A/N: Here's the next chapter. The double update is meant to make up for the laggy update. Though this type of writing ethic isn't seen with my other stories...shifty eyes. Ahem. Anyways, more action filled chapter. Less filler more movement!! Everyone cheer! This is the last prologue. It'll get us in to the real story, which will be the next chapter. I just hope everything lives up to everyone's expectations. Oh, and just to make it clear.
This is not going to be a SasuNaru gay fic yaddi yadda, this is a friendship fic. Although I am a staunch fan of the genre, (I plead guilty to charges of fangirlism) sometimes enough is enough and you just want to see something that examines how their friendship is. Which I am trying to do. I hope I make that happen in this story. If anyone is dieing to see a yaoi version of the story, there is one on TONFA (just type TONFA in to google.) It's called the same thing there. There isn't much difference between that one or this one so far. The differences will be seen in the very much later chapters. Well, on with the story!
Date: Jan.3,2007
Story: Shinigami
Chapter: Prologue 3
DISCLAIMER: There's nothing like owning Naruto! There's nothing like owning Naruto! There's nothing like owning Naruto! opens eyes. Darn...nope, still don't own. (If anyone's stumped, a Wizard of Oz reference is used.)
Time stopped. Sasuke didn't bother to turn around.
"Itachi…" There was silence, but Sasuke could almost hear the smirk on Itachi's face.
"Konoha's forces are even more pathetic now. They don't even know I'm here yet." Sasuke did turn around then.
"What do you want?" Itachi smirked.
"Why do you ask? Can't I drop in to check on my little brother once in a while?" Itachi gazed at Sasuke blood red eyes mocking yet not. Sasuke stared in to them, still not knowing what he wanted to do. The two Uchiha stared at each other for a long time. Outside, the ANBU seemed to have settled down, resuming a relaxed watch formation. Sasuke glanced outside, wondering what they were doing.
"I sent a copy of you back to bed and now I'm covering both yours and my chakra signature. They can't tell the difference." Itachi's smirk widened a fraction. "Pathetic ANBU." Sasuke continued to stare balefully at Itachi. His older brother stared back, a carefully blank look on his face.
"What do you want?"
"I came to see if you had progressed at all." Sasuke paused.
"What?"
"It's been about five years since we've seen each other Sasuke-kun. I wanted to check on your progress." Sasuke glared at Itachi.
"Get the hell out of here Itachi." Itachi's expression shifted a fraction to that of mild puzzlement.
"Oh, what's this? I can't check on my little brother?" Sasuke glared even harder at Itachi.
"I don't want to have anything to do with you any more," the boy gritted through his teeth. There was a silence, Itachi looking almost demurely at the ground.
"What caused this?" Red eyes met black. "I don't think I have taught you well enough." Sasuke gritted his teeth, unconsciously shifting in to a relaxed but ready fighting stance, forgetting his chakra bonds. Itachi's gaze went back to the ground.
"You need another lesson, but first things first." He moved so fast that Sasuke didn't know he had moved until Itachi was staring him right in his face. Sasuke belatedly noted that Itachi was still a good three inches taller then him.
"We're going to get rid of this chakra bind." Without so much as a warning, Itachi shoved his hand in to Sasuke's stomach, pent up chakra in the man's hand releasing itself in to Sasuke. Sasuke nearly screamed. The previously invisible black seals covering his body appeared in stark contrast to his alabaster skin. They began receding, rushing back towards his abdomen where Itachi's hand was gripping him. In an instant, the seal was gone, destroyed, Sasuke didn't know what.
His chakra began flowing again, after nearly two months of restricted movement, it came rushing back again, like a river after the dam blocking its flow has been removed. Sasuke did scream this time. The pain and the intense sensation of restored chakra flow were almost too much for him. That was when the ANBU moved. Through a blinding haze of pain, Sasuke saw them appear, forming a circle of six. All their swords were drawn. Itachi dropped Sasuke on to the floor.
