A/N: At LONG LONG last, I am able to update you guys! I'm sorry I got lost in the 3 months but yeah life is life. So, thank you for the long wait, for all those who have this on alert, I am very sorry and grateful. Again, I shall remind you guys, the idea for this fic had a dab of my younger self's imagination, so yeah some are made up. I had to remove other ideas though coz they were WAY too much. And wow, I really love reading action fics, but I never realized how hard they were to do like yeah seriously.
Whoo! So here you go! IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER: chapter is based on younger self's imagination, it IS raining (it's just really hard to focus on that), I terribly suck at action scenes, I feel so meh about this chapter so yeah. HAHA I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE!
NEXT CHAPTER MAY BE ON HIATUS YET AGAIN. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Chapter 8: Illusions
"Orochimaru...".
"Fufu... no need to say my name with too much hostility, Naruto-kun. After all, I only came here to chat".
Naruto didn't answer immediately. Instead, through the thunder's light, he saw Orochimaru's smug look, his carefree posture as well as the suspicious glint in his snake-like eyes. He was definitely planning something, only the blonde wasn't sure what. For now, the best tactic he would go with was to keep his defense up, while keeping Orochimaru entertained just as he seemed to want him to do. There was just something big that was bound to happen.
Orochimaru seemed to have taken the blonde's silence as plain defiance. The sage's smile tipped higher. "You don't believe me, then? I must say I'm deeply hurt. Can't you trust me just this one time?".
Now, Naruto refused to even answer.
"Of course you can't", Orochimaru said, as if he had been replied to. "After all, I guess it's not just rumors, now that I've seen it for myself. Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha's Jinchuuriki, ANBU Captain! What a privilege, isn't it?".
At the moment the last word escaped Orochimaru's mouth, a kunai whizzed past his face, letting blood ooze from a cut. Naruto's eyes were dangerously narrowed, only directed at Orochimaru. He wasn't mad, he was just annoyed, frustrated maybe, for he did not understand the point of whatever it is Orochimaru is doing. He just wanted the snake bastard lying on his own pool of blood so that he could simply finish this mission. What was there to delay?
As he watched Orochimaru calmly wipe the trickle of blood on his face, some sort of heat was bubbling in his chest. He really wanted to slay the man there and then, only...
Naruto inhaled deeply. Here he was again. Acting brash, acting like his old self. He slowly exhaled as if to signify letting his frustration off his chest. Maybe he had been influenced by his old deeds so much, he hadn't realized it had gone this far. How was he able to accomplish missions again? For sure it wasn't completely well done. After all, how can fury solve anything? In acting brash, one would be open to so many possibilities an enemy could do.
But... Orochimaru was proving to be real frustrating. He seemed to be the best person that could do that to him. What exactly was he trying to achieve with all the talking? One thing was for sure. How he reacted shouldn't be what Orochimaru would desire. He wouldn't let him have it.
Again he took deep breaths, then narrowed his eyes at the sage. "So what if I am? That just proves you probably know what I need to do with you".
"Aww, Naru-kun-"
"Don't you fucking call me that!".
"-why kill me when there's still a lot you want to ask, hmm?".
Naruto all but said anything else. He held his tongue, Orochimaru's words seeming to have opened something in him. At once, the words registered, impacting him more than it should've, his body tensing, eyes unnarrowing. He didn't really think about that kind of theory, but when Orochimaru put it that way... no. There was no time for falling into the bastard's tricks. "I don't know what you're talking about".
Orochimaru smiled wider. "Oh really? You're not thinking of the possibility I had something to do with those things you found in those trees? The same things where one of them made you think Sasuke-kun went to you?".
Naruto growled and threw three shurikens, only one of them managing to injure Orochimaru.
The snake sannin only laughed from a tree above, arms crossed, leaning into it carefreely. "Ah ah ah, Naruto-kun. You know better than to let your anger get ahead of you".
The blonde shook with frustration. It was because of that day that his feelings unraveled without intending to. Sasuke had never seemed to leave his mind as he speculated thoughts each and every day as to why the cloths were even in the perimeters of his house. Possibilities came in and out, becoming more and more ridiculous than ideas conjured before it. It wasn't a distraction, he doubted that it was even for that purpose, and yet, his weak-minded self allowed it to be. But really, how could he not when the day after that he... got kissed by Sasuke. Or so he thought anyway.
But if Orochimaru knew of the previous event before that, could that have meant that maybe it wasn't Sasuke?
"Yes. You're probably thinking about him again aren't you?" When the blonde'd eyes narrowed, Orochimaru gave a short chuckle. "Of course, when have you not? He may as well be your life line".
As if in a speed of light, a kunai was thrown right above the snake sannin's head, while another was just dropped to where he stood. As soon as the kunai impaled a tree, Naruto was already aiming a kick at Orochimaru. As expected, his foot was easily caught, but the blonde managed to twist from his grasp just as he reached for his pouch then disappeared. Not even a millisecond later, three shurikens had successfully impaled Orochimaru from behind.
