Shippuuden - I'll Win My Enemy's Heart, It's My Way of the Ninja!
By Unborn
Fandom: Naruto
Pairings: Naruto/Sasuke
Rating: PG16
Spoilers Warning: Shippuuden Manga roughly up to date.
Introductory Notes: A.K.A When Slash actually happens… By the way, I tend to attempt copying the feel of the Naruto show, and the Naruto show/manga is usually fan subtitled so I guess I could write better. Speaking the devil, after so many manga revelations, my story strays more and more from the canon... but that was to be expected. (Sidenote: HA! SaixSakura, baby.)
On to the show if you only watched the anime!
CHAPTER 6: State
"Bring him to me."
Tsunade rested her head behind her hands. She had postponed this on a mere fling. The doors of her office opened with only a brief pause and Sasuke was standing behind, two ANBUs on either side, which retired upon command.
The doors of the office closed again. The young missing nin waited with no one but the Hokage and her student Shizune for silent company.
Tsunade brought a sheet to her lazy eye range as if it was the first time she read it. "Uchiha Sasuke, this village has vanished you. You're a fugitive returning without a pass permit or escort and should be treated no different than a criminal."
"Tsunade-sama," Sasuke was prepared to speak, but Tsunade stopped him.
"There'll be no need for that formality. The truth of the matter is that you're a missing nin. There's no room for someone like you here."
The room went silent.
"But it would be unfair to let Sakura and Naruto's efforts go to waste."
Sasuke didn't breathe a sigh of relief, but an imperceptible breath escaped him and his heart quickened with relief. The Fifth's expression, however, stayed the same lazy cold and unperturbed face.
"What will you do under these charges, Uchiha Sasuke?"
--
It was a bright shining morning in Konoha.
Naruto Uzumaki was sheepishly sitting up on his bed. A sleepy smile was plastered in his face until he found the impulse to wonder what was he smiling about. He frowned at that point, but nothing to really shake his good mood.
Last night. It had not been bad. Sasuke stayed for as long as his lone company was tolerable with minimal sparring considered. They ate in period of silent company and loud, raving arguments about nothing. Naruto lost once or twice. But nothing got in his good mood.
It was just at the start of this fairly good morning while Naruto was walking the streets of Konoha that he ran on to Sasuke, who was leaning on a wall as if just waiting for him. The Teme wasn't gone from Naruto's side for very long these days, eh? That brought back the sheepish smile from this morning.
"Oy! Sasuke!"
Though the call was loud, it was never louder than having the source of it suddenly pop beside you with that freak-o grin on his face, like he couldn't be the happiest little fox in the whole while world. Sasuke, who was just beginning to keep it cool, turned his head away feigning antipathy with a blush.
Blush? No way! Naruto reasoned, with a surge of pride, that he had startled Sasuke. Heh. Yes, nothing could get into his good moo—
"Sasuke-kun!" the shrieking voice of a female summoned their attention to their backs. No, voices. A congregation of people were turning heads their direction and sound of heavy footsteps, as in a stampede, were going for them.
"Baka, you are loud," was Sasuke's annoyed response before they were swarmed by a multitude of people gathering, pushing and squirming through itself if only to get a look. Of Sasuke, that is, while Naruto was roughly pushed away, to his growing irritation. Leading the group was Ino. The others he didn't bother registering.
"Naruto-niichan," said a voice by his side.
Konohamaru was staring at Naruto, who was sitting on his butt on the floor.
"Naruto-niichan," he repeated, "How does a ninja loose his balance like that? You're embarrassing yourself."
Konohamaru, you too?! Naruto stood before you could say "miso ramen" and pointed a fierce finger Konohamaru's way. "What do you mean, loosing balance! I was attacked unprepared, that's all!"
"That's even worse, Naruto-niichan," said Konohamaru self-importantly.
Despite the chaos in the fangirling cloud that was going on about those two, Sasuke had picked their conversation. "Hn. If it speaks like a monkey and moves like monkey, it must be a monkey."
Naruto spun faster than you could say kunai. "What was that, you scumbag?!" He stomped down, pointed a finger Sasuke's way.
"A one-legged chair has more balance than you, Usuratonkachi," Sasuke called out tsking. He turned to the young genin, "You shouldn't hang out with a klutz, it might rub up on you. Naruto stands out in a crowd like a tree in the desert sand." He tsked, "unlike a real ninja."
