A/N:
Don't say it! (holds her hands up defensively) I already know that's been ages since I've updated this story. I'm deeply sorry, but you may all blame Itachi for it.
You see I used to be a strictly Sasu/Naru fan and then someone had to point me to a fic with Itachi/Naru. It was so hilarious that… well, I was kidnapped into that realm. (sigh)
It made writing on a Sasu/Naru kind of hard for a while and to top that my hard-drive and my back-up hard-drive both died of me in the course of a month.
I've lost all my notes on most of my stories. I spend weeks in frustration trying to recover as much as I could, which frankly wasn't much.
So, I guess, sorry for this super-late update.
For those who are still reading the story, thank you and please enjoy this chapter. It's a bit short, but I wanted to at least post something, before more time passed.
To anyone who reviewed: Thank you sooooo much!! They make me feel great about my work, and special thanks to those who wrote to me about Gaara's name and the Byakugan.
I'll better stop babbling.Enjoy
Chapter Eight
The boy opened his eyes, one was red the other blue. Color had returned to his features and his breathing had calmed after a few moments. The initial shock after being forced to live again had apparently ceased and the boy was once again conscious.
She sighed, and after checking once more with her Byakugan that the energy flow in the boy's body had stabilized, she closed them returning them to normal. "Either you are a lucky fool, or you are extremely determined not to die just yet."
The boy starred at her calmly. "If he had not returned, we would have probably died. So, I guess, I am lucky." His different colored eyes irritated her, the blue more than the red one that looked like a cat's. "Sensei… I'd like to talk to the elders…Especially to the man who told you about the Fourth Hokage…"
The red eye narrowed slightly, probably nothing more than a twitch, but the glint in it was curious unlike the blue one's calm and determined shine.
"I don't think so, Naruto-sama. You might feel alright again, but let me tell you, as your supervising medic, you are not allowed to leave this bed until I tell you so." She crossed her arms angry. "You saw what it did to you just a few moments ago!!"
"I don't intent to go against your order, sensei. They will come to me, if you tell them this…"
She listened to his words not really understanding the twisted meaning of them, but she could sense the importance of it. Whether that was due the intensity of the boy's eyes or his manner of speaking, she couldn't really tell.
Naruto watched her nod quickly once he finished and the medic left the room.
"…And maybe I am indeed a fool…" he whispered
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"Subaku no Gaara." Itachi said allowing the red haired boy's name to draw out like hissing snake.
Gaara turned his eyes warily to Itachi's companion, before concentrating again on the smaller man.
"What are you doing here, Uchiha?" Gaara asked, readying his sand for an attack or defense if needed.
"My business is my own." The older one answered calmly.
Something was wrong, Gaara thought, but he couldn't press the matter to be revealed with violence. The laws of the Shadow Village were clear on this.
"Never be he first to act, for we are the Shadow, we are the companions of all and such it must stay until we are threatened directly."
The elder's words echoed in his head as a warning. Gaara needed to learn to control his emotions in order to make rational decision and that involved knowing the difference between ones allies and enemies.
"If you are here for my Bijuu-"
The tall man next to Itachi snorted. "You kids always think that everything revolves around you."
"Kisame!" Itachi growled in warning, but the other man just smiled amused as though he was conversing with a child and not a clan-murdering man.
Green eyes narrowed suspiciously watching the elder pair's interaction, yet Gaara knew how to remain calm to the outside.
The elder Uchiha turned back to him, watching and wondering in return how much he could manipulate the younger boy for his goal and ultimately outwit the Yondaime.
Though tt was true that Naruto had agreed to work with him and relent his control of the Kyuubi to him, if Itachi provided him with information, he was not stupid enough to trust the boy's words face fault. Especially someone who had lied about his existence even beyond his supossed death.
Although Itachi's memories of his child hood were limited to the vied of a child, he had easily recognized the power the Yondaime had wielded. It wasn't so much the physical presence that had been overwhelming, but the man's ability to convince others for his cause.
Arashi, as Naruto had been called then, had been an expert at manipulating people by bending their minds and hearts to his will. The man had had a knack for understanding people better than they understood themselves, which consequently was the real way to manipulate someone to your will, as Itachi had learned in the later years.
