SO SO SO sorry for not posting here on FF! I am so intertwined with A03, as it says, I post all my new stories there, I forgot to load the new chapter here. The story still eludes me on getting it done but if you want to see any of my new stuff, I am active on A03 - I am up to 30 SNS stories posted there now ... can't remember how many are here. I took so long to get this posted, I even forgot how to post it hahaha - but good thing I got it figured out :)
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"What do you mean another realm, forever? Someone better start making some sense!" Itachi growled.
"Majesty, we must go, get you to a healer. I don't know how much longer Haku-kun's magic will last on your wound!" Kakashi argued.
Sasuke nodded his head. "Take him Kakashi, just go!"
Itachi opened his mouth to rebut, but he cried out in agony when Kakashi lifted him. "Hold on majesty, I got you." Kakashi quickly sprinted in the other direction of the chaos.
Sasuke turned towards the swirls of billowing purple smoke, the shadowed figure of the dragon within it, waiting, roaring, swinging its head and tail. He felt so lost, so small, what do I do now?
The memories of what he had researched all came rushing so fast, but it was starting to make more sense. But how could Haku think he could be the one that leads the dragon through? And what does that mean? Of both fair maiden and man? If the tales of only a maiden fair could lead the dragon … Haku would be killed for sure.
"Sasuke!"
Sasuke turned his head to the familiar voice, seeing Queen Kushina rushing towards him. Her hair was wind swept, her gown filthy from the carnage that surrounded them, but still she rushed him and grabbed him into a crunching hug.
"Thank the gods you're safe!" Kushina whispered as she rubbed his back. She then pulled back, keeping Sasuke in her hands and looked him over. "Are you hurt anywhere?" Her eyes roamed his body up and down.
Sasuke shook his head. "No majesty, but what are you doing out here? It's dangerous! You need to get away!" He moved to turn Kushina around but the queen stopped him.
"We came, because we know what to do! We can save the kingdom and hopefully get rid of Orochimaru in the process!"
"We?" Sasuke asked but his question was answered when Konan came rushing out of the smoke towards them.
Kushina shook her head before putting an arm around Konan, holding her close. "We need to move quickly, before any more damage is done!"
Sasuke looked at the young purple haired woman, her eyes were vacant and she stared at the chaos that the dragon was creating. It was apparent that she had a path to follow. "Go with Kakashi and Itachi back to the castle, find a healer." He pointed in the direction Kakashi just left. "I will stay here to assist Konan." His words were firm and commanding, no room for discussion.
Kushina smiled softly, placing her hands on Sasuke's shoulders. "Spoken like a true leader. I'm proud of you." She quickly placed a soft kiss on Sasuke's forehead before sprinting off in the direction Kakashi had just run.
Sasuke stood beside Konan, grasping her arm, "let's go," he called out.
Konan said nothing as she attempted to hurry towards the wailing dragon, who continued to smash its head against the invisible barrier. Smoke hung heavily in the air, spews of fire lit up the area, the ground trembled when the dragon's tail and feet slammed into the ground. Sasuke led Konan around the debris and bodies littering the ground. The closer they got to the enraged dragon, the thicker the smoke became. Sasuke could feel the heat from the flames that erupted from the dragon's throat.
He scanned the area, looking for the familiar outline of Haku. How does one tame the beast to let it know that you are there to save it?
"There!" Sasuke exclaimed, seeing the small figure of Haku. He was waving his arms about, rushing from side to side, as if trying to gain the dragon's attention. "Haku!" Sasuke called out, but the continuous and wailing cries of the dragon drowned out his calls. "Shit…" Sasuke was trapped between continuing to guide Konan or rushing out to pull Haku from the chaotic events.
A high pitched soothing sound began to vibrate from Konan's open mouth, Sasuke looked at her in surprise. She held up a hand towards the beast and the sound she released began to change pitch. She continued to walk forward, straight towards the dragon that did not seem to notice. As the dragon waved its head, spewing fire, roars and slamming it into the invisible barrier, the soothing pitched sounds continued to change tone, length and intensity.
