Author's Note:
Much thanks for reading and commenting! Hope you guys enjoy this latest chapter! Things are really heating up and the ending is just in the horizon. Some people have been theorizing how it will end...but my lips are totally sealed! Enjoy! Review! Subscribe! Oh and don't forget to check out my latest story with Miyuki! It takes place right before Shippuden!
Peace, Love, & Nachos!
Chapter 38: Naruto vs Sasuke!
I had never run faster in my entire life.
I burst through the doors of the Konoha hospital, feeling like I was moving in a panic. I ignored the nurse behind the help desk who rose a startled mess from her seat. As she struggled to find her voice, I ran right for the room that Megumi-sensei had told me at the gates.
Even as I ran down the hall, my footsteps echoing, her words sounded far away. I hadn't heard much when she spoke to me, but a few words had reached me. Sasuke…hospital…608…East.
She had still been speaking when I bolted past her and I wasn't even sure if the boys had called out to me either. I just knew I had to see him for myself and I prayed with everything that I had that he was okay. I reached his hallway and ran straight into his room, arriving and nearly bashing my face against the door. I fiddled with the doorknob, probably looking like I had no idea how a door operated before I got the general idea and pushed myself inside.
I stumbled in just in time to see him sitting up on his bed, his hands on his lap, his head low.
"Sasuke!" I gasped before running toward him. He lifted his head just a little, before I threw myself on top of him. I pulled him close to me and buried my face in his hair, letting the tears fall as I held him. He was tense in my arms but slowly, very slowly, I felt one of his hands come down on my side.
"Thank goodness you're alright!" I managed before pulling away and letting my hands slide down his arms before stopping at his elbows. I took good look at him and saw the agitation on his brow, his lips pressed down into a scowl.
"Sasuke?" I asked. I was confused, worried even. He seemed worse than before and his eyes…his eyes were so dark. I pulled away completely, my hands resting on my lap. I was about to say something more when footsteps sounded from down the hall. They were slow, but moved with purpose and we both turned our head to the closed door just so see Sakura's outline from behind the glass.
"Yo! Sakura! I'm here!"
It was Naruto running down the hall and I couldn't help the smile that came over my face as a result. Naruto. It was good that he was here because somehow I was sure he'd be able to remove the chip on Sasuke's shoulder. I looked back at Sasuke, still wearing my smile when I saw the hatred in his face. His eyes had turned a shade darker and he was glaring at the door, his teeth gritted together, his hands balled into tight fists at his sides.
"Naruto!" Sakura said, her voice soft.
She eased the door open as every muscle in my body tensed. What was up with him? What was his problem?
"Sasuke! I'm ba—" Sakura's eyes widened at the sight of me before she smiled and raced to my side. "Miyuki!"
"Miyuki?!" Naruto said, appearing in the doorway a moment late. He ran toward me too, his eyes shining. "You're still here?"
"I just came back from a mission." I smiled. "I came as soon as I heard."
Sakura nodded before looking at Sasuke and lifting a bag in her hand. "I bought you some apples, Sasuke. I figured you were hungry." She moved to the seat at his bedside and sat down before taking out one of the apples. She started peeling them as I watched her.
"Where did you go on your mission?" Naruto asked.
"To Suna." I said as I turned to smile up at him.
"Suna…" Naruto breathed. "You mean like where the Sand Genin are from?"
I nodded.
"What the heck were you doing there?" Naruto asked.
"Naruto! Don't be rude!" Sakura scolded.
I laughed lightly before looking at Sasuke who was glaring at his bedsheets. "It's alright. I was getting supplies to help rebuild the Leaf."
"Did you bump into Gaara and all of them?" Naruto asked.
I was about to answer him when Sakura finished peeling the apple. She cut it into pieces and stabbed a piece with a toothpick right at its middle. She held it up, offering it toward Sasuke with a smile on her lips.
"There! I cut it so it's easier to eat. Wanna try one?" Sakura asked.
