Chapter 22
The rain fell heavily from the dense, dark clouds, washing away the snow and turning the exposed earth to mud. Shikamaru and the team of Chunin trudged up the road to Konoha tiredly, pausing under the shelter of the main gate. The four of them had been running through the rain for hours without stopping to rest, in order to return to the village as quickly as possible.
Shikamaru reached up with a sigh, wiping the raindrops from his face and pushing a few stray hairs away from his forehead. He glanced at the Chunin from the corner of his eye, too lazy to turn his head.
"Listen you three." He drawled, stuffing his cold hands into his pockets. "Go over to the hospital and get yourselves checked out. I don't want you getting sick from being out in the rain for so long."
Yua looked at her teammates quickly, concern in her eyes. "What about you, Shikamaru-sensei? Shouldn't you come with us, to get your injuries taken care of at least?"
"No, I'm good. I have to go and get some important stuff done." Shikamaru said dismissively as he turned. He waved over his shoulder as he started walking up the road, muttering to himself, "Women. Such a pain."
The village was eerily silent that evening. The storm still raged on, thunder and lightning occasionally shattering the stillness of the night. All the citizens seemed to have retreated into the warmth of their houses, their doors and windows shut against the raging storm. Judging by the clouds, it would rain for the entire night.
Shikamaru glanced up at the rooftops, sensing the watchful eyes of the many ninja who were lurking there. It seemed as if every available shinobi was out scouring the village, jumping over the road silently as they ran around on various errands.
Frowning, Shikamaru increased his speed, taking the familiar route to the Hokage's mansion. His sandals squelched loudly in the mud as he went, small streams of water rushing along the gutters and carrying away the filth that had accumulated over the winter months.
He was breathing heavily by the time he mounted the steps to the brightly lit mansion, stopping outside the doors to shake some of the water off his clothing. His clothes were completely soaked, however, so he quickly declared it wasted effort and wandered into the building.
Shikamaru stopped dead in surprise when the door shut behind him. He had expected the halls to be bustling with activity, but a heavy, undisturbed silence reigned there. Shikamaru swallowed in discomfort as he walked down the hall quickly, making his way to the Hokage's office.
"Something definitely happened," He muttered.
As he reached the familiar doorway, Shikamaru knocked once before entering. He froze as he looked up, halfway into the room with one foot still in the air.
"Damn, what a drag." He moaned.
Tsunade's office was completely filled with familiar faces. Shizune and Sakura stood by the Hokage, a seemingly endless pile of paperwork being passed between the three women. Kakashi stood by the window, hands in his pockets as he looked out over the village. Sai and Neji, as well as several other ANBU, stood like sentinels on one side of the room. On the opposite side, Yamato and Guy talked urgently with Kiba, Hinata, and Shino.
Shikamaru did the headcount quickly, going through his mental files of assignments and missions. He knew that the only missing members of the Konoha Eleven - Tenten, Lee, Ino, and Choji - were all out of the village on missions. There was only one person unaccounted for.
"Where's Naruto?" Shikamaru asked, letting the door close loudly as he walked into the room.
Every pair of eyes in the room turned towards him. Shikamaru noticed the tear stains on Sakura's cheeks immediately.
A vein was popping in Tsunade's forehead, her entire face going red when she replied heatedly, "I was hoping you could tell me, Nara."
Shikamaru shook his head slightly. "Last time I saw him was hours ago. He flew off as soon as we took out the team of Kou that ambushed us."
Tsunade sighed, pushing her bangs back roughly. "Did you manage to reach Milo in time, at least?"
"No," Shikamaru admitted, the corners of his mouth turning downwards. "Naruto sent one of his clones to retrieve his body while we were fighting the Kou, but it never came back."
"I see." Tsunade leaned back in her chair, studying Shikamaru carefully with her warm, amber eyes.
"Kakashi, is he clean?" She asked suddenly.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, glancing over at the silver-haired ninja. Kakashi blinked slowly as he lifted up his headband, examining the strategist calmly with his sharingan. After a tense moment, he nodded.
The room relaxed visibly. Shikamaru looked around, his mind already reaching a conclusion on what had occurred based on their body language alone.
