Disclaimer: Yea, I don't own Naruto.
Nothing much to say for this chapter. Sasuke will be a bit of an uke in this chapter for a short while. He won't be submitting or anything like that, but he will be dominated for a short time. I haven't changed his demeanor or personality to fit the uke position. It is just something that happens to him. Bah, enough explaining, I'm sure you'll understand when you read it. As always, let me know what you think………………………………..and then review………please.
The Way Things Are
Chapter 10
Sasuke had gotten used to Orochimaru's punishments by now. The snake sanin never did anything that Sasuke couldn't handle. Very little pain was usually involved; however, the sentence would sometimes last for days. Orochimaru had unique methods of trying to break the Uchiha.
Sasuke hung in the air. Chains had been strongly pulled and tightened around his wrists. His arms stayed stiff above him as he dangled a bit limply in the dark room Orochimaru had placed him in. Moreover, after Sasuke had been beaten, Orochimaru had left him half naked in the arid room.
"Bastard." Sasuke thought sourly as he cursed the snake sanin. His eyes glanced downward as he inspected the bruises and slashes across his bare torso. He'd never resisted Orochimaru's chastising actions. He wanted the sanin to believe he was somewhat obedient. Especially with the recent plans of murder Sasuke was conjuring. He couldn't let Orochimaru know about his plan to kill him.
"Yet." Sasuke thought, half-amused. He moved the muscles in his arms slightly as he tried to readjust himself. He quickly found that he had only succeeded in making himself more uncomfortable. The chains had proved to be quite a bother.
"He usually doesn't restrain me like this……I'm usually just locked in a small room or hit or tortured……Why's it different this time?" Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes slowly. "Guess I could try to sleep."
As soon as he closed his eyes, Sasuke received an all too familiar mental image. "Naruto." The other boy wouldn't leave his mind. "Maybe I was a little to blunt with him……" Sasuke considered as he remembered the way he had left the blonde.
"No……..He's just gonna have to be patient……He's probably pretty pissed off though. Next time I try to touch him he'll probably turn into that damned fox and eat me……." Sasuke managed to strain out a chuckle as he thought about Naruto. "Either way….It's not my concern right now……I need to stop thinking about him. I have other matters to attend to."
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Naruto awoke slowly. He looked around through lazy eyes and realized he had stayed in the grove all night. "I must've fallen asleep here."
A cool morning breeze caused Naruto to close his eyes in relaxation. It weaved and swayed around his still body. He stood up and stretched reflexively. His arms reached towards the blue sky. They sunk back down and stayed limp at his sides for a moment. His body weight shifted between his feet until he stood with his upper body arched slightly. He looked up into the sky in his newfound relaxed position.
"Footsteps…." Naruto tensed a bit at the sound. "Guess I'm still a little paranoid." He chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head.
"Hey! Is that you, Naruto!?" Naruto turned his head. Kiba Inuzuka was on the other side of the grove yelling loudly. He and Akamaru ran up to Naruto quickly.
"Uh.. Hey Kiba!" Naruto spread a wide grin across his face and waved to the other boy. However, he wasn't exactly in the mood to socialize.
"What's been up with you, Naruto?" Kiba said when he reached the other boy. "No one really knows what the details are……."
"Ha….well……" Naruto laughed and spoke nervously. "I just well…….ah, let's just not talk about it." Naruto beamed. "Besides, I'm fine! Better than ever actually! See, they just underestimated me. But, nobody can beat me! I sure showed them." Naruto laughed and continued making up lies. Kiba scrunched his brow and scoffed.
"Right………" Kiba said sarcastically. "It's cool Naruto. I don't need to know……..but you know I heard something about……hickeys." Kiba smiled. He emphasized the last word with a lot of obnoxious inflection. Naruto's face drained and he stammered.
Kiba poked at Naruto with his elbow. "Eh? EH? Seems more to me like you were having fun with someone….. Not fighting. Well?" Kiba continued prodding the other boy. With each word Kiba's eyebrow rose higher. "Come on! Tell me what was really going on! Did that Jiraiya guy take you to a brothel or something?"