It went so far, that most people didn't even realize that they were being used in the first place. The man could make it look like it had been someone else's idea all along. That way, he had always managed to convince people to carry out his wished even going to the extreme in which men refused to not help him.
It would only be a matter of time before Naruto would gain access to all his memories with Itachi's help, and then… Then Itachi must be prepared to face the lies beneath the lies and recognize his wish as his own before Naruto could use his mind to twist the truth and lie once more in a way that you believed it as told truth.
Arashi had not been a Kage for nothing, he was a frightening opponent when in full strength.
But Itachi had grown… he had learned…
He would not fail himself.
"Tell me…" Itachi started, "do you know the nature calling of the Kyuubi?"
Gaara didn't move, but his eyes turned cold and dangerous. "I will not allow you to harm Naruto." He warned them.
Kisame snorted a laugh again. "Do not worry, neither the brat nor you are of interest for us now."
"Then what do you want?"
Itachi watched him, picking carefully his next words, he said in a low voice. "Have you had your trust in yourself betrayed, boy?"
There was no answer, the only way Itachi could tell that he had been heard was the clenching of fists from the other.
"Will you die for a lie?"
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Naruto sat at the border of his bed, feeling better than he had in a long time. His eyes scanned the artificial light out side his window for a moment, before turning his focus to the figure lying next to him on the bed.
Tsune was sleeping.
Helping in the process of healing had drained him more than Naruto himself, the blond realized, but glad that he would have a few moments for himself.
It wasn't that he minded the other, on the contrary, Naruto needed him close, but sometimes it was better to be alone with his thought yet have the physical closeness of another. It was reassuring in a strange way.
He smiled sadly down at the red-haired.
In that sense the blond had always been selfish, then as much as now, which gave the reason to why he had done another clone for his 'prisoner'.
Naturo allowed his eyes to wander over to the white cloak hanging over the chair next to his bed. The dark writings of the Kanji contrasting strongly to the white of the clothing, stirring a long forgotten fondness in him awake.
He wasn't sure, how or when it had ended in his room, he had been too tired previously to even register anyone's presence earlier, but he was sure that it had been send by the man who had spoken up for him in the Village Council.
Someone who knew the truth of Arashi's demise… Someone who at least knew the part of the reasons of Naruto's existence…
The blond's features turned suddenly cold and calculating.
Pieces of the Chess Game were being revealed, and Naruto knew that he would need all his wits about to be once more able to keep up and win. He would need to asset how much he was threatened, how many of the lies were being unfolded and if there was a chance that he might gain an ally instead of one more enemy.
There were still holes in his mind, things he could or didn't want to remember and remained in the dark. But Naruto knew that even if he never knew everything, he was a genius at improvising. He would just have to see how the pieces would be moved, before revealing more of his strategy.
Naruto touched fondly the white cloak that was the Yondaime's. Strange how he now did not difference between the old him and the young boy he was physically. How things had changed and he could not hinder its continuation.
He would need to learn to play the game once more.
Tsune stirred next to him, and Naruto reached instinctively out to sooth his companion. The demon relaxed under his touch and drifted deeper into sleep.
"If I lie to you, will you forgive my deceiving?" Naruto whispered leaning over Tsune's body and pressing their foreheads together. "But if I tell you the truth will you understand me?"
A light knock on his door made the blond look up. "Come in." he called straightening and turning to look at the door.
Temari opened the door. She looked disapprovingly at Tsune's form but otherwise remained silent.
"Are they here?" Naruto asked seeing as she was not going to speak.
She nodded sternly before moving towards him to help him to his feet.
"I do not think this is a good idea." She said her voice kept low in order not to disturb the other's rest.
"Well, then it is good that I'm not asking for your opinion." He replied sheepishly, allowing the child in him to arise.
She muttered something unintelligently under her breath as she steadied his stance on his feet.
"Hand me the cloak, please."
Temari looked intrigued at him, but Naruto remained quiet. Helping him slip into the slightly too long cloak, she linked her arm around his waist and headed for the door with him.
