Title: A.I. Robot.
(A.I as in 'artificial intelligence, and AI as in love)
Pairing: Naru/Sasu
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: "Naruto', don't own it; not mine. I just borrow Masashi's characters and replace them in naughty positions, and I mean really naughty positions.
Summary: The year is 2259, Kohonagakure Japan. Naruto Uzumaki's life has never had it easy- school, work, friends (or the lack of) are already dragging him down but to fall in love with a robot... fate must hate him.
A/N: ITS BEEN A LOOOONNNGGG TIME, I KNOW. Life got in the way. Happy New Year, by the way.
Chapter Eight: Hit The Road, Jack.
Un-beta'd.
Previously...
Naruto's lungs began to burn when the device was pulled away and the lid closed. Naruto waited until his lungs were on the verge of erupting when he pulled himself up. He gasped in a deep breath while Sasuke joined him above water. He leaned his forehead on the cold metal ladder and sucked in deep breaths.
Oh. Fuck. Now he had gotten Iruka and Kakashi into his mess. Wonder-fucking-ful.
Sasuke's hand were cold under his chin and he turned to the robot. Sasuke's dark eyes were so close to him. "Sasuke?"
Cold lips were pressed on his in a closed-mouth kiss, and Naruto nearly opened his mouth but Sasuke pulled away. Naruto, however, licked his lips. "Sasuke…did you just kiss me?"
Sasuke turned away and his eyes flashed purple once more before he reached up and pushed the lips open. He climbed up with a gentle grace Naruto wished he had. All his sensibilities had spun upside and gone berserk when Sasuke's lips had touched his. He clambered up and as his wet clothed dragged him down. He got out of the tank and flopped on the dirt. His heart was hammering so hard it was a miracle it had not lurched from his throat and was beating on the ground.
A hand, a real warm hand helped him up. It was Kakashi while Iruka was holding his duffel bag, admittedly pale. "N-Naruto," Iruka stammered, "There's a warrant out for your arrest. You need to go."
Kakashi slapped the folder in his hand and said, "This is not a game at all, these people want Sasuke and they want him bad for something I am sure about what but I am damn sure I'll find when I go through those files. Get changed, lose all the technology you have, here are some cash and directions to a safe house I know of. Take Sasuke and run! Now!"
How Sasuke knew all the unlit roads—few and far between as they were—Naruto did not know, but he trusted the autonomous—possibly bio- synthezoid— robot, implicitly. The night air was turning his wet clothes into ice and his frantic glances up the air for the drones and peering into the gloom at the streets mere alleys away for the patrol cars were non-stop.
Every time he heard the wail of the siren his heart lodged in his throat and the merest moving shadow had his head spinning.
They were a few blocks away from a forested section—a national reserve park—when the sudden buzz of a drone had Sasuke shoving Naruto into a dark crevice and pasting his back to Naruto's front. Once again, that shimmering purple thing ran over Sasuke's skin and Naruto held in his breath.
The red searchlight panned down the length of the alley and back to the top before the drone moved off and Naruto could suck in a breath. Sasuke stepped away to look then turned to Naruto with a permissive nod for him to move.
They headed up, clinging to the shadows until the buildings gave way to trees, and into the forest they went. The deeper they went the more Naruto felt his strength waning. It seemed as if they had been walking for hours but he could not track the time as anything electronic he had was left back with Iruka.
The only mercy they had was the ripe, full moon that stopped him from stumbling over a root or walking into a tree. They walked until his feet felt like lead and his eyes were drooping, then Sasuke stopped, and looked up.
"What's it?" Naruto asked, his voice a whisper even though he did not need to do so.
Instead of answering, Sasuke looped an arm around Naruto's waist and his kneed and leaped high. The sudden rush of air and the fright it brought him made Naruto's lungs sieze and his heart to skip a beat in a horrid way. Sasuke's deft feet landed on a thick limb of an ancient Goshinboku tree. The limb so large that Naruto could lie comfortably on it.
Sasuke sat in a crook and held Naruto to him, his arms, flesh like but as strong as iron bars. Oddly, Naruto felt safe and even comforted in Sasuke's hold.
"Is this where we'll be sleeping tonight?" he asked to feel Sasuke's nod.
"Great," he yawned. "At least I'm not pinned to it with an arrow."
"Hn?"
"An old anime I used to watch back at the orphanage," Naruto yawned, "InuYasha. Its about a hanyou, that a half-demon who loved a priestess who—y'know what, never mind. S'doesn't matter anyway."
"Hn."
