On My Way Home Chapter 1: Done, a naruto fanfic

On My Way Home

Chapter One: Done

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"…no…"

The boy bit through his lip and sobbed as he lay on the wet grass. His neck was wet and hot, and his body couldn't stand on its own.

It was his fault. He'd known all along, and he hadn't told anyone.

He cried out in anguish as he waited for his body to regain the strength he'd need to stumble home. The boy lay helpless in the total dark of the night.

He…hated…

As his emotions turned the colors of the night he was trapped in, a soft voice whispered in his ear.

"Boy…can you hear me?" it asked.

His sobs caught in his chest and he fell still, all but for his pounding heart. The night was lit up suddenly, right in front of him, and the voice said, "Boy, have you suffered from it? From the attackers? From the hunters?"

The boy let out another sob, an angry cry, wordless and painful. He slammed his hand against the grass and growled, "Yes!"

The glow softened in compassion. "Would you like to…bite back?" it asked gently.

He knew nothing else. The glow understood.

"Boy," it said, "if you want vindication, then you must make sacrifices. And you cannot choose what you give up. Would you still like to fight them?"

The boy squeezed his eyes shut and nodded.

"I'll do…whatever you need me to…"

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Somewhere in the forest on that uneventful night, a blonde man with a flashlight in hand made his way home, whistling quietly to blend in with the forest life. The forest floor was wet with a fresh rain, and he carefully watched his step while idly swinging a plastic grocery bag full of potato chips, cookies, and tampons.

He stopped in his tracks when he noticed a gray lump two feet in front of him. One could sometimes find homeless people in the forest, alive or dead; it was a fact he'd grown used to since his family moved away from town. The others would've told him to do otherwise, but he usually called an ambulance for the ones that were in bad shape.

He carefully walked towards the lump, and surely enough, a man with dark hair was lying in a puddle in the middle of a tree cluster. Shrugging off his hesitations in favor of being a good Samaritan, he took a breath and walked right up to the collapsed man.

Fuck, he thought and he examined a worry-worn face, he's really out, isn't he?

The man's clothing was also spotted with blood. The blonde man frowned; well, some people back home knew how to take care of that kind of thing. He hoisted the larger body over his shoulders in a firefighter's lift and carried him home, with the other groceries.

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When the stranger awoke, he was not in the forest he remembered seeing last before his eyes closed from exhaustion. He sat bolt upright when he realized that he was in a pink room, a very pink room indeed, and lying on a full-size bed instead of on the muddy forest floor. He looked around; there was a window nearby, and he could see the same forest outside, or he presumed the same forest. He did not awaken with his arms and legs restrained, as he had on so many other mornings.

The door to the room opened and a man with silver hair and eyes of two different colors appeared. He smiled at the stranger, who met his warmth with shock and confusion. The stranger opened his mouth to speak but his host, or captor, cut him off.

"I see that Naruto brought something home again," the silver-haired man said with mirth, "though he hasn't dragged any strange animals home since he was thirteen. Well, his twin sister's always gotten onto him about--"

The stranger nearly jumped off the bed. "Who are you?" he demanded. His legs were weak under his body, but he wouldn't fall into captivity without a fight.

His host smiled. "Hatake Kakashi. I'm the father of the boy…well, I guess he's a man now…who brought you here last night to save you from the cold." His eyes swept the room. "Why on earth he put you in his twin sister's room, I have no idea…" he sighed. The stranger's eyes swept the room uneasily. "She was supposed to be out of town, along with myself, so she wasn't too happy when she came home and found a strange and dirty man sleeping in her bed. Thankfully, you slept through her scream. You should probably thank her when you see her--"

"Where am I?" the stranger growled. He gripped his arm as it burst into pain, and his host tilted his head to the side, gazing at his damaged arm for a moment before replying.

"You're in my house, young man," he said. "The house I share with my two children and my wife. I don't know how long you'll be here so I don't know what else to tell you. Are you trying to go somewhere?"

The stranger nodded. "I have to get to Oldorns," he said.

Kakashi looked the man over. He seemed to be about Naruto's age, but taller and not as well-built. His dark hair was dirty, as were his clothes, and he seemed to be in bad physical condition any way that he looked at it. His arm was obviously wounded, and Kakashi knew that his injuries might have gone beyond just that. The stranger probably hadn't eaten, either.

