to restrain his fury. Naruto was surprised by the emotion he could sense radiating off of the anguished boy. It hurt for him to see the Uchiha so broken down, as he was used to the boy who didn't care about him. He didn't expect that Sasuke would be so torn about his supposed death. He stepped forward and raised his hand to rest it in an offer of comfort on Sasuke's shoulder, but it didn't do anything except fall right through and he sighed in frustration.
"Gomen Sasuke." He whispered, wishing he could be heard. Suddenly, Sasuke whipped his head around, looking through Naruto with a wild expression on his face.
"Naruto?!" He yelled, frantically, standing from his bed. "Is that you?" He asked.
"Sasuke?" Naruto replied. "Can you hear me? I'm alive!!"
"Dobe..." Sasuke trailed off, shaking his head in disappointment. "I could have sworn I heard his voice." He sat back down on his bed and threw his arm over his face, taking in a deep shuddering breath. "I might be hearing things, but there's no way he can be gone."
"I'm not, you idiot!!" Naruto yelled, frustrated that his voice would work one second and then fail him completely the other. He turned to the door, hearing the door creak open downstairs and hurried footsteps on the stairs coming to the door. Sasuke didn't move.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried out, reaching his bedroom. "Please don't be like this. You're hurting yourself this way." He lifted his arm to glare at her intrusion, but she was persistent. "Onegai, Sasuke. How would Naruto feel to know you were going to get yourself killed over his death. He never liked you being an... avenger... in the first place. How would he feel if you became one over his death?" She asked, stepping closer from the door. Naruto watched, wondering how he would feel if Sasuke went on a killing spree on his behalf. He silently agreed with the girl.
Sasuke stood up quickly and advanced on her with a dark, menacing look on his face. She was startled, and stumbled backwards into a wall. A gasp and a snarl erupted when he lifted his arms to either side of her head, effectively pinning her there.
"I don't have to worry about whether or not he would be angry with me, because HE. IS. NOT. DEAD!!" He roared, balling a fist and punching through the plaster of the wall right beside Sakura's head. She winced and shifted her head from the spot, staring up at Sasuke in fear. Both of them noticed the blood trailing down his knuckles and between his fingers, but neither acknowledged it.
"Sasuke." She breathed. "You're only hurting yourself by your denial. Hokage said-"
"I don't give a shit what that bitch said!!"
"Sasuke!!"
"I don't! If she wants to believe Naruto was a pathetic weakling, then let her. I don't. I refuse to believe Naruto was just like other people."
"He was only strong because of the Kitsune. I hate to say it, but it was true. He was forced out of his body by the Kitsune and without that power... he died from being so near the blast." He closed his eyes tightly as if that would seal out her words. She was making him believe. He didn't want to.
Hesitantly, Sakura raised her hands to his shoulders and pushed him away, leading him to sit back on the bed.
"Hokage said that Naruto was a very brave boy, and she's going to give him a Hokage funeral. Naruto would have been so proud." Behind her Naruto snorted. Even though he knew she was only trying to calm down Sasuke, he rolled his eyes at her words. He would have rather BEEN Hokage rather than have a Hokage funeral. The latter was worthless to him.
"Can you be strong for us?" Sakura had continued talking while Naruto had been musing to himself. Sasuke looked up to her and the broken expression on his face caused her to burst into tears.
Naruto moved so he could see Sasuke's face and was shocked to see such pain in his rival's eyes while his face remained as stone. Even now he refused to let himself lose control of his anguish. Now, when he had every right to. Sakura hugged him tightly, sobbing into his shoulder.
"It's okay to cry, Sasuke-kun." She said, her words muffled in his shirt. "It's strong to be able to cry." Sasuke shook his head, frowning.
"I can't cry." He whispered in reply, barely heard by Naruto's sharp hearing. "Not in front of you; not in front of anyone." She continued to cry until he couldn't take it anymore. He pushed her away and stood beside the glass sliding doors of his balcony with his back to her, his body racked with dry sobs.
"Naruto was my best friend." He exclaimed softly. "My only friend... he can't be dead." He began his mantra again, whispering the same words of denial over and over again.
"Sasuke..." Sakura was about to stand up and try to stop him, when the words changed.