A movement in the smoke caught his attention. "Haku!" Sasuke called out again and he waved. Konan pulled away from him, as if he wasn't there, her focus on the task at hand. Pulled between two different decisions, Sasuke cursed and let Konan go her own way. "Fuck," he cursed and headed towards Haku's shadowed figure. Konan was apparently under her own trance that he couldn't penetrate, but Haku, he knew was out there under his own free will. He took a wide berth around the dragon who continued to swing and stomp about, heading towards the last area he saw Haku's shadowed figure in the smoke. "Haku!" he called out again, leaping over debris and bodies.
Through the clamorous sounds the dragon continued to make in its wake, he heard the cries of Haku breaking through. Sprinting harder he headed directly towards Haku's calls. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Haku moving about, calling out towards the dragon. "Haku!" Sasuke called out and Haku looked towards him in horror, realising who was calling out to him.
"What are you doing here!? Get away! Quickly!" Haku screamed back.
"You're not making any difference!" Sasuke barked back. "We need to get out of here!" He moved to grab the smaller man, but Haku shook his head.
"No highness, for you, for Itachi, I-I need to get this—"
Sasuke wrapped his arms around the smaller form. "No! Trust me! You can't do this!"
A large dark form emerged from the haze of smoke towards the pair at frightening speed, the dragon's tail. Sasuke could only gasp at the sudden form coming directly at them. Upon impact, Sasuke felt the wind sucked from his lungs while his body flew through the air, his arms barely holding onto Haku's smaller form. He had no breath to cry out in surprise and pain, when he and Haku's body hit the ground, hard. He clenched his teeth from the pain and his body dragged and rolled throughout the stones and debris. He heard Haku's grunt and cries of pain nearby.
He blinked heavily, fighting against the onslaught of pain that rippled through his body. The tail of the dragon flew over their downed bodies once more, Sasuke held his breath, praying that the tail would not flop onto the ground. It was bad enough that he and Haku were in the path of the tail flipping around wildly. Rolling to his side, he bit through the pain and got to his feet, determined to grab Haku and get them both out of the destructive path of the dragon.
Following the groans of pain, he found Haku struggling to get up. He didn't appear to be injured other than a few cuts and scrapes. "Let's go," Sasuke demanded. "Can you still get up and walk?"
Haku groaned and then nodded his head affirmatively. That was all Sasuke needed to help the smaller man off the ground, slipping an arm around Haku's waist and draping Haku's arm over his shoulders.
"What's that sound?" Haku asked while stumbling across the field, his eyes looking around the area.
"It's Konan." He could hear the sounds coming from her, they sounded soothing, like a siren's call. "She seems to be under a type of enchantment."
"Look!" Haku suddenly pointed out.
Sasuke stopped and the two looked through the smoke to see the massive form of the dragon had stilled. It was almost eerie, considering not moments ago the area was full of ear splitting sounds from the dragon. It was calm, like the eye of a storm, and the only sounds heard was the melody of notes coming from Konan's lips.
As the smoke began to clear more, the mutilated form of the dragon could be seen more clearly, its long neck curved, its head staring at the small necromancer woman who continued to sing. Her arms were both raised, her palms open towards the nose of the dragon. It was like a scene from a story, where a maiden steps forward and calms the beast with sound. Sasuke held his breath as the dragon dropped its head, allowing Konan's hands to be placed upon its snout.
"What the hell…" Sasuke whispered, watching the scene unfold before them. Haku was just as speechless. The sounds Konan released continued, as the palms of her hands rubbed up the head of the dragon.
"Whatever she did, it's working…" Haku whispered. "Look, it's following her!"
Sasuke watched in awe, as the dragon turned to follow Konan towards the glimmering massive mirror. 'What about the invisible field?' Sasuke thought to himself. He knew it was there, but didn't know if it would allow them through, not to mention if there was another power behind it that could cause them harm, or worse, death.