A furious wind blew just as Naruto returned to where he previously stood. Rain started pouring heavily, mixing with the blood that flowed from Orochimaru's back, as well as his arms. But the snake sannin just seemed to frown at his injuries then return his attention to the blonde. Naruto's countenance remained to be seen as feral even with the darkness that was about to consume them, as well as the pouring rain that loomed above.
"You set up everything didn't you?" Naruto suddenly said quietly.
Orochimaru's face remained indifferent as he looked to be assessing the blonde. And then he smirked. "That's neither here nor there, Naruto-kun. So what if I did set everything up?". As the Leaf Shinobi's glare grew intensely, Orochimaru's face gave a very amused smile. Likened to a hushed tone, he said, "After all, do you really expect that Sasuke-kun would go out of his way to stalk around you, leave you a kiss, and go through all the trouble of messing with numerous memories?". Orochimaru's smile grew with every emotion that littered blue eyes until they stopped at making the ANBU Captain look as if he had been slapped. "Of course not".
The sound of rain splattering the grounds was all that Naruto seemed to hear. Even with hurt that gutted his chest, the anger he felt at himself for actually thinking the possibility, one question couldn't really leave his mind. "So you're actually saying that it wasn't a dream then?".
Well, simply put, Orochimaru didn't really expect that. But that didn't seem to hinder whatever plan he had to destroy the blonde's raging emotions. "No. No, it wasn't. But even if it was, the fact still applies, Naruto-kun. Under no circumstances would Sasuke-kun falling in love with you not be an impossibility".
At the word impossibility, Naruto charged. He blurred at Orochimaru's back, aiming a kick just as he stopped. Easily and expectedly, the snake sannin turned and caught his leg, causing the blonde to leap into the air, so as to free from Orochimaru's grasp. Just as he did,the sage raised his arm and a coil of snakes revealed themselves from under his sleeves. The speed of the reptiles surprised Naruto but not enough to stop him from using Kawarimi and have the snakes maul the log. He formed several seals that he was all too familiar with.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!".
As three dozen clones charged from Orochimaru's circle of space, the blonde formed another set of hand seals. "Bunshin no Jutsu!".
With all the clones merged together, usually, his opponents wouldn't easily figure out how they were going to go about their attack. One would think that the less solid clones had lower chakra level, meaning lower powered attacks, so it would be easy to manipulate the amount of power one would use to destroy the bunshin.
But those were all on normal basis.
Naruto was obviously not the epitome of normal.
Every jutsu he knew could be done by each clones, whether low or high chakra. But see, that was the thing; even Naruto's plain old bunshins had enough reserve, exactly as large as the kage bunshins.
So simply speaking, if both kage bunshins and bunshins had similar chakra capabilities, how were his opponents able to know which ones would dispel quicker? Worst case scenario, they use a high powered attack on a normal clone or use a low powered attack on a solid clone.
The main trick in the whole thing though was its ability to figure out the opponent's true capability. A strong enemy could easily weave through his clones and figure out which was which. There wouldn't really be any chance for them to fake it, or else the jutsus they'd purposely evade would end up crusing them.
Simple plan, fruitful results.
Without even doing this kind of technique, Naruto probably already knew just what Orochimaru could do. And sure enough, the sannin seemed to be maneuvering his way so easily, placing the right attacks on each clone which sent them dispersing soon enough.
"You should really stop with the games, Naruto-kun. Or, dare I say, this is all that you could do thanks to your precious Sasuke Uchiha".
"It's you who need to stop with your games, Orochimaru. I'm done listening to you. Sennin Modo!". It was true. Naruto had enough with the snake. He would aquire his answers in a least frustrating way someday. For now, killing the guy required more importance. At that, he felt energy coarsing through him, and he knew for a fact there was a reddish-orange pigmentation in his eyelids, as well as his eyes turning red with a black cross-like thing, caused by Kurama's chakra.
"Hey fox. Not just yet alright. I'll be saving you for the finale", Naruto mentally said with a smirk.
"Whatever you say, kit".
Kyuubi's massive power immediately fled Naruto but he knew well enough that that didn't matter. He formed a bunch of seals and soon, he was backed by 2 clones.
"Go!", he told them. As they left with a battle scream, Naruto blurred elsewhere, but made it a point to let Orochimaru notice.
He watched for a while as Orochimaru dodged and attacked his clones with at least a bit more effort. Even with two clones, just as long as they were in Sage Mode, was really more than enough. Naruto waited for a while as his clones developed a pattern only he would be able to understand. He noticed though when something went off and one of his clones stumbled as Orochimaru just seemed to poke an index and pointer finger at his shoulder. The cloth rip and blood came out. The clone's eyes glazed and just stood there for a while, but he soon returned to fighting.
Soon enough, when his other clone was the one already dealing with Orochimaru, he kawarimied with the other one that had been behind the sannin's back.
