Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/2101596.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Major_Character_Death, Rape/Non-Con,
      Underage
  Category:
      F/M, M/M
  Fandom:
      Naruto
  Relationship:
      Uzumaki_Naruto/Uchiha_Sasuke
  Character:
      Uzumaki_Naruto, Uchiha_Sasuke, Gaara_(Naruto), Killer_Bee, Uchiha_Itachi
  Additional Tags:
      Dark, Evil!Itachi, Pedophilia, OOC, Uchihacest, Plushophilia
  Series:
      Part 2 of Until_You
  Stats:
      Published: 2009-08-20 Chapters: 8/? Words: 39426
****** Always You ******
by Dmnq8
Summary
     When Sasuke's past catches up to him he finds it's harder to let go
     of than he thought. Will he lose everything he's gained with Naruto?
     NaruSasu. Brief Bee/Naruto.
***** Chapter 1 *****
 Naruto, glowing with chakra, raced through the tall grass running on all
fours. The gazelle he had his eyes on leapt gracefully and swiftly away from
him, zigzagging to try and throw him off. Naruto altered course with practiced
ease each time, drawing closer to his and Sasuke's dinner.
The animal was getting winded. Naruto pounced before it could lose itself in
the forest up ahead, snagging his claws in the animal's throat. He held it down
with one knee as the gazelle kicked weakly, bleeding its life into the grass.
Sasuke looked up from inspecting his weapons as Blondie walked back into camp
with the deer carcass.
"Well, that's just great. Who's supposed to cook that?" Sasuke gestured at the
dripping animal with his kunai.
"You said find food."
"Which when you translate it means find someone to rob of their food. Jesus."
Naruto looked at the deer dangling from his hand. They had no idea what part of
what country they were in. They'd been on the run (Sasuke called it seeing the
sights) for a year now. There was no town or village nearby and there hadn't
been one for weeks. They'd run out of food three days ago. They were currently
starving. Naruto would have thought anything would do at this point.
Sasuke stood and came over to examine the deer more closely, trying to see if a
meal really could be salvaged from it. He prodded it with a finger. "Well," he
said doubtfully. "I guess we can build a fire and try to do something with it.
You know how to skin and clean it? Because I sure don't."
                                     -oOo-
Sasuke lit the fire and watched Blondie maul the deer in an attempt to skin the
thing. This mangled mess was then tossed onto the flames where it began smoking
and burning at once. Sasuke poked it importantly with a stick a few times,
calling himself checking it for done-ness.
Naruto hooked the charred mass out of the fire two hours later with his foot.
They examined it hopefully.
Sasuke looked up at Naruto as he spoke in a genuinely perplexed voice. "How is
it that two people who are rich, dangerous and creative can be currently
starving to death in the middle of nowhere?"
"I told you we should have bought a map."
Sasuke ignored this. "I'm sick of eating weeds and other rabbit shit. We need
food and we need it now." He slumped on the ground and hung his head.
Naruto came over and sat next to Sasuke, putting and arm around him and drawing
him close. Sasuke let himself be comforted. After awhile, they reclined in the
grass and fell asleep, their stomachs grumbling pitifully.
===============================================================================
Things got worse. Sasuke collapsed a day later, unable to go on. Naruto carried
him on his back, moving through the countryside, looking for someone, anyone,
who might provide food.
                                     -oOo-
Nearly four days after the deer, Naruto wove unsteadily into the front yard of
a lone cottage. He collapsed in the dirt. It was somewhere between midnight and
dawn
Several individuals came out the following morning and found the two young men.
They were dragged into the house with much enthusiasm and excitement. The big
blond one was manhandled onto the large bed in the single room of the cottage.
The thinner one was lifted between the several cottage occupants and laid to
rest beside the big blond one. It was determined that they were uninjured. They
simply required food and water. One occupant bathed the men with a sponge while
another took their clothes and washed them. Yet another prepared a watery broth
to feed them. The rest of the occupants sat around the unconscious men, sharing
what little bed space there was left.
                                     -oOo-
Naruto woke when something warm seeped down his throat. He sat up suddenly,
fluidly and not at all as if he were on death's door. The girl feeding him the
broth jumped back with a squeal of fright. Naruto took in his surroundings.
Five young women stood or sat around the bed. Sasuke lay beside him with
another girl holding a bowl of the broth. She'd been feeding him when Naruto
sat up and scared her, too. An old crone of a woman stood at the far side of
the room, holding what looked like Sasuke's bag. The bag he kept all of their
considerable money in. The old crone was currently sifting through the cash and
gold, fingering it lovingly, palming the jewels.
The blue eyes took in the one room, the open doorway that let in bright
sunlight, the glimpse of the front yard he'd collapsed in. They finally
returned to the young women sitting around him on the bed.
The one who'd been feeding Naruto tucked a lock of her brown hair behind one
ear. She smiled winsomely. Her eyes were a light green. She hesitantly reached
the bowl towards Naruto. After a moment, he took it; he needed nourishment if
he were to face whatever was coming.
For Naruto felt distinctly uneasy with the way these women looked at him and
Sasuke.
He drained the broth in a few gulps. The bowl was taken from him and set aside.
Naruto didn't speak, but he saw the women's eyes, all different shades of
green, run over his body more than once. His own eyes dropped to discover his
nudity.
The old crone came forward at last. Naruto stared at her without expression.
"Well, ain't you a finespecimen of a man." Her faded green eyes were nearly
lost in the folds of her tanned and weathered face. She smacked her wet lips
appreciatively. "I daresay I haven't had cock since my own man died many years
ago. How about helping an old woman remember what it's like to have prime meat
like yourself?"
Naruto had no idea what the woman meant, could barely understand her. Her
accent was nearly indecipherable. What he did understand was that the woman
planned on keeping their money. He'd seen her stuff the sack in a cupboard and
lock it. The key she dropped into the pocket of her worn house dress.
He had to assume that he was in some kind of trouble here. He didn't understand
the gleam of anticipation he saw in the women's eyes, but his instincts,
belonging mostly to Kyuubi, picked up on the fact that he was amongst
predators. He was as weak as a kitten, but his body tensed accordingly.
Naruto wished Sasuke were awake. Sasuke was his walking translator for humans
and their actions. Whenever they were around people, Sasuke kept up a running
commentary about what they were doing and why. Most especially, though, Sasuke
was the unquestioned leader. He always knew what to do in every situation.
Naruto felt…not vulnerable, exactly, but nervous. Susceptible to these people.
He glanced to his left at where Sasuke lay sprawled. They'd been eating much
better than either of them ever had in the village. Sasuke also trained with
Naruto every day, honing his combat skills. These things had combined to put
some meat on Sasuke's bones, fleshing him out until he was scarcely
recognizable from the waif who'd left the village a year ago. He was still
significantly thinner than Naruto, but he didn't look as frail as he used to.
Some of Sasuke's meat had fallen away during this week of starvation, though.
His eyes were sunken.
The crone saw where Naruto's concern lay. "Yer friend there is in bad shape.
Not as strong and healthy as you. If you want to keep receiving food for the
both of you I think you should offer me and my girls payment." She gave a rust
cackle.
So saying, she shrugged out of her house dress and let it drop on the floor.
She shuffled forwards, chortling over the stupefied look on Naruto's face.
                                     -oOo-
Naruto had never seen an old naked body. The crone's skin was wrinkled, sagging
off of her bones in loose, lifeless folds. Her breasts hung to her waist. They
looked like two empty bags. Her pubic region held a few wiry gray hairs, her
labia hanging between her bony legs. It wasn't until she'd shooed her daughters
away and climbed into Naruto's lap that an inkling of what was to come pierced
his mind.
The crone swung legs thinner than Naruto's arms around his waist. He was
suddenly hit with the stench of her privates: an eye-watering mixture of urine
and unwashed flesh. He had to hold his breath and grit his teeth to keep from
losing the broth he'd been fed.
Her toothless, saliva-coated mouth closed on his and Naruto really did vomit
then. Her breath was fetid. He managed to swallow the contents of his stomach
back down, aware that he could ill afford to waste what little sustenance he'd
been given. He twisted his head away from her and pushed her off of him. Even
weak as he was, she went flying off the bed.
"Help me, girls!" The old woman cried.
Her daughters, healthy and well-fed, pounced on the big blond and held his
limbs down as the crone came back and positioned her gums around Naruto's limp
organ. Naruto bucked strongly in revulsion, nearly succeeding in throwing the
girls aside, but they bore down. The crone hummed in delight at having Naruto's
manhood in her mouth. To the blond's bewilderment, his organ rose despite his
clear disgust. He couldn't understand it. When it was hard as can be and too
much for the crone to contain in her weak jaws, she straddled him quickly and
lowered her old body over the dripping erection.
Naruto fell back against the thin coverlet at feeling himself engulfed in her
slack warmth. It was nothing whatsoever like having normal sex with Hinata had
been. Her opening had been tight. He hadn't enjoyed it, but it hadn't brought
on the crawling sensation in his skin that he felt now.
The crone seemed unable to ride Naruto. The girls all exerted their strength to
shove him over so that he was on top of the crone, still lodged in her loose
body.
"If ye want us to feed yer friend there, you'll fuck me good and proper like,"
the old woman hissed wetly into Naruto's ear.
Naruto's eyes went to Sasuke, whose pinched features sent worry rippling
through him. He leaned on his palms, clenching his jaw and angling his head to
cut back on how much of her filthy smell he inhaled.
A weakened Naruto was still quite strong, though, and he fucked her hard. Her
swooning screeches abraded his nerves until he thought he would claw her throat
out just to be done with it. He didn't stop until the hag fainted beneath him,
at which point he shoved her to the floor and collapsed on the hard bed. The
girls crowded around their fallen mother.
===============================================================================
Sasuke had woken with the rocking motion of the bed, his body responding to the
small amount of broth he'd been given. He'd seen Blondie fucking some old bitch
and then fallen unconscious again.
He woke up again some time later to find himself being fed. Blondie was sitting
beside him on the bed, holding a mug of something steaming while a girl,
actually several girls, were crowded around him. Sasuke's dark eyes took in the
fact that one girl had her mouth on Blondie's cock, while another was
stretching Blondie's balls in her palm. Another girl was kneeling behind
Blondie and rubbing her breasts on his back.
"Ohh, this one is awake! I like his wee little package."
Sasuke jumped violently at feeling a soft hand close around his dick. His head
swung around in time to see a petite girl reaching out a pointed pink tongue to
taste his slit. She was the one who'd just spoken. Sasuke's hand swept in a
wide arc, slapping the bitch soundly.
The action drained him. Sasuke fell back against the bed weakly.
Naruto had turned in profound gratitude when one of the girls declared Sasuke
awake. Seeing his confused anger at finding themselves in this situation was a
balm to Naruto's frazzled spirits. Sasuke was awake and outraged; everything
would be better now. He would get them out of his mess.
"They've taken us in," Naruto explained without needing Sasuke to ask. "They
said they'd refuse to feed us unless we had sex with them. And," Naruto added,
wondering how much wider Sasuke's eyes could go, "they've taken our money and
locked it away. All of it."
Sasuke thought maybe he would have some kind of aneurysm and drop dead. Right
there on the bed. They'd takenhis money? Hismoney? Sasuke's hard-earned,
painstakingly saved, never-to-be-fucked-with money?
Naruto saw Sasuke's face turn brick red as the girls watched with interest. The
crone was still passed out in a corner where her daughters had laid her. Seeing
Sasuke's reaction, Naruto felt like making one of those loud triumphant sounds
the Uchiha often voiced. The blond contained himself.
Sasuke couldn't remember the last time he'd been so enraged. He was too weak to
do anything just then, though. He couldn't even speak as black crowded his
vision, edging him toward another faint. He held on to his consciousness
severely. Instead of trying to talk, he took a moment to apply his sharp brain
to the situation.
Blondie must have gotten them to this place somehow. When Sasuke had passed out
some days ago they'd been nowhere near shelter of any kind. He'd given in to
exhaustion knowing that Blondie would take care of them. Blondie always managed
to come through no matter what. Sure enough, Blondie had gotten them to food
and shelter. He was proud of the guy.
Now then. Sasuke counted five women between the ages of thirteen and twenty-
five. An old woman was lying in a corner. Sasuke had a dim memory of seeing
Blondie fucking that hag, lending truth to the blond's words of a moment ago.
Sasuke eyed the way the girls moved and concluded that they weren't kunoichi.
Good. Even if they were, though, they'd be no match for Blondie.
Sasuke took in the cottage. It would be spacious if there weren't so many
people currently inside of it. An old-fashioned stove stood in one corner. A
rough-hewn table and a few chairs stood along one wall. There was a window
opposite the door. Strings of garlic, onions, peppers and potatoes hung from
the ceiling. A basket of carrots, squash and peas sat near the stove. Sasuke
guessed there must be some kind of garden nearby.
It would do quite nicely.
Sasuke didn't fight again as the girls cautiously approached him. He let
himself be fed, fondled, kissed…they kissed his cock and his body since he bit
the girl who tried to kiss his lips. Naruto, seeing Sasuke's acquiescence to
this treatment, took his cue from him.
                                     -oOo-
The crone woke up later that evening, and limped to where Sasuke and Naruto sat
at the table greedily eating beef stew and fresh baked bread, surrounded by her
girls. Her eyes took in the amount they consumed and she was happy that she'd
taken their money. She would need it to replenish her horde of food.
She'd been whoring her girls out to thieves and stray criminals for years now.
These vagrants took what her girls offered and left them with their lives and
possessions. This big blond and his smaller friend couldn't be all that
different. The crone was sure that continued pussy would keep the boys with
them. They could protect her and her girls from anyone else who happened by.
The toothless old woman grinned at this thought.
Unseen by her, Sasuke caught the grin, but kept on eating. He had to clench his
jaw to keep from breaking the hand that slid along his leg. It was the youngest
girl again, the one who looked to be twelve or thirteen. She sat near him at
the table, refilling his bowl whenever he was close to emptying it.
Sasuke and Naruto felt much stronger once they had a decent meal in their
bellies. The girls, seeing this, barely allowed them to digest the food before
they were led back to the bed. The youngest girl dragged Sasuke down with her.
He was almost painfully repulsed by the feel of his naked body on hers, but he
had no choice if he wanted to continue being fed until Blondie regained his
full strength.
He was quick. He stabbed at the general area of her pussy until he eventually
landed in her opening. He shoved and shoved until he was all the way in. The
girl, he didn't bother learning her name, panted and squealed in a high voice
as he pounded into her. Sasuke had never been so disgusted; he'd never been
with a girl before. He tried to keep his body raised off hers but his arms lost
their strength. He dropped atop her squirming body, making her wrap her arms
and legs around him. This pissed Sasuke off more, which caused him to fuck her
harder which, in turn, gave her more pleasure. She was squeezing the life out
of him with her strong young limbs.
Beside him, Naruto was hammering with equal fury into the eldest girl. Another
girl positioned her pussy in front of Naruto's face and commanded him to suck.
Naruto was only grateful she didn't smell like her mother. He bit the pink
flesh before his face, sucking viciously. He only went along because Sasuke
didn't tell him not to.
The screams in the cottage went on long into the night.
===============================================================================
It hindered the healing process, slowed their recovery, but Naruto and Sasuke
paid the price for their food dutifully for three days. They collapsed in a
sweaty heap one morning amidst the tangled limbs of the girls, all of them
piled on the bed, the crone asleep on the floor in front of the door. They'd
been fucking for most of the night.
Sasuke could not take another hour of the heinous bitches. Not even another
second. He'd been forced to give head to the whores, kiss them, touch them in
unmentionable places. He searched out Blondie's eyes through a tangle of arms
and legs.
"Blondie, you good?" Sasuke whispered. They were the first words he'd spoken
since he and Naruto had fallen prey to these women; he'd been too furious to
speak before. Naruto answered with a grunt and an alert look. Sasuke
interpreted this as a yes. "Kill them. Do it now, even if you don't have all
your strength back. I can't take another day of this shit."
That these people would die had been Sasuke's plan from the moment he woke up
to learn they'd taken his money. The payment they exacted for the food they
served only solidified his decision.
Naruto sprang into action now, glad to be able to repay these people for their
poisonous kindness. Any qualms he had about killing defenseless people had long
since rotted away in Sasuke's company; Sasuke had shown him time and again how
no one was ever innocent and how often times others had to die so that he and
Sasuke might live.
Other times, like now, their lives hadn't been threatened, but the insult done
to them was too great to be left unanswered. Naruto, under Sasuke's tutelage,
learned quickly that people who crossed them were not to be allowed mercy. What
was done here in this cottage went far beyond crossing or insults. Naruto
killed the sleeping girls brutally, quickly and with great pleasure. The crone
woke up and lunged at them, but Sasuke caught her head between his hands and
snapped her thin neck. He dropped her atop her girls.
                                     -oOo-
Naruto's eyes faded from red to blue as he shrugged his shoulders and shook his
head. Sasuke knew the bloodlust took awhile for him to get rid of once he
indulged it.
"Let's look around," Sasuke said after a minute.
There was indeed a garden located some distance behind the house. There were
pigs and cows corralled in a clearing several hundred yards into the woods
behind the garden. Other than that there wasn't a thing to be seen besides the
sea of tall grass that stretched to the horizon in front of the cottage.
Naruto came out of the structure holding a map and Sasuke's sack of money.
Sasuke took the sack and checked the contents.
"This map says we're three days from the nearest village. It's marked here,
see?" Naruto held the map out to Sasuke. The blond had discovered that they
were in Earth Country.
Sasuke looked back at the cottage, now an abattoir, before looking up at
Blondie's red-splattered face. "I think we should stay here," Sasuke said
quietly. The sun was properly up now, the blazing rays doing interesting things
to Naruto's eyes and hair.
"For how long?"
"For good. Live here. I'm thinking we can still go wherever we want, but we'll
have a place to come back to so we're not caught out like we were this last
time. With the map we can plan our travels, know where the fuck we're going for
once."
Naruto looked at the dark red highlights that shone in Sasuke's shoulder length
ponytail. Sasuke's eyes squinted in the harsh light as he looked up at him.
"How long have you been thinking about this?" Naruto said.
"Since I woke up and you told me they took our money."
Naruto eyed the map in his hands. "Okay. I think it's a good idea."
"Cool. And Blondie?" Naruto looked back up. "You did great getting us here. You
saved our lives."
Naruto only looked at Sasuke, feeling the familiar love sweep through him. He
gave a single nod. Sasuke clapped him on his shoulder before heading back into
the house.
They burned the bodies outside the cottage. Naruto piled them in a heap and
Sasuke let fly a fireball.
===============================================================================
Their first night in the cottage after they'd killed the previous occupants saw
the blond and the brunette coming together in front of the blood-soaked bed,
meeting in a fierce kiss. They themselves were still bloody from their earlier
butchery. Naruto found the coppery scent exciting. It added to his lust,
already riding high from days without having gay sex with Sasuke. His Kyuubi
attributes were evident as Naruto crushed Sasuke to him, the smaller boy
supporting his weight by wrapping his arms around Naruto's neck.
What followed was a rough, animalistic mating on the blood-soaked mattress that
had Sasuke yelling and Naruto growling.
Sasuke could never be without Blondie's touch for long. It had been well over a
week since they'd done anything intimate, thanks to starving and those girls.
He latched onto Naruto's mouth now with a ferocity that Naruto quite loved;
Sasuke was never aggressive like that. He always initiated their intimacy,
always needed gay sex, but he never bit and scratched the way Naruto did.
Naruto felt Sasuke's sharp little teeth nip him. He dug his claws into Sasuke's
ass, holding their erect organs pressed together as he fell deliberately
backward onto the bed. The mattress squelched bloodily as they rolled, Naruto
pinning Sasuke's arms to his sides as he kissed him hungrily.
The big blond was loath to take the time to prep Sasuke's body. He wanted to be
inside him right away. He worked his thick fingers first in Sasuke's mouth then
in his entrance quickly before penetrating him in one thrust that had Sasuke's
sphincter protesting painfully. Sasuke wrapped his legs around the muscular
thighs as Blondie used him savagely. Just then he didn't care how much Blondie
hurt him, he needed to forget what those women had made him do.
===============================================================================
The house took a few days to scrub clean of blood. Naruto did this. Sasuke
pored over the map, memorizing details.
They spent a couple of weeks there. They knew nothing about gardening or
preserving food, but they harvested and ate the vegetables. The animals were
killed, cooked (with some success) and eaten. The bed had been burned. One day
a month later, Sasuke looked up from the map he studied daily and spoke.
"Okay. Let's move southeast toward that village, see what we see."
Naruto only nodded, drying himself from his bath at the stream in the woods.
"Do you know any seals or jutsus for safe-guarding this place, Blondie?"
Naruto appeared thoughtful. "What do you wish to accomplish?"
"I want you to make it so nobody can enter here while we're gone. If they do
make it inside I want them dead. Painfully."
"I have several that will serve our purposes."
Naruto dressed then went to his bag and withdrew a blank scroll. He began
entering words on it, his face intent on his task. Sasuke packed food for them,
checked his weapons. When Naruto said he was ready they shouldered their bags
and left the cottage. Sasuke stood aside as Naruto laid the scroll out on the
ground in front of the house. He sat cross-legged behind the scroll and made
several hand seals.
Sasuke watched as Blondie slammed his hand down on the empty circle that was
surrounded by kanji on the scroll. "Seal!" The kanji flew off the scroll,
twined about the house, glowed and were gone. He looked at Blondie in
admiration.
"Well, fuck, Blondie! Where'd you learn that shit? I didn't know you could do
that."
"You didn't believe me when I said I could do it?"
"I didn't think it would be like that. I thought you would just mutter a few
words."
"Jiraiya-sensei was an expert on seals. He taught me much."
"What else can you do?"
"Regarding seals? Too much to name."
"Damn. Every time I think I know all there is to know about you, you pull some
shit like that and make me realize I'll never know all there is to know about
you. Ready?"
"Yes."
                                     -oOo-
They traveled leisurely, Sasuke doing most of the talking as usual. Naruto
always listened intently. The things Sasuke said were never drivel or idle.
Personally, Naruto didn't understand how one person could have so much to say,
every day, all the time, but he liked it. He was receiving an education
whenever Sasuke opened his mouth.
When they reached the village it was to find that it was very sparsely
populated and contained one little tea and dango shop. Sasuke groaned.
"Jesus, look at that. Here I am starving and all they have is a fucking dango
shop? I hate dango."
Naruto ducked in, noting that there were only three other patrons sitting at
the small tables. He heard Sasuke grumbling behind him. Naruto sat down with
his back to the patrons, facing the door. Sasuke sat across from him. A
pleasant woman came and took their order. When the woman walked away, Sasuke
snickered. "Dyke," he said.
"What is a dyke?" Naruto wanted to know.
"A bitch who has sex with other bitches. Like gay sex, only in reverse."
"Oh. How do you know what kind of sex she has?"
"I just know. Look, Blondie, I've been thinking," Sasuke said as he dug in his
pack to pay for their order.
Naruto waited to hear what Sasuke had been thinking but just then a hand
reached past Naruto and snatched the bag from Sasuke's hands. Naruto grabbed
the arm attached to that hand automatically, before it could retreat. Sasuke
leapt onto the table and threw himself onto the man who held his bag. "You
fucking thief!" Sasuke screamed.
Naruto saw that he was holding onto a man with some kind of filthy rag covering
his mouth and extremely bloodshot green eyes. Sasuke's fist was coming in for a
landing on the thief's head when suddenly the thief was gone. Naruto looked
across the shop to where the thief now stood, holding Sasuke's bag and staring
at them.
The thief had been one of the three other patrons Naruto had seen upon entering
the shop. Only two were left now: this thief and another man wearing an
identical cloak. Naruto assumed they were partners or friends. The partner
carried a huge scythe on his back. His purple eyes held a sardonic glint as he
gazed at them across the tables.
"What have you got there, Kakuzu?" the scythe-bearing man asked the thief.
"Money. Lots of it." Kakuzu let the coins and jewels flow through his hand.
Sasuke lunged forward, but Naruto blocked him with an outstretched arm.
"Give us back our money," Naruto said.
Kakuzu raised those horrible eyes to them. "It is mine now. I will let you
leave with your lives."
"Blondie," Sasuke said desperately. Naruto lowered his arm. They both leapt at
the cloaked men.
Kakuzu and his partner jumped in opposite directions. Naruto and Sasuke
anticipated this. Sasuke went after the scythe guy, Naruto after Kakuzu.
===============================================================================
 
It was immediately noticeable that these were opponents far stronger than any
the former Leaf ninjas had gone up against previously.
Sasuke dodged the scythe with incredible speed and agility. Had his money not
been stolen right out of his hands, he would have found it amusing to be
fighting someone whose dirty language rivaled his own. He wasn't able to land a
blow on the fucker but he managed to avoid being cut, something he realized the
Jashin-swearing freak wanted.
