Tainted Embrace

Thanks again for the reviews etc. This is the last chapter unfortunately, but do not fear, more stories will follow soon, lol. Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes.

A.N. Warning, this chapter does contain yaoi. Italics means that's someone's thoughts or emphasis.

Happy reading!

Chapter 9 - Victory

Weeks trailed passed and the village of Konoha was peaceful once more. Almost everyone had heard the strange explosions from the forest, and some even witnessed the Hokage herself making her way to the battle ground, accompanied by the legendary sannin, Jiraiya, and her apprentice. It had been reported later that day that Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki had discovered the killer and had defeated him in battle after both receiving grievous wounds. The village was relieved to have the murderer gone, and a funeral was held for the three shinobi that had fallen prey to the hunter. Two other shinobi had been attacked, but were saved by the Uchiha, and two guards had also been injured while on duty, but had survived the ordeal with a few scratches. Their chakra returned after some rest, and the patient they were watching had been left unharmed. The Uchiha was first to recover after getting treated and healed, but Uzumaki was still mostly bedridden at the Uchiha's home.

Not many knew what his real ordeal had been like, and nobody had the chance to notice some of the blonde's changes. After sleeping for days on end, Naruto had explained what had happened to Sasuke and the other five who knew the truth, informing Kakashi as well. The Kyubi had taken over his body once more, but this time he was aware of what was happening, and watched through his own eyes at the events playing around him, only he wasn't able to do anything about them. When Sasuke had voiced his feelings for the blonde, the Kyubi had become somewhat confused. Naruto's restraints weakened and allowed him an opening. He fought the Fox for the right of his own body, their consciences battling fiercely in the space of his mind for dominance. Only he knew what had transpired, and what he experienced couldn't be put into words. Naruto had told the others that his will to live and protect his lover was too strong for the Kyubi to handle, and the array of human emotion was just too much for the demon to comprehend.

Naruto couldn't get rid of the Kyubi without killing himself, yet if he did nothing, the Fox would have broken free for real. And so he did the only thing he could think of. The blonde had overpowered the Fox's chakra and absorbed it into his own. His conscience dominated over the demon's, and he had won. He had merged with the Kyubi. Their chakra was one, but the Fox's mind was gone. He was free of the Fox's tainted embrace. Naruto still held some of the demon's features, such as the redish brown tips that blended into his blonde hair; slightly longer canines and slit pupils that was hardly noticed by any other than those who spent most of their time with the blonde. His personality had changed ever so slightly too. Naruto had acquired a taste for most meats, and when happy he seemed to purr, or when angry he would growl. Sasuke couldn't help but find it amusing and somewhat attractive.

The biggest change was Naruto's shinobi abilities. His chakra, being a mix with the Fox's, was off the scales of humans. He now had permanent tattoo like seals on both wrists, thin twisting bands that kept his power level down so as not to attract attention to himself. If ever in the need he could use the hidden power, but most likely wouldn't have to. The seal on his stomach had vanished when he merged with the Kyubi, and so no longer appeared when he concentrated his chakra. His speed and strength had incresed too, and their levels were also restricted by the new seals. His body had a slight increase of muscle and height, but nothing too extreme. When Sasuke first saw Naruto without his shirt he had noticed the tightened muscles, and realised he would have to catch up. He wouldn't want the blonde beating him, now would he? Overall, things had gone back to normal, and the couple's lives had returned to their natural routine.

At first, Naruto had been uneasy going outside the house, flinching when people said hello to him. The villagers usually thanked them for defeating the killer, and always reminded Naruto of his unpleasant experience. He expected everyone to turn and shout at him, throwing insults and hurtful words. But they didn't. The blonde still felt guilty for not stopping the Fox earlier, but Sasuke and convinced him it wasn't his fault, and in fact, that only Naruto could have taken over the Fox at the last moment. Even without the Kyubi and his chakra, Naruto would have been a very powerful shonobi anyway. Slowly, the guilt had faded away.

