Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.
Rated: T, for language only
Notes: OK, so I'm not sure what I wrote here is even plausible, but for the sake of plot, I'm putting it in. And, oh yes, Sasuke is really bitter and conflicted, but 2 + years with a snake can do that to you. But I don't think he's exactly wrong.
To my reviewers-
Tanuki-dono: I agree with you about the whole third wheel, Sakura-bashing thing, and it always irritated me too. Especially the Sakura-bashing. I neither like nor dislike her, but I find that in a lot of stories, even ones I like, that she's portrayed way OOC. Always so much meaner and simpler than she really is. And I just think that's unfair. That's why I wanted to write this as a connection between the three. (I do think she plays a lesser part, but an important one) And I am still working on this regularly, it's just that some chapters give me more trouble than others. I'm happy you like it so far, hope you still will . .(crosses fingers)
WolfBane2: I know it's long, but the relationship between these characters and the characters themselves are so complicated it kinda makes me ramble. Please bear with me. The next three chapters after this monster will likely be shorter. But as far as not liking Sasuke, that's not true! I seriously adore Sasuke (and Naruto)! It's just that he's so twisted and conflicted and in denial, so that's how I have to write him. Plus I think he needs to go through a different kind of suffering to figure things out. But I'm really glad you liked the "false Kabuto" scene. I wasn't sure how it would work.
Anyhow, thanks for the reviews!
Blessed Be Those Who Mourn
Kyuubi no Kitsune
The night seemed oppressive to him, despite the cheery fire and the warmth of friends. But then, he'd distanced himself from them, figuring was better to be alone when he got like this, the others would just worry over him if he didn't act his usual hyperactive self. He just wasn't in the best of moods, and unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, he knew the reasons why. And his nerves were on edge because of it.
It had gotten increasingly worse in the weeks between, no matter how he tried to fight it.
There wasn't much cause for it, so he told himself, everything was under control. Yeah, that's right. Nothing to worry about.
But his nerves weren't exactly listening. Maybe if it was one thing, or even two, rather than everything. Well, that was maybe a little of an exaggeration. It wasn't everything, it just felt like it.
Seriously, how was he supposed to keep the Kyuubi under control if it really didn't want to be? He had thought they'd struck a bargain, the fox got to use his body, he got to use its chakra. Simple, right?
Unless that was the problem. Maybe he'd given the fox a little too much free reign. But it's not like he was becoming the Nine-tails or anything, he still felt like he always had, like the same old Uzumaki Naruto. He'd thought he and Kyuubi were working together, equals as much as they could be, with him just a little bit more in charge. It was his body after all, wasn't it? He'd thought he had everything under control.
And then there was Sasuke.
Why'd he have to come in and mess everything up? Why'd he have to come in and point out things he'd rather not believe?
Why'd he have to come in and make it seem like he cared?
Why was he the one to see things his other friends hadn't, that just didn't seem fair somehow. He was the one that betrayed them, he's the one who left them behind, he's the one who made Sakura cry. Again. Well, OK, that was a little his own fault too, but it was mostly Sasuke. Anyway, what gave that jerk the right to just waltz back in and try and act the hero? The blonde was angry about it, in a way that didn't entirely make sense. The problem was, he wasn't quite sure who he was really mad at, Sasuke for telling him, Sakura for not, or himself for handling the situation all wrong.
Or maybe he just hated Orochimaru for destroying it all, both then and now. Yeah, that was a lot easier.
Then he didn't have to worry about all the complications between them, all the things he just couldn't quite get about Sasuke and their 'whatever' relationship.
It was just like when they were kids, understanding each other, but never understanding, ultimately resorting to fighting because it's the one level where they could at least pretend things were simple.
Even if, just like back then, they knew things never were.
But really, that's what he was most angry at, the way Sasuke had decided on violence like always, oversimplifying things, trying to avoid the distractions in his own mind. Trying to deny reality. Naruto wasn't stupid, he knew what the other was trying to do. Sasuke was the stupid one. Idiot.
But then he hesitated, made them think he really might come back, made it seem like he might actually have a brain in that skull of his somewhere.
Who knows? Maybe he does, but it didn't make a difference once everything was ruined.
It wasn't fair and now things were worse than before because time was nearly up and Sasuke was in trouble and waiting somewhere. Naruto decided that's what he was doing now, waiting. Jerk, making them do all the work.
