Chapter 2 : Wake Me Up.
A/N:
This story timeline is different from canon.
Pein attack has happened.
But Sasuke has not fought with Itachi yet.
He is not aware of Konoha's betrayal, yet. Hence,Danzou is alive.
For a long time, Naruto listened. He listened and listened, until he could not listen anymore.
There was the Council talking :"What is to be done, now? What are we going to do with the Uchiha?"
Of course,for some reason no one was willing to kill him.It was all a formality. Sharingan was way too valuable to be given up on.And now it was even more important than anything. It was the most important thing for the sake of Konoha.
So,Team Kakashi was ordered to go and bring back the last Uchiha.
Naruto watched his life crumble before his eyes, not that there was much to his life.Just a couple of messy friendships, and laughing relations that he had made on his way, with classmates and teammates, and mentors : with Sakura and Sai, Kakashi and Yamato,with Tsunade and Jiraiya.
only to be betrayed.
Nobody, none of them cared .Nobody even wanted to hear what he had to say .Yes, Sasuke should be brought back but not this way. Not like this, not with Naruto not there. Not only to be used ,for his Sharingan. But what did Naruto know ,he was just a class jester turned hero. A hero when everyone else was helpless. A hero who saved the village. He was not there to play politics and ideals of dreams ,after all.
"You understand, Naruto, don't you? This is for Konoha. It is our duty" Sakura said.
Naruto agreed .Yes, Konoha.Konoha has to be protected. It was home, afterall.
And so,Naruto carried him back .With his body pressed to his chest,their hearts beating together. He brought an unconscious Sasuke back home - to Konoha. He was happy, he had to be.This is what he wanted, to be with Sasuke.To bring him back. His promise finally complete.
For Sasuke , coming back was a myth. Something that everyone talked about. Everyone thought was real but was never going to happen .His ideas of return was not a myth ,though. He would see it to reality. Or would have if he was not tied up like some animal being prepared for a satanic ritual.
what are they trying to do?
Sasuke was beyond confused and annoyed as he was taken out of the prison cell.Stripped and hosed and then sat down inside a circle.
When he understood, it was too late.Too late for anything , too late for everything.
Konoha did not need Sasuke active.They frankly did not care. His genetic component did not require chakra to transfer.Only enough leniency had been made that Sasuke won't tire himself out (very quickly) if forced to take part in some physical activity. His cooperation ,whether he wanted to give or not, was not required either. They made sure that Sasuke was as harmless as could be made.Just a dog, following its master.
Long ,complex seals and signs were made and reinforced into Sasuke's body. Binding his chakra to a minimum. Prominent members of the Council all were present to oversee the deed fully done.Hyuuga Hiashi,Danzou Shimura ,Lady Tsunade. Clans Heads were called later, one by one,to carry on their specific duties.
Hyuuga Hiashi surveyed the Chakra network of the condemned and declared it work well done.
Danzou looked at the body covered in black chakra seals ,like snake scales ,crawling and considered it work well done.
Lady Tsunade watched Sasuke ,his face tender in sleep and believed the work well done.
Yamanaka Inoichi entered the dosing mind ,to search and found the work well done.
Nara Shikaku saw the procedure and calculated its benefits and agreed at the work well done.
The Aburame,The Akamichi ,The Inuzuka ,The Sarutobi felt the peace settle and accepted the work well done.
After all was over,it was indeed a work well done.
Uchiha Sasuke was forever bound to Konoha .In power and mind. Enslaved to a jutsu that always had contributed to a masterfully bound slave.
Naruto did not like it one bit.What the elders had done to Sasuke.
When he saw Sasuke again, after delivering him to the Integgoration and Torture Department of Konoha, he couldn't believe it. Sasuke, his Sasuke, his best friend, was there but not really. His eyes were looking at the ground seemingly lost. His face was paler than usual and had such a void look that Naruto heart broke just by looking at him.
Why was Sasuke sitting there like that ? With that broken look on his face? what had they done?
"Hey Sasuke- "
He couldn't say more.He was feeling too much and when his eyes traveled down,he felt himself freeze all over.There were lines on Sasuke's hands and on his legs.Black crawling lines. They were faint,almost not noticeable in that dark ,with the lights so dim. But Naruto saw. The curse mark? It was similar to what Orochimaru had done.But why were they there,spread out all over Sasuke? As Naruto watched,he saw them receding, when he looked up,his eyes caught Sasuke's. The cursed marked completely receded as Sasuke looked at Naruto,his eyes shining with awareness.
"You- You did this" Sasuke spoke,his voice venomous .His eyes flashing with hatred and anger.Face twisted .
"what?"he replied meekly, his voice conveyed the shock he felt. Sasuke had spoken.Naruto heard him speak for the first time in 3 years and this is what he had said to him. With so much anger,so much hatred.