Sasuke sat in one of the high stools in front of the breakfast counter in the open kitchen, facing into the living room. He silently watched as Naruto stumbled into the room, carrying a large cardboard box in his arms. He put it down on yet another box, adding to the growing collection that was gathering there. The boxes were named accordingly to what they contained, and some even had smilely faces on them. Sasuke smiled as he watched the blonde stretch, lifting his arms over his head and revealing his flat, tanned stomach. He wore loose navy trousers that hung low on his slim hips, and a light grey t-shirt. His head protector had been returned to him, and was now tied around his right upper arm. Sasuke had asked Naruto to move in with him the day before, and they had celebrated that night. The blonde had immediately started packing the next day and had been carrying in boxes since morning. Resting his hands behind his head, Naruto turned to the Uchiha who was still gazing at the blonde's flesh.

"Oi, teme, why don't you get off your ass and help me carry some stuff? You're the one who asked me to move in the first place."

Sasuke tore his eyes away and looked into Naruto's azure eyes. "You're the one who agreed to it," he replied with a smirk.

"Lazy bastard," Naruto mumbled and stuck out his tongue at the dark haired shinobi before turning away and dropping his arms. Sasuke didn't know that the blonde was in fact smiling mischievously. When Naruto got closer to the door, still feeling the Uchiha's gaze on him, he stopped and lifted a hand to his head as if in pain. He swayed before tilting and falling to the floor with a thud. He heard Sasuke call his name and felt hands turn him over onto his back. Immediately, Naruto snapped his eyes open and rolled the Uchiha onto the floor. Straddling the surprised man's hips, Naruto lightly kissed him on the lips teasingly.

"Now that you're up, come help me with the boxes," he grinned happily.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and a small smirk appeared on his face, a look in his eyes that Naruto knew all too well. "Why you little-"

"Now, now, Sasuke-kun, we have work to do. Come along," the blonde said, practically lifting Sasuke off the floor and gently pushing him out the door. When the other man resisted, being taller, Naruto came up behind him and whispered down to his ear. "If you don't behave, you wont get your treat later on." Immediately Sasuke started complying, much to Naruto's pleasure.

All of his things were finally moved in by early evening, and over half of his stuff had already been unpacked. Naruto had returned his keys to the landlord and said goodbye to his old apartment. Now, both shinobi either stood leaning against the wall or flopped out over the couch.

"I never thought moving boxes would be so tiring," Naruto said he joined Sasuke on the couch.

"It would have been easier if you didn't have so much junk," Sasuke retorted, earning a slap on the arm from his lover. He laughed all the same.

"Don't make me go all fox on your ass," Naruto warned playfully.

Sasuke smiled. "Actually, I quite like your fox form. You look cute in the small state."

"What?! I look cute?!" Naruto exclaimed, sitting up to face the other man.

It was discovered shortly after a training session that Naruto had gained more than just immense chakra. He now had the ability to transform into his demon state. So far he had three stages. The first was a normal sized fox with nine tails, a mini version of the Kyubi; the second stage was the size of a small horse, and had a more menacing look; the final stage was bigger than a house, probably two or more put together. Naruto had caused quite a stir in the forest when he transformed into that for the first time; birds filled the skies and small creatures scattered across the ground in a panic.

Sasuke smirked and grabbed the front of Naruto's shirt, pulling him closer. "Yes, you look cute," he whispered before kissing the blonde passionately. He felt another slap on his arm before Naruto returned the kiss. Sasuke pushed the blonde onto his back on the cushions, following him down. He snaked his tongue into Naruto's mouth, exploring every crevice and extracting a moan for the younger man beneath him. The Uchiha slid a hand under the blonde's t-shirt, running his palm over the soft skin and muscle. He felt hands glide into his black locks, pulling him down deeper into the kiss. The body under him pushed up against his own, transferring more warmth between the two.

Suddenly, a sharp ringing sound surprised the shinobi and they broke their kiss. Sasuke leaned up and looked around with a frown trying to figure out what the noise was. Recognising the sound, Naruto burst out laughing. The Uchiha sat back so he was straddling the other's waist and returned his dark gaze to the blonde, a questioning look in his obsidian eyes.

"What is it?" he enquired.