And he was supposed to do all this without Kyuubi's help, was he? Talk about a major handicap. He just didn't see how could accomplish anything that was needed without the Nine-Tails' chakra.
It looked like the he was going to have to break that promise. Except a promise wasn't really a promise when nothing was decided, nothing set in stone. Sasuke had, after all, never answered.
Or had he?
A few spare leaves whirled around as the remnants of the wind attack still lingered slightly in the air. As he crouched in the tree, having just avoided a sudden attack from their hidden enemy, he found himself excited abut this fight, despite the danger. He caught a few nicks in his clothes, cuts through his skin, and a touch of blood leaked out. He was hardly concerned, they were small and would heal soon.
He glanced over to Sakura and saw they she'd had the same reaction, and was safely to the side of the attack, a couple lines of blood trickling down her leg. They were a little worse than his, but were not much to worry over either. Well, he was relieved at that.
"I feel a little slighted." Instantly his attention was drawn away by an annoyingly patronizing voice. When he looked up, he saw a creepy Sound-nin standing lazily before them. "Just two little pups against me? It hardly even seems worth the effort."
Naruto got to his feet, his blood beginning to boil. Not only was this guy an arrogant bastard, but it had been a long time since he'd gotten to go all out in a fight. And after the events of earlier in the day, his nerves were worn raw. He really needed to let off a little steam.
"Get behind me, Sakura." He waved his hand in that direction, so intent on having his fight that he didn't stop to think how little the kunoichi would like being told what to do.
"I can fight too, Naruto." She snapped, the irritation clear in her voice.
"Yeah, I know." He massaged his jaw, remembering just how well she could hit. "But you're our medic. If something happens to Kakashi-sensei or I, there's no one else who could help us. That's why you became a medic-nin, isn't it? To help your teammates?"
He was trying to make it sound like he was looking out for her, or that it was her duty to act a certain way, though as a medic-nin it sort of was. But the real truth of the matter was that he really wanted to fight. And he wanted to fight alone.
Sakura finally agreed, even if she didn't sound too happy about it. "That may be why I became a medic-nin, but I'm also a ninja. I'll let you go on your own for now, if you insist. Just so long as you know that if I see you in trouble, I'm stepping in."
Yeah, no kidding. But he turned his head around and smiled. "I'm counting on it."
"As . . . touching as this all is, I really don't care to be a party to it anymore. I don't want to waste any more time on you children than I have to."
Egotistical asshole. Well, Naruto could teach him a thing or two about taking others too lightly. He found that he was looking at the oncoming battle with an almost sick anticipation. "You'll be sorry if you underestimate us."
"Oh, is that so?"
"Ready?"
That creepy Sound-nin still wasn't taking them seriously at all, and he was going to pay for that. It was never wise to think little of Uzumaki Naruto. And right now, he just wanted to fight, let loose his frustrations, and this man was giving him the outlet he needed.
The blonde began pulling out his chakra for an attack, feeling the power it gave him, readying himself to make the first strike.
But out of nowhere someone else beat him to it.
His sensitive ears caught the familiar sound of the chidori and he was both angry and curious as to how Kakashi had reached them so quickly.
Except it didn't feel like Kakashi.
Before he had time to think on that though, he saw a large hole appear in the chest of the Sound-nin quickly dying in front of him. Naruto stared saucer-eyed wondering how the ninja had been caught so much off-guard that he was taken down in one blow. Well, that's what happens when you think too highly of yourself, and too little of others. Served him right.
Wait. Did he just think it served him right to die? Why would he think that?
Nervously shifting his gaze to the side at the sickening thought that had just entered his mind, he saw the ninja fall from the tree from the corner of his eye. And in his place he saw Sasuke, burning his angry hateful stare right into the blonde's own.
"Sa . . ." Stunned at the turn of events, Naruto tried to squeak out the name but a streak of black came rushing toward him, cutting off his words. His mind was a mass of confusion, so that even when he was being thrown against the trunk of the tree, he barely registered the pain. What the hell was going on! Why was Sasuke here, why had he killed the Sound-nin? And why was he now attacking him? He was so distracted with trying to figure this out, that he could only stutter wordlessly each time he was struck against the tree with increasing force.
Through his haze he just made out the words the furious ninja was shouting out at him. "Stop. Using. That. Chakra." What exactly did that mean? What chakra? Wha. .?
He was having a really hard time concentrating now. He should be fighting back, he should, but his mind wouldn't work anymore, just repeating the mantra "why, why, why?"
