Title: The Hunt (4/4)

Pairing: SasuNaru

Disclaimer: Don't own.

Summary: There are things, apparently, that you can't do without black haired pussies meddling in your business. Hunting down missing children happens to be one of them.

……

'S-Sasuke?'

Sasuke's face was as blank as slate. The barrel of his gun gleamed softly in the dim light of the room.

There's got to be some mistake, Naruto thought. This isn't real, it's not really happening.

Orochimaru laughed again, and the sound was soft, musical. 'Don't look so troubled. Things are just beginning to get interesting.'

'What's the meaning of this?' Kiba asked through grit teeth. 'Why is Uchiha –'

'Sasuke,' Naruto said, fighting to keep his calm. 'What are you – put that gun down.'

Sasuke took a step forward and said, blandly. 'I don't think you understand the situation very well, Naruto.'

'The FUCK I don't!' Naruto erupted. 'I don't get what you're doing with a gun, or what you're doing with this snake creep, but you're going to fucking STOP it NOW, or I'll make you.'

'Che, this guy talks too much,' a blue haired man walked into the tent followed by a girl wearing spectacles. 'Can I finish him off?'

Naruto watched as Sasuke's jaw tightened slightly. 'Shut up, Suigetsu. There's still work to be done.'

The blue haired man made a face and turned to Orochimaru. 'I can't stand him. He just came in this afternoon and already acts like he's boss. Can't we throw him out?'

Orochimaru smiled at Sasuke, and the look in his eyes made Naruto want to tear things. 'Oh no, Suigetsu. Sasuke is very precious.' Then he cocked his head, looking directly at Naruto. 'Wouldn't you agree?'

'SHUT YOUR FACE,' Naruto yelled. 'And DON'T talk about Sasuke like he's yours.'

Suigetsu snorted. 'Karin, looks like you've got some heavy competition.'

'What the fuck?' Naruto snapped. 'Stop kidding arou-'

'Naruto,' he heard Shikamaru hiss behind him. 'For just this once, can you keep quiet?'

Naruto shut up but continued to glare at Sasuke.

Orochimaru smiled thinly. 'Pity. I was quite enjoying him. Karin,' he said, turning to the girl. 'Is our first sacrifice ready?'

Karin nodded and poked her head out of the flap. Distinctly, Naruto heard her say, 'Juugo. Bring the brat in.'

A tall man entered, his back slightly crouched as he made his way into the tent. Naruto's breath caught when he got a clear view of what he was carrying in his hands.

'Konohamaru!' he gasped.

The boy was unconscious, but otherwise, he looked healthy enough. Naruto squinted so that he could clearly make out the rise and fall of his chest.

When he made to move forward, Suigetsu said, 'Uh huh. One more step and I'm going to blow a hole right through the kid's head.'

'Fuck you,' Naruto said savagely, and tried to ignore the stinging behind his eyes. 'Fuck you.'

'What have you done to him?' Neji asked, voice tight.

'Nothing at all,' Orochimaru replied silkily. 'We've taken perfectly good care of all them. As a matter of fact, we've probably fed them more food in a month than what they've consumed in their entire lifetimes. We want them to be healthy, you see.'

'Sasuke,' Naruto said desperately. 'What's going on? Talk to me, bastard.'

Sasuke kept his eyes fixed on Juugo and Konohamaru.

'Bring the boy to me,' Orochimaru said, eyes glinting. 'I want to touch him.'

Naruto took another involuntary step forward before Chouji reached out and hauled him back. He grit his teeth. 'What the fuck are you going to do to him?'

Orochimaru gave him an indulging smile. The reflection of the candlelight flickered in the mirror of his pale eyes, and Naruto thought, for one wild second, that he was seeing a snake.

'Now that,' he whispered, reaching out to trace one long caress along the side of Konohamaru's face, 'is a very interesting question.'

Juugo lowered the boy in his arms onto the ground, and stepped back, silently.

'You may leave,' Orochimaru said, still looking at Konohamaru. 'Only Sasuke remains. And I want none of you present during the ceremony either. Karin, play the rope jumper's tracks aloud, so that no one hears anything from the forest.'

Naruto heard Suigetsu grumbling under his breath as the three left the tent.

'Why is he unconscious?' Shikamaru asked. 'You could have brought him in awake, just the same.'

'Sssh,' Orochimaru placed a slender finger upon his own lips. 'He's just in a deep sleep. Kabuto's really marvelous at concocting sleeping draughts, you know. These children need all the rest they can get before the ceremony.'

Kabuto remained silent. He was taking out a few Styrofoam cups from a wooden chest lying at the corner of the tent.

'What ceremony?' Naruto growled impatiently. 'What are you talking about?'

Orochimaru smiled, feral. 'Well, if you really want to know.'

In the brief pause that followed, Naruto stole another glimpse at Sasuke. He was standing, very still and very calm.

I won't believe it, Naruto thought, I won't believe it.

