The next morning when Sasuke roused him the first thing Naruto set eyes on was the thick growth of moss and... mushrooms on the wooden floor where Sasuke had lain last night. Sasuke was currently busy rolling up the heavy scroll he had been reading. Naruto frowned; he couldn't have had much sleep if he'd woken in time to fetch the ceremony scroll from the other cabin. It worried him a little but he judged it best not to comment, he would make sure Sasuke slept tonight, it would be their last night in Evergreen Forest before they returned to the city.

He looked back at the strangely familiar mushrooms which now hid the scorchmarks that had patterned the floor. With a groan and a badly stifled yawn Naruto crawled out of bed and went to examine the fungi.

"Are they... shrooms?"

Sasuke shrugged, "Well I did discharge a lot of magick into the floorboards," he said nonchalantly.

Naruto plucked one of the shrooms and twirled it between finger and thumb. "You grew magic mushrooms!" he said with a snort of laughter. "Neji's going to love this!"

"How do you even know what shrooms look like?"

Naruto gave him a secretive look accompanied by a cheeky grin, "I know."

-0-

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Go and change into your kimono... and jeans," he added as an afterthought, they were supposed to wear only kimonos and underthings but it was too cold for that.

Five minutes later they left the cabins together. The morning air was cold and crisp and the muted light of predawn failed to penetrate the depths Evergreen Forest. Naruto was wearing his new kimono over a pair of jeans and had traded his geta for trainers but he still shivered without the warmth of his haori. Clumps of snow littered the ground where the forest canopy was thinnest but everything else was covered in a layer of slippery frost and icicles adorned any fallen branches. Following the treacherous path upwards Sasuke soon lost sight of the buildings in the dense forest even with his advanced sight. They climbed higher but dispite the exhertion, Sasuke was shivering uncontrollably.

"This is probably another reason why it isn't traditional to hold binding ceremonies at the winter solstice," he muttered distractedly.

Then as Sasuke stepped around a large tree stump he slipped on an icy patch. Struggling to keep his balance on the steep slope he fell to one knee wincing as he landed on a sharp rock. Naruto was at his side in an instant, pulling him to his feet. At this point Sasuke decided that he had had enough of darkness for one night and so he strayed from their route.

Naruto hurried after him, not wishing to be seperated. "'Another reason'?" he queried.

"Well it's supposed to be bad luck to become bonded at such a dark time," replied Sasuke in a dismissive tone.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow but Sasuke simply shrugged; he didn't really believe in luck and superstition, if it had been a matter of magick like the Demon's Hour he might have given the matter more thought. But in no text that Sasuke had ever read was it written that there was any kind of magickal 'curse' over those who chose to be bonded at the darkest time of the year. Besides it wasn't as though the ceremony was preformed during the night, the sun's arrival after such a long night was a powerful good omen. Sasuke didn't know what it was but something had changed tonight. He had woken from the most vivid apparitions he had ever experienced during Demon's Hour with a certainty in his mind about what he must do. It had been quite a revelation that he had managed to rid himself of the overpowering demonic energies but Sasuke knew what had given him the strength to do it.

Finding a suitable tree Sasuke drew his sword, its deadly blade seemingly finding light in the darkness with which to glint. He raised it above his head and brought it down quickly slicing two branches from the thick trunk of a fir tree. He caught them up and threw one to Naruto.

"We'd have to do this at some point anyway," he said lightly; the Hyuuga's ceremony called for two witchfire beacons to be lit.

Naruto nodded and swung his branch through the air as though striking a huge match. Witchfire was immediatly kindled, pure white flames giving off a bright flickering light. Sasuke sheathed his sword and took a deep breath before copying the motion. Nothing happened. Sasuke felt a flicker of annoyance. He tried again. Still no bright white flames.

"Something wrong?"

"No!" snapped Sasuke, indignation making his voice harsh.

"You did say it was difficult to do magick tonight," said Naruto softly.

"It's not night time anymore!"

"Well you did use a lot of magick last night..."

Sasuke swung the branch furiously again, concentrating with all his might on getting his magick to flow. He could feel the magick flowing through his veins, it was much less than normal but witchfire took very little energy. Magick wasn't the problem he just couldn't mold it correctly. He swung in faster and with more force but nothing was happening and the harder he tried the more he felt like a failure. He had to be able to light his beacon; no one else could do it for him (not that he'd let them). Naruto didn't offer to do it for him; he knew the rules, it had to be Sasuke's fire. But after several more irratic attempts Naruto caught his madly waving arm. Sasuke instinctually tried to pull away but then he saw the pleading look in Naruto's eyes, it said quite plainly: 'Trust me.'