Just as soon as his vision changed, he eyed the other clone and they both summoned chakra into their hands.
"Senpo: Odama Rasengan!".
He saw as Orochimaru's eyes went wide as the large spiraling sphere came crashing down upon him. For a while, Naruto couldn't clearly see anything but rubble and dust. As the viscious rain quickly extinguished it though, his clone returned to him while shedding his Sage Mode. It had taken years for him to have managed to summon the Big Ball Rasengan in only a matter of a second. It was a hell lot of tiring and painful, but now, at least, he knew his efforts paid off.
"Is that really all you could do, Naruto-kun?".
Naruto froze in surprise. That was until he managed to catch sight of Orochimaru and felt smug. "No. But it seems, you took a lot of damage with that, huh, bastard? You look like shit".
In fact, shit was pretty much the perfect word the blonde could have used. The sannin's usual clothing was torn almost everywhere. Not only was he now doused in rain, but blood was dripping from his limbs, as well as his face.
Orochimaru made a face. "Oh. You really think you stand a chance at winning against me? I'm not like Sasuke-kun, you know. Or... how you think he was anyway...".
Naruto wasn't sure if he was lying, but those words triggered something in him that caused all his confidence to have died down. Could it have really been possible that it was also Orochimaru henged into Sasuke when he found him in the forests?
Orochimaru laughed. "So... vulnerable, you look, Naruto-kun. By the way, I do believe you haven't been paying close attention to our fight. Where did your other clone go, hm?".
"What are you-". His eyes darted to the trees where he kawarimied with his other clone. It seemed to be leaning its weight against a tree and was eyeing him as if trying to send a message, but he was too far so the blonde couldn't quite get an understanding. Also, Orochimaru was right. How come he hasn't vanished yet? Maybe he'd understand what he was saying if he summoned it to him. He soon did so... and immediately regretted it. A burst of hot pain wrapped his insides, causing him to double over and his vision to blur.
"See how clouded your mind becomes because of him? I gave to you my plan in a silver platter and yet... you fell for it. Such... undignified weakness for an Konoha's ANBU Captain, isn't it? Fufufufu... it's a little substance I, ah... clawed into him...".
He growled at Orochimaru. Now he understood what happened. Too late for that though. "Hey fox. Purge the poison. Quick!"
"Working on it, kit. I can't believe you didn't sense it though, that clone was-"
"Yeah yeah. I know"
Naruto gritted his teeth, glaring at the sannin, forcing himself to get up. With fluid and quick movement, Naruto sent Hirashin kunais all around Orochimaru. His head was aching pretty bad but it was the cool downpour of rain Naruto was glad for. In a blur, he was by Orochimaru's back, aiming a kick. Orochimaru's sudden turn made him blur to his other side as he threw a kunai with an exploding tag. The sannin had barely enough time to register his sudden movement as the explosion only managed to catch him by the foot.
In this case, his tail.
'Yuck. His Slithering Snake Mode", Naruto thought, still gritting his teeth as a thunderclap caused his head to ring. He hated it when Orochimaru did that. It was not only disgusting, but it made the guy pretty quick. His thoughts were soon proven when suddenly amused topaz eyes were in front of him.
"Futon: Daitoppa!", came Orochimaru's low hiss.
Naruto was suddenly overcome by a large gust of wind and it took all of his willpower to not end up on his back once the jutsu finished. He was panting by the time he was a few meters from Orochimaru, having had collided with several trees. He stood up, only to stumble after. Tears formed at his eyes as unimaginable pain wrapped his head.
"Fufufufu... it's Sasuke doing this to you, Naruto-kun. Admit it. Why do you really want to kill me? Isn't this for him? Tell me, when was the last time you did something for yourself?".
Naruto flinched. Yes, he was going to admit it to himself, that this was for Sasuke. He didn't want the raven to be burdened anymore by having to kill such a pathetic guy like Orochimaru. That didn't really mean though that all he ever did was always for Sasuke. But if so, why did he find it difficult to answer the sannin's last question?
Just then, Naruto felt something whizz past his cheek, and some liquid fell below it, but he definitely knew that it wasn't rain. His eyes focused, only to realize that Orochimaru was in front of him, staring above him. When did he get there? But he hadn't enough time to think about that when a foot was roughly placed on his chest.
"Agh! Get off me, bastard!". Naruto was about to form seals or will his mind towards the Hirashin kunais he left at the previous clearing when from Orochimaru's mouth, another body of him came out. It stretched a hand towards him, until suddenly, it grabbed at his drenched hair and gave it a rough pull. Tears brimmed at the blonde's eyes in pain. What's worse, he couldn't even concentrate on the Hirashin kunais anymore. He tried to raise his head to see what Orochimaru was going to come up with next when, from his right arm, a single snake with odd milky white orbs staring intently at him. Naruto had no time to figure out what that was about to do when the Orochimaru from the mouth squeezed his hair even worse. The blonde can't help thinking that this was all the poison's doing.