His questions were answered as Konan's hand rose towards the air, a bright beam of blue exploded, creating a massive star shaped hole that slowly grew bigger. "Look, the barrier, it–it's disintegrating…" Sasuke's words faded. The impressive scene was something that he was certain would never see again. As if watching a shimmering rip in the sky, that slowly took away the lights of the stars, the bigger it grew.
"This is it…" Sasuke breathed.
.
.
.
Kabuto stumbled through the shaking grounds, tripping over bodies, trees, shrubs, broken tents and other random items. He held his one arm close to his body, clenching his teeth as he attempted to not jostle his broken arm too much. "Majesty!" he called out, squinting through the smoke and dust that hadn't settled. "Majesty where are you!?" he called out again, trying to find his king.
He was thrown when the dragon was released, flying far across the area, landing harshly and breaking his arm in the process. He managed to crawl from the chaos that was happening, watching many men being tossed about. He couldn't regain control of the dragon, and he wasn't going to stick around to find out why. The dragon had gone into a rage, destroying everything in its path.
"Majesty, lord Orochimaru, where are you?" he called out again. A small shadow of movement caught his attention amongst a pile of debris. "Majesty?" Kabuto called out once more, quickening his pace to where he saw the small shadow of movement. As he got closer, he recognized the black glove of his king.
"My lord!" Kabuto called out, grabbing one of several bodies that were flopped together, broken and bleeding. "Can you hear me? Uuugghhh!" Sweat dropped from Kabuto's forehead as she struggled to move deadweight bodies aside with one arm. The black gloved hand fell to the ground once the body holding it up was moved. Kabuto fell to his knees, grasping the gloved hand.
"Majesty! Majesty! Tell me you can hear me!" Kabuto called out, his eyes taking in the broken form of the powerful king. Orochimaru's legs were bent completely wrong, blood glistened from his one leg and stomach, where large broken pieces of wood lay embedded within his flesh. Caked mud and cuts were on Orochimaru's cheeks, forehead and nose. "Please, my king, can you hear me?" Kabuto leaned in close to Orochimaru's face to listen.
Blank dark eyes stared up into the sky, no life stirred with them. Kabuto stifled a sob, it was obvious, his king was dead.
His body shaking, he suppressed his sob between clenched teeth and embraced the anger that rose from deep within, ready to allow the emotion to take control. It was then he realised it was suddenly silent. He looked about, noticing that the explosions and sounds of the rampaging dragon had suddenly ceased. He slowly turned his head, his eyes scanning the horizon of where the dragon was. Squinting through the slowly dissipating smoke, he focused on the silhouette of the dragon's form.
"What the hell…" He was still too far to see anything other than the shadowed form of the dragon through the mist of smoke, but there was something happening, he was certain of it. He glanced back down at the broken form of his beloved king. Biting his bottom lip he hissed, "I will get our revenge and continue our work my lord." Managing to get to his feet, he rushed towards the dragon's shadowed form.
.
.
.
Konan took her steps with certainty, her voice still singing the strange sounds as the dragon slowly followed. She could feel the warmth embracing her, beckoning her towards the large mirror. The sensations were welcoming, inviting and it was as if there was a promise of safety and warmth awaiting her. She thought of Yahiko and Nagato. 'Are you waiting for me? Is that both of you over there?' Tears welled in her eyes at the thought of her two most precious persons waiting for her just beyond the mist. 'I'm coming… wait for me…'
The invisible barrier continued to disintegrate, flashing lines of sparks as if the barrier was burning away. The ground vibrated with each step the dragon took beside her, the heavy warm breaths washing over her like a calm breeze. Her eyes did not leave her destination, the vibrant glimmer from the massive mirror, getting closer to her, the pulses of energy drawing her near.
A sudden angry cry echoed behind her, breaking Konan of her thoughts and she turned to see Kabuto, his one arm held over his head, his hand clenching a dagger. His face filthy and twisted in agony, his eyes feral and staring directly at her. Konan's heart leaped from her chest, striking fear at seeing the man's enraged behaviour and she knew he was coming for her. She turned to run but the few steps she took was all she could take before she wailed out a painful cry from the dagger that embedded into her back.