"What are you saying, Sasuke?" Naruto asked once again,with more force in his voice so that he was heard ."What are you talking about?"
Naruto looked at Sasuke's face, who looked back, his angry expression intact.
Naruto was shocked.His jaw slacked.Voice trembling. His body going numb. Was Sasuke saying he did something to him? And why did he had such a horrendous feeling in his heart.
Before either of them could speak again,Sakura was there.And then Kakashi sensei and then Baa-chan.
"Don't bother, Naruto.Sasuke has to go now. Meet him later" Kakashi placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and spoke in his 'sensei' voice ,soft but commanding. He then turned and looked pointedly at Sasuke who stared back.His onyx eyes filled with hatred.
Later ,but why?
"Kaka-sensie,but-"
"Naruto."
Naruto stopped. Kakashi made it clear, no arguing.
He watched Sasuke being taken by guards ,back inside to his cell.He looked so frail. So thin,as if he hadn't eaten anything for months. Starved. Wait has he eaten anything? Naruto trusted them.Trusted konoha not to starve Sasuke.Afterall,he was valuable to their cause,wasn't he? Naruto felt his soul wretch as the bolt shut down with a - clang!- and Sasuke disappeared.
Glorious is the Sun,
Beautiful is the Sky,
But there is something about the night,
that makes the Moon so Enticing.
He felt it reflect against his face, and lit the inky darkness in his room, as he saw the moonlight filter through. Sasuke stared at the night sky outside.It was a beautiful night. Floating clouds painted silvery white against the backdrop of an ebony black night sky.The Moon shone from behind the clouds, smiling crookedly at Sasuke.
He would be scared if he didn't like nighttime so much.But he did.He loved the night sky ,this darkness. Nature's beauty.Nothing compared to it.Sasuke rarely ever found human made things beautiful. Nothing he looked at captured him. When he looked up at the sky.The stars were answer enough. When he had seen such unparallele craftmanship as the heavenly world,what could compare. Humans can never make something so peerless, so pure.No beauty ,no creation like the other world.It was something the humans could never reach, never attain.
It was his respite. Away from the gravity weighing him down,tying him to the ground. The stars beckoning him ,above.To be free.He saw his goals so clearly, reflected on the moon's side.
That was why Sasuke was so attracted to it.That world was unreachable by humans.It was untainted. He longed to go there,the night sky filled with stars.There, where his family was waiting for him.
Sasuke knew it was where he belonged.
Afterwards, when the guard came to check ,as was his routine, he saw the inmate sleeping. His face serene.With moonlight dancing across his closed eyes.
The image was eerily disturbing,though. The darkness in the room was a heavy contrast against the silver moonlight streaming in. It looked as if the dark had tendrils wrapped around Sasuke's sleeping body.Only his face was lit by the moonlight, painting it in its silvery glow,as if protecting his consciousness from the darkness around, trying to wake him up.
The wind blew across his face,his clothes rustling and hair blowing .
But Naruto stood straight,on that cliff. His face tilted up, towards the sky.His eyes fixed on the darkness above. His mind was lost.Eyes starting blindly,on a fixed spot.
He did not see anything.Konoha was sleeping under his feet.He did not feel anything. His heart was in a tight grip.His body aching. His mind racing. He felt so restless, even as he kept standing, without moving a muscle.
what had happened? where did it go wrong? what had he done?
Naruto got everything he wanted.He became a strong shinobi,a master of a powerful jutsu,student of a legendary Sannin and the hero of his village.
so,why?
Naruto was acknowledged now. Loved ,admired ,respected. He proved himself. Saved his home. Saved Konoha. He was so much closer to his dream,to become Hokage.
so,why?
He brought back Sasuke.Even Sasuke is back home.He fulfilled his promise to Sakura. He accomplished everything he ever wanted to.
so,why?
Why did he feel so unhappy, so alone, so upset ?Because, He was not happy. Because He was alone. Because He felt betrayed.
Sasuke.
And so this empty feeling, this restless heart,this panicked mind.How could he feel happiness, satisfaction when all this was just a broken heart.
Naruto inhaled. Filled his lungs,his chest and then his empty body with the cool night air. His shoulders ' moved up and then down in motion,as he breathed.He felt lighter, as if all the tension left his body.He relaxed, then,feeling calm.His chest was empty,but in a good way.
He looked below,the village sleeping beneath his feet.He looked straight, at the horizon, and the dark forest in the distance. He felt the breeze again.He smiled.Then, he grinned.
He looked up at the night sky.The star studded canvas and the pearly moon,smiled at him.
Naruto spread his arms open, and dived. His lips stretched wide,eyes dipping close. He was awake,now.
I will wake you up too,Sasuke.
Naruto knew, he would.
If Sasuke was not happy, then he will make him happy.
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