And this one took a while, but it's up. Don't worry; you won't have to wait quite so long for the next chapter!
Annnnnd... Addi out!
Fugaku Uchiha, Sasuke's father, fixed his stern gaze squarely on Naruto. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I am Sasuke's 'old man,' as you called me. The question that remains, however, is this: who are you?"
Sasuke felt the weight of the world - the world he had been trying to ignore the whole summer - settle back down upon his shoulders as he looked at his father. The air in the room was chilling rapidly, invisible ice crystals forming in the space between Sasuke's gaze and the freezing gaze of his father. He wanted to speak, to say something, anything, but the air in his lungs had frozen into sharp spikes of solid ice, slicing the soft tissue into ribbons and making it impossible to breathe.
The frozen air that had taken Sasuke's words away seemed to skirt completely around Naruto, for he popped up to his feet without even noticing the way Fugaku was staring at him or his son, sticking his hand out for the older Uchiha to shake it.
"I'm Uzumaki, Naruto Uzumaki. I used to live in Konoha back in the-"
"Naruto!" Sasuke hissed through gritted teeth, finally managing to draw breath into his mutilated lungs.
With a frown, Naruto turned to Sasuke. "Why? What's wrong with telling him who I-"
"Just… Shut up, Naruto, please?"
The tone of Sasuke's voice, tense and almost begging, finally got through to Naruto, and his eyes widened as he suddenly felt the animosity between the two humans in the room. He backed up abruptly, his gaze skidding from Sasuke to his father, then back to Sasuke again. "Should I... leave?"
"Yes-" Sasuke started through gritted teeth, but his father held a hand up to cut him off.
"No," he said with chilling authority, his cold gaze roving between Naruto, who shrank back from the ice directed at him, and his son who instinctively angled himself in front of the phantom in a protective stance. "I think I'd like to know who you are and why you're here with my son."
Naruto opened his mouth to explain who he was for a second time, but Sasuke raised a hand to his shoulder, cutting him off with a gentle squeeze. He knew what to say that would piss his father off the least. "Naruto's a phantom."
"A phantom? Really?" A single eyebrow crept up Fugaku's forehead. "How do you know for certain? Did you look him up?"
Gritting his teeth to stop himself from yelling at his father that, yes, he had done the right thing and checked out everything because no, he wasn't a child anymore, Sasuke took a deep breath before responding. "Yes, I looked him up. And I had Neji come confirm it."
"Neji?"
"The Hyuuga boy I met a while ago. He came up and checked a few things out for me." Sasuke felt Naruto shift as if to speak, and he squeezed his shoulder tighter, telling him in no uncertain terms was he allowed to speak. "Nothing major; just some high concentrations of spiritual energy. It turned out to be nothing."
If Naruto was confused by the lie, he hid it quite well, laying a hand on the small of Sasuke's back and melting into the form of a child. It appeared Fugaku accepted to lie, though, for he gave a single sharp nod.
"And where is the Hyuuga boy now?"
Shit. A flash of panic rushed through Sasuke as he remembered that he'd put Neji in the room his father had book for himself. "I'm so sorry; I didn't know you were coming, so he's staying in your room-"
"Was staying in my room," Fugaku corrected.
That drew Sasuke up short. "Wha-what?"
Sasuke's father produced a single crisp white envelope from his pocket and held it up for Sasuke's inspection. "I was just in there, and the room was unoccupied. I assume he left this. It was on the pillow."
"Did you read it?" Sasuke asked, suddenly nervous. What if Neji had mentioned the Akatsuki or the Kyuubi in the letter? He had already had a sneak preview of what would happen if his father found out what he had been doing this summer, and he didn't want to experience it in person.
But his fears proved unfounded as Fugaku shook his head. "It's addressed to you."
His fingers trembling slightly, Sasuke held out a hand to accept the letter, and his father placed it delicately in his outstretched palm. The envelope was a thick cream color, the paper fancier than anything Sasuke would have bothered to use, but thankfully still sealed at the back with the original lick-and-stick seal. Taking a shallow breath to calm the shaking of his hands, Sasuke tore open the envelope and pulled the letter out.
Dear Sasuke, it started.
I apologize for informing you of this through such impersonal means as a letter, but unfortunately Hinata and I have been called back to attend an event of little political but high sentimental value. Do not worry; it is unrelated to the Hyuuga family business, though they would not like me gone for much longer than necessary as well, so there is little chance of me being questioned on my absence. I purposefully kept Hinata in the dark in regards to the Akatsuki, so she will not be able to give away what transpired here.
As I am sure you well know, the things we did in Konoha were unorthodox and far outside the realm of acceptable in either of our families. I will keep silent about the Akatsuki and the Kyuubi, but I must have a reason ready for coming to Konoha at your request, so I will be using the excuse of the phantoms if I am ever asked. Please do this as well so our stories match.
