To Ookima: Yush, you were the big 5-0-0. And coming up very very soon, I'll
explain why Sasuke doesn't really want to admit his feelings just yet.
And as for that room... well, I'm going to keep on mentioning it until someone starts guessing, or I get to the perfect place to reveal what Naruto's got locked in there. For now... your only clue will be the nickname I've given to that room: Naruto's Room of the Dead. It's up to you all to figure out what is in this "Dead Room" (and no it's not a bunch of dead Naruto clones... lol... and Cindy and Cat... you two can't guess. You already know.
Also, yes, Sasuke had a slight problem to fix in that bathroom. He was relieving himself... and not in the toilet way... hee hee. I really feel sorry for Sasuke... I torture him something awful in this story... oh well.
Last thing: A lot of people mentioned how Pervy Naruto was in the previous chapter. He's not actually. He hasn't come close to thinking that way about Sasuke yet. Hell, he doesn't even realise the implications of how he's touching Sasuke. He will always have a reason for doing the things he does, so if you felt he was acting a little weird, he was.
"And you weren't a cold unfeeling bastard."
That's one of the clues as to why Naruto's doing what he's doing.
DISCLAIMER: Those glasses are mine...
Chapter Title: 41. Hard
When Sasuke was finished in the bathroom, he called out to Naruto, only to find his companion was waiting for him near the front door. Naruto looked up at Sasuke's entrance and rolled his eyes, watching the boy look around for him.
"Are you done so quickly?" He asked, smirking to himself at the self- conscious blush that flared on Sasuke's cheeks. He was also amused when Sasuke turned up his nose and walked out of the apartment, nearly smacking Naruto in the face with the slamming door. If Naruto had had a face to be slammed. "Aww, don't go away mad!" He said, running after the boy, but Sasuke ignored him.
It took Naruto nearly twenty minutes of steady chattering to realise that Sasuke was making good on his unintended threat and ignoring him, just to prove a point. Completely offended, Naruto clammed up and followed his rival back to his house, steaming. It didn't seem to bother Sasuke one bit that Naruto had stopped talking or using his chakra, because he knew that his friend's presence wouldn't disappear for long, regardless of how angry Naruto became.
He smirked to himself as he opened his door, not noticing how deathly quiet everything was. If he'd noticed, he might have been a little fearful of Naruto's method of revenge.
***
Sasuke winced when his head collided with the wall of his bedroom. It irked him enough when his enemies laid a blow on him, but even more so when it was the loud-mouthed blonde, regardless of the boy's lack of skin and bones.
"Stop being an idiot!" He cried, the Sharingan in his eyes spinning wildly to catch the remains of Naruto's chakra.
"You shouldn't have ignored me, Sasuke-chan." Naruto purred out, purposefully. Sasuke whirled around, but the chakra was already gone and he knew Naruto wasn't ready to stay in one place.
"Why are you being such a baby about it?"
"Because you take everything for granted, you asshole."
"I wouldn't know what the hell you're talking about." Sasuke lunged for the disappearing chakra and stumbled into his bed.
"Like that, bastard." The voice spoke again and this time he saw the chakra working right in front of his eyes. Without a second thought, he slashed at the voice but nothing happened. "You take it for granted that you used to have such an easy time defeating me when I had a body. How does it feel now, to know I could probably break your neck and there's nothing you can do to defend yourself?" Sasuke shivered, feeling the familiar chakra fingers trailing up and down his spine.
"Naruto." He breathed out, in warning.
"What? What could you possibly do to make me stop this?" And to prove a point, the fingers moved from his back to his abs, and began ghosting lower. The dark-haired genin froze, his muscles tensing to the breaking point. Every nerve was aware of where the chakra was and where it was heading. Every single inch of him was focused on willing the chakra away.
"Naruto, fuck you!" He gasped, feeling his body being forced to the ground, shirt being shoved upwards angrily. Naruto just ignored him, giving him a taste of his own medicine, with a different style. He held down the squirming boy with one hand and began to poke and prod and caress the pale skin beneath him with his other. He could see Sasuke's obvious erection from his chakra's torture, but instead of being disgusted by it, or even turned on by it, it merely served to fuel his anger even more.