Naruto shook his fist and grr-ed Sasuke's way. "Shut up, teme! I've been training Konohamaru myself, and he is privileged to be MY student! The one who will be the Future Hokage!" He stood up proudly at his words, a mental nod for everything he said. "He has improved loads too! I'll show you! Konohamaru!"
"Hai!"
They posed to their best impression of Gai and Lee. "Teach him the jutsu that we have trained so hard!"
That was only codename for the one and only of Naruto's jutsus (and Naruto would secretly have the fun of his life watching the expression on Sasuke's face.)
Naruto and Konohamaru held the crowd's attention; Naruto smiled proudly while Konohamaru made the seal with a quick "hai!"
When the puff of smoke cleared, two equally naked, flat-chested figures with the faces of Sasuke and Naruto stood in close proximity in Konohamaru's Sexy no Jutsu: boy-on-boy version, a ghostly echo calling "teme teme teme"
(N/A: Just because.)
A startled-slash-outraged scream got caught on Naruto's throat in the form of an undignified choke, the cold wind whistled, and the crowd stilled with collective shock and a perpetual mental buzz, eyes budging out of their sockets. In slow mumbling reactions, the crowd started off already making comments of: 'Is that's what he taught the boy?'
Naruto missed the old innocent Konohamaru. There was a time, long ago, when he felt affection for the little traitorous backstabbing brat!
Immediately following that sore realization, Naruto got into soundless spazzing, screaming at Konohamaru without emitting legible sound. Meanwhile Sasuke tsked, all high and mightily to show any embarrassment over the little smirk and turning away. "That's it? You had already shown that to me, baka."
And then Naruto had a flashback to the failed Sexy no Jutsu in the forest, male form stark naked Naruto…
And then he just wanted to kill Sasuke.
However, as swift as only Uchiha Sasuke could be, he turned with a level drawl to the crowd and bluntly announced, "Yesterday was Naruto's birthday."
The crowd stilled one more time. Then, progressively, snapped out of it.
That was the trick to draw positive crowd attention to Naruto alright. Suddenly he had people just ignoring his pervert teaching (or so Ino put it, all lecture-like yet, still displaying a blush) and drive 80 of their attention to Naruto. So they were cool to him and Naruto got a lot more ramen.
It also served as distraction as Sasuke disappeared. It wasn't until the afternoon it started all over: Naruto had been just his way to Sakura's room at the hospital when Sasuke appeared again.
This time Sasuke was straightforwardly waiting for him, coming from behind the alley and standing in his usual Uchiha glory with one hand on his pocket just to look cool. His eyes were fixed on Naruto like ignited by some kind of determination.
If Naruto allowed himself a brief moment of deliberation, Sasuke, he'd noice, had been acting strange this morning. Yesterday he had been too nice, too; though up to that point Naruto hadn't cared enough to question it too much. Or he just didn't mind this Sasuke, who was probably doing this because of some guilt trip. If he was feeling bad about going away and making the team go through all those troubles, then he very well should be! So that was fine.
But Naruto didn't pick the difference between a tomato-red Sasuke doing a disappearing act, and this suddenly-pale-in-in-comparison Sasuke. Especially after an explicit sexy-no-jutsu display involving himself and Naruto. Totally slipped his notice.
Naruto stopped a short way from where Sasuke stood, scowling. Naruto's eyes were mirrored the teme's, if only as an act of reflex, an icecream treat on his hand (courtesy of one of the boys, Kiba he thinks. Weird, he never thought of Kiba as the Sasuke- fanboying type.)
"Oy, Teme," Naruto started, annoyed, neglected ice-cream dangling dangerously on its cone. "If you have something to say, say it already."
And Sasuke's resolution dissolved once more.
"B-baka, who says I've something to say to you?!"
"If you haven't got anything to say why are you following me around?" Naruto said defensively, but pouted; this better not drive Sasuke away now! He covered up quickly by saying, "I'm on my way to visit Sakura."
He shrugged as if to make clear he wasn't inviting him. He was, in a non-straightforward way, but not. Kind of. He may not have anything too big against Sasuke… Actually, he didn't have any troubles with the Sasuke-stalking either. Wait, he did. Why, that bastard, always stealing the spotlight!