Naruto slowly stopped laughing. Sitting up and leaning on his elbows, he answered, "My alarm clock. It must have been turned on when it was packed."

Sasuke reluctantly let Naruto rise and watched as he went over to the boxes in the room, quickly finding the clock and switching it off. Noticing something else in the box, the blonde picked out a small sheet of paper, reading its contents. His blue eyes widened slightly and he crumpled the paper quickly. A smile came to his face as he turned and walked over to Sasuke. The Uchiha frowned when the blonde suddenly appeared beside him, a grin on his face.

"Let's go!" Naruto said happily, holding out his hand for the other to take.

Confused, Sasuke took the hand and was pulled to his feet. "Where are we going?" he asked as he was led to the door.

"You'll see," the blonde replied, leading him out of the house and through the village.

Sasuke obediently followed, interested in their destination. When the buildings started thin out, he realised their direction and smiled. A few minutes later, the two were at the top of the Hokage mountain, slowly walking closer to the edge before sitting down comfortably. No words needed to be said. This was their special place; they came here every now and then, simply enjoying each other's company. Here, nothing else mattered to them except each other. Here, there was no trouble in the world, no life endangering situations with the possible chance of one of them not coming back. Sasuke wrapped his arm around the blonde's waist, pulling him closer. Naruto leaned against the other, feeling the warmth radiate from him. He always felt safe in Sasuke's arms, and felt that he could deal with anything as long as he was there with him.

And he had. If it wasn't for the dark haired shinobi, he wouldn't have been able to deal with the Kyubi. If it weren't for Sasuke, Naruto's dreams wouldn't have been pushed back, he would have blacked out with no one around to help. He would have been lost.

"You know, if you hadn't said you loved me when you did, I don't think I could have won against the Fox. It was because he was overloaded with human emotion that gave me the chance to push through," Naruto told Sasuke quietly.

The Uchiha looked at him, brushing away a few strands of hair from the blonde's face. "I'm glad I said it then," he smiled.

Naruto found himself grinning as the last ray of light faded from the sky as the sun settled behind the horizon. It was beautiful to watch as the sky melded into different hues of pinks and oranges, fading into a darkening blue. Stars slowly appeared, growing brighter as time passed. There were hardly any clouds that night, and the air was fresh and clear. Sasuke noticed his lover watching the sky somewhat more attentively than usual, and after feeling the Uchiha's gaze, Naruto gave a short laugh and pushed Sasuke onto his back gently, then lay down next to him, his head resting on the other's chest.

In a quiet voice he whispered, "Watch, you don't want to miss this."

The blonde wrapped his arms around Sasuke who did the same. He didn't know what Naruto was talking about, but his obsidian eyes washed over the night sky lazily. He stopped as he saw one of the starts move. And then another, and another. Sasuke lay transfixed with the blonde as stars seemed to fall from the sky and plunge down to the earth. Comets lit the night sky and rolled smoothly through the atmosphere, their fiery tails leaving behind a trail of smoke. The event lasted for almost an hour, and the two young shinobi lay in silence throughout it, simple watching. As the last fireball left the sky, Sasuke found himself letting out his breath. It was spectacular. He had never seen anything like it before. Sasuke turned his head to his side and looked at his lover, his eyes warm.

"This is what you wanted to show me?" he asked him.

Naruto grinned and nodded. "This comet shower only happens once every five hundred years or so, and I almost forgot it was tonight. Not many people witness something like that."

Sasuke smiled. This is how it was meant to be; simply being with Naruto in a place they held dear.

He couldn't ask for anything else, and neither could the blonde.

The End!

Ooh, it's finished... I'll just have to write more, lol. And it was a happy ending, no one died like many thought. Evil plans for sequel Teehee. Maybe, maybe not. Thanks to all who left a review, faved or alerted this fic. Made me very happy ) lol. Check out my other stories too!

Hope you enjoyed my story, so please leave a review, thanks!

ATTENTION - I'm gonna do a sequel so look out for it if you liked this one, lol. You might want to add me to alerts cos I don't know when it'll be finished, I'm writing chapter 3 at the moment, and I'm still planning things, lol. Cya till next time!

KCT