"I thought you wanted me to touch you, Sasuke." He hissed out. "I thought you needed this. Weren't my touches the key to your sanity? And now that you've had enough, you're throwing me away like some rag doll. I will not be pushed away." He snarled under his breath and brought up enough chakra to bite Sasuke on the finger. The pain brought Sasuke to his senses and he finally jumped up and ran down the hall to the bathroom locking the door shut. Naruto had been caught off guard and hadn't been able to restrain the boy quick enough.
Chuckling to himself, he stood up and slowly walked to the shut door. He was about to walk right through the wood when a sound from the other side caught his attention and he hesitated, smirking to himself. From the sounds he could just picture it. Sasuke leaning against the wall for support as his legs began to wobble, bangs damp and covering his glazed eyes, chest heaving in passion, shorts pooled at his feet while he 'relieved' himself with his remaining hand.
Through the heavy breathing Naruto caught a muffled moan, telling him that Sasuke had tried to stifle the sound by biting down hard on his lip. A yelp of pain followed, saying that he'd bitten down too hard.
"Naruto..." Sasuke breathed, softly. "I hate you, you bastard." He muttered another couple of curses under his breath. "I'll bet you're getting some sick pleasure watching me." Naruto laughed.
"I'm not even on that side of the door, Sasuke." Naruto said. "But I can definitely hear what you're doing, and yes I am finding pleasure in your discomfort, although, obviously not the same kind as you're finding, I'm sure." Another groan followed, this time unrestrained, along with a curse to Naruto's name, which sounded more heady than angry. "You deserve every second of this."
"I don't know what the fuck you think I've done, but I didn't deserve that kind of torture." The voice sounded a bit closer to the floor, leading Naruto to believe his rival had collapsed to his knees.
"If I have to live my days in torture, than so will you." Naruto spat, completely unforgiving. "I can't feel a single thing, you bastard, and yet you take me for granted. You ask me to touch you to retain your sanity, not thinking how much it's hurting me for that simple touch not to be mutual. Have you even thought of how much sanity I may have left because of this? I don't remember what warmth feels like. I don't remember what the cold feels like. I don't remember the rain, or a kunai, or even the feel of skin underneath my fingertips." Sasuke's panting seemed to die down a bit at Naruto's words.
"Naruto, I..." He trailed off, not knowing the words to say.
"And you take it for granted that you can still feel me." Naruto huffed. "And because of that, I'll keep torturing you like this until you understand. Until you beg me to stop touching you."
"Dobe!" Sasuke yelled, and the blond could hear the scowl in his voice. "What kind of an idiot are you?" He asked, seeming to compose himself.
"Don't think your insults are going to get you anywhere, ass."
"They're not insults, they're truths." Sasuke retorted. "Why didn't you try and get your body back in the first place?"
"What?"
"How come you came straight to me and started torturing me when you could have tried to fight that damned fox for your body?" The idea made Naruto stop and think for a moment. He was confused. The idea hadn't really been an issue before.
"You heard what Tsunade said." He replied. "I might end up dying if I did that. It's not that easy to overpower a demon's soul, and I wouldn't know the first thing to do."
"The least you could have done was try." Sasuke replied, opening the door to the bathroom. His hair was still out of place and a tiny bead of sweat was drying on the side of his face, while his hands were busy with buttoning his shorts up. "If you're too scared to try, then you deserve to die. I don't deserve to be tortured for your stupidity."
"What am I supposed to do?" Naruto asked, sounding a lot more unguarded than just minutes ago. Sasuke thought about it for a moment.
"How did you lose your body?" He wondered aloud.
"That woman undid part of the seal."
"Then all we have to do is get someone to reinforce the seal with you inside."
"You're one of the strongest people I know. I want you to do it." Sasuke sighed, looking frustrated.
"I don't know what to do."
"Tsunade-hime." Sasuke looked up, slightly surprised that Naruto had said her name respectfully that time.