"Well, well, if it isn't the ANBU elite of Konoha." Itachi turned around to face them fully, black and red Akatsuki cloak swirling about his legs. "You guys are as slow as ever. Absolutely pathetic." The ANBU were still for a moment, then they were attacking the older Uchiha. One stopped to drag Sasuke out of the way before joining in the fight himself. Itachi made to break away from the ANBU but was blocked by two swords.
The man simply disappeared then reappeared behind the two ANBU. Another ANBU appeared, a well aimed kick sailing for Itachi's head. Itachi ducked it smoothly, changing his route of escape from the kitchen window to the way he had come in initially. Sasuke had managed to recover by then, the weakness being replaced by a growing strength in his limbs. Itachi only smirked at him as he blew past Sasuke. The younger Uchiha was up and after his older brother before the ANBU could even react.
He caught up to his brother before Itachi had managed to get two steps past the front door. Sasuke unleashed a bestial howl, hands blurring through a series of seals before he unleashed a half- made Chidori, crashing in to his brother, impaling him from behind. Itachi disappeared, a log where he had once been. Without missing a beat, Sasuke shook off the splinters of wood and charged in to the empty street, sliding to a stop as he saw his brother's back.
"You should put on some shoes Sasuke. Mother wouldn't like you walking around barefoot in the streets." Sasuke didn't bother to answer, his hands blurring through another series of seals and he released a Katon jutsu just as the ANBU appeared through the door. They barely dodged the deflected jutsu as Itachi reversed its direction to fly straight at the ANBU. The front of Sasuke's family home burst in to flames. Sasuke didn't even blink.
"What else do you want? I can't be the only reason you're back here," Sasuke shouted. Itachi contemplated him.
"Isn't my attention a good enough reason for you to not question my actions? You used to crave it so much when you were younger." In a blink of an eye, Sasuke had unleashed six shuriken as Itachi. The older Uchiha dodged the shuriken as Sasuke disappeared. Both of them reappeared in mid- air, a lightning exchange occurred before Sasuke managed to push Itachi further below him. Another flurry of seals and Sasuke unleashed another Katon.
The giant fireball flew towards Itachi. The Uchiha dodged out of the way in time, landing safely on the street. Sasuke smirked. Two seconds later, a network of shuriken wire burst in to flames as the Katon fireball imploded on to it, showering the surrounding area with sparks and sprays of mini- fires. Some more houses joined the blaze that was Sasuke's old family home. Itachi reappeared on the roof top of another house, not far away.
"Clever Sasuke," he called. "Now if it had been two seconds faster, you would have gotten me for sure."
Suddenly, tell-tale whistling reminded both Uchiha of the other ANBU as shuriken appeared through the smoke from the fire that was rapidly gaining momentum. Itachi took that as a cue to leave and began leaping over the roofs again. Sasuke immediately took off after him attempting anther Katon jutsu that ended up setting more roofs in the Uchiha district on fire. Sasuke cursed, deciding he would save his chakra until he was able to catch up to his brother.
The forest was calm and quiet; the night air was cool with a small breeze occasionally disturbing the still air. The Uchiha moved along at top speed, still tracking his older brother. He was slowly catching up to Itachi; despite the maneuvers the man had tried in an attempt to shake Sasuke off his trail. They had left the ANBU far behind in Konoha, though Sasuke was certain they were still in pursuit. His feet ached from running barefoot but Sasuke didn't care.
He was being driven by something; an inexplicable force was compelling him to chase his brother down and destroy him. And it had nothing to do with all his childhood plans of revenge. It was something deeper, something so much more different then that. Yet it was all the same. Sasuke upped his speed, his sharingan indicating to him that Itachi was slowing down. Sasuke landed in the next clearing with out a sound. Itachi stood with his back to him.
"You don't have the Mangekyou yet, what makes you think I have time for you right now?" Sasuke stayed silent, glaring daggers in to Itachi's back.
"Learn your lesson Sasuke and learn it well. I told you to hate me, hate me and live your life hating me." Itachi turned around and stared at Sasuke with crimson eyes. "Hate me and then kill me. I told you to come before me when you had the same eyes as I did. Only then can you kill me. You can't kill me, if you don't have the same eyes as me." Itachi stared down at his little brother. Sasuke stared back steadily, red boring in to red. An unnerving smile suddenly appeared on Sasuke's face.
