Chapter 4
"I don't like to commit myself about heaven and hell—you see, I have friends in both places."
"Take care of sleeping beauty while we're gone." The demon pulled his hood over his face. Naruto could swear he had winked at him just now. And then he was gone. Just like that.
Sasuke's body remained, but he was gone, too. His spirit was gone.
"Shit."
Naruto brought his hand to his lips, pinching his bottom lip with his nails.
"Fuck."
He dropped to his knees and pressed his hand to Sasuke's neck. His skin was really cold, but he could feel a pulse. Slow. But it was there. He breathed out in relief.
How had he not felt that demon's presence? All those years, his mother had taught him to use his powers. All for nothing, it seemed. She would be so disappointed. He looked down at Sasuke's pale face, feeling distraught.
If he hadn't been so busy acting cold and distant toward him, maybe this wouldn't have happened.
Naruto had certain abilities, just like his mother before him; they were, technically, completely capable of driving demons and dark spirits away. Well, unfortunately, it wasn't always that simple in real life.
And everything had been much simpler when she was still alive. His father had known about everything, too, of course. He even shared some of Kushina's powers. Without them Naruto felt lost. Completely lost.
He took a deep breath. Okay. Enough with the self-pity party. Sasuke needed his help. Just because Naruto didn't much like him didn't mean he should let him die.
Trying to remember everything Kushina had taught him, he leaned closer to Sasuke. His black eyelashes were long. And his pale skin was really soft. Naruto shook his head clear. Why was he noticing useless details?
He unbuttoned Sasuke's shirt. He had to be touching him for this to work. So he put one hand on his chest, over his heart, and the other on his forehead, brushing the sleek dark hair aside.
Naruto was supposed to be able to bring people back from their nightmares. This wasn't exactly a nightmare, if the demon had brought Sasuke's spirit to the other side, but… Kushina had told him once that people with supernatural abilities were supposed to be able to travel to the other side and back, if they wanted to. So this should work, technically.
But nothing happened.
Sasuke's heartbeat seemed to be slowing. And his skin was getting even colder. What the hell was this? That hooded demon guy had no idea what he was doing. Naruto slid his hand into Sasuke's hair, and pressed their foreheads together. He squeezed his eyes shut. "Come on," he whispered.
Suddenly he felt very cold, and as his eyes snapped open he realized he was standing in the middle of a frozen lake. And beyond it was only darkness. He looked down and with horror he saw that there was someone stuck under the thick ice. Sasuke. And he wasn't moving.
Then he looked up as he heard strange, distorted moans in the distance. From the shadows came tall black silhouettes, advancing quickly. Naruto wanted to scream but nothing came out. He brought down a fist to try to break the ice and get to Sasuke, but it was completely pointless. And those black, darting shapes were getting closer. Some of them started shrieking, a high-pitched, deafening noise.
Fear gripped at Naruto's heart and his blood froze in his veins.
But then it was over; as suddenly as it had all appeared before him, it was gone. He was back in the bathroom, and Itachi was pulling him to his feet.
"What's going on? You were trembling."
"I was trying to get into his head," Naruto said, panting. "To bring him back. But I couldn't…" He looked down. It was true. His hands were trembling. He brought them together. Shit. "It was so terrifying, Itachi. I'm sure mom could've helped him, I'm sure she could've, but I can't… I don't think I can…"
"It's okay. Calm down. We'll figure this out."
He nodded. Itachi sat next to Sasuke, and touched his hand.
"He's freezing."
"I know… I don't know if he's going to make it on his own. I need to try again…"
"No." Itachi said firmly. "Absolutely not. Just… wait for me. I'll come up with some excuse for Suigetsu. Wait for me and don't do anything until I come back."
Naruto just nodded again, and he sat on the floor as Itachi left the small room. Naruto took Sasuke's hands and brought them together, squeezing them, trying to warm them. He felt so useless.
He heard voices, but he couldn't make out what Itachi was saying.
Eventually, he heard the entrance door being opened and closed again. Itachi hurriedly came back to the bathroom.
"What did you tell him?"
"That he had food poisoning, and that he was going to spend the night here. That he was too embarrassed for Suigetsu to see him like this."
"What did Suigetsu say?"
"Nothing much. I think he bought it. He seems to trust me."
"So what do we do now?"
"This." Itachi leaned over the bath tub on the other side of the small room, and he started filling it with steaming hot water.
"That's a good idea."
A phone buzzed then, and Naruto frowned as he realized it came from Sasuke's pocket. So impulsively he grabbed it and read the text message without thinking.