"AHHhh!" Konan cried out as she fell beneath Kabuto's form.
"You BITCH! I won't let you do this!" Kabuto screamed.
The dragon's roar broke through the air, it stumbled to the side slightly, as it dropped its head to see Kabuto's form. The dragon snarled, recognizing the form of its torturer, it inhaled deeply as it prepared to spew fire at the attacker.
"You're MINE!" Kabuto shrieked as he quickly got to his feet, his one hand pulling out a purple orb from his pocket. He rushed towards the dragon to get out of the line of the fire that was sure to come. "You think you can get away from me so easily!" Kabuto growled, leaping towards the beast.
The dragon lowered its head as it spewed flames from its snout to where it had last seen Kabuto. Konan screamed in fear and pain, covering her head with her arms, face into the ground.
"Bastard!" Sasuke propelled himself in Kabuto. Sasuke had seen him rushing towards Konan and didn't hesitate. Kabuto shrieked in pain and shock, Sasuke felt satisfaction at hearing the surprise cries from the asshole. He gripped Kabuto's form as hard as he could while they struggled. Kabuto howled in pain as he tried to fight for freedom against him, but he only had one working arm. Sasuke attempted to throw punches into the man when they skidded to a stop, the dragon's wails continued to pierce the air. "Your time is up!" Sasuke growled when his fist connected to Kabuto's face. He twisted their bodies so he could straddle the man, laying punch after punch into the fucker's face. The purple orb bounced out of Kabuto's hand, but neither man noticed.
Sasuke allowed the rage to flow through his arms, feeling success with every punch he delivered.
"Highness! Watch out!"
It was Haku and Sasuke whipped his head to the shouts coming from the younger. He gasped and rolled off Kabuto when the dragon's feet fell near him. The dragon hoisted its two front legs up and stomped them both down towards Kabuto's body. "What the hell!" Sasuke gasped, struggling to get to his feet.
The impressive feet of the dragon stomped about, and that's when Sasuke saw the purple orb, releasing a mist of purple smoke into the air. 'The orb that Kabuto used to control the dragon!' Anger flashed through him, remembering how Kabuto thrust that orb into the dragon's nose, how the magic had overtaken the dragon's mind. But it was obvious the dragon recalled the orb, as it stomped the ground, trying to crush the sphere. Sasuke sprinted out of the way of the stomping feet, seeing Konan writhing in agony nearby, laying among the burnt land.
"Konan!" Sasuke yelled out, dropping to his knees to the young woman. The blood was pooling on her back, the dagger still embedded in her flesh. "This is going to hurt," he whispered, grasping the dagger and quickly pulling it out.
Konan cried out in pain, her sobbing and cries muffled into the ground. Her body shook uncontrollably and Sasuke gently turned her over. "I need to get you to a healer," he said, brushing back her sweat caked and filthy hair from her face.
"N-no I need, need to–" her voice cracked, her limbs trembled as she pointed to the mirror.
The dragon continued to stomp at the glowing orb, a sudden shriek exploded in the air, then nothing, and Sasuke glanced over to see the end result of the dragon falling on both front feet. His eyes widened, recognizing Kabuto's limbs limply on the ground, the dragon's large feet covering what was left of the man's body. He breathed out a long breath, it's over, the man was obviously dead. The dragon sniffed at the now plummeted body beneath its feet, and snorted loudly. Sasuke swore that it was a snort of pure satisfaction. He shivered when he felt Konan's body go limp.
"Konan!" he called, looking down at the purple haired woman before him. Her face was caked with mud, sweat and her hair. Her skin was pale, her dress torn and filthy. He gently tapped her cheeks, "Konan, hold on now, come on!" Her breath was shallow and weak.
"Highness!" It was Haku, rushing towards them, dropping to his knees, eyes wide with panic. "What's happened?"
"She's fading! I-I don't know what to do!" Sasuke pleaded at Haku.
"Let me try," Haku breathed out, turning Konan to see her back. "I-I think I can slow it down."