"What do you mean Tsunade-hime? Does she know the seal?"
There was no reply.
***
The first thing Sasuke did was seek out Sakura and Kakashi. He knew that if Naruto was heading to the Kitsune, he would need their help to secure the demon. Kakashi kept giving him strange looks until they found Sakura and he finally stopped to explain everything to them.
"It's Naruto." He started. "He really needs our help. He's trying to get his body back. He wasn't killed in that blast; he was just expelled out of his body."
"That's impossible." Kakashi said.
"No it's not! Tsunade said it herself; if he wasn't strong enough he'd be killed from the blast. He was! He survived."
"Sasuke, I know you hadn't witnessed much of Naruto's fighting powers with the Kitsune's help, but we have." Sakura watched him sadly. "He was a different person with the Kitsune. Without it, he was just the same idiot we grew up with. His only strength was in the chakra the demon lent him."
"That's not true. That's like saying my only strength is the Sharingan. Before I even developed it I was considered a genius in the academy."
"That was you." Kakashi exclaimed. "You and Naruto were complete opposites."
"Look, Sasuke-kun, we know you're still hurting from the loss of Naruto, but you can't just go avenging Naruto. That monster is dangerous now that he has free reign over Naruto's body. It's suicide."
"Will you just trust me for once?!" Sasuke yelled, becoming frustrated. They both kept silent, sending each other cautious looks. The Uchiha turned his back on them and began walking briskly towards the Hokage Offices. Sakura went to follow when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She stopped and looked at Kakashi sadly.
"Follow him and keep an eye on him." Kakashi said. "Don't let him out of your sight. I'll meet you two at Tsunade's office."
"Kakashi-sensei, what's wrong with him?" She asked softly. He shook his head.
"I don't know, but don't worry. We'll help him." With a poof of smoke Kakashi was gone, leaving the pink-haired kunoichi to chase after Sasuke.
"Sasuke! Matte yo!"
***
Sakura paced outside the office that Tsunade and Sasuke were meeting in. She'd been told to wait outside as they talked in the room privately, but even worse than the fact that she'd been left out was the fact that nothing could be heard from the solid oak doors. She hesitated at the doors again, leaning in closely to see if she could catch their words, but not even the voices permeated the wood.
Kakashi appeared at her side a couple of minutes later and she nearly hugged him from relief.
"How long have they been inside there?" He asked. She looked at the clock on the wall and shrugged.
"About fifteen minutes." She replied. He sighed and sat down on the nearest window ledge. After a few seconds of uneasy silence, Sakura spoke up again. "Sasuke took Naruto's death really hard, ne?" Her teacher looked up and nodded solemnly.
"I think that Naruto was the embodiment of everything Sasuke wanted in his life. The boy was his companion. Always there for support, sparring, hell, I wouldn't be surprised if he allowed Sasuke to beat him up when Sasuke really needed it. He gave Sasuke's after life meaning."
"After life?" Sakura asked, confused.
"Life after he defeated Itachi." Kakashi sighed deeply. "Naruto was the unshakable constant in Sasuke's life. I have a feeling that when Naruto was..." he hesitated on his wording, "destroyed, it was just like losing his entire family again. Mentally, I don't think he was able to handle losing him."
"I wish I could have been that constant." Sakura whispered. "Even if he didn't love me, at least I would still be here."
"I'm sure you are, but you never had the feeling of friendship that they shared. When Sasuke turned you down for Orochimaru, you gave up. I don't think Naruto ever gave up on Sasuke. Ever. Sasuke knew that. Maybe that's why he thinks that now isn't any exception." Sakura sat down beside the doors and pulled her knees to her chin.
"I pushed Naruto away from the village." She muttered. "I killed him."
"He would have gone anyways."
"Maybe so, but I know Sasuke blames me for it."
"If anything, I think he blames Naruto."
Ten minutes later, Tsunade and Sasuke came out of the room. Kakashi looked up and was surprised to see the Hokage smiling with tears in her eyes as she rolled up a scroll. She gave Sasuke a quick awkward hug and wished them all good luck before she disappeared back into her office muttering something about Kotetsu bringing her more paperwork and hiding.