"Don't check his phone while he's unconscious! What are you doing?"
"I don't know I just..."
'Hey there, this is Temari. We met at the gym last week, remember? I'm sure you do. I've been thinking about what you said. I think we should go for coffee some time.'
"Stop reading it!" Itachi took the phone from him, and put it on the sink counter.
Naruto said nothing. But he wondered what that text was all about. He thought Sasuke was gay. Was he bisexual, then? He realized he was being really stupid right now. All that wouldn't matter if Sasuke died tonight, would it?
"We need to get him in that water. Or he'll get hypothermia…" Naruto said.
"Right."
"Do we take off his clothes, or…?"
"No! What if he wakes up? It's fine, come on…"
Itachi grabbed his feet, and Naruto under his shoulders, and together they put him inside the tub. Hopefully the hot water would warm him up. Naruto didn't know what else he could do… Unless he tried again, but…
What were those black things?
He shuddered just thinking about it. What was Sasuke going through right now? All alone, trapped in that ice… What was that demon doing?
Well, speaking of the devil.
"Hello there." The demon showed up, looking a bit nervous. His hood was off, and he cleared his throat as he stepped forward. Apparently he chose to show himself to Itachi as well.
"I might require some assistance."
"Who the hell is this?" Itachi asked, keeping his hand on Sasuke's shoulder to keep him from sliding in the water.
"A demon. He's the one who took Sasuke away."
"Well, when you put it like that, it sounds quite bad, I suppose. My name is Deidara, for starters. Please don't call me demon. I'm a reaper. Also, please know that I don't want to hurt Sasuke. I just want to help him! I just wanted to show him around a little, but he didn't stay with me. He just ran off and now…" He reached up with his hand to scratch his blonde hair, and shook his head. He looked annoyed.
Itachi was furious. "Well bring him back then. What are you waiting for?"
"Well, that's the thing. I might need some help with that. Little fox, if you would?"
"Don't call me that," Naruto muttered. Then he sighed shakily, and met Itachi's dark eyes. "No choice now," he said urgently, "I have to try. Even the demon says so."
"And why exactly should we listen to him?" Itachi hissed.
"We've got no choice. He's dying. I've got to bring him back."
Naruto plunged a hand in the water, grabbed the back of Sasuke's neck, and pressed their foreheads together, like before.
This time he was more in control. He was scared, but he was determined, too. He accepted the fear. He accepted the cold and the darkness. He was diving in.
But this time, when he opened his eyes, he wasn't with Sasuke.
He was alone.
And his worst fear was coming true.
…
The ice was melting around Sasuke. Slowly disappearing. It didn't make any sense. That should be a good thing, but it was not, because now the black shadows could get to him. They had been trying to get to him this whole time. They were tall, elongated silhouettes, like deformed, contorted humans. But they didn't have faces. It was just all black. Just shadows. Why were they moaning and groaning, then? Their anger was directed at Sasuke. They wanted to get to him. They wanted to hurt him. One of the black shapes grabbed him and pulled him out of the ice. But it hadn't completely melted yet. To Sasuke's horror, his foot remained stuck in the ice. But the creature kept pulling, so intensely that the bone eventually snapped, and his foot got torn off.
With a scream of anguish Sasuke got yanked out of the water. The black shapes started moving around him in darting movements, slicing him with black daggers that seemed to be made of shadows. The pool of water where the ice had melted, where Sasuke was trapped just now, became red with the blood running from Sasuke's leg.
He felt faint and tried to curl up on himself as much as possible, protecting his face with his arms. Those creatures wouldn't stop. Their moans had turned into a terrifying laughter. He had no idea what was happening. There was only fear. He couldn't think. Couldn't move.
But then suddenly they… froze. And stopped.
And Sasuke heard Deidara's voice. "Go away you low life scum! Go! Now!"
They hesitated, then cowered away and dispersed through the night. Sasuke was trembling, and still curled up on himself. He wasn't even sure if it was night. The sky above was so black—starless and moonless—that it looked artificial. And somehow they could still see even with no light. It was as though pale light emanated from the lake, and from Deidara also, as he stepped closer.
He grabbed Sasuke's collar and pulled him up. "Now, listen. I can't have you becoming paralyzed in fear every time you come here."
"What were those things?" He breathed shakily.
"Many names for them. Ghosts. Black ones. Who cares? Lost souls, all of them. They gave up. Come on, you're better than this, Sasuke. Sure, Hell can be a bit tricky at first, but you'll get used to it. You can't let them scare you like that. Oh, look at you. You're still shaking in fear. Can you even stand on your own?"