"Sasuke," Naruto said quietly. "That thing you do, you're cloaking yourself aren't you?"
"Yes."
"My…maker made me like a chameleon…" Sasuke said slowly. "Bio synthesized iridophore cells into…like human skin cells and… from an Octopus, nano-chromatophores into fiber optics wires. I…merge with my surroundings."
Naruto had no illusion that Sasuke had dumbed those things down for him because he had never in his life while studying computers knew that someone had made a robot with natural camouflage properties. Who ever had programmed Sasuke had to be a genius beyond compare, or even human, and that was saying it lightly.
"Next thing ya gonna tell me is that you got wings too. One day," Naruto yawned. "I wanna meet your maker."
"Can't," Sasuke grunted, "He's dead."
Sighing, Naruto tucked his head under Sasuke's chin, "Okay. G'night Sasuke."
A replying grunt came just before Naruto slipped off into oblivion
When his human was fast asleep, Sasuke accessed the files he had downloaded about Naruto Uzumaki, the orphaned child of the last president of Japan, though he doubted Naruto knew it. It might be for the best though, Namikaze Minato still had enemies alive—Orochimaru one of them— and even though the heritage chip would give him access to a hefty fortune embedded at the base of Naruto's skull was active, that too might be best to leave alone.
It irked him that he couldn't tell Naruto everything, about him, about his brothers, about his maker Madara, his great uncle, because the damn restrictions embedded into his programming to keep his family's secrets safe hindered him. Despite him being 003, he had been the last one to be made—another of Madara's madness.
But now—Orichimaru was after him and he had a suspicion that the man was trying to crack through Itachi or Shisui to get to Sasuke, but the snake was out of luck. Neither Itachi nor Shishi had his programming, as Madara had used all five of his family, specialty programming TOMOE++, another thing Madara had developed as well, to make the base of Sasuke's programming.
After that, the man had layered programming after programming into Sasuke, giving the sentient robot with god-like abilities Madara had imagined his ancestor Indra to have. They were some abilities Sasuke didn't even know he had; they were only accessed by hair-triggers. If he felt attacked, the urge to destroy sprung up, if he was threatened, his camouflage response came out too. If he needed to blend in, the metal on his body turned to synthetic skin.
Madara had programmed him to beat every system, to self-evolve and adapt to any situation he found himself in. The only damn thing Madara had not given him was—ironically— wings. Twisting his head to look at the human in his arms, Sasuke felt… oddly caring. He felt the urge to protect the boy—and as old as Sasuke, over sixty-years-old, he was justified in calling Naruto boy.
Holding his charge securely, Sasuke watched for any minute change in the air to signal pending danger, but nothing came. He was sure the drones were still searching the town for them and when they realized they were gone, only then would they start searching the outlying areas. At that point, he and Naruto would be long gone.
Watching for sunrise, Sasuke carefully mapped out the next stage of their journey to the next town where Kakashi's safe house rested. He felt the smooth rise and fall of Naruto's chest and knew the boy was still asleep. He shifted a little to feel Naruto backside rest on his clothed cock. Sasuke did not know if Madara had programmed him with any sexual drive, but he didn't really care to find out.
Shisui has it…I may have a version of it too.
Closing his eyes, Sasuke thought about connecting with the private server Madara had created to control he and his brother's actions but reconsidered it. Who was to know if Orochimaru had decoded either of their programmings so he could track Sasuke. Aside from the separate server he had, the three had a hive mind CPU as well that allowed them to tap into each other's "thoughts".
The barest pink rays of sunrise began creeping over the trees and Sasuke nudged Naruto awake, holing his securely just in case he startled. Lids with stubby brown-blond hair blinked open and Sasuke saw the moment awareness rested in the man's eyes. Naruto's lips thinned, making the markings on his cheeks—the sole reminder of the car accident that had claimed his parent's lives—that more pronounced.
"Where are we?"
"Fifteen miles away from the border if Oto no Kuni, the land of Sound," Sasuke said quietly. "We have to run."
Naruto shook his head, "Okay. Sasuke…why did you kiss me?"
"Human archives says a kiss is to comfort," Sasuke replied stoically. "Your…stress hormones told me you were in distress."
"You were…" Naruto swallowed. "…comforting me?"
"Yes," Sasuke said while slipping his hands under Naruto again and shifting so Naruto was hanging on Sasuke's back. "I think its might be easier to travel this way. Hold onto me."
As Naruto fixed his grip— Sasuke was off, leaping easily from tree limb to tree limb, as if Naruto's 180 pound bulk was a feather to him. Naruto held tightly to him as Sasuke literally flew through the forest and in no time they had crossed the border into the other country.