Naruto handled Kakuzu well. It took him a moment to analyze his many different
chakra natures and corresponding attacks, but once that was done, the blond
realized he simply needed a move too powerful for the man to overcome. A glance
in Sasuke's direction showed that he was still holding his own against Kakuzu's
partner.
"You shouldn't be looking away from me," Kakuzu said. He landed in a crouch a
few feet away from Naruto and formed several hand seals. Naruto took the
opportunity to do the same.
Jiraiya-sensei had taught him much, yes, but there was one move that was
Naruto's own. He brought forth Rasengan in his palm then used his other hand to
insert wind chakra into it. It required some concentration, but Naruto had it
done and ready to use by the time Kakuzu launched a fire attack at him. Naruto
held the Rasenshuriken away from his body as he used a hand to cast a wave of
water that doused the wall of flame. He launched himself at Kakuzu, leading
with the Rasenshuriken.
Sasuke and Hidan, as the scythe bearer had introduced himself, were fighting on
the roof of the tea and dango shop. At the huge blast of wind and noise they
both looked down to see Kakuzu being obliterated some distance away.
"Shit," Sasuke and Hidan chorused in awe.
Sasuke felt something slice his arm just then. He looked around to find that
Hidan had cut him at last and was joyously licking Sasuke's blood from the tip
of one prong on his scythe.
"And now," Hidan breathed exultantly. "You die."
Sasuke glanced at the shallow cut on his arm. It didn't look fatal. Certainly
didn't feel fatal. Was that scythe poisonous or something? Since Blondie was
done with his fight, Sasuke considered joining him on the ground to get help
defeating Hidan. The guy was too strong for Sasuke to beat by himself.
===============================================================================
Naruto surveyed the large crater before him. Kakuzu lay in a bloody heap at its
center. He jumped down into the crater to make sure the man was really dead.
===============================================================================
Sasuke eyed the odd symbol on the roof etched in Hidan's blood. The whole black
and white deal the guy sported was creepy. He couldn't understand why the guy
didn't try to kill him. All Hidan did was stand in that circle and shout to the
skies that Jashin should accept this sacrifice and blah de blah blah.
"Dude. Not to interrupt your little Kabuki performance here, but….if we're
done, can I go now?" Sasuke didn't want the jerk attacking his back. He edged
sideways, away from Hidan's madness. What kind of person stopped in the middle
of a fight to pray?
Hidan lowered his eyes so that he was gazing at Sasuke. He withdrew a long
black spike from his cloak and held it up.
Sasuke obediently looked at the spike then back at Hidan's face.
Hidan turned the spike so it pointed at his chest, directly at his heart.
Sasuke wondered if he was supposed to try and prevent the man from killing
himself. It was certainly no skin off his back if the jackass committed
suicide. He'd be doing Sasuke a favor.
Hidan grinned. The spike plummeted downward.
Naruto landed behind Hidan and grabbed his wrist, halting the spike a scant
millimeter from his chest.
"Sasuke," Naruto bit out. "Move."
Sasuke obeyed without question. Naruto had Hidan wrapped in a bear hug,
preventing the screaming and cursing man from moving while Naruto backed them
both out of that symbol. He'd glanced up from the crater, seen what was going
on and understanding had come to him in a flash.
Once safely out of the bloody symbol, Naruto closed his claws around Hidan's
throat and pried his head from his body.
Sasuke and Naruto both jumped at hearing Hidan's detached head yell at them for
damaging his beautiful person.
"Okay, that's just wrong," Sasuke said in a small voice. He shuddered.
Naruto agreed. He placed the head on the ground, lifted his leg and crushed the
head beneath his heel. He repeated this process until there was nothing but
splattered gray matter and bone fragments. Even these fragments Naruto ground
to powder. Blood and gore was splashed up his leg to the knee.
Sasuke eyed this mess for a few minutes before he calmly walked away and threw
up.
                                     -oOo-
"Impressive," a voice spoke to them. It was accompanied by slow clapping.
Naruto spun around and saw several individuals standing near the entrance to
the small village. They all wore the same cloaks as Hidan and Kakuzu. "Leader
will be quite put out at the loss of two team members, but hey," the blond man
continued. "Maybe you two would be interested in taking their places."
They were a curious bunch of individuals, Naruto decided. There was the one
wearing a blond ponytail and some kind of machine over one eye who was
currently speaking. There was a short squat one who had the lower half of his
face covered. There was an incredibly tall one with an equally huge sword on
his back and there was one who was of medium height and build. All of these
people remained silent, letting the blond speak for them. Naruto sensed a lot
of chakra, even at this distance.
Sasuke wiped his mouth with the back of one hand. "Fuck off, asshole."
"Or," the blond retorted, "We could just avenge our fallen comrades." He threw
some kind of small white thing towards Sasuke and Naruto who jumped back
automatically. Just in time, too, since the thing exploded right where they'd
been standing.
Naruto ran, heading for the open spaces outside of the small village. Chakra
lent power to his leaps and Sasuke had a hard time keeping up. Their attackers
weren't far behind.
The large sword-wielding one landed in front of Naruto, halting his headlong
dash. Sasuke pulled up short behind him, turning so that he and Naruto were
back to back. Ponytail and the squat one joined Swordman in circling Sasuke and
Naruto. The quiet one hung back, watching disinterestedly.
Swordman attacked first. Naruto blocked the strange weapon with an arm, feeling
the impact clear to his feet. His Kyuubi traits emerged as he fought the wild
strength of the ugly man. Sasuke had his hands full with a bunch of creepy
puppets and those exploding clay creatures.
"Sharingan!" Sasuke prepared to fry both his attackers with a fireball. The
squat one maneuvered his puppets so that they held Sasuke in a death grip,
preventing him from executing the katon. Ponytail held a small clay bird in his
hand. He cocked his arm back to hurl it at Sasuke's face.
"Stop!"
Naruto, Sasuke and their three attackers looked around at hearing the deep
voice. The quiet one had spoken up at last.
His face was hidden beneath his straw hat and behind the high collar of his red
and black cloak. Swordman backed away from Naruto as the quiet man approached.
Sasuke struggled in the unbreakable grip of the puppets as the guy came
hesitantly closer and closer to him. He could see a faint gleam of eyes staring
at him between the brim of the hat and the top of the collar, but that was all
he could see of the person.
"Le him go," the quiet one said. Sasuke was released hurriedly.
===============================================================================
He'd watched the big blond one kill Kakuzu and Hidan with ease. He hadn't
really paid attention to this smaller one until he'd heard him tell Deidara to
fuck off. Something about the voice had been vaguely familiar. At seeing him
fight, the quiet one had felt shivers chase up and down his spine. It couldn't
be. It couldn't…but the way the guy moved was also familiar. At the sight of
the Sharingan, he could deny it no more.
===============================================================================
The quiet one stopped when he was in front of Sasuke. Sasuke held himself
tensely, feeling Blondie land at his side, ready to back him up. He looked at
the eyes that were clearly visible at this proximity. They appeared to be
black.
No one moved. The quiet one spoke. "Little Brother?"
Sasuke felt a mountain of ice crash down on his head at hearing those two
words. His entire body went numb, his eyes searching the ones in front of him
urgently, frantically…hopefully.
The quiet one spoke again. "It is you, isn't it? Are you called Sasuke?"
As if in a dream, Sasuke nodded his head slowly. His heart thudded painfully
against his ribs. His breathing was suddenly a task that required all of his
concentration.
The quiet one removed his hat revealing dark hair parted in the center and
gathered in a ponytail. "It's me. Itachi."
A breeze blew past the group of frozen men as the two brothers stared at each
other.
***** Chapter 2 *****
Naruto looked at the person responsible for Sasuke's painful life with suddenly
red eyes. A growl rumbled in his chest. He moved toward Itachi, but Sasuke made
a small gesture with one hand, down by his side.
Itachi looked at the big blond. He had to be six-foot-six a least. What was up
with those eyes and the growling? He'd caught the movement of Sasuke's hand
that halted the guy from going for Itachi. Seemed his little brother had
himself a relationship going on with the blond man. Very interesting. But that
was for later. For now, he turned his eyes to the boy he'd killed their clan
for, noting the differences and similarities between them.
Sasuke was just about the same height as Itachi, maybe an inch taller. His hair
was worn in the same style, with the same two locks framing his cheeks. His
body was somewhat rawboned, while Itachi's was compact. They both had dark eyes
framed by long dark lashes. Itachi was willing to bet his little brother made
the ladies cream their panties, just like he did. How old would Sasuke be now?
Sasuke. Gods above, Sasuke was alive! That knowledge truly penetrated Itachi's
mind for the first time. He broke into the first grin anybody in Akatsuki had
ever seen from him. Itachi threw his arms around his frozen brother and hugged
him fiercely, his hat falling from his hand.
Sasuke felt himself come out of his stupor at feeling his brother touch him. He
reacted to Itachi's roaming hands instinctively, violently. Lightning erupted
from his entire body as he shoved Itachi as hard as he could. "Don't touch
me,"Sasuke screamed.
Itachi skidded backward, along with the rest of Akatsuki. They all watched
Sasuke warily. Naruto put a hand on Sasuke's heaving shoulder and squeezed
reassuringly. Sasuke jumped, but didn't shrug off the hand. He was panting
harshly, looking around in confusion.
===============================================================================
Okay, Sasuke thought. I just had a really bad flashback. Fucking hell, Itachi.
Itachi is here!
On some level, Sasuke had known his brother must be alive somewhere. He just
hadn't given it much thought. Not even after the night he and Blondie had left
Konoha and he'd divulged his past in all its nightmarish glory. Itachi was gone
and that was that. Or so he'd thought. Looking at where Itachi crouched with a
slight frown between his eyes, it seemed everything they'd shared as brothers
came rushing back. The same old feelings and insecurities raised their ugly
heads merrily inside Sasuke as if to say 'See? We were gone but now we're back
to totally fuck with your mind, haha!' Blondie's hand felt good just then.
Blondie was his rock.
===============================================================================
Itachi eyed his brother craftily. He didn't know what had come over Sasuke just
now, but that blond seemed to calm him down entirely too quickly. The blond had
power over his little brother. The blond had Sasuke's affection and loyalty,
Itachi saw.
The blond had to die.
Sasuke was his, Itachi thought possessively. How his brother had survived when
he himself had seen that he was dead could be figured out later. For now,
Itachi felt a burning need to assert his dominion over his brother and reclaim
what had been lost to him so long ago. That meant getting Sasuke to calm down
around him. Fine. He could play it cool.
Itachi, long dormant inside from the ravages of that horrible night of
slaughter, found himself blossoming, returning to his old self as if by
sorcery. Uchiha Itachi was reborn in his brother's presence, just as he'd died
at the sight of his brother's lifeless body. The old love, terrible and
consuming in its intensity, came flooding back as he straightened and walked
slowly toward Sasuke. He tempered his smile to a less threatening expression of
his former grin.
===============================================================================
"I'm sorry," Sasuke stuttered. "I don't know what came over me." He watched his
brother coming toward him.
Itachi had been about to apologize himself. On hearing that his brother had
opted to say it first, he changed tactics, dropping his own smile to put a
'hurt-but-trying-to-get-over-it' look on his face. "It's okay. I know we
haven't seen each other since that…since that night I tried to save your life…I
understand if you feel like you hate me. I just…I missed you, Little Brother. I
thought you were dead."
Sasuke was given pause. Itachi chuckled inwardly. He'd deliberately brought up
that night to see Sasuke's reaction to it and to remind his brother that he
did, in fact, owe Itachi for saving his life back then.
"How could you think I was dead when you left me in that basement," Sasuke
asked curiously. The other people who were with Itachi were starting to creep
closer now, listening intently to things Itachi had always kept very private.
Sasuke had eyes only for his brother, but Naruto noticed that he and Sasuke
were slowly being surrounded. He shifted his weight on his feet, hanging on to
a bit of the Kyuubi chakra.
"When I came back for you, ANBU showed me your dead body. I checked, there was
no pulse. What was the last thing you remember?" Itachi had now reached Sasuke.
He stood close to him without touching him.
"ANBU kicking in the basement door."
Itachi appeared thoughtful. "Then I was deliberately tricked. Huh. Well,
anyways, I left. I couldn't stay knowing that I'd failed to keep my own brother
safe. It was too painful for me." Itachi watched Sasuke's face.
Sasuke was having all his previous beliefs about that night restructured. He'd
thought Itachi had just gone crazy and left him. Now he found out his brother
had thought he was dead. But…but that means that he didn't leave me in Konoha
to rot, after all. He didn't mean to leave me. That info and that alone seemed
to register with Sasuke. He looked at his brother again, really seeing him,
really having the fact that he had a brother who was standing right in front of
him pierce his mind. Sasuke smiled.
Well, now, Itachi thought, looking at that smile. Little Brother certainly is
pretty.He kept his own face slightly sorrowful. By refusing to blink, Itachi
managed to make his eyes glassy. He lowered his gaze now, speaking softly.
"I'm sorry if my hug offended you before. I just…"
Naruto saw Itachi smirk openly at him over Sasuke's shoulder as the younger
Uchiha spontaneously hugged his brother. Naruto grit his teeth in anger.
Couldn't Sasuke see his brother was manipulating him? The blond would have
thought that Sasuke, as an experienced practitioner of the very same tactics
Itachi was using, would spot it immediately. Sasuke appeared blind to his
brother's machinations, though.
The Akatsuki members were dumbfounded. Never had they seen this manipulative,
involved and shady side of Itachi. He redefined the term 'stoic'. You could
expect the world to end before he said three words throughout the day. Complete
sentences had never been spoken by Itachi in their hearing and as for the
affection, the clear and patent interest he showed in this 'brother',
well…suffice it to say that no one would be getting on this brother's bad side
anytime soon. Whatever he meant to Itachi, it would mean their deaths if anyone
rubbed this Sasuke the wrong way; Itachi was impossible to beat.
It seemed the reunion was complete. "Sasuke," Itachi said when the hug was
over. "You still live in Konoha?"
Shocked and happy Sasuke might be to discover his brother, but something made
him say that he didn't have a home. He didn't want to tell of the cottage he
and Naruto had taken over. Itachi smiled.
"Come with us, then. I'm sure our leader will be happy to have you since you
did kill two of our number. Well, your friend here did. Who is he, by the way,
does he have a name?" Itachi ran his eyes up and down the powerful body Naruto
kept steadfastly by Sasuke's elbow.
Naruto stepped forward, placing himself slightly in front of Sasuke to face
Itachi dead on, head lowered somewhat to look him in the eye. "I am Uzumaki
Naruto."
The black eyes held the blue ones for several tense minutes. A primitive and
nameless understanding passed between Itachi and Naruto: Itachi would have to
step over the blond's dead body to get to Sasuke in any way. And Naruto wasn't
going down easily.
===============================================================================
Sasuke saw Blondie and his brother having a little staring contest. He could
tell his friend was tense and ready to fight. He put a hand on Blondie's arm
reassuringly, tugging slightly to pull him back. "Blondie, come on, it's cool."
When Naruto didn't budge, but only seemed to tense further Sasuke added, "I
want to talk to you for a minute. Come on."
Naruto reluctantly turned away from Itachi's unflinching stare to let himself
be led away. Sasuke walked a few yards away from the four people, only stopping
when they were out of earshot.
"What do you think?" Sasuke asked. He looked up at Naruto with bright eyes.
For a change, Naruto countered with a question of his own, wanting to know if
Sasuke was aware of his brother's true nature or not. "What do you think?"
"I think we should take my brother up on his offer."
Naruto had not expected that. Sasuke was not someone who believed in groups or
sharing or in anything social. "Why?"
"Because he's my brother! Jesus Fucking Christ, I haven't seen him in years and
he thought I was dead all this time. I thought he abandoned me, but he didn't.
Maybe you don't understand, but that means a lot."
Naruto stared hard at Sasuke. "Your brother is dangerous."
"He always has been. Come on, Blondie, please?" Sasuke drew out the last word
as he bounced in place slightly.
"We know nothing of this leader or the organization your brother is a part of
and I personally feel no desire to join them. If you wish to go with your
brother, then go. I will go home."
Sasuke was briefly at a loss for words. He really hadn't anticipated that
Blondie would need to be convinced. The big lug was always happy to follow
wherever Sasuke led. He never contradicted Sasuke in any way, not since the
issue with the bath when they'd first met. Sasuke had managed to forget during
this past year that Blondie could be aggressive and had definite ideas of his
own sometimes. And once Blondie made up his mind, that was it.
"You mean," Sasuke said hesitantly, "go our separate ways?"
"I don't trust your brother. I want you to stay away from him, but I don't
think you will. I want to protect you from him, but I don't think you will let
me. So, yes. We will go our separate ways for now. When you are ready to come
home I will be waiting."
Sasuke felt panicky. No. Just no. Blondie could not leave him. He just
couldn't. But Sasuke didn't want to refuse this chance to reunite with his
brother, either. Blondie was being extremely selfish and Sasuke said so.
"I am not being selfish," Naruto said in his calm, melodious voice. "I am not
preventing you from being with your brother. I simply do not wish to be a part
of his schemes."
"Well, who says he's scheming? Look, I know what I said about him and what he
did to me, but that was a long time ago. Give him a chance, please? For me? I
can handle him, I swear."
Naruto looked at Sasuke. Maybe he didn't know much, but it seemed to him that
Sasuke was uncharacteristically taking a lot on faith. He hadn't seen his
brother in ten years. There was no way that Sasuke could be sure he'd be able
to handle Itachi.
It was with serious misgivings that Naruto gave in to Sasuke. And he only did
that under the condition that they would leave Itachi and his group of
questionable friends if it became clear that they meant Sasuke and Naruto harm.
Sasuke scoffed. "Why would they want to hurt us?" He was walking back toward
Itachi and the others, Naruto at his side.
"I think the relevant question is what would stop them from wanting to."
Naruto's eyes roved over the odd assortment of people with Itachi. He already
knew the answer to his question lay in Sasuke's brother. He'd caught the subtle
vibes they gave off: they were afraid of Itachi. So long as Itachi wanted them
unharmed then they would be safe. If Itachi gave the order to kill Naruto then
Naruto would be killed.
The blond remained alert and aware of the people with Itachi as well as of
Itachi himself as he and Sasuke joined them. They can try,Naruto thought.
===============================================================================
Sasuke retrieved his fallen bag of money before they set out. Itachi, Naruto
noticed, kept himself beside Sasuke the entire time they were traveling, trying
to crowd Naruto out of the way. He kept Sasuke's attention on him by
maintaining a steady stream of conversation. Naruto had tried to ask Sasuke a
question but Itachi talked right over him. Naruto had not tried to speak again.
He only listened as Itachi filled in the missing years to Sasuke, telling him
all he'd done since he'd left the village.
                                     -oOo-
It was a few days before they reached Akatsuki's hideout. Once there, Deidara
launched into an explanation to the leader, some freak with a multitude of
piercings called Pain, about how Kakuzu and Hidan had been snuffed by the
blond. Deidara attempted to add his own thoughts and opinions to this but
Itachi shoved him aside. The elder Uchiha stood in front of Pain and regarded
him with red eyes.
"This is my brother. I want him to join us. He's Uchiha, so I'm sure he's far
above average as far as fighting skills go."
"No," Pain said tonelessly.
There was silence around the hideout. Deidara covered his mouth with a hand to
hide his smile. He had to execute a little cough to camouflage the small laugh
that leaked out. No one else thought it was funny, though. Every member of
Akatsuki happened to be in residence today. They all stood in a half circle
behind Itachi. Sasuke and Naruto stood to Itachi's left. Leader stood in front
of his chair.
"Why not?" Itachi asked.
"Have you read the latest edition of the Bingo book? I have known you have a
brother since I read it. He and that blond are missing-nin, yes, but the blond
is the only one who is S-class. I happen to know from my contacts in Konoha
that he is also a Jinchuuriki. You know what we do to Jinchuuriki. Them joining
is out of the question."
At learning that Naruto was a Jinchuuriki every head except Sasuke's and Pain's
turned to regard him. Itachi's eyes narrowed before he turned his attention
back to Pain.
"Be that as it may," Itachi said, "I-"
"I have spoken. Obey me or join your brother. You will be replaced." Pain took
a seat in his chair and crossed his legs.
Itachi fell silent. The other members of the organization watched with bated
breath. Itachi's eyes were red as death.
One comes to develop a sixth sense about impending violence when they are
skilled ninja. Everyone present was more than skilled and even Sasuke,
definitely the weakest one there, jumped back a split second before Itachi went
after Pain.
The dark-haired man seemed to vanish as he streaked toward his superior. The
leader of Akatsuki managed to narrowly evade the attack. He formed a seal and
summoned five bodies to himself. Sasuke and Naruto noticed that these new
arrivals also had many piercings. Sasuke wondered if they were Pain's siblings
or friends. Naruto was able to tell that the bodies weren't alive in the
strictest sense. He felt himself bristling.
Itachi knew what he was doing. He didn't attack at random, but seemed to go
after specific bodies in a specific order. Pain's gravitational attacks were
either withstood or evaded. Each body was eliminated by Itachi until finally
only Pain himself was left. Sasuke was forcibly reminded of the night his clan
had been killed. Itachi had gone into a killing frenzy then just as he was now.
Both times had to do with Sasuke. It made the younger Uchiha's heart burst with
love and pride. He watched Itachi killing the strong bodies in awe.
===============================================================================
Pain was dead. Itachi stood over the broken corpse and let his breathing return
to normal. The Akatsuki members watched him warily, wondering what on earth was
going to happen next. They weren't long in finding out.
"Right," Itachi said conversationally. "I'm running things now. You may all bow
down and acknowledge me." He waited while the Akatsuki members lowered
themselves to one knee. Deidara had the nerve to try and curse Itachi out
instead of bowing.
"Mangekyo Sharingan."
Deidara slammed himself down to one knee.
"Okay, that will do," Itachi intoned. "Sasuke is joining the group. Anyone who
has something to say about it can make it known now and die. Anyone?" Itachi
looked at each face. Everyone lowered their eyes.
Sasuke raised his hand in the air. Itachi nodded at him to let him know he
could speak. He beckoned Sasuke closer.
"What about Blondie?" Sasuke asked as he stepped around the fallen bodies of
Pain to reach his brother. "You didn't say anything about him joining."
"Because he's not invited. He's not joining us, Sasuke."
"Why?"
"Because he's Jinchuuriki. We'll probably kill him."
Sasuke stared at Itachi, horror-struck. He backed away from him. "No. Then I'm
not joining. How could you think I'd let you kill my friend? You are out of
your fucking mind. Forget it, I'm not joining your-"
"Oh, you're joining alright, Little Brother. I may not have been around for the
last ten years, but I'm your older brother and I'm responsible for your ass.
You're joining and that's that. Kisame, Zetsu," Itachi addressed two people.
"Grab the Jinchuuriki."
Naruto had not relaxed or let down his guard since Pain had announced what he
was. He shifted his feet now so that he'd be able to fight both Kisame and
Zetsu. He saw that the big one with the sword was going to be leading and
crouched.
                                     -oOo-
Itachi watched as Kisame went up against Naruto. Zetsu hung back, waiting for
an opportunity to lend Kisame some assistance. A frown developed between
Itachi's eyes as Kisame was repelled again and again. Naruto got Kisame in a
choke hold that the shark nin couldn't break out of. His arms flailed uselessly
as the big blond cut off his air supply. He couldn't even form seals. Kisame's
sword had been knocked from his hands and kicked aside near the beginning of
the fight.
"Call your men off or he dies," Naruto said.
Kisame was passing out. Itachi finally barked, "Alright! Back off."
Zetsu moved out of Naruto's reach immediately. Kisame was dropped on the floor,
senseless. Sasuke ran over to Naruto to make sure he was alright. Naruto
ignored him, preferring to keep his eyes on the people around him. He was
slightly winded, but unharmed.
Itachi studied the way his brother fawned over the big blond. He wondered idly
if he himself would be able to take this Naruto. Maybe. It'd be close, though.
Too close for him to risk it right now. He had to have his brother, though.
Dammit!
"Sasuke," Itachi said jovially, pasting a big smile on his face. "I'm sorry. I
shouldn't have said that. Of course we won't kill your friend there. He can
join with you, no problem. I was just testing you guys." Itachi gave a little
laugh.
Sasuke looked over his shoulder at his brother. Naruto would have sworn that
there was no way Sasuke would believe such obvious lies, but Sasuke smiled back
uncertainly at Itachi.
Naruto did not bother to bring up his condition for accompanying Sasuke to this
place. Obviously, Sasuke was not planning on honoring it; Itachi and his
associates had just tried to harm Naruto and yet Sasuke was walking toward them
as if nothing had happened instead of leaving with Naruto. This fact left
Naruto feeling angry, hurt and bewildered.