"So are you going to help me or are you just going to stand there?" Sasuke asked, staring the two of them down.
"Sasuke, don't you think you should-"
"No, I don't!" He interrupted. "If neither of you feel up to helping me, then get out of my way. I have permission from Tsunade to carry out this mission on my own." Kakashi stood up and was immediately surrounded by a handful of masked Anbu.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke, but we just can't let you leave." He said, regrettably. "I don't know what you said to the Hokage, however considering the state of your mind, we feel it's best if you don't leave the village and remain under the direct supervision of the Anbu."
"The state of my mind?" Sasuke wondered before realisation settled across his features. "You think I'm insane. You think that just because I believe Naruto is alive that I should be locked in a padded room." Kakashi stepped forward, seeing the wild look that had settled in Sasuke's eyes. They were caught between rage and fear.
"Don't make this harder than it has to be, Sasuke." Kakashi whispered and held out his hands. In them were a pair of glasses and linked gloves. At first Sasuke was confused, wondering what they were for, but he remembered what they wanted to do to him, and realised the padded room wasn't enough for him.
"I'm not wearing those, Kakashi." He growled, stepping backwards. "You are not going to blind me with those." Kakashi took another step forward and shook his head.
"I'm surprised you know what these are." Sasuke sneered at his teacher.
"When they came to take Itachi away that night they had a dozen pairs of them split between each Anbu just in case. One of them told me about them. They're designed especially for the Uchiha clan, aren't they?"
"I'm not an Uchiha."
"Then the Sharingan eyes." Sasuke snapped, much like a cornered animal. He only had one option left. He tensed his muscles and reached for a kunai, allowing his eyes to revert to the customary glowing red of the Sharingan. As soon as the Anbu saw the wheel start to spin they were on top of him, each armed with a pair of glasses and a set of gloved handcuffs. He fought as hard as he could until his world went black and the chakra in his body stopped flowing.
"NO!!!!" He cried, furiously. He didn't see her, but he could hear Sakura's sobs from one corner of the room. He struggled again with the arms that held him down and growled in Kakashi's general direction. "You bastard, Naruto needs our help. MY help! If I don't go then you will be at fault for Naruto's death!!" Kakashi looked down at his student solemnly and took in a deep shuddering breath.
"You need help, Sasuke." He replied. "Naruto is already dead."
~~~~~~~
Yeah, I couldn't help but use the title. Hard. It goes for two different things. One... the hard-on Sasuke got from Naruto... and two from taking the hard way out of Kakashi's offer. Not that he really had any choice. Would you let them just take you away without a fight?
Answers to some Reviews:
Seraphina DW: Yeah, I know Naruto would have gone after some other people, Kakashi, Iruka and Shikamaru come to mind first, but the thing is, he saw how horrible Sasuke took his death, and felt drawn to Sasuke's mourning. Sasuke's reaction to his death shocked him, and he knows that aside from Iruka, no one else was affected this deeply.
Lichan: I just thought it would please you to inform you of the fact that it is now 2:44AM and I still have the rest of an book to read before I even think of sleep. Now I could have had this finished by 10pm but my story distracted me and the length and plot kept me typing until I reached the end of chapter. I have class starting at 8:10am. I hope you are very happy with yourself for causing my sleep deprivation for this evening. (*snickers* I just had to... it's actually true. I started this chapter earlier in the evening and didn't stop until I was finished all seven pages)
The La/=/er: Thanks for the review, again!! I love long reviews so much, especially when people discuss what they think is happening in the story. It reminds me that my reviewers aren't just computer numbers! And yes the room will enter the mainstream plot sometime soon. The SasuNaru will get a little touchy feely in the next little bit... then drop off again, and then hit you upside the head with a lemon from out of nowhere. Hee hee.
Muchacha: I figured it would be very out of chara for Naruto to do that, but I'm playing on his angry side a little bit. I hope this chapter explained his behaviour. He should go back to normal Naruto in a little bit.