In addition, I hope you are aware of our positions now: we, potentially, are the only ones who know about a dangerous group of Akatsuki who now have knowledge of both our gifts. I do not think I need to tell how dangerous this situation is. We both need to be alert to any clues that might mean Pein has switched his target to one or both of our families for revenge. I will keep silent as long as I can, but my priority is and always will be protecting Hinata, so I will not hesitate to tell what I know if it is the only way to avoid a potentially devastating conflict. I am sorry, but that is simply the way it is. I hope you can understand.
Sasuke swallowed against a sudden nervous lump in his throat. Here he had been, worrying about his relationship with Naruto, and Neji had already put a plan in place to hide what they'd done, considered the ramifications of their actions, and had the forethought to warn Sasuke what might happen in the future. He felt suddenly childish against Neji's spotless professionalism, the same professionalism he'd mocked when the Hyuuga had first arrived in Konoha. Feeling humbled, Sasuke glanced down to the next line, only to freeze in surprise at what it read.
On a lighter note, I want to thank you for asking me for help.
What? Neji was grateful for Sasuke's request? Why? What had he done for Neji except cause him trouble? Forgetting that there were two other people in the room watching him, Sasuke muttered, "That idiot," before biting his lip and continuing to read the letter.
On a lighter note, I want to thank you for asking me for help. Being away from the Hyuuga family for any length of time is always a blessing, and those friends of yours spent some time with Hinata teaching her how to be less nervous. Even though I've only been here for a little over a week, I feel like I've learned things as well. I am glad I had this experience.
On a separate piece of paper enclosed in this envelope, please find my phone number. This is my personal number, not the number you called last time, so please do not SHARE it- I give out this number out very rarely, if at all. I hope you will use it.
Sincerely,
Neji Hyuuga
PS: Please don't tell Shikamaru where I am.
The cryptic postscript drew a slight frown to Sasuke's face. Don't tell Shikamaru where he is? Why? What did Shikamaru have to do with anything else in the letter?
Sasuke's focus was dragged away from the postscript and back to reality when the envelope, held upside down in his loose grip, disgorged a small scrap of paper that fluttered down to the floor. Naruto reached out and caught it just before it hit the carpet, then held the paper close to his eyes.
"What's this?"
"Nothing important." Sasuke grabbed the paper out of Naruto's grasp and stuffed both it and the letter back into the envelope. When he looked up, it was into his father's questioning gaze.
"Well?" Fugaku asked, crossing his arms over his chest expertly. "What did he want?"
A sudden anger flashed in Sasuke at the question, melting the ice caused by his father's chilling aura. What right did he have to question the contents of the letter, a private correspondence between himself and a friend? The hand holding the envelope shook in rage, causing the paper to crinkle. The sound woke Sasuke from his trance, and he lowered his hand to his side, forcing the tension out of it. Now was not the time to start this useless fight.
"He just said that he was leaving and that he was sorry he couldn't say it in person, but he had somewhere he needed to be."
Fugaku kept his gaze leveled steadily at his son. "Is that all it said? It was a rather long letter."
Again, anger bubbled up within Sasuke, but he kept in from boiling over. "Neji has a way with words that includes saying what can be said in ten with fifty."
"I see." From Fugaku's tone, it was clear that he wasn't convinced. "Your mother is settling into her room, but she expects to see you soon to explain to her why you have been avoiding our calls." The implications of the words were clear: that he also was waiting to hear an explanation.
Shit. Sasuke had forgotten that he'd turned his phone off the last week or so to avoiding having to contact his parents. Quickly scouring his mind for a plausible explanation, Sasuke blurted out the first one he thought of. "My SIM card's busted. I called with another phone and they told me it happens sometimes when you travel. I'll get it replaced when I come back."
"Hmm." It appeared Fugaku accepted Sasuke's explanation, for he nodded slowly and showed no signs of angry retaliation, but he still didn't look pleased about it. "Well, you could have at least told us what was going on. Your mother and I were worried sick! We thought something had happened to you; that's why we came out here in such a hurry."
All of a sudden, all the fight went out of Sasuke, and he collapsed down into a sitting position on the bed. "You… you were worried about me?"
"Of course we were worried about you!" Fugaku surprised Sasuke by hauling him up and pulling him into a hug. "We're your parents; of course we'd get worried if you stopped contacting us!"
It was then, in his father's arms, that Sasuke realized the icy chill that had permeated the room earlier hadn't been a physical manifestation of Fugaku's anger, but rather his worry. His eyes prickling in shame, Sasuke buried his face into the crook of his father's neck to hide his expression from Fugaku's eyes and tightened his arms around his father's strong muscular torso. He couldn't remember the last time his father had held him like this.