"Kyuu, hey buddy. If you can notice I'm in a pretty much fucking suckish position, so WHAT ABOUT THAT PURGING HUH?".
"Brat... something's wrong. You shouldn't have done that. This is isn't poison".
"Done what? Wait, what did you-". But whatever thoughts he was about to send to the fox was cut short when Orochimaru swallowed back his snake self (gross) and crouched down towards Naruto. He eyed the sannin warily, and realized this was now his chance of escape even with the pain in his head only slightly subsiding. That was until, with his snakeless hand, Orochimaru pulled at his head again.
"Fuck, dammit!".
"Fufufufu... pretty pathetic for an Anbu Captain, I must say, Naru-kun...".
The pain in his head made Naruto wish he could pass out. But Orochimaru was right. He was pretty pathetic. "Kyuu, I need a bit of your chakra!".
"It won't work, kit", Kyuubi suddenly said frustratingly, "This isn't just normal poison. Whatever you do, don't listen to him. Remember what you know! Not what he tells you! You're-".
"Silence!", Orochimaru suddenly hissed and Kyuubi's voice was out of his head.
Naruto's eyes went wide as he stared into golden eyes. "What the fuck did you do?!".
Orochimaru only smiled as, from his arm, the snake vanished. "I didn't do anything, Naru-kun. All I needed you to do was look at my precious pet and the poison is activated... my substitute genjutsu works. You should be honored you get to... taste it first hand".
The blonde suddenly remembered what Kyuubi said. You shouldn't have done that. Without thinking, pain blinding him, he had focused his attention into those milky white orbs. And when the fox said it wasn't normal poison... "What do you mean substitute genjutsu?", Naruto said darkly at Orochimaru.
"It's a new substance I came up with, Naruto-kun. Ever since Sasuke had me taste Tsukuyomi... well... let's say I was filled with a burst of inspiration, hm?". He laughed. "Why don't I just give you a demonstration, since you seem so curious".
No. Naruto definitely didn't want a demonstration. He knew what Tsukuyomi does. He knew all about that technique of the Sharingan well enough. But his mouth couldn't will itself to scream at Orochimaru as all he felt was sudden relief when the sannin's hand left his head, and the foot his stoamach. Suddenly, he was feeling energized, as if he hadn't been fighting Orochimaru all along. He tried to stand up and realized how easy it felt. Gone were the effects of the poison.
Poison.
Substitute genjutsu.
Orochimaru.
Naruto stumbled. It was then when he looked at his surroundings that he realized something. Orochimaru was nowhere to be found. He was only surrounded by darkness.
"Orochimaru! Where the fuck are you, you coward!", the blonde screamed, the echo of his voice the only one answering him.
Suddenly, right in front of him was the sannin himself. With quick reflexes, he managed to land a punch at the pale face... only to have his hand ghost through. Naruto gasped in surprise and retreated his hand. Orochimaru soon vanished and reappeared by his left. He managed to jump away and put distance between them. Nothing in his mind gave him a plan to defeat someone he couldn't touch. As Orochimaru started walking towards him, all he could do was keep that distance and move back.
"Fufufu... this is my dimension now, Naru-kun. You will not escape me. I developed my own Tsukuyomi". Orochimaru's voice echoed in Naruto's head, as if it were the only thing he could hear now. "I know what hurts you the most, Naru-kun. I know very well just how to handle you in my world".
With a sudden smile, Orochimaru was suddenly at his face. Naruto screamed and stumbled back but was suddenly met by something solid behind him. An arm suddenly wrapped around his neck. His first instinct was to elbow the person behind him, until he realized something. The arm wasn't going to strangle him; it was more of a defensive action. He'd know the kind of height and presence of the person behind him anywhere.
Kami... no.
"I'm not going to let you hurt him, Orochimaru".
Naruto stiffened at the voice. He hated it when he was right sometimes. The other hand that wasn't on him suddenly raised beside him and with it, a sword that glowed with lighting chakra. As quick it appeared, it vanished... only to be found going through Orochimaru's shoulder.
The sannin hissed. "You think this will hurt me? Hah. Don't make me laugh!". Suddenly, he vanished.
Naruto's senses went alert. What the hell was Orochimaru playing at? His eyes flitted everywhere in search of the sannin. There was just no way he'd disappear like that for no reasn. The bastard was up to something again. The fact that he was in his world did not exactly reassure him.
"Naruto".
The blonde flinched. Shit. He forgot. He quickly turned on his heel to give a certain someone some reprimand when suddenly, he felt his knees buckle, his head spinning. Before he could fully fall, a pale arm caught him, then out of nowhere, he was being carried bridal style.
"What the fuck?! Sasuke, let go of me!".
But the raven wasn't listening to him as he went... well, somewhere else in the dark. Sasuke set him down and he realized he was trembling quite badly.
