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Chapter 18: Through the looking glass

"I dreamt of tou-chan. He was asking me why I did it." Blue eyes seeked out tired bronze ones before the blond woman sighed and tipped back the sake bottle, chugging down half of its content before asking the question the other wanted to answer.

"Did what Naruto? Why you're getting married in four days when you clearly don't want to? Or why you joined the Akatsuki? Or is it about crossing the border? Which is it that minato asked about?" blank blue eyes looked at her and Tsunade felt like an eternity had passed.

Naruto let out a humorless chuckle before looking away, his gaze moving pass the glass and onto the carved face of the fourth hokage. "Neither."

Naruto's reply made her shake her head, 'I shouldn't have asked.'

"Tou-chan was very angry at me you see. He had this funny look and was screaming. I couldn't hear half of what he was saying. His voice sounded like it was coming through a broken transmitter. I could only hear some of it. Kaa-chan joined him too, after a while."

Tsunade raised her eyebrow at the mention of the new information. "Kushina too? Bet her voice got through to you clear." Naruto's chuckle was full of mirth this time.

"Nah. Still could only hear some of it, her voice also broke in the middle of saying words. She wasn't screaming at me though." Blue eyes looked at her again and Tsunade marveled at the color of those eyes. 'Just how blue can they get.'

"She was crying baa-chan, and she kept telling me to stop. Again and again and again." Naruto's eyes gazed at the village again, and his voice trailed off. Tsunade was sure the next whispered words weren't for her to hear. But she was a ninja dammit and she was sure as hell going to protect the brat if it was the last thing she did. "Except I can't get out of it anymore baa-chan."

"Why did they appear in your dreams Naruto? What did you do to make Minato, of all the people, so angry?"

Naruto chuckled darkly again before jumping off of the great wooden table they called the hokage's desk. He trailed his fingers through the cracks. 'It looks like the table also went through the wars with the hokages.'

"I can't tell you that baa-chan." Clear blue eyes looked at the blond woman sitting on the chair next to the desk before smiling. "But what is done is done. I can't change it anymore and I will not. With this the pieces start moving."

Bronze eyes narrowed at the blond walking to the door. "What pieces, brat?"

Tan hands grasped the knob and Naruto turned his head to look at one of the very few people he cared about anymore. His eyes crinkled happily, knowing that his answer would make Tsunade even angrier. "Can't tell you that either, baa-chan!"

"Don't call me that brat!"

Naruto slammed the door and shrugged sheepishly to Shizune when the dair haired woman scowled at him disapprovingly. His good mood evaporated as quickly as it had come. He had gone to Tsunade after the deal to make the inhibitions go away, and seeing the Tsunade and Shizune made his reassure himself.

"Too late to change your mind anyway brat. I don't care either way as long as I don't get dragged along to whatever idiocy you manage to land yourself in."

Naruto rolled his eyes at the predictable response, his reply coming without much thought. 'As if you can get away from the seal so easily. Stupid fox. Aren't you supposed to be super smart after living for so long?!'

"Oh please. Intelligence doesn't increase with age, child. Especially for an animal."

"What did you say? You're not even supposed to exist in this plane of existence! Especially with a solid body! You stupid ingrate!"

"Ingrate? Me? How rude! I have given you my word that I will let your soul go free after I take the child's! how dare you ungrateful body-less creature talk to me that way!"

'Would you both shut up? Why the heck are you here anyway?"

Naruto grit his teeth at the bickering continuing without regard to his interference. It has been an age long argument between the two, ever since they had met if naruto remembered correctly. Both were powerful and immortal in their own ways and egoistic to the core. Naruto cursed his fate of being tied to these two.

'At least Kyuubi shut up if there wasn't anyone to reply to him.'

"How dare you take this vile creature's side! I have never been so insulted!"

"What the hell do you mean I shut up? I am the great kyuubi no kitsune! You dare say that I was second to you, human?!"

Naruto could only roll his eyes again at the two voices before they both started bickering again. He stepped out of the hokage's tower and started towards the training ground. Kakashi updated him before about the evening D-rank mission, but it didn't mean he wanted to do it. Blond head turned upwards when the light breeze went by, the trees overhead proving ample shade for cover in the heat.

'Sasuke.. Sasuke.. Sasuke'

"Is it the Uchiha boy Kyuubi said you were.. what was the word again? ah yes, infatuated, with?"

'I used to be.. and I suppose, some part of me still is.'

"How foolish. You human never cease to amaze me. Do you how many I have taken who would proclaim that they would be together with some other human forever? I have taken thousands of souls, all claiming to be eternally infatuated with some other. But in the end they all forget."

"Human emotions are useless. The so called emotions of your kind only apply to you and actions of your kind. The rest of the world will go by and you all claim to be infatuated or something equally foolish and bind yourself to some other human for your short life."

'It's different for us because we don't live long. We have to feel emotion, to make attachments; otherwise we lose ourselves in this world.'

"It is because you humans think there are only you in this world. That's wrong. And that is why humans will always be frail and weak. Your knowledge is limited to yourselves."

Naruto sighed and slowed his walk when nearing the lake. The wind felt nice and soothing, and he had a lot to think about.

'So you say only humans feel? What about kyuubi's anger for madara? What about your own lust for carnage and blood?'

"We do not let it overwhelm our goals and rationality. Well some of us, at least."

