Watch the Sky Destroy Himself

Hello my good people. I know that some of you were like 'wtf, Sasuke,' but I'm not sure if many of you realized how much Naruto influenced that to happen.

I'm not saying Naruto is a horrible person to Sasuke, but I'm saying that Naruto is so new to freedom, for that single moment after Inari died, he held Sasuke down like a slave. Sasuke feared him for a few moments and was not given permission to travel with Naruto, but does that justify the revenge? And how long will this affair go on before Naruto returns and realizes.

There was something about Inari that drew people to him. Konohamaru guessed it didn't hurt that he was a good looking boy; but it was more than that. He was quiet, but not out of painful shyness. It was a reservedness, like a conscious choice to observe the lie of the land before he got involved. Yet he wasn't stand-offish. He remained friendly faced and welcoming in body posture. It wasn't like he sat down one day and planned to be like that, it's just the way he was.

The Sarutobi had never saw him go out and deliberately make friends, they just came to him. There was nothing threatening about him, nothing at all. He was an easy listener, a good audience, giving encouraging feedback laced with intelligent comments. He worked hard, he got his work done.

He was encouraged by Konohamaru's aft of bravery and lack of fear when meeting Naruto, the great captain they looked up to. And he worked hard to be noticed by the man so that he could be captain one day.

"When I'm captain, I'm going to be just like boss." Konohamaru whispers as they lay down in the children's quarters.

In the darkness, he could see Inari shake his head. "Why would you want that? Boss doesn't want anyone like him to lead."

"And how do you know?"

"Because sometimes I watch him and sometimes I see that he is broken. Sometimes, he knows he is."

"But he is strong." The first mate whispers heatedly. He doesn't want to believe that. There is no one as strong as Naruto on that ship.

"Sometimes, the mind is the strongest part of your body. But what if, after society has raised you, made you a slave, and took away your values, it isn't? What kind of hell is that?"

Konohamaru thinks about it. Naruto did have a troubled life before he boarded that ship. "I'm not sure."

"Konohamaru." Inari whispers.

"Yeah?"

"Konohamaru."

The boy looks back to his friend, if only to stop him from saying his name.

But Inari isn't there anymore, there is the giant creature squeezing him until the blood dances from the cracks of his body.

"Noooooo"

"Konohamaru." He heard. "Konohamaru, wake up!"

The boy gasped as his eyes opened and he sat up afraid. The quarters were gone and the only thing that protected him was the forest they had been traveling in.

"It's alright." He could hear the words leave Naruto's mouth as he tried hugging him. He looked up at the man and tucked his head under a tan arm.

And he sobbed as if Naruto would too. "I watched him die, boss. I saw the wood strike him."

And the secret was out. He had watched Inari in his final moments.

"What?" Naruto asked in slight horror. How could he be so oblivious? To not notice why it hurt Konohamaru more than anyone else on that ship?

"We were standing next to one another and you told us not to come out. But the cannon fired and…. and….."

He sobbed. "The Daiouika's arm hit the hull and it just snapped. Inari looked at me, he called my name….and then he fell."

Naruto clenched his eyes shut. Of course children had no society for grief, but the situation was a lot harder to mend if a child witnessed something as traumatic as death.

He rocked the boy in his arms. "Shh. It's alright. We'll get through these hard times."

It took an hour for Konohamaru to calm down. He yawned and hugged Naruto even tighter.

"Boss?"

"En."

"Are you broken?"

And to Konohamaru's surprise, he did not answer with a 'yes', 'no,' or even a 'what makes you ask.' No. To his surprise, Naruto simply responded in a soft sad manner… "How did you know?"

When he arose again, he felt the increasing pressure of a life long lived. The boy stared over, his eyes adjusting to the darkness to find Hinata and the boss quietly whispering to one another.

"I don't know what I can do. He watched him, Hinata. He watched him die and now this trauma is a lot harder to mend."

"Naruto…. Why does it scare you? He is just a boy."

"Exactly. One day, Konohamaru is going to take my job. One day, he will carry all the values that I lift. He's important to me for not just that, but for his childlike mannerisms."

"And…."

"And… I love him. I love him like Hiashi loves you. Like Danzo loved Kakashi. Like Kakashi loved me. I love him like a son. And I feel guilty because I know I loved him more than any other child on that ship. Perhaps even more than Inari."

It seemed that those words would sink into the forest and they would stay there. Konohamaru clenched his eyes shut and pretended to sleep as Hinata stood.

"Very well, captain. Let us move out. We will be back with the crew in a few hours."

"Thank you, Sasuke-san. A pleasure doing business."