"The Kou attacked again, didn't they?" He said in a low voice.
Tsunade nodded once; a sharp, concise bob of her head. "Yes. They managed to infiltrate the village and went straight for Sasuke."
Shikamaru's eyes widened. "Did they take Sasuke?"
"Not before he killed most of them and destroyed half the property," Tsunade replied. "But yes, Sasuke is now missing. Then Naruto showed up, but as soon as he saw what had happened, he flew into a rage and disappeared too. And since you have no idea where he is, I suppose I should declare him missing as well."
Beside her, Sakura lowered her pink head, sniffling miserably. It seemed as though the old team seven had only just managed to get back together, and now two of them were gone again. Kakashi glanced over at his student, concern obvious in his eyes. For a moment, he reached for the kunoichi, but then he seemed to think better of it. He pulled his headband back down over his sharingan before stuffing his hand into his pocket.
"We have several teams out looking for Naruto." Neji interjected, his tone flat and somehow hollowed. "But until he returns, we have postponed searching for Sasuke. As his Guardian and the authoritative voice on the Kou, Naruto will be in charge of this assignment."
"Is that really the best course of action?" Shikamaru asked, looking back at the Hokage. "Naruto must be completely out of his mind right now. We have no way of knowing when he'll come back, or if he even wants to. Shouldn't we go ahead and -"
"Shikamaru." Sakura cut in suddenly, her aqua-green eyes burning with intensity. "Naruto will come back. He just needs a bit of time."
For one breathless moment, the assembled shinobi waited to see if Shikamaru would argue with her. But he glanced away instead, shrugging dismissively as he muttered, "Troublesome woman."
Neji glanced between them quickly, his pale irises flashing like the reflection of the moon on the water. "I agree that Naruto will definitely return of his own accord, however," He paused, lowering his gaze guiltily. "Naruto was utterly beyond reason when he saw the scene of the attack. 'Distraught' doesn't even begin to describe it. To be perfectly honest, it was the first time that he has ever truly frightened me."
Hinata looked up, meeting her cousin's eyes. After a moment, she looked away, lifting her hands to her chest and squeezing tightly. Sakura also looked at Neji, but she glared at him, hissing, "He'll be fine."
Tsunade sighed exhaustedly, like a mother with children who bicker constantly. "Shikamaru," She said, changing the subject in an attempt to loosen the tension in the room. "Tell me what happened during the mission."
The strategist shrugged again. "Nothing too exciting. It basically went exactly as planned. Naruto took out their leader while me and the others finished off the grunts."
Frowning, the Hokage laced her fingers under her chin. "Did you see them perform any unusual techniques? Any sort of sealing or barrier-type jutsu?"
Shikamaru's eyebrows lifted fractionally. "The woman that Naruto fought could possess things just by looking them in the eye, but other than that everything seemed pretty normal. Actually, the guys that the Chunin and I fought were pretty weak."
Tsunade let her hands fall, a look of disappointment in her eyes. "Then, we've got our work cut out for us. All of our best trackers are at the scene of Sasuke's abduction as we speak, save for the ones who came to report the situation." She looked over at Kiba, Shino and Hinata pointedly. "And at this point, it will be difficult to determine anything without Naruto's insight. It's impossible to link all the clues while he isn't here."
"Man, what a drag." Shikamaru said, his shoulders slumping as exhaustion hit him. After a moment of thought, he continued in a tired voice, "What do you think the Kou want with Sasuke? I mean sure, they could try and use him as a bargaining chip, but they must know how closely tied to Naruto that Uchiha is. And pissing off the most powerful shinobi in the world was probably the stupidest thing they could possibly do."
"True." Tsunade agreed, a faint smile briefly touching her lips. "But, hasn't their goal been to get to Naruto since the beginning? For now, though, I think that their main objective is to try and possess Sasuke."
A cold silence fell over the room. Sakura swallowed nervously, shaking her head as she whispered, "They won't be able to though, right? I mean, a technique based on illusion won't work on someone with the sharingan."
"Let's hope so." Tsunade replied softly. "Because if it does work…"
She didn't finish her sentence. She didn't need to. Every single one of them could vividly imagine the hell that would ensue if the Kou possessed Sasuke and turned him loose on the world. If that were to happen, he would have to be killed. And there was only one man who was capable of doing it.