Speaking about the Bastard.
Sasuke just said turning around, "It won't take long. Follow me." And he started moving again.
--
Tsunade snorted into her covering hands, Shizune was flabbergasted. Sasuke's impassive form started to change as he felt more and more like he was naked before the Hokage.
Playing the last events in his head, he had to admit he could have as well lain down and buried his grave around him.
Sasuke had made his declaration after a brief pause, and spoke as he had planned: "I wish to be allowed to stay in Konoha. I'm willing to subject to your conditions and I'll accept any arduous task, political and physical punishment. I won't fight it or back away to whipping."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow in surprise. She tsked.
"Will that be the retribution you had in mind, or your preferences in bed?" Tsunade asked aloofly.
'I don't mind either way,' Sasuke had all too readily answered before the implications of the suggestive tone hit his awareness…
Tsunade's open and loud laughing subsided and finally faded, eventually, under Shizune's disapproving glare.
"So you were saying," Tsuande said as she came into her normal breathing, displaying an ease of heart absent in previous seconds, "you'll accept the Council's judgment regardless of what it comes of it. Well, you are quite masochist. They are not an easy bunch, you know. You'll have better luck getting heart-felt confession out of Sai."
"If it be that you must be a prisoner to Konoha until I purge my sins, I will."
Tsunade nodded too. "I admit you've guts. You're a powerful asset to Konoha, which is what makes you a dangerous Missing Nin. This will require some serious sacrifice."
Sasuke stared transfixed. "If it has to come to it, for the period up until the trial, I'll agree to be blindfolded."
"Hn. Are we still talking of you bed preferences here?"
"Sensei!"
"Hai. Hai. A woman can't have some fun with a spoilsport like you around," Tsunade muttered, pushing some papers aside. "It would be silly anyways: you are no use if you grow unused to your bloodline."
There was a pause of ruffled papers and Tsunade settling on the desk again.
"Do you know about the restrictive seal of the Hyuuga Clan?" she started suddenly. Sasuke's attention was captured. It was a good plan. Tsunade nodded perceiving his thinking. "Making modifications I'm very sure we can restrict your Sharingan without restricting your eyes.
"As for the rest, I'll assign you a dwelling and a watch in the period before the trial. You'll be informed soon. But if you insist, I'm sure Naruto would agree to have you blindfolded and whipped –"
Tsunade finished, to Shizune's outrated, "Tsunade-sama!"
--
There was certainly something Naruto didn't enjoy about being following Sasuke around (funny thought, coming from him who had spent so much time of the last three years chasing the Bastard's shadow…) Naruto moved just a bit behind. They were walking though a small district area, where not many people his age were right now. Naruto noted, however, a couple of old gossiping ladies staring pointedly Sasuke's way while the latter acted unaware.
"It's those odd clothes you are wearing, you look silly." Naruto grinned at his so obviously true statement.
Sasuke made a monosyllabic noise with a smile, showing his hearing was more than perfect. "Not that I will consider listening to someone who dresses like a clown."
Naruto was about to call him some name when Sasuke stopped and turned around. Adopting a pose more like his old, younger self, Sasuke's hands found his pockets. "Is there a place we can talk?"
Naruto's face was priceless. "What? Aren't we talking now?"
Normally (except there was no precedents to the situation), Sasuke would leave it there and give up going any further, if so was Naruto's disposition. Probably, Naruto didn't get enough blood in his head from eating all that ramen. But, there wasn't that much time anymore.
"No, I mean something private."
He had led Naruto away from an ANBU-watching spot, quite plainly. He's stopped moving just as he sensed the team was about to move again for a better watching position. That gave Sasuke a fairly good opportunity at privacy. But he was not ready to come out on his... feelings still at their hearing reach.
Besides, it wasn't as if he was going to carry this conversation in close proximity, much less whispers, with a loud dobe – both, ideas that brought a blush onto Sasuke's cheeks.
Naruto, in a surprising turn of events, refused resolutely. "That can wait, I have to visit Sakura," he announced. "If she thinks I will forget about her when she is at the hospital, she will be upset."
There was that look Naruto was giving him… as if he meant that to apply to Sasuke as well. Something along the lines of 'I won't forget you if you don't come over'. The kind of threats that were so usual with Naruto. There was a pause of silence between them.