'Tell me,' Orochimaru said, intertwining his fingers again, and placing his chin upon them. 'What would you do, if someone offered you immortality?'

Nobody said anything for a moment. Then Shikamaru snapped, 'What?'

Orochimaru smiled placidly. 'Immortality. To live forever. Like the Gods.'

'Wh – What're you on about?' Naruto spluttered. 'Are you trying to waste our time?'

'Not at all,' Orochimaru replied. 'I am merely trying to explain so that before you pass your judgment, you understand that I was only doing something any other human being would have willingly done, had they been given the power to do so.' He brushed a hand over Konohamaru's collarbone. 'If someone offered you immortality, you would grab it, would you not? I grabbed it. I want to live forever. Death is a petty interference in the great scheme of things. Aging, on the other hand, is vulgar.' He looked around at them, eyes burning with an almost feverish fervor, 'If you could stay young forever, wouldn't you? Wouldn't anyone?'

Naruto gaped at him. 'You're mental.'

'You'd think that now, of course,' Orochimaru said, with a sneer. 'Had you had the choice, however, you'd do the same as me. Live forever, like Manasa, like the gods.'

'Manasa?' Shikamaru asked, bewildered. 'Manasa, as in the snake goddess?'

'Very good,' Orochimaru smiled. 'Yes, the snake Goddess. She showed me the way. It took me some time, of course, but I finally managed to understand. The snakes had been trying to tell me all the while. Don't you see?' he said, his voice lowered to almost a whisper. 'Snakes shedding their skin – reincarnation. Snakes biting their tails – the symbol of eternity. Just like the Lunar cycle – the full moon, the new moon, and the full moon again. And the snake's body, it never becomes older – it merely becomes newer.'

'What - ?' Lee said. 'The springtime of youth comes not more than once in a lifetime! One has to make the most of it, and to ask for more is disgraceful! That applies for everybody, including snakes. They die too.'

'Besides,' Kiba snarled, 'What the fuck has this got to do with the kids?'

Orochimaru made a disappointed noise at the back of his throat. 'I was hoping you'd catch up by now. It has everything to do with the children, of course. You see, even though the young man here is right, snakes do die, they don't have the advantage that we humans do. They shed their skins, and emerge with a body which is only new on the outside! On the inside, however, they are growing older, just like the rest of the world. But us, we're different. We can go one step ahead of them. We can afford to shed our current bodies, just like a snake. But unlike one, we can acquire a completely new body, a younger one, if we so desire.'

Naruto felt Shikamaru stiffen beside him.

'Look,' he said, exasperated. 'Stop bullshitting, really. We're getting tired of your nonsense.'

'Of course,' Orochimaru said, with a gasp that sounded as phony as his smile. 'How rude of me. Here I am, ranting about snakes and immortality, completely neglecting my guests. Kabuto, where are your manners? Offer them some drinks.'

Automatically, Kabuto picked up a tray and walked over to them. Naruto noted that it carried the Styrofoam cups from earlier.

'Do help yourselves,' Orochimaru said pleasantly. 'Kabuto's drinks are most refreshing.'

'Er, no thanks,' Shikamaru said. 'Chouji, no!'

Chouji hastily put his cup back onto the tray.

'But I insist,' Orochimaru pressed. 'Usually, I am not this negligent a host.'

'Look,' Naruto said. 'Cut the crap. NOW.'

Orochimaru lowered his eyes, almost in regret. 'Sasuke.'

Next thing he knew, Sasuke was beside Konohamaru's immobile body, pressing the barrel of his gun to the boy's forehead.

'NO,' Naruto yelled, 'SASUKE, NO.'

Sasuke stared back with expressionless eyes.

Again, Orochimaru said, 'I insist.'

This man, Naruto thought, panicked, was crazy. And dangerous, but more evidently, crazy.

What was he doing to the kids?

Naruto took another look at Konohamaru, at his healthy complexion, and even breathing, before reaching out for a cup and taking a sip of the cool, clear liquor inside.

It was sweet, and, Naruto was sure, as sure as this being the worst situation he had ever gotten himself into, spiked.

'Now where was I?' Orochimaru continued, as though the interruption hadn't occurred. 'Ah, yes. It dawned upon me that if I wanted to shed this body and get a younger one, I would need children, of course. Many children, because not all will be compatible with me. However,' His voice turned distressed. 'I haven't been able to find my perfect match yet. I've hunted far and wide, but to no avail.' He walked towards the mattress, and took the basket in his hands. 'So after an extended string of failures, I decided to come back to Konoha, the place where I started my quest, twelve long years ago.'

Naruto's blood turned cold. He still didn't understand what this guy was trying to say, but whatever it was, it couldn't be good. It couldn't be good at all, because he was clearly insane, and it terrified him.

Next to him, Shikamaru was whispering, 'No, God no. It can't be…'

'What?' Naruto asked him, feeling a little obscure. 'I still don't know what he's saying, only that he's mad.'

Shikamaru was shaking slightly. It scared Naruto because Shika was always calm.