He could feel her body's tension against him emanating waves of disapproval, but he needed to make his next move, before the rest of Konohagure would be here for him. He would need this village's help, for his plan to work, and for that he would need all the back-up he could muster, even if it meant to at least speak the truth once.
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Sasuke found himself standing in a hallway, Temari and the red-haired Naruto each standing on one side blocking the path. There was a bizarre way in which they both moved a they approached him, but the distance between them never seem to waver.
He moved to observe Temari moving towards. "You do anything to Naruto and I kill you." She whispered loud enough for him to hear as she walked passed him and the other boy giving him a warning touch with her fan.
He turned to her, but the hallway was already empty.
"Are you coming or not?" the red-haired Naruto asked while turning to walk away as well in the opposite direction of the girl.
It only took Sasuke a moment to decide which one to follow.
The red-haired lead him outside into an open space with no artificial light as in the cave city. His eyes shut close as the bright sight before him blinded him. He heard the ruffling of clothing as the Naruto-look alike proceeded on without waiting for him. Needing a moment to adjust his eyes to the light, the footsteps started to fade from his hearing range. Trying to see through the bright blur before him, his surrounding started to fade slowly into focus.
Trees…
Lots of trees…
An unnatural circle of trees…
Sasuke's eyes scanned the area searching for the red haired. At first he didn't see him, but then he found him sitting on a bench that was half hidden behind a tree. One leg dangled on each side, his hands rested on the wooden surface. It occurred to Sasuke that the other's posture was almost like a child's. There was a strange and unnatural way that surrounded the red haired. It had been there all along through their journey, but it was now, that he appeared more relaxed, that Sasuke found it rather unnerving.
The other didn't bother to look back to him as he leaned his head forward and out of Sasuke's sight. A hand reached from behind the tree and laid itself on the red-haired hair caressing it gently, almost motherly. The red-haired seemed to rub his face into the one next to him or at least it appeared like that, if the way his body and head moved indicated anything.
Sasuke moved closer, each step giving him more view of the person next to the other. Each moving feet towards the pair made his heart race a bit faster. And the more he saw, the more he knew for sure that the one sitting there was Naruto.
He started to run towards the pair, but his feet felt heavy to him, and just like before the distance did not diminish.
"Naruto!" Sasuke called out, but his voice was carried away by the wind. "Naruto!"
And then suddenly the red-haired Naruto turned, a pair of blue eyes starring back at him accusingly.
"Your hands are smeared in my blood." The boy said with an angry and unnatural voice. "You do not deserve my forgiveness, traitor." The other growled in fury before both Narutos stood up and walked away from him. And with every step they took from him, the darkness increased around Sasuke until he felt like he was being suffocated by it.
"Naruto!!"
Sasuke awoke with a start.
Panic and adrenaline pumped through his body and it took him moment to realize where he was.
Breathing rapidly he brought a hand up to his face in order to calm himself.
It had only been a dream.
A knock on his door startled him and he sat partially up in the bed he had been given to rest after his journey.
"Come in." he said, trying to ignore his sweaty hands and still slightly shaking body.
The door was pulled to the side and Temari came inside.
"I heard you scream." The blond stated with a hint of worry in her tone. "Are you alright?"
He nodded slowly not answering feeling too emotionally drained from the dream to come up with a snappy reply.
The girl watched him for a while without saying anything. "You might want to know that the Hokage and her companions arrived at the Village Gate not too long ago." Temari stated, not bothering to further intrude on his personal matters, which made Sasuke feel kind of grateful towards her. Sakura would never have let it go just like that.
"What about Naruto?"
At this, the blond girl sighed, looking tired and more annoyed than worried. "He's fine. He's currently in a meeting with the Village Elders and the Council." She explained leaning against the door frame and crossing her arms. "I'm sure you can speak to him afterwards, since he doesn't seem to bother dropping dead from exhaustion every now and then." She added bitterly.
"He's troublesome, right?" Sasuke asked raising an eyebrow and feeling his heart rate returning slowly to normal.
"More like a handful, but yes." She answered him.
They looked at each other for a moment in silence, each deep in their own thought. It was Temari who interrupted their calm again.