"Why don't you get stuck with an Uchiha with his damn eyes controlling you, huh?! Then we'll talk about revenge. It's not as if I wanted to be stuck in a mortal body! I was free until that foolish human with the stupid eyes came!"

"Well so you say."

"Why you..!"

'Alright already. I know where you're coming from. But it's hard to override something that's a part of your being.'

"Naruto!" Naruto waved at the only female teammate before walking leisurely towards the group. Sasuke and Riku were standing close to each other on the far side while Kakashi was leaning against a trunk with icha icha glued to his hand.

"You're late! Even Kakashi-sensei got here before you!"

"Ah sorry sakura. I was talking to baa-chan." Sakura seemed appeased somewhat with the mention of her mentor and turned away. Kakashi walked to the middle ground between the four and brought out the mission scroll.

"Looks like you all got lucky. Since the daimyo's wife is in town and tora wanted to meet us again." two groans reached him and he one eye crinkled. Saskura turned to Naruto before Kakashi got to continue.

"Hey Naruto, since the daimyo's wife will be your mother-in-law can't you tell her to stop letting that cat get away?" Naruto cocked his head to the side in question. "So that Kakashi wouldn't be able to torture us with this again."

"I'm hurt sakura-chan! Why would I torture you wonderful students?" sakura's green eyes narrowed into a wrathful stare and Kakashi shrank back.

"Because you live to get amusement by trying to kill us in unimaginable ways or seeing us in distress! And don't you dare deny it!"

"Maa maa." Kakashi smiled again, further enraging the female and Riku intervened.

"Whatever. Can we get going so we can finish this already?" Riku spared a glanced at the silent blond before turning to Kakashi and taking the headpiece handed.

"We're going to surround and enclose. Standard procedure and I will not have any diversions in the middle. Am I clear?" kakashi's serious eyes crinkled again when the other four nodded eagerly. "Let's go then."

Sasuke ran jumped through the branches fast, eyes locked onto the back of yellow hair. He was impressed despite himself at the blond. Naruto's chakra signature was suppressed so much that he couldn't even detect it without the sharingan, and the other was so silent it was unnerving him.

Naruto stopped and motioned to him, signaling that he had sighted the cat and Sasuke spoke quietly through the headset. The volume was lowered so that kakashi's voice was heard barely. "Stay in position. Riku is still getting into position."

Sasuke sneaked and positioned himself next to the blond, at the vantage they both could directly see the cat cautiously moving through the underbrush. Sasuke looked at the blond again, staring until blue eyes acknowledged him by meeting his gaze.

"You have been avoiding me." Naruto shook his head at the whispered words, a small smile stretching across his face.

"No I haven't Sasuke. I'm getting married in four days so I'm pretty busy." Sasuke scowled at the reply and turned his eyes back to track the black cat.

"Don't marry her." The words slipped through before he could stop himself. From the stare he got from Naruto he was sure the blond thought he would never voice what he had wanted. Naruto sighed quietly before replying, his eyes too tracking the cat. A diversion they both sought in the form of the cat brought some balance.

"I can't do that Sasuke. There are some things that I want done. And Aiko will help me get them."

Sasuke shook with anger at those words, his voice coming out in a whisper then gaining volume. "What can that woman give you that I can't, Naruto!? I have money! I have power! I will give you the world if you asked for it!"

The cat had scrambled away long before he had finished, panting and angry. Naruto only looked at him.

"Tell me Naruto! What do you want?!"

The smile that Naruto gave him was as breathtaking as it was bittersweet. Sasuke felt his anger drain away, the void being with hopelessness when he looked at Naruto. "What do you want Naruto?"

"I want something you gave up long ago, Sasuke." And Naruto kept smiling at him.

Kakashi and Riku emerged from the trees seconds later, followed by sakura who had got the cat. Sasuke and Naruto didn't say a word in their trek back to the tower. And the team dispersed away from there on. The other three didn't ask anything, only sakura threw worried glances between te two but she knew from experience not to ask questions.

Sasuke reached home and monotonously went through dinner and cleaning up, listening to Satoshi rambling about his day and automatically giving responses to the eager dark gaze of the innocent eyes.

'What I have given up a long time ago. There were a lot of things I gave up, Naruto. But I will make sure you won't be in that list.'

Naruto let the plates drop to the sink before trudging to his changing room. Aiko was cleaning the table and he smiled at her. "I'm going to bed Aiko."

"Alright Naruto. I will clean this up and go to sleep.

Naruto nodded and moved towards the slim woman hugging her and kissing her. "Good night then."

Aiko's smile was bright as Lee's. "Good night. I love you."

Naruto could only stretch his lips to a smile in response. He heard aiko sigh as he moved towards the bedroom. Shutting the door and going to the showers his head filled with the usual pull of Kyuubi.

"I have another one for you, child. This one you know, and this seems like one of the few times our targets are the same."

'Which Uchiha is it then?' Naruto turned to the dark haired dead corpse, the water sloshing and sending small ripples. The smile stretched the pale cheeks and sharp teeth showed in the gap. Naruto couldn't stop the goosebumps that came over his arms, the hair on his neck standing up at the malice in the air.

"It's the one called Obito. I want him gone. Soon. Make sure you don't mess this up or there will be consequences." A faded pink tongue ran over blue lips before the demon spoke again, his red eyes dark with mirth. "You know how much I like to try out new.. methods, Naruto-kun"

Naruto froze.

A/N- the philosophical discussion between kyuubi and death is my opinion only! and i don't mean to offend anyone!

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