Sasuke took a calming breath, and did something that was completely against his nature, he put his faith in Naruto. Sasuke knew he would have to trust Naruto with his wellbeing for the rest of his life so he may as well start now. Naruto dropped his torch into a pile of snow where it continued to burn, heatless and waterproof as long as it was confined to it's branch. Turning back he took Sasuke's shaking hand in both of his.

"You've just got a touch of hunter's block is all," said Naruto. "So calm down and approach it logically. That's supposed to be your strength not mine. You can do it, we both know that."

Sasuke ignored the ridiculous new term 'hunter's block' and closed his eyes, drawing strength from the warmth of Naruto's steady hands. Suddenly it was easy to believe that he could pull off the simple spell. With a surge of confidence he directed power into the damp wood. He heard Naruto make a satisfied sound and opened his eyes to shimmering white flames.

"Told you so," said Naruto with a smile as he bent to collect his branch. "We better get moving, I don't know how close dawn is; it's impossible to tell in this gloom."

Sasuke nodded and followed Naruto back to the path. They were close to the lake by now and he had made sure they were up with plenty of time to spare. Sasuke looked from his burning torch to Naruto's retreating form, and allowed himself a small smile; trust was surprisingly easy so far.

At the lake's edge they paused. The path they had taken was the same one Sasuke and Neji had used to get to the dock. The wooden platform was coated in a pristine layer of ice. From here onwards their road followed the southern bank of Mamizu Lake. Their journey was silent and peaceful. By the time they reached the clifftop the skyline to the east was lighter and pinpricks of witchfire could be seen on the far bank of the lake. Every Hunter in Hyuuga forest had turned out most with branches ablaze to watch the sunrise. But they were far away, unconnected with the ceremony happening atop the cliff.

"You can lead, I didn't get a chance to refresh my memory of the actual vows," said Sasuke, his voice only slightly horse with nerves.

He knew this was the right decision, he didn't understand it, but he knew. Reaching up he lifted the silver chain from around his neck and handed his pendant to Naruto. This was a trust excercise, normally Naruto would hand over his in return but he hadn't recieved it yet. Sasuke was mildly surprised he hadn't asked about it again.

Sasuke turned away and walked upstream as Naruto stepped forward. The ceremony ground sat before him, a triangular area of springy moss. At his feet ran a river flowing from the western mountains over the cliffedge on his right. Naruto watched him make his way along the path to the bridge at the point where the river forked around the great trunk of the ancient yew tree. The tree itself took up most of the ceremony ground, thousands of weather rounded pebbles lay within it's hollow base and spilled between its knarled roots.

-0-

Naruto looked up from the strange pebbles as Sasuke appeared on the bank of the other channel of fast flowing water. They made eye contact and nodded. Then each moved to a rounded stone near the cliffedge. Naruto carefully shifted the top half away revealing a hollow stocked with dried herbs. He lowered his torch into the bowl and commanded his witchfire to jump from the branch. As soon as it left it's original kindling the flames turned into normal fire and the herbs burnt immediatly. Red and yellow flames danced high and great plumes of blue smoke were emitted from the beacon. Naruto stood straight-backed again and saw Sasuke's own beacon flare strongely. Both smiled proudly, their magical prowess proven.

Next came the test of honesty. Naruto and Sasuke stood nearly seven meters away, the two swift rivers between them and the sky rapidly paleing. Each kicked off their trainers and reached for their kimonos. The two Hunters quickly disrobed, shivering but maintaining the required eye contact. Traditionally they should wear only their undergarments when they crossing into the sacred ground but both agreed this wasn't phesable in the middle of winter. So they each stepped into the seperate rivers with their jeans rolled up around their knees. The icy water was a cleansing measure and Naruto held Sasuke's pendant tightly as he plunged his fist into the river, careful not to let the strong current steal it away. He stepped onto the opposite bank, now on sacred land, and walked towards Sasuke.

They stood face to face before the ancient yew tree. Naruto held out Sasuke's pendant in his cold, wet hand.

"I reflect your thoughts," he intoned.

Sasuke repeated his words and held out his right hand, a matching pendant in his palm. Naruto's eyes widened for a moment and he almost asked the question that sprang into his mind. But he caught himself at the last second.

"I will respect your needs," Naruto said as he reached out for the offered pendant.

He had no idea where this pendant had come from and was even more intrigued to know why the Kiyo crystal at it's centre already glowed faintly. But he couldn't break the magick in the middle of their vows, he didn't know if it would ruin it. Sasuke copied his motions as Naruto took the symbol of his Hunter allegience. The Uchiha pretended he didn't know what the hesitation had been about but Naruto was certain he had planned this move. Still he couldn't think about it at the moment. He quickly set the chain around his neck feeling cold water drip from it.

