Chasing Shadows

A Transposed Interlude

Trouble on my left,

Trouble on my right,

I've been facing trouble almost all my life.

Is everyone I know a magnet for trouble? Sometimes, I can't help but think I'm cursed to live in interesting times.

A chill crawls down my spine at Naruto's latest message. Scanning through it again, I focus on the words that, frankly speaking, fill me with dread.

Sensei wants to modify the seal. Says I need to learn to use more of that power, because of those creeps hunting me. (Not that all of them are creeps, probably— some villages treat their shinobi awfully, right? Kiri, with Haku and people like him, for example. I don't like traitors, but does it really count if you're the one betrayed first?)

It's just... that chakra feels unbalanced, Nii-san. It makes me feel unstable. I know I'm probably overthinking things, but the more I use it, the less I feel like me.

What do you think?

An aggravated growl claws its way out of my throat. The first thought that comes to mind is— I think that Jiraiya is an utter bastard. He better be taking appropriate precautions before meddling in something that was probably designed on-the-fly by one of the world's best masters in the field! But no, what am I thinking? He's the sort of person to throw a student off a cliff, to let them figure things out by themselves... Sink or swim.

I'm being paranoid. I know I'm being paranoid, and yet— Damn. Double damn. Fuming, I pace tight circles in the living room.

What should I do about this?

Should I do anything?

What can I do about this?

Pausing in mid-step as an idea comes to mind, my expression melts into something more thoughtful instead of outright murderous. Bijuu are supposed to be susceptible to genjutsu. Maybe sharingan-based genjutsu, in particular? I can't remember the particulars.

Right.

If something goes wrong I can make contact with Naruto's mindscape, even without using the Mangekyou. Maybe. Hopefully. Having Ino as a teammate– meaning, since she's practiced her jutsu on me— has made me more aware of my own mind.

It should work.

It will work; I'll bloody well make it work.

"I might be able to act as a safeguard, then. But..."My eyes narrow slightly as I consider the situation. How to get there without getting a black mark on my record? Or worse, court-martialed and thrown in a dark hole for the rest of my life. Hidden Villages are not lenient when it comes to their ninja disappearing without notice, regardless of the circumstances. After all, shinobi are more living weapons than soldiers; nobody wants us running amok.

"Aha." A bloodthirsty smirk. "Oh, Jiraiya-san you poor, poor bastard. Now that I think on it— I wonder what Tsunade-sama would think your idea?" Our newly-minted Godaime Hokage is exceptionally fond of Naruto, after all. And despite the long and bloody history between our clans, and all the back-and forth barbed comments and sass, there's no bad blood between us, either.

Hn. And if the mission parameters are flexible enough, I could drop in on both Itachi and Naruto...

Not at the same time, mind. That would just be asking for trouble.

He'd sent the letter to Sasuke-kun over a week and a half ago, with no word back so far. Nii-san could be out on a mission. Or bogged down with work at the hospital, maybe? Yeah, I'm sure he's super busy!

I'll wait another couple days before sending another one, Narutodecides as he slurps down the last of his breakfast Ramen with a cheeky grin— My favorite food for breakfast! Sasuke would kill me if he knew...— and incinerates the incriminating leftovers in the campfire. Ambling over to a sleeping Jiraiya, he nudges the older man none-too-gently with his foot. "Oi. Ero-sensei. You awake?"

His answer is a muffled grumble. They had traveled well into the night, and the older man was not a morning person. At all. "Thought so. I'm going to go train with Kousuke-senpai. And chakra control and writing drills for fuuinjutsu the rest of the day, probably." Another grumble, accompanied by a dismissive wave as the Sannin snuggles further into his sleeping roll.

Naruto rolls his eyes, but grins nevertheless; Jiraiya is great, when he's not stirring up trouble on purpose, or being a perverted stalker, or filching Gama-chan and emptying him out, or...

Okay, Jiraiya's a total ass, but he... it's like having a father figure. Or, well, a pervy uncle.

Yeah, let's go with that.

