Title: Heaven, Separate Us
Chapter: Us
Autor: Me
Disclaimer: I don't own characters, manga, or anything that has something to do with Naruto. On the other hand, I own the universe the story is set in.
Rating: T
Summary: Sorcerers, knights and space battles. Chance meetings between two people bound together. Naruto and Sasuke or NaruSasu with suggestion of NaruIta (Chapter 3).
Note: Conceptually,
ties a bit with 'Hate at First Sight'. Whole 'Heaven, Separate Us' is set after 'Hate'. Mentions of 'red-eyed grin' and 'monster' are references to the story of Raven and Kyuubi, which takes place many years before. If anyone's interested, I might try to write it out :). The 'talk' is the one they have when they meet first at the Court.
Us
""
"Why are you here?"
"Hadn't you heard it yet? My mother was an Aristocrat."
"Bullshit. Why are you here?"
"It's true, you know? I might want to stay here…"
"No. You. Won't."
"Want to say you didn't miss me? Don't worry, I know you're going to be lying your ass off about that one."
"My one word and you'll be shot like a dog, here, without me having to even flick my finger."
"What's stopping you now?"
"Decency."
"Decency? You've got to be fucking shitting me. How the fuck do you expect me to believe that you found some decency in this den of fucking vipers? Are you fucking blind, retarded or both already?"
"My health is no concern of yours."
"Sonnova… It is my concern, you conceited fucker!"
"Why?"
"You ask why, you fucker? You dare to ask? You really dare to ask!? Fine! I'll tell you! Because I fucking hate you! I hate you so much that I fucking care and fucking need you! And, fuck, I'm going to bring you home where you belong!"
"Here is where I belong now."
"Like fuck you do!"
""
Painfully aware of the hand resting on his back, with an undisputed envy he studies the other one mingling with lower gentry. Those clothes, they do fit him, he realizes, not content with only observing and yet unable to do anything more.
And there's this other one, with her ridiculous hair and dress, completely out of place here. He loathes her, not enough to want her, but enough to want to kill her. He loathes her the most when the blonde showers her with his attention, attention that should be focused elsewhere. Anywhere but her. Anywhere but the lot of them that think they can gain something – be it pleasure or be it power – through the blonde.
Suddenly, he rises, leaving the man by his side alone and slightly surprised. With a sneer on his face he crosses the distance between the blonde and himself, and with unchecked rage, eyes flicking black and red, he pulls him close and locks them in a frenzied kiss. There are teeth clicking and a bit of blood.
Then he turns away, wiping his lips with the back of his hand and dares anyone and everyone to challenge or defy him. He longs for it. Not one tries to encroach on his territory while the predator is still on the prowl.
""
"Is it fucking worth, all this? Answer me, is it worth anything at all? Have you a fucking clue what you've done through all this time?"
"Of course."
"Of course what?"
"Of course I know what I've done. I've murdered countless people in the service of the Empire and no thing I've ever done was worth as much as this."
"Why…?"
"Why what now?"
"…why are you saying this? Why are you doing this? I don't understand you…"
"You never did."
"I guess not. You're a fucking enigma, you know? Total fucking enigma. And you know what else? I. Don't. Care."
"You never were the bright one."
"I don't care. You can insult me again and again, fucker, but I'm dragging your arse back, you bloody murderous bastard."
"No."
""
There's that red-eyed ferocious grin that actually makes a shiver of fear travel down his spine. This expression on the blonde's face, it's too close to madness, pure, unadulterated craziness beyond crazy, one step too far to ever come back to the sanity. It makes him cower, terrified, and lash out in panicked defense.
Sometimes he dreams of raging fire and the red-eyed grin. A monster looks down on him, lunges at him, tears his body to shreds, and the only emotion he feels is sadness while he lifts his hand to caress the maw of the creature feasting on his flesh. Some kind of muddled allegory, he's sure.
He hates those dreams even more than the dreams of that man and his brother, and the day everything changed. But, nonetheless, he thinks it was that day that defined hate and indifference as the focal points of his existence.
He shudders when the blonde, red-eyed grin and all the rest intact, pulls the trigger. Blood splatters everywhere.
