Chapter 55 Scent of a dead man.

Those who've had a brush with death will know that his touch is cold. In a way, that cold can be comforting, a relief from the world that has tried and succeeded in killing you. It's like lying in the shade of a tree after working hard on a construction site, under the blazing sun.

Most times a person will realize the cold comfort is a lie, and fight against death's hold to live another day. Others are like me who just gave up. Embracing the cold and falling into darkness. I don't regret it. Not getting impaled, the pain of which can not be described, and not almost dying from chakra exhaustion. We don't talk about my run-in with Shikamaru. Lying in death's cold embrace was never something I thought I would never come to regret. If I did something it was because it needed to be done. If I almost died it was because there was no other way. Somewhere along the line, I decided to live the way I want and be selfish, even if the plot disagrees.

Living a life with no regret, the second time around.

At least that was the plan. As usual, Naruto shook my resolve.

"Sakura-chan," he wailed into my chest, his arms wrapped around my middle. His shoulders shook and his bright skies darkened with sadness and relief. I sighed and hugged him back, rubbing his back.

"Dear dear, my sunshine. Everything is okay, don't cry," I cued as I rocked. A blurry memory of a blond woman whispering these same words to me surfaced and I was suddenly a child again.

"Don't cry Mari, it will ruin your makeup." Vision blurred with tears. "Come now, everyone is waiting." She picked me up and continued her strides. I clung to the woman who held me, she was warm. She smelt like grapes. I clung to her tighter, my cries turning into sobs.

"Sakura?"

The world of marble burned away into wood and I was no longer a toddler that clung to her mother. I looked down at the boy in my arms, his eyes a beautiful blue. I kissed his forehead and brushed back his hair.

"I'm still a bit tired, Naruto," I confessed. "Won't you let me sleep a bit more?" he seemed hesitant, his eyes wandering over to the cats in the room as he thought of something.

"Okay, he said meekly as he released me. "I didn't mean to be a bother."

"You know you can never be a bother to me, Naruto." I held on to his hand, stroking his palm. "I'm just too sleepy to give you the affection you need, is all. I'm okay, that's all that matters right?" I kissed his palm, healing a scratch I saw that must have come from falling down. The fox should have healed it already, was it recent?

"Well you heard her, Naruto," Kakashi stepped up, grabbing Naruto by the collar. "How bout we let Sakura sleep and head to the village festival."

"Festival?" I asked.

"That's right," Kakashi nodded. "The village is celebrating the completion of the bridge and the end of Geto's reign." he gave me a knowing look. "I guess we have you to thank for that."

"How long have I been out?" there was no way they completed the bridge on the day of the incident.

"Three days~" Kakashi cheered.

There was a pause as I processed what he said.

"Three Days!?" I exclaimed, remaining seated despite my desire to spring to my feet. I didn't want a repeat of me getting up only to fall on my face.

"You had me worried there~" Kakashi continued to smile at me. "I thought you were dead for sure this time~"

"Kaka-sensei!" Naruto cried in outrage.

"Oh, you would like that wouldn't you~" I returned his smile, confusing Naruto. "Unfortunately for you, I'll outlive you old man."

"We'll see~"

The tension in the room thickened as we smiled at each other, his thunder loud in only my ear.

"Hey, where is Sasuke?" I changed the subject. "I woke up and he's not here, how cruel." I pouted and Naruto gasped.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen him in a while," Naruto muttered looking at the door entrance. "I'll go find him!" he proclaimed and sprung to his feet, running towards the door. He paused in the doorway and looked back at me with troubled eyes.

"What's up?" I asked, giving my best smile. He looked away like a shy schoolgirl.

"It's nothing, I'm glad you're awake Sakura-chan!" he said, all this while looking away from me, and turned and ran out the room closing the door behind him.

"Now I'm worried," I muttered watching him go.

"He's reached that age where he has secrets," Kakashi commented, drawing my eyes. "They grow up so fast."