Sasuke simply nodded, turning away from the trader to join his crew in observing the new ship.

He could hear footsteps beside him. "You did well, Kisame. Naruto would be proud."

"Thank you, Quartermaster. Shall we tour this vessel?"

Before he could agree with his most loyal able bodied sailor, Sasuke caught something from the corner of his eye. He smirked. "I cannot this time around. I already told Umeji that I would tour with him."

Kisame nodded with no emotion to his face and let Sasuke be.

"Quartermaster, I believe we have yet to see the cabins where Naruto will lay."

Sasuke took the man's hand. "We must."

When Naruto was first bought by Hinata Hyuuga, he had seen her eyes as grey. When feeling poetic, they were silver. But really, neither word did them justice. They were so solid; so bright; the exact lustrous color of a polished shard of metal. If one looked closer, they would see the swirls of glittering onyx black and tinges of blue at the edges. They weren't monochrome or boring. That had simply been his terrible judgement. They were beautiful.

Hinata had the eyes of dove feathers. Not the albino kind, but the ones with a hue so softly grey that they could have been pencil drawn. They had that look of birds flying on sunlit days, the shine and quick movement, yet relaxed, purposeful, at ease.

Her eyes held no color, but Naruto imagined she could see all of them. He imagined she could see the green of the leaves and the brown of the trees.

Konohamaru's eyes weren't exactly Black. They were more, a deep, grey that imitated black in moments. Like when Naruto had trained him, Konohamaru had stopped to look at the sun and Naruto could see the black specs in them. Naruto had seen the fire all his life. And after seeing the fire, he guessed all the smoke just went to Konohamaru's eyes. The coal that seemed to turn to smoke.

And yet, no matter how confused that eye color was, Naruto believed they could see all. He imagined Konohamaru knew the colors of the red forests birds and the blue of the creek.

He had only met Haku a few days ago, but it felt like a lifetime. Because he wanted to believe he knew the mystery behind those soft void eyes. His eyes were midnight and ravens wings. They were the type of darkness that wasn't dark. They were sweet silence before dawn and responsibility.

And despite how bottomless those eyes were, Naruto imagined they knew color well. He imagined that Haku saw the purple of the dawn sky and the yellow of flowers.

He remembered the first year bring with Kakashi. He remembered the compliments of his eyes and how he would believe it.

He remembered when Danzo hurt him really bad.

The boy arose already clutching someone for dear life. And that someone was already awake. He looked up, finding his father already staring in sadness. "You alright?" The man asked.

The boy nodded quietly. "Yes, daddy."

"Do you want to get up?"

Naruto whimpered when his father moved slightly.

"What is wrong, musuko? Did I hurt you?"

Naruto whined. "My butt hurts, daddy."

And suddenly, the silence was all they knew. Kakashi sighed and rubbed his forehead while Naruto watched in sadness.

"Korosu zo ano otoko." I will kill that man. Those are the words Kakashi murmured before he composed himself. "How about I make you food and you can eat it here?"

Naruto thought about it and then he nodded with a soft smile. "Yes please."

It took Kakashi only an hour to cook for Naruto. When he returned he found the seven year old rolling stifly on the bed, his bright blue eyes smiling when they saw the ceiling.

The man smiled, seeing the future right before him. Seeing that Naruto would be okay. And he didn't know what it was about this moment that made him emotional.

It wasn't the color of his eyes that were so breathtaking, as it was what was inside them. Bright. Oh, how bright they were, shining with the tears in Kakashi's eyes that had yet to fall in trickling lines, streaking through the caked dirt on Naruto's face. The blue-gray of stormy skies that drowned him in the rain to come.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Naruto asked, a goofy smile on his childhood face.

Kakashi smiled slightly. "Because you are the most beautiful thing I know." And his voice was cracking as he said, so he meant it.

NSNS

When he was 10, his father took him traveling. He did not know where he was going, but when his father would look back and smile knowingly at him, he felt it was important.

"Where are we going father?" He asked.

Ahead, the silver head laughed. "I'm not sure either, but we'll know it when we see it, right?"

And Naruto laughed too. "Right."

Suddenly, Kakashi stopped, stopping Naruto suddenly.

Naruto squinted. Before them was a sad river with a contrasting bridge. The bridge was simply too beautiful for a place like this.

The river was a ribbon of living turquoise, boldly flowing amid the green of the forest. No matter the chatter of the trees, it was steady, welcoming, refreshing.

But the bridge was something elegant. It was a prince amongst the stables.

Naruto was on the very brink of knowing all it was possible to know, but the barrier of impending doom held it at bay. For the briefest of moments, he knew precisely what was to occur, yet could never be certain until the event.