Naruto stiffened and lowered his head. "No Kiba……………I don't wanna talk about it… so stop it, okay?" Naruto asked uncomfortably. Kiba loosened up a bit and placed his arm around Naruto's shoulder.
"Damn, you are tense. You need to unwind. Some of the others were sort of worried about you. There have been so many rumors going around. Nobody really knows what's been going on the past few days. Except you." Kiba smiled at Naruto. This only made the blonde tense up even more. He sighed and shook his head.
"Just forget about it." Naruto huffed.
"Listen, me and some of the other guys were gonna head to the bathhouse later. We figured we should invite you since you've been so……well…….tense. So how about it? You could definitely use some relaxation." Kiba patted Naruto on his back. I'll go I-I guess." Naruto gulped as he found himself staring at Kiba's chest. Kiba tilted his head slightly at Naruto.
"Cool……Well I'll see you there around five." Kiba released the blonde and whistled towards Akamaru. He left waving back towards Naruto.
Naruto stared a bit lustfully at Kiba. "Damn…What the hell is wrong with me?" His blue eyes wandered down towards Kiba's ass. Kiba's new leather jacket and outfit definitely made him more eye-catching. "All that leather…….." Naruto's tongue touched his top lip just barely. He shook his head roughly and got a hold of himself. After grunting and moaning at his thoughts, Naruto realized what he'd just gotten himself into.
"A bathhouse………….Full of guys…………….." Naruto placed his hand on his face and dragged it down slowly. "Fuck."
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Hours passed slowly and Sasuke began to feel his body sweat profusely. Sleep was never granted to him. Everytime he closed his eyes, his curse seal would throb painfully. It was almost like Orochimaru was watching him. "He probably likes watching me like this……Sick fuck." Sasuke began to get frusturated. He wiggled around for a while until some of the feeling came back to his limbs.
He knew he could always break the chains with his chidori or some other jutsu, but, decided against it after he thought about what Orochimaru might think and do. "I prefer some of the genjutsu that bastard uses to punish me with over this."
"CRASH!" The room shook violently with the stentorian sound. Sasuke's eyes widened as he began to wonder what was happening. "Sounded like an explosion…….a sound like that would require a lot of power." Sasuke focused on the sounds around him as his mind deciphered the situation. A few shouts and screams were heard. Footsteps were rushing wildly about. Sasuke suddenly decided it was time to abandon his punishment and check out what was going on. He tensed his body as he prepared to break the chains.
"Tsch. Tsch. Now, now, Sasuke." Orochimaru hissed from behind the Uchiha. "You weren't about to leave from your confinement time, were you?" Orochimaru walked closer to Sasuke.
"I was interested in finding out what all those sounds were." Sasuke spoke calmly with a bit of an attitude.
"Oh you needn't worry about that." Orochimaru whispered near Sasuke's ear. "Some of your old friends from Konoha have discovered our location again." Sasuke's mind frantically panicked. "What!?" His expression remained calm, however, and his tone was still very nonchalant.
"And who might those people be?" Sasuke asked. He couldn't help himself from sounding a bit curious. Orochimaru's eyes glinted.
"A pink haired kunoichi, Kakashi, that Sai fellow, Yamato, my old student Anko……….." Orochimaru stopped. Sasuke's mind began to feel relief when Naruto's name wasn't mentioned. "Oh and there was another." Sasuke narrowed his eyes.
"Naruto Uzumaki. That wretched Jinchuriki." Orochimaru hissed through the wide grin on his face. Sasuke felt his eyesight go black as Orochimaru tied a blindfold tightly around his head.
"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked irritably.
"I'm just going to let you rest for a while in here while I take care of those pathetic fools. This should help." Orochimaru pulled on the black cloth on Sasuke's eyes.
"What the fuck should I do!? Damn you Naruto!!" Sasuke clenched his jaw while trying desperately to think of a plan. He heard the door to the dry room he hung in slide close rather forcefully. Orochimaru had already left. "I'll never fucking forgive you or myself if you get yourself killed dobe! I've already got enough to deal with! Why can't you just let me be for a while!?" Sasuke grunted angrily. He could no longer hold in his emotions. His curse seal began to sear with red hot intensity.