Sakura placed her stack of papers on Tsunade's desk, her hair hiding her face as she silently walked out of the room. Hinata glanced around tearfully, her mouth quivering as she turned and ran after her fellow kunoichi.
Tsunade took a deep breath, rubbing her eyes. "Someone get Shikamaru a towel or something." She said irritably. "We're going to be here for a while."
"We are?" Shikamaru said flatly, a sense of dread settling in his stomach.
"Yes." Tsunade said firmly, her eyes as hard as jewels. "We're going to have to come up with some strategies, so that if any of the worst-case scenarios occur, we will have a plan to counter them. I need your mind for a while longer, Nara."
The strategist sighed, staring at his feet as his comrades began filing out of the room quietly. He didn't look up until the door closed with a resounding boom. Kakashi and Tsunade looked back at him expectantly.
He sighed dramatically, walking over to a vacant chair and flopping down in it. "What a drag." A complained as he closed his eyes, crabbing his hands as his mind began to race.
A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky outside the window. All it managed to illuminate was the loneliness of the night sky when the moon was out of sight.
There were birds singing outside the window. Morning doves. Naruto squeezed his eyelids tighter, inhaling deeply as he drifted out of unconsciousness. As his senses slowly sharpened, he became aware of the warm sunlight on his skin and the gentle shift of the body beside him. His eyelids parting like silent doorways, Naruto's deeply blue eyes immediately settled on the form beside him.
Sasuke's breath came from his parted lips in a slow, peaceful rhythm. His dark hair was splayed on the pillow, pieces of his bangs falling in front of his face and dancing gently with every exhale. As he lay on his side facing Naruto, the winter sunlight whispered across his sharp cheekbones: his gentle jawline.
Naruto smiled, reaching over to carefully brush a few strands of hair away from Sasuke's porcelain face. He paused when Sasuke grumbled deep in his throat, his breath gushing out hotly.
"I'll kill you, idiot-blond." He mumbled.
Naruto laughed softly, not wanting to disturb the stillness of the moment with one of his obnoxious outbursts. "Good morning to you too, Sasuke." He whispered, his sleepy voice rich and low.
Sasuke only sighed in response, not opening his eyes as he grabbed Naruto's arm, tugging it around his waist. The blond grinned as he pulled Sasuke towards himself, sighing in contentment when their bodies met. Sasuke returned the embrace, letting his forearm rest heavily across Naruto's stomach.
Letting his hand wander down Sasuke's back, Naruto was satisfied by the ripple of muscle he felt beneath his palm. After a month of non-stop training, much of Sasuke's strength had been restored. And although that fact had its pros and cons, Naruto was ultimately relieved. Leaving Sasuke alone was much less frightening when he was capable of defending himself.
Sasuke let out a soft exhale of laughter, finally opening his eyes. "I hope you're not thinking anything weird, Naruto." He said gently, glancing in the direction of Naruto's wandering hand with a raised eyebrow.
"Who, me?" Naruto teased, "I would never dream of it."
Laughing with ease, Sasuke shifted so that he could look Naruto in the eyes. Caspian and obsidian met, merging intimately in the morning light. Naruto held his breath, staring up at Sasuke with red cheeks; staring into those secretive black eyes with as much amazement as a child looking upon the ocean for the very first time. Eventually, Sasuke smiled, his hair tickling Naruto's cheeks as he leaned down.
"Good morning." He whispered against Naruto's lips before placing a gentle kiss upon them.
The blond hummed appreciatively, placing his hand on the back of Sasuke's head. He ran his fingers through the soft strands as Sasuke placed his head on Naruto's shoulder. Silence prevailed for a time, their dome of warmth and peace permeated only by the birds happily singing outside the window.
Finally, Sasuke sighed, his muscles tensing slightly. "Today's your last day." He stated in a detached tone. "You have to go back to work tomorrow."
"Yeah," Naruto answered sadly, hugging Sasuke tighter. "What do you want to do today?"