'Don't you get it?' Shikamaru whispered. 'Don't you get it? He's a necromancer.'

Naruto stopped breathing.

No. NO.

'You sick pervert!' He wanted to yell, to scream the bloody circus down, but his head was spinning, and God, Naruto thought, the drinks! 'You, sick, disgusting, twisted – '

'But you'd do the same.' Orochimaru said, sounding almost bemused. 'Why wouldn't you? Imagine yourself acquiring a new body. When that one gets old, you can get another one. All you have to do is find someone compatible with you, and then it's an endless, beautiful cycle! Just like that of the moon.'

Naruto didn't even know when he had launched forward, all he was aware of was the clawing need to tear this guy apart and then do it again and again until all that was left of him was the dust. He felt someone pull him back by his shirt and hold him in a death grip while he struggled.

'Naruto,' he heard Lee say. 'Naruto, no!'

'You see?' Orochimaru said, smiling sweetly. 'You wanted to kill me right now, didn't you? Murder is not that extraordinary a task, invoking the will to do it is. We all have it within us. The only difference between you and me is that I asphyxiate my victims on a full moon night, and you would rather beat me to death.'

'SHUT UP!' Naruto bellowed. 'WE HAVE NOTHING IN COMMON YOU SICK PIECE OF SHIT!'

Orochimaru frowned. 'I dislike people looking down on me. You shouldn't have said that, really!'

With that he carefully lifted the lid off the basket. Naruto blanched when he saw a scaled head emerge, followed by a glistening body adorned with patchy rings.

'His name is Manda,' Orochimaru said, softly. 'Watch.'

He drew a flute out from the folds of his robe and gently brought it to his mouth.

Seconds later, poignant, haunting music drifted into the air, filling the tent, and the remains of Naruto's working mind.

Through a haze, he noticed the snake twist smoothly, till its mouth took in a fraction of the tail, and then he saw it – a loose, graceful circle.

The last thing he remembered before passing out, was the reptile unfolding itself, and climbing up the length of Orochimaru's body before it disappeared into the sleeve of his robes.

***

The fire was not just in his dream anymore, it was in his body; his head, his throat, the back of his eyelids. It was trying to tell him something, Naruto felt sure, but he couldn't, for the life of him, fathom what.

Sasuke, he reflected. Sasuke. But what about him?

The flames covered him like an amorous blanket, telling him that one day, he would understand.

***

When he came to, his head was splitting. As the white faded from his vision, he made out the conical shape of the ceiling of a tent above him. It smelled of dirt and must, and through a dull cloud of diminished senses, he realized that he couldn't feel his arms or legs.

'Are you up, yet?' came Shikamaru's drained voice from his left. 'You've been dozing forever.'

Naruto took a few deep gulps of air to lessen the spinning in his head.

'Where's Sasuke?' he asked.

From someplace around the vicinity of his foot, he heard Kiba snort. 'C'mon Naruto, where do you think the lying bastard is?'

Naruto shook his head fervently, even though he knew that nobody would be able to see him. 'No, there's been some…Sasuke wouldn't.'

He heard an exasperated sigh. Neji. 'Naruto, that's just it. Sasuke did. We all saw him hold the gun to Konohamaru's head.'

Naruto winced at the memory.

'Where are the kids?' he asked, trying to scramble up, only to find his hands tied up behind his back. 'Fuck.'

Neji sighed again. 'Naruto, wake up already, idiot. The kids are right next to you.'

'WHAT?' Naruto craned his neck to the right. 'Holy shit.'

Minako was lying right next to him, unconscious, like Konohamaru, but otherwise unharmed. Naruto could make out the outlines of other figures behind her.

'I suppose they'll be coming over to take them in sometime.' Shikamaru said. 'It's nearly midnight.'

'Huh?' Naruto said. 'For what?'

'The ceremony,' Shikamaru replied irritably. 'Didn't you hear him? It's full moon tonight, the hour of supposed fertility, the end of another lunar cycle. Of course, he'll want to take them now.'

Kiba said, his voice scratchy, 'When you say take them, do you mean…?'

When nobody answered the question, he said, 'right.'

Naruto felt sick.

'I don't believe this,' he whispered. 'Which disgusting pervert would –?'

'Actually,' Shikamaru corrected. 'Lots of them. Necromancy's been practiced since the high middle ages. People used to do it as a sort of worship at first, then it became all about demonology, spiritualism and invoking spirits. Trying to channel your own spirit into another body through necromancy, though, is extremely rare, almost unheard of.'

'He thinks the snakes are going to show him the way,' Kiba said, with an almost perverse kind of awe. 'This guy is clinically insane!'

'Well, of course it doesn't work,' Shikamaru said reasonably. 'Necromancy, divination – these terms have never really been scientifically proven. But I suppose the people in villages, slums and apparently, circuses still believe in them. Witch hunting still exists, doesn't it, so I suppose this shouldn't surprise us all that much. That's why, when his experiments fail, Orochimaru refuses to believe that there may be some flaws in his method, and instead attributes it to the theory that the child's body in question isn't compatible with his spirit.'