"I don't want to bring Sakura to the conversation," Sasuke alleged.
"Huh. Why do you have to bring me to it!" Naruto bleated petulantly. Sasuke got the impression he was just being difficult. His scheme to make Sasuke visit Sakura was blunt and obvious. A place that Sasuke would rather not visit for similar reasons he didn't want to concern himself with the glaring ladies: it meant to face the end of the road. After Sakura's diagnosis, Sasuke truly had no present and no future…
No, if they were going to come for him, it would be the same if it was at the hospital, the streets or outskirts of Konoha. That wasn't what worried him: he had to show Naruto the importance of this talk…. even if he himself just couldn't bring himself to think of love talk as anything but sheer imbecile bull.
Even the word felt undignifying in his mouth.
"So are you coming or not?" Naruto said unaware of Sasuke's mental digress, becoming irritated that Sasuke had gone silent. What was there to debate? It was a simple thing!
"Let's talk first," Sasuke insisted stubbornly.
"Who died and made you Hokage?!" Naruto retorted. He had turned it into a competition to see who would give in first. So that's how it's gonna be?
"Scared?" Sasuke played out, posing cross-armed The Tease, an oddly familiar look and a smirk Made in Uchiha. Naruto was curious – still huffy, but he faked his disinterest when he said 'offhandedly', "Then what is it?"
I got you, Sasuke thought hiding his complacency, parting from the wall he was leaning, expression set. Naruto's glaring frown became one of confusion. They exchanged a deep, strong look with the other. The second pair of eyes was just as fixed, his throat gulping an imaginary lump.
And then there was…
Nothing.
"Temeeee!" called Naruto irate, shaking hands into fists. Sasuke was just trying to piss him off, he was sure of it! What was that dumbass doing anyways, standing there like a dummy doing nothing but stare, that teme?!
Then, suddenly, Naruto stared with a face more like a pout. Then it was quickly dissolving into a foxy grin. "You know, if you come we could talk," Naruto offered, his plotting smirk said it all. Sasuke should just ignore it, as it would be easy to do, as many other times before, for the sake of achieving what he sought after.
Following was a pouting glare: Sasuke did not answer; he stared for a long time, aware what Naruto's plan failed at, rehearing his own in his mind. Now Sasuke waits. He seemed unaffected by the silence. He kept on staring for longer…
And that's how Sasuke failed to tell Naruto his feelings for the third time.
--
Naruto had definitely grown quicker than he remembered. His leaps moved in just a split second. It said something of improvement in Naruto's training. But, he was still the same old fool, who just wanted to beat Sasuke and would burn the Kyuubi's chakra on mid-city only to try it.
Sasuke, of course, was faster. But he was also oddly aloof, disconcerted with his own feelings and pressed by the lack of time. Besides, the knot on his stomach was too much to bear unscarred, that with the prospect of seeing Sakura. He had been stronger in his mind to bear Sakura's illusionary death, but it didn't mean it was easy to have to deal with the guilt, and the fear of repercussions.
Naruto was first, holding his weight on the windowsill effortlessly he found his opening. Sasuke meant to stay outside, conscious of the ANBU warding team's wary, ever watchful eyes on him.
Situation which was fast remedied when Naruto poked his head and called at Sasuke in his charming but-not-really-polite way for him to get a move on.
"Sakura-chaaaaan" Naruto called happily upon walking into the room, Sasuke was climbing down the window. "Hey, Sakura-chan! Heh, I didn't know you were so much of a morning slug."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed: in the room was not only Sakura, but Sai. The later sat in a chair besides Sakura's bed on an easy sleep that was dispassionately interrupted by Naruto's calling. This while Naruto moved up to shake Sakura in her hospital bed. "Hey, Sakura, really now. Sa—"
--
In her office, Tsunade had just received further reports on Haruno Sakura's state from Medical Ninjas as she had requested. She leaned back on her desk chair. Something was troubling her. She put the paper down solemnly. She hadn't missed anything in her previous report, so…
"Tsunade-baba!"
Naruto had just broken into her office though the door, a blank-faced but also fast Sasuke at his heel did a very bad job concealing himself behind the door. Failure out of his own panic, Tsunde decided. A group of ANBU and Shizune were a bit behind, debating if to do something or nothing at all. Dependable useless bastards, Tsunade thought; she gestured them to say put.