The raven looked at him in the eye so intensely, Naruto couldn't help but look away. Suddenly, Sasuke was pushing the bangs from his eyes. "You're hurt, dobe. He hurt you".
Naruto couldn't help but think that something was wrong with Sasuke's voice, as well as his words, and yet, he still found himself nodding. "I couldn't even get a scratch on the guy". Why did his voice sound so faraway?
Remember... you know...
Naruto's head spun and he found himself clenching on Sasuke's shirt. "Kyuu...".
"Hey... are you okay?", the raven said with so much concern laced in his voice.
But something clicked in Naruto's mind. "Sasuke? What are you doing here?".
The raven furrowed his brows. "I was called to find you".
...what you know!
He let go of Sasuke and forced himself to stand, getting away from the raven. "I told Tsunade not to tell you!", he raised an accusing finger, "You're not Sasuke. You couldn't even be here unless you looked at that bastard's snake!".
Sasuke stood up, looking at him as if he had just been slapped. "Naruto... I'm sorry alright? I couldn't stand it when you were gone and... and I had to ask someone. And you know I have enough knowledge on genjutsu. Naruto, please. Come here. You're badly hurt". Sasuke brought out a hand.
Naruto's disbelief wavered. Sasuke was right. He knew about genjutsu. And he was feeling nauseated. It was as if he only had to hold on to Sasuke and he'd feel alright. In his arms, he had felt safe. He knew himself how injured he really was. Blood trickled from his forehead, his clothes were torn and shredded, cuts and bruises were littered all over his body. Orochimaru had gotten him good.
"Kit, you delusional ass! Get a hold of yourself!".
Naruto felt his head pound. He knew that that was the last he was going to hear of his fox. But that had been enough. A smile touched his lips as he stood upright, ignoring the pain in his leg.
Don't listen to him.
Remember what you know!
At that, the blonde was laughing. He looked up at Sasuke who was giving him a confused look. "I didn't tell anybody else, you bastard. And really?", he was screaming at the darkness above him now, "Sasuke Uchiha? Not being able to stand that I was gone? I made him promise, you snake! And yeah, so he fucking knows genjutsu! But this isn't normal genjutsu, is it?". He laughed humorlessly, returning his attention to Sasuke, then proceeded to twist his head from side to side and give his shoulder a rotation. It didn't hurt. He told himself it didn't hurt. "What's more... I'm not injured. You are... Orochimaru".
Sasuke's face crumpled in anger. "It's that stupid fox, isn't it?". This time it wasn't Sasuke's voice anymore. It was Orochimaru's blatant hiss. "Whatever. I could just kill you right here, Uzumaki!".
Orochimaru was then at his face, throwing a punch which Naruto quickly dodged. "This is an illusion, bastard. You can't kill me". He elbowed 'Sasuke's' abdomen, sending him to fall forward then proceeded to sending a heel at his back. He noticed blood seeping out. Right where he got Orochimaru a while ago in their real fight..
"Fufufu... I'm afraid I did design this, Naru-kun", the sannin said, standing up as he spat out blood. "And I did tell you... Tsukuyomi was my inspiration".
By then, Naruto was poising a kunai at his neck. "Just shut up already, snake. I'm here to kill".
Just as he was about to plunge the weapon in, Sasuke turned to him with a child-like confusion. "You... love me, Naruto?".
The blonde gasped, and suddenly, a foot gutted him, sending him flying elsewhere.
Orochimaru's laugh echoed in the darkness. "You may have advantage with skill, Naruto-kun. But, remember... you are still in my world. I can control your every thought here. It just helps to know what exactly hurts you the most. For example...".
Naruto's eyes went wide as something thick and hot rose from his throat. Before he knew it, he was spitting large amounts of blood. His body suddenly felt heavy and every limb in his body shook. I am not hurt. I am not hurt. He tried to keep telling himself that, but as he continued to cough out blood while trying to fight unconsciousness, he wasn't sure how to believe on that anymore.
"Do you know why you're in this situation, Naruto-kun?", Orochimaru's voice boomed in the darkness. "It's because of him".
Just then, Naruto was blinded by white starting to erase the darkness. As his vision cleared, he froze. Images were met by his eyes. He caught one where Team 7 had fought with Zabuza and Haku, how he had been glaring ferally with Sasuke on his lap. Another was when he watched as Sasuke leave Konoha's gates, while he ran and tired himself for such a hopeless effort. He saw those days he had trained visciously, rose up into ranks among the Anbus, done quite deadly missions. He saw those days he was battered and injured, to the point of death, if not for Kyuubi's chakra willing his heartbeat to go on. And for what?
To continue his suicidal days for one Sasuke Uchiha.
"Stop it!", Naruto tried to scream, instead coming out as a croak. This wasn't his thoughts... this wasn't his thoughts...
The images remained, but this time, shifting to more recent ones. He saw the time Sakura bursted into the Hokage's office, bringing to them the message of Sasuke's return.
