And so at long last here is the next installment. This took far longer than I find acceptable to get out, but I shan't bore you with such things at the beginning of the story. please read and enjoy!
A crisp wind blew through the mid-fall morning air of Konoha, making the morning far more brisk and colder than it otherwise should have been. Many of the civilian inhabitants were rushing about their usual business in thicker clothes but the Shinobi were nonplussed about the weather, their training having prepared them for far worse than a mere fifty degrees Fahrenheit breeze. Uchiha Fugaku was one such shinobi, standing in the shade of his manor's back deck as he watched his wife and first born son training.
"One, two, one, two!" Mikoto called out, her hands clapping a steady rhythm as his near perfect son moved in time. At three years old Itachi was far more skilled and graceful than any child his age should be. He was doing a simple agility exercise of leaping from one post to the next, the posts being low and spread out enough that if the boy did end up missing one, which he rarely did, he would not be injured too harshly. Each time they did the exercise Mikoto sped up the rhythm, gradually increasing the boy's speed.
Mikoto was dead set against such early training and a part of Fugaku was as well but he, like the clan elders, were beginning to chafe under the restrictions and suspicions that were being placed on the Uchiha clan's shoulders and Fugaku didn't like where things were heading. For the longest time he tried to reason with Mikoto, to make her see the things that he saw, the hidden eyes in the trees and the listening ears behind the walls.
But she was friends with Uzumaki Kushina and knew that her friend would never betray the trust that they had. And to a degree, Fugaku knew that Kushina would never hurt his wife. Consciously. Now her husband was a different matter entirely. Scowling for a moment Fugaku cleared his thoughts of such matters. There were more pressing subjects to attend to. As he retreated from the shadows of his house's interior he formed a small smile as he watched his wife and son play their game. Walking over Mikoto gave him a brilliant smile and let him wrap an arm around her shoulder and pull her close as she kept up Itachi's beat.
Leaning his head down so as to give his wife a quick kiss Fugaku asks behind the shield of her hair, "Are they still there?"
"They haven't moved for the past ten minutes," she answered, giving him another pleasant smile. Standing straight again Fugaku fought to keep the smile on his face. Whoever their unknown observer was, they were incredibly sloppy. Mikoto first noticed their spy when she felt a slight chakra fluctuation from a nearby tree and warned Fugaku through a series of signals.
"I sent Ishi and Kaito around his flanks and I have Gendo and Suzumi's squads waiting in the house," He said, his lips barely moving past his smile. Giving him a slight nod Mikoto stopped her clapping which was the signal to stop their game. Itachi sagged to the ground breathing in as much air as his three year old lungs could gather. He smiled when Mikoto approached, singing him the usual praises.
"That was very good Itachi-chan! Even you father was impre-"
BOOM!
A moderate sized explosion cut her off, a fireball consuming the tree that was hiding their spy. Although it was some distance away the force of the explosion had toppled Mikoto, who was unprepared for such an outcome, over. But in the blink of an eye she had picked herself up and having scooped Itachi into her arms she made for the house.
"Fuck!" Fugaku cursed, leaping towards the explosion with all possible speed. Was it booby trapped? Did the spy have an accomplice? So many questions stormed through Fugaku's mind as he rushed through the flaming debris but he knew that there would be no answers. As he arrived he surveyed the area, burning flesh distinguishing itself from the scent of wood smoke easily. Two bodies were burning and given how the blast had gone off only a few minutes ago, they had to have been dealt with before the blast.
Biting his tongue from cursing again Fugaku directed the two teams that rushed in after him to start sifting through the area for any sort of clue. Fugaku's keen mind, however, could already guess at happened. Ishi was a young man and could loosely be considered a pyromaniac, but he had enough self control to only set things on fire when it was either ordered or on his own time. And Kaito, although he was close to retiring, was a firm hand with young men like Ishi and would have been more than capable in keeping the upstart in line. How it all fell apart greatly troubled Fugaku but as he tried to delve into that particular train of thought a low groan broke him from his pondering. Looking around Fugaku noticed a bloody hand moving limply under a large bough, trying to get his attention.
"Over here!" Fugaku yelled, gaining the attention of the others nearby. A section of the bough was burning as Fugaku lifted it off of the man, some of the smoke getting into his eyes, making his eyes water and forcing him to blink a few times before he could focus his eyes on the man sprawled on the ground underneath him. He was as average as an Uchiha could be with black hair, onyx eyes, and the typical angular features. Fugaku couldn't even remember his name but knew that he was at least of dependable blood.