"Something is wrong with Sakura!" Naruto cried, hands slammed on the Hokage's desk. "Sai says she wasn't woken up at all!"
Tsunade hid her expression behind the pair of her hands. It was true. It's strange that she hasn't woken up. Just as it was strange she could not avoid a direct hit, the Godaime Hokage thought. The physical and mental exhaustion must be that great. But as the Fifth's name was called a second time, she snapped,
"Be calm, Naruto."
The command was not of withheld authority; Naruto was forced to restrain himself. As of then, Tsunade indulged in a period of silence while she found how to express herself. Any case, she didn't have very long: she had the others on the edges of their seats... so to speak. "As I said, the preliminary inspection showed there was no life-threatening damage and there's no scarring in her brain. Naruto, it wasn't you."
Naruto stilled as if he was stuck right in the face. At the same time, Sasuke raised his eyes abruptly towards Naruto, the latter lowered his head, closed his fist and in a low voice, asked, "Old Lady Tsunade… what did I do to Sakura-chan."
Tsunade, elbows over the desk and hands over her mouth, but not because she was thinking, but as if she sought to shield her own words from Naruto, sighed in surrender, gaining courage from experience. She had had a long life after all.
"Naruto, your Shurinken Rasengan grazed her, but it's not why her state wasn't changed. The later is product of an unknown source, which is most probably related to mental stress."
"It's my fault then," Naruto replied immediately. "If I hadn't insisted on doing this mission my way…"
"It may have not been a success at all," Tsunade finished. A silence reigned on the room, disrupted by Naruto's smallest sounds of frustration: small guttural sounds, the sound of his own fist clenching, his teeth hard pressed on themselves.
At the same time, realization came to Sasuke's face. The reason why Sakura was sleeping was his Mangekyo Sharingan. The reason Sakura was even hit by Naruto's attack. However, it appeared Naruto's damage was also great; enough to be overlooked in Tsunade's medical report. It seemed unlikely, but… it was true Sasuke knew not the effects of his Shurinken Rasengan, other than what it did to Itachi. That got to be descriptive enough.
"What is it?" Naruto said suddenly, stopping Sasuke from his train of thought and brought further attention to the red-chakra that started to emanate from him and was slowly covering the floor.
"What did I do… to Sakura-chan?!" he asked again. Fractionally, he rose his eyes to the Hokage, his eyes on slits.
"Control yourself, Naruto!" Tsunade snapped with lesser intent. "It'll not be possible for me to tell you if you don't keep down your temper!"
The small forceful chakra that was coming out, slowly, with difficulty, started fading away. Naruto's fist hadn't stopped shaking, even if his face appeared normal like that, head bent down.
Tsunade's face furrowed. She almost wished that had taken some more work, and braced herself. The information was now hers to deliver, that information she was withholding with a tight stomach.
"Haruno Sakura, my student, your friend, is in perfect capability of executing her duties as a kunoichi, as a normal citizen and as a person."
Naruto looked up. The slits that persisted in his eyes were fixed in some sort of relieved shock upon Tsunade, dangerous but tamed, like a time-bomb, and/or a puppet.
"The graze on her abdomen brings a complication. As you well know, the power of the Shurinken Rasengan is lasting, destroying on a cellular level and doesn't seem to be reversible by our medical knowledge. The area damaged is near her appendix," she went on. "A minor organ injury can be treated on the surface, but it's also near the –"
"What- what is it, Lady Tsunade, I-I don't understand," Naruto urged her.
Tsunade looked sideways, then returned to him. "It means Sakura will not be able to have— She will never be able to be pregnant."
--
If Sai already knew or suspected something, the news from a frustrated Naruto did nothing to shake him. Maybe that's why Naruto's thin state of control totally broke by the time he was back on Sakura's room, out of the zombie-like state that had temporarily overtook him. The relentless train of cursing was enough to leave him out of breath.
You could be sure now Naruto knew, he would be by Sakura's bed all that was needed, to demonstrate how Naruto would accept it when fate delivered his punishment. An expert on dwelling himself, Sasuke meant not to be part of it. So Sasuke left, but did not go far. He retired to the hospital roof under the constant watch of hidden ANBU.