And to Hikari no Yami: did you really think I would hold out on posting this chapter until after Anime North? Muahaha.
And as for that room... well, I'm going to keep on mentioning it until someone starts guessing, or I get to the perfect place to reveal what Naruto's got locked in there. For now... your only clue will be the nickname I've given to that room: Naruto's Room of the Dead. It's up to you all to figure out what is in this "Dead Room" (and no it's not a bunch of dead Naruto clones... lol... and Cindy and Cat... you two can't guess. You already know.
Also, yes, Sasuke had a slight problem to fix in that bathroom. He was relieving himself... and not in the toilet way... hee hee. I really feel sorry for Sasuke... I torture him something awful in this story... oh well.
Last thing: A lot of people mentioned how Pervy Naruto was in the previous chapter. He's not actually. He hasn't come close to thinking that way about Sasuke yet. Hell, he doesn't even realise the implications of how he's touching Sasuke. He will always have a reason for doing the things he does, so if you felt he was acting a little weird, he was.
"And you weren't a cold unfeeling bastard."
That's one of the clues as to why Naruto's doing what he's doing.
DISCLAIMER: Those glasses are mine...
Chapter Title: 41. Hard
When Sasuke was finished in the bathroom, he called out to Naruto, only to find his companion was waiting for him near the front door. Naruto looked up at Sasuke's entrance and rolled his eyes, watching the boy look around for him.
"Are you done so quickly?" He asked, smirking to himself at the self- conscious blush that flared on Sasuke's cheeks. He was also amused when Sasuke turned up his nose and walked out of the apartment, nearly smacking Naruto in the face with the slamming door. If Naruto had had a face to be slammed. "Aww, don't go away mad!" He said, running after the boy, but Sasuke ignored him.
It took Naruto nearly twenty minutes of steady chattering to realise that Sasuke was making good on his unintended threat and ignoring him, just to prove a point. Completely offended, Naruto clammed up and followed his rival back to his house, steaming. It didn't seem to bother Sasuke one bit that Naruto had stopped talking or using his chakra, because he knew that his friend's presence wouldn't disappear for long, regardless of how angry Naruto became.
He smirked to himself as he opened his door, not noticing how deathly quiet everything was. If he'd noticed, he might have been a little fearful of Naruto's method of revenge.
***
Sasuke winced when his head collided with the wall of his bedroom. It irked him enough when his enemies laid a blow on him, but even more so when it was the loud-mouthed blonde, regardless of the boy's lack of skin and bones.
"Stop being an idiot!" He cried, the Sharingan in his eyes spinning wildly to catch the remains of Naruto's chakra.
"You shouldn't have ignored me, Sasuke-chan." Naruto purred out, purposefully. Sasuke whirled around, but the chakra was already gone and he knew Naruto wasn't ready to stay in one place.
"Why are you being such a baby about it?"
"Because you take everything for granted, you asshole."
"I wouldn't know what the hell you're talking about." Sasuke lunged for the disappearing chakra and stumbled into his bed.
"Like that, bastard." The voice spoke again and this time he saw the chakra working right in front of his eyes. Without a second thought, he slashed at the voice but nothing happened. "You take it for granted that you used to have such an easy time defeating me when I had a body. How does it feel now, to know I could probably break your neck and there's nothing you can do to defend yourself?" Sasuke shivered, feeling the familiar chakra fingers trailing up and down his spine.
"Naruto." He breathed out, in warning.
"What? What could you possibly do to make me stop this?" And to prove a point, the fingers moved from his back to his abs, and began ghosting lower. The dark-haired genin froze, his muscles tensing to the breaking point. Every nerve was aware of where the chakra was and where it was heading. Every single inch of him was focused on willing the chakra away.
"Naruto, fuck you!" He gasped, feeling his body being forced to the ground, shirt being shoved upwards angrily. Naruto just ignored him, giving him a taste of his own medicine, with a different style. He held down the squirming boy with one hand and began to poke and prod and caress the pale skin beneath him with his other. He could see Sasuke's obvious erection from his chakra's torture, but instead of being disgusted by it, or even turned on by it, it merely served to fuel his anger even more.
