"Foolish Hearts"
'Chapter Twenty-Eight'
Sasuke didn't know what time it was.
He had been staring up at his ceiling for hours; it was still dark outside. Naruto had helped him into bed -- wanting him to lie down. The fox had offered for Sasuke to room with him but for some reason Sasuke didn't feel that was a good idea.
…he still felt so strange.
His stuffed animal was on his chest, his head tilted on the pillow as his dark eyes stared out the window at the expanse of the star-filled sky.
He didn't want to sleep.
Sasuke didn't want to see those eyes again.
For some reason he just knew Orochimaru would be there; he was waiting for the Uchiha to close his eyes, waiting to possess him again.
Naruto was in his office, pulling up as many of the old mission reports that had to deal with Orochimaru as he could.
Had it really been confirmed?
Or had it been a rumor?
He left the door open, as well as Sasuke's door, just in case he needed to rush back to the child or check up on him. The memory of Orochimaru coming back to Sasuke couldn't be a good thing.
...It had happened just shortly after Sasuke saw Asaia too; Naruto had to admit that those eyes had always unnerved him. Yellow eyes were just unnatural.
Had Asaia done it on purpose?
Trying to trigger memories and report it back to the council so Sasuke would be executed?
...Was it really connected with Asaia? Maybe the memory just came back-- No…no Asaia had something to do with it.
...But what?
Chewing on the end of his pen, the fox easily got up and quietly padded from the office to Sasuke's bedroom. He just gazed at the man; pen still in his mouth, arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the door frame.
Was Orochimaru really gone..?
Sasuke had heard the door open but it took a moment before his eyes fell on the blonde. Sasuke looked lethargic, the tight frown on his lips determined. "...hey." Sasuke said after a moment, his deft fingers trailing to pet the little plush toy on his chest almost in a soothing manner.
Naruto smiled gently and moved further into the room. "Hey..." He crouched down on the floor, his arms pillowed on the bed. "How're you feeling?" He asked softly, his cerulean eyes searching the dark orbs.
"Okay."
It was a lie.
Sasuke was afraid to sleep.
His dark eyes trailed back to the window, apparently not going to hint further at his poor mood.
Naruto smiled gently and set his hand on Sasuke's, his eyes gazing out the window. "You should have fallen asleep hours ago." He started his voice still quiet. "First time I saw that snake-bast-...guy, I was pretty freaked out too." He moved so he could sit on the bed.
"You've met him?" Sasuke turned his curious black eyes on the fox, not moving away as Naruto positioned himself on the mattress. He felt the warmth from Naruto's hand, absently moving his body a little closer to the blonde.
"Yep, I was twelve." He answered; his hand drifted up to Sasuke's head, resting on the boys neck. "He's creepy.." Naruto started, "He hurt my friend, placed a curse on him...took a long time to get rid of it."
Naruto's friend…
Who was he?
Sasuke absently drew his own hand up, resting it over Naruto's as the kit touched his neck. His dark eyes glinted in the dim light as he observed the blonde. "But you're friend got better?" Sasuke murmured after a moment, "...where did he go?"
"He eventually got better...but it bothered him for years." He gazed down at the Uchiha, "But you don't have to worry about that."
Sasuke frowned a little as Naruto avoided his question. Maybe he shouldn't be asking anyway, it wasn't really his place to pry into Naruto's life was it? Sasuke let out a quiet sigh, his dark eyes slipping shut as he moved Naruto's hand to cup the side of his face -- liking the contact. The Uchiha's muscles seemed to unwind; he seemed to settle now that Naruto was near him.
"He…" He paused slightly and let out a sigh, "He left the village after a couple years." He looked out the window, barely catching sight of the circle of flowers out there, some starting to wilt due to the cooling weather. "But...he came back almost a year ago..." Naruto shifted slightly, "But, he's gone now."
Sasuke kept his eyes shut, his fingers playing with Naruto's larger digits almost absently. "I'm sorry." The Uchiha offered in a quiet tone. He shifted, lying out on his side next to the blonde, sweeping his kyuubi toy in the crook of his arm. "...do you miss him?" Sasuke said after a moment, turning his large black eyes up to the blonde. It was easy to forget Orochimaru when he was talking; focusing only on Naruto. It helped -- he felt relaxed, almost like he could fall asleep.
"All the time." Naruto answered softly, his gaze going back down to Sasuke. "The garden was one of the last things we were able to build together." He added, "It was his idea."
"Yeah..?" The Uchiha let his eyes slip shut again, his body easily relaxed next to the blonde; enjoying the sound of his voice. "Is that why you're out there all the time?"