===============================================================================
The indoctrination complete, the other members of Akatsuki moved forward to
welcome Sasuke. Naruto was eyed, but avoided. He was too strong for them to
feel comfortable around. The big blond stood aside as Sasuke was swallowed by
the other members, all talking and asking him questions. Itachi stood near his
brother, beaming with pride.
But he also watched the blond. He was a thorn in Itachi's foot. One that would
be removed shortly. Naruto saw Itachi looking and stared back. Itachi offered a
big, toothy smile. Naruto didn't smile in return.
I can't wait to kill you,Itachi thought venomously.
***** Chapter 3 *****
That night Sasuke was given a room. It contained a bed, a nightstand and a
wardrobe. Nothing else. Itachi himself led Sasuke to it. The younger Uchiha
looked around with interest.
"Whew! A nice big bed. No more sleeping on the hard ground for us, neh
Blondie?"
"What does that mean?" Itachi wanted to know. "You two plan on sharing that
bed?" His eyes bored holes into the back of Sasuke's head.
Sasuke swore under his breath. He hadn't meant to let his brother know what
Blondie meant to him or about the nature of their relationship. He thought
quickly as he turned around to give his brother a cocky grin.
"What?! Hell no! I just meant that if this place has beds then we'll be
sleeping good from now on."
Naruto did not comment, only stood so that Itachi was in his sight at all
times.
Itachi regarded his brother in silence. He could tell Sasuke was lying. He'd
known his brother had some kind of bond with the Blond, he just hadn't known it
was a sexual one. That was fascinating and useful information to have. Very
useful. Itachi was thinking how best to use that information when Sasuke spoke
up.
"So, does Blondie get a room?"
"Sure," Itachi said easily. "Every member gets a room."
"Great, let's go see it," Sasuke said heading for the doorway.
"No." Itachi moved to block his brother. "You stay here and get settled in.
I'll lead Blo- I mean Naruto to his room."
                                     -oOo-
Itachi closed the door in his brother's face before the younger man could
protest. He led Naruto down a hall. They walked in silence for a time. The
other members of Akatsuki were presumably in other locations of the hideout.
Itachi and Naruto's footsteps echoed in the deserted hall. Sconces were placed
at regular intervals. After awhile, Itachi spoke.
"That was Kakuzu's room I gave to Sasuke. Guy was a neat freak so it didn't
take much to prepare it. Hidan was another story. Filthy animal. I'm kind of
glad he's dead, he was a pain in the ass. Anyways, to make a long story short,
you'll be staying in my room with me."
Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. Itachi walked on a few steps before he
realized that Naruto was no longer walking to his right and one measured pace
behind him. He stopped too and turned to regard Naruto. There was maybe fifteen
feet separating them.
Itachi had to admit, his brother had good taste. The guy was gorgeous. His
serious face just missed being blank by the heavy blond brows that were
currently meeting in a V of displeasure. The eyes, man. The eyes were
extraordinary. A piercing, heartless blue. "Is there a problem?" Itachi asked
solicitously.
"Do not think that because Sasuke is blinded to your intentions that I am. I
know you wish me dead and intend to bring that about by whatever means
necessary. Why do you want me in your room if not to attempt that very thing?"
Naruto's voice was low, but no less intense for that
Itachi liked the way the deep voice made his cock stir. It was a new sensation;
Itachi was straight. He preferred girls, as young and innocent as possible. He
never got tired of raping virgins. His latest conquest had been a girl of five
in some no-name village the previous week. She'd been exquisitely tight, her
screams a potent aphrodisiac.
He admired the no nonsense approach Naruto took with him. Itachi figured he
might as well respond in kind.
"You're right. I don't want you anywhere near my brother. Sasuke is mine. As
for why I want you in my room, let's just say I want to make sure you and my
brother aren't fucking behind my back."
"Sasuke is able to govern his own actions."
"Well, while I'm around, I govern his actions. You don't like it, leave."
"Sasuke will come with me. I won't leave him here with you."
"I won't hurt my brother."
"You already are by trying to separate us. Do you not care about his
happiness?"
Itachi chewed the inside of his cheek as he contemplated answering. Truthfully?
Sasuke's happiness had never occurred to him. Sasuke belonged with him. Period.
How Sasuke felt about it didn't really enter into the equation. Itachi would
never admit it, even if he were aware of it, but he viewed his brother as
little more than a pet. A dog, if you will. Dogs were there to provide
enjoyment and be kicked if the owner so wished. A dog's happiness was of no
concern and most definitely did not dictate the owner's actions regarding said
dog.
In answer to Naruto's question, Itachi shrugged a shoulder. Naruto brought up
something else Itachi had failed to answer. "That is the only reason you want
me in your room? You will not try to kill me?"
Itachi held that sharp blue gaze and answered honestly. "No. I won't." At least
not tonight.
Naruto didn't relax, but he walked forward and waited. After a minute, Itachi
turned and continued leading the way to his room. At the appropriate door,
Itachi stopped and performed a few rapid hand seals. Naruto, who'd been
watching carefully, caught the sequence and memorized it.
                                     -oOo-
The interior was done predominately in dark primary colors. There was a
depiction of the Uchiha fan over the large bed. The bed itself sat on a raised
dais of some kind. There was a bookcase full of bound volumes and one arm
chair. A wardrobe stood in one corner and a desk held one lamp and a ladder-
back chair. There was a coat rack by the door where Itachi now hung his cloak.
Naruto entered and stood in the middle of the room.
Itachi used a different set of hand seals to lock his door. Naruto didn't quite
catch all of it, but if worst came to the worst he could smash through the
door. He watched Itachi watching him.
Naruto grew tired of the eye contact and undressed. He walked nude to the coat
rack and hung his garments there. When he turned around, it was to find Itachi
staring at his naked body. Naruto didn't care. He was looking at the big bed
and thinking.
Should I get in the bed? Naruto thought. He recalled Sasuke saying on the first
night he'd spent in Naruto's apartment that the blond was supposed to share the
blankets. Going by that, it could be deduced that Itachi was supposed to share
his bed. This seemed to be supported by the fact that Itachi had stated that
Naruto was to share his room. That must mean everything in the room as well.
Nodding to himself, Naruto made his way to the bed and climbed up. He drew back
the single comforter and sheet and got in. There was only the one fat pillow.
Naruto took it and placed it under his head.
===============================================================================
Itachi couldn't get over the nerve. The ass had gotten into his bed without so
much as a glance in his direction to ask for permission. He'd fully intended to
let the bastard sleep on the cold hard floor. He didn't think Naruto would
respond if he told him to get his bare ass the fuck off his bed, so he didn't
bother asking. Well. This should be an interesting evening, Itachi thought.
He climbed into bed after kicking off his shoes. Itachi routinely slept fully
clothed. He lay as far away from Naruto's body as possible; the guy gave off
way too much heat. It made Itachi uncomfortably warm.
Naruto lay facing Itachi who lay on his back. Itachi knew he was being stared
at. He wondered how long before the big man fell asleep. Probably awhile if the
man was on edge the way he seemed to be.
Itachi considered approaching Naruto for sex. He was intensely curious to know
what Sasuke experienced with the guy. He wanted everything that Sasuke had,
wanted to know everything Sasuke knew. Itachi thought it would be safe to
assume that the big blond would respond with violence, though. Still, no harm
in just asking, was there?
"Naruto?"
"Yes."
"Do you mind if we have sex?"
"Gay sex?"
"Uh…yeah. That."
"I can not say that I mind one way or the other, but Sasuke would not like it.
He would consider it a betrayal. "
"But you? You don't mind having sex with someone else?"
"Sex with other people is something completely different from sex with Sasuke.
With Sasuke it is a union of our souls. A prayer to the heavens praising our
love. With other people it is something of little consequence, like going to
the bathroom. Sometimes it is distasteful, though." Naruto remembered the old
crone and shuddered where he lay.
"How would you feel about sex with me?" Itachi had by now turned his head to
look at Naruto.
"I would likely feel nothing. But I won't hurt Sasuke."
"Well…I'd like to try it."
"No."
"I won't tell Sasuke."
"It would be the first thing you did. You would try to make it seem as if I'd
betrayed him. You are a weak, cowardly person who cannot accept anyone but
yourself in your brother's life."
Itachi stared at the whiskers on Naruto's face as he thought about the insult
he'd just been given. Guy's got balls,he thought. He saw me take out Pain and
must not give a fuck to be insulting me to my face like that.Itachi had
murdered people for far less. He was intrigued. He decided to take things a
step further.
Naruto saw Itachi scoot closer to him, lean up on an elbow and lower his face
over his. He caught Itachi's face by the jaw and held it away from him. "What
are you doing?"
"Wanted to see what those full lips taste like."
"I see. Lie back, then."
Itachi, unable to believe his good luck, lay back in his former position.
Naruto leaned his big body over Itachi's, still holding his jaw. A jumpy
feeling of desire uncoiled in Itachi's belly as Naruto's face lowered to his.
The pink lips were an inch from Itachi's paler ones when Naruto spoke in a
husky whisper that had Itachi's cock suddenly standing and ready for action.
"If I'd known you would let me touch you," Naruto rasped against Itachi's lips,
"I would have done this sooner."
Before Itachi could do more than sigh in anticipation, Naruto moved his hand
from Itachi's jaw to his forehead, bracketing the bone structure with his
fingers. He inserted several rapid pulses of chakra to specific points in
Itachi's brain, canceling out the signals that enabled him to function with the
world around him.
Itachi was fighting the intrusion to his mind with considerable strength and
even more skill, but Naruto overrode this with brute strength of his own. He
increased the chakra output, stopping just short of frying Itachi's brain;
anymore and Itachi would become a vegetable for the rest of his life. Naruto
sensed Itachi coming to the same conclusion. If the Uchiha struggled against
the barrier Naruto had set up in his mind for much longer, he would burn out
his own brain. Naruto felt Itachi pull back and circle around in his mind,
searching for a crack in the barrier so that he could escape.
Naruto released Itachi's head and got off the bed. He knew Itachi, strong as he
seemed to be mentally, would find a way around the barrier with time. Naruto
wanted to use that time wisely. He grabbed the first thing to come to his hand:
Itachi's red and black cloak. It was a very tight fit. He attempted to open the
door.
Locked.
Naruto recalled the hand seals Itachi had used. He executed them now and the
door opened easily under his pulling. Naruto jogged down the hall, turned, and
jogged down another hall until he reached Sasuke's room. He entered.
===============================================================================
Sasuke had been lying in bed, freezing as usual, and wondering at the sudden
turn his life had taken. When his door opened he tensed and went Sharingan. He
didn't admit it to himself , but he'd expected Itachi. The sight of the blond
hair had him sitting up with joy.
"Blondie!" Sasuke threw himself from the bed to hang from Naruto's neck.
Naruto detached Sasuke from his body, held him at arm's length and punched him
hard in the face. Sasuke sailed across the room to crash into the wall. He slid
to the floor in a heap.
Sasuke came around a few seconds later to feel Naruto's big hand around his
neck, squeezing. "What," he managed to croak.
Naruto knelt on Sasuke's chest with one knee. Sasuke began wheezing for air,
gasping from the pressure on his neck and chest. "You are not the boy I know,"
Naruto said coldly. "I will use terms that you are familiar with so that you
have no trouble understanding me.
"You have been had," Naruto said contemptuously. "You, who have never had the
wool pulled over your eyes by anyone, have been owned by your brother. He is
manipulating you, intends to rule you and your actions, is trying to take
everything away from you. Not a quarter of an hour ago he attempted to seduce
me. I suspect he did this for no other reason than because you and I have gay
sex. Yes, he knows about that. He wants everything you have, I see it in his
eyes. He feels you are a possession of his. And what do you do?" Naruto spat
down at Sasuke's purple face. "You watch as he has me attacked and then go to
him with a smile. You let him close you in this room to lead me to my possible
death. You obey him as if he was a God and you let him unman you. You are not
the boy he touched inappropriately anymore. You are Uchiha Sasuke, bane of
Konoha and the man I loved. Either you get over this cowardice around him or I
will leave, for you are not the partner I knew. I do not love this weak thing I
see before me."
Naruto released Sasuke just as the smaller boy's eyes were starting to roll
back in his head. Sasuke turned on his side, clutching his neck and coughing in
harsh, racking barks. He shook uncontrollably as Naruto stood up and paced to
the door. He faced away from Sasuke, listening to him painstakingly bring
himself under control. Sasuke's breathing was very loud as he fed his oxygen-
starved body with deep breaths. Naruto waited in silence.
At last, Sasuke was able to sit up and breathe with a semblance of normalcy. He
still shook like a leaf. He stared at Naruto's broad back, at the hair that
Naruto kept short and spiky with regular applications of his kunai.
"I said we would be together until death. Then together again," Naruto said
quietly into the tense silence. "But I will not let you do this to me, Sasuke.
You must choose. Your brother or me. If you will not listen to me and let me
protect you from him, if you persist in being blind, then I will go. I can not
stay here and watch you willingly become his bitch."
Sasuke got to his feet. His body felt weak from Naruto's ministrations and the
import of his words. He somehow always managed to forget that Blondie, though
ignorant of so much, was far from stupid. Worse, Blondie had zero bullshit
tolerance. Sasuke had known that he was going back on his promise to honor
Naruto's condition for joining Akatsuki even as he was doing it. He'd intended
to smooth things over with Blondie later on, make it up to him somehow. But
these things that Blondie was saying now about him, about his brother…Sasuke
was never had, was nobody's bitch. Never. Blondie was wrong there. As for what
his brother was doing…Blondie was no liar, but it was possible that he'd
misinterpreted Itachi and his actions. He said as much now in a hoarse voice to
Naruto's back.
Naruto turned to regard Sasuke. "Why do you not see what he is doing? How have
you become so naïve, Sasuke? What's happened to you?"
"What has he done, huh? The test he put us through?" Sasuke's voice was
belligerent.
"That was no test. You know it wasn't."
"I disagree. What else? You said he wants to boss me around or some shit?
Motherfucker can try, okay? Nobody tells me what to do."
"He not only tells you what to do, but you do it. To the point that before
long, if he told you to poison me, no doubt you would."
"That is so not true. You have no idea what you are talking about."
Naruto stared into Sasuke's red, watery black eyes. "Sasuke. Please. I am
begging you: Don't make me hate you. Don't make me wish you were dead, because
you are my heart. You mean more to me than anything and if I hated you it would
be too much for me, Sasuke. I would kill you. I wouldn't mean to, but the sight
of you would likely drive Kyuubi to it."
"You're threatening me now?"
"No." Naruto appeared to search for words. "I would leave before I could harm
you. But I would never come back to you again. Never."
Sasuke stood with a hand on his hip, massaging his throat with the other. When
Blondie had first come in the room, all he'd been able to think was that now he
could be warm, now they could fuck. He found, to his disgust, that he still
wanted to fuck. Matter of fact, Sasuke couldn't remember wanting it as bad as
he wanted it now. The angry words between them, the fact that they were
standing on the very precipice of a break-up sent lust zinging through Sasuke's
veins as it never had before, which was saying something; Sasuke could never
keep his hands off of Naruto.
Naruto watched Sasuke drop his head and look to the side. Then the black-haired
youth came resolutely to him and put a hand behind Naruto's thick neck. He had
to reach up to do this. He attempted to pull Naruto's head down to his, seeking
the contact of the blond's lips. His eyes were pleading pools of darkness.
Naruto resisted. His eyes searched Sasuke's face as more and more pressure was
exerted on his neck. This only ensured that Sasuke was slowly lifting himself
against Naruto's big, hard body. Naruto's neck was able to withstand all of
Sasuke's weight without the slightest strain. "No, Sasuke," Naruto said as
Sasuke's face came closer to his. "Not this time."
"Please," Sasuke whispered. He kept his eyes on Blondie's full lips. He could
already imagine the taste. God, he'd been days without Blondie's touch. Every
atom in Sasuke's body was keening for the blond, to be taken, and taken, and
taken until the morning dawned. "Please, just…please."
Naruto lowered his head an inch at a time, keeping his eyes on Sasuke's. His
mouth stopped over the pale lips, just short of touching them, inhaling
Sasuke's shallow exhalations. This was wrong. This wouldn't be love, but some
other darker thing born of Sasuke's strange need. A need begotten by Itachi's
effect on Sasuke's psyche.
Sasuke closed the slight distance between them, capturing the full lips with a
moan of wretched, ravenous and rapacious desire.
===============================================================================
Naruto felt Sasuke's mouth devouring his own and Kyuubi leapt to the forefront
of his mind in response. Naruto held him back with iron control. He curved his
big hands around Sasuke's tight ass and drew him up, crushing their pelvises
against each other. A high moan came from Sasuke as Naruto pressed him against
the door, holding him there with his weight as his fingers found and entered
Sasuke's dry ass.
Sasuke supported himself with his arms around Blondie's neck, lifting his long
legs to grasp the strong hips as Naruto inserted the first two fingers of each
hand into his anus. Naruto pulled in opposite directions, forcing open Sasuke's
hole for the huge, dripping penis that jutted from the cloak he wore.
The penetration was deliciously, intensely painful. Sasuke wanted it but his
anus contracted at the last moment from nerves and made Naruto's entry more
brutal. The wide, mushroom head of Naruto's penis popped past Sasuke's
sphincter after a vicious thrust. Sasuke's perineum tore. Blood oozed over
Naruto's organ, lubricating the deep stabbing thrusts he gave even as his organ
tore Sasuke further.
Sasuke's mouth sagged away from Naruto's at feeling his body damaged. He
welcomed the pain, basked in it and reveled in it. He came at feeling Blondie
tear into him, shooting convulsively all over both their chests. His breath
stuttered from him, hitched, moaned, and then steadied into a panting rhythm
that matched the pounding that slammed his back into the door over and over
again. His legs grew weak with the force of his orgasm, already building again,
and Naruto lifted one long leg to hook over his shoulder, keeping Sasuke from
falling.
Naruto withdrew till the head of his organ was almost free of Sasuke's tight
wetness then slammed himself back in as hard and as deep as he could go. He
repeated the action harder and harder, until Sasuke vomited from the depth of
the penetration. He tried to swallow it back down, caught most of it, but some
splattered warmly onto his chin and slid down the finger-shaped bruises Naruto
had left.
The wet sounds of their sweaty bodies augmented Sasuke's shrieky, growly moans
of pain and pleasure. Naruto did not stop. Sasuke's muscles quivered with the
stress of Naruto's powerful body, but still the blond did not stop. The tears
in Sasuke's anus deepened, more blood ran down Naruto's penis, staining his
blond pubic hairs, dripping from his tight balls to patter between his large
bare feet. When Naruto came, his semen mixed with the blood.
Naruto tightened his hold on Sasuke and walked to the bed. He dropped him there
and bent his head between Sasuke's thighs, holding them up by pressing his
hands against the backs. Naruto licked up the blood and semen running from
Sasuke's torn entrance with a growl of pleasure, Kyuubi reaching past his
control at last.
Sasuke scarcely knew where he was or what was happening. He was high off of the
excruciatingly refined pain Naruto inflicted. He lifted his head and cried out
at feeling that long tongue lick him clean. His legs shook as Naruto met his
gaze along the length of his fair body. He held Sasuke's eyes with his own as
he snaked that long, wet tongue up Sasuke's ass. Sasuke came again at feeling
the squirming muscle writhe deep inside him as if it were alive. He kept
coming, his mouth an O of dense pleasure as the tongue attacked his prostate
with dismaying strength. The spurts were long, flowing one after the other as
Sasuke shuddered and undulated. The tongue was withdrawn.
Sasuke opened his eyes. Naruto bared his teeth over Sasuke's still hard cock.
His fangs dripped on the trembling organ.
Their eyes locked and held, red confronting black.
Naruto slowly and deliberately sank his fangs into the meat of Sasuke's organ,
turning his head to bite it along its length. His eyes remained on Sasuke's
unblinkingly as he closed his jaws steadily, his fangs disappearing into
Sasuke's flesh. Blood welled around Naruto's teeth and lips from the organ in
his mouth.
Sasuke drew in breath after breath without releasing them. His chest expanded,
forcing his back to arch, his head to fall back on the mattress. Naruto's teeth
met through the skin and Sasuke let out all the breath he'd drawn in one long,
full-throated scream of release, his cock erupting in another shower of cum
that coated Naruto's face.
===============================================================================
Afterwards, Naruto lay in the bed with him. Sasuke burrowed into Naruto's side,
whimpering and mewling in pain. His shivering form lay beneath Naruto's heavy
arm. It was dark in the room now, the lights that had been burning when Naruto
entered having been put out by the blond before he got into the bed.
"Don't leave me," Sasuke whispered brokenly. "I need you, don't leave me. I
won't let my brother control me, you'll see. I'll stand up to him, anything,
just please stay with me, Blondie."
Naruto did not answer. He had a feeling that Sasuke would be unable to follow
through with his words. All of his previous faith in Sasuke had almost entirely
withered away from his actions in his brother's presence. Still. His love for
Sasuke wouldn't allow him to give up entirely. He would give Sasuke one more
chance to save what they had.
===============================================================================
Itachi came out of his own mind with a small cry of triumph. He looked around
his room and was frankly appreciative and amazed to be alive. Anythingcould
have happened to him while he'd lain helpless. It was a fucking miracle the
shitting blond hadn't murdered him when he'd had the chance. Itachi rolled off
the bed.
And the whore's son had taken his cloak, Itachi saw. He considered hunting up
clothes of his own, but decided wearing Naruto's would be faster; the blond's
shirt and pants were hanging right there on the coat rack.
===============================================================================
Naruto was watching Sasuke sleep, smoothing his big hand over Sasuke's hair
over and over again by the time Itachi burst through the door to his brother's
room. Naruto's clothes flapped around him loosely.
Itachi's eyes blazed back and forth between Naruto and Sasuke's naked forms.
Naruto sat up in the bed and stared at Itachi challengingly. Itachi's lips
compressed into a line of rage. Sasuke sat up more slowly, looking at his
brother across the room. Naruto looked at Sasuke with an air of waiting for
something.
Sasuke took a deep breath. "Yeah, uh…Itachi. Naruto is going to be staying in
my room. With me. It's…not negotiable."
Naruto watched a single drop of sweat roll down the side of Sasuke's face. He'd
expected more from Sasuke, but it was a start. He turned his head to see how
Itachi would respond.
Itachi didn't. He simply stared at them for a minute before he turned and left
the room. The door slammed behind him. Sasuke sagged with relief.
===============================================================================
The next day Itachi was gone from the hideout. He didn't come back for a week.
During that time, Sasuke and Naruto learned exactly what it was Akatsuki did.
Naruto listened in disbelief. Capture Bijuus? Prepare for world domination?
Many times the other members' eyes would turn to Naruto and he knew they were
thinking about the fact that he was the Jinchuuriki for the Nine-Tails. Naruto
was starting to get a hunted feeling. His eyes tended to be red more often than
not in response to the constant danger he felt around him.
Sasuke was strangely quieter than usual. Naruto knew part of the reason was the
way they'd had gay sex on the night of their arrival. It hadn't sat well with
the blond either. The coupling had been disturbing. Sasuke had wanted the pain
Naruto had inflicted, but the blond didn't know why. It almost felt as if
Sasuke wanted to be punished.
Naruto suspected the other reason Sasuke was so reserved was because of his
brother's absence. Sasuke probably thought he'd alienated his brother by
standing up to him. Naruto could not understand why this should matter to his
companion. Sasuke's attitude routinely demonstrated that he couldn't care less
what people thought of him or his actions.
Maybe it was different for family, Naruto thought. Maybe family had the power
to render one helpless. Sasuke's one-eighty seemed to stem from Itachi. Naruto
resigned himself to the fact that Sasuke was reduced to the boy he'd been
whenever his brother was around. Apparently nothing Naruto said changed
Sasuke's thinking, since he did not respond to Naruto's conversations. He only
sat around the hideout, staring moodily at nothing. The Sasuke Naruto knew was
temporarily gone. It made the blond's heart ache terribly. He waited by
Sasuke's side during those seven days, hoping to be acknowledged.
===============================================================================
Itachi found a village, slaughtered everyone in it except for the girls and
locked them all in a house. He set up a Genjutsu blockade around the village so
that anyone entering it immediately fell unconscious before he made his way to
the house and the frightened girls. Once there, he set up a different barricade
inside the structure so that the girls couldn't escape. The girls listened to
his explanation that they would die instantly if they tried to go through the
barricade. They huddled in a terrified, weeping group in the middle of the main
room. Itachi stripped.
He went after the oldest girl first. He intended to work his way through the
twenty odd girls until he got to the youngest. He grabbed the shrieking girl by
the hair and hauled her out of the group. One of the other girls tried to hang
on to her. Itachi kicked her in the chest.
He stopped a few feet across from the group, within sight of their frightened
eyes. He wanted them to see what was in store for each of them. He shook the
girl he'd chosen by her hair, getting her attention. "How old are you?" he
asked. He always asked their ages. It turned him on to hear how young they
were.