Sasuke glared at her and I was shocked with how much venom his eyes held. I was about to call him out on it when his hand swiped up not only knocking the apple clean out of Sakura's hands but everything on the plate too. Sakura flinched, her hands raising to shield her face as apples scattered around the room.
I stared with wide eyes as Naruto blinked between the two of them before anger got the better of him. He glared at Sasuke.
"Sasuke?" Sakura breathed.
"What the heck's your problem?" Naruto asked just as Sasuke turned his glare onto Naruto.
Naruto's hands balled into tight fists at his sides as he stared at Sasuke. "Wha-what's with that look?"
"Naruto…" Sasuke growled.
I shivered. There was something wrong, something darker about the Sasuke in front of me. He was filled with more hatred than I thought was even possible.
"Wh-what?" Naruto asked, his body tensing.
"I want you to fight me." Sasuke growled.
Naruto's eyes widened with shock and Sakura's eyes watered as she stared between the two of them.
"L-listen I want to fight you too b-but…you're pretty hurt, remember? It's not the b—"
"You don't want to fight me? All those months of big talk and now I'm willing to give you the time of day and you're not having it? What are you? Some sort of chicken?"
Naruto stiffened before his eyes grew stormy. "I'm not chickening out!"
"Then fight me." Sasuke growled, throwing off his covers and rising to his feet. "I know a place."
"Naruto, please." Sakura begged.
He didn't listen to her and I was too stunned to do anything. I couldn't get over the look in Sasuke's eyes, the sheer cruelty in it all.
"Lead the way." Naruto growled in response.
Sasuke smirked, sinister and void of anything good and stepped forward, crushing an apple slice with his foot on the way out. Together, they headed out of the room and Sakura and I watched in muted silence, holding our breaths until they were gone.
"I-I don't understand." She sniffed, a few tears slipping down her cheeks.
I slowly turned to face her, my shoulders shaking.
"Sakura, we have to stop them." I said.
She reached up to wipe her tears away, still sniffling and crying and I wasn't any better because I wasn't moving either. My feet were firmly planted on the ground and I was still trembling from the look in Sasuke's eyes. I just couldn't believe that it had come out from the same person.
"Y-You're right." Sakura swallowed before turning to look at me. "I don't know what's gotten into them."
She moved past me while I trembled. I waited a few moments, until I couldn't hear her footsteps anymore before heading after her. My steps felt slow and zombie-like and even though I knew I had to move faster, I couldn't bring myself to.
They had gone up to the roof and I could hear them all from the open door, mostly Naruto telling Sasuke to put on his forehead protector. By the time I reached the top they were going at it each other with Taijutsu, knocking each other into the clothing lines, the white sheets the nurses had hung falling to the ground. Sasuke kicked Naruto back and he tumbled into one of the white sheets, barely having time to catch himself before Sasuke appeared in front of him, punching him back into the gates. He punched and kicked at Naruto who was wrapped in the white sheet while Sakura called out to them.
"Stop it!" I shouted, joining in. Sasuke flinched which was all Naruto needed to have a comeback and he jumped out from the sheet successfully landing a hit. Sasuke skidded back and Sakura watched, her hands clasped just under her chin. I looked at her, took in the pain shining in her eyes. This had to stop.
"NARUTO!"
"SASUKE!"
I turned back to face them, my heart in my throat, tears shining in my own eyes. I couldn't understand what the problem was. It seemed personal, this fight of theirs. Sure, I had known it was only a matter of time, but not like this and most certainly not now of all times.
"I've had enough of you!" Sasuke growled, landing on one of the water tanks.
"I could say the same about you!" Naruto shouted right back, his body perched on top of the chain-link fence.
They cupped their hands, their eyes dark as they glared up at each other. A ball of lightening formed in Sasuke's palm while a ball of spinning chakra formed in Naruto's. My eyes widened seeing Naruto's attack, but before I could voice a reaction, they were flying toward each other, their arms raised over their heads.
"CHIDORI!"
"RASENGAN!"
