A/N: As for the pairings, this is going to be a threesome. Also, to the reviewer who said that I should have warned about this story being yaoi, I do not adhere to the double standard of warning for homosexual pairings while leaving heterosexual pairings unwarned, as though somehow the former is more 'offensive'. Either way, I see both as romance, whether between different or identical genders. If people start warning for romance in heterosexual stories, then I'll start warning that my stories contain relationships with manly men in the full bloom of their manliness doing manly things with each other. Manly manly manly.
This chapter was betaed by the wonderful AisCrim.
Gaara looked down at the map the Hokage had hastily scribbled for him, to the rented house that he, Naruto, and Hatake would be staying in, then up at the house. Apparently she thought that having them all in the same house would make the mission easier or some such nonsense. No matter; it was serviceably white and shuttered, with a small garden in front.
"K-k-kazekage?"
He turned to see a violently pink-haired girl staring at him, green eyes wide with fear. Haruno. He made a small noise of acknowledgement. Haruno swallowed, hands fisted on her medical bag, looking ready to bolt. "Umm, if you don't mind me asking… how come you're in Konoha?" Gaara stared at her. Should he answer? Deciding to err on the side of courtesy, he answered,
"I am repaying a debt."
"Ah." She shifted nervously. "Ha- Have you seen Naruto around? I haven't seen him since yesterday." Gaara blinked, remembering the rote speech the Hokage had told him to say.
"He was injured on a mission and is currently recuperating. He is not allowed to receive visitors."
Haruno squeaked at his terseness, making Gaara blink again. Perhaps he should retire to a different location, as all he seemed to be doing here was frightening her.
"I should go." He lifted one hand in an abortive wave, and then was gone in a whirl of sand. He rematerialized in the foyer of Iruka's whitewashed house, which was surprisingly quiet for seven in the morning, bright golden beams of light filtering through the windows to swirl on the butter-yellow wooden floors. Where was Naruto? For a moment he looked in the living room, then focused on his intangible bond to the other vessel, following it up the stairs and turning into the darkened room.
Blue eyes gleamed in the shadows, Naruto himself sprawled across his bed, staring blindly at the ceiling.
"Oh, Gaara. Come on in."
Gaara did as he said, undoing the straps that held his gourd and settling the container in the corner, before pulling a chair up to sit beside Naruto's bed.
"You should sleep."
Naruto snorted, rolling over onto his stomach to stare at Gaara, one arm dangling off the edge of the mattress.
"Come on, Gaara. You know as well as I do that I can't sleep; Kyuubi might want me, and even if he doesn't, I don't want to have any more nightmares."
Gaara glanced down at his hands, forehead wrinkling. A nightmare; a dream that was unpleasant. He had never experienced one, or a dream in the first place. But Naruto, he of the ramen and the idealism, couldn't do what he had done, couldn't exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality. Even sand beetles and birds were supposed by some to dream. "I will watch you and wake you if anything happens," he offered. Naruto looked up at him, his eyes bruised and skin pale, blood-dark markings circling the blue, blue eyes.
"A- Are you sure?" His voice trembled, and for a moment Gaara felt pity for this bird-fragile creature, brutalized beyond endurance. He didn't answer in words; rather, he reached over and picked up Naruto's hand, stroking a thumb across the back, over the fluttering pulse, before setting it back down, unsure as to why he did it, but knowing that it was somehow right.
Naruto smiled then, blinding as sunlight reflecting off sand, and, shaking, reached out, laying a quick hand on Gaara's knee. "Thanks." Gaara felt his lips twitch into a smile at that, and Naruto rolled over and closed his eyes, a simple gesture of trust. There was nothing more that needed to be said.
Naruto opened his eyes.
Then he wished that he could shut them again.
The skyline was on fire, the blackened sky washed in a red haze, the buildings slumped and leering, the Hokage monument shattered and blasted to bits, and Konoha, home to screaming and laughter and tears, was silent but for the roar of the flames.
He pivoted, swallowing, trying to ignore the cold lapping of blood at the toes of his boots. Corpses.
So… many. There was movement in the corner of his eye, and he whipped around to stare at the blue-veined form of Shukaku, the tanuki wheezing a sort of perverse greeting to him, reaching out with bloodied claws to tear and rend and-
He wrenched free from his paralyzed state and bolted, ducking into the shadows of an alleyway, panting. A scraping noise made him turn, thick, cold fear welling into his throat as he gagged, scrambling backwards. Sakura's rotting corpse shambled towards him as if just learning to walk, white and hanging face writhing like a devil's sick of sin, green eyes dull, nose writhing with maggots that fell like sickening drops of sweat, one pale arm outstretched as she coughed wetly.
A cat walked beside her, black flames springing from its gray skin and cooking everything it touched, crawling like a spreading bruise over the wooden fences. The cat- Nibi-Neko (two-tailed cat)- flicked its tails, yowling, the sound like glass dragged across a chalkboard. Sakura took another step, and her dry fingers brushed over Naruto's nose, lips rotted away and teeth bared in a red snarl. He screamed and ran again, leaping onto the rooftops and heading for the river, hoping beyond hope that somehow the water would hold life, would hold fish and algae and anything, anything other then this barren world.