"A bit uneventful don't you think, Naru-kun?", Orochimaru's voice echoed once again in his head. "After all you've been through for him, he just comes back all of a sudden? Isn't that unfair? What's more... did he even know of your efforts? For all he knows, he couldn've come back with you... dead and wouldn't even give a care in the world".
"Shut up, you ass!", the blonde tried to scream once again, his hands clenching until they were pale. "He doesn't even know... he doesn't need to know...", he said in a a small voice.
"Ah... but he does know, Naru-kun...".
"What do you mean he knows? I never-".
But he was immediately silenced as he saw an image of Sakura and Sasuke. They were in the doorway of the girl's house seeming to be talking. It was probably around the time he had left them during the party, Naruto thought.
"You probably don't know this but...", Sakura started in a proud voice and was soon relaying to the raven what the blonde had been doing all the time that he was gone. But Naruto wasn't paying attention to Sakura. It was Sasuke's face he stared at. Unreadable, but at the same time so...
Uncaring. Like he didn't care about his efforts.
"Fufufu... do you understand now, Naru-kun? You're straining yourself with someone who doesn't give a care in the world about you... Admit it. Sasuke Uchiha is nothing but a burden".
Burden.
That word rang loudly against the blonde's ears. Could Sasuke really be a burden to him? A burden he placed upon himself? All this time, he knew that that was the fact he had been trying to push away for so long. He had always felt a weight on his whole being ever since he had started an interaction with the Uchiha.
When he had become his rival and classmate, he was burdened with knowing how less his ability was.
When he had been his teammate, he was burdened to become stronger, to take in all of the raven's anger and hurt.
When he had left, he was burdened to continue chasing after him.
And now that he was back, he was burdened with how he truly felt about him.
Maybe Orochimaru was right. Sasuke was nothing but a burden. Why did he have to place all his efforts in a guy that didn't seem to have the ability to care about anything? Sasuke Uchiha won't give any fuck in the world for something he didn't do. All his life it had always been that guy, overshadowing him from the very start. Well he's had it. Sasuke Uchiha be damned.
"Kit... stop... think... him... reasons... needs... you... LOVE!".
Naruto stopped in his thoughts, then repeated those words. He smiled. Damn fox was finally getting the poison out. He finally stood up, glaring at the images still in front of him. From his hand, he gathered enough chakra, an idea forming in his mind.
"Futon: Rasenshuriken!", he screamed and threw it at what was in front of him. He really didn't expect it to work, seeing as Orochimaru had kept telling him how they were in his world, but was surprised anyway when a crack appeared. Little by little, it grew and stretched further until all white broke and shattered into a million pieces. Darkness consumed him once again, but this time, he wasn't alone. Orochimaru's bloody self, disguised as Sasuke, stood farther across him, his face crumpled in anger.
"What did you do?!", he bellowed frustratingly.
Naruto didn't choose to answer. Aside from the fact he also wasn't sure what he did, he was studying the Sasuke in front of him. Kyuubi was right. Those hadn't been his thoughts a while ago. It was Orochimaru making him think those kind of things. But some part of him wondered if those thoughts had been right anyways. Then again, he already knew the answer. They could... if he let himself think that way.
There had been one thought that was completely true though. He placed that burden upon himself. The choice was completely there in front of him: to let Sasuke Uchiha enter his life so much or not. Obviously, it was the former he chose. Did that mean though that he regretted it? Of course not. All those times Sasuke had been with him, he did not want to think that those times accumulated the "burden" he was becoming, instead, it was because of the fact that they themselves needed each other's strength to rely on, no matter how unclear that intention had been.
They were both each other's burden they accepted and carried.
He smiled when he remembered how Kyuubi said the word love like he was so disgusted. That was another thing. It was because of the relationship he had come to love with Sasuke that caused his feelings for him to have sprouted in the first place. But maybe, it was too much of that love he was stilll scared about.
"Naruto-kun... I really don't appreciate you controlling something here... but I'd like to thank you anyways for letting me know of the improvement I have to do...".
Though Orochimaru was still disguised as Sasuke, it did help that he was using his snake-like voice and dressed all over with blood -something Sasuke will never look like. Naruto shunshined at Orochimaru's back, tossing a kunai with an exploding tag.
"Improvement my ass. Let's see if you live long. Die in your own experiment, Orochimaru!".
Orochimaru dodged the explosion, but his leg wasn't quite so lucky. He sat up on his elbows, hissing. "Let's see how you handle this!".
Naruto prepared himself for some snakes to reappear from Orochimaru's sleeve when he raised his arm, but nothing came. He was about to ready his own attack, when a piercing pain shot through his abdomen. His hand quickly went to it, and felt his own blood, but there was no weapon that caused it. The blonde stumbled back, coughing blood into his other hand. This is an illusion, he told himself.