Somewhere outside his head he heard Sakura scream and then the weight that was Sasuke was lifted away.
He tried to stay conscious, he really did. He couldn't.
Slowly, or so it seemed to him, he finally struggled back to waking. The first thing he felt was the angry lump on the back of his head, reminding him of just where he was and who he was with. Sasuke had attacked him for absolutely no reason! What was going on here!
"OUCH! That hurt!" He rubbed his bruised skull momentarily before getting to his feet. "What the hell did you do that for?"
Looking at the other two as they quietly turned to face him, Sakura with a baffled expression, he had the feeling he was interrupting something. But he really didn't care. He was angry and the source of most of his frustration was standing right in front of him.
So without further thought, he raced forward and punched Sasuke right in the center of his arrogant face. The raven-haired boy only stumbled back, typical sneer in place, as he slowly wiped away the trail of blood trickling from his nose.
"What is your fucking problem!" Naruto barked as he watched the other teen regain his footing.
"You're the problem. You're so stupid that you don't even know." Sasuke stared back with anger in his eyes, trying to keep his composure. But the longer he stared, the more his precious control rapidly unraveled. The next words were hissed through his gritted teeth. "Stop using that chakra."
"What chakra?" But Sasuke didn't answer. Instead, the blonde watched as he clenched his fists tighter and tighter, watched as his rage grew and grew, even watched as he raced forward, ready to attack. But Naruto was prepared and countered the fist with his arm, but unfortunately not the knee that came up swiftly to hit him in the stomach. He doubled over, looking up furiously at his old friend.
"What chakra?" He repeated. Despite how angry he was, how much he just wanted to fight, he knew somewhere in the back of his mind that this was important.
"What chakra?" It was clear Sasuke was quickly losing what little patience he had. "What chakra! That red one, you idiot!" And again he aimed a fist to Naruto's face, connecting this time, but then the blonde swept a leg beneath the other's feet causing the black-haired boy to fall backward, landing hard.
"You're the idiot, idiot!" And suddenly Naruto was charging again, but at that moment Sasuke leaned back, getting a grip on the branch and caught the blonde's chin with his foot as he flipped backwards. He was once again on his feet, but couldn't avoid the kick Naruto then aimed straight to his chest, pushing him backward. The two stared each other down, arms back ready to strike, apparently content to simply beat each other up for the hell of it.
"Stop it, both of you! Why do you always have to do this!" Out of nowhere, Sakura planted herself between the two, arms out to either side, miraculously stopping them before they ended up hitting her. For whatever reason, both boys lowered their arms, and simply continued to glare at each other.
"How can you not see it?" Sasuke snapped finally, his breathing ragged.
"What?" Sakura and Naruto asked simultaneously, looking to him in uncertainty.
His attention concentrated solely on the boy, the missing-nin continued, voice sharp as a blade. "Look at yourself. You don't look the same, in fact you look wrong. It happens every time you use that chakra, only now it's sticking and it's even worse than before. How can you be such a moron that you didn't even notice!" His stare intensified dangerously. "Your eyes are almost purple. Your scars are way too wide and your teeth, they're like a damn animal's. And I bet it's been this way for a long time. It's like you're not even human anymore." The fierce dark eyes bore deep into Naruto's blue (or were they now purple?) ones with anger and something else the boy couldn't name. The whole situation was unnerving.
Then the raven-haired teen's voice lowered to barely a whisper as he looked down and away, shaking his head. "Idiot. The Naruto I know would never let himself be used like that."
Naruto's eyes were wide as he absorbed every harsh and biting word Sasuke had said, sounding as if he were blaming him. Though somewhere deep down, Naruto thought he heard concern and even disappointment in there too.
But at the moment the foxboy was too overwhelmed with taking in the implications of what he'd just been told to fully grasp this. Was it true? Was he really losing control? As if searching for a denial to those words, he turned to Sakura who wore the same shocked expression as she stared into his face.
"Oh my God, " She whispered, her hand going to her open mouth. And now he knew it was true.
Dejected and confused, the blonde turned his apparently now fox-slit eyes to the ground. "Kyuubi."
He could almost feel the other boy tense at the word, feel the girl pull into herself as she too realized the full impact of what that meant.
"Oh, Naruto. I'm sorry . ." The kunoichi allowed her thought to trail off unfinished.
