Save Me

Naruto & Sasuke

A/N: A bond, so strong that thoughts are linked together, and hearts are as one…

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Naruto sighed as he wiped the still-warm droplets of water from his shoulders. The day's mission had worn him out a bit and a hot shower had been just what he needed. He wrapped the towel around his waist and walked in front of the mirror, taking a comb and raking it through his tangled mop. As he worked the knots, he glanced at his own eyes reflected in the mirror and paused, staring. Lowering his hand, he bent his head forward, to get a better look. For some small reason he never seemed to notice the detail of his eyes. They were blue as the sky at midday, with little flecks of silver and green, all swirling around a black void that peered into the infinity of his soul. He never bothered to look because it didn't matter; they had been the same as long as he could remember. But something about them now seemed different.

For a moment he felt lost in them, and a glint of red appeared, swirling like fire and burning embers heated in his heart. The black void narrowed, a valley formed in the lava pools, three swirling whirlpools drawing him in. He blinked once and the vision was gone. Clutching a hand to his heart he could have sworn he saw a different face looking back at him from the other side of the mirror. Placing a damp hand onto the glass he peered further as if looking for some phantom that had come an gone. His breath hitched as a shadow appeared behind him, reflected in the glass, coming forward to place a hand against his. It was cool, distant, yet at the same time familiar. The eyes appeared again, staring back at him and the two became one. Heartbeats synchronized, minds raced to understand the other's pattern, yet the eyes stared back. Eyes curtained by strands of ebony black, desperate and intense, pale skin wrought with pain, the phantom hand grasped his, pulling, asking, pleading, the lips parted and mouthed two words so deep and shocking that Naruto could hardly breathe.

Save me...

He lowered his fingers, trying so hard to link them together, but they felt heavy. He held his breath, forcing it, his eyes never leaving the blood-red stare that held him prisoner. He almost had it, one finger inches away, so close…please...a little more.

"Naruto!"

His mind was thrown back into reality by the voice from outside. Stomach pitching he felt he would fall over, sickened by the sudden break. Righting his senses, he leaned onto the countertop, hoping to find that link again but it was gone, completely. The voice had been Sakura, probably wondering why he'd been late for their dinner outing with Shikamaru and his group. Still, she could have been a few minutes late or at least have waited for him. But, was what he saw a dream? Something conjured up by fatigue and an empty stomach? Similar things had happened before, but this time it felt real. Naruto left the mirror and rushed to his drawers, fishing for an outfit to wear that Sakura wouldn't think was lame. As he hiked on his shoes and hurried to the door, he paused and glanced at the bathroom mirror once again. Had it been a dream? He closed his eyes, picturing the face he'd seen staring at him from the other side. His lips parted slowly and he whispered, "I will..."

Naruto turned and closed the door, locking it behind him.

Far across the land of fire, in a hidden base, a figure stood at a mirror, dark hair dripping with still-warm water, his hand lingered on the glass, trying to grasp at something that was no longer there. His eyes, blood-red and hidden behind a curtain of ebony locks, closed, lips parting in a smile. He had been seen, heard, felt and for a certainty he would come. Though his words before had been cold and cruel, his actions unforgivable, just the sight of those blue eyes soothed his darkened heart, and brightened the hope on the other side. Taking his hand away, he placed it against his bare skin, close to his heart and felt it beating.

"I know..." he whispered, and the smile remained.