"Tell you what," he said. "I don't want you in my house either. Take a shower, take some of my son's clothes, have a bite to eat and I'll get you a motorcycle and a map. Oldorns is a good ways from here, so I'll give you gas money too." Kakashi sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "The wife would have a fit if she knew Naruto brought someone home…"

The stranger let the compromise soak in, and he sank back down to the bed before nodding as he lowered his eyes. "Sure," he said, stunned by the generosity.

Kakashi shrugged. "Okay, it's a plan. I'll send one of the twins in here to check on your wounds, too; she's good with that sort of thing." As he turned to leave, he stopped for a moment and back tracked.

"Son, you got a name?" he asked.

The stranger swallowed, then looked up. This kind of person…wouldn't have heard of me. "Uchiha Sasuke."

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The blonde man lazily swung his legs as they dangled between the posts of his room's balcony. He held onto two of the posts and rested his head against a third as he thought about the previous night.

He saw stars as a hand hit the back of his neck, nodding his forehead against the post. Yelping, the blonde man turned around halfway and rubbed his forehead as he made puppy-dog eyes at his attacker.

"Hi, Sakura," he said with an uneasy grin.

The pink-haired woman huffed as she crouched down next to him. "Did you sleep well, Naruto?" she asked with an evil grin.

He laughed. "Yeah, and you…?"

Sakura glared at him. "I have a crick in my back from sleeping on the couch! You'd better give me a massage or something…but put on gloves first, ew."

She joined him on the edge of the balcony, sitting with him as they had done when they were kids. "So," she asked after a minute of peace, "what's up with him?"

"The dirty guy?" Naruto asked. He resumed the swinging of his long legs. "I don't know, I just found him. You know it's not safe for people to be out while it's dark, Sakura."

She nodded, then sighed. "I see your good intentions, Naruto, but--"

He held up his hands and in a high-pitched whine, reminiscent of his younger years, cried out, "Look, Sakura, in all fairness I thought two were going to be in the city for a whole lot longer and I was going to have your bedspread dry-cleaned when you came back! Honest!"

Sakura smiled and punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Oh, whatever. He's kind of hot anyway, I just hope he takes a shower before I have to go look at him."

"He was pretty beat-up when I found him…" Naruto muttered. He looked up at the pink-haired woman's face. "You know, maybe he was just trying to go home and he got mugged and dumped in the forest. I mean, there were certain wounds--"

Sakura held up her hand, and he bit his words back.

Some things, couldn't be talked about. If you talked about them, they happened.

Sakura pushed herself back up and dusted off her clothes. "I think I heard the shower turn off," she said. "Come on, get your ass in your room and get him some clothes."

The mopey blonde man nodded and followed her back into the house. He locked the door to the balcony, though, and pulled the blinds.

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Sasuke regarded her rather uneasily. He wasn't sure of what the point of this little physical was…he was going to Oldorns, no matter what anyone said about his health. He had to admit that he felt better since breakfast, though.

Sakura smiled at him as he took off the sweater Naruto had given him. It had always been a little too baggy for the blonde, and was grey, which was not one of Naruto's colors. It seemed to fit the dismal stranger quite well, or so Sakura thought. He wore an old navy shirt underneath, also Naruto's.

She sat next to him on the bed once his sweater was off and he looked away during the examination. Sakura was immediately appalled by the series of scratches, cuts, and bruises on his arm…most of the wounds had started to close up, though. She wondered where he had received them, and she knew that he certainly hadn't gotten them last night as per Naruto's theory.

"So," Sakura said, trying to cheer him up, "you're going to another city?"

He glanced at her, making no attempt to answer the question.

Sakura smiled to herself. "You have family there?"

Sasuke suddenly pulled his arm away and turned around, ignoring the pain in his damaged appendage. "Fuck off," he growled.

His pink-haired nurse's eyes shot open, and she picked herself off her bed. "Well," she said in a falsely even tone, "I'll just tell him I examined you and you're all better, because I think that maybe you don't want my help." Sakura smiled and left him on her bed, slamming the door as loudly as she could as she exited the room.

Sasuke sighed when he was alone again. The woman had left a first-aid kit in the room, so he pulled out a roll of gauze and tried to bandage his arm. When that was done, he opened a little two-pack of aspirin, popped them in his mouth, chewed and swallowed. The bitter taste didn't bother him.