Once Naruto was far enough away my body sagged. I didn't expect chakra exhaustion to be this awful. Changing chakra nature is hard enough, mixing a completely different chakra with your own was just soul-shattering. Pun not intended. This is why medical shinobis don't just transfer their chakra, like blood it needs to be the same type. To accomplish this they remove all elemental properties from the chakra. What we did was mix two raw chakras together with no filter. The weaker of the two would be consumed by the stronger. Something I feared. Madara was stronger than I was and at that moment there wasn't even a contest. I really thought he would consume me and take over my body, but instead, we merged beautifully, switching between tasks of controlling the body and performing jutsus. It was so easy and comfortable, almost addicting. Knowing someone got your back on a spiritual level was something I never felt since Inner Sakura. Pain rocked through my head at the mention. Before I could think I was faced with a worried Kakashi.

"Don't push yourself too hard," He warned, laying me down again. I was too tired to protest even as Naruto's tears made me feel bad. Funny how I felt bad about making Naruto cry and not about burning people to death. The smell of burning flesh didn't even make me nauseous. Was I just used to it? The burning of everything around me. The blood and flames that was my life. Losing someone close to you was a regular occasion. It was better to not make friends in this world. Even so, I still wanted to be friends with him, Hashirama.

I blink, shaking my head to dismiss the memory, not my own. I knew the merge would have consequences but this was ridiculous. Naruto didn't suddenly have Kurama's memory when he stole his chakra. I groaned and rolled to my side, and away from Kakashi's knowing eyes.

"Get some rest, I'll come to check on you later," Kakashi said, brushing my hair in what he thought was affection but it was just more work for me to fix it. "And don't go off on a solo mission this time." he stood and went to the door, before pausing. "Also…" he hesitated. "Good work taking down Gato." With that, he quickly rushed out of the room like a schoolgirl that just confessed to her crush.

"You have such interesting humans as company nyah~"

I looked over at the cats in the room who remained quiet up until now. They didn't look bothered by the fact we ignored them. Well I did, I'm not sure about Naruto and Kakashi.

"Did you get everything?" I asked.

"All the corpses have been recovered nyah~," the ginger cat said. "We burned everything else that wasn't a head.'' I grimace. I was surprised there was much of a head left after I essentially shredded them. The scene of blood and flames returned but the feeling of nausea didn't follow. This was becoming uncomfortable. Then again I did massacre a clan without any issue.

…

I paused at the thought. Massacred a clan?

"Though there is a small problem nyah~"

I released the thought and focused on the cats.

"Hmm?"

"The kit saw us and the carnage you left nearby." The cat's ears dropped in shame and it took me a moment to realize who they spoke of.

"Naruto," it was just a whisper but their silence confirmed it. I groaned and closed my eyes.

Naruto has seen dead bodies before, but he hasn't seen the bodies I made. I covered my face that heated beneath my hands. Why was I embarrassed instead of horrified? I blame Madara for this.

"How bad was it?" I dared to ask.

"He fainted," they answered all at once.

"I'm the worst," I groaned into my hands.

"It's our fault, had we gotten it down sooner this wouldn't have happened," the ginger apologizes.

"It's fine he would have heard about it from Ino and Shikamaru anyway," I petted their head to ease their worry. They didn't have to work so hard for me and for that I was grateful.

"Look on the bright side at least he didn't see the carnage you caused at Gato's base." I black cat chimed in. "That was enough to traumatize one of our own so it's definitely not something a kit should see.

Life drained from my face.

"You idiot!"

"When will you learn to keep your mouth shut."

The cats tangled the black-furred feline, chastising him, but the damage was done.

A swarm of Springflys descended from the ceiling forming a protective barrier around me and hiding me from the world. I was an ostrich and stuck her head in the sand. Maybe if I ignore it it will go away.

"Ah! She ran away."

"See what you did, now she's shut herself away in shame."

"I'm sorry."

I can hear you, ya know.

Naruto's search for Sasuke led him to the forest behind the house thankfully away from where the corpses were. There was nothing but ash there now, a black stain on the land. It was better than the red gore he saw. The image flashed and he retched. He slowed his breathing so as to not activate the necklace again. He couldn't believe it had such a function. Putting him to sleep so he didn't have a panic attack. Was that normal?