Sasuke gently dropped to the ground and Naruto climbed off him to stomp his feet and get the feeling in his limbs. "You know, I'm glad you can superhuman it through the woods, but next time, I'd like some heads up, okay."
"Hn,"
"Where are we going from here?" Naruto asked.
"Kita Ajito," Sasuke said, "Anorthern town."
"And what else is there?"
Shūmatsu no Tani," Sasuke thought, Valley of the End. The secret laboratory, powered by the never ending rushing river where Madara created me.
"I suppose we'll need to start walking then," Naruto said.
"You—" Sasuke jabbed a finger at him. "—will need new clothes."
Naruto's lips twitched, "Worried about me getting sick? You don't need to, I've been through worse."
"And dye your hair," Sasuke said. "Be inconspicuous."
Naruto sighed. "I just don't get it. what is it about you that Orochimaru wants so badly?"
The secrets to my creator's programming. If he gets me, and unlocks the infinity codes that though are over three decades, they're still light years ahead anything now, he can literally rule the world.
Sasuke just grunted and they went off.
By midday, Naruto's stomach was grumbling hard enough to wake the dead, but he had no food. They were crouching at the edge of a farmer's land where clean clothes flittered on a clothesline.
"I don't feel good about stealing, Sasuke," Naruto said. "It's not right."
"You must survive." Sasuke grunted.
At that, Naruto gave him a long, blank look. "That's the first time anyone has ever said that to me."
Again, Sasuke grunted and in the blink of an eye, the robot was off, a wind rustled the lines and a plume of dirt announced Sasuke arrival, his hands filled with clothes. "Change."
Unbothered, Naruto stripped, trying to tell himself the piercing look in Sasuke's eyes did not mean anything. He pulled on the clothes, the pants were baggier then he would have liked but the shirt fit perfectly. Spreading his arms wide, he asked, "Good enough?"
At Sasuke's nod, Naruto let out a breath, "Okay, where to now?"
"You need to eat," Sasuke said.
"Great," Naruto raked a hand though his hair. "What do you say about that? I cant exactly walk into a restaurant or even a food stand."
"Hn," Sasuke grunted.
Mystified about what the robot meant by that, Naruto headed into the woods with Sasuke striding near him. "I bet the guys back as my school are laughing their heads off. Of course, the odd ball orphan kid that had no place in an elite school is a criminal. And that fucker Danzo must be scoffing at me, saying he knew it all along."
"Danzō Shimura," Sasuke said robotically. "Has been overlooked for cybernetics noble prizes five times in his life. His inventions, fusion reactions are nothing more than glorified kettles and he came close to being bankrupt a year ago."
"So, he is a bitter bastard," Naruto snorted. "Why does that surprise me?"
They walked for hours, keeping close to the cover of the forest until dusk began to draw. Sasuke led Naruto to springs for him to drink from and even picked some ripe fruit for him to eat, but scant mouthfuls were burnt off quickly as they walked. Then, just as dark fell, Sasuke said, "We're near the safe house, but we must enter the town to get there."
Naruto stilled, "And what are the chances that Orochimaru's goons are ahead of us?"
"Ninety- seven point eight percent," Sasuke said stiffly.
"Fine," Naruto said. "Bring it on."
The woods began to thin out and soon, Naruto saw the artificial lights of the town ahead—and the zippering of the drones above. He grit his teeth when he realized that they would have a maze of dodging drones and foot-soldiers to navigate when they did get into the town.
"Stay with me," Sasuke grunted as he slipped out into the dark. Crouching, Naruto followed him, trying to stay as close to the ground as he could.
They entered the town through an alley and headed deeper, moving swiftly and silently while Naruto felt every hair on his body stood up in attention and fear. He did not want to land into Orochimaru's hands, nor did he want them to grab Sasuke. For some reason, he felt, deeply felt that it would be apocalyptic if they got their hands on the robot.
He kept to the shadows as best as he could as they head deep into what could only be described as a slum. The buildings were shoddy and ramshackle, the smell of sewage was heavy in the air and men with hard eyes lingered in alleys. Naruto could not believe that this was where Kakashi had sent them—then again, if this was a hard part of town, lawless and hard, the law had its hands full when it came to breaking into this rough sect.
Naruto leaped back into the shadows as the red drone light swept inched away from his feet. Heart pounding, he dropped his head back on the wall and sucked in a breath. Sasuke materialized at his side and rested a steadying hand on his shoulder.