"AHHH!" A short scream of aggravation and pain erupted from the Uchiha. The chains rattled violently. "Damn it!" Sasuke strained through his grinding teeth. "I don't need this right now!"
"Sasuke?" Naruto's voice whispered from behind the Uchiha. Sasuke's eyes widened from underneath his blindfold. His tightened muscles relaxed slightly at the sound of the blonde's voice.
"Sasuke?" Naruto repeated. He sounded a bit concerned. "What the hell happened to you? Are you ok?" Naruto's palm touched the Uchiha's sweat covered back.
"Why are you here!? How did you find me-" Sasuke's urgent whispers were hushed by Naruto.
"Ha! Remember Sasuke, you're dealing with the next Hokage. Nobody can escape from me! Not even you." Naruto's hand caressed Sasuke very lightly.
"Get out of here." Sasuke said sternly. His commands weren't working on the blonde.
"I'll get you out of these chains…….But I need something first." Naruto said; his voice was somewhat sultry. The blonde balanced himself on his toes as he reached his lips towards Sasuke's mouth. The kiss was cut short by Sasuke.
"What's wrong with you?! Now's not the time-" Sasuke was interrupted by another kiss. He couldn't resist this time. He kissed Naruto back deeply. He felt Naruto's hands explore his restrained body. The blonde's hand gripped the back of the Uchiha's neck strongly. The kiss lasted a bit longer until the boys separated slowly.
"Naruto……….you have to leave……" Sasuke spoke softly. Silence was his only response. "Naruto……………………………..please." Sasuke felt Naruto remove the blindfold. Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as he looked at the grinning blonde. "No way!"
"POOF!" Smoke blew about wildly. Some flew inside of Sasuke's mouth and nose. A new voice came from the clearing smoke.
"So there is something between you and Naruto." Kabuto stated as he adjusted his glasses. He glared back and almost jumped at the sight of Sasuke.
Sasuke's eyes gleamed a fiery red. The sharingan had already activated itself. His face, as well as all his other muscles, tightened fiercely. His brow was furrowed so strongly that it seemed like the Uchiha's face would rip apart. Kabuto had never seen such a display of anger, let alone emotion, come from Sasuke.
"I'll kill you." Sasuke sneered. "I'll kill you!" Sasuke repeated louder. His voice was full of malice. His numb fingers began forming hand signs to the best of their ability despite the binding chains. "Something's different." Sasuke thought strangely. His chakra wasn't focused and his body wasn't channeling energy. Kabuto snickered a bit at the small look of surprise on Sasuke's face.
"It's too late for that Sasuke." Kabuto reassured the Uchiha. His remark only made Sasuke try again. "Try not to exert anymore energy." Sasuke's jaw tensed. "What's wrong with me?!"
"Allow me to explain, Uchiha." Kabuto smiled. He reveled in his next speech. "You see, those are no ordinary chains around your arms. As you've hung here……..rather helplessly If I might add, these restraints have been absorbing your chakra." Kabuto made sure he sounded as intelligent as possible while revealing this information to Sasuke. " Lord Orochimaru didn't want any fight left in you before he proceeded in his plan. It will be easier for all of us this way." Sasuke grunted at Kabuto's pathetic attempt to intimidate him.
"Your master seems to be afraid of what I'm capable of when I have all my chakra. Is that why he tried to weaken me?" Sasuke sneered smugly. He couldn't help an arrogant smirk from forming on his lips. Kabuto narrowed his eyes.
"Hardly." Kabuto reassured the Uchiha.
"What about all the sounds I just heard. The explosion and everything else. Was that all staged too?" Sasuke prodded Kabuto into conversation. He tried exploiting one of the medical ninja's many weaknesses. "Just keep talking you stupid bastard."
"Correct. It was all a genjutsu. Even the blindfold that Lord Orochimaru put around your eyes stopped your use of sharingan. That way, you wouldn't be able to see past my transformation jutsu at all." Kabuto's conceited explanation continued.
"And what was the point of the little transformation stunt you just pulled on me? I can't see how any information regarding me would be important to discover if Orochimaru plans to take over my body so soon." Sasuke waited for Kabuto's response.