"T-tw-twelve. Please don't hurt me! Please!"
Itachi liked rape, yes, but he also liked making girls have their first
experience of sexual arousal. He liked seeing their faces contort with their
first orgasms. The sensations were new to them so they didn't hold back. They
gave in to it without knowing that they were giving in. He chose to take the
time to play now.
"Look at me," Itachi said. He twisted her head to look at him. Her blue eyes
were large and teary. "I'm going to fuck you. You want that, don't you?"
"No! Oh, please!"
"It'll feel good. Right here." He cupped her small pussy through her flowery
house dress. She tried to pull away from him, but he held her still. "Doesn't
that feel good?"
"No, stop it, please stop!" She was crying in earnest now.
Itachi tore her dress down the front and examined her breasts. They were ripe
for a twelve year old. He was willing to bet she'd had her period already.
Which meant she was a woman and would probably end up enjoying what he did.
Good. Her screams would be loud when he made her cum. He set to work.
He stripped her of her clothes to leave her naked on the floor. She tried to
cover her privates but Itachi held her legs apart and enclosed her sweet pussy
with his mouth. He almost moaned aloud with desire. There was nothing in the
world like the taste of virgin pussy. She smelled of sweat and her natural
musk. Her clit was large, poking pinkly up from between her white labia. He
sucked this pink bud of flesh strongly, watching her face.
The girl's hands tried to push Itachi's head away even as her mouth opened and
closed soundlessly. She panted harshly, her body shuddering as if in a seizure.
Her eyes squeezed shut tightly as Itachi continued to suck and seeing her
building orgasm, feeling it in her, Itachi's cock grew hard as a rock. Her
juices began flowing, her inner fold swelling, opening, unfolding until she
came with sharp upward jerks of her strong young body. Her screams were indeed
loud.
Itachi sat back and licked her arousal from around his mouth. He looked at her
twitching pussy and let himself visualize stretching it with his cock. He
couldn't wait anymore. He grabbed his appendage and placed it at her wet
opening.
She was crying in shame. Itachi covered her body with his. He stilled her
twisting head with his hand. "Did you like that? Tell me the truth."
The girl tried to release her head, pushed against Itachi with her hands.
Itachi rubbed the head of his cock up and down her hot slit. A moan escaped the
girl.
"This is the last time I'm asking. Did you like that?" Itachi's voice was low.
The girl nodded jerkily. Itachi smiled tightly before he entered her in one
swift thrust. His cock punched past her hymen to lodge firmly in her tight
sheath. "Oh, God," Itachi moaned. His head rested on her shoulder briefly
before he began thrusting back and forth.
The friction was almost too much to allow him movement. She was so tight it was
painful. Wonderfully tight. Itachi sat on his heels as he fucked her, watching
how her pussy lips were stretched around his width. He felt her come around his
cock once, then again. The convulsions clamped around him so relentlessly that
he threw his head back and roared at the ceiling, emptying his seed into her.
He pulled out, noting the amount of blood on his cock. Good. It would
facilitate his next conquest. He left the girl on the floor, hugging herself
and weeping quietly. Now that he'd satisfied his initial hunger the next ones
would be quick. He wouldn't engage in foreplay.
                                     -oOo-
He fucked the girls one after the other until he came to a gorgeous girl of
approximately seven. She had white hair and deep purple eyes. He took a moment
to run his eyes over her beauty in rare wonder. Then he had her lick his cock
clean of blood before making her open her mouth wide to suck it. He kept
staring at her as she attempted to service him. Her small hands held his balls
as he'd instructed, kneading them and pulling them. After awhile he buried his
hands in her thick hair and held her head still. He fucked her heart-shaped
face slowly, her eyes tugging at his heart. He was almost ashamed to come in
her mouth.
Almost.
He did, watching her cheeks work as she swallowed. She had a dimple in the left
cheek. She didn't cry once. He set her aside gently, away from the girls he'd
fucked. He would not use her that way.
The rest of the girls, all younger than the white-haired seven-year-old, looked
up at him hopefully, thinking he would show them mercy too. He stood over them,
thinking. There were perhaps five girls left. Itachi suddenly didn't feel like
raping them. He wanted the business over with.
When fucking girls as old as the first one, the twelve year old, he always
killed them afterward. He took no chances that one of them might bear his
child. The younger girls he always left alive. He wanted them to go through
life remembering that he'd been their first. Now, though, Itachi took out his
kunai and slit all of their throats. They began running when they saw what he
was doing. He chased them down with little effort. When it was over, he wiped
his kunai and stepped over the last girl, a child who looked no older than
three. Her legs twitched weakly as she died.
The white-haired, purple-eyed beauty stood where he'd left her. She hadn't run
and didn't seem bothered by what she'd seen. Itachi came to her slowly and sat
down cross-legged in front of her. He stared at her face in puzzlement, aware
that he was enthralled and wondering why.
===============================================================================
The seven days Itachi stayed away were spent in that house with that girl. He
would spend hours staring at her otherworldly beauty. He did not feed her.
Sometimes he fingered her tiny pussy, rubbing her clit until she came in quick
little bursts. Sometimes he sucked her pussy slowly for an entire afternoon. He
kissed her, feeling her tongue twine with his. She tasted of strawberries,
though she'd eaten none.
She grew weaker day by day. Itachi lay by her side, his head propped on his
hand as he watched her gradually dying. Her beauty was sharpened, made holy by
her quiet, uncomplaining suffering. Itachi had never known or touched such
purity as that of this one girl. It shook him, how he felt around her, made him
question everything he was. He truly believed she was some angel fallen to
earth, that he was looking on a possession of the gods.
Six days after he arrived at the house the girl lay breathing shallowly in the
bed they shared. Itachi leaned over her intently, watching her beautiful face.
Her lustrous eyes were dimming. Soon. So soon.
"What's your name?" Itachi whispered. They were the first words he'd spoken
since setting eyes on her six days earlier.
The girl sighed and was gone. He'd never heard her voice.
Itachi lay down next to her after a few minutes, frowning up at the ceiling. He
didn't like the unsettled feeling he had. He felt wrong. Itachi was never
wrong. He felt…insecure. Which was impossible. The girl's angelic face swam in
his mind, silently reproaching him for living a life of violence and hatred.
With her mute acceptance of his abuse, she'd opened a door in Itachi, showing
the Uchiha that there was something in him that could replace all the darkness
in his soul. Itachi had no name for it, didn't know what it was but another
person would have called it goodness. Itachi instinctively recoiled from
whatever was being born inside him, trying to recapture the feeling he'd had
when he left the hideout.
He'd left the hideout in petulant jealousy and rage. He'd needed violence in
order to restore his spirits and erase the rejected feeling he'd gotten at
seeing Sasuke laying in bed with that piece of shit Naruto.
He thought of his brother. That helped to dispel his feelings of shame and
wrongness. Sasuke. Little fucking Brother. Sasuke had defied him. He needed to
be dealt with. And let's not forget the blond monster with him. Itachi would
make sure Naruto died horribly.
The emerging epiphany that may have redeemed Itachi was lost. It settled back
into the depths of his corrupt and selfish soul, unseen and unfelt.
Itachi got up, found his clothes, left the house and burned it to ashes with a
fireball. He did not watch the flames, already heading back to the hideout and
his darling brother.
He smiled as he thought of how much fun life was suddenly turning out to be.
***** Chapter 4 *****
 Itachi arrived at the hideout to find things much as he'd left them. The other
members of Akatsuki approached him with questions of where he'd been and what
their objective was now.
"For now, we'll keep raking in the dough." Itachi said as he eyed his brother
sitting in a corner. "We'll go over long term plans later."
There was general agreement to this. Konan was made the new treasurer. The
members dispersed after the brief meeting when Itachi told them to leave him.
Itachi let his eyes scan the main room of the hideout as he walked slowly
towards where Sasuke sat.
Naruto was nowhere in the room.
Itachi stopped in front of Sasuke, looking down at him with red eyes.
Sasuke was leaning back on his elbows, his legs stretched out in front of him.
He stared up at his brother's emotionless face, feeling the familiar sense of
helplessness and awe Itachi seemed to always engender in him. Sasuke thought he
hid the nerves twisting his gut well, keeping his face just as blank as Itachi
kept his. Does he hate me? Sasuke thought. Maybe-
Itachi turned wordlessly and walked away.
Sasuke let out a breath. This, too, he remembered from when they were younger.
Whenever Itachi was displeased with Sasuke he'd ignore him until Sasuke
couldn't take it anymore. Eventually, Sasuke would go crawling to his big
brother for forgiveness, unable to stand the solitude.
After awhile Sasuke got up and followed his brother, determined to get a word
of acknowledgment from him. He wasn't going to wait this time.
===============================================================================
Naruto released the concealment jutsu he'd been holding. It effectively masked
his chakra and his body. He stood against the wall where he'd watched the
entire scene between Sasuke and Itachi. He now thought he understood what was
wrong with Sasuke. Cleverly done, the blond thought. Sasuke, I cannot help you.
You must help yourself.
===============================================================================
 Sasuke caught up to Itachi outside his older brother's room. "Itachi, wait."
Itachi turned to regard him. Sasuke jogged to a halt. He paused at seeing the
unblinking stare his brother gave him. Then he opened his mouth to tell Itachi
that he wasn't going to be ignored.
"I'm sorry," Sasuke said. "I…didn't mean to make you mad." He frowned. That
hadn't been what he was going to say at all.
Itachi said not a word. He went into his room and closed the door in Sasuke's
face. What's wrong with me,Sasuke thought.
                                     -oOo-
That evening, all Akatsuki members gathered in the main room to listen to
Itachi assign missions to each of the two-man cells. By rights Naruto should
have been partnered with Sasuke as Kakuzu had been partnered with Hidan.
Instead, Itachi said Sasuke would partner him while Konan partnered Naruto.
"What about me," Kisame wondered. His voice and face were equally reproachful.
Kisame had been Itachi's partner.
"I want to partner Blondie," Sasuke spoke up into the silence. Naruto cracked a
smile at this small show of defiance on Sasuke's part.
Itachi stared at Sasuke. Sasuke stared back, a small frown on his face. After
awhile, he dropped his eyes. Only then did Itachi turn to his former partner.
"You can be with Zetsu if you want, Kisame, though you're strong enough to be
on your own," Itachi said. "And Zetsu's like two people all by himself, the
freak."
"Hey," Zetsu protested weakly.
Itachi ignored him. "These missions are high paying. Complete them and report
back here. Konan, Naruto, your mission is a special one. Bring me the Eight-
tails. He's only a few days away from here."
Konan inclined her head in silent acquiescence. Naruto folded his arms. "No,"
the big blond said. The others had been murmuring amongst themselves, comparing
their missions. Now they all stopped and turned to stare at Naruto. No one
refused Itachi. Ever.
"What's that, now?" Itachi said mildly.
"I am not a part of this organization," Naruto said in his musical voice. "I'm
only here because Sasuke is here. I will not participate in your schemes."
"Is that right," Itachi said with his head cocked. "I see. Die, then." With
that, the other members of Akatsuki responded to some signal from Itachi that
Naruto missed; he was too busy watching them all come flying at him at once.
Chakra exploded out of Naruto as he jumped, dodging most of them. A storm of
paper butterflies came at him from above while two clay owls came at him from
the left and right. Naruto spun in midair and avoided the majority of the
blast. A puppet shot searing flames at him while Kisame's sword shredded his
back, swallowing the Kyuubi chakra that pumped off Naruto in the process.
Sasuke stood, the veins in his neck etched in sharp relief as he fought with
himself. He wanted to go to Blondie's aid but Itachi's eyes held him in place.
It was as if all strength to go against his brother left him whenever he looked
at Itachi. Sasuke couldn't understand how his brother could have such power
over him. For fuck's sake, they were killing Blondie! "Please," Sasuke hissed
desperately. "Don't."
Itachi frowned. He looked toward where the big kid was putting up one hell of a
fight. Deidara was down. Kisame's arm hung limp at his side. The blond fucker
was damned strong, a skilled fighter.
But he was outnumbered.
His attacks weakened, slowed. His wounds healed more slowly. By the time the
fight had gone out of him, Naruto wasn't moving. Kisame held his huge blade to
Naruto's throat as Zetsu held him up by his thick blond hair. Sasuke was crying
softly. He'd never seen Blondie beaten, not even once. He hadn't thought it was
possible. Itachi pulled out a kunai and went to where Naruto was being held up,
barely conscious.
"No," Sasuke whispered. "Itachi…"
Itachi turned to look at Sasuke. "Little Brother. Let me show you what happens
to people who go against me."
Itachi rammed the kunai into Naruto's chest. Naruto jerked but didn't cry out.
Sasuke did. Itachi watched the blood welling from Naruto's mouth as Zetsu
dropped him and Kisame removed Samehada from his throat. Then he walked over to
where Sasuke stood.
Sasuke couldn't take his eyes off of Blondie. "Oh, God. You…you killed him."
"Not yet," Itachi said mildly. "He's close to being dead, but he's one tough
kid. He'll hang on a bit longer. As long as you stop bucking me, that is." He
caressed a lock of Sasuke's hair, so like his own.
Sasuke looked at his brother. "What do you mean," he asked in dread. He had an
idea that he already knew what his brother meant, though.
Itachi shrugged. "Keep pissing me off and I'll finish the job of killing him.
Do as I say and he goes in the dungeon, where he'll live until I'm ready to
extract his Bijuu. All up to you, really." His hand moved from Sasuke's hair to
his neck, where it rubbed soothingly. Sasuke shuddered. He looked from where
Blondie lay in a pool of his own spreading blood back to his brother's smiling
black eyes.
"You won't hurt him?"
And Itachi knew he had his brother at last. He ordered Naruto chained in the
dungeon hand and foot. Sasuke saw that the chains were huge, thick things
several inches in circumference. No way Blondie'd be breaking out of those
things, not even if he weren't so injured. The kunai still protruded from his
chest as Itachi checked the chains before giving Naruto a vicious kick to the
head. He exited the dark damp cell with a bouncy spring to his step.
===============================================================================
Sasuke didn't think he'd ever been so miserable in his life. He went to his
room, shut the door and looked around.
Blondie, he thought. No. Naruto. His name is Uzumaki Naruto and I am the worst
shit alive.Sasuke looked at the big bed and reflected that until Naruto had
hooked up with him, the blond's life had probably been fine. Sasuke had ruined
his life. Thanks to him, Naruto had no village, was pursued by hunter-nin, a
killer and now captured by Akatsuki and lay dying.
Sasuke covered his mouth with both hands to stifle his wrenching sobs of regret
and self-hate. I have to get us out of here.Somewhere in the back of his mind
he registered that he never would have had such a thought in his brother's
presence. It was only now that he was alone that he seemed capable of thinking.
He looked around his room. There wasn't much to pack. He was wondering how on
earth to get past all the members of Akatsuki when his door creaked open.
Sasuke spun to find Itachi closing the door softly behind him.
Itachi studied his brother thoughtfully. He could see the defiance all over his
face. "You thinking of escaping, Little Brother?"
Sasuke refused to answer.
Itachi clasped his hands behind his back and paced slowly towards Sasuke.
"Don't you want to be with your only remaining family member, Sasuke? I'm all
you have. You know I won't hurt you, so why do you want to leave?"
Sasuke found it hard to speak. The words came with difficulty. "You won't hurt
me?"
"Never. I will hurt your friend, however. Do you want that, Sasuke?"
"No." It was easier to speak if he looked at Itachi's collar.
"No. I didn't think so. You're going to make sure he stays alive for as long as
possible, right?"
Sasuke was tired. Of everything. He was tired of running, tired of fighting. He
suddenly wanted his brother to take care of everything. Itachi was right, he
belonged with his family. And if…if he did what Itachi wanted, Blondie would be
safe…everything would be fine, so long as Sasuke gave in.
The fight went out of him and Sasuke felt something he hadn't felt since before
the night his clan had been slaughtered. He felt peace. He raised his eyes to
Itachi's.
Itachi smiled. He brought his hands from behind his back to place them slowly
around his brother's shoulders. Sasuke didn't resist. Itachi relaxed into the
embrace, feeling as if he'd come home. This was his life, his own little
brother.
"I've missed you, Sasuke."
Sasuke tentatively brought a hand up to place on his brother's back. Itachi
felt it and pulled back slightly. Black gazed into black.
When Itachi's lips touched his, Sasuke felt nothing at first. It was just…skin.
Nothing. He allowed it because Itachi wanted it. He would do whatever Itachi
wanted. He wasn't even thinking about Blondie. His mind was a blank.
Sasuke watched with detachment as his clothes were removed, item by item. Then
Itachi removed his own clothes. Sasuke was led to his bed and made to lie
beneath the sheets. Itachi crawled in beside him. Their skin touching left
Sasuke feeling slightly warm.
===============================================================================
They watched the big Jinchuuriki through the bars of his cell for awhile. Many
of them were injured badly. For a surety, the Jinchuuriki could have killed
them easily had they fought him one at a time. It was well that they had
collaborated to bring him down.
Gradually, they each left to tend to their injuries. They took their torches
with them, leaving the Jinchuuriki to the darkness beneath the building and the
creatures that inhabited it. A steel door clanged shut, sealing their prisoner
away.
===============================================================================
Alone at last, Naruto coughed weakly, spat out blood. He'd had to take that
dive or they would have killed him. Even so, it had been a near thing.
The blue eyes slit open, seeing nothing but black. Every part of Naruto hurt.
Bones were broken, some joints dislocated. And the kunai was fiery agony in his
chest. Every breath jostled it, sent a stab of sharp pain radiating through his
lungs.
Naruto grit his teeth. He lifted his arm painstakingly to drop on his stomach.
Once that task was accomplished he needed several long moments to catch his
breath. The effort had left him near a faint. He could feel the broken bones in
his arm grating against each other as he inched his hand up his stomach until
it was brushing the kunai. Just that small touch caused the kunai to move and
make Naruto bite back a moan of pain. He took a few breaths to brace himself.
Then he wrapped his hand around the hilt and pulled as hard as he could.
Naruto clamped his teeth shut yet the scream tore out of him anyway, along with
the kunai.
He panted harshly in the dark, trying to listen for footsteps approaching.
There were none. When Naruto could manage it, he accessed Kyuubi's chakra. His
body glowed balefully in the dark.
===============================================================================
Sasuke was so used to Blondie's forceful strength that Itachi's soft touches
and smooth seduction beguiled him. Yet he still felt a prickle of unease that
caused him to be unresponsive. Itachi's lips trailed down Sasuke's chest as he
lay still. A tongue laved his nipple. Sasuke shivered. Itachi raised his head
to skewer Sasuke with his red eyes.It's my brother,Sasuke thought incoherently.
He's my brother and its okay.
This time when Itachi kissed him Sasuke kissed him back.
It was hesitant. Sasuke's tongue was approached. He allowed his brother
admission and Sasuke's body was suddenly on fire. He couldn't remember ever
having kissed his brother like this. It was oddly like kissing himself, such
was the familiarity of the touch. My brother, my blood.There was a closeness
that was quite different from what he shared with Blondie. This was wrong, yes,
but Sasuke also felt like there was a rightness to it that he was powerless to
resist. Or maybe it was just his brother he couldn't resist. Sasuke wondered if
Itachi would penetrate him or if this was as far as they would go. The thought
of sex with Itachi sent a tremor through him that the older man interpreted as
desire. Itachi moaned.
Sweet. Little Brother was incredibly sweet to taste. Itachi could scarcely
think, so overcome with the craving to know Sasuke's body was he. It wasn't
even a sex thing for him. It was some primitive, visceral need to join with his
brother. They were one. They belonged together. He sucked Sasuke's neck,
feeling his pulse beat against his tongue and Itachi knew he had to have him.
All of him. He had to consume Sasuke, nothing less would do.
===============================================================================
Bones set and knit together seamlessly. Lacerations healed and bruises faded.
Naruto sat up with a faint clinking of chains. He grasped a length of the heavy
links in one big hand and felt them in the dark, gauging how strong they were.
Then he turned to examine the stone wall behind him. He judged himself to be a
couple of hundred yards beneath the ground.
One tail. No more.
Naruto crossed his legs and closed his eyes, concentrating. When he had one
tail established, he opened his eyes. He spoke to the darkness, to the soul he
was leaving behind. "I said I would never leave you, Sasuke, but I can't save
you this time. You have to save yourself. I'll wait for you. Come to me when
you can, Sasuke. I'm sorry. So sorry. I love you."
===============================================================================
A loud explosion rocked the hideout. Deidara picked his head up from between
Konan's thighs. "What was that?"
The members of Akatsuki all came running into the main room in varying states
dishabille. Itachi came last, tugging his cloak over his nudity, Sasuke
following behind him more slowly. "What's going on," he barked. "What was that
sound? Deidara, did one of your bombs misfire again?"
"Wasn't me, Boss," the blond man said.
"I think it came from the dungeon," Kisame said quietly. His bandaged arm was
held stiffly.
Itachi led the way beneath the hideout. They all stood in front of the same
cell they'd stood in front of less than two hours ago. It was now empty.
The chains were warped and twisted, as if yanked apart by great strength. That
wasn't what they were all staring at, though. What had their undivided
attention was the large hole in the wall opposite the cell bars. Itachi made a
gesture to Konan. She understood and sent a paper centipede through the bars
and into the hole. After a few minutes, she told him that it came out on the
surface, some distance away from the hideout.
Naruto had escaped.
Itachi refrained from having a conniption. He eyed his brother from the corner
of his eye. Sasuke studied the hole with a blank expression on his face.
"Find him," Itachi hissed to the waiting members. "Bring his ass back. I don't
need to tell you how I'll reward failure."
No, he didn't. The members of Akatsuki all disappeared through the hole,
vanishing within seconds. Sasuke remained. Itachi studied him a moment before
turning and going back up to the main room of the hideout.
Sasuke stared at the hole, feeling strangely bereft. There's no reason to let
my brother touch me now. He's gone. He's safe. They'll never catch him and if
they do they'll be sorry.
"Sasuke, are you coming?" his brother called.
Blondie's safe, but I don't think I am.
Sasuke went up the cracked and crumbling stone stairway, following the sound of
his brother's voice and knowing in his heart that if Itachi wanted to touch him
he wouldn't resist. Oh, Blondie. Why didn't you take me with you?
===============================================================================
 Naruto ran hard. He ran for days. Deidara had come upon him, swooping from the
sky on some huge winged creature. Naruto had lost his mind, leaping with an
insane burst of strength from his legs to catch the ninja by his blond
ponytail. They'd fallen from the sky in a twirling tangle of limbs. Naruto
twisted the head in his hands, snapping Deidara's neck before they'd hit the
ground. The impact had knocked Naruto out for a time.
He woke to sense more pursuers not far behind and set off running again. On and
on without stopping. Once he'd gotten his foot caught in a rabbit hole. His leg
had snapped, sending him sprawling. He'd gotten right back up and kept running,
Kyuubi mending the appendage as he fled. When Zetsu rose from the ground in
front of him Naruto ran into the plant nin without slowing down, his claws
ripping the bastard's throat out. Naruto was out of sight before the echo of
the gargling scream had entirely faded from the valley.
His body was at its limit. He dropped from exhaustion in a rocky ravine. He
used the last of his chakra to conceal himself, praying he could hold onto the
jutsu long enough for his pursuers to pass him by. If they caught him in this
state...
This time when Naruto woke, it was to find himself very sunburned. A very large
dark-skinned man was standing over him. He had on shades. A tattoo of bull
horns adorned his cheek. He held a hand out to Naruto's wary face.
"Brother," the man said in a deep voice.
***** Chapter 5 *****
 
Naruto did not take the hand offered to him. Instead, he glanced around at his
surroundings, seeking enemies. The man appeared to be alone, though. And Naruto
did not sense any of Akatsuki nearby.
At last he did turn his eyes to his companion when the other man removed his
hand. Naruto took in the predominately white attire, the white hair and beard.
There were seven swords protruding from the man's back. Naruto got to his feet
slowly. The man seemed to be looking at him, but Naruto couldn't see his eyes
to be sure.
There was a lot of chakra in the man. Naruto sensed this and he sensed some
sort of resonance with his own body…something. Something about this man drew
Naruto. "Why did you call me brother," the blond asked slowly.
"A fellow Jinchuuriki is always a brother. I am Killerbee, but you may call me
Jinchuuriki-sama," the man joked. "You must be the Nine-Tails. Only the One-
Tail and Nine-Tails are left besides myself. Akatsuki killed the rest."
Naruto's eyes sharpened at the name Akatsuki, Killerbee saw. "Is that who you
were running from?"
Naruto gave a very slow nod, staring at the man. He'd never met another like
him. That must be why I feel a connection to him.He let his eyes run over the
powerful body. It was much like his own. The man was even the same height as
Naruto. Perhaps all Jinchuuriki were tall and muscular men?
Killerbee studied the boy. Calm and collected. Bet nothing ruffles this one.