"Did you see the spy? Where did he go?" Fugaku asked hurriedly as the Medic hurried up behind him. The man groaned again, fighting back unconsciousness, before answering.
"Don't…know," He said and then gasped as a large splinter of wood was extracted from his side. "We…attacked him at the same time…but the…explosion…" he said, trying to get everything out before passing out from pain.
"Get him out of here," Fugaku bit out to the medics, his face contorted into an angry snarl. Right though his fingers! That spy was right there, right in his hands and because of some harebrained idiot the man had gotten away! Breathing to control his rising anger Fugaku considered everything. The injured man had given him another puzzle piece but like all the others he didn't know where to put it! The plan was for Ishi to charge the spy, get him out of hiding and Kaito would be waiting some distance away to follow the spy should he go one way or the other, or to help Ishi should the spy attempt a fight.
Noticing some movement by the house Fugaku spotted Mikoto with Itachi firmly in hand standing aside as the medics rushed the wounded man into the house. Taking one last calming deep breath Fugaku walked over to his wife and son, Mikoto watched him with concern while Itachi observed him with his ever unusually sharp eyes.
"The spy got away," was all Fugaku said.
"What happened?" Mikoto asked, concern still marring her lovely features.
"The fools rushed in at the same time, against orders, and someone dropped a paper bomb," Fugaku answered, his frustration leaking through into his voice, making it sound angrier than he wanted it to. "I believe that during the chaos Ishi and Kaito were killed before the bomb went off, wounding our other man and letting the spy escape." Fugaku then turned around to walk into the house when Mikoto asked another question.
"Who was the other man, I didn't recognize him?" she asked, and curiously when Fugaku turned to look at her to give his answer the concern had melted away from her face, leaving it void.
"That was…" Fugaku began but then trailed off, the man's name escaping him. Which shouldn't be right, Fugaku had worked with him countless times before and Fugaku knew everybody's name that he ever worked with.
"I thought that you were only sending Ishi and Kaito as well," Mikoto pointed out, her face still empty.
"I…did?" Fugaku whispered hesitantly, his breath speeding up as his mind raced over this. It was right so why did it feel wrong?
"You're under a genjutsu!" Mikoto said her voice urgent. Looking up once more Fugaku saw his wife's three tomoe Sharingan spinning rapidly.
"Kai!" Fugaku cried out, pushing his chakra around chaotically while slapping his hand together into the ram seal. With his next breath what was right was now so woefully wrong that Fugaku almost slapped himself for his lack of vigilance. "Chikushou!" he cursed again, sprinting into the house, knocking over a pair of clan members as he rushed past them.
"Daisho!" Fugaku called out to the manservant of the house as he passed him by, "Daisho, where did they take the injured man?"
"To th-the west side guest room! It has the most room…" Daisho answered, startled by the urgency in his master's voice. Whatever else he was going to say Fugaku lost as he sped down narrow hall after hall until he came to his desired location. He had just reached out his hand to the edge of the sliding door, ready to rip it out of his way, when a mass of limbs suddenly tore through the door, bringing Fugaku down with it.
Groaning, Fugaku pushed the unconscious man off of him, knowing that the assailant would have used this opportunity to escape took his time to check to older man's pulse. Feeling a steady rhythm and seeing no obvious signs of trauma Fugaku gently put the man back on the ground and entered the room. Two other clan members were in the room as well, one was another medic, a young girl barely chunin in rank, and the other was a member of the police force.
After checking to make sure that they were alive and well Fugaku surveyed the room in all its disorder. A small pool of blood stained the sheets of the bed where the spy had been placed and judging on its placement it was probably an injury to his side, a shard of wood in his ribs were the best odds. The window was open, shattered from the inside. Meaning the spy had rendered his men (and woman) unconscious before leaping through the window.
Looking outside Fugaku scowled deeply. The window gave an easy view to the small stream that runs through the clan compound and the spy would no doubt use that to hide both his scent and blood trails. Hearing the clattering of footsteps in the halls Fugaku turned to see many of the family that he had zipped passed rushing to see what was wrong.
"What the hell?"
"What happened?"
Who did this?" and nearly a thousand other such questions bombarded Fugaku all at once.