After swallowing once to dislodge the lump in his throat threatening to manipulate his speech, Sasuke said, "I'm sorry. I never meant to scare you. I wasn't thinking… I'm sorry."
"It's alright now," Fugaku said, hugging Sasuke closer to him. "You're safe. No harm done. Just don't scare us like that again, okay?"
"Okay," Sasuke answered in the voice of a small child. He'd been angry at his father for so long that he'd forgotten this side of him existed. In fact, he thought he hadn't seen it for eight years now, since the day Itachi…
Since the day Itachi had attacked him.
From the doorway, there was the sound of a gasp, and Sasuke broke from his father's embrace to see his mother, Mikoto Uchiha, standing at the doorway.
"Hello, Mother," he started uncertainly. "I… I'm really sorry I made you worry-"
But he didn't get farther than that because his mother flew from the doorway and scooped Sasuke up into her embrace. "Sasuke! My boy! Don't you ever do this to me again! Do you know how worried I was?"
Sasuke managed to get out the same excuse about his SIM card that he'd told his father, but it didn't really matter; his mother was more focused on squeezing the air out of his lungs. As he awkwardly patted his mother on the back, Sasuke felt his father's arms wrap around them both, and looked up in surprise to see Fugaku pulling them into a single embrace. His breath catching, Sasuke looked down to avoid letting his father see the tears prickling in the corners of his eyes. Yes, they had their fights and stiff moments, but they were still a family. Sasuke closed his eyes and lost himself in the arms of his parents. It wasn't until he opened his eyes again several seconds later that he realized Naruto had silently slipped away when he wasn't looking.
Suddenly breaking away from his parents, Sasuke turned his head sharply in either direction, trying in vain to locate the phantom. His arm still half wrapped around Mikoto, Fugaku looked at Sasuke with concern in his eyes.
"Sasuke? What's wrong?"
Guilt washed through Sasuke; here he was, having a family moment with his parents, the first he'd had in years, and all he could think about was that stupid phantom. It made his stomach churn. And yet, he still felt compelled to go to him.
Turning back to his parents, Sasuke tried to give them a smile, but it felt like more of a grimace to him. "I just remembered something I said I'd do today, so…"
"It's alright," Fugaku said, his normally stern face softened by a slight smile. "Go. We can manage to unpack by ourselves."
Sasuke had the feeling his father knew exactly what he was going to do, and that only made him feel worse. Pocketing Neji's letter, Sasuke went back to his parents and gave them one last hug, kissed his mother on the cheek, and walked out to the door to find Naruto.
Which would be an infinitely easier task if he actually knew where the phantom had gone. As soon as Sasuke had exited the doors of the Hokage, he'd been stumped on which direction to turn. His range of perception was far narrower than Neji's, so all he could tell was that Naruto wasn't on the Hokage grounds, which was a big help. Closing his eyes and furrowing his brows in concentration, Sasuke ran the problem over in his mind. If he were a phantom in the middle of an existential crisis, where would he go?
His eyes popped open as soon as the answer came to him and he instantly took off at a run, wondering why it hadn't occurred to him before.
A different as the lakeside beach had looked in the afternoon sunlight from the light of the full moon in darkness, it took on a third separate facade in the warm light of the midmorning sun. The lake gleamed like a shining slice of a geode, clad brilliantly in the blue-green hue caused by the sun's slanting ray. The only remnant of the horrors that had taken place there the day before was the half smashed plate of glass left over from the first confrontation with Deidara's fire, but even that looked like the beach was trying to reclaim it, slowly but surely.
Craning his head back, Sasuke looked about and above him, trying to spot Naruto. He vaguely felt something at the back of his neck, enough for him to know that the phantom was there, but wherever he was, he wasn't showing himself to Sasuke.
"Naruto!" He yelled, placing both hands on his hips in irritation. "Where are you?"
There was no discernable reaction, but Sasuke felt the phantom's aura curling in on itself, an attempt at hiding that backfired as it allowed Sasuke to follow the recoiling strands of aura back to Naruto himself. They led to the top of a tall tree by the side of the lake, the one whose lower branches trailed in the still surface of the water. Not sure whether to scowl or smile softly to himself, Sasuke moved to the bottom of the tree and looked up. Through the dense branches, he was just able to make out the dim form of the ghost.
"Naruto! Get down from there!" He called again, raising one hand to shade his eyes to better see in the shade of the branches.
For a few seconds, there was no reaction, then Sasuke heard a wet sniffle from the branches above his head.
"Go away." The command was soft and lacked heart, and there were tears in Naruto's voice.
Taking another step forward so he was touching the bark of the trunk Sasuke warned, "Look, Naruto, either you're coming down or I'm coming up, so make your choice before I make it for you."