A second's focus. His hands form the hand sign reflexively though it's no longer necessary to use his favorite jutsu. A quartet of Kage Bunshin appear with a muffled pop, one heading off to tend to the campfire— someone should probably make lunch, after all, and it didn't look like Jiraiya would be willing to do so anytime soon. Nobody enjoys MRE's for lunch. The other three head off towards the trees— chakra control practice while keeping watch.

The blonde teenager pauses beside his pack to retrieve a few snack bars— a delicious mixture of nuts, honey, and chocolate. Thank you, Sasuke! Having snagged something to nosh on later, he backtracks about a mile from camp, back to a clearing they'd passed through yesterday.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A dark blue toad, head and back peppered with sunny yellow spots, appears in a waft of chakra smoke. Kousuke is a senior messenger toad. Accordingly, his specialties are stealth and speed. And because of his easygoing personality, he is an instructor for younger toads... and often enough for their young summoner, as well. "Good morning, Naruto-kun! The usual routine or do you have a message for me to carry?" The dog-sized amphibian gives a little hop, smiling enthusiastically.

Naruto's grin widens in response. "No messages today, Kousuke-senpai. Just the usual practice, please?"

Kousuke ribbits a toady laugh in response; it's always great fun to watch the young summoner trip over his own feet while attempting to catch him. "Sure, tadpole. I don't mind putting you through your paces. And it looks like you've picked a large enough area for us to work in, this time. Let's start with stretches."

And put Naruto through his paces he does.

It is a demented game of cat and mouse, with Naruto trying to tag Kousuke's spots with a black marker while avoiding the occasional water jutsu spat in his direction. He gloriously fails at the former, but usually succeeds at the latter.

About an hour in, Kousuke has Naruto summon a dozen younger toads, and the younglings alternate in chasing each other while their elder offers advice. Eventually, all but Kousuke have been splashed with mud— the youngest and smallest toads are coated head-to-toe in a muddy slurry— and Naruto is ready for a snack break, having worked through lunch.

It's well past lunchtime when Jiraiya finally makes his presence known. "Oi, gaki, are you done splashing about in the mud?"

Naruto grins. Well over half of him is spattered with mud, some of it in the form of toad palm-prints. He scratches at a particularly impressive streak stretching from his nose to his left ear, "Oh, you're finally up, Ero-sennin. Whatcha want?"

"Such suspicion! Don't you trust your kind and generous shishou, Naruto-kun?"

"No." Naruto deadpans, "Remember that time you ditched me in Nami no Kuni without any notice whatsoever? Or the fiasco in that village on the Kaminari no Kuni border? Or, hmm, I don't know, the time you tossed me off a cliff!"

"Geez, brat, you sure know how to hold a grudge," Jiraiya grumps.

Gotta strike the metal while it's hot! Naruto abruptly switches gears, eyes widening slightly to emphasize his puppyish expression, "... Go over chakra containment seals with me? Pleeeeease? I'm having problems with the third matrix loop."

"Ugh, fine. Show me." The white-haired shinobi grumbles theatrically, but settles beside his student and pulls out a blank scroll. "But then we resume working on your special chakra."

You mean the Kyuubi's chakra.

"Good morning, brat." I wave casually to Naruto from my perch, a tree branch about twenty feet up the road from where he and Jiraiya were camped until about five minutes ago.

"Sasuke-kun?!" Naruto's expression is one of complete shock. Did he expect I'd just write back and placate him?

"Oh, I thought you might like a visit, instead of a letter." A sly, teasing smile. "Was I wrong?"

"No, I mean, Yes! I mean... It's great to see you, Nii-san!" Naruto beams, waving enthusiastically. "I didn't think I'd get to see you 'till I got back to Konoha!"

"Oh, I also have to deliver this. It's for Jiraiya-san." My smile turns decidedly more sinister and I brandish a small, cream-colored scroll. "Just a friendly letter from our benevolent Hokage-sama."

"Pushy, overprotective Uchiha-brat." Jiraiya rolls his eyes dramatically, but gestures me closer so I can hand over the scroll.