Sasuke helped to turn Konan carefully, Haku took in the injury on her back. The fabric was saturated in her blood, dark, thick and ominous looking. A vibrant glow emanated from Haku's palms directly over the wound, as it did before when Haku used his power over Itachi's wound.
Sasuke watched helplessly, as Haku closed his eyes and concentrated. A shove to his head startled him and he looked up to see the dragon's eyes watching him. He lifted his hand to the dragon's snout, providing a soothing stroking motion. "Thank you," he whispered to the dragon. "We'll get you home." The warm breath of the dragon washed over him, ruffling his hair.
Gasping noises had Sasuke looking down, seeing Konan's eyes flutter, her whimpers of pain indicating she was awake.
"Konan, can you hear me?" Sasuke asked while Haku sat back on his legs, breathing heavily, the glow from his hands disappearing.
"Where is Ryu?" Konan gasped, her eyes flickering about.
"Ryu?" Sasuke asked.
At that moment the dragon's snout dropped closer to Konan. She breathed out a breath of relief and lifted her hand to the dragon. "Ryu, you are safe," she whispered.
Sasuke lifted a brow, glancing at the almost intimate relationship between Konan and the dragon. At that moment, Konan attempted to move. "Easy now, you need a healer," Sasuke insisted, holding Konan carefully as she shifted her legs.
She shook her head. "No, Ryu needs me, needs me to take him home," she explained.
"But…" Haku stammered.
Again Konan shook her head, as she rolled to her side and trembled to stand. "It's the only way, and–and I need to do this."
Helpless to say anything more to stop her, Haku and Sasuke shifted themselves to help Konan stand. The dragon watched carefully and turned to look at the shimmering reflection of the mirror.
"Let me go," Konan whispered. "You cannot come much closer." Her legs trembled as she stood, she placed her hands on her knees, catching her breath. "Do not ask me to explain, there isn't much time."
Just as she spoke, a tremble and a cracking sound shook the air. Sasuke and Haku looked towards the shimmering mirror, "look! It's a crack!" Haku called out, pointing in the direction.
Konan began taking tentative steps towards the mirror, groaning sounds of metal and glass cracking vibrated in the air. Sasuke rushed to assist her, determined to help the woman. Konan didn't protest this time, she continued to stumble towards the mirror. The dragon slowly shuffled forward as well, its eyes glancing down at Konan every few seconds.
"Afterwards, I'll get you to a healer," Sasuke stated. Konan said nothing, and kept walking forward. He made sure that Konan got around any large debris, and kept her footing as they got closer to the portal in the mirror. He could see the large crack, starting from the top corner, moving towards the middle. He squinted, he could see — what is that? — it was like another world in the reflection. Certainly not the current world, but the sky was a brilliant blue, fluffy white clouds were floating about. "What is that place?" he whispered.
"The world where the dragon belongs, Ryu's home," Haku whispered in response. "Am I right Konan-chan?" he asked.
"Mhm," Konan breathed out. "Ryu has been away for far too long. He is very lonely."
"Can you communicate with the dragon?" Sasuke asked, very curious.
Konan shook her head. "Not directly, but I can feel him," she explained, lifting her fist to her chest. "It is very powerful how much he longs to be home." A tear escaped, leaving a wet trail down her dirty cheek.
Sasuke glanced at the mirror once more, a gasp escaping his lips. A figure was now on the other side of the glass, his blond hair apparent to Sasuke who it was. "Naruto…" he whispered. The blond was on the other side, his fists banging against the glass, his mouth opening but Sasuke could not hear what was coming from Naruto's lips. The glass continued to creak and groan, a cracking noise still filling the air. The sudden appearance of his long time friend had Sasuke leaping from Konan's side, his eyes focused on the giant portal before him and attempting to rush forward.
"No wait!" Konan cried out at Sasuke's sudden departure.
A shock wave slammed into Sasuke and Haku at the next moment, causing both men to cry out in surprise.
"You cannot go any further," Konan breathed. She stepped forward, the dragon as well.
"Wait!" Sasuke called out, stepping out to grab Konan but another sudden and invisible force shoved him back, causing him and Haku to fall back on their ass. "Fuck! What was that!"