"Come, you can refresh yourself before you continue your journey."
Naruto watched as Killerbee turned and began loping up the rocky wall of the
ravine with ease. After another minute of staring around, he followed.
===============================================================================
The place Killerbee led him to was a cave. He ducked his white head beneath the
rocky ceiling and went in. Naruto was right behind him. The cave was dark.
Naruto stretched out a hand to let the wall guide him. They continued in the
dark for at least a mile before sunlight showed up ahead. Killerbee led him out
of the cave to a grassy valley. In the bottom of the valley was a stone
cottage. Killerbee headed towards it.
The valley was beautiful. Naruto didn't think of it in those terms, but he
found that it pleased him. The way Sasuke's smile pleased him.
Sunlight slanted through the valley. Butterflies danced in these warm rays,
flitting around apple, apricot and pear trees. A tiny brook meandered down one
side of the valley and across the grassy floor to gather in an equally tiny
pond. The stone cottage stood near this pond. There were flowers everywhere.
"Are you coming?" Killerbee called. He was looking up at Naruto from where he
stood at the open cottage door. Naruto started down the verdant slope.
The cottage was cool yet bright and sunny. It was larger than it had seemed
from the top of the valley. It had three rooms. One room belonged to Killerbee,
Naruto's host explained. The largest room was the main one that they were
currently standing in.
"What's behind that door?" Naruto asked. He tipped his head in the direction of
a door opposite Killerbee's room.
"Ah, that," the dark man said. "That's Gaara's room. No one enters it but him.
He isn't here right now." Killerbee turned to a cabinet near the window.
"Gaara," Naruto tasted the name on his tongue. "Is he your partner?"
Killerbee snorted as he brought bread, cheese and salted beef to the small
square table. "Gaara is insane. He'd be the last person you'd want to partner.
Hungry?"
Naruto was starving. He bowed deeply in thanks before sitting at the table and
grabbing a loaf of bread. "Why does he live with you then," Naruto said after
he'd swallowed the first mouthful. He took another tremendous bite as his host
answered.
"Gaara is Jinchuuriki like you and I are. We have to stick together or Akatsuki
will destroy us all. As it is, Gaara and I failed to save the Four-Tails. He
and I, and now you, are all that's left." Killerbee's face was sad as he poured
some kind of frothy liquid into a mug for Naruto. The blond sipped it
cautiously. It was delicious.
"What is this?" He drained the mug.
"Apple cider," Killerbee smiled. "I made it from the fruit of my trees. What's
your name, son?"
"Naruto."
Naruto ate in silence after that. His mug was refilled thrice more. Killerbee
did not inundate him with questions or chatter. He seemed content with the
silence, alternating between looking out the window and at Naruto. When Naruto
was finished he sat back, belching softly into his fist.
He didn't want to continue his journey. He didn't have a journey. He'd been
running for his life. True, he did have a home to go to now, but he felt very
comfortable here. Secure. Naruto wished he'd been invited to stay. It was an
extremely soothing experience to be in this cool, safe house after the constant
danger and evil of the Akatsuki hideout. The pain of Sasuke's predicament had
been left behind. It still hurt Naruto terribly, but just now he felt alright.
He felt…relaxed. At ease.
Killerbee had been eyeing him behind his shades. He suspected the boy had
nowhere to go. "Would you like to remain here a few days?" he asked casually.
Naruto once again bowed. "Arigato gusaimasu."
===============================================================================
Itachi paced up and down the main room of the hideout, hands on his hips.
Sasuke was sitting on a chair watching him. He got up to go to his room now.
"Stay there," Itachi spat. Sasuke sank back into the chair.
It had been two days, where the fuck were they? Itachi's red eyes kept going
back to the doors of the hideout, expecting them to crash open, his companions
dragging the blond asshole between them.
But that didn't happen.
What happened was that on the evening of the third day his companions came
crashing through the door carrying the dead bodies of Deidara and Zetsu. Itachi
was ready to shit.
"Dare I ask what happened?" Itachi hissed. His eyes remained on the mangled
carcasses.
"The Jinchuuriki, Boss," Konan said. "We lost him. We thought it wiser to come
back here for further instructions."
Itachi raised his eyes to her. "Further instructions? I told you to bring his
fucking ass back here. What further instructions could you have possibly
needed? You were scared. That's why you're all back here." Itachi smiled. "You
fear him more than you fear me. Allow me to fix that."
Sasuke watched in silence as the blood began to flow.
===============================================================================
Naruto yawned behind his hand. Killerbee got up and led the way to his room.
"I'm afraid the only place to sleep is in my bed," The big man said
apologetically. "Unless you want the floor out here. Gets cold, though."
Naruto was by now well acquainted with the practice of offering one's
possessions if they were staying with you. He accepted the bed gratefully. He
was still exhausted from running for all those days.
Killerbee's room was sparsely furnished. The bed consisted of a large mattress
on the floor in one corner. There were blankets piled on it. A wardrobe stood
in another corner. That was all, except for a fireplace in one wall. It was
unlit.
Naruto removed his clothes and folded them neatly near the bed as Killerbee
left him alone. He settled himself onto the mattress with a quiet sigh of
relief. He was soon asleep.
                                     -oOo-
Sometime later that night Naruto was disturbed by a crash and a great deal of
cursing. He rolled over sleepily, but did not wake up. Bits and pieces of
conversation floated to him as if in a dream.
"The fuck you say! The Nine-Tails is here?"
"Shhhh, he's sleeping. I think Akatsuki-"
"How long will he be here? Fuck, I hope he knows how to have a good time-"
"He can stay as long as he likes. I find him easy to be around."
"What, you're trying to say I'm not easy to be around?"
"You're a maniac."
"And damn proud of it, too."
There was mumbling after this, as if the speakers were moving away. Then a
shout, "You gave him all our food?!"
Naruto actually did wake up during the night. Killerbee was next to him in the
bed, his shades removed. In fact, most of his clothing was removed. He had on a
pair of loose pants, nothing else. Though they weren't touching, Naruto could
feel the heat coming from the man. "Am I bothering you," the older man asked.
"No…where is the bathroom?"
"Outside. Bury anything you leave."
Naruto stepped out into the moonlit valley and relieved himself in some bushes
by a tree. He went back into the cottage, to the room and bed he was sleeping
in. He and Killerbee had their backs to each other. Naruto heard his even
breathing.
He wouldn't be getting back to sleep, that much he knew. He was rested. It was
too pleasant under the blankets, inside that safe house, for Naruto to get up,
though. Now that he was fed and recovered and out of harm's way, he could
think. His thoughts turned to Sasuke.
He wondered if his lover even knew what was happening to him. Until he did,
Sasuke would remain with his brother, his personality slowly eroding away.
Naruto missed Sasuke like he'd never missed anything in his life. He missed the
snarky, sarcastic, street-smart, bullying Sasuke he'd fallen in love with. That
Sasuke was hard when he had to be yet soft at night with Naruto. He missed
Sasuke's eager kisses and cries of pleasure. He missed the way Sasuke always
thought Naruto was a god of destruction. Sasuke managed to make anything and
everything interesting. It was just the way he was. Naruto felt like all the
color and life had gone out of the world without Sasuke beside him. He felt
like something in him was broken. Sasuke. Please see what's happening and come
back. Please.
===============================================================================
 In the morning, he met Gaara. Gaara reminded him strongly of the Sasuke Naruto
missed, if that Sasuke had ingested three boxes of sugar and was twenty times
as violent.
Naruto was sitting at the table watching Killerbee knead dough for bread when
Gaara's bedroom door flew open and a small redhead ran out. He zoomed right up
to the table, slammed his small palms down and leaned into Naruto's startled
face. The blond noticed light green eyes and an odd tattoo before the redhead
spoke.
"How many people have you killed?"
"I don't know…several ANBU units and hunter-nin. A houseful of girls, others
that I cannot remember." Naruto tried to lean back from that avid face.
"Shit! Sounds like you know how to party! Wanna come with me on my next spree?"
Gaara's eyes were shining.
"I-"
"Leave him alone," Killerbee said as he eased the bread into the oven. "He's
probably only killed when he had to."
Naruto looked at Killerbee. The older man caught the look. So did Gaara. "Ha,"
the redhead said, "Bet he hasn't. Naruto, is it?"
Naruto nodded.
"You don't just kill when you have to, right?"
"If Sasuke says someone needs to die then they die. He's usually right." Naruto
frowned. It hurt to say Sasuke's name.
"Who's Sasuke," Gaara wanted to know. He had his face propped on his hands,
elbows on the table.
"Uchiha Sasuke. My partner. He-"
"Uchiha?!"Gaara crowed.
Killerbee came to the table and set a pitcher of the cider down. He sat and
listened as Naruto told them about meeting Sasuke last year in Konoha, of
everything that had happened since. Gaara's eyes were wide. By now he was
sitting, staring open-mouthed at Naruto's calm face.
"Wow," Gaara said softly. "I love a good story. That was awesome. Got more?"
Killerbee smacked him in the head. He turned to address Naruto while Gaara
screamed about his 'poor head'. "Son, you're lucky to have escaped Akatsuki. I
know that Itachi. He's bad news. And if his brother is under his thumb as you
say then you're better off without him. Trust me."
Naruto listened to this, but it did not lessen the ache in his chest. "I miss
him."
"Yeah, but screw him, you know?" Gaara said with a wave of his hand. "You got
us for friends now. We won't turn our backs on you like Sasuke did. And we're
all Jinchuuriki, ain't that the shit?"
Naruto eyed Gaara's petite body. He looked nothing like Killerbee or himself.
He had an oddly shaped gourd strapped to his back. "Why are you so small,"
Naruto said.
"Why are you so big," Gaara shot back.
"Aren't…all Jinchuuriki big men?" Naruto asked.
Killerbee laughed. It was a rich, rumbling sound. "Not at all. Some are small
like Gaara there or even women. My good friend Yugito Nii was the Jinchuuriki
for the Two-Tails."
                                     -oOo-
Later that day, Gaara went to sleep and Naruto went to a town with Killerbee to
buy supplies. Naruto watched how the older man interacted with people. He was
kind and soft-spoken. A few people told him that his brother was asking after
him.
"Who is your brother?" Naruto asked.
"The Raikage. He always worries about me as if I weren't fully grown. You have
brothers or sisters?"
"No. Only Sasuke."
At the store, Naruto helped Killrbee get the things they needed. Afterwards, he
made as if to leave the store with the bags. Killerbee stopped him. "What are
you doing?"
"Stealing," Naruto said calmly. "I don't have any money and I heard you tell
Gaara that you were running low on funds."
"That doesn't mean we need to steal," Killeree said. He took the bags from
Naruto and went to the store clerk. He paid for the food and left the store.
Naruto followed after a moment.
"Where will you get more money?" Naruto asked after awhile.
"My brother will probably send some. Or Gaara will obtain some when he
completes his next mission. Have you always been a thief?"
Naruto thought about it. He'd never stolen a thing until he'd met Sasuke.
Sasuke had drilled into him that they were entitled to take what they wanted
from people. If people weren't capable of holding onto what they had then they
deserved to have it stolen from them. Survival of the fittest, that was the
rule Sasuke lived by. That and a few others, but mainly that. Naruto had
quickly adopted it as his own rule.
"Not always," the blond said now. "But there's nothing wrong with stealing when
you have to."
"Says who? Sasuke? Stealing is wrong no matter the circumstances."
"What if one were starving? Surely stealing is right then?"
"What would prevent the starving person from hunting?"
Naruto and Killerbee went back and forth over the issue all the way back to the
cottage in the valley. By the time they got there, Naruto was starting to
question Sasuke's teachings.
===============================================================================
Gaara was waiting for them. He latched onto Naruto the second he walked in the
door.
"Let's go play," the redhead said cheerfully. He dragged Naruto back outside.
They went back through the tunnel in the valley wall and came out in the ravine
Killerbee had found Naruto in the day before.
"What are we doing?" Naruto asked when Gaara paced a few steps away from him.
"Playing," Gaara said. "Well, Ole' Fuddy Duddy calls it training, but it's way
too fun to give it such a boring name. Come on, let's see what you got."
Training. Here was something Naruto understood. He backed away a few steps
himself, feeling excited and eager suddenly. He hadn't trained in weeks.
Naruto called up his chakra and had a tornado swirling with rocks from the
ravine chasing Gaara. "Nice!" the redhead said. Sand erupted from his gourd and
knocked the tornado away. "Another wind user!"
Gaara eyed the spinning orb of chakra that materialized in Naruto's hand
curiously. The big kid was fast. Gaara dodged that attack, noted the
destruction it caused and decided to hold his smart comments for the time
being. He needed to concentrate here.
                                     -oOo-
It was good they'd decided to fight in the ravine. The valley would have been
destroyed. Once, they'd switched from Ninjutsu to Taijutsu. Gaara sucked at
close-range combat and quickly reverted back to Ninjutsu and his long range
attacks.
When Naruto broke out of Sabaku Kyuu with brute strength, Gaara laughed and
actually clapped. "Wanna go all the way?" he called from up on his floating
cloud of sand.
Naruto wiped sweat from his brow and nodded. He was enjoying himself. His eyes
widened as a huge, monstrous shape seemed to coalesce from all the sand. Gaara
disappeared. An enormous raccoon stood filling the ravine, his one tail
whipping the air in agitation. He screeched and pointed at Naruto.
Never had Naruto released tails while training. He did so now, going to the
three tails state with some trepidation. He wasn't entirely sure of how strong
he was like this. He had control of his Bijuu, yes, but he knew going to tailed
states shortened his lifespan. Jiraiya had told him that releasing tails
outside of the direst of emergencies was folly. Three tails was as much as
Naruto could release safely, though he could release more if he had to. Still,
he'd never really fought like this. It would be a learning experience for him
as well as training. One thing was for sure, the blond discovered; being in
this transformed state was somewhat exhilarating.
===============================================================================
Killerbee was just taking the roast out of the oven when the valley shook as if
from an earthquake. The window by the kitchen alcove shattered. He sensed the
enormous chakra output that had to be coming from the ravine and ran out of the
cottage with a curse.
He arrived at the top of the ravine and felt his jaw dropping. They'd released
their Bijuus! The Kyuubi was fast, a blur. Shukaku was cackling with glee.
"Futon: Renkudan!"
Naruto roared and a blast of chakra from his mouth sent the powerful wind
bullets Shukaku had fired spinning out of their trajectory.
"Stop it," Killerbee hollered. "Do you want to bring my brother down on our
heads!"
If they heard him they ignored him. Naruto was charging Shukaku and the giant
raccoon was lumbering towards Naruto eagerly. Killerbee clenched his fist in
rage. Hachibi, looks like we've got some disciplining to do.
Just so,the Eight-Tails replied.
===============================================================================
Naruto latched onto Shukaku's back and tore great handfuls of his heavy hide
apart. Shukaku howled…then he was quiet. "Oi, Kyuubi," Shukaku pointed. Naruto
stopped his attack long enough to see what Shukaku was looking at.
A massive bull with eight octopus tails was running right at them.
"Kyuubi, quick," Shukaku panted in fear. "Knock me awake when you see my host,
neh? Then you change back, too. Killerbee will kill us otherwise. Hurry!"
Naruto didn't understand everything, but when Gaara's sleeping form appeared in
Shukaku's forehead he released Kyuubi's chakra hurriedly and punched Gaara
awake. Gaara sputtered, his sand gathering itself as he fell to the ravine
floor. Naruto dropped beside him.
"That's Killerbee?" Naruto asked. He had to shade his eyes to stare up at the
huge shape coming towards them. He was nearly on top of them.
Gaara shook his head at Naruto's calm tone. Didn't he realize what danger they
were in? "Run, asshole!" Gaara suited the action to his words and turned to
flee. After a second, Naruto sprinted after him.
It was hopeless, of course. Killerbee caught them with no trouble whatsoever,
knocking them both into the rocky ravine wall with a swipe of one hand. Gaara
was dazed, almost unconscious. Naruto twisted midair to land on the wall and
stick there with chakra concentrated to his feet. Killerbee watched them as he
slowly reverted to human form. He stood looking down at Gaara with his hands on
his hips. Then he glared up at Naruto.
"Get your asses to the house. Now. Or I will make sure you both live the rest
of your lives in extreme pain." With that, Killerbee turned and made his way
back to the valley.
Naruto watched his stiff strides for a few moments. Then he went to where Gaara
lay groaning. He picked up the slight boy and carried him back to the cottage.
                                     -oOo-
They arrived to find Killerbee slamming plates and mugs on the table and
muttering angrily to himself. He saw them standing in the doorway and pointed
to the table and chairs. "Sit," he commanded wrathfully.
Naruto and Gaara sat.
Killerbee took a moment to calm himself. When he spoke to them at last, he was
leaning his hands on the back of one chair, his head bowed.
"Perhaps Naruto doesn't know it," the dark-skinned man said in a low voice,
"but we are in hiding. Gaara, you definitely know that, just as you know that
we are not to go into released states, ever. It would draw Akatsuki right to
us. That much chakra can be sensed miles away. Do you want them finding us?"
Killerbee asked plaintively.
Naruto didn't answer. He only stared impassively at his host's concerned face.
Gaara shifted uncomfortably on his seat.
"Well?" Killerbee barked.
"I just wanted to see how strong he was," Gaara whined in a small voice. "You
almost broke my back."
"Dammit, Gaara!" Killerbee slammed a fist onto the table. "I promised my
brother I wouldn't release my Bijuu! You know he lets us live in this valley
under that condition." Killerbee pointed out the doorway to a distant mountain
wreathed in clouds. "What's he supposed to think when you force me to let the
Eight-Tails out to chastise a couple of children? If you insist on endangering
us, then go back to Suna. Let's see how long you last against Akatsuki then."
Gaara hung his head. He mumbled an apology.
Naruto gave his apology in a louder voice. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. Gaara
asked to train with me and I agreed. It will not happen again."
Killerbee studied the forthright blue eyes. "It's okay to train, Naruto. Just
leave the Bijuus out of it, for God's sake. If you value your life, you have to
learn how to lay low. Can you?"
"Yes," Naruto stated. He would not jeopardize this kind man or the only people
in the world he'd found to be like himself. "I will not endanger us again."
Killerbee nodded. Then he served dinner and they all began eating.
===============================================================================
That night, as Naruto was watching Gaara head to his room, Naruto asked if he
could see inside. Killerbee answered before Gaara could. "You don't want to go
in there, Naruto. It's as scary as he is. You'd be scarred for life just seeing
what he has in there. Believe me."
Gaara snorted. "I don't like people in my room, Naruto." With that he entered
the room in question and slammed the door. Naruto and Killerbee heard the lock
engage.
Naruto went to Killerbee's room with him and began to undress. When he was
nude, he went towards the bed.
"You have a nice body," Killerbee said as he put on the loose pants he slept
in.
Naruto looked at the dark muscular chest and bulging arms. "It's like your
body. I was surprised Gaara's body isn't like ours. I thought that was how all
Jinchuurikis were."
Killerbee chuckled. "It depends on genes and training, I think. You probably
have superb Taijutsu."
"Yes," Naruto confirmed truthfully.
Killerbee came to him then and ran his hands over Naruto's heavy shoulders and
arms. Down his chest. Naruto found the touch to be unthreatening. The palms
were warm and callused. "Very nice," Killerbee said softly.
For some reason, the tone and touch Killerbee used put Naruto in mind of gay
sex. He remembered the price the crone and her daughters had exacted for their
hospitality. He wondered if Killerbee would be exacting the same price. Then he
asked it out loud.
The older man dropped his hands in shock. He stepped back. "Has that happened
to you?"
Naruto's silent stare was answer enough.
"No, Naruto. I would never force you to have sex in payment for staying here.
You are welcome here. Safe." Killerbee took off his sunglasses and regarded
Naruto thoughtfully for a few minutes before resuming. "But you are clever
enough to see that I'm attracted to you. I do like you, Naruto. You're a bit
young for me, though. Relax. You will never have to do anything you feel
uncomfortable with while you're here." He turned and got into the bed, turning
his broad back to Naruto's space.
===============================================================================
The next morning, Killerbee informed the two teens that they would be on their
own for a few days. "My brother has summoned me to Kumogakure. No doubt he
sensed the chakra yesterday. You are both to remain here. Gaara, you can
complete that mission I gave you when I get back. There's food in the cabinets.
Don't cause any trouble while I'm gone."
Killerbee left soon afterward, heading for the cloud-shrouded mountain he'd
pointed to last night. Gaara watched from the doorway until he was out of
sight. Then he turned to Naruto with a grin of sublime pleasure on his face.
"Right," the redhead said as he rubbed his hands together. "We're going on that
mission now. Before he gets back."
"But he said-"
"Never mind what he said. We need the money. Besides, you and I are supposed to
go on a spree, remember?"
Naruto considered Gaara's words. He had no idea what a spree was but he
understood the necessity of money. Perhaps Killerbee had partially convinced
him that stealing was wrong yesterday, but this was a mission. They would be
paid for it, so it wasn't stealing. Sasuke always said that nothing in life was
more important than money. Anything might be done in the pursuit of it, the
Uchiha had told Naruto time and again. Going on this mission wasn't the same as
releasing his Bijuu so the blond reasoned that he wouldn't be going back on his
word to not endanger them all. And if he was going to be staying here, he
should do his part to help support them. He nodded at Gaara and the redhead
whooped happily.
They set off an hour later.
***** Chapter 6 *****
Gaara didn't walk; he skipped. He also didn't talk while traveling beside
Naruto; he sang.
"The lock upon my garden gate's a snail, that's what it is,"he sang in his high
voice.
The terrain they were traveling through was mountainous but grassy, much like
the valley. Butterflies were startled into flight as Gaara bounced through the
knee-high grass.
"First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is…"
Naruto walked beside Gaara's skipping form and contemplated the plausibility of
mountains vanishing and reappearing with such ease.
"The caterpillar sheds his skin to find a butterfly within…"
Gaara caught the sidelong look Naruto gave him. He offered a sheepish smile.
"Do you watch Disney Channel?" the redhead asked.
"I don't know what that is."
"It's TV. They have cool shows and songs. Alex Russo so wants me."
"I didn't have a television in my apartment."
"Yeah, I wish the valley got reception. We don't even have electricity. Sucks.
I sneak into town sometimes and watch TV in this abandoned house. Wanna come
with me the next time I go?"
Naruto allowed as how he might be interested in going at some point. "What is
our mission?"
"Escorting some hag from the Sound village back to the Land of Tea. It's A-
rank, so it will pay well."
"That doesn't sound like A-rank."
"She's Orochimaru's prisoner."
"Oh."
"Yeah. Should be fun."
Naruto had never been on a mission that he considered fun. Then he stopped to
think that he'd never actually had fun doing anything. Not as Sasuke defined
the term. Fun, according to Sasuke, was anything that made you laugh and scream
in happiness. Naruto could not remember laughing once in his life, though he'd
been happy many times. He certainly never screamed the way Sasuke and Gaara
did.
Gaara seemed to sense that Naruto was thinking about the boy he'd left behind.
"Did you love him?" the redhead asked softly. His sensitive side wasn't
something he displayed often, but he felt comfortable enough around the blond
to be himself.
Naruto knew who Gaara meant. "Yes. I still do."
Gaara nodded in understanding. After a few moments he began singing again,
though this song wasn't about mobile mountains. He sang some kind of open vowel
sounds before actually singing words. "Why do birds si-ing so gay…and lovers
await the break of day…"
Naruto listened and watched how Gaara managed to dance in time to the music
while still moving forward. A sense of awe and wonderment fell over the big
blond. It wasn't the words that caused this so much as the voice. It was high,
clear as the mountain air they were traveling through. It was melodious and
sweet beyond description. Naruto watched Gaara singing with his mouth slightly
open.
"Whyyyy do fooools fall in loooove,"Gaara finished with a small flourish.
"That's you," he told the blond with a snicker. "A fool in love. I mean Jesus,
forget the fucker. He ditched you, didn't he?"
"I don't think he meant to," Naruto said.
"What, 'cause of what you said about his brother?" Gaara made a rude sound with
his mouth. "Puh-lease, man. If he really wanted to he could resist. He's
Uchiha."
Naruto changed the subject to one that was less painful. "Your singing is the
most wonderful sound I have ever heard."
Gaara was bending to pick up a stick. He straightened now with a flabbergasted
look on his face. "Really?! You mean that?"
"Yes. I feel…good. Inside. When you're singing."
Gaara rolled the stick absently in his fingers as he considered Naruto's words.
It hadn't been lost on him or Killerbee how different Naruto was. Killerbee
said the kid was a victim of neglect or some shit. The explanation he'd given
for Naruto's weird behavior had been long and complicated but what it boiled
down to was simple: Naruto was an extremely introverted, self-contained
machine. For him to praise Gaara's singing so highly was probably nothing short
of the truth as he saw it.