"I thought you wanted me to touch you, Sasuke." He hissed out. "I thought you needed this. Weren't my touches the key to your sanity? And now that you've had enough, you're throwing me away like some rag doll. I will not be pushed away." He snarled under his breath and brought up enough chakra to bite Sasuke on the finger. The pain brought Sasuke to his senses and he finally jumped up and ran down the hall to the bathroom locking the door shut. Naruto had been caught off guard and hadn't been able to restrain the boy quick enough.
Chuckling to himself, he stood up and slowly walked to the shut door. He was about to walk right through the wood when a sound from the other side caught his attention and he hesitated, smirking to himself. From the sounds he could just picture it. Sasuke leaning against the wall for support as his legs began to wobble, bangs damp and covering his glazed eyes, chest heaving in passion, shorts pooled at his feet while he 'relieved' himself with his remaining hand.
Through the heavy breathing Naruto caught a muffled moan, telling him that Sasuke had tried to stifle the sound by biting down hard on his lip. A yelp of pain followed, saying that he'd bitten down too hard.
"Naruto..." Sasuke breathed, softly. "I hate you, you bastard." He muttered another couple of curses under his breath. "I'll bet you're getting some sick pleasure watching me." Naruto laughed.
"I'm not even on that side of the door, Sasuke." Naruto said. "But I can definitely hear what you're doing, and yes I am finding pleasure in your discomfort, although, obviously not the same kind as you're finding, I'm sure." Another groan followed, this time unrestrained, along with a curse to Naruto's name, which sounded more heady than angry. "You deserve every second of this."
"I don't know what the fuck you think I've done, but I didn't deserve that kind of torture." The voice sounded a bit closer to the floor, leading Naruto to believe his rival had collapsed to his knees.
"If I have to live my days in torture, than so will you." Naruto spat, completely unforgiving. "I can't feel a single thing, you bastard, and yet you take me for granted. You ask me to touch you to retain your sanity, not thinking how much it's hurting me for that simple touch not to be mutual. Have you even thought of how much sanity I may have left because of this? I don't remember what warmth feels like. I don't remember what the cold feels like. I don't remember the rain, or a kunai, or even the feel of skin underneath my fingertips." Sasuke's panting seemed to die down a bit at Naruto's words.
"Naruto, I..." He trailed off, not knowing the words to say.
"And you take it for granted that you can still feel me." Naruto huffed. "And because of that, I'll keep torturing you like this until you understand. Until you beg me to stop touching you."
"Dobe!" Sasuke yelled, and the blond could hear the scowl in his voice. "What kind of an idiot are you?" He asked, seeming to compose himself.
"Don't think your insults are going to get you anywhere, ass."
"They're not insults, they're truths." Sasuke retorted. "Why didn't you try and get your body back in the first place?"
"What?"
"How come you came straight to me and started torturing me when you could have tried to fight that damned fox for your body?" The idea made Naruto stop and think for a moment. He was confused. The idea hadn't really been an issue before.
"You heard what Tsunade said." He replied. "I might end up dying if I did that. It's not that easy to overpower a demon's soul, and I wouldn't know the first thing to do."
"The least you could have done was try." Sasuke replied, opening the door to the bathroom. His hair was still out of place and a tiny bead of sweat was drying on the side of his face, while his hands were busy with buttoning his shorts up. "If you're too scared to try, then you deserve to die. I don't deserve to be tortured for your stupidity."
"What am I supposed to do?" Naruto asked, sounding a lot more unguarded than just minutes ago. Sasuke thought about it for a moment.
"How did you lose your body?" He wondered aloud.
"That woman undid part of the seal."
"Then all we have to do is get someone to reinforce the seal with you inside."
"You're one of the strongest people I know. I want you to do it." Sasuke sighed, looking frustrated.
"I don't know what to do."
"Tsunade-hime." Sasuke looked up, slightly surprised that Naruto had said her name respectfully that time.
"What do you mean Tsunade-hime? Does she know the seal?"
There was no reply.