"Enough!" he roared over the racket, sweeping his right hand in front of him to punctuate his order. In the startled silence that followed Fugaku quickly gathered himself and looked through the crowd. "Gendo, Suzumi, get your squads together again and sweep the western perimeter, he can't have gotten too far. The rest of you get these people to the medics," he ordered and nearly in an instant he was almost alone again, Mikoto and Itachi lingering behind.
Looking at his wife, Fugaku said nothing. What could he say? That this entire event was a disaster? With a small sigh he began to walk past them into the hall to try and clean up the mess that was suddenly flung at his doorstep when something grabbed a hold of one of his fingers. Looking down he saw Itachi had reached out and grabbed the ring finger of his right hand, looking intently at the blood that was stained all over the appendage.
"Blood," was Itachi said. For a moment Fugaku pondered over what his child was trying to tell him. Itachi, unlike most three years, was not a chatterbox of inane babble and when he did speak there was often a wisdom there that was startling for one so young. About to brush Itachi's comment off and walk away it hit him like one of Jiraiya-sama's books when Mikoto does her surprise spring cleaning. Fugaku looks down at his crimson covered hands then whirls around to look at the pool on the bed and then finally back to Itachi. For the first time that day Fugaku truly smiled and he'd have placed a hand on Itachi's head if it wouldn't have ruined the evidence all over it.
"Very good Itachi, very good," He said as he walked away, a smile pulling at his lips. All was not lost.
"The Daimyo will see you now, sir," an aging orderly informed Naruto, ending his boredom infused suffering.
"Ah, very good!" Naruto said, jumping up to his feet, perhaps a little too quickly judging from the startled look the orderly gave him but he was still the boundless ball of energy of his younger days (though a little more mature and focused) and they had kept him waiting in the plain sitting room for over an hour.
It was two months since Naruto had left the Sages of Mt. Myoboku and although he had not changed physically, his wardrobe had. Sadly needing to erase any affiliation that he might have with Konoha, Naruto decided to replace his favored Tactical vest and trench coat. In their places he donned a layer of double linked chain mail under a simple black shirt and a dark grey cloak that helps him blend in with his future home.
The collar of the cloak went up to his mouth so if he held himself right, much of his lower face wouldn't be visible, but for the added effect of mystery Naruto threw a scarf into his ensemble. Once more dark grey in color he wrapped the soft cotton cloth around his lower face and left the trailing end hanging from his shoulder, giving him an almost nomadic look.
Just as he was checking out his purchases from the clothing store Naruto had noticed a lone stand right by the cashier. In this stand was nothing but varying styles of goggles which instantly brought Naruto back to his academy days. About to leave it at that Naruto noticed a single pair of goggles, their plastic lens a light blue tint and the rubber edges neon orange. Looking over his new wardrobe Naruto then noticed the travesty that he was about to commit. There was not one single shade of orange on any of his clothes! Naturally needing to rectify this he immediately grabbed those most wonderful goggles and added them to his pile. Naruto has yet to regret his impulsive buy.
Loudly cracking his neck as he stood up, earning himself a stink eye from the old man, Naruto was led into a corridor leaving the plain sitting room behind. As palaces of lords go, Nami's Daimyo's palace was by far the most plain that Naruto had ever been in. There were however odd patches, ever so faint, of discolored paint where the paintings and tapestries of the lord were placed. These little clues of absent accessories truly spoke of how badly things were beginning to get for the country of Wave. Opening what once could have been a grandiose door the old man shuffled in and then to the side to let Naruto into the audience chamber of the Daimyo.
"Wait here please," the old man ordered his voice and body quivering of old age.
"Sure thing," Naruto responded cheerfully as he watched the old man shuffle off. 'Let the old thing retire already,' Naruto thought, feeling a sense of pity for the servant. He didn't have to wait long before the old servant returned from a different door before clearing his throat as loudly as he could.
"The Lord and ruler of Nami no Kuni, Hamonshukun Kensei!" the servant announced proudly and loudly, which amounted to adding a slight whistle to his words only. Thankful for the scarf hiding his need to laugh Naruto nonetheless bowed deeply as the Daimyo entered the room. Surprisingly the lord was just a little older than Naruto himself was. He had near jet black hair, sharp cheek bones, and crisp green eyes. Yet despite his youth, he was a striking figure. He was dressed in elaborate robes that were probably the most expensive things in the entire palace.