"I-I don't know what to say," Gaara stammered when he could speak. "Thank you.
You're the only person who likes it besides my sister. Killerbee said he'd set
Hachibi on me if he had to listen to my singing. He only sings enka shit."
Naruto could see that Gaara was embarrassed and strangely shy of a sudden. He
kept his red head down as he swished the stick in the air. "You mentioned a
sister," the blond said in an effort to make Gaara forget whatever had
embarrassed him. "Tell me of your family."
Gaara seemed relieved to have something else to talk about. He launched into an
account of his life in Sunagakure.
===============================================================================
Itachi thrust savagely into Sasuke's prone body, throwing himself towards his
impending orgasm. He closed his eyes, prepared to savor it.
The pounding on his door couldn't have been more ill-timed. Whoever it was did
not let up, but kept hammering at the door. Itachi's orgasm slipped from his
grasp and he yelled in aggravation. He wrenched himself from his brother's body
and went to his door to snatch it open.
Kisame stood there. His face was unapologetic. Itachi considered that maybe he
hadn't done a thorough enough job instilling fear in him the day they'd brought
Deidara and Zetsu's bodies. "What the fuck do you want," Itachi spat.
"We believe we've located the Nine-Tails, Boss." Kisame eyed Sasuke's inert
body on the bed. He was lying on his stomach. He didn't turn over at hearing
Kisame's words.
"Well?" Itachi shouted up into the shark nin's face. Kisame was brought back to
himself sharply.
"He appears to be staying with the Eight-Tails. Should we-"
"Go up against the two most powerful Jinchuuriki in the world?" Itachi
finished. "No. Going after one is all well and good, but not both. For now,
we'll just observe his movements. If you find the Eight-Tails or Naruto alone,
however…"
Itachi glanced over his shoulder at where his brother lay unmoving. Ideally, he
should go himself, but he didn't want to leave Sasuke; his brother needed to be
under the constant supervision of Itachi's watchful eye or he would get up to
all kinds of fuckery. Sasuke had proven most difficult to subdue. If Itachi
wasn't around him night and day God only knew what would happen.
"Right," Itachi said as he turned back to his former partner. "Here's what I
want you to do." He gave specific instructions for the remainder of Akatsuki to
carry out. Kisame listened attentively.
===============================================================================
"Yeah my dad was a singer," Gaara was saying. Afternoon was almost gone, dusk
approaching as the two Jinchuuriki traveled consistently southeast. "Guess I
got it from him. I really miss the guy."
"Do you ever visit him?" Naruto asked. A father. Such a fascinating concept.
"No," Gaara said quietly. "He died getting me out of Suna safely when Akatsuki
came for me."
Naruto said nothing to this statement. He asked another question. "Did the
villagers ignore you? Were they afraid of you?"
"Ignore me? I was the Kazekage's son, of course they didn't ignore me. 'Sides,
I was the village's strongest weapon. I was respected. Killerbee told me what
your village did to you. I don't understand it. I mean you're a Kage's son,
too."
Naruto stopped walking. "What?"
Gaara stopped and turned to him. "What."
"What do you mean I'm a Kage's son?"
The green eyes widened disbelievingly. "Don't tell me you don't even know who
you are?Well, fuck! Jesus, you-"
Naruto stepped to him and lifted him to eye-level by a fistful of his red
tunic. "Who am I? Who was my father?"
Gaara eyed the way Naruto's blue eyes blazed. "Namikaze Minato? The Fourth
Hokage? How come you didn't know that?"
Naruto dropped him. He stared out across the hilly landscape, the setting rays
of the sun turning everything golden and orange. Gaara rubbed his ass with a
wince. Naruto dropped his eyes to where he sat. "How do you know this?"
"Standard Kage education," Gaara muttered sullenly. "We know all Kages and
their family trees."
"We? You are a Kage?"
"Fifth Kazekage, though my sister is acting in my absence." Gaara rolled to his
feet. He resumed walking as if he had not just set Naruto's world on its ear.
Naruto did not follow.
I have a father, the blond thought with a shiver of longing. That the man now
had a name and an identity opened doors within Naruto that had been previously
locked. The blond now knew where he came from. He knew something of himself at
last. A Hokage's son. I am not just some person born to faceless parents. I am
the son of the Fourth Hokage, whose name was Minato. But who was my mother?
Naruto came to his senses and looked around. Gaara was nowhere in sight. He
didn't sense the boy anywhere. The blond began heading in the direction they'd
been traveling, assuming he would catch up to Gaara eventually. He had more
questions for the redhead.
An hour later, when Gaara was still nowhere to be found, Naruto stopped
walking. He was in a small copse of trees. He was just considering searching
for the other boy when Gaara dropped from the trees above with a piercing
shriek. He landed on Naruto's back. "Boo!"
Naruto didn't budge at the impact. He reached behind him and helped the smaller
boy off. Gaara stared at him expectantly.
"What were you doing all this time?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Trying to scare the shit out of you. Did it work?"
"Scare? No," Naruto said puzzled.
Gaara wilted. "Darn. I'll just have to make you show human emotions some other
way. You ticklish?"
Naruto and Gaara camped by a stream that night. Gaara said he didn't know much
about Naruto's mother, but he had tons of stories about the blond's father.
Naruto listened raptly. Gaara seemed to be an insomniac like Naruto. They
stayed up for most of the night talking. Naruto felt himself growing closer to
this energetic boy.
===============================================================================
The next day saw the two looking into the Sound village from a thicket of tall
grass. The closer they'd gotten to their destination, the less talkative Gaara
had become. His smiles had come less frequently. Even his voice changed. It
dropped from its high, carefree pitch to a deeper timber. When Naruto asked
what was wrong, Gaara had said that nothing was wrong; Business was at hand and
one needed to be serious for business.
From the thicket, the two watched the patterns the Sound guards exhibited as
they patrolled. Otogakure was not a walled village.
"Strategy?" Gaara hissed.
"Diversion," Naruto whispered back. "You said the woman is in Orochimaru's
mansion. You can provide the diversion while I retrieve her."
"No," Gaara said. "You provide the diversion. I know the layout of the mansion.
I'll get her."
Naruto was forced to point out the flaw in this plan. "I do not excel at
diversionary tactics. You must do it. Tell me where the woman is in the mansion
and I will retrieve her."
Gaara admitted to himself that Naruto was a blunt creature, though a brilliant
fighter. "What did you have in mind?"
"Sing. Dance. I will slip past the guards. When you see that I've gone, you can
join me. By then I should have the woman."
Gaara's eyes, so near the color of the grass he hid in, lit up. "Sing and
dance? I like the way you think!" He pushed his face into the dirt to muffle
his laughter. Then he was serious again. "If there weren't so many guards we
could have both snuck past them. Yosh, wait for my signal."
Naruto nodded.
The signal, when it came, shocked even Naruto's un-shockable sensibilities.
Gaara made several sand clones, enough to form a sizable band of singers and
dancers. Everyone, including the real Gaara, was stark naked. They jumped out
from the cover of the thicket and zipped to a position before the Sound guards
that had them looking away from Naruto and his entry point into the village.
Naruto heard the group of Gaaras begin singing something about sex before he
gave himself a mental shake. He concealed his chakra and disguised himself. He
chose the old crone he'd killed in that cottage. He shuffled out of the thicket
and into Otogakure, his eyes keeping a sharp lookout for anyone who might stop
him.
                                     -oOo-
The body was awkward to move in, but Naruto did not rush. He ambled through the
streets as if he had a perfect right to be there, drawing steadily closer to
the mansion that dominated every other dwelling. He could hear Gaara in the
distance, singing up a storm. People around Naruto heard the commotion as well
and jogged to the village entrance to see what was going on. Naruto distantly
heard one of the guards ask Gaara if he was busy later.
Gaara had briefly gone over the layout of the mansion with Naruto, as well as
the description of the woman they'd be rescuing. She was the Daimyo of the Tea
Country's niece. Naruto reached the mansion and shuffled up the wide steps to
the tall double doors.
===============================================================================
The guards at the doors eyed the old woman struggling up the steps. They had no
idea who she was or what she could possibly want, but they would send her on
her way in short order. If she even lived to reach the top of the long stairway
at all; the hag was wheezing and clutching her chest as if she were on death's
door from the exertion.
Naruto reached the top stair and allowed himself to sink to his knees as if
completely worn out, completing his ruse of being a feeble old woman. One of
the guards came over to him. Naruto unmasked his chakra.
The guard reared back at feeling the change, but he was too late. Naruto
morphed into his real form and caught the man in a choke hold that had him
unconscious within seconds. The second guard was on him by then. Naruto gave
him a head butt and the guy sank to the marble steps in a boneless heap.
Naruto made two shadow clones and transformed them into likenesses of the two
senseless guards. The real guards he carried to the side of the mansion and
shoved into some bushes. He hesitated a moment then broke the knees of both
men. He didn't want them following him too quickly.
Back at the mansion doors, Naruto's clones let him pass without incident. The
blond made his way inside the dark interior of the mansion.
===============================================================================
He was helpless not to remember Sasuke's words about this place and the things
he'd suffered under Orochimaru. Naruto's eyes flickered to red before returning
to blue at the thought of meeting the Sannin.
The interior of the mansion was dim, the heavy drapes drawn. Chandeliers gave
watery yellow light, hung with cobwebs. Dark wood paneling covered the walls. A
moth-eaten carpet covered the floor. The color had once been a rich red, but
now it was worn and faded until it was featureless beneath Naruto's soundless
tread.
Naruto saw children darting here and there, mostly boys. They did not look at
him as they scurried past. There was a fearful quality to their hunched
shoulders and downcast eyes. Naruto could not imagine the vibrant Sasuke among
these frightened and cowed children.
                                     -oOo-
No one raised a cry or seemed to think it strange that a large teenager was
walking through the place. Naruto finally reached a door on the ground level of
the structure that had two ninja standing in front of it. He judged it to be
the location Gaara had said was the entrance to the basement cells. He faced
the two guards.
Jirobo looked the big kid up and down. "Who the fuck are you?"
"Naruto. Is this where you keep prisoners?"
"Depends," said Tayuya. "You interested in becoming one?"
Naruto did not answer that. He only looked at one then the other, assessing
them.
Tayuya took in the tall, muscular frame, feeling her pussy swell. She licked
her lips suggestively, giving the blond a smoldering stare. Naruto ignored her.
Jirobo's warning shout cut off as Naruto's hand slammed into his throat. Tayuya
drew her flute as she jumped aside, bringing it to her lips.
Kyuubi served to dispel the Genjutsu, as usual. Frequently, he detected them
before Naruto did. Naruto chased her as she turned to run. He caught her by the
hair and swung her into the nearest wall. She fell to the floor, motionless.
Naruto walked calmly back to the door and examined it.
Jirobo lay suffocating on his crushed windpipe as Naruto concluded that he
wouldn't be unable to penetrate the solid steel door without going Kyuubi. The
blond turned to examine the wall beside it. Ordinary wood and plaster. Naruto
formed a Rasengan and slammed it through the wall. It caved and left a gaping
hole. By now several dirty children had gathered to watch.
Naruto climbed in and landed on a rickety wooden staircase that led downward.
The hole he'd made let in enough light for him to see by. He moved cautiously.
                                     -oOo-
At the base of the stairs was a landing then another staircase leading down and
to the left. Naruto descended these in the same manner. At the bottom, he found
himself in a long low room lined with barred cells to either side. Three weak,
naked incandescent bulbs shed wavering light. To Naruto's right sat an odd
individual some twenty feet away. The man had six arms. To Naruto's left a two-
headed man was sodomizing one of the boys from upstairs. The boy whimpered in
pain.
The two-headed man and the six-armed man looked up when Naruto entered. Naruto
wondered that they hadn't heard the noise of him breaking through the wall
earlier. Were they lax?
Naruto just managed to turn his head as he avoided some yellow projectile the
six-armed one shot from his mouth. He heard it shatter against the stairs
behind him. He saw the two-headed one shove the boy aside as he charged Naruto,
but the blond turned to face the six-armed one; he was closer.
Kidomaru shot a web of his special substance out, catching the intruder
squarely. His smirk was short lived as the blond muscled his way out of it.
Kidomaru would have said that was impossible until he saw the orange chakra
glowing around the kid. What the shit? He jumped back to observe him, wary now.
Besides, Sakon was coming up behind the guy.
Naruto sensed the presence behind him long before he felt the man slam into his
back. To the blond's thinking, the six-armed one was the more dangerous of the
two. When he felt a tearing inside him, however, he was forced to revise this
assessment. He looked down to see a grinning demon head protruding from his
chest. His blue eyes widened in surprise. That was all. Then Kyuubi's chakra
did the rest.
Sakon screamed as the demonic chakra incinerated him, doing away with the
intrusion of his cells in its host's body. Ukon, watching from some distance
away, backed to a wall fearfully. "What are you?" he hissed at Naruto.
Kidomaru was wondering the same thing. As a precaution, he activated his curse
seal, going to Level Two. Naruto watched this in silence.
No matter how much the Sound Jounin tried to catch the intruder with his
substance, the kid dodged. Big as he was, he was too damn fast. The entire
basement room dripped with the hard yellow stuff. Ukon hung back in a corner,
not caring to fight without his twin. He didn't dare try to escape, lest he
catch the eye of the intruder.
Naruto formed a Rasengan. He approached where the six-armed man was crouched
against the ceiling like a spider and looked up at him.
Kidomaru was out of breath and nearly out of chakra. He panted heavily, his
three eyes glaring down at Naruto.
Naruto leapt. The man dodged, but Naruto caught him. He rammed the Rasengan
into his chest. Ukon let out a wail and ran for the stairs. Naruto threw the
body of the six-armed man at him. Ukon went down, crashing through the aged
wood of the steps.
A shout from above had Naruto raising his head in time to see Gaara, fully
clothed and running down the stairs. The redhead stopped at seeing the horned
creature at Naruto's feet. "What are you doing?" Gaara hissed. "You're late!
Did you get her?"
"There was opposition," Naruto said calmly. Gaara leapt over the creature and
Naruto both as Naruto slammed a Rasengan into Ukon's screaming face. Then the
blond turned to follow Gaara.
The Kazekage was muttering to himself as he walked quickly along the cells,
looking for the Daimyo's niece. Every occupant of the cells reached their hands
between the bars, beseeching Gaara to rescue them. When they saw Naruto they
begged him as well. Naruto was offered riches, sex, power, anything so long as
he released them. He ignored their pleas to watch Gaara.
"Here she is!" Gaara said. He hurried to one of the cells near the end of the
room. "She's the only one not begging us to save her. What a joke!" Gaara
looked around for a set of keys.
Naruto walked up to the cell and saw a woman who looked to be in her thirties.
She was of a dusky complexion, big brown eyes, curly black hair. She sat curled
in a corner, wearing a filthy dress. He placed his hands on the bars and began
pulling.
By the time Gaara came back with the keys jangling in his small fist, Naruto
was helping the woman step through the warped bars. He dropped the keys in
disgust.
In the interest of saving time Naruto carried the woman on his back, following
Gaara swiftly up the stairs that led to the ground floor.
"Success!" Gaara crowed as they climbed through the hole in the wall.
"Not quite," a pleasant voice hissed. Naruto and Gaara looked up to see a thin,
greasy-haired man staring at them with reptilian eyes and a slimy smile.
===============================================================================
Kisame, Konan and Sasori studied the cottage from high up on the valley wall.
They lay on the ground, using the natural concealment of the terrain to hide
their bodies. They further concealed themselves by masking their chakra.
They watched for two days, but nothing and no one came out of the cottage. No
one entered it either.
They were each scarred from the last time they'd failed Itachi. They did not
want to fail him again. But after two days of nothing, Konan finally broke the
silence. "Maybe we were wrong?" she ventured.
"How could we be wrong," Kisame snapped. "We tracked that chakra here. And we
know this is where the Eight-Tails lives."
"But we haven't seen anyone in all this time," Konan persisted.
"The longer we sit on this ridge, the longer the Raikage has a chance to
discover us trespassing in his country," Sasori said as he shifted inside his
puppet. "I don't know about you two, but I would rather not run into him."
Konan shivered. "Neither would I."
Kisame stared at the homey cottage. He made a decision. "Come. We can at least
carry out part of Itachi's orders."
He stood and the other two followed him as he crept watchfully down the slope.
===============================================================================
Naruto and Gaara, Daimyo's niece in tow, made haste to the Tea Country. They
did this in silence and looking over their shoulders. Well, Gaara looked over
his shoulder often. Naruto merely ran tirelessly with the woman on his back.
Their pursuers hadn't followed them much past the Sound village, but that was
small comfort. Both Jinchuuriki knew the Sound ninjas had only held back to
make sure they weren't meeting up with reinforcements. Plus they were probably
still reeling from the way their leader had been beaten. Gaara supposed he
could thank Naruto for that. The guy was unbeatable, ruthless. In short,
fucking awesome! Gaara thought there must be no finer individual.
The woman said nothing beyond a heartfelt thank you back in the basement cell.
She was quiet as she held on to Naruto's thick neck. Naruto loped along easily
beneath her slim weight. Gaara used the branches in the trees above. They did
not stop to rest or eat.
                                     -oOo-
Once they reached Tea Country the next day, they finally slowed down. The woman
was allowed to walk. Gaara led the way with Naruto bringing up the rear, the
woman safely between them. They were alert as they hurried to deliver their
charge to the Daimyo. They wanted this business over with.
Gaara did the talking once they reached the village and handed the woman into
the Daimyo's safekeeping. That gentleman was crying and busily hugging his
niece, but he managed to conclude the transaction by having his assistant pay
Gaara. Gaara received the thick wad of cash with a bow of thanks, grabbed
Naruto and got out of there.
The Tea Country was a good twelve hours behind them when the attack came. Sound
ninjas erupted from the stream they were crossing and surrounded them. Neither
Gaara nor Naruto were surprised; they'd been expecting such a thing since
Naruto had shown the village Orochimaru's severed head. They were just glad
they'd offloaded the woman before the attack came.
"Maybe you shouldn't have killed Orochimaru," Gaara said tensely to Naruto. He
had his back to the blond's, staring around at their enemies.
"He wanted to keep you as one of his child prostitutes," Naruto said. His eyes
shifted from side to side, counting opponents.
"I can handle myself, alright? Besides, I'm no child." Gaara rode the small
waves of the stream easily.
"He hurt Sasuke. I owed him for that," Naruto answered. "And he was preventing
us from leaving."
"Whatever. I don't do so well with water so why don't we take this fight
elsewhere?" Gaara suggested. Naruto agreed. The Sound ninjas tried to stop
them, but Naruto and Gaara vanished as they closed in.
The fight took place a good mile away. Naruto killed a few, but it was really
Gaara who handled it. He covered their opponents, and a good part of the land,
with Desert Requiem and that was that. The Sound nins were all dead and buried.
Gaara dusted his hands off proudly and gave a little bow to the watching
Naruto.
                                     -oOo-
The rest of the trip back to the valley went like the trip to the Sound
village, with Gaara resuming his singing and skipping. Naruto concluded that
now that the mission was done the boy was in his normal spirits. He had a
question.
"Gaara. Why did you say you weren't a child?"
The redhead glanced up at him. "Because I'm not. How old do you think I am,
anyway?"
Naruto studied the small body that barely cleared his elbow. "Nine, possibly
ten years."
"That's insulting. I'm seventeen."
This surprised Naruto. Gaara was his age. "Oh."
"Shit, we didn't get to do our spree," Gaara moaned.
"What is a spree?"
"Mmm…hard to explain. I guess you could describe it as a set amount of time
where you do as much of something as you possibly can within that time-frame.
There are all kinds of sprees. Killing sprees, shopping sprees…"
"I see. What kind did you want to do?"
"Well, killing sprees are always lots of fun. Killerbee frowns on it though, so
I make sure I only kill bad guys so he doesn't kick me out his place. See, what
you do is you find a nice big prison crammed with baddies and give yourself,
say, an hour? Then you get to butchering. Madness, I tell you. So much fun."
Naruto listened with curiosity. It sounded like something Sasuke would be
interested in.
"Want me to sing again?" Gaara asked after awhile.
"Yes, please."
===============================================================================
They arrived back in the valley near dusk and to find a very serious-looking
Killerbee waiting outside the cottage, arms akimbo. Gaara and Naruto walked up
to him slowly, unable to read his expression. Was he angry? If so, why wasn't
he shouting at them?
In an effort to ingratiate themselves, Gaara held up the cash he and Naruto had
earned on the mission. Killerbee didn't even look at it. Instead, he turned
toward the open door of his cottage and beckoned them inside. Naruto stepped
right in, unafraid. Gaara clutched the back of the blond's shirt, very afraid.
Naruto's brows drew downward as he looked around, but Gaara gasped aloud.
"Fucking hell, what the fuck happened here?!" the redhead said in strident
tones.
"I was hoping you could tell me," Killerbee said. "But it seems you two
disobeyed me and decided to leave the valley. As it happens, that was
fortunate. Look." Killerbee pointed to his open bedroom door.
Naruto walked forward through the wreckage and destruction of the cottage to
the room he and Killerbee shared.
It was a slaughterhouse.
How many they were originally Naruto couldn't tell, but limbs torn from bodies
were strewn about the room. Blood splattered the walls and ceiling liberally.
Entrails were slung everywhere, some having burst to lend their foul stench to
the heavy smell of blood. On the mantle of the fireplace sat an envelope with
the Uchiha fan engraved on it. Naruto pointed to it. "What's that?"
Killerbee came up behind him to see what he was referring to. When he did, he
frowned. "I only just got home before you arrived. I hadn't seen that."
Killerbee stepped carefully into the room and plucked the envelope from the
mantle. He examined it. "It's addressed to you, Naruto."
The older man walked out of the room and handed the envelope to him. Naruto
looked down at the small square of paper. Uzumaki Naruto,it said. He walked to
the middle of the main room, away from the smells in the bedroom, as he opened
it and read out loud for Killerbee's benefit. The letter inside was short:
Hi Naruto!
Hope all's well with you. Looks like you found that freak, Killerbee. Don't be
too upset at the sight of his dismembered corpse, the nigger was a useless
peace-loving fuck.
Let's talk about you. You escaped, had your little fun, your little Jinchuuriki
powwow, but now it's time to come on back. Sasuke misses you. Well, no he
doesn't, he doesn't even think about you, I make sure of that. But I bet you
miss him, so here's the deal: You turn yourself over to me and I won't kill
Sasuke.
And before you go thinking that I won't hurt my brother, think again. I will
hurt him. And I'll kill him. Just like you killed Deidara and Zetsu. Oh, and
Hidan and Kakuzu, can't forget about them.
Hurry home,
Itachi.
Gaara turned from where he'd been surveying Killerbee's room with a hand over
his mouth. "It was supposed to be Killerbee in there dead? Akatsuki did this?"
His green eyes were wide and frightened, his hand still over his mouth.
Naruto looked up from the paper and met Killerbee's shades. It was his fault.
The cottage, the attempt on Killerbee's life, it was all his fault and Sasuke
was going to die unless he turned himself in.
The paper dropped from Naruto's nerveless fingers as he began to shake. "I-I'm
sorry. I've…brought disaster to your home…you-"
Killerbee decided that this was the first time he'd ever seen the big kid
display any concrete emotion: he was scared. The boy was trembling with it, his
blue eyes showing white all around.
"You can't go to them," Gaara said in a small voice. "You're, like, my best
friend. You can't go." Gaara's eyes filled with tears.
"I can't stay here," Naruto said. He'd never felt like this before, the blond
noted distractedly. He was hunted,his friends endangered, Sasuke threatened.
Naruto felt powerless. He'd never felt powerless or vulnerable before. Was
there nowhere he could turn?
Naruto glanced about at the broken furniture. All my fault.He was sad to go,
but he couldn't stay. Not after his presence had nearly gotten his friends
killed. Friends were a rare thing in Naruto's life and Jinchuuriki friends the
rarest of all. They would not be hurt because of him if he could help it. He
made his way through the cottage door and was almost to the cave that led to
the ravine by the time Killerbee caught up to him. "Son, wait."
"Let me go," Naruto said. He looked pointedly at the hand Killerbee had on his
arm.
"I can't let you leave, Naruto. Akatsuki could be anywhere around here. Let me-
"
"I don't care. Let them come."
Killerbee lost his patience. "I care! Did you think about that?"
Naruto hadn't. "Whether I live or die should be of little consequence to you.
Harboring me has-"
"Stop. Just stop and listen to me," Killerbee said. "Come back to the house,
we'll figure out how to save your friend."
Naruto turned and resumed walking toward the cave. He was just outside the
entrance when Killerbee grabbed him again. This time Naruto pivoted, his fist
cocked and ready to launch.
Killerbee withstood the punch, wrapped his massive arms around the equally
massive kid and hung on tight. Naruto struggled to be free, but the older man
was too strong. "They'll kill you," Naruto said. "They'll kill you and they'll
kill Gaara. Then they'll kill Sasuke. Let me go."