No further sounds trickled down through the dense foliage, so Sasuke shrugged and grabbed ahold of the lowest tree branch. "Well, I did warn you."
Ten minutes and two almost disastrous slips later, Sasuke reached the point in the tree where the branches thick enough to support his weight gave way to thin ones that bent when he touched them and sprung back with a vengeance when he let go. He sat down on a particularly thick branch, large enough for him to comfortably straddle and feel safe enough to let go of the trunk. Just a little bit further out on the same branch, Naruto sad with his legs dangling out into the open air, his gaze focused solely on the water far below.
"I didn't think you'd make it all the way," he said after a few minutes of silence. "I thought you'd give up when you got to the section where all the branches broke off in the ice storm three winters ago."
Sasuke didn't respond; he was still catching his breath. He remembered the particular spot Naruto spoke of with a shudder. His battered body was still crying out from the abuse he'd inflicted upon it yesterday, and trying to scale his way up the six foot section of tree with the broken stumps of what had once been branches as his only handholds had been terrifying. Still, he'd made it, pushing past his fear to keep pushing upwards. Leaning his head back against the trunk of the tree, Sasuke closed his eyes and breathed out slowly through his nose in an attempt to calm his racing heartbeat.
There was no sound of movement from the other end of the branch, but Sasuke could feel Naruto's gaze on him as the phantom turned to face him, clearing expecting an answer, whih Sasuke didn't give him.
Clearly getting impatient, Naruto broke the silence a second time. "Why did you come up here?"
"I said I was going to, didn't I?" Sasuke replied in a tight voice, keeping his eyes closed. He knew that if he opened them, the world would spin before his gaze, so it was safer just to keep them shut.
"Sasuke, why aren't you looking at me?"
"Because I have my eyes closed, dumbass," he tried to joke, but fear in his voice caused the joke to fall flat.
"Sasuke…" Naruto's voice came closer, like the phantom was creeping back towards Sasuke along the branch. "Are you afraid of heights?"
"Uh…" Sasuke allowed the syllable to float in the air for a second, trying to calm the mounting nausea threatening to cause the contents of his stomach to regain knowledge of the outside air. "I didn't really think so… I'm fine when I'm moving, when I'm focused… I just don't like looking down, is all…"
A hand settled on Sasuke's knee, startling him for a moment before he relaxed into the contact. "Sasuke, that's called being afraid of heights! For God's sake, why did you come up here?"
"Because I said I was going to," Sasuke repeated, opening his eyes the tiniest crack. Naruto's face swam into focus, and at the same time, the bile started to swim up Sasuke's throat. Yep, not ready to have eyes open yet. "You don't think I'm the kind of person to break my word, do you?"
The hand on Sasuke's knee crept up his thigh to grab hold of the hand resting there. "That's a completely separate issue! That was so stupid! You do know that you could have fallen and died, right?"
"Yes, I am aware of that fact." When Sasuke cracked open his eyes for a second time, Naruto's face was much closer, providing him with a target to focus on and calming down the roiling of his stomach. "I am conversing with a ghost."
"That's not funny, Sasuke!"
"To you, maybe."
"Sasuke!"
"Oh, just shut up, Naruto. Come here."
Without waiting for Naruto's assent, Sasuke grabbed the phantom and pulled him against his chest. The ghost froze for a few seconds, then curled up tighter, his body shrinking to that of a small child and his head curling up underneath Sasuke's chin. Gently rubbing Naruto's shaking back, Sasuke sat still and waited for the tears he knew were coming.
"Why am I like this, Sasuke?" The phantom sobbed, the cascade of solid tears he was shedding dampening the front of Sasuke's shirt. "Why do I exist? I should have died long ago- Hell, I did die long ago! Why am I still here, watching everyone else around me live when I cannot? Even you have your parents and Sakura and all those living people, but I… I'm all alone and I'll stay that way forever!"
"That's not true! You have Shikamaru and the other phantoms!" Sasuke protested.
But Naruto only gave a wet scoffing noise against the material of Sasuke's shirt. "Other individuals I've condemned to a hellish existence of solitude as well. Yeah, great company."
"Naruto!" Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the shoulders and shook him. "What's wrong with you? You weren't acting like this earlier this morning. What brought this on?"
Pulling out of Sasuke's grasp, Naruto glared at his with a sudden hostility that almost took Sasuke's breath away. "You should know. It's your fault."
"My fault? How is your existential crisis my fault?"
"It's because of you and your stupid happy family!" Naruto raised both hands in the air, gesticulating wildly with a mad look in his eyes. "I was fine, and then you came and I started to rely on you too much… and then I saw you with your parents, and I realized I couldn't rely on you anymore." His hands dropped down to his sides and his gaze followed suit, moving downwards until it rested on the rough bark of the tree branch he was sitting on. "I remembered that you have a life outside of Konoha, and it scared me. You're going to be leaving soon, aren't you."