Beyond the usual "Hn," a beatific smile is my only response; truly, I am the picture of innocence. No lie. Jiraiya scoffs, even as his lips twitch upward. "Fine. I suppose having an extra set of eyes on this brat for a week or two won't be a problem."

I bask in my glorious victory.

It takes three days of constant badgering and bribery with homemade baked goods for Jiraiya agree to include me in their attempts to access more of the Kyuubi's power. Three days where I fight the urge to set Jiraiya's bedroll on fire when the pair are away from camp. Three days where Naruto practices shaping and controlling that unnatural chakra, each day returning tired and sullen.

Kami, the foulness of the chakra that lingers in the air for hours afterwards!

Jiraiya is bent over a relaxed Naruto, who is lying at the center of a large bowl-like indentation carved into the top of a boulder, an elaborate seal painted around him. "Are you sure you want to be here, Uchiha?" He offers an easy out, as he glances back at me with an unusually serious expression.

I can admit, at least in the privacy of my own mind, that I'd rather be almost anywhere else.

Jiraiya is a master of his trade, but this experimental work. Anything could go wrong: an uncontrolled chakra explosion, the Kyuubi being freed... many lethal possibilities come to mind. And yet, if anything goes wrong— if the Kyuubi devours Naruto's mind, or soul, or something equally foul? I'd never be able to forgive myself if I cowered back in Konoha like a scared puppy.

"Hn. So sure you don't want me here, toad sage?" I quip back with a smirk, meeting his gaze. Three black tomoe spin slowly, hypnotically on a red background. "Consider me just another safeguard." Naruto is mine to protect.

A dismissive snort. "Fine. Like the gaki blabbed, I'm loosening the limits on his seal, so he can access more of its power." Jiraiya begins to channel chakra, and the seal-script crawls towards Naruto's stomach.

All hell breaks loose.

The air is heavy with chakra and just... a sense of hungry rage. Malevolent chakra boils away from Naruto, leaving dark smears, toxic burns, on the once smooth gray stone he's stretched out on. Jiraiya, much closer to the epicenter than I, is casually tossed through several trees by a giant, translucent crimson claw.

Eyes widening, I twitch reflexively rather than tilt my head aside to dodge the second grasping claw. Red chakra just barely brushes my cheek— I can feel the outermost layers of my skin burning from the contact.

I backtrack rapidly, drawing my chokutou, blade crackling with lightning as it meets a strike from the claw.

And then I don't have any more time to think.

A hunched figure practically materializes in front of me, unearthly roar tearing loose from its throat.

I weave between chakra arms and— are those tails?! — diving sideways to dodge a lunge from the not-Naruto.

I can sense Jiraiya approaching the clearing rapidly as I turn to face my opponent and— sharingan eyes meet eerie, slit-pupiled crimson. As if it wasn't obvious that Naruto isn't in the driver's seat right now.

I feel those five-spoke spirals, red on black, bloom in each eye, despite my previous resolve.

A tightness around my throat.

Mangekyou sharingan.

A slow, even breath hissing past clenched teeth.

A thought— and then I am elsewhere.

"Hell. That was too close." Tension bleeds from my figure as I take in my surroundings. Everything is simultaneously foreign and familiar. I stand beside the colorful exterior of Naruto's favorite Ramen stand, but for some reason it's located almost directly across the street from the house I share with him, familiar Uchiha grounds sprawling behind it.

Do I influence Naruto this much? Or is this the edge of my mindscape meeting his?

I wander about aimlessly, strangely empty of feelings. It is—quiet. Serene, almost. The streets are vacant. No people. No animals. The Hokage mountain looms in the distance. Strangely, it contains a giant cave in place of the Godaime's too-serious face.

Nodding at the dream-logic, I choose that as my destination.

For what feels like hours, I stalk through miles of identical-looking tunnels, ankle-deep in lukewarm water the whole time. Eventually, I reach the entrance to a cavern.