'So he plans to continue doing this forever?' Lee asked, sounding horrified. 'Cheating children of their youth just because he's under the impression that one day, he's going to find the correct match for his soul?'

'Probably,' Shikamaru concluded. 'And don't forget, supposing he does find the right body, he's going to start looking for another as soon as that one ages physically.'

Naruto tried to swallow the bile rising in his throat. Oh God, he thought, Haku.

Haku, and Zabuza who had been killed trying to find him.

'Tell me,' he said, voice hoarse as he stared at Minako's sleeping form. 'Apart from…fucking the corpses, is there any other technique he could have been using?'

Shikamaru seemed to consider this. 'I don't really know all that much about the subject, only what Yamamoto's mother told me when she was talking about her village. Sometimes, it's a matter of simple meditation in order to invoke a spirit. Other cases might involve full fledged rituals involving dances, chanting hymns and stuff which might not even require the physical presence of a corpse. Um, there are also times when people drink the blood, or directly eat the body parts. But since this is a case of spirit channeling from one body to another, it will, in all probability, include intercourse.'

'Once I get out of this,' Naruto vowed, tugging at his bonds, 'I'm going to kill him.'

There was a shuffling sound as the flap was lifted from outside and Sasuke's head came into sight.

'Sasuke!' Naruto breathed. 'Sasuke, what – '

He stopped short when Kabuto entered behind Sasuke.

'Listen,' Neji said. 'Before you do this, just listen. There has to be some sort of negotiation that you'll find acceptable.'

Kabuto spared them a fleeting glance, and the slice of moonlight peering in through the gap in the entrance fashioned a shimmering patina on his lenses. Then he turned to haul Chiyo and Raidou over both his shoulders.

Naruto's head started reeling. Sasuke was right next to him trying to adjust Minako in his grip without waking her up from whatever state of oblivion she had been put into, and he smelled just like earlier in the afternoon, and fuck what everyone else believed, because Naruto was sure that Sasuke was up to something more than assisting pedophilic necromancers achieve eternal youth.

He had to be.

'Sasuke,' he whispered so that Kabuto wouldn't hear. 'Itachi's here.'

He waited for the slight tensing of Sasuke's shoulders. There was none.

'You've got to help us, bastard'

When there was no response, he shifted, so that he was closer to Sasuke, keeping one eye on Kabuto all the while. 'Listen, asshole,' he muttered, 'I don't believe you're with them so quit fooling around. Just hurry and do something because otherwise it might be too la – '

He broke off when he felt something cold and sharp press into his side.

Neji was still talking. 'And you can tell your boss that if it's a matter of money, we'll talk to Jiraiya and think of something if you just gave us a week or so…'

Naruto watched silently as Sasuke lifted Morisuka gently with his other hand, and without a single glance at Naruto, proceeded to walk towards the exit.

'Uchiha,' Shikamaru said, and there was desperation in his voice that Naruto had never heard before. 'Please.'

Without a pause, Sasuke followed Kabuto straight out of the tent.

'Fuck him,' Kiba snarled, thrashing wildly against the bonds. 'Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. Now what do we do, goddamnit?'

The sound of loud, sprightly music suddenly filled the night. Probably Karin following Orochimaru's order.

'We save them, of course,' Naruto said, smiling through a rush of adrenalin, as he felt his ropes slicing neatly under the knife Sasuke had left him.

***

'How much further?' Neji asked, as they groped their way through the overgrowth of bushes and banyan trees, any light from the moon completely blocked out by the impenetrable canopy of leaves above them.

'Can't be much,' Naruto said, panting. 'It's not really a forest, just an unclaimed patch of land nobody's bothered to tame.'

'We should look out for a clearing or something,' Shikamaru said. 'Someplace large enough to carry out a ceremony without making it too sloppy.'

The music stopped for a brief second, and they all deadpanned, afraid that they had been heard. Then it started all over again, the same track replaying itself.

'This music's getting on my nerves.' Kiba complained. 'If she doesn't play some other tune next, I'm going to – '

'Shhh,' Lee flailed his arms, gesturing for them to shut up. 'What's that?'

'Wha – ' Naruto scrambled forward to see what Lee was pointing at. 'Oh hell, guys.'

Still half hidden by a curtain of foliage was a small campfire. The five children were placed on the forest floor, one angled slightly away from the other so that they lay in a sort of circle around the fire.

Naruto edged closer to the clearing, and heard Shikamaru whisper warningly, 'careful. Don't make any rash moves.'

He stopped when he was close enough to hear them.

'…had been five, it would not have been a problem,' Orochimaru was saying. Naruto thought he sounded slightly pissed. 'But we can't use the one with the leg problem. I don't want a defected body.'

'Oh,' Shikamaru said softly. 'Of course. Raidou's got polio.'

'I apologise,' Kabuto said, silently, and Naruto realized that this was the first time he was hearing the man speak. 'Suigetsu made a mistake in the dark.'