"You know what, Itachi," Sasuke said as he stepped further in to the clearing. "You are going to make time for me tonight. You are going to pay attention to me tonight. I learnt my lesson. Oh I learnt it well. I have spent the last decade of my life devoted to trying to kill you, but tonight, I've realized something. My petty attempt to gain power by going to Orochimaru was my trying to destroy you on my own terms. It was my attempt to not follow the path you laid out for me.
"But tonight, I realized something. I was still following that path. In wanting to kill you, I was still walking that path you made for me. But not tonight, not any more. I'm gaining revenge tonight, on my own terms and in my own way." The smile on Sasuke's face grew even larger. Itachi gazed dispassionately at Sasuke.
"Are you going to preach all night? Because I really don't have time for that." Itachi turned to leave, but was stopped by a flurry of shuriken and kunai. The older Uchiha turned to meet Sasuke's attack head on. Sasuke attempted to slice at Itachi's neck with a kunai gripped in his right hand. Itachi avoided it smoothly.
"Really, if this is revenge on your own terms, I really don't see how it's anything different from what you were doing last time." Itachi hopped out of the way of a perfectly executed drop kick. "You are still trying to kill me." Sasuke dropped in to a sweeping ground kick which Itachi again avoided. Expecting that, Sasuke shot up after Itachi in his own version of Rock Lee's attack, the Shishi Rendan.
The older Uchiha pulled out of the attack half-way through, turning the attack on top of Sasuke. The younger Uchiha landed crouched down, one hand on the ground. He looked up. He was smirking. Applying chakra to his feet, Sasuke disappeared from view, reappearing some ways across the clearing. His hands blurred again in another set of seals and he was flying half-way towards Itachi by time the man had landed. There was no time to dodge the on coming Chidori.
In a split second decision, Itachi slipped two kunai out of his sleeves, planning to catch his younger brother's arm in between the kunai and redirect the blow elsewhere. Itachi looked up. It was pure reflex. Sasuke had moved faster then Itachi had initially calculated. There was no time to block his little brother's attack like he had planned.
Without thinking, Itachi's left hand moved to intercept Sasuke's Chidori arm, batting it out of the way while his right struck outward, the two kunai still in it, one resting between his pointer and middle finger, the other between the ring and pinky. They hit two vital spots. Sasuke was smirking. Itachi started, shock filtering over his face.
"I think it's the sweetest revenge, when you go against your so called destiny, your so called path in life and twist it to be exactly what you want it to be. Don't think Itachi?" Sasuke's right hand grasped Itachi's own right and twisted the kunai deeper. He smirked again at Itachi, even as a grimace of pain filtered over his face. Itachi let go of the kunai slowly, still staring at Sasuke, a shocked expression on his face. Sasuke's left hand was still buried deep in to the tree beside Itachi's head.
"You…" The Uchiha trailed off.
"Speechless Itachi? That's new." Sasuke grunted as he drove the kunai further into his gut while he wrenched his hand out of the tree. The kunai were now in Sasuke's gut up to the hilt.
"Why?" Itachi stared down at Sasuke. With a last heave, Sasuke managed to pull his arm free of the tree. The boy collapsed to his knees. Blood trickled out of his mouth, more pooling slowly out of his torso.
"Because finding my own path was the sweetest revenge." Sasuke finally gave in to his ebbing strength and collapsed on to his back, still staring up at Itachi. His Sharingan faded away in to black. Itachi disappeared and Sasuke was left alone in the clearing.
It was sometime later, Sasuke didn't know how long. Silent footsteps and a familiar chakra signal entered the clearing. He had removed the two kunai from his gut and they now lay discarded a few feet from him. His blood was a pool of red silk around him. A quick gasp and the sound of running feet heralded the appearance of the familiar face that popped in to view. Wide blue eyes stared down at his slightly hazy black ones.