"You might want to get changed." She pointed at another door in the room, which he deduced must lead to a bathroom. "I'll have someone bring you something to eat and then I'm sure the Hokage would like to speak to you when they arrive here. After all, you left your village once again without permission." She added before pushing herself from the door frame and heading out again. "You and Naruto should both learn to think before acting."
Sasuke sighed when the door finally closed and he was left alone again.
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The elders had entered shortly after Naruto himself had been brought to this room by Temari. He could feel Tsune still sleeping in the back of his mind, and he was grateful for it. He didn't want to get him anymore involved in this than he had agreed with the elder Uchiha.
They were all sitting on cushions on the ground in a circle, seven men and nine women.
"Naruto-sama." The elderly looking woman to his right spoke up. "You had us called here, and yet you have said nothing so far."
Naruto turned his face to look at her calmly, his mind already calculating and evaluating who he could play with, who would join him, who was friends with whom and who would turn out to be his best approach to convince them to his cause. The boy had to sleep now, this was adult matters and as Naruto closed his eyes for a moment, he focused on his knowledge as Arashi.
It was his time to make a move once again.
"I was informed that one of you spoke up for me, revealing my connection to the Yondaime of Konohagure." He said opening his eyes again and looking at the others around him.
The council members nodded slowly.
"Yet, I think you were not told the complete story behind it." Naruto spoke up again, before any of the others could speak up.
The air vibrated with sudden curiosity. The blond analyzed quickly everyone's reactions to his words, always wanting to be a step ahead.
Hook….
"One of you, though I cannot say who, seems to know more about me than he let on to begin with." He allowed his voice to get mysterious tone, knowing from experience how people reacted to when their curiosity was spiked. "He knew to send me this." He said lifting the hem of his cloak. "Knew the truth beyond the name of Uzumaki Naruto…"
Line…
"He knew that I'm in truth Arashi of the Shadow Village, Yondaime of Konohagure."
and sinker…
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Tsune growled waking slowly up, but did not bother to open his eyes. His body felt stiff and he had the feeling to have been sleeping on the ground for hours. Not that such a thing would be bad, in his opinion it was much more comfortable than a matt, but this human body didn't seem to agree with him.
He snuggled deeper into the covers reaching out next to him. He narrowed his eyebrows at the empty and cold space that he came in contact with. Cracking an eye open he saw that he was alone in bed. Annoyed at the absence of his Chibi, he sighed somewhat frustrated.
It was clear to Tsune that the moment he had touched Naruto when he had arrived, both of them had started feeling immediately better. He had sensed how their skin seemed to have absorbed the life from the other making them whole again. Tsune had wanted nothing more than to sink into that sensation of becoming one. As irritating as this thought was, he had felt so good at that moment.
He stretched lazily like a cat before sitting up. He had to look for his host. He was hungry and he wanted comfort. He wanted Naruto to take this artificial flesh back into nothingness and allow him to return to the prison within, because at least there, he didn't not feel the anguish of this dying body.
There he was just aware of Naruto dying…
It wasn't him…
Or at least he could try to fool himself that way, so that he didn't have to admit that if one of them should die, the other automatically would follow.
He licked the back of his hand and passed it absently a few times over this sleepy face. Yawning, he got out of bed not bothering with the fact that he was just wearing Naruto's pants and made his way towards where he could sense the Chibi.
He wondered whether the boy had talked to Uchiha…
Whether Naruto had bothered to reveal their secret and tell the other who Tsune was… who he really was…
"Kyuubi."
Tsune turned around lazily facing Temari holding a tablet with food. Probably for him, he could smell the almost raw meat. The Chibi didn't like it that way; he said that it was like devouring a living animal. Although Tsune had found that statement amusing at first, it had made him depressed the next moment, because it was like affirming that he was no longer himself, but a being trapped in a human shell.
"We need to talk." She said slowly; almost unsure…
He shrugged and noticed her to lead the way. Again he passed the back of his hand over his face, she looked strangely at him and he had the feeling that whatever it was that she wished to tell him, it was not going to pleasant.
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A/N:
Sorry for the shortness and the slow progress of the story. I don't want to rush this too much and I'll try to at least reach the 4000 words in the next chapter.
Please review.