But the river held nothing.
Nothing but a blue-black shark that rose from the water, obsidian eyes staring into him, three tails thrashing, the water of the stream rising in a wave, changing as it did so to blood, boiling and smelling of iron, that crashed towards him with the destructive force of a landslide. It swallowed him with ease, tossing him around inside the burning liquid like a rag-doll in a hurricane, blistering and-
And the waters receded, leaving him staring into the terrifyingly poisonous gaze of a green-scaled rooster sitting on his chest, its four tails tipped with venomous stingers that whipped towards him with lethal speed, plunging through his armored chest as though it were no more than paper, tearing through skin. He could feel the stingers piercing his heart, could see the demon grin, forked tongue flickering forward to taste him, before he screamed and pushed it off, throwing himself onto his feet and stumbling away, a hand held to his chest as he felt burning poison spread through him.
A flash of white caught his eye, a slavering white dog bounding through the maze of alleys and bodies after him, red eyes glowing with hellish fire, five bushy tails waving. The corpses appeared to move, to rise to their feet, but Naruto knew they were illusions the Hoko had created, knew that no matter how much he wished or hoped or dreamed they were dead, all dead, because of him. Crackling alerted him to a new terror; he slid to a stop, feeling his heart pound in his chest, pain spreading like water across paper, staring upward.
Blue lightning whirled through the air above him, slashed like swords through the black sky, forming the mane of the Rokubi, the electric-blue six-tailed weasel fairly grinning as it swiped at him, lightning following in its wake, catching him on the thigh and sizzling, burning as he fell to one knee, bracing himself against the ground as he glared into the molten eyes in determination. The Rokubi appeared pleased, hissing, its voice the crackling of lightning and the booming of thunder. A shriek made it back away, shrinking and fading once more into the darkness, although Naruto knew that the retreat meant nothing.
Naruto stared up as a black shadow passed over the blood-red moon, white eyes staring down at him as the shadow banked, seven plumes following its movements as the bat stooped towards him, baring gleaming fangs, another shriek bursting from its throat, a jagged wail of pain and terror and unholy glee, the powerful wings beating once more, dust stirring to cover the dead streets as the bat came closer and closer and closer. Talons tore into his shoulder as Shichibi passed over him, ripping tendons and bone free with a sucking groan. He screamed. The bat echoed his scream, flipping in the sky and catching a thermal, borne up on the rising air to cover the moon once more.
The ground shook as something moved into view. Black scales shone dimly in the dusty light, eight tails dragging behind the dragon, copper eyes glaring at Naruto, fangs dripping blood. An arm hung from one of the many teeth, and he recognized it. The cursed seal… Sasuke. He spat at the dragon, who raised a giant claw and slashed downward, impassive reptilian face closing in on him, while he turned his face upwards and waited for the end, which never came. Something galvanized him, made him throw himself out from under the heavy weight and pelt into the alley, heading for the shattered remains of the Hokage Monument, although he didn't know why.
When he stumbled to a stop on the cracked stone, he knew why. Red hair gleamed in the light, the whole shattered expanse of the broken world stretched out before them both. He slowed, shoved his working hand in his pocket, ignoring the way his leg threatened to buckle under him and his arm hung limply, walking to stand beside the other. Artic amber eyes glanced at him, nine tails waving sinuously, fanged mouth open in a gaping grin. The Kyuubi spoke.
"This… is your world."
He said nothing. The Kyuubi continued. "Your world between a bloody earth and a bloody sky, here, at the end of all things. The world that you created."
"No." The fox scoffed, turning to gaze back out at the village where the eight demons rampaged, tearing and howling and slashing to pieces.
"This is your world, because you and I both know that one day, you will fail in your duty. You will refuse me, refuse the contract, refuse your duty, and all of this will come to pass." He felt the Kyuubi smile. "What a wonderful world your father saved for you." A clawed hand grabbed his, and fire sprang from wherever the Kyuubi touched, but he refused to cry out, turning to face the fox, who loomed closer and closer, amber eyes swallowing up everything around them.
"Welcome to the inevitable future." Naruto broke away, feeling a scream of fury and denial tear from his throat, and leaped onto the fox, working hand tangling in red hair and yanking the pliant head down, smashing it again and again against the rock, relishing the sick sound of bone and flesh splintering against the assault, sobbing for breath as he pulled his hand away and smashed in the relentlessly smiling mouth, tearing the face to pieces, while the fox's mouth moved mechanically, speaking without lips or tongue or teeth,
"Your world, your world, your world-"
Until all that was left was a red smear on the rocks, something that had once been alive, now reduced to blood and bone and fragments. Naruto rocked back onto his heels, staring at his blood-dyed hands, the Kyuubi's words reverberating inside his head louder and louder and louder.
He began to scream, and he never stopped.