"The demon?" Sasuke snorted derisively, breaking into the two's moment. "Of course. That explains everything, doesn't it? No wonder you could always do things you shouldn't be able to. No wonder you were always better. No wonder you were always so fucking special."
Special? Special! Some things never did change. All that stupid bastard could see was the power the Kyuubi brought, none of the pain, none of the alienation. That jerk was always like this, only looking at one aspect, never seeing the full picture.
"How can you say that?" Naruto could feel every last bit of his precious reserve breaking, could feel Sakura wince reflexively beside him. "How can you possibly know what it's like to have a demon inside you?"
As if sensing him falling over the edge, Sakura turned all her attention to her teammate for the moment, placing both hands gently on his chest. "Please Naruto, calm down. Let's not fight here. OK?"
"You think I don't know what it's like to carry a demon?"
The two friends looked to the dark-eyed teen who regarded them with frustration and just a hint of sorrow.
But Naruto wasn't going to let him off easy. They weren't the same. Kyuubi was a creature unto itself, a voice in his mind, a presence thrust onto to him without his consent, a thing that could clearly never be fully controlled. Sasuke's curse may have been given unwillingly, but he could control it if he really wanted. He made the decision not to.
"A curse seal isn't the same thing."
"That's not what I was talking about."
The two Leaf ninja looked at him in genuine confusion.
"Sasuke-kun, what?" Sakura ventured gently.
"How would you like to lose everything, everything, in one damn minute?" The raven-haired teen spat out.
Somewhere inside of him, Naruto couldn't help feeling sorry for Sakura, she just seemed so at a loss.
But he brushed that aside for the moment, because he'd had enough.
Despite the pity he could feel for Sasuke, the understanding, the guilt even, right now all he really felt was the anger at his complete and total selfishness.
Stupid Sasuke.
"You lost everything?" Any signs of compassion he might once have shown had completely vanished. "Are you so blind you couldn't see what was right in front of you? Everyone loved you. It was always 'Sasuke this' and 'Sasuke that'. Everyone looked at you, everyone expected things from you, you got every break imaginable. And even after turning your back on it, even after betraying your own home, they'll still welcome you back with open arms. Their goddamn precious little Uchiha Sasuke!"
"Yeah, right! What would you know!" The black-clad teen's spite was unexpectedly heavy in the air. "You think they care about me? Don't kid yourself!" His voice grew sharper and more bitter as he spoke, causing Sakura to flinch noticeably. "They don't care about me. The only reason they want me back is because I'm the last of the Uchiha, one of the strongest clans of their precious village! Keeper of the sharingan eye! All they ever see when they look at me is a name, a kekkai genkai they can manipulate to their own advantage! All they want is the 'Uchiha', they never gave a damn about 'Sasuke'! You think they ever even knew who I was? You think they ever cared? Not as long as they had the sharingan, what difference did it make? So what do I have to do? Give you my eyes, give you my blood? That's all they want anyway. Maybe then you'll leave me the fuck alone!"
"That's right. It's always all about you! You're such a goddamn idiot! You think I'm special? You're the one who thinks he's so damn special! You think you're the only one who's been alone? The only one who's been in pain? You think no one else knows what it's like to be seen for something you're not! Try being a jinchuuriki sometime!"
Sasuke was always like that, unable to see beyond his own little bubble. Unable to see the similarities between them, and only seeing the differences. Naruto wondered if the idiot ever used the brain he supposedly had.
Stupid Sasuke.
Stupid self-centered Sasuke.
Well, if he wanted to play the 'who's-suffered-more' game, than Naruto would show him a thing or two.
"You were always loved and admired. I was always hated! Ignored and spat at, having to hear them whispering behind my back. For something that wasn't even my fault! For something I didn't even know about! I was hated by everyone and I didn't even know why!"
"I was 'loved and admired'! You're as bad as all of them, confusing me with a name. Constantly having people staring and talking about the 'Uchiha boy', about who I was supposed to be, not who I was! What the hell kind of 'love' is that!"
"An arrogant bastard like you loved all the attention and all the people falling over themselves to get close to you!"
"When! When did I ever care about what other people thought!"
"All the time, you fucking self-centered bastard!"
"STOP IT!"
And suddenly both boys were reminded of the third person with them as she demanded to be heard.
"Please, both of you. Stop this. Why do you always have to be this way? Why can't you stop fighting and see what you really have?"