He dropped him and Sasuke fell to the ground, feeling humiliated. But his leg… He held it and repressed a scream of pain. There was so much blood.
But Deidara was shaking his head. Sasuke wondered how he could even see him in the darkness; black against black. But Deidara's pale blue eyes were gleaming.
"It's all in your overly creative brain, love. It's not real. You're only here in spirit; your real body's not even here. Look again." Sasuke looked, but his leg was still mutilated. His foot still very much missing. He felt a wave of nausea burning his chest, and this time he couldn't repress a moan as he fell back onto the icy ground. This felt very real to him.
"Okay. Plan B. I thought I might need some assistance. So I brought your friend along. Thought you two might help each other. Because, honestly I haven't got all night… Better things to do, you know."
"What have you done?"
Friend? Was he talking about Naruto? Naruto couldn't be here. This was Hell. Literally. Deidara had said so, and now Sasuke believed him. Naruto didn't belong here. He belonged in his home with Itachi, safe and away from all this. Sasuke shouldn't even have gone back there. He should've left them alone, and maybe they could've finally had a chance at a normal life; he owed them that much.
And now Deidara had brought Naruto here? This was the worst…
"He's up there," Deidara said, pointing with a finger. As Sasuke looked, he realized the scenery had changed, as though they were in a dream. They were in the middle of a forest now, with tall, crooked, leafless black trees. Sasuke forced himself to sit up and he narrowed his eyes to try to see Naruto. He was at the top of the tallest tree, clutching a branch that looked way too fragile to hold his weight.
"It turns out," Deidara mused, "he's afraid of heights. Well, afraid of falling, really. I find it odd how people say they're afraid of heights, but really what they're afraid of is falling, isn't it?"
"Why did you do this?"
Deidara shrugged. "I figured he might be strong enough to handle it and talk some sense into you. Not very likely, though. So it was either that, or he lost it like you did, and you would be forced to come to your senses and save him. I should let you know, even though you're both only here in spirit, if your body thinks you're dead, it can be very dangerous. So don't take this lightly. So, will you save him?" Deidara looked deep into his eyes, searching them for answers. "Look, Sasuke, I need to know if you can do this. And I need to know it now. I'm sorry this is all a bit rushed. But we don't have much time. I know it's all very troubling at first, but all those illusions, you can just ignore them. You'll even learn to bend reality to your will with time. For now, all you need to do is help him. By doing that, you should stop being afraid of your own fears."
"I want to help him," Sasuke said firmly. "I have to. This is my fault."
"Well it's mine, really, but whatever works for you…"
Sasuke ignored him. He just kept looking at that tree. Before he knew it he was back on his feet, and he knew even without looking that Deidara had been right, and that his leg was fine.
The tree looked so thin and fragile that Sasuke wasn't sure it could hold both their weights. Bend reality? Well, he wasn't quite there yet, so he would have to go with what he thought was best.
Suddenly a strong, cold wind blew—seemingly from all directions—brushing his hair from his face and slipping through his clothes, chilling his very bones. The tree Naruto clung to got yanked around in all directions by this wind, especially at the top. Naruto was clearly terrified, but he wasn't screaming. He was just paralyzed in fear. Sasuke wasn't unfamiliar to the feeling.
Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the lowest branch of the nearest tree he could find, and he pulled himself up. Tree climbing wasn't exactly rock climbing, but his cardio was there, and his arms and legs were strong, so he managed. When he couldn't find branches he found cracks and ridges in the trunk and pulled himself up somehow.
Outdoor climbing wasn't the same as indoor climbing, either. Sasuke had always wanted to go on climbing expeditions with Suigetsu's father and his friends, and he was even scheduled to go with them next time. Now he wasn't so sure. That harsh wind was really annoying. Actually, he regretted letting his hair grow longer. Now it was all over his eyes and he couldn't see a damn thing as he tried to climb up that stupid rickety old tree. Those black branches were really freaking him out, too. No wood was that black.
As he climbed higher—he was halfway to Naruto's height now—he saw a thick line of gray smoke in the distance, towering in the black sky. The wind carried the smell of something burning. Something, or someone.
Or several people.
Focus.
He couldn't be afraid now. Naruto needed him. So he kept climbing. When Naruto saw him, instead of being grateful, he freaked out even more.
"No… No! Don't! If you come on this tree it'll—it'll fall over for sure. It can't hold both of us. It's already…" The strong wind yanked the tree from side to side, over and over again, and Naruto was terribly pale, like he was about to pass out. His knuckles were white from clutching the tree so tightly, and blood trickled from his palms. There were tears in his eyes.