"Naruto wasn't weak. I'm not going to his funeral. He can't be dead." Naruto looked from one team mate to another, not sure what he should or could do. "Please leave." She started to object, but he shook his head, dismissing her words. "I'll be alright; you don't have to stay with me as if I were a child." She hesitated, appearing to go over everything she could possibly say to change his thoughts, but couldn't think of anything and nodded. Standing from her seat on the bed, she walked to the door.
"Please don't say you won't come to the funeral." She said softly. "I'll go now, but I'm not going to stay away forever. I don't think you should be alone right now."
"I don't care what you think." He snapped in response. "I want to be alone." She sighed and left the room; her soft footsteps echoing in the hallway until the front door was closed behind her.
Sasuke, sure that she had left, went back to his bed and allowed his body to collapse onto it, weapons forgotten, and began whispering to himself again. Naruto glared at the boy in agitation, wondering how his rival could recede into himself so much. It just wasn't like the Sasuke he knew. If he thought it would do any good, the blonde may have screamed his head off and pulled tufts of hair out.
The shifting of weight on the window sill attracted both pairs of eyes to the newest guest, Kakashi. Their teacher was crouched in the open window, watching the grieving boy sadly.
"What do you want, Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asked resignedly.
"I know how much pain you're going through." The Jounin started off. "It's difficult to lose someone who meant so much to you." The boy shrugged his shoulders indifferently.
"He was supposed to be strong."
"He was, but between him and the Kyuubi, he had the weaker chakra. It was instantaneous."
"Is that supposed to make it any easier on me? Make me feel any better?"
"It's supposed to make you feel better that he wasn't suffering in his final hours." Kakashi frowned as he realised that his young student wasn't going to be making things easy for him.
"I would rather he suffered and lived longer than disappeared quickly without pain. I want him here with me. He was supposed to train me."
"There will be other people that can help you."
"They're not Naruto. Do you really value his life so cheaply?"
"Of course not!"
"Then don't expect me to. I don't know how I'm supposed to go from day to day, knowing I'll never feel his influence in the village again."
"It will be tough but eventually you'll get through."
"I suppose."
"Come to the funeral." Kakashi changed the subject. "I heard you refusing to go."
"Sure, whatever." Kakashi sighed and shifted his feet again, noticing that Sasuke hadn't once moved from the bed and appeared to be fast asleep. "I don't want to believe he'd dead, but I guess I have no other choice."
"You're in shock." Kakashi observed.
"Maybe." Kakashi looked as though he was about to say something else, but instead, he disappeared from the sill, opting to let Sasuke work through his problems on his own. From his own experiences, he knew it would be a harsh living, but Sasuke was old enough to take care of himself. He was just glad that Sasuke wasn't any 'closer' with Naruto, otherwise he might have spiralled into despair, much the way Jiraiya did when Orochimaru left the village the first time.
"He can't be dead." Sasuke repeated to no body in particular. "He can't..." He paused, shaking his head and changing his mantra "He IS dead. He is dead. He is dead..."
~~~~~~~
Yeah... a very Sasuke-esque chapter, focusing mainly on Sasuke's grief. I know it seems pointless... and it pretty much is... but at least Naruto isn't dead forever. Heck, he's not even really dead. The Kyuubi has his body, and his soul is in Konoha. To be honest, there's a bunch of things mentioned that foreshadow things that are going to come up in the very very very near future.
Who really thought I had killed off Naruto? I adore him!!! I would never kill him off. He's the star!!
Trubluewolfeyes gave me a relly funny idea, but yeah it was the Kitsune's chakra that made that blast. Actually, it was sort of like a magnet, the blast was caused by the expulsion of Naruto's soul... like how one side of a magnet is repelled away from another magnet.. kinda like that.
Miko, obviously you didn't see it coming, because he's not dead. Also, the woman actually did ask about Naruto and the village in order to get his trust and let the Kyuubi out for a bit. I'm glad that most people were surprised. I hate it when the fic becomes too predictable.
Dark Mimiru-Chan and TheTrueSilver are pretty quick to have picked up that he wasn't dead... course I don't actually think I'm that good at hiding things like that.
To clarify things for Naruke, Tsunade didn't take him from the village. That was the woman. Naruto met up with her at the gates. Tsunade was stuck in the office doing paperwork to shut up Kotetsu and Izumo.
I think that's answered as many questions as needed to be answered.