"No!" Sakura shouted, darting forward herself. I didn't stop her, but I had the urge to and knew that I could've reached out and caught her somehow. But, I had let her slip away and now I was stuck watching her run toward the boys, tears sliding down her red cheeks. She was running right into the fight and my eyes widened as I realized that the boys weren't stopping themselves. They were still heading for each other and if they kept it up, they would hit her. Their attacks would hit Sakura and they woud…they would…
I remembered Haku's body lying on the side of Tazuna's bridge. I remembered the massive hole in his chest. I remembered what Sasuke's attacks had done to the rocks out in the training fields. He would kill her and that was his attack alone. Who knew what Naruto's would do.
"Stop it!" Sakura continued, her feet still moving while mine remained stuck to the ground.
I wanted to close my eyes but I also couldn't look away from the sheer disbelief. I didn't want to believe that they would hurt her and yet, it was happening right in front of me. That was when Kakashi appeared out of nowhere. He was as smooth as the wind and one hand caught Naruto's extended wrist while the other caught Sasuke's. He swung them both around, sending their attacks and their bodies toward two different water tanks.
The sound of metal being crushed in filled the air and made my body stiffen. Then there was the torrent of water that followed and I looked up, observing the damage. Naruto was trembling, his hand pressed near the small crack his attack had cause on the side of his tank. Sasuke's arm was inside his tank, the metal twisted inward. He wretched his arm free, panting as he looked over at Naruto before snickering.
"What's wrong with you two? Those were powerful attacks, way too powerful to be aimed at a fellow ally from the Leaf village." Kakashi scolded. Sakura had stopped running and was at his side, blinking back wet tears as she looked up at the boys.
Sasuke didn't care, in fact, he snorted in response.
"Someone could have gotten seriously injured." Kakashi continued before jumping up and appearing beside Sasuke, probably to scold him more.
I jumped up to Naruto and helped him to his feet.
"Are you alright?" I asked.
He panted and reached up to wipe at the sweat dotting his brow.
"Y-yeah."
"What's wrong with him?" I asked.
Naruto looked up at me, his eyes searching mine before he let out a shrug. "No idea."
I looked back at Sasuke only to see his glare aimed right at me and before I could say anything, he back-flipped over the gate and landed on the other side.
"Sasuke." Kakashi called out to him, but he wasn't having it. He looked up and his eyes widened before they became a whole new level of stormy. He disappeared shortly after and I sighed heavily, before jumping onto the other side after him. Then, I found out what had his attention. Naruto's water tank had a massive hole on the back of it, the metal jutting out in jagged pieces. I looked at his tank and saw that it wasn't even close to piercing through. Most of Sasuke's damage came from the front of his tank.
"Naruto! Are you alright?" Sakura asked.
I looked back only to meet Kakashi's eye and saw him nod in my direction. I nodded right back before jumping down to the street below. I had to find Sasuke and try to talk some sense into him before things got worse or before he went up against someone else.
…
I found him in a more secluded part of the hospital and he was sitting up in a tall tree, his eyes distant, his arms braced on his knees as he glared at a single spot in his branch.
"Sasuke!" I called up to him, knowing that he would ignore me but secretly hoping that he wouldn't. I jumped up to his branch and sat down in front of him. If he had heard me call up to him, he didn't show it.
"Hey." I said, my voice softer. "Are you alright?"
No response. Just a harder glare at the tree branch.
"Hey." I said before I lifted a hand. I was reaching for his elbow but his hand was faster and he swatted my hand away before turning his dark glare on me.
I gasped, my hand stinging from the harsh slap and I was reminded of the last time I had visited him in the hospital. He had slapped my hand away too and it hurt and stung just as bad as it had that day.
I cradled my hand against my chest. "What's your problem?"
He seemed perfectly satisfied with just glaring at me in response but, I was over it. I glared right back at him.
"What was that back there? Why did you attack Naruto?"
"Leave me alone." Sasuke growled.
"No." I spat. "Not until you tell me what's wrong."
His glare deepened if that was even possible. But, I still didn't care.
"I know you two are rivals and all, but attacking a comrade the way you did? Kakashi was right about the size of that attack. If you didn't hurt Naruto, you would have definitely hurt Sakura."