It wasn't a question, but Sasuke answered it as if it had been. "Yes, but not for a couple more weeks. There's still some time left."
"Ha!" Naruto scoffed, turning back around to look at the surface of the lake far below them. "Like that's going to make much difference. It's fate, Sasuke, inevitability. You and I just aren't destined to have existences that coincide. I mean, I died almost a hundred years before you were born! This conversation, by all natural laws, shouldn't even be possible!"
"And yet, here we are," Sasuke said softly.
That sobered Naruto up, but only slightly. "Yes, here we are…" He said softly, standing up and taking a step towards the end of the branch.
"...Naruto? What are you doing?"
Naruto didn't respond, instead taking another step towards the end of the branch. Panic suddenly flooding his stomach, Sasuke stood up as well and took a careful step towards the phantom, holding onto a branch above his head.
"Naruto! Get back from there!"
But Naruto only leaned out over the edge of the branch, whispering something too quietly for Sasuke to hear.
"Naruto!" Sasuke took another shaky step forward. "This isn't funny!"
"Oh, but it is!" Naruto cried, turning back around to face Sasuke and holding his arms wide. "It's hilarious! Imagine the fun someone must be having, thinking about our tragic story! The woe; the irony! It's all a game to them!"
Sasuke wasn't following any of what the phantom was saying. "Naruto, what are you talking about? You're not making any sense!"
"God, Sasuke; or fate, or whatever passes for a higher power in this stupid half existence that I have left." Naruto took a step backwards, away from Sasuke and towards the open air.
"Naruto!" Sasuke's voice went tight with fear as the phantom took another step backwards. "Stop this! Get back from there!"
With a scathing laugh, Naruto took another step backwards, off the end of the branch, and planted his feet in the air. "I'm dead, Sasuke."
Relief surging through his system, Sasuke sagged abruptly, holding his body up with only his grip on the branch above his head. When he looked up again, it was so see a curiously confused expression on Naruto's face.
"I really scared you," he said in a wondering tone, cocking his head to the side. "You were really worried about me…. Why?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Sasuke snapped through gritted teeth, tightening his fist on the branch so that a small twig snapped off under the pressure of his grip. "Because as clueless and insensible as you're being right now, I still care about you!"
At that, Naruto froze, his hand caught raised halfway between his side and his chest and his expression stilled somewhere between incredulity and a heartwrenching sadness. After a few seconds, his frozen aura melted, the ice taking with it all the tension from his small frame.
"I don't know what I ever did to deserve meeting you, Sasuke."
"I don't know either," Sasuke admitted, and Naruto flashed him one of his patented cheeky grins.
"Must have been something absolutely horrible," he joked, the life returning to his expression with considerable speed.
With a chuckle, Sasuke shook his head, glad Naruto had broken himself out of whatever funk he had been in. He had expected he would eventually - after all, ghosts were, as a definition, static creatures, and did not change very easily, if at all - but it was a weight off his shoulders that it had happened so quickly. After all, he'd had enough of ghost babysitting for one lifetime-
Midthought, Sasuke's brain went white as his foot slipped off the side of the branch he'd been standing on. Instinctively, he grabbed for the branch he was holding on to with both hands, but it snapped off in his grip, leaving him bereft of any support, and almost in slow motion, he felt himself falling sideways.
Is this it? The snarky voice in Sasuke's head asked, for once sounding genuinely subdued. Is this really how we're going to end, after everything we survived yesterday? What a pathetic existence.
And for once, Sasuke found himself agreeing with that inner voice.
Sasuke's eyes drifted shut as he felt himself crash against a branch too thin to give him any support, his hands automatically grasping at it and coming away with nothing but handfuls of leaves. He was suspended in midair, gravity not yet gaining a hold of his body but not far from doing so, poised a second before disaster and a millennium before his mind could catch up to his body. Then gravity did take hold, and he felt himself being pulled abruptly downwards.
A thin branch whipped across his face as he slammed through it, desperately grasping at anything he could put his hands on but finding nothing strong enough to keep him from falling, leaving an angry red welt on his cheek, but Sasuke didn't feel the pain. His mind was elsewhere, somewhere between the bounds of life and death, wondering if it would hurt when he hit the ground, or whether he would be gone before his mind could register the pain.
A blinding flash of pain exploded through Sasuke's stomach as it collided with something strong and unyielding, and he let out a grunt as the air exploded out of his body. Yep, definitely have the time to register the pain. His eyes cracked open slightly with the force of the blow, expecting to see the ground rushing up to meet him, but instead what he saw was branches rushing him past him in the opposite direction.