'Well, he's useless.' Orochimaru stated, the firelight throwing the smooth lines of his face into sharp relief. 'Kabuto, get rid of him.'

Naruto froze.

'Shit,' Kiba whispered, panicked, as Kabuto calmly withdrew a gun from his pocket, and pointed it at Raidou. 'Should we –?'

Sasuke's voice interrupted him.

'We could do that after the ceremony,' he said.

Naruto wanted to hug him.

'True,' Orochimaru agreed, inclining his head. 'But we could also do it now. I'd much rather, we did. It would excite me even more.'

'It would be messy,' Sasuke argued, and Naruto thought he saw a slight tensing in his jaw. 'And unnecessary.'

Orochimaru smiled thinly. 'Are you backing out, Sasuke? All because of a little blood?'

'No,' Sasuke replied defiantly, 'Of course, not.'

'Very well. Go ahead, Kabuto.'

Then three things happened at the same time.

Kabuto fired a shot.

Sasuke leapt in front of Raidou.

Naruto sprinted into the clearing.

He saw Orochimaru's eyes widen for a split second before he launched himself at him. Seconds later, Naruto had the man pinned beneath him, and he let himself enjoy a quick look at the naked fear in his eyes, before he lifted his fist and brought it crashing down into his face.

Orochimaru gazed back at him, blooding escaping his split lip in spurts, and started laughing.

Naruto punched him again.

'WHAT the FUCK is so funny?'

He understood what when he felt the hardness of metal touch the back of his head. A gun.

'Nobody move,' he heard Kabuto announce behind him. 'Or he dies.'

Fear coursed through his veins like poison. If he died now he wouldn't be able to save anyone. Kabuto would kill the others after him, and then perhaps, Sakura and the rest if they came along with back up. He would never get to see Konohamaru awake again, Kiba would never get to marry Hinata, he would never worry Iruka, or hide Sasuke's stupid shower gel…

He glanced at his surroundings. Kiba and the rest had run out behind him, obviously seeing no other option once Naruto had blown their cover. They were standing, frozen, about ten feet away from where the children lay.

So if Naruto could distract Kabuto long enough, the rest could use the time to run forward and cover up the kids. One of them, possibly Lee, could even knock the gun out of Kabuto's hands. It was a bit ambitious, yes, but given current circumstances….

'It's no use,' he said, forcing himself to concentrate on Orochimaru's grinning face instead of his sinking heart. 'We've been here for ages, people are bound to come for us with back up.'

Move, he thought, watching Shikamaru out of the corner of his eyes. Move!

The gun dug deeper into his skull. 'It won't work,' Kabuto said smoothly. 'Whatever you're planning, it won't work. Now say your prayers while I decide which one I should kill first. You or Sasuke.'

Oh God, Sasuke. Sasuke had been shot!

He couldn't see Sasuke from his angle, no matter how much he twisted his head. But, he thought, if he tried hard enough, he could smell blood.

'Idiot,' he heard Sasuke croak behind him. 'You should have attacked Kabuto. He had the gun. You're such a complete moron.'

Hearing Sasuke talk to him again, even if it was just to insult him, made Naruto want to cry.

'You're the moron,' he shot back instead, closing his eyes so that he could picture Sasuke's glare in the place of Orochimaru's mocking eyes. 'You got shot twice in two days!'

'While all this is very touching,' Kabuto interrupted icily, 'It really is time to bid goodby –'

Another shot rang out into the night, and Kiba yelled, 'NARUTO!'

Then there was a loud thud behind him and Naruto felt the barrel of Kabuto's gun sliding away from his scalp.

In the second of confusion that ensued, Naruto thought, I'm alive?

Then Orochimaru screamed, wild and furious.

Naruto spun around to find Kabuto lying motionless on the grass, a hole in the centre of his forehead bleeding crimson onto his skewed glasses.

A few feet away from him Sasuke was struggling to sit up, his palm pressed onto the fresh bullet wound on his left forearm, and staring at the Kabuto's dead body in bewilderment.

Bewilderment which soon turned to comprehension as soon as he lifted his gaze to a spot beyond Naruto's shoulder.

'Naruto,' he whispered urgently, through pale, insipid lips. 'Get away.'

'What?' Naruto asked, perplexed.

'Uzumaki Naruto,' he heard a different voice say behind him, and for the second time that night his heart stopped dead in his chest as he turned to find an Uchiha pointing a gun at him.

'Uzumaki Naruto,' Uchiha Itachi said again, 'You happen to be sitting on my prey.'

His words registered slowly, but surely. Naruto looked down at Orochimaru who had begun to struggle beneath him, and then at Itachi.

'Oh, uh,' he said uncertainly, removing himself from on top of the man. 'Sorry, I guess?'

Orochimaru squirmed away from him and sat up, hunched, to look at Itachi.

'I remember you,' he hissed, a cruel smile curling his bloodless lips. 'Itachi. Sasuke here was very anxious to meet you.'