Sunlight rippled over Sasuke's hair as he gently detached himself from Naruto's embrace and sat up, his joints cracking as he stretched. He sat still for a moment, looking down at the sheets. When he eventually looked back at his partner, his expression was cold.
"The same thing we do every day." He said indifferently. He glanced away, thick bangs covering his expression as he added, "Doing anything different to 'mark the occasion' would only upset me."
The mattress creaked slightly as Naruto sat up, reaching over to brush Sasuke's hair away from his neck. His fingers lingered over the mark on Sasuke's shoulder, tracing the chakra seal gently. "It won't be too much longer before your year of probation is over," Naruto said softly. "And then you can come with me. We could be together all the time, if you wanted, you know."
Sasuke hummed quietly in response, shrugging away Naruto's touch as he slid out of bed. The blond watched as he got dressed and walked over to the mirror, running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to tame it after a night of tossing and turning. The realization that they would once again be parted by Naruto's duties had resulted in unpleasant dreams that night - for both of them.
Naruto frowned, his eyes swimming with concern as he took in Sasuke's pale, tired face.
"Sasuke, I -" He began, but suddenly found that he didn't know what to say. He had so many things he wanted to say, needed to say, and yet the words eluded him.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, watching Naruto's shifting expression through the mirror. When the Sage didn't continue his sentence, Sasuke shrugged, picking up his red hair tie and securing a ponytail at the base of his neck.
"I'm going to meditate." He said before breezing out of the room, leaving it feeling empty and cold.
Naruto sighed, running his fingers through his hair and whispering, "I'm sorry, Sasuke."
"Feeling sentimental?" A booming, harsh voice suddenly asked.
Naruto glanced up quickly, his eyes widening in shock as the room began to waver, like the air above concrete on a hot summer day. Slowly, the bedroom faded away, replaced by a vast world of complete and total stillness. A muted darkness surrounded Naruto, stretching out endlessly. He was sitting in warm, undisturbed water, golden light occasionally flashing across the surface.
The Jinchuuriki sighed, wrapping his arms around himself tightly. He glanced down quickly, just to make sure that there wasn't actually a gaping hole in his chest. Just like the last time he had looked, there was nothing there. And yet, he felt as if the most vital parts of himself – his heart, his soul – had been brutally torn out. Naruto could almost feel the air passing through these vacated parts of himself, rattling around against his ribcage and making his stomach churn.
He growled; a low threatening sound that was not entirely human. "You couldn't let me stay in that memory for a while longer, could you, Kurama?"
A giant pair of fiery red eyes appeared in the darkness. Ripples formed in the water as the fox began moving forward, stepping into the ring of light that surrounded the blond. He returned the growl, baring his teeth as he stared down at Naruto.
"No." He replied harshly.
Naruto laughed in response, a humourless and ironic laugh that echoed with despair. Kurama watched as the blond crumpled in on himself even more, his usually proud shoulders hunched and guarded.
The fox sighed, lying down with his head on his paws so that Naruto could look him in the eye more easily. "Naruto, you have to pull yourself together." He said, as gently as he could. "I mean, you kind of lost it back there. Just look at this place! There's usually walls and light, at least, but your mindscape is a total void."
Naruto stared at his reflection in the water. His eyes seemed too bright against the deep, purple bruises of exhaustion beneath them. His hair was even wilder than usual, coated with dirt and blood and hopelessly tangled. Naruto shuddered to think what he looked like in real life.
"By the time you had enough of a mind to give me control of your body, you'd already destroyed a good portion of a mountain and gotten halfway across the continent, Naruto." Kurama continued, just as gently as before. "When are you going to get up and go back to the village? It's been a day already, Naruto."
The blond smiled, like he was enjoying a private joke. "Kurama, have you ever been in love?" He asked slowly, his voice flat.
The fox growled. "You're asking someone whose existence is based on rage if they've been in love?" He said, bemused. "Naruto, I can't even comprehend the fundamentals of a thing like 'love'."
"Yeah," Naruto agreed softly. "And that's why you have no idea what I'm going through right now. Just, give me a while longer. Please, Kurama."
Kurama examined him closely, remembering the day when Naruto had succumbed to a sudden and intense breakdown in the woods. The fox demon closed his eyes, sighing as he marveled at the complexity of human emotion.