Later that day, when he came back, not Naruto nor Sai had moved from their positions. Never once the staff had made an attempt to pray either of them away. Sasuke only stayed to regard that fact and left to wander around. His recurring spots were the roof, the hospital grounds and the hallway outside Sakura's room. That's how it was. No words of comfort, no overly concerned looks like daggers on the back of Naruto's head.
Then, it was nearing sunset. Only then Sai abandoned his ever faithful position by Sakura's side that, ever since they came back, kept on never wavering. Sasuke waited for Naruto to move from his position, watching from outside Sakura's room. But he didn't. Sasuke watched now. He saw Naruto trying to see the brighter side, beat himself up on how mad and disappointed Sakura would be, to all-out scream in frustration at how everything was his fault. But as the day closed on them, and all through a restless afternoon, up until a new dark-orange sunset, Naruto had finally and resolutely fell into the suffocating silence.
Naruto never thought to leave the hospital to come back. Sasuke did, by periods, and always came back to check on him. Ino had come at some point. Rumors traveled fast in Konoha once secrets were unveiled first. Ino had brought flowers. She had taken Sakura's hand on hers and told her, "Don't worry, you know many powerful men. They'll take good care of you." Her hour-long company faded into the background as well.
The red chakra was back in spasm, eating though Naruto's skin enough to cost some visible blisters. All Naruto did was stare. Sasuke knew about it: it was but self-inflicted punishment. It was the kind of thing he would do. Even now, had not somebody else adopted that role at the moment. And quite frankly it was driving Sasuke over the edge. He had long sat on the chair Sai had before occupied now, Naruto kneeling by Sakura's bed. But the object of his brooding was in a whole different level. Kakashi's words keep running in his head.
"Stupid Kyuubi, you can heal up, right? Heal her then!" he heard Naruto irrationally tell his own hand with eyes in slits.
All Sasuke did was stare. This whole thing about his... thing for Naruto was nerve-wrecking. Had everybody but him knew his feeling better than he did?! He couldn't bear looking at Naruto in this state. Maybe he couldn't bear looking at him in any state. He couldn't rest his eyes either, and in all honesty there's no way he would until he saw Naruto grinning, drooling on Sakura's face and whining about having money to buy ramen.
Sasuke slammed his fist against wall, cracking it in pieces.
"Stand up," Sasuke said gravely, walking up to the bed and stopping behind Naruto.
He knew he had raised Naruto's awareness. The still, silent figure from the foot of the bed barely raised his head to acquaintance the action. "Say what?" he replied on a hoarse voice.
"Stop mopping, you idiot. Stand up and face me!"
He restated his command by grabbing Naruto from the shirt, putting him on his feet and leaving no option for him but stare back at Sasuke. "Come on, we are going to duel, Naruto."
Naruto red-eyed glared at him and a voice unlike him hissed, "A fight?"
Sasuke smirked with an evil expression.
"That's the nine-tails, right? I've always wanted to know whether he's stronger or me." About the time Sasuke saw the red eye slits, he knew he had him.
--
No sooner Sasuke had reached the ground though the window, a pair of feet hit the ground before him. Sasuke knew time would drag on no longer. A deep growl sounded at the back of Naruto's throat. The surrounding falling leaves of trees hissed burnt to the ground by the fox's chakra. Before Sasuke knew any further, they were engaged in fierce, blood-shredding combat of those he knew so well.
Naruto's speed forced him to be quick of his wits. Two red tails whipped and trashed behind the bodily spectrum: Sasuke had before known Naruto in this state, yet it still managed to have an overpowering effect on him. Testily, weapons were whipped off their holsters. The clashing of shurikens echoed faintly. Next you knew they were holding each other's fists, face to face, and on those times where the battle seemed held still, Naruto's bared, clenched teeth approached forcefully through Sasuke's grip.
"Asshole," Kyuubi-Naruto hissed as they parted. They hit the ground the second.
They stood a good ground between each other, Sasuke holding his ground, Naruto with limp arms surrounded by red chakra, both their movements still raw. Naruto spoke in that growling, stranger voice that was both deep and vicious,
"You think I didn't notice?" Rage and spite showed on his face on those slit, sharp eyes. "You're not even using Sharingan."
A fury unlike him pushed through, dangerously increasing with each word from Sasuke, as he merely reached back and offered a smirk. "Baka, like this is all I need."