"I am honored to be in your presence," Naruto stated as he once more bowed deeply to the young man.
"And I am honored to have met you," Kensei said, nodding his head in a gracious manner and then he made a motion for Naruto to take a seat on the cushion at his feet. "Now, my servant, Toshiro, has told me that you have a proposal for me, mister…" Kensei started but trailed off as Naruto had neglected to provide his name.
"Ah, I am terribly sorry my lord!" Naruto apologized, scratching his head in embarrassment, earning him a raised eyebrow from Kensei and a reproachful glare from Toshiro. "My name is Gufuu no Naruto," He said, bowing deeply again.
"'Fishcake of the Hurricane'?" Kensei asked incredulously. Sighing deeply Naruto played it like it was some long suffering issue of his (although he only chose the name a week ago).
"When I left my home I also left behind my name, 'Naruto' was the best thing at the time because I only had money for one bowl of ramen. I just figured that anything was better than my old name," Naruto said, sniffing in pride.
"Interesting," Kensei said to which Naruto simply shrugged his shoulders. It was the best that he could come up with. "Anyways, what was your proposal Naruto-dono?"
"Before I tell you my proposal, could you please answer a question of mine?" Naruto asked, leaning forward.
"And what question is that?"
"Konohagakure no Sato and Kirigakure no Sato are the two closest ninja villages and a man in your position will have had many dealing with their shinobi. So what I want to know is how would you rate their services?" Naruto asked. Seeing the guarded look cross Kensei's face he raised his hands in a nonthreatening gesture and said, "I hold no affiliation with neither village and I promise that what you say will not get back to either village."
"What do you mean by 'services'?" the young lord asked cautiously. Naruto nodded sagely as he had expected the question.
"I mean how would you rate the quality of their shinobi, their mission completion rates, mission pricing, and any number of other factors?" Naruto clarified. Kensei looked at Naruto for a moment, attempting to see past his (awesome) blue tinted goggles, into his eyes, and discern the shinobi's true meaning. After a moment he turned to Toshiro and they shared a significant look of their own before Kensei answered.
"Alright, I'll play along," he said, before taking a deep breath. "I find that the Shinobi of Konohagakure are overall excellent in quality except for their arrogance. While most are professional enough to restrain such behavior in front of a customer, the way they have acted towards my people before, during, or after a mission leaves me wanting. And their prices are rather exorbitant.
"On the other hand the Shinobi of Kirigakure are lesser in quality as compared to Konoha shinobi but they offer lesser prices for their missions. But where Konoha shinobi are arrogant Kiri shinobi are cruel and barbaric." Kensei paused for a moment before adding on, "I really wish I didn't have to deal with either village." At this admission Naruto raised his eyebrows. Some discontent from the daimyo he fully expected, but an open admission of dislike for both was like the man handing him a coupon to eat free at Ichiraku's Ramen stand for life.
"How would you like to deal with neither one again?" Naruto asked. Surprised Kensei's eyebrows both shot up.
"What are you asking?" Kensei demanded his voice incredulous.
"My proposal is this, my lord: I want to build a Hidden Village in Nami no Kuni," Naruto said, confidence oozing from his voice. Kensei however, felt differently and his scowl showed it.
"Proposals go both ways, Naruto-dono, and a Hidden Village costs a lot of money to build. So what do I get in return for allowing you to build your village?" Kensei all but demanded.
"A bridge," Naruto answered cheerfully.
"A-a bridge?" Kensei repeated disbelieving.
"I know right? It's so stupidly simple you want to hit yourself for not thinking to do it before!" Naruto hummed, his cheery attitude bubbling everywhere.
"How can building a bridge cover building a hidden village?" Kensei asked doubt spilling into his words.
"Because it will make you and your country obscene amounts of money," Naruto answered vaguely, his happy demeanor refusing to leave for one second. Kensei took a moment to take a few breaths. He really hated dealing with Shinobi.
"Some elaboration is required," Kensei said at length. Instead of answering outright as he had done before Naruto reached into his pack and pulled out a rolled up map which he promptly unrolled, placed two weight stones on the sides of the map to keep it from rolling up again and then slid it towards Kensei. Thanks to the small size of the audience room Kensei didn't have to bother Toshiro to get it for him as all he had to do was reach out and pull it the rest of the way to him.