Naruto pushed off the tree and followed Sasuke's scent. Recently his scenes have become stronger. Nowhere near Sakura's sensory abilities or the nose of an Inuzuka, but it was close enough. He walked deeper into the forest enjoying the cool air as he went. The trip seemed to be filled with chaos at every corner. It was good to have some time to breathe.

Sasuke didn't seem to agree if his display of destruction was anything to go by. Kunai littered the forest, embedded in tree trunks and in the ground. Sasuke stood in the midst of that, breathing heavily.

Naruto watched him for a moment. Watched as his shoulders rose and fell and the leaf fluttered around him. One such leaf came near his mouth as he exhaled but did not change its trajectory. The only proof Naruto needed.

"Kai."

With a pulse of chakra, he dispelled the genjutsu placed on the area.

It was worse than he thought.

Black flames licked at the trees burning down the forest around Sasuke who curled up in a ball. Sasuke was quiet the entire time Sakura was sleeping, only leaving the house when he heard she woke up. Naruto couldn't claim to know Sasuke's pain but he liked the Uchihas who treated him kindly. Seeing them lie motionless was almost as painful as seeing Sakura impaled.

He shook the memory away and approached the young Uchiha. He walked heavily so Sasuke knew he was coming, the last thing he needed was a kunai to the face, he got enough of that from Sakura.

The black flames didn't feel hot but he didn't dare touch them. He knew what would happen if he did, there wouldn't even be bones. As he stepped closer to Sasuke he felt a surge of chakra. Instinct told him to get away and he leaped back onto a tree. Purple chakra flared like flames around Sasuke and a ribcage enclosed him. Naruto stared in awe. He'd seen it before. This was Sasuke's Susanoo, something only he and his brother could use. Now at least.

Naruto jumped down when Sasuke did not move. The purple chakra danced like flames around Sasuke, protecting him.

"Be careful, Naruto, that's not something anyone can break," his father's voice rang in his mind. That wasn't exactly true. Sakura said the legendary sannin Tsunade could break it with a kick. Naruto moved closer, stopping a bit from the Susanoo, he crouched in front of Sasuke and stared. The Uchiha remained in a ball with his face buried in his knees.

"Sakura-chan is asking for you," Naruto said after a moment of silence.

"She knows where I am." Sasuke's voice was rough, he'd been crying. Naruto looked around to find a cat in the tree looking down at them with keen eyes, a butterfly on its head. Naruto wasn't even upset that Sakura sent him on a wild cat chase. She couldn't move around yet and wouldn't be able to get to Sasuke. Did she send him in her stead? He really wished she'd said something so he could prepare.

"She came back, huh." Naruto began. "I wasn't expecting to see her so soon, but I guess it has been a few years." he paused but continued when Sasuke didn't speak. "I couldn't put a scratch her. All this power and I couldn't even touch her." he laughed dryly. "In the end, Sakura had to save me. Again." he hugged himself lost in the memory even as he spoke, the heat, the grief, the anger. "I really am useless, I couldn't even protect you. How am I supposed to become Hokage if I can't even save one friend?" The last part was said more to himself than Sasuke. Naruto thought he'd lost Sasuke, thought that he would have to face Sakura's disappointed eyes.

"Hey, do you still wanna make that seal together.?" if his voice broke no one said anything about it. "We should make it and rub it in Sakura's face right?" He remembered the promise they made before Sasuke stopped moving. "You'll keep your promise, right?" his body trembled with anxiety, if they made a seal together they would have to be around each other and Naruto wanted, no, needed Sasuke to be around. If only so he can hear his heartbeat. It took him months to accept that Sakura wasn't going to die after she was impaled. Sage knows how long it would take to accept Sasuke's recovery.

Something cold passed over him and he looked up to find Sasuke looking down at him. His Susanoo was still active, wrapping around both of them. Sasuke's eyes were dark with the Mangekyou Sharingan. Sakura always scolds him when he uses it asking if he wants to go blind. But Sasuke's eyes didn't develop the way other Uchiha did. Or so he was told. Like Kakashi, it was forced to evolve after a traumatic event. One day he has to ask how Sakura knows so much and why she felt the need to tell him.

"I'll make the seal with you," Sasuke said flatly. Naruto's smile turned into a grin.

"Yeah, let's do it!"