Naruto launched himself towards Orochimaru, who was now fully recovered, and there began there Taijutsu battle with the help of a few weapons and explosive tags. If the sannin wasn't able to control his state, the blonde was sure he would be on the upper hand. His blows struck hard on wherever he remembered Orochimaru was heavily injured, his weapons usually grazing every skin. He refused to look into the face that wasn't his, but when he did, most of those times, Orochimaru did something with his body. His head felt deeply broken, his right eye was dripping blood, his left wrist was broken, the deep wound in his stomach kept sending sharp pains, his sprained ankle caused him to slow down from limping, and so much more. Then and again, he was really trying to tell himself that none of what was happening to him was true, but when he made a move on his limb, he wasn't sure anymore what kind of pain Orochimaru was trying to deal on him: the physical ones or the fact that he was still conscious to feel them. Naruto wanted nothing more than to get out of this substitute genjutsu. He had enough with being told he was fighting Sasuke.
"I've had... enough of this... Orochimaru", Naruto panted, standing on top of a heavily injured sannin. He summoned two clones with his remaning strength, trying not to cringe at how he actually looked, as they pinned Orochimaru for him.
Orochimaru struggled against the clones, but it was obviously useless. Naruto didn't really want to think he was staring into a battered, bloody and broken form of Sasuke Uchiha and that it was him that caused it. He bent down on one knee at his side, poising a kunai at his pale throat.
"Any last words, bastard?", he croaked out.
The sannin smiled. "Come closer, Naruto-kun...", he said, though it sounded as if his lungs had been punctured, air the only thing escaping his lips.
"I have a kunai at your throat... you might not want to try anything, you snake...". Eventually, he leaned closer, his ear at the side of the sannin's head.
"...how can I love you, you stupid dobe...".
Naruto froze and time seemed to stop. His grip on the kunai loosened as he felt a heavy punch sent at his abdomen, sending him flying. But he did not register the pain, could not register anything that was happening. He knew he was lying on his back, trembling, as Orochimaru stood above him, their positions now switched. But he couldn't care less even as a foot pressed on to his broken limbs.
Those words... spoken so clearly with Sasuke's voice, as if it had been so real. Those were the biggest possibility he knew he would give him as a reply. It was so Sasuke. How could it be that he imagined him saying that he loved him back? The idea was simply preposterous. The thought of Sasuke Uchiha ever telling him that he returned his feelings was simply something that will remain in his dreams.
"Kit! The poison's leaving! Concentrate on the real world! Now!"
The blonde's eyes widened. His vision cleared as he saw a bunch of snakes from Orochimaru's sleeves, aiming at him. Those snakes did not look non-venomous. Just as they were about to launch at him, he rolled to his side. He only seemed to realize now how aching and sore his muscles were as he jumped and dodged away from Orochimaru.
"What happened, Naruto-kun? Found another reason your Sasuke-kun would still love you?", the sannin said mischievously, still aiming attacks and his snakes towards him.
Naruto flinched. Now wasn't the time to think about that though. Was it possible Orochimaru didn't know Kyuubi was about to let him escape? Well, the better anyways. Concentrate, his fox said. As he continued to dodge Orochimaru, he did just that. What was there again? Right. It was raining. Thunderclaps were up above. It was dark but not too dark. They were in a forest, in a clearing. The clearing where he left his Hirashin kunais.
Suddenly, the darkness consuming them was blurring. Cold liquid dropped on Naruto's face and he knew it was neither sweat nor blood. He smiled when Orochimaru stopped in his tracks, narrowing his eyes at their surroundings. He took a step back and felt something soft and wet brush his ankles. More raindrops drenched him, seeming to already cool away all his injuries that were never really there.
"What did you do?!", Orochimaru screamed.
Naruto smiled. "Welcome... to my world".
At that, it was as if a spell broke and the darkness started having holes, revealing raindrops and trees. His injuries closed up, but immediately, Naruto knew something was wrong. Orochimaru was still smiling manically as he hobbled weakly towards him. The blonde managed a step back, only to feel a sudden dazed kind of pain in his head. The ache in his muscles weren't leaving him. He felt numb except for the tremble he felt. Suddenly, it was as if he couldn't stand standing anymore and fell on his back. Orochimaru was still approaching him but all he could do was crawl backwards. His joints felt too stiff though, and there was only so little he could do.
"It's the after effect of the poison, Naruto-kun. Do you really think I wouldn't have thought that that stupid fox won't help you?". He laughed. "This is where you die, Naru-kun".
Naruto tried to stand up but all that happened was his head spinning. His legs shook uncontrollably and he knew he was bound to fall yet again. This time though, what he didn't expect was something cold and slick to catch him.
Two of Orochimaru's snakes.
The blonde fought the urge to yelp as they slithered around his body and parted at his chest, continuing their way with entangling each his arms, their heads stopping to level at his neck. He could hear -feel- their tongues at his ears. But what really registered was how they suddenly tightened at every part they had him entagled. Every part of him that ached and throbbed.
"Fuck!", he screamed, blinking tears from his eyes.