***
The first thing Sasuke did was seek out Sakura and Kakashi. He knew that if Naruto was heading to the Kitsune, he would need their help to secure the demon. Kakashi kept giving him strange looks until they found Sakura and he finally stopped to explain everything to them.
"It's Naruto." He started. "He really needs our help. He's trying to get his body back. He wasn't killed in that blast; he was just expelled out of his body."
"That's impossible." Kakashi said.
"No it's not! Tsunade said it herself; if he wasn't strong enough he'd be killed from the blast. He was! He survived."
"Sasuke, I know you hadn't witnessed much of Naruto's fighting powers with the Kitsune's help, but we have." Sakura watched him sadly. "He was a different person with the Kitsune. Without it, he was just the same idiot we grew up with. His only strength was in the chakra the demon lent him."
"That's not true. That's like saying my only strength is the Sharingan. Before I even developed it I was considered a genius in the academy."
"That was you." Kakashi exclaimed. "You and Naruto were complete opposites."
"Look, Sasuke-kun, we know you're still hurting from the loss of Naruto, but you can't just go avenging Naruto. That monster is dangerous now that he has free reign over Naruto's body. It's suicide."
"Will you just trust me for once?!" Sasuke yelled, becoming frustrated. They both kept silent, sending each other cautious looks. The Uchiha turned his back on them and began walking briskly towards the Hokage Offices. Sakura went to follow when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She stopped and looked at Kakashi sadly.
"Follow him and keep an eye on him." Kakashi said. "Don't let him out of your sight. I'll meet you two at Tsunade's office."
"Kakashi-sensei, what's wrong with him?" She asked softly. He shook his head.
"I don't know, but don't worry. We'll help him." With a poof of smoke Kakashi was gone, leaving the pink-haired kunoichi to chase after Sasuke.
"Sasuke! Matte yo!"
***
Sakura paced outside the office that Tsunade and Sasuke were meeting in. She'd been told to wait outside as they talked in the room privately, but even worse than the fact that she'd been left out was the fact that nothing could be heard from the solid oak doors. She hesitated at the doors again, leaning in closely to see if she could catch their words, but not even the voices permeated the wood.
Kakashi appeared at her side a couple of minutes later and she nearly hugged him from relief.
"How long have they been inside there?" He asked. She looked at the clock on the wall and shrugged.
"About fifteen minutes." She replied. He sighed and sat down on the nearest window ledge. After a few seconds of uneasy silence, Sakura spoke up again. "Sasuke took Naruto's death really hard, ne?" Her teacher looked up and nodded solemnly.
"I think that Naruto was the embodiment of everything Sasuke wanted in his life. The boy was his companion. Always there for support, sparring, hell, I wouldn't be surprised if he allowed Sasuke to beat him up when Sasuke really needed it. He gave Sasuke's after life meaning."
"After life?" Sakura asked, confused.
"Life after he defeated Itachi." Kakashi sighed deeply. "Naruto was the unshakable constant in Sasuke's life. I have a feeling that when Naruto was..." he hesitated on his wording, "destroyed, it was just like losing his entire family again. Mentally, I don't think he was able to handle losing him."
"I wish I could have been that constant." Sakura whispered. "Even if he didn't love me, at least I would still be here."
"I'm sure you are, but you never had the feeling of friendship that they shared. When Sasuke turned you down for Orochimaru, you gave up. I don't think Naruto ever gave up on Sasuke. Ever. Sasuke knew that. Maybe that's why he thinks that now isn't any exception." Sakura sat down beside the doors and pulled her knees to her chin.
"I pushed Naruto away from the village." She muttered. "I killed him."
"He would have gone anyways."
"Maybe so, but I know Sasuke blames me for it."
"If anything, I think he blames Naruto."
Ten minutes later, Tsunade and Sasuke came out of the room. Kakashi looked up and was surprised to see the Hokage smiling with tears in her eyes as she rolled up a scroll. She gave Sasuke a quick awkward hug and wished them all good luck before she disappeared back into her office muttering something about Kotetsu bringing her more paperwork and hiding.