"Mhm." The fox could feel Sasuke relaxing against him. It was good the child could finally start to relax, to try and sleep. "I feel like I can still feel him when I'm there." Naruto sighed softly, "I'll meet him again someday."
Sasuke was quiet as Naruto kept talking; he was starting to feel the pull of sleep on his tattered mind. "You'll meet him again..." Sasuke murmured, feeling himself finally start to unwind as the darkness settled on his troubled mind.
The fox smiled gently, "Maybe." Looking back down at the sleepy child he adjusted the blanket over him before he slowly started to slither out from the bed, "Sleep tight."
--
Sasuke slowly started to wake up, feeling light kissing his skin as he groaned. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, shifting on the bed and noticing that Naruto wasn't there when he woke up.
Sasuke slowly rolled out of bed, landing sleepily on his feet, his stuffed toy tucked in his arm as he walked through the room and out into the hall.
He rounded the corner to Naruto's room -- peeked inside and noticed that it was empty. "Naruto?" Sasuke called into the silence of the home, catching no response. Sasuke found himself walking out of the home, down the porch and towards the garden in hopes of finding the fox but he didn't notice him anywhere.
…where was he?
Sasuke noticed a white piece of paper in the center of the ring of flowers. He knelt down in the center of the foliage, picking up the parchment, letting his dark eyes scan the characters.
Sasuke,
Sorry that I had to leave so suddenly, I knew you'd make it out here. I'll be home as soon as I can, the Council called a meeting.
Naruto
Meeting?
Sasuke crouched in the center of the flowers, frowning slightly to himself as he wondered if Naruto might be returning soon.
Asaia watched from the darkened shadow of the porch, his golden eyes locked on Sasuke's back as the man moved in a childish manner.
Totally defenseless…
He stepped out of the darkened shadow, his body changing, the tanned skin paling to that of a corpse, the blonde hair lengthened down to his mid back, the color darkening to the color of midnight.
Orochimaru tilted his head to the side slightly, the same smirk on his lips as he stepped down to the stone path. "A little old for stuffed animals aren't you Sasuke-kun.." The smooth almost raspy voice started.
Sasuke started at the voice, turning quickly and being stricken by the bright gold eyes as they rooted on him. Sasuke sprang to his feet, the stuffed toy shaking in his hand as his black eyes took in the sight of his nightmare.
...this couldn't be real.
He had to be dreaming.
A bead of sweat fell down Sasuke's temple, his heart hammering in his ears. "W-what're you doing here?" He said in a hushed voice, his mind reeling for a way to escape.
He needed to wake up!
Naruto!
Orochimaru continued his slow gait forward, his eyes locking on the terrified black orbs, a predatory look in his eyes. "I'm taking back what is mine..." He answered easily as he gestured towards Sasuke, "You don't belong here in Konoha." He stepped through the flowers not caring for them. "You belong in the Sound, with me..." His voice almost purred out the words, but it came out as low growl.
Orochimaru had crushed Naruto's precious flowers...
The Uchiha frowned, trying to fathom what was happening.
…was this real?
Sound?
What was the Sound?
In a rush of movement Sasuke had sprinted from the ring -- dropping the fox toy in haste as he tried to put as much distance between him and Orochimaru as possible.
…this couldn't be happening.
This couldn't!
His mind felt like it was shattering -- those piercing eyes were hurting his head; the mere presence of the other man was causing Sasuke to want to break down.
Chakra had pulsed in the balls of his feet -- urging him onward.
Wake up!
He just had to wake up!
Orochimaru smirked as Sasuke ran from the circle.
He'd let his little prey get a head start.
Orochimaru let out a dark chuckle before his form seemed to vanish from the flowers, and once more materialize in front of Sasuke. "Where do you think you're going?" He asked almost coyly.
Sasuke skidded to a halt in front Orochimaru, nearly falling due to his ungraceful movements. Sasuke had no idea how to defend himself from this man -- all he knew how to do was climb trees and run.
…useless.
That struck a cord in the Uchiha's mind.
It struck him a moment, he stood prone before the man, his dark eyes darting here and there as he tried to think of something.
What could he do?!
Orochimaru knew he had the upper hand; he was just playing with Sasuke. He smiled darkly, before stretch his arm out in front of him, palm spread, "Time to go home, Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru grinned, lifting his hand as if to touch Sasuke's face only to have a black snake shoot out from his kimono sleeve intent on Sasuke's neck.