Sakura started to cry, the tears tumbling from her eyes as she tried to keep her shaking voice under control. And for some unknown reason the other two remained silent, allowing the girl her say, even though they were both still seething inside.
"I'm sorry. Sasuke-kun, Naruto. I really am. Because I was one of them, too. I treated you the way everyone did because I thought I knew what things were like. But I was wrong. And I'm sorry. And I know I can't really understand what your lives were like, but things are different now. I see you as you really are and I still love you. Why can't you see that you have each other, that you have me? Why can't you see how everyone cares? Aren't we like a family? I know it sounds a little weird, but I still think it's true. And I know you already know this Naruto. That we're at least part of the family you always wanted. So why can't you stop fighting and embrace it?"
Naruto watched as the pink-haired girl spoke, hiccupping through her words, choking back her emotions. His fight with Sasuke temporarily forgotten, he wanted to reassure her.
"Sakura-chan, I. . ."
"Shut up, I'm not finished!"
The blond flinched, afraid of incurring her full wrath. He looked away, oddly noticing that although he seemed annoyed, Sasuke was still quiet. Sakura continued, voice lowered, her eyes watery with tears.
"And what about you, Sasuke-kun? Why can't you accept it? What's wrong with you that you can't accept it? I know there's nothing that can ever replace what you lost. I know that. But we're a family too. Why can't you just let us be one? Why do you insist on wallowing in your sorrow when we're here to help you out? You'll never be happy that way. Vengeance won't make things right. Your brother's death won't bring your family back. I know you know this. So why? Why do you have to close yourself off from the people who love you, who want to help you? I don't know why you have to make things so hard. Because they don't have to be this way. What do you care if Konoha only wants the 'Uchiha' back? I thought you didn't care about them. So forget them then! We want Sasuke back! What about us!"
Sakura broke down then, weeping into her hands, the powerful tears and wracking sobs trembling through her.
"I don't understand you two sometimes. Fighting when we should be going home."
And that was the last thing she managed to choke out before completely losing the last shreds of her composure. Naruto looked to her with pity and sadness, wanting to comfort her but not knowing how.
Then he turned to Sasuke who still stood silent, oddly detached as if he were somewhere else. The dark-haired teen wore a vacant stare, looking far into the distance like he wasn't paying attention, but when the blonde looked closer he saw an expression almost devoid of hate or malice, showing mainly intense concentration. That's when he realized.
Sasuke was thinking.
And Sasuke never thinks.
Sakura was right, it was just that Naruto always seemed to forget once they were together again and the fighting began. They were a family. And maybe, just maybe, Sasuke was realizing this too. There was a slim chance that now Naruto could actually change the boy's mind. He knew for his sake, for all their sakes, he had to try. So he used the only leverage he thought he might have.
"Sasuke. I'll stop using the Kyuubi's chakra . . ." He started, still a little unsure of his decision, but determined all the same. ". . .if you come home with us."
After all that the black-haired teen had done today, Naruto had to believe that he did care, that this was important enough that it might work. Even if he knew it was a mostly hollow promise. He would never be able to completely detach himself from Kyuubi, but Sasuke didn't have to know that, he just had to believe it.
Both the other ninjas turned to Naruto wide-eyed, surprised at the deal they'd probably never expected him to offer. But Sakura's red-rimmed gaze soon changed to hope as she began glancing from one boy to the other.
Sasuke's face, however, after his initial shock, shadowed over as his eyes narrowed, closing off any unwanted thoughts. He wasn't saying anything, but Naruto knew he'd touched on something vital. Because Sasuke, despite himself, was considering. The blonde saw the conflict evident on the teen's face, confusion, wonder, anger, his emotions were running the gamut. He could tell Sasuke didn't want to agree, was refusing to agree, but was also growing more and more furious with his inability to just say so.
Sasuke was struggling with himself and it was the first tangible evidence of hope and intelligence they'd had from him since he left.
"I . . ." The raven-haired teen began, his intent unreadable. His fists opened and closed reflexively, his jaw grinding, while he stared intently at Naruto.
There was moment of silence embracing the three, hovering somewhere between hope and fear.
Sasuke opened his mouth to speak again, but instead of speaking, his dark eyes shot open wide in shock and pain a second before he was thrown to his knees, his forehead pressing to the bark of the tree.
"Sasuke-kun!"
