A/N: Sorry, everyone! I really didn't mean to neglect the fic for so long! For some reason, this chapter was kind of hard to start. Naruto's getting a little bit more…complicated starting this chapter (haha…a bit…that's under-exaggerating).
Thanks to everyone for the 'chakra'/'charka' thing…I have NO idea what 'charka' is, it's not on dictionary dot com. Guess whoever made the dictionary for Word didn't know what they were doing or something.
Bold/ItalicsKyuubi
Naruto and everyone belong to Kishimoto Masahi.
Hear Me : The Dreamer Died on Tuesday
Let me try to carry on.
Drag me down
Make this existence have
some painful meaning. Moving
hard against the darkness
I push and pull and try to be
ripped apart beneath you.
Hardly anything,
I was trying to make you
see me when I was just the
illusion. So I'm nothing. Mark
me. Scar me with your warmth
deep inside, the scattered warmth of
the darkness I'm trying to
embrace.
Drag me down, this is the
way I want to die, sweet and hardly breathing.
With you all around me, I can
finally rest with silent happiness that
I'm sure doesn't really exist.
So wake me up from the dreams I've been
building inside my sandcastle.
Love me...or pretend, and let me imagine...
Eyes wide. God, why was it so DARK? His own heart pounded wildly in his ears.
Trapped.
Oh, god, why couldn't he SEE? Even when he attempted using Kyuubi's eyes. There was only blackness. And he was alone in the silent darkness. No fox, no human, just…him. He tried to find a wall, tried to find a door.
Couldn't feel the floor beneath him.
It didn't make any sense. There should have been a floor, should have been walls or trees…
Trees.
Brilliant green exploded around him, and suddenly he was looking up. Up, up, up, at the wild blueness of the sky and the fresh green of trees. So many trees. So fucking tall, like he could keep searching and not see the top, and yet there was the sky. Oh god, where WAS he? He lowered his head, and found everything abruptly changing, the world spinning and burning. Oh, sweet kami, the forest was burning.
Trees screamed in pain, the sounds high and painful, like nails on a chalkboard a thousand times over, and the sound all seemed focused at him.
"I…" he stuttered out, hands going to his ears, "I didn't do anything…"
Protests went unheard, the screaming continued around him, as the flames grew taller and the trees seemed to shrink and shrivel. He closed his eyes, but still, he could see the flames, as if his eyelids were crystal clear. He tried to look up, tried to see the blue sky, but choked on the smoke.
His body curled inward, and he crouched into a ball, coughing and rocking. Stop it. Please. Stop it, someone. I didn't do anything. Why me? I didn't DO anything...I'm sorry!
"I didn't do anything…I didn't do ANYTHING…"
And maybe that was what the problem was.
But, then, he woke. Or, more appropriately, the dream shifted.
His body screeched protest with each move. He'd pushed himself too hard, was not pushing himself beyond what could be considered the boarders of healthy. His movements were slow, reaction time unsafely sluggish. His eyes kept trying to close and force him to sleep.
Maybe that's how he found himself pressed to a tree with a kunai at his throat.
For a moment, he didn't care; let his body sag into the touch. Then, he remembered he was supposed to be alone and managed to force his eyes open. The person took the weapon away.
"Uchiha-san…" He didn't recognize the person beyond the Konoha band around his neck, "What are you doing out here?"
"N-" he coughed to clear his throat, "Naru…to…" The man released a breath, then loosened his hold on Sasuke, not quite letting go, and looked away to put the kunai away. "Where is he?"
The ANBU paused, then looked up at the Uchiha, "Kakashi-san won't be happy, demo…I'll take you to him."
Those words must have been what he was waiting to hear, because Sasuke immediately passed out once again.
Sharingan watched the figure. Not Naruto. This wasn't his student. Red eyes looked up, sensing him, and the…boy? demon? snarled at him. Kakashi pretended he didn't care and simply readjusted his position in his chair in the corner. Not like the demon could get passed the seals surrounding that half of the room, anyway.
"Give it up, Kyuubi, and give me back my student."
The demon snarled and backed into a corner.
After several minutes of staring at each other, the demon smirked mischievously and sank down into a crouch, licking his lips, before his eyes closed.
Did the room temperature just drop ten degrees? Kakashi shivered and wrapped his arms around himself to preserve body heat.
The seal is almost gone.
"I know." Naruto wrapped his arms around his knees and looked up, unsurprised by Kyuubi's appearance. He was where he always found himself when he was talking to the demon, trapped somewhere in his mind, staring up at the great beast.
They'll try to kill us soon.
"I know."
You're not worried?
A slight flash of anger, "Are you?"
Don't be stupid.
"What do I have to be worried about from them? You're the one who did this to me."
They'll destroy us.
"No. I'm already broken. All you care about is you."
The seal was so weak, there was no distinction of the cage that held the beast, and a red tail reached out between invisible bars. Naruto felt the heat of flames against his cheek, but didn't pull away or flinch.
