"Sasuke," Naruto replied, with a hint of relief. "It's time you come home."
Sasuke sneered, "No Naruto, leave me alone!"
"I understand why you killed your brother, and I understand why you fled. I've since learned the truth about Itachi and his life." Naruto spoke with a steady tone, but sadness was reflected in his brilliant blue eyes.
Deidara led Sasori back a few steps. The two watched as Sasuke and Naruto spoke. "This is the hokage?" Sasori asked Deidara in disbelief. He was young, maybe 21 years old.
"He's more powerful than he looks hm," Deidara responded, respect for the young hokage clear in his voice.
Sasori was about to ask another question, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun around to find Chiyo starting at him with a worried and relieved look. "Granny?!"
"I heard explosions and rushed over, I see you two battled with Sasuke?" Chiyo asked.
Sasori nodded, noticing a flash in his peripheral vision. He turned back to the battle field, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. Sasuke's body was encased in a massive, purple skeletal ghost figure. The purple armor stood tall and menacing, glowering down at the spiky haired hokage. Sasori stared open mouthed at the display.
"Let's back up a little, that's the susano'o," granny Chiyo's eyes were wide with mingled admiration and fear. "It's the Uchiha's ultimate defense."
The three of them backed away and watched with awe as Naruto tapped into his nine tailed fox chakra. The large nine tailed form emerged, rivaling the susano'o in size. The beast was absolutely massive, Sasori could not believe his eyes. The tailed beast and susano'o began to fight, locking arms in battle while the two men exchanged words with furious speed.
"Enough Sasuke! I don't want to hurt you!"
"Then leave me alone! You could never understand the pain of what I've been through! You've been alone your whole life, I had my family killed before my eyes, you would never understand!"
"Sasuke, when we exchange blows, I can see into your heart. I know that you regret killing Itachi, now that you know the truth! You are not alone Sasuke, you have me!"
The conversation wore on as the massive beasts struck each other with gargantuan fists. This would definitely draw the attention of the townspeople. Sasori's head was buzzing with questions.
He turned to his grandmother, something heavy on his mind, "You never told me I had an implant in my eyes."
"Sasori…so Sasuke tried to use his visual powers on you? Your parents implanted the device in your eyes when you were a baby. We were still living in the shinobi country, still unsure if we would be granted permission to leave. Your parents were very cautious." Chiyo explained.
"So…I can't be placed under genjutsu? Why hasn't this device been given to every shinobi?" Sasori asked. The battle between giants raged in the background, Deidara was watching the two shinobi with an open mouth and wide unblinking eyes, mesmerized by their power.
Chiyo chuckled, "Not many know about it. Your parents were skilled craftsmen, they toyed around with many inventions. The eyepiece was one of few inventions that actually worked well. The 4th hokage, Naruto's father, knew about it. He figured that your parents could stop the Uchiha controlling the nine tailed fox."
"Did they?" Sasori wanted to know.
"Your parents fought hard, but they died in battle at the hands of the demon fox before it was sealed away. No one knew who had sent the fox upon the village hidden in the leaves, the village where Naruto and Sasuke are from," Chiyo explained.
"But many thought it was the Uchiha clan? Their eyes can control the nine tails?" Sasori was putting the pieces together in his mind, solving the puzzle of this mess.
"Yes, dissent arose between the rest of the villagers and the Uchiha after that day. Until, of course, the Uchiha were all murdered by Itachi, Sasuke's older brother." Chiyo said, staring up at the gargantuan combatants.
The nine tailed fist met with the susano'o's cheek, and the purple sword held by susano'o collided with the nine tail's shoulder. The two glowing, massive figures dissolved, sending Naruto and Sasuke back to the earth, no longer protected by their colossal chakra protectors.
Naruto and Sasuke stood up, Sasori was surprised that they still had the energy to do so after their intense battle. They lunged towards each other, exchanging blows so fast Sasori could barely keep up. He blinked in astonishment at their movements, surprised that these young males had so much strength.