Stepping through, I find the atmosphere warm and humid. Stifling. Like a beast is breathing down the back of my neck, except the whole room evokes the feeling.

The rear of the cavern is filled with an ominous-looking ornate door. It's open; just a small crack. My eyes are drawn to the center of the cavern where, in a bubbling cocoon of crimson chakra, hangs a completely insensate Naruto.

The unnatural, forced calm drains away, and unthinking, I leap. Luckily, the cocoon dissolves at my touch.

"Hm?" A deep voice booms. A veritable wave of boiling crimson chakra knocks me back in mid-fall. "Who dares!" It takes a creative maneuver to land nimbly on my feet instead of flat on my ass while still maintaining hold of an unconscious Naruto.

That unrelenting wrath... I may not be shaking visibly, but I'm fucking terrified. I'm neither arrogant nor stupid enough to face the Kyuubi without a drop of fear. Still, courage is persevering despite fear.

I glare at the door defiantly— the source of the crimson chakra, which is just beginning to take a familiar shape. "You're not that intimidating." My deadpan answer echoes throughout the room.

On second thought, maybe my attitude should be described as a perverse lack of self-preservation.

The Kyuubi guffaws in response, deep laughter literally shaking our surroundings. "Those defiant eyes, that repulsive chakra… Of course it would be one of you insects. I'm so glad for the opportunity to kill you."

While it— he? — speaks, I take the second's reprieve to try and shake Naruto awake, and— blink.

Blue eyes. A clawed hand grips my throat tightly— too tightly, there will definitely be damage from the pressure alone. The grip loosens as Naruto's eyes roll backwards, and I scramble to catch my unconscious little brother as he collapses. Shit. I'm lucky he didn't snap my neck; I must have caught him just in time.

A breath.

"So..." I rasp painfully, after choking back a scream— normal chakra burns are excruciatingly painful, especially if you get them somewhere sensitive. Those caused by a Bijuu's chakra feel to be ten-fold worse. I'm peering over Naruto's head at a blank-faced Jiraiya, who's holding a paper seal pressed to the blonde's naked back. "That went well."

Naruto wakes early, much earlier than usual for a day off.

What happened when Jiraiya-sensei messed with his seal? He'd been fuzzy-headed and confused when he woke half a day later, and they'd been miles from where the 'experiment' had happened.

Ero-sennin had a few superficial injuries, mostly scrapes which have already healed. Sasuke had been worse off— whatever happened resulted in a neck swathed in bandages. Worse, the damage to his throat left him either unable or unwilling to speak for long periods of time.

Sensei isn't talking either. And with the amount of time he spent away from camp, it almost seems Jiraiya is avoiding them.

A quick glance around the camp proves that Jiraiya is already gone for the day, doing only Kami knows what with Kami knows who. Or maybe he didn't come back last night? Urgh... Well. At least he's given up on the Kyuubi thing for now.

It's not even dawn, but— Sasuke is up and about, fiddling with something in his backpack. Fresh bandages maybe? He watches discreetly, eyes half-lidded, ready to feign sleep if his brother pays him any attention. He doesn't, but it's likely Sasuke knows Naruto is awake anyway; it's incredibly difficult to control your own heartbeat.

Though it's been several days, he hasn't really had the chance to pester Sasuke about what happened. Not that Sasuke seemed up to talking—even 'hn' are rare at the moment. At least his genin teammates had drilled him in Konoha-standard sign language, so Naruto understood Sasuke-nii when he replied using it.

Naruto waits fifteen minutes before following Sasuke. After summoning a toad to keep an eye on their things at camp, of course.

It's a challenge. Naruto knows what the limits of the older shinobi's sensing technique were nearly two years ago, and tries to stay even further behind him, just in case. Nii-san is much harder to track through the woods than he was two years ago, Naruto admits, as he's forced to depend almost exclusively on his nose and chakra-sensing abilities rather than his eyes.

Even with how much he's improved, it seems Sasuke's skills as a sensor have advanced even further. He knows his Nii-san is aware of who is tracking him, long before he finds the clearing that is the Uchiha's destination. Each fresh spiral deliberately carved into a tree trunk is a mark pointing out when Sasuke could detect him, and a hit to his pride.