"Well, glad you were there to make sure he was okay then." Sasuke growled.
I blinked at him. "Wh-what?"
Sasuke rose to his feet. "I'm done talking to you. Just stay away from me."
"What is wrong with you? What is this about? What happened on that mission?"
"My eyes were opened, that's what happened." Sasuke snapped.
"Wh-wh—"
"I realized what was really important to me." He growled. "I realized that whatever I'm doing here isn't working."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm not getting any stronger here."
"What does that have to do with Naruto?" But, I knew the answer to that. It had to do with everything. All the years spent as rivals and in a matter of minutes, it was clear who was superior and all it had taken was water tanks. Naruto was stronger after training with Jiraiya and after everything, after whatever had happened during his mission, that was something that Sasuke just couldn't handle.
"You had one bad day—"
"He told me that I wasn't strong enough." Sasuke cut me off. "He said that I would never be and he was right."
"Sasuke—"
"And he was right."
"You don't know what you're talking about. Let's get you back to bed. Sleep on it okay? It will be better tomorrow, you'll see."
"No." Sasuke growled.
"Sasuke."
"I said to leave me alone." He snapped, a shiver shooting down my spine. He was darker than ever now, darker than I had ever seen him. Orochimaru flashed in my mind and my stomach tightened just thinking about it. But, there was no way. There was no way he would consider that, right? Not after us, not after everything we had gone through. Not after he had admitted that I could potentially be something that he wanted. I had clung to that moment, clung to the confusion in his eyes and how he had stared at me before he left. How I had felt his need for me burning in our last kiss and now…now…now it felt different.
"Stop pushing me away!" I spat.
"Stop bothering me." Sasuke growled.
"That's enough."
I jumped at the new voice and we looked behind us only to find Kakashi standing there, his hands in his pockets, his brows furrowed with anger.
"Kakashi." Sasuke grumbled. "What do you wa—"
Kakashi pulled a hand out from his pockets and I saw the translucent wire come out with it. It wrapped around Sasuke, securing him against the tree and he grunted as he fell back and landed.
"Let go of me!" Sasuke growled.
"Not until you cool off." Kakashi said before shooting me a look. "I'll take it from here, Miyuki."
I blinked up at him, knowing that they needed their time and that Kakashi might be able to get more to the root of Sasuke's anger compared to me. All I had seemed to do was make it even worse.
I felt my shoulders drop and I managed a nod as I looked between the both of them. Sasuke struggling against the wires, his hands in tight fists on his lap while Kakashi told him to calm down. I cast my eyes down toward the ground below, unsure how I felt. Something told me that I should be able to soothe him, something told me that Kakashi was the one that needed to go. But, I was out of things to say and I was more confused than ever.
I jumped down to the ground below, feeling the grass crunch beneath my feet. I thought back to the look in their eyes as they flew toward each other, the anger and contempt in Sasuke's eyes and the determination in Naruto's. I didn't know what had happened during their mission, but whatever it was had brought Sasuke here and something told me he had already been at his boiling point.
…
It was getting late, so late that the sun was beginning to set and I was still in the training grounds, sitting on a wooden stump, the late afternoon sun hot on my back. I had wandered there after leaving Sasuke in Kakashi's hands and I still felt like there was something I needed to do, something I needed to say.
I had been kicking my legs back and forth, watching the sunlight fade as it rolled across the grassy pasture. I felt lonely, useless even. I had decided not to find Naruto and Sakura because I figured they were probably no better than I was. Sakura was probably crying somewhere while Naruto was nursing a bowl of ramen, barely eating as he tried to figure out what he had done.
I pulled a hand through my hair, pulling back any stray strands in the process. If Sasuke thought that he was weak, he would want to seek out power and only one person had promised him power…
I shook it off. There was no way he'd go to Orochimaru. He was dense and going through a lot but he had me didn't he? Hadn't he said that he had wanted me too? Didn't he want to stay and figure us out before anything? I wanted to believe that he cared for me but the more I thought about the ways he talked to me and treated me…I wondered if he even knew what caring was.
"Why so sad?"
