Red Walkways Chapter 17: Sharing The Weight, a naruto fanfic

A/N– I am sorry for the errors! I know I just don't have a ton of time, this chapter I will try and be more careful! When I am done with this story before the next installment I will edit it all!

And I love all you reviewers!!!!! You make me keep writing thanks for breaking 400!! I just finished drawing a thank you pic of Naruto and Kyuubi, now I just have to figure out how to get it to you all!

I JUST BECAME A NEW AUNT AND GOD MOTHER 7/18/09 AT 9:51 AM. Please welcome Evan Michel into the world at 7 pounds 4 ounces.

I HAVE A NEW POLL LOOK AT IT AND VOTE PLEASE!

Summary-Naruto is not like everyone thinks he is, he hides his true self from everybody. The few who know about the other him know very little. When various events force Naruto to spend time with his team mates in situations outside of the norm he finds it hard to keep up the act.

Parings-SasuNaru, some KakaIru others not decided.

Rating- very much an R rated fic… or M… guess that's what it is now… -- bah

Warning- sexual situations, foul language, self mutilation, attempted suicide, a very OOC Sasuke. And bitchy Sakura! –– well she had gotten better in resent chapters.

Spoilers- for anyone who is not up to date on the manga –– that's sorta true now.

Disclaimer– My dog came into the house half covered in mud and I had to hose him… he was not a happy puppy…

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Red Walkways

Chapter Seventeen

Sharing The Weight

XxXxXxX

It has been a long time since Naruto had felt anything… at all like what he was feeling now, And now he was only feeling a faded memory, wrinkled and frayed like a picture kept in a wallet. A picture of a moment that you wished could last forever. You keep the picture with you and take it out every day when things get hard, stroke your finger over it wishing that just by having it you can feel the way you did back then.

He yearned to feel something more then that memory. He held the picture of the time he could feel more close to his chest willing it to sink into him, but nothing happened. He still only felt the recorded emotions of the past replaying inside him at the appropriate times, dry and un-unique. He could feel new hate, anger, sadness and everything negative, but everything good would always be like dry toast, flat. Now he wanted it back, for the first time he wished he could pull back what he left behind, but the damage was permanent and the door was locked, he could never get back what he left behind it…

Slightly cold and damp Naruto woke up.

XxXxXxX

Tsunade stood at the window in her office. She was dead sober and didn't like it. She couldn't bring herself to drink when everything was on the edge. Jiraiya had been out of her sight for weeks, he has been making plans with the elders for her treaty trip to the cloud. Luckily she had thrown enough in their path to stall then for a couple more months then they would of liked.

Everything the Ninja world had worked for could be ripped apart by what the cloud has preposed, why was she the only one in power in the Leaf to see it. She was the only one to see what those… those things would do. They were to powerful and could make anyone a danger to even ninja…

Naruto would be back soon, in only a few weeks… Tsunade walked to her desk to begin work on Narutos mission charts. She needed to keep him away from Cloud and just outside Konoha. She didn't want him to know what she was dirtying her hands with until he had to. He is all she has left and she cant put him in this danger or let him see her sink this low. If she lost him, she didn't think… she couldn't come back from that…

XxXxXxX

"Hey there sleepy head."

Naruto blinked up into red eyes. His head was on something warm, he sat up to see his head was on Kyuubi's lap like a sons might be on his fathers… Naruto felt a smile tug at his lips before the recorded dry feelings ruined the moment.

"Isn't he just so cute when he's sleeping?"

Naruto looked down where Kyuubi indicated and did smile for real when he saw Sasuke sleeping with his head on the other side of the fox's lap. He did look cute… how Naruto wished he could love him…

'Where did that thought come from?' Naruto wondered.

He thought he did love Sasuke… but deep down he knew it was shallow and prerecorded. If he couldn't fully trust him he couldn't truly love Sasuke, but he wanted to. More then anything Naruto wanted to love Sasuke, it is the strongest thing he had ever felt and he held onto that. It let him know that maybe one day he would heal enough to make it happen… when he got home maybe… just maybe…

"Hey Naruto"

The blond jumped a bit when a hand landed on his shoulder. He turned to Kyuubi.

"I can feel that your thinking about some deep things but I wanted to let you know that there is something I want to talk to you about when this whole mission is over. Something I feel I owe you after everything you just did for me…"

Naruto nodded, he didn't know what else to say, he did what he had to do and Kyuubi shouldn't feel like he owed him anything, but telling the fox that wouldn't make a difference.

Kyuubi felt very conflicted, but was certain that this needed to be said. He couldn't protect Naruto forever and he owed him the truth of what happened when he lost Karasu and attacked Konoha… he sighed, now is not the time to dwell on this, he looked down at Sasuke.

"How long is the brat going to sleep?" Kyuubi poked Sasuke's face.