Sakura tried to run to the boy as he doubled over, fiercely gripping the nape of his neck, but found she was unable to move, her legs held in place somehow. Tilting her head down to glance at her feet, she screamed. Naruto watched in bleak horror as snakes wound their way up her legs, holding her where she stood. Then he felt something crawling up his own, and looking down, saw another horde of gruesome serpents winding themselves around him as well like some vicious writhing chain.
"Damn snakes!" He cried, trying to reach for a kunai. But the reptiles only climbed higher, up his torso, over his arms, stopping all his movements, trying to take control. He cursed, unable to break free. He had to do something, his friends needed him.
Somewhere, Sakura screamed and struggled.
And somewhere else, Sasuke was curled up, gritting his teeth and clutching his neck as if his life depended on it.
Maybe it did.
Then suddenly Sasuke was gone, barely conscious, carried like so much dead weight in Kabuto's arms. What was going on now! Naruto looked up in hatred as his friend was held limply by the medic-nin as he glared down at them in disdain and annoyingly enough, amusement.
"Let him go!" The blond yelled, as if he had any power to do anything. He tried again to gain his freedom, but it was all for naught, he couldn't budge an inch. Where had all these damn snakes come from?
"No. I think not." Kabuto replied, rather matter-of-factly. "Not after all the trouble we went through to trap him."
The medic-nin stared down at them, a malicious grin on his arrogant face. Dammit! Why did he have to show up at the worst possible time? They were so close and now everything was ruined, they were back at the beginning or worse.
"What do you mean trap!" Naruto shouted, buying time, as he tried to figure out a way to get free.
"You're not very smart, are you, Kyuubi?" Oh, Naruto hated him, hated his pompous attitude, and he really, really hated the way he was referred to as 'Kyuubi', especially in light of recent events.
"The chuunin, Naruto." Sakura had stopped screaming, finally realizing that the snakes' only purpose was to hold them, and not attack.
Oh. That meant that Sasuke . . .
"Since the last time you three met, we suspected that he'd betray us, we just needed to catch him the act, so to speak." Kabuto explained, glancing down to his unconscious bundle. "But he was a little trickier than I'd expected. Clever boy. He actually forced me to send out even more ninja just to draw him out. Ah, no matter, if they couldn't beat the likes of you, they were useless anyway."
"Bastard. Fight me!" Naruto resumed his struggle against his snake restraints, tried to anyway, but he still couldn't seem to move. He wanted to scream, cry, his frustration mounting with each passing moment. "Fight me!"
"No, I don't really much care for fighting. And I really don't have the time. I have Orochimaru-sama's pet back and that's all I really needed." Kabuto wore the same condescending sneer, but seemed a little distracted. "Besides, you have company. I don't feel like dealing with you now. More important things and all."
Just as the medic-nin took flight, a flash of something unknown followed and without any warning, both Sakura and Naruto were freed, tumbling forward, the snakes vanishing in a puff of smoke. Immediately, Naruto got to his feet, trying to make chase. He couldn't lose now that they were so close! That goddamn bastard! Why were they constantly on the brink of success only to be interrupted, having everything ruined?
"Naruto! Stop right there!" Kakashi's demanding voice actually did freeze the boy in his tracks. "Didn't I already tell you not to go off on your own?"
Turning around with a scowl on his face, the blonde whined. "But Kakashi-sensei, that was Kabuto and Sasuke . . ."
"I'm well aware of that. And that's exactly why we're not following. Kabuto's a lot more dangerous than he lets on. Even I might have some trouble against him, especially since he's likely improved over the past two years. Plus, you'd have to fight him without hurting Sasuke. You think that would all be easy? And he wasn't alone, there was another ninja somewhere casting a pretty powerful genjutsu, or didn't you notice? Although I'm a little surprised you didn't see it, Sakura. What exactly was going on here?" The jounin helpedthe slightly dazedgirl to her feet as she looked guiltily to the side. Actually, Naruto could guess why, hehad also beentoo preoccupied with Sasuke at the time to notice a lot of things. Dammit, how had he allowed himself to get so distracted? "They seem to be gone now, but I wouldn't take things easy, either. There could be even more around here, though I don't sense any. Looks like they got what they wanted and left in a hurry."
"That doesn't make any sense. Why would he just leave us here?" The kunoichi asked, finally finding her voice.