"Just gimme a minute," Naruto breathed out. "That was too close for comfort."
Sasuke nodded but still held unto Naruto's arm until he peeled himself away from the wall and they hurried deeper into the dark. More than once, Naruto felt eyes run over the back of his neck but could not save the time to look.
They came to a door of a darked doorway where no light came from the windows above. The walls were cracked, the windows broken in and the roof was caved in. "What the hell kind of sae house is this?" Naruto gaped.
Sasuke's eyes ran over the door, and then he smirked. Pushing the door in, he walked right in, prodding Naruto to follow him into a room as dark as night. Shadows danced over the walls, and he swore he saw a rat…or possibly a snake slither down a corner. Sasuke led them down a set of rickety stairs and then, down another until Naruto started questioning the robots' sense, Clearly, there was nothing here but rot and broken glass.
"Sasuke—" Naruto said, his eyes flying left and right, "What are you doing? There is nothing—" and then, they came to a steel door with a blinking keypad. Sasuke eyes flashed white—a new color for Naruto—and he quickly pushed a ten key code in.
The door swung open and a clean room, with sterile white tile ahead of them. Sasuke led him inside, a smirk on his face and as they came to another room, a man came in, walking with a cane. He had startling white hair that hung to his waist and his dark eyes seemed to miss nothing, even with the one pass over. Naruto shivered—why did it feel as if the man knew him?
"An Uchiha," he said quietly. "As I live and breathe."
Naruto was stunned, "How—how do you know what he is?"
"Because I knew the man who made him," the man said, "Madara Uchiha was my rival and by best friend. I am Hashirama Senju, and though Madara kept a lot from me, I know what he did, just as I know why you came to me."
"We're running from Amatersu Corp," Naruto said. "They want Sasuke and I don't know why. A friend of mine said this was a safe house. Is it?"
"It is and I do know why they want him," Senju said, then lifted his cane and tapped Sasuke's arm. "Because he is one creation Madara was the proudest of. He holds the key to literally every system that Orochimaru wants but cannot find."
Naruto's eyes popped. "What?"
"Your robot, Sasuke is a Theos, a rank of computers that exceed the combination of human and machine. He is sentient. And I hold the key to your survival."
"How—" Naruto felt stunned, "How do you mean?"
"May I?" Hashirama asked Sasuke.
Wordlessly, Sasuke extended his arm and Hashirama tapped Sasuke's control panel. A holographic screen flew up and the man fixed his fingers into a circle, spun a blue circled once, spun it the other way, and kept on, as is if he were entering a code that no one else could have ever found.
When he finished the last spin, Sasuke jolted, his body going ramrod straight and a wave of static energy blasted from him, lifting his dark hair and washing right over Naruto's skin. When Sasuke settled back on his feet the robot looked up, a new glimmer in his eye. "Thank you for unlocking me."
"Un-unlocking you?" Naruto gasped. "What do you mean? All those awesome things you did before were when you were locked?"
"Two-third of my abilities were locked away, yes," Sasuke now said easily. "My language was stalled, my ability to merge with other CPUs was gone, and my reflexes were stalled for three seconds, not to mention my instruction decoder, ALU, RAM, and registers were all stalled. But now I'm back to full processing."
Naruto staggered—what the fuck was going on? Sasuke had not been at his best? What the fuck WAS his best? "Which means?"
Sasuke swiped a hand through his hair, and grinned nastily, "It means, Orochimaru job to catch me just a lot harder."
A chime in the air had Hashirama looking up. "Someone else is at my door."
Instantly, Naruto tensed, "Were we followed?"
"No," Sasuke said confidently.
The old man brought up a holographic console and looked at it, "It's only my supplier, it's fine. I'll go see him and when I come back, we're going to have a long talk."
As he went off, Naruto turned to Sasuke, "What does that mean?"
Sasuke's lips curved, "It means he is going to tell you why I chose to stay with you and the mystery of who you are."
"Me?" Naruto's eyebrows darted up. "I'm nothing special, just an orphan kid who struggled to make ends meet most of the time."
Sasuke leaned forward, his eyes glimmering, "You're wrong."
Inching closer, so close their lips almost touched, Naruto said in a husky growl, "Then tell me, S'uke, who am I?"
A/N: Yes, yes, I am so sorry, but I will do my best to keep up with the updates. I know this chapter was a bit meh, but it is leading to something more, (aka, smexier stuff)I promise so, thanks for putting up with me. For those who have read Uchiha's Bodyguard, I have the following chapter coming for that story too. So, with that out of the way- REVIEW DAMNIT?