This is a bad idea. Even as he thought it his body moved on its own. He knew it was a bad idea to make the fox have semi-control of his body but his parents were on the fox's side. How could they possibly think there was something wrong with Sakura? So what if she left a bloody mess that caused him to faint, she was still Sakura. She was a kunoichi, he wasn't naive enough to think she wasn't capable of killing someone. The sight of how gruesome it was just surprised him, is all.

His body moved to the room Sakura slept in. She hadn't woken up after fainting and he was starting to get worried. Kaka-sensei said she was fine and this was normal but normal and Sakura never did belong in the same sentence. She was a walking example of what normal was not.

He looked down at her sleeping form, her breathing slow and steady, her skin pale. If he thought she looked vulnerable before, her current condition was devastating. His boy lowered over her and he really wanted to close his eyes. He knew she wouldn't get up and hit him but it was a fear instilled from a young age.

"The scent is definitely coming from her." Naruto didn't like the way his voice was warped when the fox spoke with it. His body sniffed at her still form, moving dangerously low.

"What the hell!?" Naruto yelled outraged," his voice didn't come from his mouth but remained inside his head. The fox rolled Naruto's eyes and rolled Sakura onto her stomach, before shamelessly lifting her gown.

"I'm so dead," Naruto muttered, mentally curling into a ball. The fox sniffed at her back moving lower until he reached her panty line and thankfully stopped. He rubbed at a mark, in the shape of a diamond before licking it. Naruto died a little inside.

The fox rubbed at the spot with frustration as though trying to rip off the diamond-shaped flesh.

"What is it?'' Naruto asked when his soul went back inside.

"I found his scent but this makes no sense." The fox was confused as he continued to rub at the spot, it was going to turn red at his point. Naruto took control of his body and quickly returned Sakura to how she was. Before rushing out of the room.

"What scent were you looking for?" he asked the fox as he returned to the room that he shared with the others.

"The scent of a dead man," the fox said cryptically. "The scent of the sage."

"Sage?" Naruto heard that name before.

"The Sage of the Six Paths," the fox finally explained. "Hagoromo Otsutsuki."

Naruto thought back to that night and what he discovered. He wanted to tell Sasuke but didn't know how.

He mostly didn't want to say "how" he got the information. That fox was trying to kill him and he knew it.

He himself didn't understand what it meant and neither did his parents. The fox spoke of the Sage's scent being on Sakura. The very dead sage, who existed long before their time. Naruto wasn't a fan of ghosts. He just hoped it wouldn't turn into a horror movie where Sakura gets possessed and goes on a killing spree. The memory of the "bodies" in the clearing near the house, didn't help his anxiety.

Next chapter

April 12.

I think I'll post a short fanfic. A very short fanfic that has an ending already. But for that, I need to write it. We'll see.

Night song~

Omake.

The Neko nin watched as the little kit approached their sleeping contractor. The barrier was down now and he posed no risk to her recovery so they did not interfere. He was a loyal kit that stayed by her side throughout the treatment, so it was "Safe."

"What's he doing?" one of the kittens that accompanied them asked in a hushed tone too low for humans to hear. Their squad leader and chief medical Neko nin looked up from his folded paws in time to see the boy lick their contractor.

"Giving her a bath, obviously." another kitten said, "We already cleaned her though it's kind of rude."

Their commander didn't bother to tell them that humans didn't bathe like that and instead watched the kit rub at a spot on her lower back. Their golden eyes narrowed at the kit. They too noticed the make that wasn't there before "The split," but assumed it was just something another seal. Bakeneko* knows there were a lot of those on her body already. The kit soon got up, too quickly, and left the room. The ginger commander pretended they didn't see the red tint of his ear.

At least the kit was up and about, they were worried the kit would avoid their contractor after they saw the carnage she made. Though if he thought she was bad he should see her other half. The ginger commander snuggled up into their paw and fell asleep trusting his kittens to keep watching. Hah! Yeah right, there were Harutobus on the ceiling, keeping watch, and ready to shred anything that came near their contractor with malicious intent. From what the ginger Neko nin witnessed, they were a deadly bunch.

"Our human is strange, nyah"

*Bakeneko is their cat deity. (Headcanon.)