The jounin thought for a moment. "Well, if I were to guess, I'd say it's because there's not much time. He probably didn't want to take the chance, no matter how slim, that we would beat them. Securing Sasuke for the soul transfer is more important than defeating us right now. And they're likely preparing for an attack on Konoha or another village soon. Who really knows? But I think he was expecting those ninja to divert us longer than they did. And I suspect he's got other things on his mind." Then the gray-haired man turned to Naruto. "But their distraction works to our advantage."
"How?" The blond shouted, unable to follow his leader's thinking. "He's got Sasuke again and I doubt he's gonna go easy on him now. We should've followed him, then we'd know where Orochimaru is and we could get Sasuke back . ."
"And walk right into the snake's lair? A jounin, a chuunin, and a genin," Naruto winced at the unintended insult. "Against Orochimaru, Kabuto, and whatever other underlings he has at his disposal? No, I think we should consider ourselves fortunate that we weren't important enough to bother with." Kakashi smiled reassuringly. "As long as the weather holds, Pakkun should be able to track them this time."
"Pakkun?" Naruto said, brightening, getting the meaning at last.
"And in the meantime, we inform the Hokage so she can decide what to do. Trust me, this is very lucky for us. Orochimaru's arrogance has finally made a slip." The gray-haired man paused a moment. "So, which of you wants to tell me what happened here?"
"Uh, " Naruto stammered. "How about we tell you on the way?"
The boy knew he'd have to face what had happened, what had been said, but he didn't feel so bad about it anymore. Maybe things weren't as horrible as he thought. This was the chance they'd been seeking for so long, wasn't it?
The blonde actually smiled a genuine smile, and looking to Sakura, finally received a shy one in return.
The stars in the sky looked back at him as he stared into the distance. He could just make out the hushed chatter of the other members of the group as they gathered around the fire.
It made him feel separate.
He'd always known he was different, but the acuteness of it was something that had only just returned to him. And if he didn't do something about it, he knew everything could be ruined. He needed to get Kyuubi under control or once again he'd be feared and loathed for something that this time could really be considered his fault. He'd become the monster they always said he was.
And as if that wasn't enough, there was Sasuke.
Stupid Sasuke.
He sighed so unlike himself, trying to look into an unknown shadowy future. It was going to be a lot of hard work. Again. He knew he could do it, beat the Kyuubi, bring Sasuke back, and help defeat Orochimaru. But was it really fair he had to deal with so many things at once? All he needed was for the Akatsuki to show up and things would be just perfect.
He felt the presence of his former teacher as he settled down beside him. Taking a sidelong glance at the gray-haired jounin, the blonde wondered why the man was remaining so atypically quiet. It wasn't like him to walk over, sit down, and do nothing. He sighed again.
"What do you want?" Naruto finally grumbled out, disgusted with Kakashi's 'polite' silence.
"I don't want anything," The jounin replied smoothly. "But I do think there's something you want to talk about."
"No I don't." The blonde jutted out his lower lip in a boyish pout.
"Hn . ." Kakashi just stared into the distance with his one eye, feigning disinterest, but not even Naruto was fooled.
"Do you think I'll be able to control it?" He'd actually been avoiding this conversation, but it seemed it had finally caught up with him.
"Well, with everyone's help and your own determination, I'm sure you'll be fine. But it's going to be very difficult."
"Hn. Great. Like I didn't have enough to worry about already."
"I'm sorry I didn't notice earlier, Naruto." The jounin seemed genuinely contrite.
"It's alright." The blonde gave him a smile. "I mean, in a weird way, it's kind of better it turned out like this, don't you think?" The man simply gave him a curious look. "Well, you know, I don't feel any different, not really. So it was probably caught early enough to do something about it, right? And if you or Sakura, had said something earlier, I might've found a way to handle it. Then Sasuke wouldn't have had an excuse to see us."
"You have a very interesting way of looking at things." The masked ninja turned a hidden grin to his former student who returned it in kind.
As they sat together in companionable silence, the boy thought it all over. Yeah, he'd get that fox under control, eventually. And in just a couple weeks more, the Sound would be defeated, and Sasuke would be back home.
Not the Sasuke that had left almost three years ago, nor the Sasuke he'd met in that little nowhere town, not even the Sasuke that had come to warn him today. No, when Sasuke finally came home, it would the one he hated and loved, the one he fought with and saved, the one he'd envied and admired. The one who saw him in that same way.
That's just who Sasuke really was
When he finally came home, it would be as his best friend.
That's what Naruto believed. And what Naruto believed, he always fought for until it was achieved.
That's just who Naruto really was.
And that's just how it was supposed to be.