"Sasuke…" He quirked a lip slightly.
"Naruto." It was a quiet whisper. The blonde boys eyes widened in alarm.
"Sasuke!" Naruto rushed to Sasuke's side, dropping to his knees when he got there.
"Sasuke! What happened? Did Itachi do this? Oh god hang on, there's some medic nins coming. They'll be here soon!" Naruto bit his lip as he began searching for some way to staunch the flow of blood from the wound. Sasuke vaguely noted the stains his blood was making on Naruto's white ANBU armor.
"You're talking to me…" Sasuke smiled slightly. "Why didn't you talk to me the past two months?"
"Be quiet Sasuke, not now, help will be here soon." Naruto continued frantically searching, this time in his ANBU pack, presumably for the bandages that were stashed in there. Sasuke's hand stilled his frantic searching. Obsidian eyes stared up at Naruto, imploring. Naruto sighed.
"I don't know Sasuke. Look, can we talk about this later? You're critically injured and we need to get you medical attention now!" Sasuke hissed.
"No," he growled forcefully. "I don't need medical attention." Naruto blinked at that.
"WHAT? Are you trying to kill yourself? We need to get you help now!" Naruto returned to shuffling through the contents of his ANBU pack. He finally found what he was looking for and then turned his attention to Sasuke. The Uchiha quietly watched Naruto as he worked, hands deftly wrapping the bandages around his torso.
"You shouldn't have gone after him. That chakra bind puts you at genin level maybe even lower. You know that! Why'd you go after him?" Naruto growled as he tried desperately to staunch the flow of blood. Sasuke's hand moved to stop him again. Naruto's arm guards were died a bright crimson red now.
"Don't," his voice came out in a whisper. "I've lost a good portion of my blood already. There's nothing you can do." The ANBU's eyes flashed and the familiar look of determined stubbornness flashed across his whiskered face. Naruto shoved Sasuke's hands aside, returning to his futile attempts at saving his friend.
"Naruto…" Sasuke stared at the blonde who avoided his gaze. The ANBU's attempts slowed, until Naruto finally stopped moving his hands all together.
"You want to die, don't you?" Naruto still didn't look at the black haired boy. "Why?"
"Revenge," the Uchiha replied quietly.
"On Itachi?" Sasuke nodded slightly. Bangs shadowed the crystalline blue eyes. Sasuke found himself wanting to see those eyes again. He'd been seeing Naruto with an ANBU mask on for the past two months. Those eyes, he wanted to see them again.
"Wouldn't revenge on Itachi involve killing him?" Naruto's voice was shaking. "I mean, most revenge plans involve the hated person dieing."
"It's complicated," the black- haired boy replied quietly. "Right now, I just want to talk to you." Naruto finally looked up. His eyes were glowing with unshed tears and had turned a deep sapphire blue.
"Why didn't you talk to me?" Sasuke's hand curled around Naruto's hand again. The boy looked down.
"I don't know. I just couldn't. I don't know why. You coming back was just so sudden, I didn't know what to think." Sasuke chuckled softly. Naruto looked back up frowning.
"What?" Sasuke shook his head.
"You still agreed to be part of my extensive ANBU guard. Same shift everyday too. Everyone else always changed, but you never did. Why's that?" Naruto paused.
"You're talking a lot. Why's that?"
"You didn't answer my question."
"Answer mine first, then I'll answer yours." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Naruto noting the small discrepancy in the demand. But it was always like that with Naruto. Sasuke decided to answer.
"I'm making up for four years." Naruto blinked. Sasuke smirked slightly at Naruto; he was beginning to feel a little bit woozy.
"I didn't talk to you for four years and now I'm making up for it. Of course it'll be easier for me then it will be for you. Since I talk a lot less then you do, I should make up for it in about an hour." The blonde glared at him.
"Stop being an ass Sasuke." Naruto's expression abruptly shifted. The words remained unspoken but the two friends both knew that Sasuke didn't have even an hour left for him. Minute's maybe but not an hour.
"You just insulted yourself you know. Saying that you could make up for four years worth of conversation in an hour." Sasuke smiled slightly.