"What, exactly, am I looking at?" he asked, staring at the map of Hi no Kuni and Nami no Kuni.
"A trade map that I modified for you to understand how to help yourselves," Naruto answered. The young lord raised an eye brow at that. Modified was an overstatement. It was mostly untouched except for a thick black arch over the water that separated Hi and Nami with what looked like chicken scratch for 'Bridge' written over top of it. From the 'bridge' there was then a straight black line that connected directly to the Southern Fire Trade Route that also had chicken scratch for 'road'.
"That's not a bridge, that's a bridge and a road," Kensei pointed out his voice and face kept controlled despite the humor he felt.
"A technicality," Naruto said, waving it off. Kensei scoffed at that.
"I still don't understand how this can help me and my people," Kensei said, passing the map back to Naruto. Naruto considered what to say as he returned the map back to its place in his pack.
"By creating an easily accessible route to a not so easily accessible country you will gain the interest of many merchants wanting to find new opportunities in new places," Naruto said looking Kensei in the eye, "And if you build a road at your expense instead of having the Daimyo of Fire do it, you will ingratiate yourself, however partially, to the man. And he has many contacts with the Merchants of Hi no Kuni.
"And then there is the sea trade to consider," Naruto continued, "You are right next to one of the major sea trade routes but because of the poor conditions of your home you haven't been able to generate or keep much interest. But once the land trade starts rolling in, there will be some who would be those willing to once more trade with your people."
"How long do you think this will take?" Kensei asked him. Naruto closed his eyes and sat back for a moment thinking on the answer.
"Honestly I would say about one and a half to two years before things really get rolling," He answered, thinking back on his reference of time from when he was training. "The Southern Trade Route is a heavily traveled road so many people will see the construction and spread the word so that by the time you are finished building many, many people will want to see this new 'Land of Opportunity'."
"Hmm…we could probably make that a sign," Kensei said, lost in thought. He was interrupted by Naruto's sharp laugh which was followed by a low growl of disapproval from Toshiro. "Ah, I seem to have forgotten myself somewhat," Kensei apologized.
"So glad you like the idea, my lord," Naruto said, a near triumphant smirk hidden behind his scarf. Kensei sat in silence for a few moments more, idly stroking the stubble under his chin as he thought deeply about what was just proposed to him. At last he seemed to have made a decision for when he looked up again he was no longer in doubt.
"Gufuu no Naruto, you have given me much to think about and I think it would be an injustice if I were to give you an answer right away," Kensei said, "So I must apologize but I would like some time to think on this proposal more deeply before giving an answer."
"I understand my lord, you must, of course, think for your people first and how this will benefit them," Naruto agreed, "How does a week sound to you?"
"A week should be proficient, Naruto-dono," Kensei answered, and then stood up. Naruto stood up with him and bowed to the young lord.
"It has been an honor and a pleasure to have met you, Lord Hamonshukun Kensei," Naruto said, respect flowing with his words.
"And it has been my honor and pleasure to have met you, Gufuu no Naruto," Kensei said and started to turn away, but then he stopped and turning back to face Naruto he posed a question. "What will you be doing during this week's time?" He asked. Naruto thought on the question for a moment before shrugging.
"I will be exploring your country for a bit," he replied, "I have only been to Nami a few times, I want to use this time to fully explore Nami no Kuni." Smiling at the answer, Kensei gave him another, small, bow of his head and walked off with Toshiro walking behind him. After a few minutes of walking around the mansion they eventually made it to Kensei's private quarters, where, once the shouji was slid shut, all pretenses were dropped.
"Get me out of this damn thing, please!" Kensei begged as he began undoing the numerous ties and buttons.
"Slow down! You'll rip something!" Toshiro countered, stooping to pick up the discarded Haori with practiced maneuvering. What followed were five minuets of bickering as the two men fought to get the fancy kimono off carefully.
"Freedom!" Kensei cried as the kimono, painstakingly folded, was placed into a box and then moved into the wardrobe of Kensei's rooms.
"Really? A little more dignity couldn't hurt you my lord," Toshiro chided with a playful scowl. An old game these two played, ever since Kensei was child.
"I'm plenty dignified, when the occasion calls for it," Kensei retorted, slipping on a more comfortable, less expensive kimono. Sighing in resignation Toshiro moved to leave the room.