Naruto felt Sasuke shift uncomfortably behind him. Itachi's face remained expressionless.

'Pathetic, really,' Orochimaru continued, 'that someone sold by his own relative, unwanted in his family, could manage to escape me twelve years ago. You were the lucky one, you know. You were going to be my first sacrifice.'

Naruto gasped. Behind him, Sasuke inhaled sharply.

'You can kill me now,' Orochimaru said, his laughter a low grumble in his voice. 'But you're going to die too. You know that, don't you?'

'Nonetheless,' Itachi said, his voice like ice, 'you don't get to look at my face while I do.'

With that, he fired.

Orochimaru didn't fall immediately; his body remained suspended in space for a short, graceful moment. When it hit the ground, a splatter of blood stained the grass red.

There was a short silence, before Kiba muttered, 'Holy fuck.'

Itachi turned his dark, opaque eyes onto Sasuke.

'Naruto,' Sasuke said, picking up Kabuto's fallen gun. 'Get back.'

Naruto turned to Sasuke and took in his wounds, his face, colourless from the blood loss, and the determination in his eyes. 'You're bleeding, Sas –'

'I said move.' Sasuke didn't take his eyes of Itachi. 'This is my battle. I've got to fight it alone.'

From a distance, he heard Kiba say, 'C'mon man, move back.'

Slowly, Naruto did.

Itachi said, 'It's your turn, little brother. Do you honestly think you can defeat me in the state that you are now?'

'Shut up,' Sasuke barked. 'What did he mean? What did he mean sold by your own relatives? Why did he say you're going to die?'

Itachi lowered his eyes. 'If you're backing down –'

'Fuck you!' Sasuke shouted. 'Stop kidding around with me, Itachi. Tell me what he meant.'

Without a word Itachi lifted his gun and fired.

Sasuke dodged it, and his countering bullet hit Itachi in the stomach.

'What the hell?' Sasuke screamed. 'You didn't even aim! I've worked for twelve years to make myself stronger, take me SERIOUSLY!'

Itachi looked directly at Sasuke's face for a tense moment, before crumpling to the ground.

For a second, Sasuke simply stood, gun still aimed at where Itachi had been standing, shell shocked, as though he had no idea what to do.

Then Naruto saw it. Slithering across the clearing, with the firelight reflecting upon its scales, like jewels, making its way towards Orochimaru's still body.

'Sasuke,' he shouted. 'Orochimaru's snake. He's been bitten.'

There was a blur, and then Sasuke was bending over Itachi, shock and fear etched on his face.

Naruto supposed that's what Orochimaru had meant. He had probably sent his snake over to Itachi while there was all the disarray over Kabuto's death.

Itachi said, 'Since you failed this time, I thought you'd like to know. It was Madara.'

Sasuke's eyes widened, and for a long moment, no one said anything.

Itachi smiled grimly, and said 'Well?'

And then, at snail's pace, he lifted his hand, extended an index and a middle finger.

Poked Sasuke in the forehead.

Sasuke's eyes widened even further, almost to comic proportions. Then, slowly, he brought his gun up, hands steady upon the cold weapon.

The shot that was fired coloured his face in his brother's blood.

Later, when the rain finally came and washed the red away, Naruto saw, in his smile, peace like he had never seen before.

***

'And then,' Naruto said, to a wide eyed Konohamaru. 'I punched him right in his face. You should have seen him. Screamed like a girl!'

There was a snort, and Naruto turned to find Sasuke looking diligently away as Tsunade worked on his newest bullet wound.

'What, bastard?' he snapped. 'I did!'

'Hn,' Sasuke replied, smirking. 'You mean right before you had Kabuto's gun attached to your head?'

Sasuke was propped against a wall this time, and something about the hard glint in his eyes made Naruto wish that it was him supporting him again, like the last time.

'You're done.' Tsunade said, her tone clipped. 'And don't come back here again. Honestly, two bullets in two days. Pchah.'

'That's what I told him,' Naruto said smugly. 'But he probably thinks it's cool.'

Tsunade redirected her glare onto him. 'You better keep your mouth shut too, brat. Sneaking off with the boys without telling Iruka or me. And get out of my room if you're just going to sit here spinning tales. I have plenty of other patients to attend to.'

'Hey,' Naruto whined, indignant. 'I'm not spinning tales.'

Sasuke rolled his eyes and got to his feet.

'Where are you going?' Naruto asked immediately.

Sasuke gave him a brooding glance. 'Out,' and with that he stalked towards the door.

Naruto scrambled up, and promising Konohamaru that he'd complete his story another day, made towards Sasuke.

Kakashi blocked the doorway.

'Hello there,' he said, eye crinkling into a smile. 'You seem to be in a hurry.'

Naruto scowled at him. 'Actually, I am. And you're in the way.'

'Ah,' Kakashi smiled. 'Young lo –'

'Say it,' Naruto hissed. 'And I'm going to kill you.'