What the Hell?
His eyes flashing completely open, Sasuke saw that he was being dragged upwards, back to the branch he'd been sitting on before. Looking down, he saw that the force against his stomach, what he thought had been his body striking a branch, was a pair of arms grasping him about the middle with a panicked desperation. The grasp hauled him up onto the branch and then pushed him back so he was sitting with his back pressed to the trunk of the tree, and then Sasuke saw that the arms belonged to Naruto, who had shifted into the body of his much older self, when the phantom seized his collar and used it to slam his head back into the tree trunk.
"Damnit, Sasuke!" Naruto cried, and Sasuke saw that there were tears in his eyes. "What the Hell were you thinking? Don't scare me like that!"
"Oh, so it's alright for you to scare me, but not the other way around?" Sasuke snapped out instinctively, still reeling from his brush with death. "That's awfully egocentric of you."
Naruto responded by slamming Sasuke's head back against the tree and kissing him fiercely, the tears dripping down his face wetting Sasuke's own cheeks on contact. Pulling away, he whispered, "Because I can't die. You can."
Touched, Sasuke pulled Naruto into his chest and for the second time in as many minutes and allowed the phantom to sob against the material of his shirt. Reaching up, Sasuke touched his cheeks and his fingers came away damp with spectral tears that he watched dissolve into the air with a distracted kind of fascination. Before that moment, he had never understood how vast the differences between them were as he did now.
When Naruto's tears once again dried, Sasuke patted him on the head. "There, there. Feel better now?"
"Yes." Naruto gave a sniffle and sat up. "Thanks."
"Well, I don't know what I did besides almost fall out of a tree, but you're welcome."
Naruto smiled at that. "You're the champion of getting into scrapes."
"Normally I would disagree with you, but considering everything that's happened this summer, I might actually be inclined to let you have that one."
"Glad to know you're such a selfless person."
"I do try my hardest."
Both boys looked at each other in utmost seriousness for a few seconds, then exploded into laughter. This was simply how they were, sorrowful one moment and laughing the next, but Sasuke found he didn't mind. The variability kept things interesting.
Wiping his hand across his eyes to dislodge the tears of mirth forming there, Sasuke let his laugh sober. "Oh, Naruto, what am I going to do without you?"
"Be an emo little bitch like you were when you first got here."
When Sasuke glared at Naruto, the phantom only shrugged.
"Well, it's true, you know."
"Excuse me. I was never an emo little bitch." Sasuke crossed his hands over his chest and stuck his nose in the air in mock affront, but Naruto only giggled.
"Tell that to your wardrobe. Did you own anything besides black when you first got here?"
"Yes, I di-" Sasuke started to say, then stopped when he realized that besides his one white dress shirt, all the clothes he had brought had been black. The shirt he was wearing now, one of several he'd purchased in the local gift shops Ino and Sakura had seemed to enjoy dragging him into at the beginning of the summer, was a dark red and commanded "Keep Calm and Eat Lobster" to anyone who bothered to read it. "Okay, fair enough on that point. But I still resent your accusation."
"But you'll miss me all the same."
"That I will. And you?"
"I think that goes without saying."
They lapsed into silence, the only sound around them the soft swish of the wind through the leaves. The sun was high in the sky, signaling that it was now almost noon, and it shone down onto the lake with, glinting upwards again in piercing slashes of light. When a cloud passed over the sun, casting a shadow over the lake and stealing away the glinting reflections, Sasuke signed and made to stand.
"Well, I suppose that I should be getting back. My parents will want to spend some time with me now that they're here."
Naruto immediately mirrored his movements, standing up beside Sasuke. "Can I come with you?"
Biting his lip, Sasuke considered for a few seconds before shaking his head. "Sorry, but I don't think that would be a good idea. My mother can't see ghosts, but my father certainly can and he won't be amused by your antics."
"Aw!" Naruto stuck out his lower lip. "Not even if I promise to be good? No singing?"
Sasuke stifled a smile at the memory of Naruto's previous foray into the realm of musical endeavours, but still shook his head. "I think it would be better not to chance it. But I'll see you tonight, alright?"
Turning abnormally large puppy dog eyes at him, Naruto asked, "Promise?"
"Promise," Sasuke answered, mussing the phantom's hair with an indulgent smile.
"Yay!" Naruto gave him a brief squeeze about the middle, then floated a few inches off the branch. "Well, I guess it's time to climb down, then. Think you can make it by yourself?"
Sasuke swallowed nervously, trying not to dwell on the vast space between him and solid ground, then nodded. "Y-yeah, I should be fine."
"Okay." Naruto didn't look convinced, but he backed away from the tree all the same, starting his descent. "See you at the bottom."