"I'll go make us some tea," He said as he slid the door open.
"Alright," Kensei replied absently, looking out the window with his right arm propped up on his right knee. He was in the same position when Toshiro returned ten minutes later. He didn't make a move as the old servant placed the tray of two steaming cups of tea on the ground next to Kensei and then sagged to the ground on the other side of it.
"Now what could be on your mind my lord?" He asked, knowing full well what was on the young man's mind.
"Villages and bridges," He replied, picking up his own cup inattentively. He got burned for it, literally, as some of the tea sloshed over and onto his hand. Toshiro didn't make a move to help his cursing lord as he contentedly sipped on his own tea.
"It does have its merits," Toshiro commented, lowering his tea. "But I do not like the look of him, my lord."
"You mean the lack of look?" Kensei replied, alluding to Naruto's hidden visage. "That's nothing new old friend, almost all shinobi hide their faces to some degree." Toshiro scowled at Kensei's slightly naïve response.
"Shinobi of one of the villages yes, but an unaffiliated shinobi who hides his face? That is asking for trouble my lord," Toshiro retorted. Kensei scoffed.
"He can't be that bad. After all, he gave us the advantage," Kensei said. Toshiro thought on that for a moment and was confused.
"How so?" he asked, looking over at Kensei.
"He told us what we needed to do to get our country out of this funk we've found ourselves in," Kensei supplied. Toshiro nearly scoffed again. To him it was all that shipping magnate, Gato's, fault. How else could you explain the almost sudden down turn of their economy when Kensei had denied the man exclusive shipping rights to their country a few months back? But they had been over this a few times and Kensei would not hear of how a single man could ruin an entire country. Regardless of how powerful he was.
"I do not understand how that is an advantage?" Toshiro snipped. Kensei rolled his eyes at that, understanding where the old man was coming from but still annoyed by his attitude.
"We could build the bridge and road but not let him build his village," Kensei supplied. Toshiro brightened up just about instantly.
"We could do that!" he exclaimed instantly liking the idea. Kensei had forgotten that Toshiro was nearly the last of his line of Samurai retainers, their ability to manipulate chakra having long since been bred out of them.
"Now that wouldn't be honorable old friend," Kensei reprimanded to which Toshiro scowled in response. Honor. He sometimes hated that word, especially when Kensei used it to route him.
"We seem to have gotten off topic my lord," he said, steering them back onto safer grounds. Kensei merely shrugged in response.
"Why rush, we have a whole week to go yet," he said, leaning back onto his elbows.
"Procrastination is the devil," Toshiro warned in a sing song voice. Again Kensei rolled his eyes but he relented.
"Fine, why do you think we shouldn't go ahead with this village?" He asked, rolling over onto his side to face Toshiro. "I think it would be a fantastic idea, we won't have to rely on villages in other countries with their own agendas." Toshiro gave the young lord a scathing look.
"We could very well find ourselves ruled over by our new shinobi benefactors like in the Water Country. I hear the Mizukage is a blood thirsty beast willing to kill even children to 'purify' the land," Toshiro said. Kensei opened his mouth to retort but was stopped when Toshiro raised a hand. "It was only an example; he may not be like that."
Toshiro continued on, "But in this day and age he will need to bring in various shinobi of a less than savory sort in order to bring his village up to speed with the rest. And as we both know, the strongest Shinobi rules over the hidden village. What if Naruto-san is killed by one of the Shinobi he brings in and they are as brutish as some of the others?" This did give Kensei pause, before he scowled.
"Why must everything be so difficult?" he groaned, flopping onto his back.
"Because you are the ruler of a country, my lord," Toshiro said, finishing off the last of his tea. They sat in silence for a moment more before Kensei quickly sat up, finished his tea and got up to leave. "And where are you going young man?" Toshiro asked his keen eyes boring into the back of Kensei's head.
"To go somewhere else to think, this stuffy old mansion is getting in the way," he said before opening the sliding door. Toshiro heaved a long suffering sigh as he picked himself up and then their tray of empty tea cups. Looking out the window he saw his lord walking down towards the beach at a brisk pace, his head stooped at a low angle. Toshiro smiled at him as he walked away, 'At least I got him to think,' he thought, moving out of the room as well.