Back jump and Sasuke stripped of his backpack weapons, throwing projectiles like rain, as easily deflected with a wave of the red-chakra tail. Naruto roared as he lunged for a new attack. It escalated a new level after that. Up to that point, the fight had not even started.
They were captured by a dancing battle of wills and shapes the moment their kunais met. Sasuke recognized the tingling feeling on his muscles – an old marking on his skin just like the cursed seal – from every time the two of them fought, and tsked. It quickened the pace of his heart and breathing, and it threatened to raise flush to his cheeks amidst the heat of the battle.
It was maybe because of his state of hypnotism, drive and chaos that Sasuke barely noticed the slight difference of activities. Naruto's nails slashed his arm and back with the red burning chakra, Sasuke blocked Naruto's other arm out of the way. Sasuke's Chidori hand slipped while Naruto grabbed a handful of Sasuke's hairs. Sasuke's breathing mixed with Naruto's; Sasuke and Naruto's mouths met each other in the middle. Naruto slashed the back of Sasuke's neck, Sasuke grabbed Naruto by his. Lips were crushed into one another, pace quick in motion like a handseal, the struggle strong and steady. Sasuke took off Naruto's forehead protector. Naruto's burning chakra heat burnt Sasuke's face and hands.
"That's enough. Don't make me pull you away."
The voice of Kakashi sounded somewhere by the building. By a mere motion of reflex, it managed to make them thrust each other apart.
Kakashi said then, in an easy tone, "Now return to your original self, Naruto. You know how dangerous the Nine-Tails chakra is – And I trust you have the control to revert the seal, Sasuke?"
Sad, Nine-Tails fox's eyes turned to Kakashi apologetically, "Kakashi-sensei..." Sasuke wasn't changing back either.
"What, don't tell me you are in such despair to get your hands on some action, you summoned that much chaotic chakra? And all this much was to win predominance?"
With every word, spoken though those plain, doubtless eyes, two boys felt themselves shrinking to half their sizes. "My, even to make out you two're fighting. And now you can't shut it down, right? It seems I underestimated how difficult it must be to you to fight all that libido."
The words Kakashi-sensei spoke worked like jutsu in the two boys, who instantly felt shame replace whatever feeling it was that they were feeling before, and their bodies react turning back to normal, if maybe forcefully.
"That's more like it," said a smiling Kakashi.
The whistling of leaves in the wind was louder than the raging ocean and mountains stilled with lethargic silence.
O-MAKE-CHIBIS: SAI'S FRIEND-MAKING ATTEMPTS
SAI: (smiles) Hi. Sai here. I've come to make a friendly, important announcement so if I could please have you attention.
(points to the right) See the old hag with the oversized 'jugs' and the alcoholic problem, Godaime Hokage? Well, it's not about her. Now turn your attention to the fatty Chouji, he's munching the usual fries from the pack.
It's not about him but I've always wondered if Yamaka Ino would take her head off her backside if she saw him slim sprouting wings like Sailor Moon.
Look past them the fanboy mentioned in this chapter, Inuzuka Kiba. He has been a goner for the best part of this fanfic and came down to the Sasuke-gathering crowd to get a good sniff of the faraway lands from the soil of Sasuke's shoe. Also, he first greeted Naruto coming back by licking the side of Naruto's face. We don't know if that was pure randomness or a failed tactic to make Hinata blush.
It's not about him.
But if you look to the left (points) you can see the rest of the Sasuke fandom crowd was composed of random generic no ones that are nothing important.
Among them was the Tenten girl from the team comprising Rock Lee and Hyuuga Neji. They are all unimportant too. So is the ramen stand guy Naruto went to for birthday treats, Konohamaru's group and my sensei.
The announcement is about the reckless fast-paced motion of the latest events of the story and immediacy of Itachi's death.
But we have run out of time, so that's all—
(surprise punch in the side of the head)
SAKU: BAKA!!
SAI: (with a black eye) Now notice, if we make an overall count of the number of females and males it's highly interesting that I've been paired as a heterosexual character, top gay and the massive forehead, isn't it? More interesting even is that she wasn't all that far off. Ne, Sakura?
SAKU: (zombie-cracks knuckles-'nuff said)
(screen goes white)