Kakashi cocked his head slightly. 'Well, I suppose you should know,' he said, voice pleasant. 'Uchiha Sasuke isn't the sort of person to take a bullet for someone he has known for less than twelve hours.'

Naruto raised an eyebrow. 'What're you trying to tell me?'

Kakashi just smiled benignly.

It took a few seconds. Then Naruto's jaw dropped.

***

Naruto sighed as he saw Sasuke pretending to sleep on his side of the floor.

'You know,' he said. 'You're pretending to sleep on my side of the floor.'

Sasuke's eyes snapped open.

'I wasn't pretending to sleep,' he said angrily. 'I was trying to sleep. I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning.'

Naruto nodded understandingly, 'Of course. Now you're planning to chase that other guy, aren't you? What was his name? Madara.'

Sasuke shoved at him with his good arm. 'None of your damn business. Go away.'

Naruto shoved him back. 'I think it is my damn business. Because I'm coming with you.'

Sasuke stared at him, startled. 'What?'

Naruto took the opportunity to brush Sasuke's bangs out of his eyes, and felt the other go completely still under his touch.

'I'm coming with you,' he repeated. 'Whether you like it or not.'

Sasuke frowned. 'No, you're not.'

Naruto hummed and looked towards his ceiling, trying not to smile as Sasuke got worked up next to him.

'No, seriously,' Sasuke said. 'You're not. I've told you before, this is my battle. I've got to fight it alone.'

'Why did you jump in front of Raidou?'

Sasuke blinked at the sudden change of topic. 'What do you mean, why?'

Naruto moved his hand so that it was no longer in Sasuke's hair, but was cupping the side of his face. 'You did it for me, didn't you?'

'Of course not,' Sasuke said automatically, and Naruto thought that he had never seen the other man so flustered. 'Stop being delusional.'

Naruto bent down and kissed him.

At first, kissing a man didn't feel so different from kissing a girl. Naruto moved his lips gently as Sasuke made a surprised sound at the back of his throat, applying just enough pressure that their mouths were barely touching.

Sasuke's lips were warm, dry and slightly chapped.

And then kissing a man became completely different from his sloppy first kiss at Jiraiya's and the few tries he had had afterwards. Kissing a man became all about Sasuke making a frustrated noise, opening his mouth wide under Naruto's and pulling him by the front of his shirt so that they were aligned, sharp planes and angles against one another, uncomfortable, slightly painful, and so fucking hot, that Naruto never wanted to let go.

Sasuke tasted of tea and desperation, and Naruto explored every inch of the flavour because it was the best damn thing he had ever tasted in his entire life.

'I'm coming with you,' he murmured against Sasuke's lips before licking a hot, wet trail down his throat and biting into a collarbone.

'Moron,' Sasuke's fingers tightened in his hair. 'You are not.'

'Am too,' Naruto said, ripping open a few shirt buttons and pressing his tongue down on a nipple. When Sasuke jerked, he added, 'you want me to.'

Then, looking straight into his glaring eyes, Naruto smirked and ground his palm, achingly slow, into Sasuke's denim clad erection.

That was how three minutes later found them with Naruto's mouth upon Sasuke's cock, and Sasuke stifling a stream of obscenities by chewing down on the edge of Sakura's sari.

Naruto licked a slow stripe down the underside of Sasuke's cock. Then when he figured Sasuke wasn't looking, he quickly tangled their fingers together.

***

Being fucked, Naruto thought, should not have felt this good. Especially because Sasuke was clearly the girl in the relationship. He made noises like one, funny little moans and groans and whimpers, and Naruto was on top of him too, it was like bottoming, only from the top and–

And then Sasuke slammed into Naruto again, and he thought fuck, maybe not that much of a girl.

He traced the lines of Sasuke's arched neck with his eyes, his wide, strong shoulders, the muscles of his arms, his chest, his stomach, and then he looked back into Sasuke's eyes because they were ablaze and alive and full of fire, and Naruto would not lose this, could not lose this, not when he had gotten hooked beyond belief.

He leaned forward, just before he came and pressed his face into the side of Sasuke's neck, inhaling the scent he had grown so familiar with in the past two weeks.

And when Sasuke came, he turned his face and swallowed the stupid girly noises.

***

After that, Sasuke really tried.

'My brother killed my entire family,' he said, gaze burning into Naruto's. 'I never did understand why. I've been chasing him all over the country for twelve years now.' He drew in a harsh breath when Naruto took his index finger into his mouth, and swirled his tongue around it. 'I started noticing the missing children only a while back. They'd be on the news whenever Itachi went into a new state. At first I thought it was him kidnapping them, as some sort of twisted new hobby, even though that seemed highly unlikely. I didn't even connect the dots and realize that Itachi followed Sound wherever it went, not until Kakashi took us there yesterday.'

Naruto recalled Kakashi saying that he had seen Sasuke in the South when Sound had been there. So it turned out that Sasuke had only been following Itachi.