I stiffened at the voice, lost for a brief moment until I realized that I didn't recognize it. I looked up only to find an empty clearing, nothing but eeriness wafting through the now darkened trees.
"Who's there?" I called, my body tense as I pushed off from the stump. I glared into the darkness, feeling on edge but ready for anything.
A breeze rolled in, making the leaves shake and scratch against each other. With it, came a guttural chuckle, dark and deep and it made my stomach tighten.
"You're practically trembling, trash."
I swung around and found Tayuya standing behind me, her arms crossed, a smirk playing on her lips. I glared at her in response, balling my hands into tight fists at my sides. It aggravated me just to see her standing there and I hadn't even looked at the others yet.
"Leave her alone, Tayuya."
I swung to face the newest voice and saw Sakon standing on my right. He still carried Ukon on his back and if I didn't know any better I would have said that he was fast asleep.
"Yeah, let little Miyuki trembling in her little shoes like the baby that she is." I turned to the other side and caught sight of Kidōmaru behind me.
"Hmph." I caught sight of Jirobō in front of me, one of his brows arched as he looked at me.
"What do you want?" I growled. "What are you even doing here?"
"Wouldn't you like to know." Tayuya grumbled.
"We could ask you the same question." Sakon said with a smirk.
"You live here now or something?" Jirobō asked.
"No, she has her little Uchiha boyfriend here." Kidōmaru chuckled.
I turned to glare at him.
"Look at that face." Sakon said. "She gets even more adorable when she's upset, don't you think?"
"So adorable that it makes me want to kick her face in." Tayuya growled, her hands in tight fists at her sides. "When do we get to kick her ass into the ground?"
"Easy, Tayuya." Jirobō said.
Tayuya glared at him. "Don't tell me what to do fatso!"
They glared at each other while Sakon chuckled, rubbing the back of his head as he looked between the two of them.
"Easy you two." Kidōmaru said.
"Make me spider limbs!" Tayuya snapped again.
"What are you doing here?" I growled. "I won't ask you again."
"Or what?" Tayuya asked, stomping her foot on the ground. "What are you gonna do if we don't tell you?"
"We're here to deliver a very important message to your beloved." Sakon said.
I glared at him, choosing to ignore Tayuya.
"Stay away from Sasuke." I snapped.
"We can't do that." Sakon said.
"And if you try anything we'll kill you!" Tayuya growled.
"I'm not letting you near him."
"That's not for you to decide." Kidōmaru snickered.
I braced myself, my hand hovering just beside my weapons pouch. I knew that weapons would be useless against them and I also knew that taking them on by myself was just as stupid. I needed the boys by my side but more than anything, I needed a better plan. I couldn't let them get to me, Tayuya's annoying quips aside.
"What are you going to say to him?" I managed.
They didn't answer right away. They let another breeze come through, let it rustle through the tree leaves before Sakon sucked in a breath.
"We just wanted to let him know that Orochimaru's offer still stands." He said.
I glared at him. "He's not going to him."
"Says who?" Tayuya snickered. "He's a grown boy, he can think for himself."
"He will, though." Kidōmaru said. "Look at the kid."
I turned to shoot him an even darker glare. "You don't know the first thing about him."
"Like you do?" Jirobō asked.
I didn't know what to say to that but, I was tired of staying quiet. I pulled out a kunai and Tayuya was on me a moment later, delivering a sharp kick to my gut the minute I pulled the kunai out of its holster. The kick sent me flying back to the stump and I hit it, hard.
"I don't think so." Tayuya said.
"Don't make this difficult, Miyuki." Sakon said. "We're not here to hurt you."
"But we will if you don't give us any other choice." Kidōmaru added.
"And you know it will upset him to hear that we had to teach you a lesson." Sakon said. "Not to forget your little boy toy."
I wiped my mouth with my sleeve, coughing as I looked up at the four of them huddled together with Tayuya snickering.
"I don't care about Orochimaru." I growled.
"You can't stop the inevitable." Kidōmaru said.
"Watch me." I growled and jumped into the air, forming hand signs. "Water Style! Raging Waves!"