Who was he? What had he done? Had he fallen like a kage? Had he been born into the land of forgetfulness, and to die like a man?

Who was he?

"You are Naruto." Those words captured him like a slave and he stared at his father, who crouched before him pushing blond hair from those eyes.

He felt something. But he could not know what.

"You are Naruto." The man said again.

Naruto looked back at him and then he smiled. "Naruto." He murmured.

Kakashi smiled to and nodded. "You are. The boy whose eyes are a perfect spring sky." He rubbed his son's tummy, smiling as he laughed. "whose mind is clear. And his little smile is warmer then the gentle sun."

NSNS

"You will be safe with the Hyuuga. They are to be trusted. They are like us."

Naruto nodded as Kakashi sat by the fireplace. "And you will go back to being an ANBU warrior?"

"Right." Came the whisper.

He watched his father's eyes shimmer in the fire.

"Tousan…." Naruto murmured.

The man sniffed. "You know I'm going to miss you, right?"

Naruto smiled sadly. "Yeah."

Kakashi laughed softly. "I will miss raising you, as I've had for the past years. Your eyes, Naruto. They shine so impossibly blue that I have spent your childhood believing you had your own sky inside of you."

And despite the love Kakashi had for those eyes, those pretty pretty eyes. No matter how bright those ocean eyes were, Naruto could only see the shadows.

His eyes held the color the world loved, but in those eyes was no color. The reds and browns and purples, all those colors were grey.

The man shook his head, not sure why the depression of him not seeing color returned after so many years.

"Boss?"

The blond looked up, finding Konohamaru staring at him. He must have been lost in thought for sometime because he could see Haku and Hinata ahead.

And only Konohamaru stood before him, looking back wearing a loose fit smile.

"You should smile, boss."

And the suggestion was so beautiful that Naruto's chapped lips, dry from hunger and a lack of liquid, quivered.

And his lips cracked as they went up and the onslaught of despair came over them.

The man's eyes shimmered as he stared into the dark trees above his first mate's head.

"Konohamaru. Osokunaru." Come here slowly. He whispered the words still watching the growling eyes in those dark woods.

The boy seemed confused and the boy seemed brave. He squinted in misunderstanding and turned around, staring at the forest and finding nothing.

But suddenly…..

Through the darkness came the glow of two yellow eyes, like sallow lamplight eight feet off the ground. They moved with a slight sway, as if the unseen body prowled like a big cat. Konohamaru froze. The eyes did not, with rapid acceleration and a more bounding motion the came right for him. In less than two seconds, he was on his back gasping for air.

He pushed at the growling lion above him, snapping at his face.

"Boss!"

Naruto unsheathed his sword and ran forward, slashing the large beast across his nose. It fell back with a guttural growl of pain.

With it sprawling in the dirt, Naruto had the opportunity to help up a shaking Konohamaru. "You alright?"

The boy nodded rapidly. "It's just…. It's not a lion."

And sure enough, now that the large cat had regained himself, it now stood, watching the blond man as he watched it.

Though it seemed to be a feline beast, the body did not have fur, but rather scales. Naruto cursed as the beast got ready to pounce.

"Move away, kid."

Konohamaru started in oblivion. "But-"

"Now!"

And the child did as told, moving to the side as the beast growled.

Naruto wielded the sword with one hand and held his healing ribs with the other. "Totsuzen." You mutt.

A string of curses unraveled from his tongue, like yarn unfurling, as the creature advanced. It's grey scales shimmered with hot anger along with it's white, cold eyes. Every step it took rattled his bones and struck his heart. He tried to dodge a swing from it's massive claws, but it struck his side and he tumbled into the dirt.

He could hear nothing all was silenced, the yells of Konohamaru, the hisses of the creature, all inaudible. All he could do was feel. Feel the cold ground pressed against his form, the heat from the pain, and the rhythm of the drum that would signal his end. He looked upward into the stars. He fought valiantly, and he prayed that his ancestors would accept him and take him home. He closed his eyes as he felt a searing pain, which he thought to be his very last.

"I'm planning to run away with, Sasuke."

The man stopped by the door and turned to the imperial guard. "You what?"

"I said…." He gulped. "I want to run away with Sasuke because I know he is not safe."

"And you understand that I am direct commander under the order of the fire Daimyo? That I can have you killed for just those words?"

The guard looked down, dirt in his eyes from the life and water in his hands from the dream. "I know that somehow, I can trust you, Sama."

And abruptly, the silence was like the aftermath of a public torching. And the flames chose to speak in place of quiet villagers who not had little to say, but had no courage.

The commander turned with hope in his eyes. "You listen and listen well."