"Fufufufu... I would very much love to destroy you right now, Naru-kun... but I'm afraid our guest is just about to arrive".
Naruto eyed Orochimaru, ignoring the snakes that continued to tighten. "Who the fuck are you talking about, you bastard!".
The sannin took a step towards him, smiling as he placed a bloody finger at his cheek. "Who else but your beloved, of course".
The blonde spat directly at his eye. "Bullshit".
Orochimaru just smiled though, not minding to wipe it away as the rain already did that for him. "First of all, you need to stop disrespecting me, Naru-kun. After all, I do have your life in my hands". He eyed the snakes and they tightened intensely around him, causing the blonde to howl in pain. Once they stopped, Naruto panted havily, his head falling limply as his drenched bangs covered his face. "Fufu... second, I don't believe I am lying. I may have dropped a friend of mine to inform him. It's not good keeping a secret to yourself, isn't it?".
Naruto glared weakly at him. "You... wouldn't...", he panted, the coiling snakes not ceasing their movements. "Tsunade wouldn't have...".
"Hmm? Why not? You and your beast are better at sensing, Naru-kun. You tell me. And besides, at least you get a last look at your unrequited love before your death. Fufufu...".
Orochimaru was right. Without even using much of Kurama's abilities, he could already sense a large amount of chakra headed their way. Sasuke, that bastard...
"Let's make him run faster, shall we, Naru-kun? My pets and I are getting kind of tired of just holding you...".
Sasuke gritted his teeth as soon as he felt two chakras within range -one terribly weaker than the other. It didn't help that he couldn't pinpoint whose was whose. He forced his legs to pump even faster, no matter the slick terrain he was jumping on due to the downpour of rain. He was getting very close, he knew it.
Suddenly, with the mix of a thunderclap, he heard a horrible scream.
Naruto.
A shiver ran down the raven's spine, his hands clenching at his sides. His Mangekyou Sharingans spun rapidly as he bypassed numerous amounts of destroyed trees. Within a few seconds, he entered a clearing.
Sasuke's heart almost stopped as he caught the shock of blonde he was looking for. It was hanging limply against a heavily bleeding chest. The arms by its sides were held by two snakes, whose teeth seemed to also glisten with blood. Pooling at the body's feet were nothing but blood. He knew those snakes anywhere.
Just as he thought of it, Orochimaru turned to him with a smile. The snakes coiled around Naruto returned to him as the sannin took the blonde by the neck then, without warning, threw him at the raven.
Sasuke quickly jumped and took the blonde in his arms. He held him gently as he placed him beneath a tree then knelt beside him and started inspecting him. Sasuke started to wish he didn't though. The places the snakes had been left a red mark around Naruto's arms and his torso. Two holes -obviously a snake bite- were found at either side of his neck. What's worse was the hole-like wound in his shoulder that no other than Orochimaru could've caused. When Sasuke pushed away his bangs, he couldn't help but feel the incoming burn in his forehead.
A dry cough startled him. "Oh fuck...".
Sasuke couldn't help but smile, as pained as it may seem. "Naruto...", he tried to say, but his heart clenched when blood leaked out from the blonde's mouth.
"Sasuke...?", as if he realized just now he had been there. Then suddenly, he was sending a punch at his face. Sasuke did not expect that to hurt. He already felt a bruise blooming on his jaw. Just as he was about to ask Naruto on that, the blonde said through clenched teeth, "What the fuck are you doing here, teme?! You aren't suppose to be here!".
The raven's jaw tightened. "You'd be dead if I wasn't here".
Naruto flinched. "Fine. Nevermind that. Look", he forced himself to sit up, wincing at every movement, "Orochimaru is over there", he panted, "I'll be fine alright. If you want an ass-kicking from me for being here, we can do that later! For now, it's him you have to deal with, understand?".
"But-".
"No buts, Uchiha. I'm the ANBU Captain around here. I will kick your ass later".
The blonde smiled at him but Sasuke knew that it was both pained and forced. It broke his heart to know that, especially since Naruto was also trying his best to keep the mood light even if he was suppose to be crying out in pain at even talking in the first place. His jaw tightened. And that made him want to give the snake bastard a whole new level of pain now.
He stood up and turned to Naruto. "I'll end this quickly".
"You do that, teme", he said, though now quite dazedly, red chakra starting to envelop him.
Before Sasuke turned his attention to Orochimaru, he wasn't quite sure but he may have saw the blonde murmur an I'm sorry but he didn't understand why he would be sorry about anything, so he shoved that out.
He finally faced Orochimaru with a dangerous smile. "I was going to make this a whole lot easier, you asshole, especially since you look almost dead to me. But... you made a mistake hurting him that way. I'm going to give you hell, bastard!".
Mangekyou Sharingans flared.
Confused with anything? Orochimaru didn't explain much on what happened with previous chaps? PM me :) Coz yeah even I'm confused. So anyways... Again, this fic may experience a long hiatus. I apologize.