Naruto slapped his hand away "don't do that. He's going to out for a while. There is a loop of chakura going between him and Karasu right now and it takes a lot of his regular energy to make it happen so it works better while he's asleep and replenishing the energy while its used!"

Kyuubi nodded and pulled his hand away from the Uchiha "sorry…"

"Yeah well that's not my worry right now. We need to get to sand in a day and a half…" Naruto ran his hand through his hair.

Kyuubi looked at Sasuke with a wrinkled brow, "can't we just carry him, you know in shifts?"

Naruto blushed "well umm…"

Kyuubi smiled "I mean if it will be to hard for you, you know… in the pants…then…"

Naruto coughed "KYUUBI! Never mind… I will be fine! Lets go…" he stood up red from tip to toe and stormed out of the cave.

Kyuubi laughed.

XxXxXxX

Walking… Naruto hated walking. It was so low and repetitive… but once again he found himself walking. Naruto felt like he had done nothing but walk since this mission started, this out of control mission. Now that he thought about it the only part of this mission that had been completed was retrieving that creepy girl… and that took how many days? The worst part was half the team isn't even going to be there for the drop off because their here… walking… again.

Sasuke on the other hand was asleep, two hours into the trip and he still sleeping…

XxXxXxX

The greenery had started thinning out a while back and the ground was becoming more like sand every mile. And Naruto felt more and more terrified that Kyuubi was going to hand over Sasuke every second that passed. What was he going to do if he had to walk (ick) with that warm hard body in his arms? (not so ick).

"Hey Naruto."

The boy in question jumped a foot away from Kyuubi in response. The fox raised a brow at him.

"Are you ok?"

Naruto nodded slowly, making sure he kept his distance so there was no 'surprise Sasuke is in your arms'.

"I was thinking…" Kyuubi continued, "this is dumb…"

Naruto cocked his head a bit "whats dumb?"

"Well… I'm a demon who is thousands of years old and there is no one around that's doesn't already know that fact. So why are we walking? Or for that matter why are we still on the ground?"

Naruto caught on, a slow smile crept onto his face. A few moments later Kyuubi was in his four tail form with Naruto on his back and Sasuke slumped over between the back of his neck and his bond mates chest.

Travel sped up exponentially and in a few hours they had caught up to their team mates but stayed in flight high enough that they wouldn't be noticed with their suppressed auras. Their pace that of a Sunday driver as they followed their unsuspecting friends, Kyuubi would swerve left and right like a dolphin leisurely swimming below the waves.

Naruto took note that Evelyn was glancing up every once in a while as if she were just admiring the thin misty clouds that dotted the desert sky, but Naruto had a funny feeling she knew they were there. He didn't take to much note of her looks because he knew deep down that she already had an idea that Kyuubi wasn't what he seemed. She hasn't ratted them out yet so he figured she wasn't going too.

XxXxXxX

Soon Suna was coming into view over the horizon. The Village of Sand still just as imposing as ever. Naruto knew it was Gaara's home but he just didn't see the appeal…

"I agree, as a fox I have relative that live in places like this but I just never saw what they did"

Naruto blinked, Kyuubi speaking in his mind for the first time since they caught up with the others knocked him out of his travel fogged mind state.

"I always thought you were more closely related to the red fox… they don't live in the desert."

Kyuubi chuckled then sped up so he could land out of site and change back before the others got to close.

XxXxXxX

Garra sat at his desk working (unlike some Kage's) a light tingle washed over his skin. Naruto was here.

Just as Garra was was moving to get up he felt another presence outside of the demon energy that came with Kyuubi's imprisonment in his friend. The energy was not as strong but definitely demon… another Jinchuuriki?

XxXxXxX

Sakura jumped up and down pointing "look their they are!!" her happy smile slipped from her face when she noticed that the boy she was truly happy to see what limp in her blond teammates arms. The strange fox sitting at his masters fee, an almost mocking expression on his furry little face.

"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed as she started running to her crush.

Kakashi on the other hand continued to read his porno not seeming concerned for his teammate. Those boys were always getting hurt someway or another.

"Sasuke is probably fine."

Just as the thought crossed his mind an ear shattering scream cut across the desert. At the gate of The Sand the youngest Uchiha let all the air from his lungs in a sound so loud that the entire village looked up, left and right as the scream echoed off their walls.

Naruto put Sasuke down as gently as he could while he thrashed in agony. He didn't panic and his face didn't hold the confusion or horror of his teammates. He merely looked on with a great sadness and understanding. What Sasuke was feeling was a pain that Naruto felt stretched across his life up to now. Mild and burning for the blond everyday was sharp and acute for the Uchiha. He knew it would end, he knew this was a risk from the beginning… Karasu was healed and the seal was finished but the boys body had not grown around the demon as Naruto's had over time. So now for his own survival the raven was forcing Sasuke's chakara paths wider to accommodate the demon, the paths were becoming more resilient and ones that were hard and had never been used were being blown open violently.