Sasuke climbed up the rest of his tree, and now he was almost as high as Naruto.
"I won't come on your tree. I promise," he yelled to be heard over that wind. He could still see all that smoke clouding the sky—gray against black—but he ignored it. He just looked at Naruto.
"We have to get down. I'll help you."
"N-No. I can't. If I move, it'll… it's gonna… I can't."
"Your left foot," Sasuke said.
"What?"
"I need you to bring your left foot down on that other branch right there." He pointed and Naruto looked down. "That's it. You can do it, Naruto. It's just another branch, just a little lower. We're going to do this one step at a time, okay? Slowly… That's it."
Naruto did as he was told. He wanted to get down, he just didn't know how. That was why Sasuke was here. He climbed down too, to be always just a little lower than Naruto was. Some of the higher branches of the trees were knocked together by the wind, making a hollow sound. The branch Naruto had been standing on before cracked and broke, and he yelped as it almost hit his face.
"Are you okay?" Sasuke shouted.
"Y-Yeah I think so." He just had a scratch on his cheek.
They kept going down for a bit, Naruto following Sasuke's instructions. This was excruciatingly slow, but at least Naruto was listening, and he was making progress.
"How did you even get up there?" asked Sasuke at some point.
"I didn't! I was already up there! Just like you were under that ice. How did you get out?"
Sasuke shivered violently. "It's not important. How did you even know about that?"
Naruto was crouched on a thick branch, clutching the trunk with one hand. They were halfway down.
"I saw it!" He shouted. "I came here to help you. But then…"
"It's okay," Sasuke said. "We'll both be fine."
"But what am I supposed to do next?"
Sasuke had just been wondering the same thing. Some branches on Naruto's tree seemed to be missing. There was no foothold. He had to either find deep enough cracks in the trunk or let go and jump down onto a lower branch. He explained this to Naruto, slowly and patiently, but his face paled even more and he clutched the branch he was crouching on with his injured hand.
"I can't."
"Okay, listen. I'm going on your tree."
"No…" His voice was a frightened whisper.
"It's fine. It's solid enough down here. It can hold both of us. Don't you trust me?"
"No."
"Well you don't have much of a choice right now!"
Naruto said nothing.
Sasuke leaned closer and leaped onto the other tree, catching himself on a branch just a little lower than the one Naruto had to jump on.
"Come on," he said. "Just come down, and if you fall I'll catch you. I promise."
Naruto shook his head, closing his eyes. "I can't, I can't…"
"Come on!" Sasuke shouted again. "Do you think I climbed all the way up there, and helped you down all this way just to let you fall? I would never! Now just let your legs down, and hold yourself up with your hands, and let go for just one second and you'll land on the other branch, okay?"
Naruto nodded. He let his legs dangle like Sasuke said. And it took him some time, but eventually he let go. At the same time, the wind blew strong, making the branch crack. Naruto got scared and his shoe slipped.
But Sasuke was ready. He caught him as he fell, slid his arms around his waist and pulled him close, so they were standing on the same branch, and leaning against the trunk. Naruto was completely terrified. For a moment he hesitated, but then he wrapped his arms around Sasuke and leaned into him completely, burying his face in his neck. He cried and Sasuke didn't know what to do. He just held him tight.
"It's okay," he said awkwardly. He wasn't very good at comforting people. "It's gonna be okay."
Naruto sniffed, but he said nothing, and he didn't pull away. He was clinging to Sasuke as tightly as he had held that branch earlier.
"We're almost there."
"No we're not," Naruto replied immediately, and he sounded so frightened and shaken up. He couldn't do this.
"Okay, I know what we're gonna do. Get on my back."
"What?"
"I'm serious. Get on my back. I'll get us down. I can do this." He tried to sound as confident as possible. Apparently, it worked.
Naruto nodded and as Sasuke turned around, he climbed on his back, wrapping his legs tightly around his hips and his arms around his neck—a little too tightly.
"Naruto… I can't breathe."
"Sorry." He loosened his grip, but not that much.
It wasn't easy with the added weight. It wasn't easy at all. And Sasuke had sounded all confident before but he had no idea if he could do this. He proceeded slowly.
At least, the branches were a little bit more thick and dense down here. He managed to find a good foothold every time, and their progression was slow but steady. Naruto had closed his eyes a while back, and he just trusted Sasuke now. It felt… kind of good, somehow. Something warm and tingly spreading across his chest. Maybe it just felt good to be protecting someone.
They reached the last branch and unfortunately there was a long way with no branches whatsoever before reaching the ground. Sasuke helped Naruto down on the branch and explained the situation.