Konan stopped and looked over her shoulder, a small smile on her lips. "Ryu thanks you, highness," she whispered. She turned back and began taking more steps towards the massive mirror and the blond who's fists continued to hit the glass on the other side. "It will be alright now," she added.
Another breaking sound echoed, and Sasuke could see another crack forming and moving through the smooth glass. The dragon turned its head and looked over at Sasuke, tilting its head as if wanting to say something. Sasuke took in the dragon's mutilated form. Anger rose in him once more recalling how Kabuto and Orochimaru tortured this gentle creature. "Will Naruto be coming back with you?" he called out to Konan. The young woman didn't answer and kept walking. Seeing Naruto in obvious distress on the other side left him feeling uncertain of this plan.
The dragon lowered its head and pushed its snout into Sasuke's chest, causing Sasuke to smile. "Okay, okay, I believe you." He rubbed the massive nose and swore the dragon was trying to purr. "I'll miss you." He dropped his forehead to the dragon's nose briefly before the dragon moved away.
Looking back to the mirror, a massive glowing light began to unfold from the frame as Konan and the dragon stepped closer to the portal. Sasuke squinted as the light became brighter, appearing to light up the entire area around him and Haku. He held his arm up, shading his eyes so he could see and he managed to see the reflecting glass when Konan stepped through. The glass rippled, as if Konan and the dragon were stepping into a clear lake, their bodies causing a ripple in the water.
Within moments, they were gone. The light remained briefly, Sasuke continued to watch, waiting to see the mirrored reflection…
The sudden shattering was deafening, Sasuke dropped to his knees and covered his head, the explosion creating shock waves that washed over his body. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the pain of any glass that may slice into his body from the explosion, but none came. Just as quickly as the eruption happened, it was suddenly silent.
He slowly sat up, peeking over his arms to where the massive mirror stood, but as expected, it was no longer there. The only indication was a cavity in the earth, that showed at one time, something large and elongated sat there.
"Woah…" Haku gasped, getting up from the ground. He had dropped to the ground when the explosion happened, protecting his head as Sasuke did.
Sasuke looked over at the younger man, quickly looking him over to see if Haku suffered from any injuries. He saw none, he breathed out a sigh of relief. "They're — gone…" Sasuke whispered. He looked around the smoke-filled area for anything else that may indicate that Konan and Ryu were still in the area, but he could see nothing. Just the carnage and despair of the battle that happened around them.
"It's over…" Haku said as he stepped closer to where the mirror once stood. He glanced at Sasuke, giving a gentle smile. Haku's once beautiful and flowing clothing was now in tatters, ripped and caked in mud.
Realisation struck Sasuke's eyes, he ran a hand though his filthy hair before sprinting towards the gash left in the earth from the mirror. He stopped at the edge of the broken ground, looking frantically about. He ran around the hole, looking in, then would stop and look about the field, the smoke fading with each passing minute.
"Highness, what's wrong!?" Haku called out as he ran up to Sasuke.
"How will they get back?" Sasuke asked quietly, slowly looking up at Haku. "She needs to bring him back!" He dropped into the gaping hole, dropping to his knees and grabbing the upset earth that was burnt and wet. He dug at the earth, as if seeking something beneath the soil. "They're supposed to come back! They need to come back!" he called out angrily once more.
Haku stepped up to the young prince, placing a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. He could feel Sasuke trembling as he clawed at the soil. "Who are you looking for?" he asked gently.
Sasuke's head dropped, his hands gripping the soil in his fists as he sat back on his knees and he slowly opened his one clenched fist.
Haku tilted his head in question at the mound of dirt in Sasuke's one hand.
Sasuke slowly used his other hand to brush away the soil, until a smooth glimmer of gold was revealed.
Haku recognised the item to be a gold ring and he knelt beside Sasuke, cupping his own hand under Sasuke's. He was confused on why or how this ring came to be in Sasuke's possession suddenly. "A ring? What does it mean?" Haku questioned, looking at the young prince.
"Naruto's gone…"