His subordinate flinched.

"Be the captain of your own ship; chart a course and navigate with determination in choppy waters and fine. You alone are the master of your own destiny and responsible for the keeping of your humanity in the harshness of life. Do that and, no matter what happens, you will be proud of who you are."

The guard nodded heavily. "Thank you."

The commander hid a forbidden smile. "Good luck." And he bid the other goodnight, stepping even closer to the door.

"Commander!"

Ceased again. Another turn. Another stare.

"Thank you." He whispered. "Thank you for all you've done in trying to protect me. For looking out for me all my life."

The older man smiled. "Always. Naruto."

His eyes blurrily displayed the wandering forest as he listened to the cries of his crew.

"There's too much blood!" Hinata screamed. "He won't make it."

"Almost there!" Haku yelled.

Naruto blinked again and as his head lolled to the movement, he spotted Kakashi holding out a sword to him.

"You can do this, Naruto. You're a fighter. Come on, kid."

"Just a little more!" Was that Kisame? Where was he? Who was he?

"You are Naruto."

So much pain in his torso, so much liquid dripping down his neck.

"Naruto, the point is not to feel pain, but to feel the chance of feeling pain."

The man gasped and bolted upright. Immediately, he felt a thud on his chest. "Easy goes there, captain."

Naruto looked around. It was morning. He was still outside. But there was no forest and Kisame stood over him with Sakura beside.

The man let out a crooked grin and wiped his face. "Oh, Kami. How long have we been gone."

Kisame smiled too. "Four days, captain. Konohamaru told me all about it. What a journey eh?"

Naruto laughed. "I was almost fucking killed."

The raven arose to soft cheers of his crew. He groaned, lifting himself off Umeji and sitting up. Yawning, the man grabbed his kimono to see what event had occurred.

And the great fear that went through him when he heard the cheering murmurs of "the captain has returned" was unlike any other.

Fear overwhelmed his body, making it drastically exhausted. However, most of all, the fear was making him calm and that was what scared him the most.

He turned to Umeji and shook him awake. "Naruto has returned. You must go. These are his quarters."

And he could find the fear in Umeji to; as the man quickly arose and dressed, nearly tripping out the door.

Sasuke took a moment to gather himself, fixing his hair and clothing. He found Naruto assessing their new ship.

He found Neji spinning Hinata in the air as he goofily kissed her eyelids and nose.

He found Konohamaru placing different flowers in groups and a new man standing and speaking with Kakashi.

"And this is mahogany?" Naruto smiled, asking about the new wood.

Kisame nodded. "Yes, captain. We only wanted the best."

Naruto gripped the other man's shoulder. "Congratulations, Kisa. Now we must sail out and bury Inari."

Everyone grew silent now, and stared over at the clean body wrapped all over.

Naruto sighed. "It's alright. We will mourn him forever because he was one of us. And the weight of this sad time, we must obey."

Konohamaru's eyes closed as a tear fell. "Every life has death and every light has shadow. And as my friend, Inari always stood in the light and let his shadow fall where it fell."

"Konohamaru." Naruto murmured, saddened now.

The boy looked up and before anyone could see, he ran to Naruto burying his small face into the man's broken torso so that they would not see the tears.

"Konohamaru." he murmured once more, as if the boy would stop crying.

"It's okay, kid. I suspect the most we can hope for, and it's no small hope, is that we never give up, that we never stop giving ourselves permission to try to love and receive love."

"But I miss him." The boy sobbed.

"I do too. I do. And there's not a day that goes by where I don't want to snap the neck of his murderer and let him rest in peace."

Sasuke gulped deeply. And if the man ever found out about the affair, he'd kill without hesitation.

Naruto smiled a little. "But this reminds me. Would you like to introduce him, Maru?"

The boy looked up with hope in his eyes. "I can?"

Naruto nodded, messing up the boy's hair. "That and….."

The boy gasped. "Attention crew! On our travels, we have found not only a new master gunner, but a trained doctor and supporter of the resistance. He's Haku and he's awesome."

The man blushed at the introduction and the crew cheered for him.

Konohamaru pointed to Neji. "Set sail immediately. And tonight a celebration for Inari."

Hinata raised her weapon. "For Inari!"

Naruto smiled. It seemed that maybe all Konohamaru needed was the little notion that in him was something important.

"Are you coming, Sasuke?" Naruto murmured, staring at his lover with hope in his eyes.

Since he'd been back, Sasuke would not look at him. He would not touch him. He did not ask about the claw marks on his already broken ribs. Nor did he tell Naruto that his welcome was lived.

The raven looked at him and Naruto promised the world later that night that he saw guilt. He saw the regret of the past.

