Whistle in the Night
"If you whistle in the night, a snake will come to you..." - Japanese proverb
Naruto, Sasuke, & Orochimaru
A/N: Kind of a weird idea that came to me when I read that proverb…
...(and yes I am aware that snakes are deaf...-- )
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The woods were quiet, as they walked toward home. Konoha village was in sight just beyond the tree tops. Stars twinkled above and the moon danced behind a veil of clouds. Sakura had gone home early when their mission ended while the boys had decided to take the longer road home by the training ground, just to have a bit of practice.
"Ah! what a day! That was such an awesome mission we had, huh Sasuke?" Naruto gleefully walked along the dirt path, his friend and teammate alongside, only because they happened to decide to take the same road home. The bright eyed blond was his usual hyper self, despite the exhausting work they had endured on the mission, running through the woods and tracking down a kid lost there. To the Uchiha it had been quite boring.
"I guess," Sasuke forced out.
"Yeah, remember that part where the kid was down in the gully and I used my Kage Bunshin as a rope ladder?! Then "whoosh" I lifted him up in the air and pulled him u-"
"Yeah, but then you slipped on the muddy edge and fell in too. Then we had to rescue two people instead of one. All you did was make it more complicated, moron."
"Hey!" Naruto fumed, "It wasn't my fault it rained this morning! How was I supposed to know that would happen?"
"You're right," Sasuke sneered. "-You- didn't know because you're an idiot and a drop-out."
"Will you shut up already? Man this gets on my nerves! How come every time I want to talk about our missions you find some way to make me look bad?" The fox boy could feel his veins popping. This was just one of those days.
"I don't have to find reasons. You make them so obvious it's pathetic. Like I said before, if you want to stop looking bad just become stronger than me." The black-haired Uchiha smiled behind his bangs, eager to poke his friend just a little bit more. "Although, that would never happen in a million years."
Anyone nearby was sure to feel Naruto's hot rage, he growled nosily, but instead of exploding into a fit and wanting a fight, he pulled his anger in and just huffed. Crossing his arms he looked away and kept walking beside him. Sasuke felt puzzled, this was different than Naruto's usual action. What was he planning? The blond snickered a little to himself and eyed his teammate with a devious foxy grin.
"Your brain must be mixed up or something. I'm getting stronger everyday. And pretty soon, you'll be the one looking up to me."
Sighing, Sasuke looked away and muttered, "Yeah right."
It still puzzled him why Naruto hadn't instigated a fight or run off, but just kept walking next to him and smiling that stupid grin. He returned the smile slightly, believing that this was normal, the everyday exchange of insults and barrage of name-calling, but that's the way things were. That was the relationship he and Naruto had come to share. Naruto seemed so comfortable around him, unafraid to show him everything he was made of, all of his tricks and terrors. He was so open and unafraid to speak his mind and his feelings. Maybe it was time to himself up and lift this burden he carried alone day after day, this weight of grief and despair. Naruto had shown him that you don't need to be a genius but to try your hardest and believe in everything you do. Perhaps if he followed that Ninja way, the way of hope and living for the future, he might have the strength to let go of the past and never feel that pain again.
He pursed his lips and a sweet melody escaped into the darkness, lacing the woods with a tranquil tune. A song had come to the Uchiha's thoughts and unknowingly he'd begun to whistle. Naruto glanced at his friend, lost in a memory and in the sweetness of the song. Blue eyes flashed in the dark as Naruto rushed over, clamping his hands over his friend's mouth. Sasuke felt a rush of heat, from anger or what he wasn't sure, but it was enough to upset him. Knocking the blonde's hand away he grumbled, "Get off! What was that for?"
"You don't know that old saying?" Naruto glanced around nervously.
"What are you talking about?" Sasuke muttered, wiping his mouth of whatever unseen thing had been on the fox boy's hands.
"When I was little Iruka-sensei told me this old saying: "If you whistle in the night, a snake will come to you." You shouldn't whistle when it's dark because there are snakes out here and they might come and bite us, or something."