'That's why I went over to them today, to find out what connection Itachi had with Sound. I met Suigetsu and he took me over to Orochimaru. Orochimaru…I think he liked me. Told me that he knew my brother and that he was the only one who had ever managed to escape him. So I told Orochimaru that Itachi was out to kill him, and that I was his only chance at staying alive. I figured that my bluff was close enough to the truth. At any rate, if Itachi found out I was in Sound as well, he was bound to come in.'

Sasuke's eyes softened when Naruto took the digit out of his mouth and kissed it.

'I never understood why my brother killed my family. Or why he didn't simply walk into Sound before, as easily as he did this time, and finish Orochimaru off. Maybe he had been waiting for me to catch up. I wouldn't know because…I've never really been good at understanding my brother.' Sasuke lowered his eyes. 'But today, for the first time in my life, I think that maybe I can be, if I try. Itachi killed my family because he thought they were all behind Madara. Madara, on the other hand, took all the money he got after selling Itachi to Orochimaru, and ran for it. Do you understand now?' he asked, taking his hand away. 'Do you understand why I have to find Madara, and do it on my own? I'm saying this again, I have to fight this battle alone.'

Naruto shifted a little closer to Sasuke. 'No,' he said calmly. 'Itachi was the battle you had to fight alone. And you did that. I'm coming with you for Madara, and you can't change my mind.'

Sasuke's face shuttered. 'Why?'

'Because now I finally get what the dreams mean,' Naruto told him. 'I've been blocking them out for as long as I remember, but now I understand why I've been having them. They wouldn't have meant anything if I hadn't met you, and if all this hadn't happened, but it did. And you can't ask me to ignore them now.'

'You're going to follow me to the ends of the world,' Sasuke said, with one eyebrow raised. 'Because you had a couple of dreams.'

'No,' Naruto said, grinning. 'There's also the sex. The sex is awesome. You still have to blow me.'

Sasuke stared at him for a long time, 'You're a retard. You really are.'

Naruto slid a hand down his chest, fingers brushing lightly over Sasuke's nipples. 'And you're a bastard.'

Sasuke rolled his eyes, even as his cock expressed an acute interest in the wanderings of Naruto's fingers. 'A bastard who's going to be feeding you from now on, you penniless tramp, so you better show your gratitude.'

***

They left early the next morning, even before the first bhajan started in the temple.

'Did I leave a note for everyone?' Naruto wondered worriedly. 'Iruka, Jiraiya, Kiba and the guys, Konohamaru, Sakura –'

'Yes,' Sasuke said grumpily. 'I assure you that you did. You kept me up the entire night, making me write stupid, corny letters to your entire slum! How appalling.'

Naruto smirked. 'That's not the only thing I made you do.'

Sasuke scowled and turned away.

Naruto took a last look at Konoha, at the tin roofs and the wet cement of the walls, the empty kebab stall, and Tsunade's chipped wooden door, the lane towards Jiraiya's, and the window which Sakura must have thrown open in the night to let some air in, the maidan....

He felt a surge of melancholy rise in his chest.

Sasuke was watching him closely. 'You don't have to do this, you know, you really –'

Naruto shut him up with a kiss.

'We're coming back, remember?' he said, with a smile. 'As soon as all this is over, we're coming back.'

Sasuke nodded, but he still looked uncertain, so Naruto kissed him again.

'Good morning,' A voice chirped right beside them, and Naruto turned to see Kakashi leaning against his rickshaw.

'YOU,' he yelled, and Sasuke had to clamp a hand over his mouth, before he woke the whole slum.

Kakashi inclined his head. 'Me. Looks like the two of you could do with a ride?'

'How did you,' Sasuke asked, frowning, before he changed his mind. 'God, never mind. Yes, we need a ride.'

'This guy,' Naruto whispered into Sasuke's ear as the rickshaw rattled over the hard streets of the city. 'Is creepy. He knows everything.'

Sasuke narrowed his eyes in agreement.

'But lets look at the bright side,' Naruto said, excitedly, 'we can ask him about all the places which sell good noodles in the country. Then you can feed me there. I'm so lucky your parent's left you rich.'

'…Go die in a fire.'

Naruto sniffed indignantly. 'Why do you always have to ruin the moment?'

'The moment?' Sasuke asked, all faux indifference. 'I wasn't aware we were having a moment.'

Naruto resisted the urge to hit him.

***

THE END

Manasa: Manasa is a Hindu folk goddess of snakes, worshipped mainly in Bengal and other parts of northeastern India, chiefly for the prevention and cure of snakebite and also for fertility and prosperity.

Necromancy:Necromancy is a form of divination in which the practitioner seeks to summon "operative spirits" or "spirits of divination", for multiple reasons, from spiritual protection to wisdom. There are various methods of Necromancy which have evolved over the ages.

Bhajans: A Bhajan is any type of Indian devotional song.

Author's note: Finally done. Writing this chapter disturbed me a little bit…(it got too creepy, didn't it?), but HAH! Feels good to finish off with the heavy stuff. Maybe I'll revert back to humour for sometime now.

Hope you enjoyed! And thanks for all the feedback.