Killerbee marveled that even terrified as he was and fighting against the bear
hug he was in Naruto's voice was still evenly modulated. "I'm not letting you
run to Itachi. The man will kill you the first chance he gets and then he'll
still have Sasuke. What good will you going to Akatsuki do then? Think, Naruto.
Never give the enemy what they want. Stay here with us. They won't take on
three Jinchuuriki, we're safe so long as we stay together."
Naruto was quiet, listening, though his body still shook. "I can't let Sasuke
die."
Killerbee stroked the blond hair. "I know, son. I know. But you can't help him
if you're dead, either, can you?"
Naruto shook his head against Killerbee's. "I don't know what to do. I'm…I'm
frightened." It was a new experience to admit such a thing. Even worse to feel
it.
"It's okay, not knowing what to do," Killerbee soothed. "You have friends now,
you're not alone anymore. We'll help." Killerbee's arms came down slowly from
where they'd been holding the blond prisoner. Now his hands settled on either
side of Naruto's strong neck. He looked into the frowning blue eyes. "Let me
help," he whispered.
Naruto had never been comforted, had never needed to be comforted before
tonight. He wasn't even sure that comfort was what Killerbee was offering. He
only knew that whenever Sasuke was afraid or hurt, he sought Naruto's touch and
now the blond finally understood why. He looked at the way the shades glinted
dully in the light of the new moon and wanted to be touched.
He moved his head forward and pressed his lips to Killerbee's.
The older man pulled back immediately. "Naruto…you're confused right now. This
isn't what you want. Maybe you should just come back with me and-"
"No. This is what I want." Naruto frowned as he stared at the dark mouth
surrounded by white hair, searching for words. "I…need it."
Killerbee studied the set features. He didn't argue further. This time he
initiated the kiss.
===============================================================================
The boy was rough. Extremely. Killerbee tempered his aggression by patiently
showing him that kissing was a dance of lips and tongue, not an attempt to chew
someone's mouth off. The boy had a serious fixation on biting.
Killerbee's large warm hands moved with slow deliberation. They were strong,
knowledgeable hands. Naruto's clothes were removed in the moonlight before the
cave. Killerbee discouraged the blond from ripping his clothes off, stepping
back to remove them himself. When he was nude, he gathered Naruto close.
There, in the dirt just inside the cave, Naruto learned to submit to
Killerbee's powerful, yet oddly gentle lovemaking. That, too, was a new
experience.
===============================================================================
Back at the Akatsuki hideout, Itachi was sitting in Pein's throne-like chair
listening to Konan, Kisame and Sasori make their report.
"You used villagers instead of the Eight-Tails?" Itachi asked. He stroked
Sasuke's hair where his brother knelt at his feet. "Can't say I'm not
disappointed that you didn't kill that black asshole, but the substitution was
inspired. Whose idea was it?"
Kisame inclined his head in acknowledgement.
"I see. Well, I guess Naruto will head back here and try to rescue my brother."
He gave Sasuke's hair a little tug. Sasuke didn't respond. "Let's be ready to
welcome him home properly. I'm determined to have his head this time. No more
fuckups."
Itachi got up then and pulled on the leash that was attached to the collar on
Sasuke's neck. Sasuke got up and followed his brother meekly.
Or so it appeared. Had Itachi turned around, he would have seen something quite
unpleasant: Sasuke's eyes held Sharingan.
***** Chapter 7 *****
 Sasuke surfaced from one of his many blackouts to hear Itachi discussing
Blondie. He'd done something to lure Blondie back and Itachi would be waiting
to kill him when he came.
And Sasuke was the bait.
Sasuke, accustomed to the deadened state he lived in, felt shock and anger stir
feebly in him. He was confused. He frowned where he sat, feeling his brother
stroke his hair. Where…? Oh, the hideout. Right. He moved his eyes, taking in
his surroundings without calling attention to himself.
Except why didn't he want to call attention to himself? He didn't know. All he
knew was that if Itachi knew he was 'awake' he would have another one of those
blackouts. He could remember only choppy flashes of the past week or so. The
memories were times he'd surfaced. The rest was black.
Blondie. He had to remember Blondie. Blondie was in trouble if he came here.
Blondie can take care of himself,a voice said in his mind. You're the one in
trouble, dipshit. What's that around your neck?
Sasuke became aware of the weight around his neck when Itachi stood and pulled
him by a chain. He stood automatically and followed his brother, anger stirring
a little stronger now. What in holy fuck has happened to me?
Good question,the voice said. Looks like you've been made someone's bitch. Just
like Blondie said. What else was he right about?
Sasuke's mind floundered. He tried to call up Sharingan and couldn't. He tried,
tried, tried…finally managed it but it gave him a raging headache. With his
bloodline limit, though, he was able to remember a little more. Itachi. Itachi
had put the collar on him to control him.
No!
Sasuke was starting to breathe shallowly as they neared Itachi's room, the
chain from the collar dangling heavily to Itachi's hand. Why did he feel panic
at entering that room?
Because bad things happen in that room,the voice said slyly.
Itachi pulled lightly on the chain and Sasuke entered behind him. Jesus, Jesus,
what was going on?! What had been done to him? Sasuke would never,no matter
what, let the kinds of things he half remembered and suspected be done to him.
He didn't care if it was Itachi or God himself, nobody played Uchiha Sasuke!
He began sweating. Something. Something was being done to him and he was
letting it happen. Why? What was so bad that he blanked it from his mind
afterward? Sasuke lifted a hand to pull at the collar just as Itachi turned
around.
The elder Uchiha frowned. Sasuke shouldn't be able to access Sharingan. "Ah,
ah, ah Little Brother. What are you doing?" Itachi wound the chain around his
wrist, reeling Sasuke in as his little brother's eyes searched his in
confusion.
Not good,Itachi thought. There were questions brimming in his brother's eyes,
an awareness, a dawning suspicion. He called up his chakra as he pressed his
lips to Sasuke's soft parted ones.
Sasuke saw his brother's face through a shrinking window. He struggled to keep
the blackness encroaching on his mind at bay. Itachi kissed him – what the
bloody fuck! –and the blackness seemed to gain strength, overriding his
efforts. The window he viewed the world through shrunk until it was the size of
a pinhead. Then all was black.
===============================================================================
Itachi pulled away from the kiss as his brother's frown cleared and his body
relaxed. Much better. He studied Sasuke's neutral features. He'd never tried
subduing him with Sasuke's Sharingan activated. He shrugged. Sharingan or not,
Sasuke was malleable again. Itachi leaned in and licked Sasuke's deliciously
soft lips. He had a few hours to kill. He would spend the time letting Sasuke
suck him off.
===============================================================================
Naruto woke to find himself alone in the cave. He sat up and blinked. The cave
was lit with brilliant sunlight. He was naked.
Despite the soreness in his rear, Naruto felt he'd never had such a humbling
night. Killerbee had controlled every aspect of their union. Naruto had been
shocked at how helpless submitting to another left him feeling, but the dark
man had been gentle, understanding, if unyielding. At one point Naruto
remembered a confused perception of their Bijuus joining in their minds, their
tails twining around each other. The blond had felt Killerbee's chakra moving
through him and his moving through Killerbee. The experience had left him
shaken. The four of them, the two Jinchuurikis and the two Bijuus, had all
reached release together, each one's climax augmenting the other's. The valley
had rung with Naruto and Killerbee's Bijuu-enhanced roars.
A new feeling crept over Naruto as he searched for his clothes and slowly
dressed. He was halfway to the cottage when he decided the feeling must be
embarrassment. It was uncomfortable. His emotional range was so limited, so cut
and dry that all these new discoveries about his ability to feel fear,
embarrassment and humility left him feeling as if…as if…as if he was exposed,
the blond finally concluded awkwardly. His armor of self-containment was being
eroded by constant contact with Gaara and Killerbee, such open and giving
people.
                                     -oOo-
Naruto opened the cottage door to find Gaara standing precariously on a chair,
reaching for something on a top shelf in the kitchen alcove. Naruto went and
retrieved the item, a box of cereal, and handed it to him. Gaara took it
without a word. He avoided looking at Naruto as he poured himself a healthy
bowl of the yellow stuff and dumped milk on it. He took the bowl, went to his
room and slammed the door. Naruto was used to Sasuke's mood changes, so he was
unperturbed by this display. When Gaara wished to speak he would, just as
Sasuke did.
He went to Killerbee's room and looked in. It was immaculate, but the man
himself wasn't present. Naruto knew Killerbee wouldn't be in Gaara's room. He
did not sense his chakra anywhere nearby. Naruto went and knocked on Gaara's
door.
After a time the door opened a miserly crack, showing one green eye, currently
squinted in anger, and a lock of dark red hair. "What," Gaara said shortly.
"Where is Killerbee?"
"Up my ass. How the fuck should I know? He ain't here and wasn't here when I
woke up."
"Who removed the bodies, cleaned his room?"
"Probably him. Don't know, care less. Leave me alone." Gaara slammed the door
in Naruto's face.
Naruto turned and was considering finding something to eat when he heard
Gaara's door open again. He looked over his shoulder at the same green eye and
lock of hair. The eye was curious this time. "What are you doing?" Gaara asked.
"Looking for food."
"Here?"
Naruto looked around. "As I am standing here I suppose it may be assumed that I
would look for food here."
"So…you're not leaving to go back to that dog Sasuke?"
Naruto turned around to meet Gaara's eye squarely. "No."
"Why?"
"Killerbee impressed on me what I already knew: it's a trap. If Itachi kills
Sasuke…" Naruto swallowed, frowned as he turned his head aside for a moment.
Then he continued. "If he kills Sasuke…I don't think he will kill Sasuke.
And…despite what's happening to him, I don't think Sasuke will let himself be
killed. Itachi may think he has his brother cowed, but I'm the one who knows
Sasuke best. Sasuke will fight. I hope Killerbee helps me rescue him before
then, though. Just in case Itachi…"
Gaara watched in fascination as Naruto's eyes watered. He opened his door a
little wider. He'd never known the blond giant to say so much and he certainly
hadn't thought the freak could cry.
He'd been pissed, sure that Naruto had left the valley. There went his one and
only friend, a Jinchuuriki like him. Killerbee was alright, but he wasn't a
friend. He was more like Gaara's second dad. Naruto was different. He was
weird, but so much fun that Gaara didn't care about the weirdness. Anyway,
people said Gaara was weird all the time.
Seeing Naruto struggling not to cry and frowning fiercely as if he could subdue
the tears that way, Gaara decided that Naruto was someone he could share his
room with. Besides, he was just so happy that the big kid was staying. He
opened his door all the way. "Hey. Naruto. Do you want to see my room?"
Naruto was at last gaining control over his wayward emotions. He had himself
back in order, his walls and defenses firmly in place as he lifted his head. He
felt his interest perk up at the thought of seeing Gaara's mysterious room.
"Yes," he said as he walked forward.
Gaara bit his lip as he stepped aside and let Naruto's broad shoulders fill the
doorway. He watched Naruto's face anxiously, wringing his small hands
nervously.
Naruto took one long look inside Gaara's room and did something he'd never done
in all his seventeen years of breathing. He burst out in hysterical screams of
laughter.
===============================================================================
Sasuke floated in the darkness. His perceptions of the world outside the
darkness were gone, shut off, asleep. But Sasuke was there, in the darkness.
His Sharingan kept him aware in the dark this time and had shown him what was
going on at last.
Before that window had shrunk completely closed Sasuke had seen everything. He
knew what Itachi had done to him.
Genjutsu.
===============================================================================
The landscape of Sasuke's being shifted, rumbled ominously, but the event was
still far off.
===============================================================================
For now, Sasuke floated in the darkness and considered. He was under a Genjutsu
that did not project what Itachi wanted him to see. Rather it simply overrode
everything that made Sasuke who he was. I'm not blanking my memories; he's
doing it for me.He frowned as he floated in the dark, thinking back.
It had to have happened the first time I laid eyes on him, Sasuke realized.
Itachi had touched him and Sasuke had reacted instinctively. Then he'd looked
at Sasuke and suddenly Sasuke had let himself be hugged. He was a naturally
wary person since his years in Konoha, yet he'd told Blondie that they should
go with his brother, a mass-murderer he hadn't seen in ten damn years as if
Itachi was the fucking Messiah.
And then. Then they'd attacked Blondie and he'd known he was breaking his
promise, but…but the first Genjutsu was still working on him a little. In the
room. When he'd tried to go with Itachi to see Blondie's room, Itachi had
stopped him and hit him with another little dose.
Blondie had come to him later, told him he was acting strangely. He wouldn't
listen to him, had wanted him too much. Some deep level of Sasuke's psyche had
known he was being used, played, manipulated. That night with Blondie, all the
pain and blood…it had been a desperate cry for help. The pain helped clear his
mind enough so that he could defy Itachi's effect on him. Itachi had looked at
him sitting in bed with Blondie after hearing Sasuke's words and hit him with a
hard Genjutsu then. It had been quick, but it left Sasuke reeling for the
entire week Itachi had been gone.
===============================================================================
The rumbling was closer. The darkness trembled, quivered…but the event was
still a ways off. Sasuke knew it was coming.
===============================================================================
Itachi had come back. Sasuke had been just getting himself back together but
Itachi had done it again. Sasuke was by then trying to fight the Genjutsus
though he hadn't really known what was going on. His mind fought instinctively.
When he'd said he'd wanted to partner Blondie, Itachi had dosed him. When they
tried to kill Blondie, he'd wanted to go to him, help him, but Itachi's latest
dose kept him in place.
He'd almost gotten completely free when they threw Blondie into that cell. He'd
been in his room, contemplating escape and Itachi had hit him with the
strongest Genjutsu yet. Sasuke remembered the peace he'd felt at 'giving in'.
He remembered letting Itachi touch him, hating it, but the Genjutsu had made
him think it was right.
===============================================================================
Closer. The darkness quailed and fluttered, showing patches of gray as the
rumbling grew all around Sasuke. The event was nearly here…so close…Sasuke
floated and thought.
===============================================================================
After that, Itachi had begun putting him in these blackouts to keep him from
constantly resisting. Now, though, Sasuke could remember the things he'd been
made to do.
Incest. Bestiality. Raping little girls, being made to submit to Kisame's
claspers, Sasori's puppets…Itachi had made him do much, things Sasuke couldn't
bring himself to admit even here in the dark. Things involving bodily wastes
and babies.
But the greatest manifestation of how low Sasuke had been brought by his own
blood was the chain. Blondie had called him the bane of Konoha. And he had a
mother. Fucking. Chain. Around his god. Damned. Throat.
===============================================================================
The event came at last with an explosion of fire and lightning, what would have
been a full 10.0 on the Richter scale.
===============================================================================
Itachi had finished with Sasuke some time ago and left him in his catatonic
state in the bedroom they shared. He was in the main room, poring over a map of
two villages he knew were mainly civilians. He suspected they had a few choice
little girls for his delectation. Kisame, Konan and Sasori were away from the
hideout on minor missions. He was smiling, considering taking ole Sasuke-chan
on another jaunt of rape and killing. Sasuke had performed quite well the last
ti-
The hideout shook as if some angry giant had just kicked it. A rumbling,
crackling sound reached Itachi's ears and a sudden wave of intense heat hit
him. Electricity was in the air, the hair on his arms and head standing on end.
Itachi picked himself up from the floor and looked to the doorway that led to
the hall and private quarters. Cracks zigzagged out of the hall, along the
walls of the main room; something was coming down that hall and whatever it was
had to be extremely powerful to generate such heat and lightning and shake the
entire hideout. Itachi did not recognize the chakra source, so intense was it,
but he felt the killing intent clearly. He moved behind the toppled throne and
watched the doorway with his Sharingan, wondering what enemy knew of this
hideout.
He almost didn't recognize him when Sasuke walked calmly to the doorway and
stopped. Fire and lightning snapped off of him, swirled around him, shimmered
the air around his body as his heat cracked the ceiling. Sasuke's eyes were
red, too, veins standing out sharply in his face. The floor was broken,
depressed beneath his feet from the weight of his chakra, chakra that was just
short of a tailed-beast's level in its intensity, Itachi realized in awe.
Itachi crouched, ready to spring. He tried to capture his brother's mind with
Genjutsu and was thrown halfway through the wall by the force of Sasuke
mentally repelling him. Itachi's eyes rolled in his head, bled.
Sasuke was there, pulling him out of the wall to hold him up by a fistful of
his shirt. The proximity had Itachi's skin cracking and peeling as Sasuke's
heat baked him alive. When Sasuke spoke his voice was as unrecognizable as his
chakra.
"You've been busy, Big Brother."
===============================================================================
Gaara looked at his watch. Naruto had been laying on the floor, pounding his
fist and kicking his legs for at least fifteen minutes. He sat on his bed,
calmly eating a second bowl of cereal. He'd had to step over Naruto's rolling
body to get it.
The fit passed almost as suddenly as it had come. Naruto's throat was raw, his
stomach sore. A small giggle escaped him and then he was done. He sat up in the
doorway and looked around again.
A riot of color exploded everywhere in the room; Gaara had plushies of every
size, shape and model strewn all over the floor, attached to the walls and
hanging from the ceiling. That was interesting and all, but it wasn't what had
Naruto struggling not to laugh even now.
It was the eyes.
They were everywhere. Big ones, small ones, jiggly ones, button ones…Naruto
snorted into his fist and clamped his teeth shut, his face turning red as his
eyes streamed.
"Don't hurt yourself," Gaara quipped sarcastically. "Just let yourself go, man,
who cares if you laugh?"
Naruto lost it again, wheezing and hollering, making sounds he'd never thought
he was capable of. Laughing felt good! No wonder Sasuke did it so often. At
last he was too weak to laugh anymore. He collapsed amongst the plushies and
let his breathing return to normal.
The room was so full of the things that the floor was invisible. They were
everywhere except for the bed. There was no other furniture in the room, no
other adornment. Gaara finally finished eating to come and sit by Naruto's limp
body. The blond was almost swallowed by the soft toys.
"So," the redhead said cautiously. "You okay?"
"Yes. What are these things?"
"Plushies." At Naruto's blank stare Gaara clarified. "I'm a plushophile. I get
off on them." He waved his hand at the multitude of plushies around his room.
There had to be hundreds.
Naruto picked up one of a yellow sponge wearing brown square pants. "Plushie,"
he said experimentally. Even the word was funny. "That was the first time I
laughed. How do you stand this room? I would soon expire from laughing so much
if I had to sleep here."
Gaara tipped his head. "Did you hear what I said? I said I get off on these
things."
Naruto sat up, the toys shifting beneath his weight. "What does that mean?"
"Means they turn me on. I like rolling in them naked." Gaara shivered and
Naruto noticed that the green eyes darkened from jade to emerald. The redhead
straddled a large black and white plushie of a whale and made grinding motions.
Understanding made Naruto's eyes widen slightly.
"Sex?" the blond said doubtfully. "You have sex with these plushies?"
"You could say that."
"But they aren't alive."
"And that's the way I like it."
Naruto looked at the toy in his hand. He tried to envision himself having gay
sex with the yellow sponge. No. Just no. Impossible. How would that even
happen, the blond wondered. He turned to see Gaara panting and bouncing. Gaara
seemed to reach release and stretched lazily in the sea of plushies,
disappearing for a few seconds to surface by Naruto's leg. He looked at the
blond with eyes that were jade green again.
They stared at each other until Gaara finally ventured a question. "You think
I'm sick?"
"No. Why?"
Gaara looked around his room. "This and the singing are the main reasons
Killerbee says I'm insane. He says this room gives him and Hachibi nightmares."
Naruto thought of how people called Sasuke insane. He remembered how Gaara's
singing made him feel, how the sight of these plushies had made him laugh for
the first time ever. He learned something about himself then. "I like insane
people."
Gaara smiled.
===============================================================================
Susanoo protected Itachi as the hideout collapsed at last, weakened by Sasuke's
chakra and the epic battle they were having. The pieces of heavy stone and
mortar seemed to strike an invisible barrier when they toppled toward Sasuke.
The debris bounced away without touching him.
His chakra is impenetrable,Itachi thought as he panted. Weilding Susanoo wasn't
easy by any means. The effort was costing him horribly, but facing Sasuke with
anything less had proven almost fatal. Amaterasu had been evaded with
distressing ease.
Itachi was weakening. Sasuke didn't have great techniques, he shouldn't be
losing this fight at all. But whatever had brought on this 'snit' Sasuke was in
had the younger Uchiha using every ounce of chakra he possessed and Itachi just
couldn't get past it.
He guessed if he thought about it, Sasuke might be mad at being used with
Genjutsu. But really, the little shit was blowing it all out of proportion,
overreacting way too much.
Sasuke rushed him. Itachi swung his arm and Susanoo swung its in turn-
Itachi screamed. Sasuke crashed right through Susanoo, his absolute defense,
and landed on Itachi's chest. The elder Uchiha's chakra, the last of it that
he'd been holding on to in order to control Susanoo, disappeared. Sasuke let
his chakra fade, sitting on his brother's chest and pinning his arms down with
his knees.
Itachi didn't resist. He coughed up blood, his body spent and limp. He looked
at Sasuke with eyes returned to black. "You won't kill me," Itachi whispered
with bloody lips. "I'm your brother. I saved you. You…owe me." Speaking was
agony.
Sasuke's eyes returned to black, too. He looked down at his brother, at the
object that had fallen from Itachi's cloak and lay by Sasuke's knee. "You're
right, Itachi," he said as he picked up the object. It was cool in his hand.
"You did save me. And I do owe you."
Itachi smiled weakly. "Little Brother," he sighed. "I knew you wouldn't kill
me. Then he saw what Sasuke had in his hand and his smile faded.
Sasuke placed the object on Itachi's chest. "You don't know me at all," he said
in a low voice. "Or you wouldn't have done what you did to me."
"Sasuke," Itachi said, trying to move. "Sasuke, no, you owe me. I'm your
brother, you owe me!"
"Yes," Sasuke hissed. "I owe you salvation."
Sasuke smiled then. Had Naruto seen that smile he would have rejoiced. It was a
mirthless smile, a smile that acknowledged no redeeming qualities in one's
self, a smile that promised violence and destruction. It was the smile of the
Bane of Konoha. Seeing it, Itachi knew fear.
"Sasuke…Little Brother," he pleaded.
Sasuke rammed the point of the kunai hilt deep into Itachi's thudding heart. He
felt it vibrating in his fist as the muscle continued beating despite being
skewered. Then the heart slowed…slowed…stopped.
The last thing Itachi saw was how Sasuke's eyes, unbeknownst to the younger
Uchiha, developed Mangekyo Sharingan. Then he was gone.
Sasuke stood, walked a few steps aimlessly, then collapsed. His body was
crashing from the stress he'd put it through. He lay looking at his bug's eye
view of the destroyed landscape. The battle had been biblical.
The last surviving member of the Uchiha clan lost consciousness ten feet from
his dead brother.
***** Chapter 8 *****
 Night fell and passed with the lazy movement of the stars bearing witness.
Dawn came, morning, afternoon and night returned. As day was breaking a second
time, Sasuke groaned and stirred. He moved one hand through the dirt and debris
near his face; it was all the movement he was capable of.
Eyes closed, afloat on a stormy sea of blazing agony, Sasuke inched his hand
upward until he could put it to his head. His head was pounding. It felt like
demons the size of mountains were stomping around his brain with steel-shod
feet. He felt like throwing up, like shitting himself. Holy fucking God, Sasuke
thought. I must be dying.
He tried to get up and just the thought of it hurt. His muscles burned, his
bones screamed. His blood itself was in pain. Sasuke opened his eyes a fraction
of an inch and closed them quickly again. He hissed, managed a weak sob; the
sunlight had multiplied the pain in his head until Sasuke felt he would welcome
death.
How long he lay there after regaining consciousness he didn't know, but the
pain wasn't even thinking of subsiding when a shadow fell over him. It was
probably that misbegotten fish freak Kisame or that whore Konan. Sasuke hoped
they killed him quickly.
===============================================================================
The man gazed down at the boy who lay breathing in shallow pants. He'd seen
Itachi's body as well. This young man had the Uchiha look to him; he had to be
Itachi's 'dead' brother, Sasuke. He stooped and bent to the man, trying to
understand what was wrong with him.
Sasuke was unmarked as far as the man could see. Yet he appeared to be gravely
wounded. Itachi had a kunai protruding from his chest, his eyes half-opened,
clearly dead. The man knew of Itachi's prowess in battle. If this Sasuke had
defeated him there was no telling what the toll had been. He must have pushed
himself beyond the limits of his body. Likely there is internal damage. Ah, but
to have killed Itachi! Impressive.The man looked around at the destroyed
hideout and land. He'd come to spy on Itachi after hearing that he'd killed
Pain. Instead he'd found that Armageddon had apparently come. The man looked
back at Sasuke. The boy needed care.