Once Naruto was out of sight, Sasuke allowed his hands to relax from the fists he'd clenched them into, revealing the tremors going through the digits. Going down was always harder than going up. Clenching his jaw, Sasuke gave himself a sharp nod of encouragement. You can do this.
Yeah, right.
Taking one more deep breath in a vain attempt to steady his suddenly escalating heartbeat and respiration, Sasuke turned around and lowered his body down to reach with his foot for the branch below him. It was absolutely terrifying, the feeling of allowing gravity to take over the direction of his body. Almost as terrifying as losing control.
Sasuke made it almost a quarter of the way down the tree before he reached the section where all the branches had been sheared off in the ice storm years before and he froze, his body unwilling to let his feet search for the small footholds he logically knew were there but couldn't see. Pressing his face against the rough bark of the trunk, he wrapped his arms around the nearest branch and hung on for dear life, trying to calm his thundering heartbeat and regain control of his limbs.
Dammit, Sasuke! His inner voice yelled at him. You made it up here, you can make it back down again! Where's your pride?
"Somewhere on the ground with the rest of my organs," Sasuke muttered back to his inner voice, and below him, Naruto looked up.
"Sasuke? Are you alright?"
"Yes!" Sasuke screamed too loudly, too shrilly, trying to cover up his fear. "I-I'm fine! Perfect! I'll be right down! Just wait for me there!"
He tried to reach down with his foot again, but his arms were locked around the branch of the tree and refused to let go. Gasping, he screwed his eyes shut and pressed his face harder against the rough bark of the tree trunk. A stickiness on his cheek alerted him to the fact that he'd leaned against a patch of pitch, but he couldn't bring himself to care. His entire body was trembling like a helpless piece of seaweed caught in an unforgiving current, a riptide intent on sweeping it out to sea, and a part of his brain couldn't help but wonder almost idly how long his locked muscles would keep his body trapped against the tree - a minute? An hour? - while the rest of his mind panicked.
Suddenly, there was a presence behind him, and Sasuke felt a hand rest gently but firmly against the small of his back. "Sasuke? Are you okay?"
"No! No, I'm not okay!" Sasuke cried a little too shrilly, his throat constricted with fear he was now too preoccupied with to bother trying to hide. "I'm fucking terrified! Leave me alone so I can get down from this fucking death trap!"
But the hand refused to withdraw, instead moving upwards to offer better support. "Sasuke, you don't have to do this by yourself! Let me help! I can-"
"No!" Sasuke shouted, twisting his shoulders to try and throw that unmovable hand off. "I'm fine! I can do it!"
"Sasuke, you obviously can't-"
"No! I can! Just watch, and I'll… I'll…" Sasuke broke off into a sob as he tried once again to move his foot downwards, but his arms refused to budge. "Fuck it, why won't you just move?"
The hand on Sasuke's back finally withdrew, but it was soon replaced by both of Naruto's arms wrapping around Sasuke's torso. "Why won't you let me help you?" He whispered in Sasuke's ear, causing him to flinch away from the ticklish heat. "Don't you trust me?"
"I- I do…" Sasuke gasped out, feeling Naruto's arms tightened about him and not feeling sure whether the sensation scared him or made him feel safer. "I just… I have to trust… trust my own body over anything else…"
"Anything? Even me?"
"Don't take it personally, Naruto; it's just how I am." Sasuke rippled his back muscles to try and throw the phantom off, but Naruto just clung to him tighter.
"I want to help you, Sasuke! Why can't you see that?" Naruto's cheek was suddenly pressed against Sasuke's as the phantom leaned in closer to him. "You protected my yesterday. Why won't you let me do the same for you now?"
"Because I'm afraid," Sasuke admitted, feeling his own breath mix with the spectral breath grazing his cheek. "I'm afraid to lose control. I'm afraid of letting go."
"Then be afraid." Naruto kissed his cheek gently, then moved his right hand up to cover Sasuke's as it gripped the tree. "Conquer that fear. Let me help you."
A bolt of fear shot through Sasuke as the spectral hand gripping his own slowly began to pry his fingers away from the back. "N-Naruto? What are you doing?"
"Relax, Sasuke," Naruto whispered in his ear, but his too-soothing tone only served to send another shock of terror though Sasuke system.
"Cut it out, Naruto! This isn't funny!"
"I know." Naruto freed Sasuke's right hand from the tree and intertwined their fingers. "Have a little faith in me, you know?"
"Oh, God," Sasuke whispered in sheer terror as he felt Naruto pulling him away from the tree. First he pulled his right arm back by their intertwined hands, then he used his left arm, the arm still wrapped around Sasuke's middle, to pull his body away from the rough bark. His left arm, gripping desperately at the branch he was clinging to, was the last thing to lose contact with the tree, so when Sasuke felt his fingers grasping instead at empty air, he let out a whimper.