"So are you going to help me or are you just going to stand there?" Sasuke asked, staring the two of them down.
"Sasuke, don't you think you should-"
"No, I don't!" He interrupted. "If neither of you feel up to helping me, then get out of my way. I have permission from Tsunade to carry out this mission on my own." Kakashi stood up and was immediately surrounded by a handful of masked Anbu.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke, but we just can't let you leave." He said, regrettably. "I don't know what you said to the Hokage, however considering the state of your mind, we feel it's best if you don't leave the village and remain under the direct supervision of the Anbu."
"The state of my mind?" Sasuke wondered before realisation settled across his features. "You think I'm insane. You think that just because I believe Naruto is alive that I should be locked in a padded room." Kakashi stepped forward, seeing the wild look that had settled in Sasuke's eyes. They were caught between rage and fear.
"Don't make this harder than it has to be, Sasuke." Kakashi whispered and held out his hands. In them were a pair of glasses and linked gloves. At first Sasuke was confused, wondering what they were for, but he remembered what they wanted to do to him, and realised the padded room wasn't enough for him.
"I'm not wearing those, Kakashi." He growled, stepping backwards. "You are not going to blind me with those." Kakashi took another step forward and shook his head.
"I'm surprised you know what these are." Sasuke sneered at his teacher.
"When they came to take Itachi away that night they had a dozen pairs of them split between each Anbu just in case. One of them told me about them. They're designed especially for the Uchiha clan, aren't they?"
"I'm not an Uchiha."
"Then the Sharingan eyes." Sasuke snapped, much like a cornered animal. He only had one option left. He tensed his muscles and reached for a kunai, allowing his eyes to revert to the customary glowing red of the Sharingan. As soon as the Anbu saw the wheel start to spin they were on top of him, each armed with a pair of glasses and a set of gloved handcuffs. He fought as hard as he could until his world went black and the chakra in his body stopped flowing.
"NO!!!!" He cried, furiously. He didn't see her, but he could hear Sakura's sobs from one corner of the room. He struggled again with the arms that held him down and growled in Kakashi's general direction. "You bastard, Naruto needs our help. MY help! If I don't go then you will be at fault for Naruto's death!!" Kakashi looked down at his student solemnly and took in a deep shuddering breath.
"You need help, Sasuke." He replied. "Naruto is already dead."
~~~~~~~
Yeah, I couldn't help but use the title. Hard. It goes for two different things. One... the hard-on Sasuke got from Naruto... and two from taking the hard way out of Kakashi's offer. Not that he really had any choice. Would you let them just take you away without a fight?
Answers to some Reviews:
Seraphina DW: Yeah, I know Naruto would have gone after some other people, Kakashi, Iruka and Shikamaru come to mind first, but the thing is, he saw how horrible Sasuke took his death, and felt drawn to Sasuke's mourning. Sasuke's reaction to his death shocked him, and he knows that aside from Iruka, no one else was affected this deeply.
Lichan: I just thought it would please you to inform you of the fact that it is now 2:44AM and I still have the rest of an book to read before I even think of sleep. Now I could have had this finished by 10pm but my story distracted me and the length and plot kept me typing until I reached the end of chapter. I have class starting at 8:10am. I hope you are very happy with yourself for causing my sleep deprivation for this evening. (*snickers* I just had to... it's actually true. I started this chapter earlier in the evening and didn't stop until I was finished all seven pages)
The La/=/er: Thanks for the review, again!! I love long reviews so much, especially when people discuss what they think is happening in the story. It reminds me that my reviewers aren't just computer numbers! And yes the room will enter the mainstream plot sometime soon. The SasuNaru will get a little touchy feely in the next little bit... then drop off again, and then hit you upside the head with a lemon from out of nowhere. Hee hee.
Muchacha: I figured it would be very out of chara for Naruto to do that, but I'm playing on his angry side a little bit. I hope this chapter explained his behaviour. He should go back to normal Naruto in a little bit.
And to Hikari no Yami: did you really think I would hold out on posting this chapter until after Anime North? Muahaha.