"It's too much to process right now, Naruto. I will pray for Inari alone."

He swallowed a lump. "Alright." But the words still came out croaky and clumped.

Sasuke looked away and laid upon the sheet. And this time, Naruto saw that Sasuke was not all lost. In that quiet body was another that wanted everything to go back to normal.

The crooked grin escaped. He leaned over and kissed Sasuke's forehead. "ai shiteru."

The Uchiha tensed and looked up, his eyes shining with water in the candlelight. "You love me?"

Naruto smiled. "Sasuke...always. I'll be back, alright?"

The man nodded and return and watched Naruto leave, all his decisions regretted.

"He is beautiful." Sakura smiled, wiping her face with a cloth as the men lifted Inari's wrapped body. "Now and as he was at the hour of his death."

Naruto inhaled as he lifted the plank they had put the boy on, surrounding him with flowers. And gently, with caution, and time, Inari was finally placed upon the ocean surface.

"The stone."

And that was placed upon the plank and it sunk below the water, never to be seen again.

A heavy sob sounded and Naruto went over to his first mate, holding him and rocking him.

"You know that a good, long session of weeping can often make you feel better, even if your circumstances have not changed one bit."

Konohamaru nodded, wiping his snotty nose on Naruto's torso. And unexpectedly, he laughed at his notion, making Naruto laugh too. It was funny because Inari would be with them forever, and still the mourning would not go away. But there was good humor where it was allowed.

"I cannot keep it in no longer. I cannot!"

The moment was short lived as Kisame stormed to the side of the boat that everyone stood beside. Naruto's eyes narrowed in mere confusion because his crewmate was bitter; angry; annoyed; guilty?

"What is the matter?" He asked, standing straight.

"It will drive me insane if I let it go on." Kisame ranted to himself.

Naruto looked around as the crewmates began staring and others crowding around. "Kisa, you are making a large scene. Tell me what's wrong...now."

The blueish man stared into his eyes. "Sir. With my life, I respect Sasuke-sama because he is the heart of this movement, but I cannot let this go on."

"What?"

"Captain… Sasuke was right in telling us that he does not care for us. He has skipped this passing to have sex with Umeji. And he has slept with him twice everyday for the past four and once today."

The tension was breathable and in that moment, Naruto felt the the silence hung in the air almost like Minato's head before it dropped upon the ground. Suspenseful and dreary. And as it turned, it could not be drunk away.

Naruto blinked and Kisame looked away.

"I walked past the cabins where you and Sasuke lay and I saw Umeji sneaking in. I could not let it go on."

And there was no thought that any descendant would know and no emotion that could ever be written in a later tale of his journeys.

Naruto was so angry that he grabbed his sword and stormed to his cabins without hesitation. He kicked upon the door, finding Sasuke and Umeji in a struggle.

"I love him, I can't do this anymore!"

Sasuke was naked and Umeji was fighting him. And then they spotted the blond colorblind man by the door. Sasuke gasped, covering himself as tears filled his eyes.

And then came the heavy silence. The silence stretched thinner and thinner, like a balloon blown big, until the temptation to rupture it was too great to resist.

Umeji pointed to Sasuke. "Captain, this whore has been pursuing me ever s-"

Umeji's head fell to the floor faster than Naruto had seen his sword strike the air.

And so he believed that when he killed him, Umeji saw the doom

He found his own severed head falling in this darkness, hurtling to an invisible floor. A floor that would most likely kill him if the sword hadn't. The air pushed against his face, he closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

The blood from the still standing body spurted upon Sasuke. And Umeji, decapitated and like a drowning man, clutched feebly for the bed railing- and missed.

And Sasuke let a a scream when the body fell that broke Naruto's stupor. The scream of hysteria and disbelief, bordering on terror.

The man seized Sasuke behind the back and under the legs with the blanket, sitting him outside the cabin.

Sasuke looked up, flinching as Naruto was already staring at him.

The unmoving gaze was accompanied by deliberate slow breathing, like he was fighting something back and losing.

"Sasuke…," his voice cracked. "How could you?"

No response. "How!?"

The raven flinched.

"Sasuke… I loved you against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be." He whispered those words and Sasuke looked up, his lips trembling.

And he had admitted before. Naruto loved Sasuke with so much more love that Sasuke half gave.

And through his acts, he had destroyed himself.

I kind of changed it. I wanted to make the affair longer, but I knew that the affair isn't what this story is all about. And hey, what's next for our lovers, death and the traveling wizard? How will Sasuke redeem himself on a ship full of people more loyal to Naruto than to he? And who the hell is going to clean up that body?