Title: Never Really Home (Chapter Eight)
Pairing: Sasuke/Naruto, Kakashi/Iruka, one-sided Sakura/Sasuke, hints of Lee/Naruto
Rating: M mostly for language, but for some sexual content as well.
Warnings: Eventual spoilers up to recent chapters.
Disclaimers: Don't own Naruto.
A breeze ruffled the pale, raven-haired boy's hair. He was looking at the ground. To a stranger, it would have seemed that he was studying his feet very diligently.
"I own you." Sasuke tripped over a rock in the road, but caught himself from falling.
"I own you. I own you. I own you." Orochimaru's high pitched laugh echoed through Sasuke's ears. His head was swimming with that disgustingly reptilian smile.
"I own you. I own you. I own you." The voice mocked the Uchiha's weakness. It took away his dignity. He wanted to scream "SHUT UP!" but he knew that it wouldn't help.
Sasuke tripped on another rock, but this time, he fell face-first into the mud.
No one saw him. No one noticed him. No one cared for him. Sasuke knew that he was in the middle of nowhere, and there was no one that could help him.
"Sasuke!" The Uchiha stayed on the ground. Maybe whoever was bothering him wouldn't notice he was there. "Ss...Sasuke, what are you doing in the mud?"The raven-haired boy groaned. Why couldn't that damn Naruto just leave him alone. He had left, and now he did not want to be bothered. Never again. "Get up, I need to talk to you." The blond kicked Sasuke's side lightly, trying to get him to move.
"Fuck off, Naruto."
"Stop sulking and MOVE!" With this, Naruto grabbed Sasuke's shoulders and hoisted him off the ground. The Uchiha avoided his gaze as Naruto wiped the mud off his face. "What the fuck are you doing, Sasuke?"
"I'm leaving."
"Why?"
"Why the fuck do you think? Why am I ever leaving? I am going to avenge my family. I am going to kill my brother."
"Sasuke, you can't kill Itachi. He's too strong."
"You don't know that. You haven't seen what I am capable of."
"I know more than anyone what you are capable of. Need I remind you of our battle three years ago?"
"I've grown a lot since then."
Sasuke shook Naruto (who was still trying to remove the rest of the mud) off of him, and continued down the path.
"Don't you remember! You were trying to kill me. You were trying to fucking kill me!" Naruto's voice got louder as Sasuke got farther and farther away. "You said I was your best friend!" shouted the blond.
The Uchiha stopped at this. "You are no longer my best friend," he said loud enough so Naruto could make it out. "No one is," Sasuke whispered quietly, almost to himself.
Naruto didn't seem to hear the last part. "Fuck you, Sasuke!" he shouted after his former teammate. "Fuck you! Go get yourself killed for all I care!" Sasuke continued to walk away. Naruto lost sight of him as he went over a dirt-hill. "Go get yourself killed for nothing," the blond mumbled.
…
Sasuke looked back down at his feet once he stopped hearing Naruto's voice. He didn't care that Naruto was less ignorant than he. The Uchiha needed to prove to himself…to everyone, once and for all, that he was strong. Sasuke was going to kill his brother, the person who had taken away everything he loved, even if it took his own life.
…
Naruto stood in the middle of the road. His expression was easily read as one of disbelief. Sasuke had gotten away again, and it was all his fault.
"You know nothing of what I am capable of."
Maybe the Uchiha was right. Maybe he could beat Itachi. Maybe he could find within himself the strength to overcome one of the most powerful beings the world had ever seen. But he doubted it.
Sasuke might have grown over the last three years, but there was no way he could surpass Itachi. No one had ever been able to. No one was ever going to.
"What are you doing in the middle of the road!" An angry trader yelled at the blond from his cart, snapping him back to reality. He gave the obnoxious man a frightening glare, and then stepped out of his way into the shade of the trees.
Naruto plopped down at the trunk of a large oak. He put his hands behind his head, hoping to get in a little doze before Sakura found him and made him train with her again...Besides, a nap would at least ease his mind from all of the dangerously intense emotions he was feeling at the moment. Naruto hadn't felt this way since he had last seen Sasuke. But that was three years ago. Three years...since Sasuke had tried to kill his best friend... The blonde's eyes began to droop, and he soon fell into a very heavy slumber.
Naruto was lying on the ground, at the foot of a storming waterfall. His eyes were closed, but somehow, he could see what was happening. Sasuke was looking down at him, his face (hadn't it been full of hate before?) was sad, almost regretful. As the raven-haired boy lifted up his kunai, he fell into a hacking cough and fell to his knees.
His face was inches from Naruto's. Naruto could feel his warm breath. He could feel the drops of sweat, falling off Sasuke's face onto his own. He could hear the Uchiha's ragged breath, exhausted partially from the long battle, but more because of his intent to kill.
All of a sudden, Sasuke began to cry. He slowly stood up, to join a man that had just appeared at his side. For some reason, the man's shadow was shaped like a snake's. The Uchiha took the serpent-man's hand and, glancing back one last time at the blond, walked away, disappearing into the air.
The scene changed. Sasuke was lying on the ground this time. Naruto was looking down at him and shaking his head in pity. The blonde's figure suddenly changed to that of Itachi's. The older Uchiha took a kunai and plunged it into Sasuke's chest, laughing.
But the laughing sounded strange...
Naruto blinked, and jumped slightly at a pair of eerie black eyes. Whoever was staring at him was laughing, and he seemed pleased with himself.
"The Akatsuki will behappy with me." In one quick motion, the scaly fingers of Kisame grabbed Naruto's leg, and hoisted him upside-down over his shoulder.
Yes, I wasn't lying. Hehe. However, unless I start getting comments, I will have to assume that no one likes my story and will stop posting so frequently. So, it's in your hands. I have, in fact, two more chapters written (and many more to come), but when you next see them is up to you.