And that is exactly why Naruto freezes in shock when he slips into the clearing.

Because Sasuke is not alone.

Because Naruto can tell that, whatever fight occurred earlier— grass crushed underfoot, a handful of scattered shuriken embedded in the branches of a nearby oak, the lingering scent of smoke— was not an actual, life-and-death conflict but a friendly spar. Sasuke's body language is as relaxed as it gets outside of the village... and he's smiling. It is an honest smile, not a mask to unsettle his enemies.

Well, this is awkward. He thinks, and then, trying to end the uncomfortable silence that had settled in the clearing since he intruded, repeats the thought out loud. "Well, this is awkward. Sasuke, you..." Naruto trails off, suddenly finding he has too much to say and no idea how to say it, exactly. Anger, surprise, embarrassment— eventually, his face settles on an expression of confusion.

Two pairs of Uchiha black eyes, stare back at him from unsettlingly similar faces. Even if Naruto hadn't encountered Uchiha Itachi before, the pair's close blood ties would be obvious. The expected "Hn," comes in stereo.

Finally, the younger Uchiha's expression melts into a sheepish smile, "Took you a while. Would have told you, but..." With a slight grimace, Sasuke gestures towards his throat. His voice sounds better than immediately after the incident, but still more gravely than usual. "Mail isn't quite private enough, considering who you travel with."

Naruto huffs, but nods his acceptance of the excuse. "Yeah, okay. I suppose I get that." Even if I don't like it. But Jiraiya has been snooping through his mail for teasing material. Definitely his letters from Hinata-chan. Probably. I'll bring it up later, when we're not around your maybe-crazy definitely-terrifyingly-skilled older brother.

"You led Naruto-kun here on purpose; we are not close to their current camp," the older Uchiha murmurs. And isn't that a terrifying thought? The fact that Akatsuki know where sensei and I are.

"We're not," is Sasuke's even reply, "Naruto couldn't control his curiosity."

Said blonde gets the unsettling feeling he's being laughed at. He fidgets slightly; it's his turn to look sheepish. "Yeah, um... what?"

"It's obvious." Sasuke drawls. The Uchiha brothers are standing side by side, separated by two feet, at best.

Another awkward silence.

The younger Uchiha clears his throat, gesturing towards Itachi. "Naruto-kun... my older brother, Uchiha Itachi."

"We've met." Naruto deadpans, before forcing himself to relax slightly, rolling his shoulders in an attempt to ease the tension gathering there. "But I suppose if you're talking to him, he's probably not all bad." You know. When he's not running around with a bunch of psychopaths trying to kill me. Or trying to trap you in some horrible mind-killing illusion.

"Hn," is Sasuke's noncommittal reply.

I'm not sure how this could get any more awkward... No wait! I take it back. Jiraiya could have followed me. I could get Sasuke-nii court-martialed. Oh Kami, if this gets out, I could get court-martialed!

"I should be going. Train hard, Sasuke-kun. Naruto-kun," the older Uchiha intones, the 'you'll need it soon' is strongly implied.

"Safe travels." Sasuke replies, and Itachi flickers out of the clearing, no sign he'd been there besides the singed grass from the Uchihas' spar.

"...Your brother is weird."

So, this is it. The end of Chasing Shadows. (Are we taking odds on Jiraiya knowing about the Uchiha brothers meeting all along? I'm thinking— maybe.)

I had awful, awful writer's block on Transposed 'verse stuff. (Obviously.)

On the plus side, I made the sequel to Transposed my NaNoWriMo project... in November 2016. (How embarrassing.) But! That means there are 50k words of the sequel already written. (There was a lot of maniacal laughter while I was writing, too. Although I plan to rewrite parts of it, and it's far from done.) I guess you can expect that in the hopefully-immediate future.

(You know what? Screw my initial plans. I'm just going to post the sequel's first chapter next week and then go back to struggling with Tempestuous.)