Wrong, Kitsune. You haven't noticed, but we are becoming one and the same.
"No." Blue eyes widened.
It's not my choice, either. However, it's happening.
"How do I stop it?"
Kyuubi chuckled, You can't. You are becoming what you were always known as.
"No…"
Monster.
"No!"
At least this way, I'll be with you and it won't matter that we're alone.
"Shut up."
No reply, but the heat remained and he wished it would just burn them both to death.
Tsunade frowned at the person before her, "Why has he not received it?"
The person shrugged, "Kakashi-sensei gave it to me. I didn't want to suffer Sasuke's anger."
Tsunade scowled and took the folded paper.
"Will he get it?"
"If he returns."
"Where is he, Hokage-sama?"
Tsunade sighed and sank back in her chair, biting her lip and musing over the paper before answering, "Chasing ghosts…"
He was sprawled in the grass, arms out at his sides, fingers laced with piece of bright green grass. The sky was dark, stars twinkling brightly between clouds. It smelled sweetly like rain.
He was confused for a minute before he sighed. Dream. Either this or the other. One was an illusion.
"Saaasuke!"
He sat up, looking around. Blonde hair and bright orange clothing stood out in the darkness. "Dobe." The insult was affectionate, but that part escaped Naruto's attention.
The blond glared, "Don't call me that, teme." And bounded towards him, "Whatcha doing?"
Sasuke collapsed back again, "Well I was enjoying the silence."
"…are you implying I'm loud?"
He smirked and tucked his hands behind his head. The grass beside him moved, and Naruto settled, wrapping arms around his knees. His head tilted back to look up and Sasuke found him studying the curves and hard lines of that face.
"So big."
"Huh?" Sasuke blinked.
"The sky. So big. I wonder what's up there."
Sasuke turned his head back to look up again, "Mother used to say the dead."
"Really? But that's so far away."
"Yeah, but the dead are almost unreachable."
"I wonder if I'll be there someday." Naruto fell back, suddenly close to Sasuke. The dark haired boy fought back a blush at the sudden body heat and the scent that assaulted his nostrils.
"We all will, I suppose."
Naruto was quiet. Uchiha turned his head and saw the blondes eyes were closed.
"Sasuke?"
"Yeah, dobe?"
"What if I'm…different when you find me?"
Sasuke frowned, "What?"
"Will you love me? Will you accept me?"
Dream. One of these realities was a dream. Oh, please, not this one. Why couldn't this be real?
"Sasuke?"
A dream. Damn it, so the body heat wasn't real. Naruto…he wasn't with him…
"Uchiha-san?" not Naruto's voice.
Damn it…don't wake me...
"We have to move soon, Uchiha-san, you need to wake."
Naruto was watching him, "Will you?" It was barely his voice.
Sasuke opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
Black eyes opened to darkness.
"Uchiha-san?"
He swore softly and sat up with a wince. The shinobi was crouched nearby, eyes flicking about. Sasuke rubbed the back of his neck and surveyed the area. They'd moved, probably as far as the ANBU could carry him safely. The clearing was small, barely larger than the length of Sasuke's body, and lit only by the moonlight through the holes in the trees.
"How much farther?"
"Half a day."
Sasuke stumbled to his feet, swaying before his body accepted the laws of gravity once more, "Let's go."
"Are you able t-"
"Let's go."
He thought, for a moment, that he was five years old again, waking from a nightmare to his empty house. But he didn't recognize the surroundings. He wasn't in his bed and he wasn't 5 years old.
He swallowed a scream of surprise when he spotted Kakashi.
Kill.
Shut up.
Kill or be killed
He won't.
Want.
Naruto frowned, "What?"
Kakashi looked up, lazy eyes studying him.
I want.
You want what?
Kyuubi just snarled and went silent.
Stupid fox.
"Naruto-kun…"
Blue eyes looked up, silent.
A strange kind of hunger washed over him and scared him. He eyed the silver-haired jounin wearily and tried to get his body to move. His body remained frozen.
"Naruto-kun, relax. We're not going to hurt you…unless you give us cause." Kakashi unsettled him, startled him even more when he rose and approached.
Naruto shook his head, "Stay away, Kakashi-sensei."
The teacher froze, frowning, and simply watched him.
"Go away. Don't look at me."
"Naruto…"
"No! Please…" he trailed off from his plea and turned his head to look at the wall to his left, "The monster…I'm becoming him…"
"Na—"
"GET AWAY, sensei!" Naruto ran a shaking hand through his hair. He took a deep breath, freezing halfway through exhaling and lifting his head, eyes flashing, "Kakashi-sensie…"
"Yes?"
"Why is he here?"
"Who?"
Naruto didn't answer. Instead, he screamed.
Ch. 7 Fin.
….I hate this chapter. Honest to god I do, don't know why I didn't scrap it…(insert sigh here) but yeah, chapter 7. Sorry it took so damn long…