Kissshhh
"Huuunn…" Sasuke groaned as the glowing red blade of Kusanagi was pressed against the jagged gash in his side, the leather straps of his sandals creaking as he bit down against the pain. But despite all the pain he was feeling, he still wasn't waking up. He almost laughed at it all, wanting to wake up from this weird dream but his family was alive!
HIS FAMILY WAS ALIVE!
It was as if the gods themselves had granted his greatest wish, his one desire to see his mother smile again, his father nod in pride, and his brother to live! And yet what does he do when he is almost within arms reach? What does he do when he sees those long missed faces? He freezes. He just stares at them dumbly, not even believing that they are real. But they were, they were just as real as the two kunai thrown at him from his blind spot, just as real as the man's blood that spilled as he cut him in two. Just as real as the paper bomb that was attached to the handle of one of the kunai.
He should have known they were real when it was his father's own hands that had moved to stop his bleeding. He should have known when he saw his mother's familiar worried face as he was moved past her. But he didn't and only now, so far from them did he see that they were indeed real. That this world was real. Dismissing the shadow clone that had tended to him Sasuke sat up and stared into the fire. It had been surreal to see Konoha so different, to see the Uchiha District to be so full of life. It startled and dazed him but he knew he had to see them!
"And that wasn't your best move, teme," A voice sad, in an oddly familiar and yet annoying whine. Looking up quickly Sasuke's eyes spread to the size of saucers at who sat before him on a log that he was sure wasn't there.
"Yeah I'm not here but less about me more about you, teme," Naruto said. This was not the Naruto that Sasuke had spent so much time fighting, but the annoying little brother that had served to irritate him at every step. The brother that had kept him grounded.
"Wha?" Sasuke slurred in stupefied confusion, pain and lack of sleep stealing his speech.
"Oi, oi! You need to think about your mistake here!" Naruto shouted, snapping his fingers to get Sasuke's attention fully.
"Mi-mistake?" Sasuke said. What mistake?
"You going to the Uchiha district!" 'Naruto' yelled
"I had to see them!"
"And two men are dead because you were selfish! Two Uchiha men!" Sasuke's eyes widened, not at the accusation but in sudden realization that he did kill two of his clansmen. Staring down into his hands now washed of their blood he began to tremble. He killed two of his own! He was no better than-
"Finish that thought and I'll kick yer ass," 'Naruto' stated calmly. Looking up at him again Sasuke tried to argue.
"But I am," he said weakly, his hands numbly dropping to his side.
"I don't think Danzo ever regretted killing your family," 'Naruto said dryly. "Besides there's something else for you to consider, something worse." Sasuke snorted.
"What could be worse than killing two of my own?" He asked derisively.
"You left your blood behind," Naruto said smoothly. Sasuke's first thought was 'So?' but then he actually followed through and his eyes widened again.
"Fuck," he said before burying his hands into his face.
"Yep," 'Naruto' agreed, "That's going to be one hell of a puzzle for them to figure out." Sasuke could only nod. He wasn't even a twinkle in his mother's eye yet, leaving his blood around like that would cause a whole lot of questions that couldn't be answered by a sane person.
"What should I do?" he asked the hallucination. What else could he do? He didn't have anyone else.
"Rest," 'Naruto' said, turning around on his 'log' so that his back was facing Sasuke. "You're a mess right now, so sleep it off and we'll make our next move after you wake up." Sasuke again nodded, leave it to his imaginary friend to have the most sense. As he lay down on his back Naruto had one last thing to say.
"I'll keep watch," he said. Sasuke gave a light smile as he drifted off.
It was nice to have someone watching over him again.
I know what you are thinking, "God damn it! you made Sasuke crazy!" in my defense I shall retort, "Isn't he already bat shit crazy?" I chose genin age Naruto as he is who Sasuke was closest to and the one most likely to bring Sasuke back to the "light", at least in my fiction. Kishimoto may take a different path but we shall see.
Now the reason why this took so long to get out was because I lost interest at the end of chapter 4 and didn't write anything for a little while. And then my good friend Sloth moved in. and I didn't write anything for a LONG time. I was saved by a kindly soul by the name of RamnKnight, who wished me a happy new years and for me to get the next chapter out soon. well didn't I feel pathetic? so I kicked Sloth out and got crackin' and now a month and a half later here we are.
so everybody, please give RamenKnight a great big thank you or we probably wouldnt have this chapter, at least until Tellemicus Sundance lit a fire under my arse.