"On the contrary, that information was fairly important to Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto continued. "He was curious of course about what you were doing in Konoha and with whom you were with. However, after I told him that I saw you and Naruto engaging each other, he wanted mainly to see if you and Naruto had any kind of bonds left after all these years." Kabuto smiled. "And apparently you do." Sasuke exhaled.
"You're still not making any sense." Sasuke closed his eyes on Kabuto to insult the man's intelligence. Kabuto sighed.
"It's not important for you to understand at this point. But I suppose I'll try explaining it to you once more." Kabuto sighed dejectedly. Sasuke purposely allowed the man to keep talking. Kabuto's lengthy explanations bought Sasuke time to come up with a plan of escape and action.
"You see, Sasuke, Orochimaru had hoped that you and Naruto were still…….Close. He quickly realized that he could use your bond with Naruto to his advantage…………Well when he has your body at least." Kabuto said. His pompous words had caused Sasuke to realize just exactly what Orochimaru had recently planned.
"He thought that by gaining my body…………He could get to Naruto……Gain his trust………pretend to become loyal to Konoha again….and then destroy the village with all that deception………possibly with the dobe's help………and then he'd kill Naruto so that the Akatsuki couldn't get their hands on the Kyuubi." Sasuke didn't care about the village's condition whatsoever. He did care about what happened to Naruto however.
"His plan is flawed. Much as I don't care about Konoha……..The new Hokage and all the other shinobi there aren't stupid….No matter what Orochimaru would have said to try to gain their or Naruto's trust………nobody would ever welcome Sasuke Uchiha back in Konoha…..ever…..besides, Naruto hates me." Sasuke's head lowered slightly. He quickly realized what he had just said. "Why the fuck did I say that!?"
"Aww…..Poor Sasuke." Kabuto teased sadistically. "And to think that you've trained for so long……. And gave up everything…..Only to become Lord Orochimaru's new host." Sasuke narrowed his eyes as Kabuto approached him. His hands were already glowing blue with his chakra scalpel technique. "I'll send Itachi….." Kabuto paused. "And Naruto……Your regrets."
Sasuke reflexively activated his curse seal at the sound of his brother's and Naruto's name. He felt substantial amounts of chakra fill his body. His once limp foot dove powerfully into Kabuto's cheek. The medical ninja grunted and flew across the room. Sasuke focused chakra into the soles of his feet and pulled his body upward. Once he gained enough momentum from the chains, he leapt towards the ceiling. His feet touched the ceiling and he stood upside for a moment. His fingers danced swiftly as he produced hand signs.
"Fire style: Dragon Flame Jutsu." The dark room lit up in a flowing crimson blaze. Sasuke sent the immense trail of fire that erupted from his mouth along the very chains that held him in place. The fire tore and ripped at the metal, as well as scorching Sasuke's wrists. The pain seemed only to increase his anger and vengeance. He ripped the chains to pieces and hurled their red hot, blistering remains toward Kabuto.
The medical ninja leapt to his feet. His eyes caught sight of the searing foliage headed for him. The chains whipped towards him like snakes. Kabuto flipped over top of some of the debris. Before he had even landed, a scorching chain ensnared itself around his upper body. Kabuto let out a short scream. He flung the wretched chain aside and suddenly heard the chirping sound of Sasuke's next attack.
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"Huh." Kiba crossed his arms. "I guess nobody else is gonna show up." Kiba turned and looked at Naruto.
"Phew." Naruto relaxed a little. He knew that with just Kiba there, he wouldn't have to worry about possibly embarrassing himself. "It's just Kiba….. At least I'm not surrounded by naked guys." Naruto didn't know how his newfound feelings would affect his behavior. He didn't want anything to change, but it was all just too strange for him to handle. "This is so weird….." Naruto eyed the thin white towel around Kiba's waist. It was the only thing that kept him and Naruto from being completely exposed.