Sasori then tugged at Deidara's shirt, awakening him from his spellbound daze on the two rapid moving ninja. Deidara gave Sasori a warm smile. Sasori smiled back and then embraced the blonde in a tight bone crushing hug. Deidara seemed somewhat shocked by his sudden embrace.
Sasori whispered in his ear, "I forgive you and I'm sorry. I don't ever want us to be apart again. I missed you."
Deidara broke free of the hug to stare longingly into Sasori's hazel eyes, "I missed you too Danna." Slow tears trickled down his cheeks. Sasori was hoping not to get too sappy, he tried to hold back the brimming tears from pouring out.
Chiyo was watching the too with a soft expression. Sasori felt his face flush from embarrassment, he had hoped to have a more private conversation with his partner. He reached his arm out to grab Deidara's hand. He squeezed it and continued watching the ninja battle before them.
"Itachi lived in the shadows, keeping the village hidden in the leaves safe. He protected us all by preventing a civil war amongst the Uchiha and the other clans." Naruto said, avoiding and ducking Sasuke's hits. The puzzle in Sasori's head became clearer as more pieces filled the gaps. He listened intently to their conversation.
"I know that now! Enough!" Sasuke cried in a rage. Naruto was finally clocked in the mouth, but his figure puffed up in a cloud of smoke. A shadow clone. The real Naruto jumped out from behind Sasuke, with a fast spinning blue sphere rotating in the palm of his hand.
"You didn't know those things when you killed him. Just like you, the rest of the shinobi thought he was a rogue ninja, he was marked as a top rate criminal. You were doing your duty as a shinobi to kill him and enact your revenge. There was no way you could have known Itachi's true intentions. Itachi knew he would die by your hands, and he accepted that." Naruto said, still holding the blue mass of chakra.
"Why are you explaining all this?!" Sasuke snarled. "Just because he knew I would kill him doesn't make my actions right." His eyes narrowed as he stared at the spinning blue energy in Naruto's hand. "Chidori!" he barked. A ball of crackling lightning erupted in his palm.
The two ran forward, their arms outstretched, ready to strike with their powers. "I want you to get it through your thick skull Sasuke! You don't need to punish yourself for what you did! You made a mistake and you are forgiven!" Their fists collided, and a burst of energy and a blinding light pulsed through the clearing.
Sasori was knocked down to the ground by Deidara as they took shelter. His face hit the raw earth, scraping his cheek. Chiyo also dropped down next to them, placing a protective hand over her grandson's head. A loud thud surrounded them and the blinding light finally faded. Sasori lifted up his head and peered over his shoulder.
Sasuke and Naruto were hunched over, looking beat up and completely exhausted. They could barely stand up. Naruto had his hand clasped on Sasuke's shoulder, and Sasuke was holding his bloody left arm in his right. They were panting heavily and staring straight into each other's eyes. Naruto's blue eyes were pleading and tender, but Sasuke's were cold stones.
"Why- why won't you leave me alone? Why do you care how I feel about Itachi's death?" Sasuke asked through heavy exhalations.
"Because Sasuke, I care for you. I'm your friend. I'm more than your friend," Naruto closed his eyes and the shadow of a loving smile curved on his lips, "You won't ever have to suffer again or be alone. You and I can be a family Sasuke." Naruto explained with a warm, sunshine smile. Sasori, Deidara and Chiyo watched silently from their hidden place, captivated by the scene.
"I did a terrible thing Naruto, things can't be the way they were. Itachi was a silent hero, he never even intended for me to find out the truth about him. And now, I can't bear it," Sasuke said. His voice had softened considerably. Perhaps Naruto's words were finally reaching through to the raven-haired male.
"Being alone is not the answer Sasuke. You don't need to isolate yourself from the shinobi…or from me. I understand why you burned down the forest. You were angry, you didn't know what to do. You became a rogue and left, unsure of how to handle the truth. You don't need to run anymore, come home Sasuke. You'll be welcomed home," Naruto reached his other hand out, trying to grasp Sasuke's.
Sasuke stood up straight, shirking Naruto's hand off his shoulder, "The world doesn't know about Itachi…I have to live with the pain of his life and the pain of knowing that I prematurely ended that life." Tears were streaming down the Uchiha's cheeks. His resolve had broken completely.