He bolted upright in his bed, clawing at the air, gasping for breath, guttering, choking, drowning. With a mumbled curse, he twisted to scrabble under his bed, grasping for the cold metal of his bucket, bringing it out just in time to puke. He gagged on the taste, bitter as cancer, his throat and eyes burning, face sticky with salty tear tracks. A gentle hand tangled in his hair, making him spasm further at the memory of pain, and lifted his head to place a mug of water by him before leaving.
"Drink it." The voice was Gaara's, deep and slow, and at the familiar voice Naruto felt the wounded child inside him uncurl just a bit. He reached for the cup and washed his mouth out, spitting the residue into the bucket, before setting the cup down and sitting up further, drawing his knees to his chest.
"Thanks," he said hoarsely. "How long?" Gaara, with the empathy that vessels shared, understood the undeveloped question and answered,
"Twenty minutes."
He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment, flexing his fingers to make sure that there weren't any dry flakes of brown dropping off with each twitch.
"Better than anything else, I guess. Hey, have you eaten yet?"
Gaara nodded, motioning to a small plate of liver by the door.
"Liver?" He shook his head, grinning. "Never would've figured you for that. I'd think you'd be eating dates or some crap like that." He paused as Gaara raised his head, green eyes boring a hole in him.
"You were screaming about your duty. What did you mean?" He flinched.
"Heh, really? It was-" he was cut off by Gaara's knowing gaze, simple and clear. "Can you get Kakashi-sensei in here? I don't really want to keep repeating myself over and over, you know?" Sand slithered under the door, then returned as the knob turned, Kakashi poking his head in.
"Yo. You needed me?" Gaara gestured him in. Naruto's teacher took a position by the door, slumping against the wall, visible eye fixing on him. Naruto glanced down at his hands, twiddling his fingers like Hinata.
"So, I talked about a contract. Well, the contract isn't all of it." Dimly, he heard Kakashi take a breath. He smiled. "See, the contract says that I get all of Kyuubi's chakra to myself, and he doesn't get access to it except at night, to make himself a body. The reason I needed Kyuubi's chakra…" he trailed off, rubbing at his face, feeling the trails of tears brush against his palm.
"Yes?" Kakashi prompted. He blinked, looking up. Gaara and Kakashi met his gaze evenly, curiosity held back, Kakashi's book dangling from one hand, forgotten.
"Okay." He swallowed. 'Don't hate me. Please, please don't hate me.' "I found out when I was thirteen, after Sasuke-" a heartbeat of pain, "-left, that the Kyuubi had a plan. He'd been storing up chakra ever since he was sealed in me, and he had this plan that with the stored chakra, he'd use it to break the seal and summon the other eight demons. He can do that, you know, since he's pretty much the demon Hokage; anyway, I wrote up a contract and got him to sign it. If I got his chakra, he got me."
"Why would he agree to that?" He shrugged.
"He thought I wouldn't do what the contract states. Plus there's the whole 'molesting the son of the guy who imprisoned me' thing, you know? Anyway, he agreed."
"Is letting him summon the demons all that bad?"
He snorted at Kakashi's question, meeting Gaara's joyless gaze, sharing their knowledge.
"The words 'killing everything' mean anything to you?" He saw Kakashi wince underneath the mask.
"Okay, yeah."
He shifted, scuffed his foot at the floor, then went on.
"So, see, I can't break the contract, 'cause if I do that, then he gets all his chakra back and can pretty much end the world. As long as I-" he was faintly surprised at the hollow emptiness of his voice, "-let him do that to me, he can't kill us all." Kakashi's face contorted into an expression of terrifying rage, the silver-haired jounin pivoting and punching a hole clear through the wall. Gaara didn't react, not understanding. Kakashi took a few steps forward and knelt at his feet, staring up with a sort of pleading in his eye.
"There's nothing we can do?"
Naruto shrugged, his half-smile bleak.
"Nope. I'm pretty much all that's standing between us and the end of the world.'
Kakashi threw himself to his feet and stalked, stiff-legged from the room, the door clicking shut behind him before Naruto could hear his fists pounding against the wallpaper in rage and helplessness.
Gaara leaned forward, laying a hand on the covers but not touching, their breath mingling, blue meeting green in a stolen moment of peace. There were no words, and somehow he was pathetically grateful that Gaara understood, that he always understood that words were inadequate, words couldn't convey the horrible hopelessness and the weight of the burden on his shoulders.
He closed his eyes and let his head rest on Gaara's shoulder, controlling the tremors that raced up and down his spine, screaming for him to get away, feeling a pale hand touch his back, hesitant, before stroking him, a way of expression for the one for whom words were not enough.
He shuddered, choked on a sob, and tried to banish the wailing child inside him that screamed emptily into nothingness.
Footnotes:
'But Naruto, he of the ramen and the idealism, couldn't do what he had done, couldn't exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality. Even sand beetles and birds were supposed by some to dream.' - This quote is a tribute to the opening of The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, one of the great horror novels of the twentieth century.
Hoko – A Japanese tree spirit, usually in the form of a white dog, with power over illusions.
'…hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin…' – A quote from Dulce Et Decorum Est.
'…guttering, choking, drowning.' – A quote from Dulce Et Decorum Est.