The Uchiha could have sworn he heard his own eyebrow twitch. "That's ridiculous. Number one there haven't been any sightings of poisonous snakes in this area for years. Number two, we are Leaf Village Shinobi and have the tools to fight off any dangerous creatures we may encounter. Number three snakes are deaf. So that superstition is just what it is, a superstition."
Suddenly he noticed Naruto's face had gone pale, moonlit his eyes shone like ghost lights as he stared at something terrible in the dark behind them. Slowly Sasuke turned around, steadying his hand over the pouch at his thigh, ready to grab a kunai. His eyes flashed red with the Sharingan. Was there someone following them? He hadn't sensed any presence nearby, what was Naruto staring at? A movement in the brush, Sasuke whirled around, kunai ready, and then he stopped. Behind them, lit by the full moon, lay the long, sinuous glistening body of a viper. Curled about the clearing, its triangular head rose slowly, effortlessly, amber eyes flashing behind a black mask. A ruby red tongue flickered aimlessly, as if the creature was studying them, curious. Sasuke's eyes went dark, had Naruto been right? Was that old saying really true? Had this serpent emerged from the safety of the wood at the sound of a melody? No, it had to be some coincidence. Turning to the befuddled genin he rasped, "Naruto, there may be someone tracking us. You go to the right and scout out the area; I'll be in this direction. Snap out of it and hurry up!"
Shaking the strange glow from his eyes, Naruto nodded, "Right." and leaped into the woods. Sasuke noticed that the snake had disappeared, slithering off into the bushes. Jumping from tree branch to tree branch he followed the creature farther and farther from the path. Naruto's beacon of chakra was becoming faint; at this rate it would be hard to locate him. Still, there was a good chance an intruder to the village was following them and he wanted to find out who. A clearing came upon him swiftly and he halted in the treetops, concealing himself from the moonlight. The serpent freely moved out onto the bare ground, coiling and gazing about, tasting the air mutely. Suddenly a figure stepped out into the darkness, tall and dark, black hair bound in a tail and laying along the collar of a coat decorated with red clouds. The eyes flashed red in the night, terrible, evil. The Sharingan. Sasuke's heart skipped as he recognized the figure of the man he desired to kill. His own eyes flashed as rage boiled in his heart. Why had he returned? Did he come just to mock his strength? No matter, he was going to die. Flashes of the past burned within him as Sasuke leapt from his hiding place, his hand glowing white with Chidori, crying out the sorrow and anger and rage and pain and the sweet intoxication of revenge. As soon as he believed he neared his enemy and would land the blow, he was gone. The figure disappeared as he came down on it and he stood alone in the clearing, the serpent still watching him, now close, it's eyes full of intensity. They reflected his own, red as heart's blood and filled with darkness. He felt the cold slickness of snake bodies coiling around him, holding him so tightly he couldn't move, couldn't breathe. His mind reeled. What was this? A genjutsu? An illusion spawned from his own mind or someone else? The serpents came closer, fangs bared, hot tongues slicing at his skin, their hissing sending his mind into madness. A pair of eyes appeared in the darkness, narrow and full of malice, bright like a serpents and laced with blood. Lines of black and midnight violet encircled them, haunting, horrifying, reflecting an indescribable evil.
Sasuke tried to scream but nothing came out, his heart was splitting and he could make no sound. The moon emerged from the cloud cover, blinding him with its light, only to be blocked again by a form standing before him. He trembled with shock and fear, trying to grab at his kunai and defend himself, but he was locked in a battle with the terrible memories of his past, the thought dying, of failing in his lifelong ambition, how could he let that man live? No, there was no way he would give in to death, but these creatures held him fast and he had no power to fight back. The figure neared, closer, closer, he felt he would pass out if it got any closer. The kunai was just out of reach. Falling to his knees, he let go a cry of anguish that all of Konoha no doubt heard. Sasuke felt so alone, there was no one to rescue him, there never had been and never would be. He was alone, always alone and it hurt so much. Why had things turned out this way? Tears spilled from his blood-red eyes, his body trembled, locked in this prison of his own mind. There was no one to help him...no one. Then, a thought, a hope came to his weakened mind. Yes, there was someone! He glanced around looking, calling, pleading, where was he? There was no trail, no sense, nothing to tell him. The idiot had probably gotten lost. But there was nothing else he could do. With all of his remaining power, and all his heart his cried out, "Naruto!!!!!"