When Sasuke felt himself gently picked up, he passed out again.
===============================================================================
"You can have this one," Gaara said generously. He handed Naruto a huge plushie
of a purple dinosaur. It was as tall as Gaara, certainly fatter.
Naruto took the plushie and examined the big grin on it. "Thank you," he said
to Gaara. "Have you had sex with this one as well?"
"I think I really would go insane if I had sex with Barney there. He was given
to me, but I don't like him too much."
"Why?"
"Have you seen his shows? Watch an episode and you'll know why."
"Oh." Naruto stroked the soft toy with his big hands. No one had given him
anything before. He liked the plushie very much.
Gaara stood up, wading through the waist-high sea of plushies to his door.
"'Bee probably won't be back for awhile. Want to go on a spree?"
Naruto stood as well, the Barney toy held securely under one arm. "What kind of
spree?"
"Well, there's a prison over in the next village that I haven't hit yet…"
"Yes. I'll come."
===============================================================================
Sasuke woke in a darkened place, his pain slightly less. He felt cool cloths on
his burning skin, then blankets draped over him when he began freezing again.
Someone tended his internal injuries with hands glowing with chakra. Sasuke
never saw who it was, but whoever they were they seemed to be helping him, not
killing him.
"Who…" Sasuke croaked.
"Shhh. I'm a friend," the man whispered.
That was all, no other words were spoken. Sasuke got the impression the person
was male and incredibly old. His hands were very strong and sure for all of
that, though. Sasuke felt himself steadily improving as he was fed and cared
for. He let himself sleep.
===============================================================================
Killerbee walked into his cottage a few days after his night with Naruto with a
distinct air of unease. He'd left before the blond had woken, too cowardly to
face him after the things he had done with him. He hadn't meant for Hachibi to
get involved at all, had been powerless to recall him once the Bijuus had
joined.
Though he'd had lovers in the past, nothing had equaled that night with the
blond boy. 'Bee had never known such intimacy, such passion. He's expected a
comforting night with the beautiful young man, not to fall in love. He had no
idea how Naruto would react to him now, hence his unease.
He heard laughing from Gaara's room. He recognized the redhead's high laugh,
but the deep booming howls were unfamiliar to Killerbee. He frowned as he made
his way towards Gaara's door. That couldn't be Naruto?
Killerbee opened the door. Naruto was rolling in those atrocious toys with
Gaara, laughing as they had some kind of mock battle. They hit each other with
the things, threw the smaller ones at each other's heads. At the same time they
were both eating one candy bar after another. The room was littered with candy
wrappers, mixed in with the horrid plushies. Gaara spotted him first.
"Neh, Old Man! Guess what Naruto told me. He said he trained with Jiraiya
himself! Isn't that the height of cool?"
Killerbee only had eyes for Naruto. The blond had gone still, looking at him. A
small smile still played around his full mouth, but the blue eyes were serious.
They stared at Killerbee with an unreadable expression.
'Bee said he hadn't known Jiraiya had had a student. Then he spoke directly to
the blond whose eyes were turning his bowels to water. He gripped the knob on
the door tightly, wanting to get this over with. "Naruto. I'd like to speak to
you a moment, if you don't mind?"
Gaara looked back and forth between 'Bee and Naruto. "You in trouble, man?"
"I don't know," Naruto said. He got up and walked calmly past Killerbee and
into the main room. The older man closed Gaara's door softly.
                                     -oOo-
Naruto turned to face Killerbee. In Gaara's room he'd felt happiness at seeing
Killerbee returned. He remembered their night, but knew better than to bring it
up. Sasuke had needed a long time before he was able to discuss their blanket
activities during the day. He wondered what Killerbee wanted.
The dark man cleared his throat nervously, his hands in his pockets as he
studied the floor in front of his feet. He frowned slightly as he spoke. "There
are two things I want to discuss. The first is that night." He paused here to
glance up at Naruto.
Naruto kept his gaze on Killerbee's, unblinking, not looking away. Killerbee
forged ahead.
"You may have regretted it afterward; you were upset that night, vulnerable.
What may have appeared to be a good idea at the time might have seemed like a
mistake in the morning…" Killerbee trailed off. Naruto adjusted his thinking to
take in the fact that apparently Killerbee wanted to discuss what had happened.
"I don't regret it," Naruto said. "I was embarrassed when I woke up. I don't
know why. But I don't regret it."
Killerbee watched the boy, relief easing the tension in his body. "Ah. I see.
Do you…was it…enjoyable? I got the impression it was different from what you're
used to."
"It was. Enjoyable and different."
Killerbee did not have the stones to ask if Naruto would let it happen again.
For now, it was enough that he didn't regret that night and wasn't disgusted by
how the Bijuus had gotten involved. "The other matter I wanted to discuss is
your friend. Sasuke."
The older man had to take a step back as Naruto's entire body came alive. The
blond fairly crackled with his repressed emotions as he stepped up to Killerbee
quickly. "Sasuke? You've seen him? Where is he, did he get away from Itachi?"
The blue eyes were too intense at such close proximity. Killerbee lowered his
eyes to where Naruto's muscular arm was strangling the purple dinosaur around
its soft throat. "No, I didn't see him. The hideout is in ruins. It looked as
if a major battle took place. I saw Itachi's body. He'd been stabbed to death.
There was no sign of Sasuke."
Naruto digested this as he stared at Killerbee's face. He seemed to be
searching the older man's countenance for more information that he desperately
wanted. "What were you doing at the hideout? They could have killed you. You
specifically told me going there would mean my death."
Killerbee turned from Naruto's questioning gaze in embarrassment. "Yes, well.
Seeing how upset you were, I decided to see if I could at least discover the
nature of the trap."
Naruto clutched his gift as he spoke. "If Itachi's dead then Sasuke must be
free. Maybe he killed Itachi. I need to go and find him." He turned for the
door.
'Bee was there, grabbing his shoulder lightly. By now Gaara had come out of his
room and was listening. "Naruto, wait," the older man said. "You don't know
where he is, how will you find him?"
Naruto gently removed the hand from his shoulder. "I will find him. He might be
looking for me too, might be hurt."
Gaara felt almost sick at the thought of Naruto leaving their valley, but he
acknowledged that neither he nor Killerbee would be able to stop him. Not where
this Sasuke was concerned. He spoke up. "I'll come with you Naruto. I'll help
you find him."
"So will I," 'Bee said. "If he's hurt we'll bring him here."
Naruto looked at them and nodded his head in thanks.
===============================================================================
They left immediately. Gaara gave the blond a questioning glance when it
appeared he was taking Barney with him. Naruto caught the look and reluctantly
left the plushie at the cottage. He set it carefully near Killerbee's bed.
Naruto searched the ruins of the hideout himself, shifting pieces of debris
larger than himself with ease. Itachi's body was nowhere to be found. There was
no sign of Sasuke.
The surrounding countryside was explored thoroughly, all villages in every
country searched, Sasuke's description given. No one had seen him or knew where
he was. Gaara said it was as if Sasuke had been sucked from the earth and into
an alternate dimension somewhere. There was just no sign of the guy.
                                     -oOo-
Naruto's disappointment was a kunai to his skull. After weeks of searching the
trio of Jinchuurikis returned to the cottage. Naruto was back to his silent,
uncommunicative ways. His eyes were haunted pools of grief. Once at the cottage
he went directly to Killerbee's room and sat on the floor. He didn't even look
at the Barney plushie, just sat and stared at the fire Killerbee built in the
fireplace. He did not answer questions posed to him, did not eat unless his
body drove him to it. He hardly slept.
Gaara cried for his friend's pain, tried to give him more plushies, sang to
him, sat with him. Naruto did not respond. Killerbee let the boy know he wasn't
alone but otherwise left the blond to deal with his grief in his own way.
===============================================================================
Sasuke gasped, sat up, looked around. He was in some kind of vast dim space
that had no windows or doors. He turned his head and saw an elderly man sitting
not far away. Sasuke ran a hand down his midriff, noting that his body felt
perfectly fine as he studied the man. "Who are you," Sasuke finally asked.
"A friend."
"I don't have friends."
"I healed your injuries. You would have died without my help. Aren't those the
actions of a friend?" The man gave a small quizzical smile.
Sasuke had been through too much recently to even consider believing some old
shit he'd never seen before. Even if he hadn't, though, Sasuke never trusted
anyone. Besides, he was a master manipulator; he knew when he was being
bullshitted. "Those are the actions of someone who thinks to gain my trust. I
don't know who you are, but you want something."
The man widened his smile in appreciation of such cunning. "I like you. You
show great promise. Yes, I want something."
Sasuke remained silent. He was starting to get a very edgy feeling. He could
find no way to enter or exit the space they were in. As long as he was stuck
here, he was in this man's power.
The man lifted a hand casually. "I want you to join me."
"In what?"
"In taking over the world."
Sasuke looked the old man up and down from the corner of his eye. The man
looked like a stiff wind would finish him off. Take over the world? Yeah and
Sasuke would suddenly start going around in drag. "Dude, who are you? And why
do you want me, someone you don't know from a hole in the ground, to join you?"
"Who I am is unimportant. You have power that quite lives up to the glory of
your clan name. And you look remarkably like a brother I once had."
Sasuke struggled not to snort. "Touching. What do you know of my clan?"
"Much. Will you join me?"
"Join someone who refuses to give me his name? No. I got my own life to live
and I'm not interested in ruling the world." Sasuke was careful not to demand
that the man release him from wherever this place was. He didn't want to call
attention to the fact that he was at the guy's mercy.
The man studied him for a long time in silence. Perhaps he'd been wrong about
the boy. He was as yet immature and self-absorbed. That Sasuke would eventually
join him he had no doubt. But perhaps now wasn't the time. He would wait a few
years, let the boy ripen and mature. Then he would approach him again.
For now, he stood and prepared to return them both to the real world. He paused
as Sasuke stood as well. "Who is Blondie?" he asked.
Sasuke froze. Then he cursed himself for giving away that he even knew the
name. He met the dark eyes unblinkingly. "Who?"
"You kept calling out to someone named Blondie in your delirium."
Sasuke made his face blank. "No idea. How long have I been here?"
"Hard to say. Time in these dimensions tends to freeze. I'd say more than a
week, though."
The air around them seemed to twist and swirl and suddenly Sasuke found himself
in a dense forest with the man. He looked around at the trees that were
blocking most of the sunlight. "Where are we?"
"Land of Forest," the man replied. "The long walk back to the Five Great
Nations will give you time to think over my offer. I will see you again
someday, Uchiha Sasuke."
Sasuke watched the guy disappear in another swirl of air and cursed a blue
streak at the noiseless trees. Land of Forest! He remembered that map he and
Blondie had found in the crone's cottage. Jesus, Forest Country was at the
extreme edge. I hope that geezer dies a slow and painful death,he raged. It
would take him weeks, possibly months to get back. And that was if his narrow
ass didn't get lost.I ain't thinking about shit except Blondie, Old Man.
Sasuke huffed and began walking.
===============================================================================
One night, three weeks after the trio had returned to the cottage in the
valley, Naruto sat in Killerbee's room, staring at the leaping flames in the
fireplace as usual. Gaara was off in the village. Killerbee was sitting on his
mattress, reading. Naruto spoke for the first time since abandoning the search
for Sasuke. "I lost him," he said quietly to the flames. "He was the first
person to accept me, to love me. He trusted me above everyone else and I lost
him."
Naruto's voice was hollow. Killerbee put his book down to come and sit beside
him. He was thankful the boy was finally speaking again. He'd been worried the
boy's grief had unhinged his mind. He cautiously put an arm around the heavy
slumped shoulders as he spoke to the blond. "You didn't lose him. He may yet be
somewhere, alive and well."
Naruto turned his head slowly to regard 'Bee with lifeless blue eyes. "I have
lost him. We were partners. I abandoned him in that place and saved myself. I
should never have left him. I should have ripped him from Itachi's grasp by
force. Now he's gone, probably dead. I will never…never see…" Naruto's face
crumpled as he cried at last. He cried long, wrenching sobs of loss and hurt
and regret. The pain he'd been holding at bay was such that Naruto didn't know
if he could bear it.
Killerbee swiftly pulled the big kid into his lap. It was awkward to say the
least, but he rocked and murmured to him, holding the boy securely as his tears
soaked through both their shirts. Gaara came home before dawn to find them like
that, Naruto still bawling. He sat beside them and laid a hand on Naruto's
shivering back, offering what comfort he could.
Crying like that was another first for Naruto but it served to help bring him
back to some semblance of himself. He did not cry after that, but he didn't
shut out the other two again either. It took a long time, days and weeks, but
Naruto slowly began talking again as Gaara bombarded him with his bubbly
personality. Gaara got him eating food regularly once more. He sang soft songs
of hope and encouragement and the beauty of life. Naruto listened more to the
voice than the words. One day he smiled.
At night, Naruto slept beside Killerbee. The older man did not approach him
sexually. Naruto sometimes cried out in his fitful sleep, calling Sasuke's name
in a pleading voice, or promising to kill Itachi with his bare hands. Killerbee
soothed and stroked Naruto until he was calm again. Once Naruto had turned to
him in his sleep and begun kissing Killerbee. The older man allowed it. Then
Naruto was crawling on top of him, entering him, thrusting hard as he said
Sasuke's name over and over again. The next day Killerbee had looked at the
blond and known the kid remembered nothing of the act. He also knew that Naruto
would never love him.
                                     -oOo-
A couple of months passed, winter was blanketing the valley in pure white snow
when Naruto addressed his two companions over breakfast. "I'm going home," he
announced.
Gaara choked on a piece of bacon. "What! Back to Konoha?! They'll kill you!"
His green eyes were wide with alarm. Killerbee frowned in deep concern.
"No," Naruto clarified. "To the cottage Sasuke and I found. That's our home."
"Son, we searched that place when we were looking for him. Sasuke wasn't
there," Killerbee said. "You think he's there now?"
"I don't know. But I need to go there. If he's looking for me, he'll know to
find me there."
"But," Gaara said trying not to let his voice tremble. "What about us? You're
going to leave us? We're best friends, you can't leave."
"There are still some members of Akatsuki out there, Naruto," Killerbee
reminded him quietly. "I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to be on your
own."
Naruto looked back and forth between the two people who'd brought out so much
in him. He'd come to care for them very much. He loved them both. "I will never
forget either of you. I hope you come and see me when you have time, but I have
to do this. I must."
Gaara's plaintive tears did nothing to dissuade Naruto, nor did Killerbee's
sound arguments. Naruto packed his small bag, tucked Barney securely under one
beefy arm and stood in the main room later that day, ready to leave.
Killerbee embraced him long and hard. Gaara rushed and gave Naruto another
plushie. He said it was called Rainbow Brite. He hugged Naruto as well,
promising to come visit when the winter was over.
Naruto left the cottage in the valley with his own tears threatening. The two
Jinchuuriki had been closer to him than family. He would miss them.
===============================================================================
He arrived at the cottage he'd called home so briefly to find it unchanged, the
seals he'd used to lock it still in place. Naruto swallowed his disappointment;
he'd hoped Sasuke had found his way back.
The animals and vegetables were long gone. Naruto was glad he'd bought supplies
along the way. He chopped wood for the stove and the fireplace in the forest
behind the cottage and proceeded to clean away the accumulated dust from the
one-room structure.
His days were quiet, solitary affairs that were reminiscent of his days in
Konoha before he'd met Sasuke. He'd been dead then. Sasuke had tried to rob him
and he'd been brought to life. Now Sasuke was gone. Naruto wasn't dead, but his
was not a personality accustomed to sustaining hope in obviously hopeless
situations. He tended to accept life as it was handed to him. Sasuke was the
eternally optimistic, indomitably buoyant one. Without him Naruto was left in a
kind of limbo.
The season passed with excruciating slowness. Naruto lived, ate, slept.
Sometimes he thought of Sasuke. Sometimes he held his plushies and thought of
Gaara. Spring came with the budding of trees and the discovery that the garden
in the forest was producing something. Green shoots dotted the earth where the
garden had been. Naruto went back to it daily to try and tend to it. Killerbee
had been in possession of a garden.
                                     -oOo-
Spring passed.
Summer came blazing along. Naruto spent a lot of time at the stream in the
woods training and swimming to keep cool. His money had run out months ago; he
lived off the land or stole from the village whatever he needed. Otherwise he
kept to himself. He spoke to no one. His days were endless, monotonous and
lonely. He faced the prospect of living the rest of his life as a silent hermit
with cold resolve.
                                     -oOo-
Summer was over. Fall was evident in the crisp air. Naruto stood in his cottage
and looked around. It was his birthday. He was thinking longingly of
Killerbee's apple cider when a faint noise behind him had him turning around.
Naruto was seeing a ghost. The specter was just as thin and filthy as the first
time he'd seen him. His clothes were in rags, his hair long and dreadlocked,
his eyes feverish. Naruto stood in mute shock, staring at the figure in the
doorway.
===============================================================================
Sasuke had gotten lost. He'd had no money, had been forced to kill and steal
his way back to the Five Great Nations. Once there he'd looked in every village
for Blondie. He'd even risked his neck by infiltrating Konoha to look for the
guy. He was nowhere to be found. He'd finally remembered the cottage but had
forgotten the precise location. It had taken him another few weeks to find it
again and now that he'd finally made it, he was rewarded. Here Blondie was,
beautiful, big as life and Sasuke wanted to die from the force of his feelings.
He staggered into the one room on shaky legs; he hadn't eaten in days.
===============================================================================
Naruto rushed forward and caught Sasuke as he fell. His shock was numbing him,
making him incapable of speech, but he managed one word, the only word that
mattered. "Sasuke?"
Sasuke felt Blondie's big arms around him and knew he'd come home. His heat was
sheer heaven. Sasuke was tempted to burrow into it and let sleep claim his
exhausted body but he had to set things straight. The thought of Blondie going
all this time thinking that he'd left him for his brother was what had kept him
from giving up. He'd nearly died several times in the past year only to force
himself to go on. He had to live, if only so he could tell Blondie that he
hadn't abandoned him.
"Naruto," he whispered. His head was cradled in the crook of the blond's elbow.
Naruto was on the floor, Sasuke in his lap. "I didn't…Itachi…he…"
"Shhh," Naruto said urgently. His heart was thudding painfully, his shock
slowly being replaced with the knowledge that Sasuke was alive, was here in his
arms. "I know what he did to you. I understand, Sasuke, you don't have to
explain."
Forgiveness. It was all that Sasuke had wanted. He closed his eyes as his head
fell limply on Naruto's shoulder.
===============================================================================
Sasuke did not wake up again. Naruto realized his partner was starving. There
wasn't a shred of food in the house. Naruto went out to the village and raided
the grocery store. The clerk tried to stop him. Naruto slashed his throat to
ribbons with one clawed hand; Sasuke was back and needed food. Nothing would
stop Naruto from feeding him.
Naruto laboriously nursed Sasuke back to health over the next few days. He
remained by Sasuke's side, feeding him, warming him with his heat. Sasuke woke
and ate and slept in turns. He mended.
                                     -oOo-
A morning came when Naruto woke to find Sasuke looking at him from where he lay
in the safety of Naruto's arms. Naruto had acquired a bed during the past year.
They lay in it now, under the blankets. Sasuke's eyes searched Naruto's
wonderingly, as if he still couldn't get over the miracle of his presence.
Neither remembered moving, but the kiss seared their souls. It fused them,
welding the break between them shut so that they were again whole and united.
Sasuke's hands clutched imploringly at Naruto's body and the blond was ready.
Killerbee's touch had taught Naruto a few things. He took time running his
hands over Sasuke's long limbs now, rubbing and massaging to arouse Sasuke. He
kissed the white throat, the elfin ears, the pointed chin. His full lips
brushed those dark eyes he'd missed so much. They traveled down the straight
nose to the soft, soft lips Sasuke had parted and waiting. Their tongues fought
lazily, knowing they had all the time in the world and that it would be spent
in each other's company. Naruto shifted, settled his weight on Sasuke. He
dragged his mouth over the smooth shoulders, the heaving chest, the flat
stomach.
"Blondie," Sasuke whispered. He raised his legs as the blond head moved to his
ass, nuzzling there. That well-remembered tongue delved his entrance, making
him shudder and cry out. Blondie sucked the tight ring of flesh gently until it
relaxed, then his mouth moved upward until Sasuke's slim erection was swallowed
whole. The slow, strong suction had Sasuke rearing to a sitting position,
curling around Naruto's head as he came without warning. Naruto swallowed
around his pulsing cock and Sasuke snatched at the blond hair desperately.
Naruto felt wild at touching Sasuke again at last. He shoved the thinner boy
back to the mattress, flipping him over with a swipe of one arm. He entered
Sasuke as the boy was still shuddering from his climax. Sasuke cried out into
his pillow. Naruto left Killerbee's teachings behind to pound Sasuke just as
roughly, just as hungrily as he'd ever done. The bed creaked and groaned even
as Sasuke shrieked in ecstasy.
They made energetic love for the rest of the day and a good portion of the
night. Sometimes Sasuke rode Naruto. They kissed throughout each mating,
unwilling to be parted in any way. When at last Sasuke collapsed on the
mattress, unable to go on, Naruto stretched beside him. He gathered him close.
Their breathing was ragged in the dark cottage.
Finally, Naruto spoke to Sasuke, the first words he'd said since saying the
boy's name some days ago. "I thought I lost you."
Sasuke shifted, held Naruto tighter. "No matter what happens you will never
lose me. You're the only thing that kept me going." He tilted his head back so
he could see those blue eyes. "I don't need anything in life but you, Blondie.
Always you."
Naruto understood. He'd briefly thought he could remain with Killerbee and
Gaara. Life with them was wonderful, but it was Sasuke he needed. It was what
had made him return to the cottage even though he'd been certain Sasuke was
gone forever. He loved the two Jinchuuriki, but it was always going to be
Sasuke for the blond.
"Always you," Naruto echoed.
They slept.
===============================================================================
Epilogue
Sasuke and Naruto spent a lot of time making love as they both recovered from
their separation. In between the sex and the sleep, they told each other all
that had gone on while they'd been parted. Naruto heard how Sasuke had killed
his brother. "It was hearing how he was going to kill you that snapped me out
of it," Sasuke had said. Naruto hugged him close.
Sasuke heard about Killerbee and Gaara. Something in the way Blondie said
Killerbee's name made the Uchiha suspect something had gone on between them but
he didn't ask. He himself had been unable to tell how his brother had violated
him. Gaara sounded like someone Sasuke would hate on sight.
                                     -oOo-
Eventually they began traveling again. They were different from when they'd
left Konoha two years previously, but essentially they were the same; they
stole and raised hell and had a ball doing it. They began collecting money
again, rebuilding their lost wealth. On Christmas, they spent the morning
fucking lazily as snow fell outside the cottage. Just as Naruto was about to
come, they both heard a strident voice outside the cottage, yelling in outrage.
"If you'd moved your sorry ass a little faster, we'd have been here by now.
Jesus Christ, I told Naruto I'd visit him months ago!" There was pounding on
the cottage door.
Naruto grinned and leapt out of the bed. Sasuke moved more slowly. He wasn't
used to seeing Blondie react like that to anyone or anything. Who did that
voice belong to?
The answer was a short, wiry redhead bearing an armload of gifts. He skipped
into the cottage, shaking snow from his hair as he pressed the gifts into
Naruto's hands. A tall, muscular black guy came in behind the red-haired kid.
Sasuke realized this must be Killerbee and Gaara.
Gaara took in Sasuke with one slow look that raked him from head to heels.
Sasuke gave Gaara the same appraisal. Prepared though they each were to hate
the other, they were too alike to manage it. Sasuke and Gaara were like two
peas in a pod, soon exchanging jokes and kills as if they were old friends.
Naruto and Killerbee looked on in bafflement.
"You are well?" 'Bee asked Naruto as he watched Sasuke laugh at something Gaara
said.
"Yes. Very. I'm glad you came."
'Bee placed a hand on the back of Naruto's neck affectionately. He smiled
sadly. Gaara and Sasuke seemed to take to each other naturally. Had Naruto
never met the black-haired teen, Killerbee might have had a chance with
him.Another time, another place, the older man mused ruefully.
===============================================================================
 Sasuke and Naruto's visitors stayed through the holidays. Killerbee informed
Naruto that Akatsuki had disbanded. The remaining members were in parts
unknown. Itachi's body had never been found. Gaara said he was finally going
back to his village to take up the mantle of Kazekage. He urged Sasuke and
Naruto to visit him. They said that they would.
The gifts turned out to be plushies, of course. Gaara, Sasuke and Naruto had a
plushie fight as snow continued to fall thickly outside the cottage. After
awhile the screams and taunts drew even Killerbee in and then it was a war with
the teens all against the older man. Poor Barney was torn to shreds.
Laughter could be heard ringing through the small cottage as that New Year's
Day came to a close.
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
their work!