As he proceeded with the final vow Naruto looked into Sasuke's unfathomably black eyes. Just as the scroll had instructed he placed his hand over Sasuke's heart where the gleaming crystal lay. Naruto could feel his partner's heartbeat now, unexpectedly fast, considering Sasuke's face was as calm as the lake far below them.

"And I vow to protect your precious soul," they said in unison.

At that moment the sun stretched its first morning rays over the world, the beacons flared suddenly brighter and the Kiyo crystal beneath Naruto's hand glowed with such power that he had to squint just to make out Sasuke's eyes. The crystal on his own chest was also glowing brightly, two beacons of light that dwarfed the real beacons and were humbled only by the sun itself. After several long moments the glow faded and both hunters expelled long breaths.

Naruto panted slightly, "Bonded, huh?"

Sasuke nodded, "Definitely bonded."

-0-

He lowered his hand from Naruto's tan chest and turned to watch the sunrise. It had never seemed so bright and clear. It lifted his spirits to know that this night was over. He swayed slightly with sheer exhaustion as it all washed over him. Naruto was at his side in an instant, he wrapped a strong arm securely around Sasuke's waist. Sasuke didn't stop him, he knew he needed the support right now, physically and mentally. He also knew that Naruto would insist on giving him support from now on, something Sasuke didn't entirely dislike.

Sasuke closed his eyes and sent out a silent prayer to Itachi as he did every winter solstice. They watched the sun reach over the horizon together. It was a tradition to watch the first sunrise of their bonded life in silence and Sasuke found himself enjoying it. Naruto's presence at his side was strangely comforting and it was extra nice when he was quiet. However the sunrise only lasted so long.

"So what do you suppose all those pebbles are for?" asked Naruto, looking over his shoulder at the piles of stones under the old yew tree.

"They're life stones," Sasuke explained. "Each one has the name of a hunter with Hyuuga blood inscribed in it, that's another spell I'll have to teach you; magickal inscriptions, useful for secret messages," there were still some spells that were commonly used, and this was one of them.

"Life stones? So what about when they're not living?"

Sasuke resisted an eyeroll at Naruto's inquisitive nature. "If they die or become a demon, someone, usually the person who was closest to them, will come up here and cast it away from the living... usually into water," he said quietly looking over the cliff to the lake, "since it's believed to be the portal between worlds."

"That sounds kind of nice," said Naruto, looking penseively at the stones. "instead of a gravestone to mark your death, a life stone to mark your life. I think I wouldn't mind one of them."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

Sasuke nodded, it seemed like a good idea. "When we go to the Uchiha home I'll teach you the spell." It would be nice to have Naruto make a life stone to go next to his. When his family had been abolished he had personally thrown every one of their life stones into the ocean. His now looked rather lonely, not that he had much chance to look at it.

Naruto smiled a small, grateful smile, "Thank you."

Sasuke nodded again and led him out of the sacred ground. He was glad that he could give Naruto something else to make him belong, Sasuke knew it meant a lot to him. The sun had risen by now and a beautiful melody could be heard, floating across the water from the celebration ground. The ceremony was over. They crossed the river and Sasuke put his clothes back on before walking back over the bridge further upstream and collecting Naruto's clothes as well.

It had been such a long night. So much had happened; they had sparred, Naruto had been welcomed into the hunter fold, there had been dancing, and then the darkest of times when Sasuke hadn't believed he would survive and now he had taken vows that he had never thought he would repeat. Sasuke's world had come crashing down on a night like the one that had just passed. He had thought it had been the end. But tonight a new path had been revealed to him, he didn't quite know where he was headed but at least he didn't have to walk alone anymore.

Evergreen Forest was the last place Sasuke had expected anything good to happen. He certainly hadn't expected to find himself whilst in Hyuuga territory. In the past he had entertained ideas that if he could return to the Uchiha estate then he would experience a sudden moment of understanding and would instantly know his path. But it didn't really seem have anything to do with the location. Perhaps he really had needed all those evenings of pointless conversation. Maybe having an endlessly enthusiatic sparring partner on whom to release his frustration had done some good? The presence an unconditionally friendly face might actually have helped too.

"So where exactly did this come from?"

Sasuke stopped walking and turned to see Naruto dangling his new pendant from it's chain, or perhaps new wasn't the word?

Sasuke smiled and pulled Itachi's pendant from under his kimono, "I haven't worn my own pendant since I killed my brother."

A/N: Bah I know this took far too long, I've been totally tied up in exams and revision and deadlines. And I'm not amazingly impressed with this one. Aw well. Ja ne!

-Yasu