Sakura joined Naruto and Kakashi in the kitchen, where the blonde man had just finished preparing toast and eggs for the three of them. Seeing her mood, Kakashi poured her a cup of coffee and handed it to her, straight-up black. He knew her tastes.

"How'd it go?" he asked her casually.

Sakura took a piece of strawberry toast and glared at the stairs leading to her room. "Oh, fine, just send him packing."

Kakashi nodded. "My feelings exactly. I don't need anyone else taking up space in this house…"

Naruto pouted and the older man smiled at him. "Not you, sonny, I can't kick you out just yet."

Back in Sakura's room, Sasuke had begun to contemplate his departure. As he stood to leave, though, he heard the distinct sound of…

His black eyes widened and he threw open the windows in the room. Surely enough, a small army of motorcycles had gathered outside the small house, all occupied by men and women from Sound, one of the two greatest gangs in the country.

He stumbled back towards the bed, and he sank down again, his heart pounding. How did they find me…maybe one of the people in this house told them…maybe that man recognized my name, and he wanted the bounty…

The stairs creaked with the sounds of footsteps, and Sakura threw open the door to his room. Ignoring the stranger, she walked over to the window and looked out.

"Who are they?" she asked, not looking at him. When he failed to respond, she spun around, glaring at Sasuke. "Are these your friends?"

The black-haired man shook his head. "I…I have nothing to do with them," he lied. A flash of yellow caught his eye and he walked toward the window in time to see Naruto talking to one of the men in the front, speaking as easily as if he was asking for directions.

Idiot! Sasuke's brain screamed. Don't you know who those people are?

He looked at the angry woman beside him. "What's that dumbass doing? Does he want to get killed?"

Sakura shrugged. "He wanted to talk to them, to ask them to leave. You know, since this is private property."

Sasuke stared at Naruto, and waited to see what the Sound's response would be. A few of the bikers pointed to him in the window; they knew he was there.

And they won't leave without me…Kabuto, you double-crossing bastard!

Naruto held up his hands as he walked towards the man standing at the front of the group. He smiled in a friendly way, and the tall man standing in front of him glared back.

"Good morning!" Naruto said cheerfully as he held out a hand. The man didn't shake it, but stared back at Naruto, unmoving.

Naruto uneasily lowered his hand and laughed a little. "Not your thing, huh? Look, you probably didn't know, but this is private property and it's illegal to trespass here, so I'm going to have to ask you to leave. You know, you can get arrested for that sort of--"

The blonde man's appeal was cut short when the leader caught him in the stomach with his fist, hitting him so hard that he doubled over and his arms fell slack. Naruto stared at the ground, wide-eyed, as a few of the other bikers laughed.

"Can you believe how uppity some people are?" one man shouted.

Naruto coughed but didn't fall to the ground, forcing himself to stay standing, to not let the gang have its way.

Sasuke stared down in shock, but told himself that it wasn't his fault. He had no reason to feel guilty if an idiot took a hit that was meant for him.

He glanced at Sakura, who had narrowed her eyes and begun to count the number of bikers.

She's a girl, too…I know what they'll do to her…

Sasuke resigned himself to fate. He should have known, after all, that the one person who'd tried to give him a hands-up since that night would just have been spouting empty promises.

Then they'll have to kill me. I don't care what happens besides that…it's Oldorns or death. I have to go…if these other people die with me, then so what. I've been surrounded by death my whole life. It's not like they'll add anything to the tally.

So he stared, and watched, and waited, for the blonde man's life to be taken. Another grain of sand on a beach. Meaningless, like all the other lives.

And he was shocked when Naruto grabbed the fist in his stomach, twisted the man's arm, and threw him over his shoulder like a ragdoll.

"What the--" Sasuke choked out.

Sakura left her watching place at the window and felt around her collar. When she'd found a key hanging there on a chain, she unlocked one of the armoires in her room, wrenched open the doors, and revealed to Sasuke a stunning array of swords, spears, and stakes.

Sasuke stared at her as she trapped two swords to her back, her mouth turned down in a taut frown. Once he'd regained his voice, he said, "You people are…"

Sakura nodded tersely. "Don't worry about Naruto," she growled at him as she pushed past him, back to the window, "he can take care of himself. Maybe you should go find Kakashi and ask him to please protect you so you won't die," she said as she opened the window, stepped onto the ledge, and jumped onto the ground from the second story.