They dodged the attack at the last second and when I landed on the stump, Kidōmaru appeared, his arms in fists that he shot at me. I managed to counter each of them, but his quick jabs and swift kicks, forced me off the stump which was all Sakon needed to knock me clean off my feet and kick me back. Once there, Jirobō came next and while I caught his fist in my palm, he rammed his body into me. I slid back as Tayuya appeared above me, landing on top of me. I gasped as her hands snaked around my neck and she squeezed, applying just the right amount of pressure to force my voice to come out in small gasps.
"I could kill you right here and right now." She growled into my face, her eyes dark.
I had always known her to be full of air. A girl whose cockiness and ill temper lead to her downfall in our fights. But, Tayuya had grown stronger and she wasn't showing any signs of letting go. Her grip grew even tighter and within seconds, I was gasping for air, white spots appearing at the edge of my eyes.
"Tayuya!" It was Sakon, shouting at her, but Tayuya showed no signs of letting up and I knew I was running out of time. My hands felt up the ground beside me, my fingers frantically moving through the grass for something, anything to defend myself.
Hands seized Tayuya's shirt and just as they were pulling, I found a sharp rock and brought it up, swiping it across Tayuya's face. She screamed, her grip loosening as the hands forced her to her feet and I slid my body out from under her, kicking her right in the stomach, sending her and the hands that held her back.
I pulled out kunai and attached explosive tags to the ends of them before firing them at the Sound ninja. Without checking for contact, I jumped up just as the explosives went off, making the ground rumble and groan. I was making hand signs when I caught sight of something below. I squinted through the thick dust and saw it, Jirobō lifting a massive piece of Earth.
"You'll pay for that you witch!" Tayuya shouted.
"Miyuki, this is your last warning." Sakon said.
"If it makes you feel any better, Orochimaru extended an offer for you as well." Kidōmaru said.
I couldn't even see them behind the massive wall, just the dark glare in Jirobō's eyes as he regarded me.
"I'm not going back to him!" I yelled, before pulling a scroll from my weapons pouch and ripping the side open.
"Suit yourself." Jirobō said before he swung the massive piece of earth at me. It was coming in quickly and I barely had time to dodge it as it knocked into the tree I was standing in. I lost my footing somewhere in the middle of it all and Jirobō appeared just in time to try and land a hit. I blocked him with my arm, but he kept on and I struggled to keep up with him and not flinch. He was putting a lot of chakra into his moves and if I didn't build up the same in my arms, I was sure I would've had a few broken bones.
"I don't think you thought this through, Miyuki."
I shivered and the closeness of the voice was what threw me off. I looked to the side and saw him, Ukon smiling over at me, his head popping out from my shoulder. I could also feel him taking control of my body as well and gasped when my left hand shot up, wrapping around my throat when Tayuya appeared and head butted me. I went slamming to the ground and was gasping and coughing as Ukon chuckled beside me.
"So pathetic." Tayuya said.
"I think her emotions are getting the better of her." Sakon said, rubbing his head.
"Had enough yet?" Kidōmaru asked.
I felt my hand slide away from my throat, but then I felt the waves upon waves of exhaustion beginning to eat away at my muscles. Then I saw why. Jirobō's palms were planted firmly on the ground and I could sense the chakra in the mud pile I was lying in, feel my own chakra seeping out and mixing in with the outlining one. He was draining me.
"Go…to…Hell." I breathed.
"Not very nice, Miyuki." Ukon said, caning his neck around on Sakon's back so that he could get a better look at me.
"After all this time." Sakon said dryly. "We don't even get a hello from this piece of trash."
"Once a piece of trash, always a piece of trash." Tayuya growled before jumping into the mud beside me. I glared up at her and she glared right down at me.
"This was such a disappointment." Kidōmaru grumbled.
"Let's hope Uchiha makes a better snack." Jirobō said.
I looked at him. "N-no!"
"Shut up." Tayuya growled, pulling a fist back before bringing it down along the side of my face. My head spun, stinging all over before the darkness took over and I was out for the count.