"I know," he replied softly. There was a small pause.
"You adjusted really easily to moving back in to the Uchiha compound. I thought you would have put up more of a fight when you were told that you were supposed to live in your old place again." The Uchiha blinked slowly, everything was beginning to feel cold. Everything but the hand that Naruto was holding.
"I thought I would have too. But I went numb somewhere between the prison and my house," Sasuke replied. Naruto frowned at the Uchiha. Sasuke went on.
"I didn't even really feel sad or anything, staying in my old house. I just went about my day. I couldn't feel a thing." A look of sadness crossed Naruto's face. There was another quiet pause. Sasuke was finding the task of breathing becoming more and more difficult as the seconds passed.
"Sasuke…" A single tear fell. The Uchiha's grip tightened on his friend's hand.
"I'm sorry for everything that I've done Naruto. I was stupid and foolish. And I think…I think I came back to Konoha…because of you." The tears were falling more swiftly now.
"Sasuke, don't go, not now." The blonde's head suddenly snapped up. Sasuke vaguely registered the appearance of several more chakra signatures. Naruto's hand suddenly tightened around his.
"Hang on Sasuke. Help's here now. Just hang on a bit longer!" The tears rolled rapidly down Naruto's face. "Don't go!" Sasuke smiled sadly at Naruto, his eyes hazing over.
"Naruto, don't hang on to things that need to be let go." His voice came in a whisper now. "I think you were my reason for coming back to Konoha. You were my best friend and you're still my best friend now. I did things, and I'm truly sorry for them. I never deserved to have someone like you as my friend. I was selfish and I never saw the things I should hold precious, not until now. I was blind. I'm so sorry for everything." Sasuke's black eyes rose skyward, the world was incredibly cold now, except for the warm hand still holding his.
"Good-bye Naruto…I'll see you later." The world went dark.
The funeral was a small one. The remaining three members of team seven were present as was Tsunade, Shizune and some of the Rookie Nine who could make it. The ANBU had performed the necessary tasks of destroying all of Sasuke's chakra pathways and removing all evidence of the sharingan or any of his techniques from his body. He was cremated as was dictated by Uchiha tradition.
"And as he was born of fire, in to the fire shall he pass again. Uchiha Sasuke, may your spirit fly free to join those of your family who have gone before you." Tsunade looked up as she finished reading the small passage. She solemnly began rolling up the scroll she had been reading from. The Godaime glanced at Naruto and nodded.
The blonde ninja stepped forward, wearing the traditional mourning garb of the ninja. In his hands, he held a simple white porcelain urn. He undid the top of the urn, revealing the black ash inside of it that was the remains of Uchiha Sasuke. Taking a hand full, he began sprinkling the ashes in to the wind, letting the hand full disappear completely, before taking the rest and pouring it in to the Nakano River, all as Uchiha tradition dictated.
The funeral party watched the ashes sink and disappear in to the foamy depths of the river. The blonde stood staring in to the river for a long while after. The others began to leave one by one soon after that. Sakura stood with him for a while, silence hanging between them. There was nothing to be said. There was nothing that could be said.
Finally, when the sun was just about to dip in to the horizon, Sakura turned to go, placing a hand gently on to Naruto's shoulder. She whispered something to him, though the boy didn't register what was said. Then she left. Naruto didn't move from that spot until the moon was out and the stars were shining. He sighed then, closing his eyes and turned on his heels, his back to the quietly flowing river.
"Good-bye Sasuke, I'll see you later."
Then he was gone.
Well that's the end of it. Gullarrggghhh...there was more talking in this chapter...alot more. It was like I was making up for lack of conversation in the other chapter...Ah well, you know the drill. Constructive criticism is welcome, please inform me of any mistakes such as glaring grammatical and spelling errors. And please inform me of any discrepancies in the chapter you might have found. Thanks for reading and I hope to update before the beginning of Feburary. But don't quote me on that, I'm very busy with finals and trying to stay on track in school. Well, until next time! Ja and a late Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone. :)