"He can handle it, he is strong, He can handle it, he is strong, He can handle it, he is strong, He can handle it, he is strong, He can handle it, he is strong, He can handle it, he is strong, He can handle it, he is strong, He can handle it, he is strong, He can handle it, he is strong, He can handle it, he is strong, He can handle it, he is strong, He can handle it, he is strong, He can handle it, he is strong, He can handle it, he is strong, He can handle it, he is strong, He can handle it, he is strong, He can handle it, he is strong,"

Kyuubi didn't look at the screaming boy, he looked at the silent one. The one that was making so much noise in his mind; like a broken record he repeated what everyone was hoping.

"Kit"

"Kit…"

"KIT!"

….

XxXxXxX

Gaara was almost to the gates, the haunting screams still filling the air. Like Naruto he felt an ache in his body all the way down to his bones like his body was feeling the pain empathetically. Everything inside him said that this was a pain he could relate to.

The gates loomed above him, on cue they slowly creped open when the guards saw his approach. Their Kage was there to keep them safe from whatever evil may try to bring them down.

XxXxXxX

Sasuke didn't know what was going on, everything burned like a thousand white hot knives running across his skin and through his chakara channels. He knew he was on the ground and that his team was surrounding him but his vision was of the inside of his eye lids.

"Chick… be calm. It will all be over soon."

Sasuke was surprised by the voice in his mind, even through the pain he knew the voice was right, it would be over. He could feel his body changing slowly. The pain was focusing on certain places in his body, everything was going to be different.

"You can always go back after chick, everything will be ok…"

"Ok?… OK?! I'm going to be a demon…" through the pain Sasuke yelled back to the voice.

"Is that so bad? Kyuubi's a good guy and Naruto normal enough."

"I'm not going to be me, will I look different?" Sasuke felt the pain pulling back slowly, or was he getting used to it?

"For a time, once we've settle it will be OK, you don't see Naruto running around with demon parts… though he could if he wanted to."

Sasuke was trying to respond but his mind went foggy as the pain started to intensify. A warmth was sliding down his back. The metallic scent that was hitting his sharpening sense of smell brought an image of red rivers to his mind…

XxXxXxX

"KIT!!!!!!"

Naruto blinked when his view of Sasuke was blocked by a figure that grabbed his shoulders. Red eyes stared into his blue… Kyuubi?

Panic filled Naruto. Kyuubi was human form! In front of his team!

"Kyuubi! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

The demon smirked and slowly moved from the boys line of sight. Naruto felt an arm get slung over his shoulder. "Don't worry kit, you can trust your team. I've spent a lot of time watching them."

Suddenly their was a presence on the blonds other side, with a glance he met Gaara's green eyes.

"What's happening to him?"

The wonder in the sand nin's voice seemed foreign. Naruto moved his gaze back to his… whatever Sasuke and him were.

"Hes becoming a Jinchuuriki, all at once his body is adjusting."

Sasuke whom had been calm for the past few moments let out a scream to rival the ones before. Rather then squirm in pain, this time his back arched and red spots began to form over his shoulder blades. Naruto let out a breath as he also took note of the white hair replacing black at the base of the boys neck.

Kyuubi patted his bond mates shoulder. "See nothing to worry about, he was strong enough."

Naruto nodded.

Then red filled the air, all the on looking faces, pale and tan, became speckled.; black burst from Sasuke's back. His blood spreading like an aerosol through the air as the dark feathers fanned from his skin, rubbing the edges of the lacerations and sending the red mist forth suspended in the air.

"And its done."

Naruto would of looked at the fox who spoke if he could bring himself to look away from the figure standing in the middle of the small circle of people. Through the red mist Sasuke stood in a limp fashion. His head back and arms hanging at his sides in an tired way, Naruto took in his new look.

From the boys back two huge glossy black wings stained with blood protruded. They were folded so the top of them reached just above Sasuke's head which now had two toned hair. Most of the hair was the same color and the style was also unchanged, but at the bottom there was a shock of white.

For a moment nothing happened and no one moved, then Sasuke's head slowly tipped to the side to rest his cheek on his shoulder. His eyes met Naruto's… "his eyes changed too"

Still black as night they not had a gray ring between the center and the edge. The blond vaguely wondered what they would look like with the sharingan activated.

"Corvus albicollis"

Kyuubi whispered his arm tightened on Naruto's shoulder. The blond knew in some part of his mind that was Kyuubi that the action was due to seeing the traits of his loved one before him, it was pain and joy.

Just as Naruto started to worry that something went wrong in the bonding because the other boy didn't move or show any signs of recognition. Something happened…

A smirk.

Naruto felt his forehead vein pop… that smug, arrogant, pompous…

"SASUKE-TEME!"

A/N– so yeah I'm not dead and this story will finish someday. The updates will be few and far between. Real world sucks. Never graduate.