"Naruto…"
"It's alright, Sasuke," Naruto whispered in Sasuke's ear, pressing his delicate cheek against Sasuke's strongly perspiring neck. "I've got you."
There was nothing below Sasuke's feet but empty air and nothing in his ears but the rush of his own pounding heartbeat. It drowned out everything else, blocking all sensation until he felt Naruto beginning to let go up him, and he panicked, squeezing his eyes even tighter shut and clutching at the phantom. As hard as he tried to hold on, Naruto was stronger, and managed to push his clinging arms off until they were standing face to face with only their hands connecting their bodies together.
"Sasuke, look at me," Naruto said quietly, but Sasuke only shook his head vehemently, turning his shuttered gaze the the ground.
All of a sudden, one of the hands holding on to Sasuke's own let go, and he was left floundering for support. Drawing the hand in close to him, he crumbled in on himself, then gasped as he felt the hand that had so recently abandoned his own tracing his chin and forcing it up.
"Look at me, Sasuke!" Naruto ordered with such an authoritative tone that Sasuke couldn't help but obey.
Squinting in the light, Sasuke's eyes slowly cracked open, revealing Naruto's face close to his, close enough that they could have brushed noses if Sasuke leaned forward any further. Naruto carefully held his cheek in his hand, fixing his terrified gaze with a knowledgeable one.
"Sasuke, I've got you. Do you trust me?"
Sasuke couldn't breathe for a few seconds, but when he was able to draw in enough breath to speak, his body betrayed him by uttering a single word: "Yes…"
"Good." And with that, Naruto completely let go of Sasuke, leaving him to float in midair.
Sasuke's eyes went wide as a wave of abject terror washed over him. His vision churned and swam wildly and his gaze darted about with no real target, first settling on the ground far below him - Jesus Christ, he was standing in midair - then the tree behind him - holy shit this wasn't happening - then the clouds above him - he was going to die; his heart was going to explode from the tempo it was trying to achieve and he was going to die - before finally settling on the ghost in front of him.
Parting his dry and cracked lips, Sasuke managed to croak, "Naruto…!"
But Naruto refused to reach out and grab him again, even when he stretched out a hand imploringly, instead taking another step backwards.
"I have you, Sasuke," he repeated in a soothing tone. "Please just trust me."
Slamming the heels of his palms over his eye sockets, Sasuke took several deep, shaky breaths. "Alright. Alright, I trust you. Just don't expect me to watch."
"I think I can handle that."
Without any other warning, Sasuke suddenly felt himself being lowered through the air. Stopping the swears - and perhaps a little vomit - threatening to explode out of his mouth with a hand, Sasuke curled in on himself and waited for solid ground to meet his waiting feet.
Even though it was only a few seconds, it felt like forever before Sasuke felt the give of sand beneath his feet instead of the nothingness of air, and he dropped to his knees in gratitude, his weakened legs unable to support his body because of the shaky rush of relief that rushed through his entire body. He buried his hands in the silty stuff, trying desperately not to lean forward and press his lips to it.
A gentle hand settled atop his head. "There. That wasn't so bad, now was it?"
"Speak for yourself," Sasuke rasped after he found his voice again, swallowing thickly against the dryness of fear coating his throat. His hands, buried in the sand, were still shaking. "That was one of the most terrifying things I've ever experienced."
"Oh, Sasuke." Naruto sighed mockingly, reaching down to grab Sasuke under his armpits and drag him up to a standing position. "What am I going to do with you?"
Unsteadily, Sasuke balanced his weight on his own two feet, and flashed Naruto a weak smile. "Not try to kill me like that again, I hope."
"Try to kill you?!" Naruto put a hand over his mouth and gasped in a mockery of surprise and hurt. "Now, why would I do that?"
"Yeah, yeah, joker." Sasuke pulled away from Naruto's supporting arms; his knees were still shaky, but he could stand on his own. "I really do have to get back now. See you tonight?"
For some reason, the expression reflected in Naruto's eyes was uncompromisingly dark. "Promise?"
"Yeah, I promise."
"Yay!" Whatever expression Sasuke thought he'd seen in Naruto's eyes dissolved, leaving him to wonder if it had really been there at all, as the phantom darted forward and gave him a strong hug. "See you tonight!"
Sasuke allowed the hug for a few seconds before he laughed and pushed playfully at the ghostly arms wrapped around his middle. "Alright, Naruto. You have to let go now."
"Oh! Sorry." Naruto immediately let go of Sasuke and floated a few steps backwards. "Go have fun with your parents now."
"I will."
And with that, Sasuke turned his back to the excitable, erratic and sometimes errant phantom standing on the beach and started on the trail back to the Hokage.