"You don't have to do it alone," Naruto reminded him. He stepped closer and gingerly brushed Sasuke's tears away with his thumb. Sasuke did not recoil from Naruto's touch. It had been so long since Sasuke had received any affection. "I'll be here by your side, every step of the way."
Sasuke couldn't hold it in any longer. The stern façade that Sasuke wore finally broke down, and what was left was the hollow sad eyes of the internally wounded Uchiha. Sasuke lifted up his dark, tear stained eyes to look into Naruto's bright blue ones. Then his face leaned in and bridged the gap between his and Naruto's lips. Sasuke kissed Naruto forcefully with passion. A bright pink blush covered Naruto's face, his eyes lit up with surprise. But after his initial shock he pushed into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Sasuke, pulling him into a tight embrace.
Sasori did a double take from the kissing ninja to Deidara. Deidara was looking at them in pure shock as well. "Wow," he muttered, "I never knew…but it explains a lot hm."
Naruto and Sasuke pulled away, Naruto's hand softly caressing Sasuke's face. "I'll come home then, stupid," Sasuke sighed. Naruto grinned widely, displaying a row of white teeth. The whiskers on his cheeks creased slightly with dimples.
Naruto held Sasuke's hand in his and walked Sasuke over to the three ninja watching them. Sasori and Deidara straightened up as the hokage ambled over to them.
"Deidara, thank you for your assistance," Naruto said somewhat abashedly, "without you, I wouldn't have been able to find him yah know." His eyes smiled brightly at Deidara.
"Of course hokage, I never realized you were looking for your lover. I thought it was merely a mission to find the rogue ninja hm," Deidara admitted.
"Haha yeah, it was my duty as hokage to find the rogue, but as Sasuke's friend I had another reason for finding him. I'm glad you were able to track him down Deidara. Now you can finally come home and resume your missions with the akatsuki," Naruto stated. Sasuke looked sheepishly at Deidara, still feeling too proud to apologize for everything. He squeezed Naruto's hand, silently pleading him to end this conversation.
Sasori felt his stomach clench uneasily at the hokage's words. He didn't want Deidara to leave him…
"I'd like to speak with Deidara about that," a voice echoed from behind them. Sasori, Deidara and Chiyo whirled around and saw a tall man with bright orange hair standing there.
"Yahiko! I almost forgot about our conversation about that yah know!" Naruto said, slapping a hand up to his forehead. He was really quite goofy, Sasori deduced. Sasuke rolled his eyes at his lover and muttered something unintelligible under his breath.
Yahiko, the leader of the akatsuki smirked. "When did you show up?" Deidara asked him.
"A few moments ago, I headed over as soon as I heard the news that you tracked down Sasuke, Naruto alerted me." Yahiko admitted.
"So what do you want to talk to me about hm?" Deidara wondered.
"I'd like to speak about the proposal you talked about with Konan." Yahiko stated.
Deidara turned his eyes on Sasori and squeezed his hand, "That's right. What's your decision?" Sasori had no idea what they were talking about. He cocked his head to the side in his confusion.
"We've decided to allow it," Yahiko said. Deidara whooped and jumped up and down, alarming Sasori.
Sasori watched the bouncy blonde leap up and down in excitement. "What's going on?" Sasori asked, growing impatient.
Deidara grabbed Sasori's hands and spun him around in a circle, "I don't have to leave you Danna! You and I can stay together forever hm!" he stopped the spinning and looked upon Sasori with a flushed face, "I mean, if you want to stay with me that is…" his voice cracked slightly and trailed off in a whisper.
Sasori still wasn't sure what this 'proposal' was, but a bubble of hope burst forth within him at the thought of staying with Deidara forever. "Of course," Sasori replied. "Now, what exactly is this offer?"
...
Author's Note: I hope you guys enjoyed the not-so-subtle SasuNaru! Writing about ninja fights is not particularly easy, so I sort of left that part in the background while Sasori and Deidara made up- hope that's okay! Anyways, we're getting close to the end here. Reviews welcome! I love hearing from my readers, it seriously makes my day! Thanks guys!