"Ah…That's no big deal." Naruto said smiling. "So are we going to get in or what?" Naruto asked somewhat excitedly as he gestured toward one of the hot springs. His somewhat obnoxious behavior made Kiba chuckle a bit. "Ha! I guess I haven't changed." Naruto got more and more relaxed. "I was just acting dumb! Nothing's different about me at all!"
Kiba stepped toward the pool of steaming water and dropped his towel. His bare ass sat right in Naruto's eyesight. Naruto felt a part of him stiffen reflexively. "Shit!" Naruto panicked in a way that would look comical to any onlookers. His eyes widened.
"Uh………Naruto?" Are you gonna get in?" Kiba looked up towards Naruto and noticed the strange look on his face. "Gotta cover this up! But how!?" Naruto came up with a plan quickly. Naruto acted in a manner most befitting his personality.
"Cannon ball!" Naruto jumped obnoxiously into the water. He plunged into the shallow water and dropped his towel without giving Kiba even a second to see anything. Naruto expected to see Kiba laughing when he surfaced from the water. He was surprised when he saw the now drenched boy sitting with his arms crossed in an irritable manner.
"You know, Naruto, most of the time I'd probably be laughing with you right now. But come on! We came here to relax! It's a bathhouse so chill out. Just loosen up a bit." Kiba smiled. Naruto stammered and chuckled nervously. Kiba noticed and tried lightening the mood.
"Haha I guess your behavior can get on everyone's nerves. Even someone like me." Kiba splashed at Naruto. Naruto pushed a larger amount of water competitively back towards the other boy. The boys continued their small competition until Kiba leaped on top of the blonde. They began wrestling both roughly and playfully in the hot water. Naruto laughed and dunked Kiba underneath the water. Kiba emerged from the water and put his hands on Naruto's shoulders. He tried dunking the blonde this time.
"Woah!" Kiba slipped and lost balance. He fell forward and clunked his head right up against Naruto's. Naruto caught Kiba reflexively.
"Ow." Both of the boys grunted painfully and rubbed at their heads. Naruto's free hand was still wrapped around Kiba as he held the other boy in place. Kiba coughed a bit nervously.
"Uh………..Naruto?" Kiba looked up towards the blonde.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Naruto asked.
"Your hand, Naruto……….Uhh you're touching my ass." Kiba pointed out. Naruto couldn't help his cheeks from reddening this time.
"Oh! UH….. geez….Sorry Kiba!" Naruto released the other boy from his grasp. Kiba moved back only a few centimeters. He looked at Naruto a bit strangely. Their moment of awkward silence was interrupted by an irritated sigh.
"What are you two doing?" Shikamaru asked smugly as he rolled his eyes.
Kiba and Naruto jumped away from each other swiftly at the sight of Shikamaru, Choji, and Lee.
"Uh……Hey guys!" They both said scratching their heads as they tried desperately to cover up their uneasily feelings.
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Sasuke stared at the heavily injured, unconscious medical ninja. "No time to waste on him." Sasuke bolted out of the dry room. He grabbed his sword that sat outside the room and continued running. "Where the hell is that bastard?" Sasuke glanced around for the sanin.
"CRASH!" Two kyodaija snakes slammed through the walls on Sasuke's left and right. After the dust and debris cleared, Orochimaru appeared between the two massive serpents. He sighed in a conceited and sarcastic way.
"I didn't want to have to damage my new body at all. But if you're going to be difficult then I can just qualify this as breaking it in." Orochimaru hissed sharply and spoke in his high pitched tone to toy with Sasuke. The Uchiha narrowed his eyes.
"I'll make you choke on your insides you sick bastard." Sasuke sneered through his clenched jaw. "This won't be over quickly." Orochimaru's eyes glinted.
"On the contrary my little Sasuke. I think you'll find that it will be over much too quickly." Orochimaru charged ruthlessly forward.
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Sorry if the past few chapters have been somewhat short. I've been more concerned with updating so I've been cutting some of them short. But, I think they're still pretty decent in size. Let me know what you think. Review please! (And just to cast away any suspicion, I am not trying to start any kind of relationship between Kiba and Naruto. This is a Sasunaru yaoi story and it will remain that way. I added in Kiba for some interesting character development and story changes. I have some great ideas for future chapters so keep reading.)