Sasuke ran back to the window in time to see Naruto knock down another biker. They'd formed a ring around him by then, and he spun around, trying to keep an eye on his attackers when Sakura walked right up to them and began to attack the ring.

He stared at them, at the two people who'd tried to take care of him, as they turned from nobodies, from lines on a chalkboard, into…

"…slayers," he whispered. "Those are…slayers' swords."

Sakura knocked a particularly resilient biker to the ground and screamed a battle cry as she turned to fight another, keeping the two swords in place on her back. A few of the bikers who had yet to try to attack the bystanders pointed to the window, and Sasuke knew they were coming for him.

He ran downstairs, frantic, to see Kakashi standing at the front door.

Sasuke stopped in his tracks as he heard the front door creak and crack. Kakashi turned to him, rolled his eyes, and said, "You know, if they break the door then the wife will kill me…but if I let them in the house…" He sighed.

"Choices, choices…" the silver-haired man muttered as he unlocked the door.

Kakashi and the attackers were away from the door before Sasuke had time to shout, "Stop!", which is what he did when he realized which path the man had chosen to take. When the word had registered with the older man, though, Kakashi merely turned around, smiled, and said, "Don't worry. They're not going to get into this house. I have a marriage to think about."

And with that, he pushed the line back, away from the porch as he, Sakura, and Naruto fought the bikers.

Sasuke slowly stumbled to the door, then outside, as he watched his...protectors?...fight off the Sound gang members. If he had been more observant, or if his state of shock had been less severe, he would have noticed the helmeted figure who had already begun to retreat from the fight. He was surprised, therefore, to see the other bikers freeing themselves, or helping each other up from the ground, climbing onto their bikes and riding away.

Once they were gone, Sasuke sat down on the front porch steps, now dirty from the biker's boots, and held his head in his hands. He'd been found, and they would bring him back in now. Not today…it didn't have to be today, Kabuto had never been jumpy like that…but he wasn't free…

"Hey!" Naruto shouted. Sasuke looked up to see an angry blonde man pointing at him as he stalked up to his sitting place. He glared back up at Naruto, but said nothing as Naruto stomped his way over.

"They were here for you, weren't they?" the blonde man shouted.

Sasuke gave him a cold look. "I have no idea," he lied.

Sakura walked up to him and grabbed his collar. Sasuke looked away as she hissed, "Look, we took you in, we tried to be nice to you, so the least you could do is tell us what the fuck that was all about."

Kakashi sauntered over. "Kids, settle down," he said in a bored voice. He joined them by Sasuke and Sakura released the dark-haired man, willing to let Kakashi do whatever he thought was right as she walked away to cool down. Kakashi leaned over so he was eye-level with Sasuke and, his usual smile gone, said in a gravelly voice, "I see that the Sound was after you. Now that they know where you've been, they'll come after my family and I doubt that my home is a safe place anymore."

Sasuke looked away. "Maybe you shouldn't have brought me here," he said in a low voice.

Kakashi shrugged. "We can't change the past. It seems like none of us have too much of a choice in the future, either." Looking over his house, he sighed. "I'll miss this place…"

Naruto stepped up from behind him. "Wait, don't tell me…"

The silver-haired man nodded. "We have to move. Your mother's not going to like this…" He shrugged. "Oh well, life out here was boring anyway." He looked down at Sasuke again, and the dark-haired man's face was full of resentment.

What's he got to hate, anyway…

"So," Kakashi continued, "as soon as the twins' mom comes home, we're going to pack up and go. And you're coming with us, too."

Sasuke's eyes grew narrow and he stood up, taking a step back so that he stood above Kakashi. "Why would I come with you?"

"Well, we don't have any place to go, and…" Kakashi smiled. "It's been a while since I've seen the road."

Sasuke gaped at him and Naruto nodded. "I think I've heard about some stuff the Sound's been--"

Kakashi held up a hand to cut him off, and Sasuke stared at Naruto. "No," Kakashi said firmly to Naruto, though he didn't take his eyes off Sasuke, "I'm sure that the things you heard were just rumors."

A few feet away, Sakura had calmed down. She'd caught Naruto's stray remark, and she agreed. The Sound has been stirring up trouble recently…between us, and them.

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Notes: if you are confused then it just means that you actually read the story.