"Fine," He said. "But I'm taking us back to Konoha. We should see if those idiots managed to get any leads on where they took that Uchiha brat."
Naruto nodded. He felt comfortable here somehow, hidden deep within the darkest parts of his mind. He suspected that people like Sasuke and Shikamaru didn't have places that were quiet and still in their minds; they had nowhere to go to hide from themselves. Sometimes, Naruto was glad to be so simple.
"Hey, Naruto." Kurama asked, lifting his head to look around. "It took me forever to find you. I don't even know what part of your mind we're in right now."
Naruto shrugged slightly, but otherwise remained motionless. The fox sighed in irritation.
"That damned Uchiha." He grumbled. "If he has the power to damage you this much, we're probably better off without him."
The fox regretted the words as soon as they rolled off his tongue. His fur stood up as the ground shook violently, the glowing light which surrounded Naruto becoming harsh and crackling like wildfire. Finally looking up, Naruto leveled the fox with eyes as sharp as daggers.
"Don't you ever, ever, say that again." The blond hissed.
Kurama huffed in response, a display of begrudging submissiveness. He returned Naruto's gaze steadily, however, waiting patiently for the Jinchuuriki to calm down. When Naruto finally looked away, the fox closed his eyes, focusing on where he was going in the real world.
Kurama raised Naruto's head, sniffing the air tentatively as he tried to determine their location. The blond had finally collapsed somewhere in a densely forested area, retreating so deeply into himself that he was practically comatose. Kurama looked down at Naruto's body, focusing his chakra on healing the major wounds. He took his time restoring Naruto's body, piecing the shattered bone in his right forearm back together carefully and patching up the fractures in both of his hands. Several of the muscles in his abdomen and back had also been severally damaged, and there was a large gash across Naruto's shin.
"I hope you appreciate this, Naruto." The fox grumbled, opening one eye to glare at the Naruto who was still curled up within the safety of his mind. "Don't ever go on a rampage like that again. I can't even imagine what you did to get these kinds of wounds while you were using my power."
When Naruto didn't respond, Kurama sighed irately. "Could you at least take a look outside for a second? This is your world, Naruto, you should know where we are."
Naruto glanced up, his eyes glazed. "It's your world too." He mumbled.
Kurama bared his teeth, but didn't bother arguing. Instead, he returned to the real world, looking through Naruto's eyes. He scanned the landscape carefully, noticing that it was warmer here than it was around Konoha. Noting the position of the sun, Kurama heaved a heavy sigh.
"You took us all the way to the southern border of the desert, idiot." He complained. "What the hell were you hoping to accomplish, coming all the way out here?"
When he got no response, Kurama growled in irritation, turning his focus towards Naruto's body. He stretched his limbs experimentally; grimacing as joints popped and stiff muscles were tugged. Everything seemed to be in working order, so he started forward, increasing in speed gradually. Finally, he started running, pouring his own chakra into Naruto's exhausted limbs to help keep him going.
The fox kept his attention on their path until they reached the edge of the desert. He sighed as Naruto's feet hit the sand, a plume of dust rising behind them.
"It will take us until the morning to reach the village, since your body is barely managing to stay in one piece, Naruto." Kurama said. "You better be ready to come out by then."
Naruto's chakra flickered meekly in response before disappearing completely. The blond had retreated so deeply within himself that even Kurama, who shared his body, could no longer sense him.
The fox shuddered, frightened by how utterly alone he felt. Naruto's mind fell further and further into darkness, empty and silent, as he hid from his pain. Kurama felt as if he was looking at the night sky, searching for a star that had long since burnt out.
Even stars can die. And by the time we realize, they could already be long gone: used up and burnt away to nothing, forever lost in the endless darkness of time.
Fear settled in Kurama's heart, cold and heavy, as he forced Naruto's exhausted body to move faster.
"Hang in there, Naruto." He thought determinedly, hoping that the Jinchuuriki could hear him. "Don't you dare burn out on me."
The aftermath. I know that this chapter isn't very exciting, but I decided to take the time to crush you with feelings.
Thank you all for your reviews on the last chapter. You're all lovely and amazing.