"So I'm going to jump first, and then you—"
But Naruto was shaking his head stubbornly. "No, no, I can't… Please don't make me do this."
"Naruto it's not that high. We're gonna be okay. I'll jump first and you'll see."
"No, wait, don't leave me alone please…"
"We've got to get down, okay?"
So he jumped, landed in a crouch on the earthy cold ground, and leaped back up. "See? That was fine. And you'll be just fine, too. I'll catch you if you want, okay? Like I did before." He extended his arms and opened his palms. "Come on," he encouraged him, "you can do this. I know you can."
Naruto really was terrified, though. Sasuke wondered what had made him so afraid of heights. But now wasn't the time to start a conversation.
Suddenly the tree seemed to move. There was a sort of rustling, creaking sound as it seemed to start changing shapes. To Sasuke's horror, it was coming out the ground some more, elongating, growing even taller. Naruto's fear must have created this. And now he was getting even further from the ground. He was completely freaking out.
"Sasuke!"
"Just jump! Before it's too late! Hurry! I'll catch you!"
Naruto wanted to jump. Sasuke could tell he wanted to. But the branch was getting higher, and his fear was blocking him.
"I'll catch you," Sasuke said again, in a loud, but calm voice. It was now or never…
Naruto jumped. And Sasuke caught him as promised, and then they fell together and rolled over on the ground, before finally coming to a stop. But they were fine.
Even though he was still somewhat shaky, Naruto seemed to slowly regain his senses now that they were on firm ground. He pulled away from Sasuke, and got back on his feet. Sasuke did the same, quietly.
And before they could say a thing, they heard Deidara coming towards them, making his way through the trees. The wind seemed to have gone down somewhat.
He smiled. "There, I knew you could do it. So drowning," he pointed at Sasuke with his gloved hand, "and heights?" His finger pointed at Naruto. "Well. It's all a bit boring when you've seen it a thousand times, trust me. For me it was fire. And no one was there to help me—oh, no. So I spent weeks wandering around like an idiot, thinking I had third degree burns all over."
"Why did you make me come here if you knew I couldn't help him?" said Naruto resentfully. His fists were clenched at his sides.
"Oh but you did help him. Now, Sasuke, like I said, Hell is a bit tricky at first. But you'll see, it's not all that bad. In fact, you'll start craving it after a while. You'll definitely have to visit again soon. And stay longer next time. But I think that was enough for today."
Sasuke shook his head in disbelief. "You're insane if you think I'll ever come here again."
"Oh, don't say that. You'll come to like it so much when you overcome your fears, you'll see. It's quite liberating. It's kind of like sex. The more you do it, the better it gets. But I digress. All I'm trying to say is, Hell can be a lot of fun. You haven't seen anything yet. Still, never mind. It'll be for another time. And Naruto, I hope you enjoyed your little visit. I do hope there aren't too many side effects…"
"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked.
But there was no time. Deidara disappeared in a sort of black cloud. In fact, everything disappeared. And when Sasuke opened his eyes again, he was in the bathroom again. In fact, he was in the bath tub, with his clothes on. Well, his shirt was unbuttoned, but—
He heard Itachi's voice. "Naruto? Are you okay?"
Naruto was on the floor, and he was waking up, too. Well, of course Itachi would make sure Naruto was okay first. That was only natural. They had grown up together, and they loved each other, and everything. Naruto was more his brother than Sasuke could ever be.
Sasuke grabbed the sides of the bath tub and sat up completely so he could look down at Naruto. He really didn't look good.
"I'm… fine."
But 'fine' wasn't good, was it? That didn't sound good at all. Naruto got up nonetheless, and pushed past Itachi. He didn't glance at Sasuke once.
He just walked out the bathroom, and into the hallway. And then they heard his bedroom door being slammed shut.
Great, Sasuke thought, now he hates me even more.
But that wasn't his most urgent problem. What was he going to do about Deidara? What if that demon guy kept coming after him?
"Are you all right?" Itachi asked carefully, stepping away from the tub.
"Yeah," he lied. He got out quietly and Itachi gave him a towel.
Of course he wasn't all right. The ice. The black creatures. His torn foot. The black, leafless trees. The harsh wind carrying the smell of burning flesh. He shivered, and looked at the bathroom door, through which Naruto had left so quickly.
And it wouldn't have been so bad, except Naruto had been there with him. So Sasuke couldn't deny it anymore. That place wasn't a nightmare. They couldn't both have the same nightmare. So it was real.
...
Author's note: I love reading your reviews you guys are awesome^^