He was supposed to be the reckless murderer here, not the blonde. Time unfroze. Faster than anything they've ever seen the red-eyed beast has hidden himself behind his personal shield, and then rushed forward with a flurry of brutal and deadly hits. He grabbed something from the leader as the man set himself on fire, the hand immediately covered by blisters and clutching the box safely behind the curtain of fingers.
House Saba was in trouble. The brunette observed as red faded into cerulean blue. Only then he choked back a sudden whimper of relief and let the breath he was holding till now escape his lips.
""
"Listen… You don't have to go back there, just come back with me… I've got some friends, and nobody will be able to touch you. Leave from here, even without me… Please."
"I've got too much to learn."
"From whom? Him? Don't be ridiculous! Fucker's dying and wants to take you with him!"
"You won't understand."
"I won't understand that through this bastard you want to gain the access to your brother and the means to kill him? Don't look at me like this, you fucker. Apparently, I'm not as retarded as you seem to think."
"So?"
"So what? Your best shot at the fucker is with me, he's kinda… pissed off at me and kinda wants me dead or close or something, and really can't blame him after that time. Or that time. Frankly, if I were him I'd like to murder myself in sleep but it's not like the fucker didn't deserve it. Whole lot of them. Funny how that turned out."
"…you're babbling."
"Yeah, I know I'm fucking babbling."
"How come… Itachi wants you dead?"
"You know, the usual. He knows about you, and then I was gathering some intel, and he was drunk and doped, I got drunk, one thing lead to another…"
"You …fucked him!?!"
"Oh, fuck, no. Ava, I hope it's not the fucking case. I mean, I don't remember exactly but that's… possible and totally revolting. Kind of kinky too."
"Apparently you're even more abysmally retarded than I've ever expected you to be. Who. Else. Did. You. Fuck!?!"
"…fuck."
""
There are eyes, everywhere. There are ears.
Five watch as the blonde lingers at his door. Seven see him leave hours later.
They play easily this twisted charade of pretense and false signals. The blonde, he doesn't give a shit about anyone, jumping from one to another; he uses them as much as they use him. The brunette, he flaunts his control over his 'lover' (or should it be 'hater'?); sudden fits of his possessiveness make the morning news at the Court.
It's not really a charade at all. The blonde, he doesn't care for anyone but the brunette and the brunette, he is jealous to the core, afraid that someone will steal the blonde from him. Yet, still, they continue for those that watch, listen and spy.
""
"That wasn't the most intelligent thing I've ever did."
"I'll kill you."
"…I didn't mean it like that!"
"I'll kill you."
"And sorry about, you know, your shirt."
"I'll so fucking kill you."
"Now, I didn't just jump myself here, did I?"
"Shut. Up."
"If I snog the bastard you're going to do this again?"
"…snog. Whom!?!"
"Friggin Weasel."
"…if you as much as even consider doing this I'm going to manually rip off some parts of your anatomy you hold particularly dear. So help me Ava."
"Sheesh. It's not like I'd do him while sober anyway."
"So you admit!"
"Huh...? No, fuck, no! I admit nothing! You can't prosecute me for something you have no proof of!"
"You just said…"
"Last time I've seen him he was sporting a new haircut and a rather prominent tattoo on his buttock."
"Ah. Well. Okay… Wait! How the fuck were you able to see his ass!?!"
"…fuck."
""
Somehow, they are drawn together. Their eyes meet over the crowd and not one courtier notices. It would be much harder if they did and knew how deep the bond runs and how it hurts to only see and only observe.
In the end, the brunette is going to disappear and go after that man to get the blood debt out of his body, leaving the blonde behind.
Not because he worries. He doesn't worry. He just doesn't want to see this mad red-eyed grin that makes his skin crawl and turns his stomach. He hates being nauseous.
And he's jealous. He knows that he and that man look alike and he knows what might have happened between those two. He's not going to risk it again.
""
"Will you come back with me? No strings. I promise."
"I… I'll think about it."
"Good enough for now. But I'm not leaving."
"I know… Thank you."
A/N:
This time Empire. And what does Empire have that other two factions lack? The Imperial Court of course. There's no greater 'wretched hive of scum and villainy' anywhere in the universe. Okay, Kingdom of Heaven has its own royal court but it's a completely different thing from the Imperial Court.