Sasuke didn't have time to react as the snake lunged for him, feeling the prick of fangs through his skin and he screamed to the open uncaring forest. He reached for the reptile but his hands suddenly felt numb; his whole body weightless. He recalled falling to the ground but he didn't feel it.
He could see the rushing stream just beyond Orochimaru's feet, could smell the thick scent of dirt and grass but he couldn't feel anything as he laid there.
Poison..?
Sasuke's eyes slowly fell shut; darkness encasing him.
--
Naruto didn't know why the council was calling for a meeting.
Hadn't they already done enough damage to him?
Slowly pushing the door open, he sighed, he hadn't bothered in changing into proper attire, just wearing his cargo shorts and a black and orange zip up jacket. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, his eyes lazily going over to council, who were all sitting in their appropriate seats.
However…
Asaia was missing.
"You summoned me?"
The head of the council looked at Naruto; his dark eyes not flicking to his inappropriate attire, apparently not so concerned with it.
A file was in front of him, his withered hands on the thick red parchment. "Asaia went to check up on you and Sasuke." He started, his tone hollow -- devoid of any sign of emotion as his dark eyes flicked to the other council-men. "He reported that he was fearing Sasuke might be regaining his memories." He murmured, "You took him out for training did you not?"
"No." Naruto answered his voice even and devoid of emotion. "He was playing in the trees and on the water. Simple chakra skills that couldn't be completely erased from his memory."
"Mm." The leader of the council glanced to his peers, his hands folded under his chin as he regarded the Hokage-sama. "Why did you condone that behavior?" He said softly, "Even the simplest skills can provoke memories that we can't have him stumbling over. He is a criminal Hokage-sama, a murderer." He sighed softly, setting his hands back over the file, "Shikamaru persuaded us to give this a chance, but if we see it's failing..."
"The skills haven't brought out any memories." He stared his eyes narrowing slightly. "The only thing that relatively triggered anything was…" He paused, his mind once more taking in that Asaia wasn't there.
"Where is Asaia-San?" Naruto asked slowly; not caring to finish his previous statement.
"Triggered? He remembered something?" The woman on the council spoke up, her shrill voice biting the air as Naruto's eyes scanned the empty seat.
The leader silenced the woman with a wave of his hand, "Asaia-san was sent to check up on Sasuke in you're absence; I wanted him to be observed out of you're care."
Naruto's eyes narrowed almost dangerously at the words. "He remembered one thing." He pushed off of the wall and took a step towards the council. "Orochimaru -- it was triggered by Asaia."
The head man frowned, "Triggered by Asaia?" He shrugged his bony shoulders, his dark eyes sweeping his peers but none of them spoke up, all a little put-off by Naruto's blatant statement.
...Orochimaru.
That was a feared name, one not said often.
"That's…peculiar." The old man said, unsure how else to venture.
Naruto's eyes flickered back to the man, "He was worried that Orochimaru was still alive." He started, he set his hands on the desk.
The woman looked over, "So he is gaining his memories back then?"
The man seemed intrigued, looking up to Naruto as the kitsune's hard blue eyes gazed down at him.
"He's remembering old things." He said easily, "That only furthers the idea the seal on his mind is breaking." He looked down to the file, "This wasn't a good idea."
"He remembers nothing of what happened with Orochimaru!" Naruto yelled. "Asaia triggered the image of him, he has no idea that he left, he has no idea he worked with the Sound. He remembers nothing but a simple image." He looked from the older woman to the man. "He's still a child, he's terrified of the idea of Orochimaru coming back, but he doesn't know why."
"He doesn't know why...yet..." The man said simply, not deterred by Naruto's angered yells. "This is getting into very dangerous territory." The leader frowned, closing his eyes, his brows knitting together. "Perhaps you should bring Sasuke back here for a re-evaluation."
"Fine." Naruto snapped as he pushed off of the table. "But he doesn't remember anything!" He felt a rage start to take him over, angry that the council would want to put Sasuke through this torture once more. They had already taken everything away from him, why terrify him again?
"Asaia was the only thing that triggered a memory -- Orochimaru's memory! And that," He emphasized as he started back towards the door, "Is enough for me to be suspicious of him!" He slammed the door and easily walked out of the hallway, he needed to get home.
With Asaia there, along with Sasuke, it was hard to say what would happen.
--
A/N:
Start of super drama! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks everyone for having us reach 500 reviews! We're so excited! I also welcome all new readers to this story and am quite happy you read it this far. There's actually only a few chapters left can you believe it? It's almost over! I hope you want to find out what happens next; and if you truly do please leave us a nice review.