A hand, warm and comforting came to his brow, arms encircled around him and the soft words of "Kai" sent the snakes scattering, fleeing into the darkened woods, leaving the Uchiha's tired body to slump into the arms of his savior. He grasped for it, brought his body so close to that safe place he never wanted to let go. Breathing heavily, he fought to bring his mind back into sanity, it lay on that muddy edge nearly toppling over, but the hand was there, holding his and bringing him back. His eyes dulled to black, his heart calmed and he forced his gaze to catch the face of the one who had pulled him from the brink. Bright blue lit by the light of the moon, glinted down into his, laced with pooling tears. A face filled with worry and compassion, spiked gold hair and whisker lines across the puffy cheeks. Naruto...
Snuffling, the blond choked out, "I-I told you it was b-bad to...w...whistle like that."
Sasuke fought to stand, his legs unsteady and wobbling like a toddlers. Naruto hooked his arm around his shoulders and helped him along back toward the road. Sasuke's mind fought to understand what had happened. Were the snakes real or had it been an illusion?
"Naruto...what happened to me?" Sasuke managed to get out.
Still wiping his tears of worry, Naruto muttered, "It seemed you were trapped in some kind of powerful genjutsu. I looked everywhere but couldn't find the source. I'm sorry I was so late, it was so strong I felt like I was doing the release jutsu forever. It must have been horrible."
Sasuke let his eyes drift down, watching the ground as it passed. They had come back to the road, resuming their trek home, but with a much different attitude than before. Sasuke stood on his own, pushing Naruto's arm away. The blond was still puffy in the face from crying. Had he been that worried?
Disturbed, Sasuke turned away from his teammate. "What you...what you saw back there was...a part of me that I never wanted anyone to see."
Naruto shifted a little, uneasy, not knowing if what he had done was wrong. "It's...it's okay Sasuke. Even the greatest shinobi have some kind of pain that they hide. I'm not sure what you're pain is...you never...never talk about it. I know I talk about my problems all they time, maybe even too much, but that's what makes me stronger."
The Uchiha's eyes lit slightly, intrigued by the words.
"If you keep your feelings all bottled up inside, it hurts you and makes you feel sad. That's how I felt for a long time, when I had no friends and no family. I was all alone. But then I found someone who accepted me, I found friends that I can trust no matter what and who help me through my troubles. I learned that sharing my pain helped me deal with it and now I hardly think of those days anymore, because what I have now is more important. That's what makes me happy."
The raven-haired genin did not meet his friend's gaze, but kept looking off into the darkness. Naruto came nearer, trying to comfort his friend. His eyes had such empathy in them, and it seemed to say: 'I won't tell anyone. I won't reveal your pain if that's what you want. But, even though we're different and argue a lot, I want you to see me as your friend. You can talk to me, you can share with me, and you can trust me. Please...'
Trust. That was something Sasuke had felt before and it shattered his soul when that trust was broken. He was sure that he could never go to that vulnerable state again, but, the eyes that pleaded, that cared, that trusted... It would take time, but perhaps there was some hope for it.
Sasuke merely smiled and walked toward Konoha, faltering a bit, but Naruto stayed at his side, ready to catch him if he stumbled, smile if he was sad. Perhaps...perhaps there was...
A pair of glistening yellow eyes watched as the two Konoha genin disappeared past the gates of the village. Narrowed to slits, they twisted with malice, a leering grin spread in the moonlight. "Too bad," whispered a sickly sweet tongue, laced with wicked and evil intent. "Too bad, Sasuke-kun. I was so close to drawing you in. Seems that nine-tailed one is tricking you into stepping off your chosen course. No matter, I will be watching, waiting, listening for the sweet song. When next you sing it, I will come for you..."
