When The Demons Wake

Hello all. Yes, I'm finally updating. Last chapter! Very sorry for the very long wait. I've rewritten it a few times now, and I'm still not sure if I'm happy with it. So it may seem rushed or unfinished, but I fear it might become overworked if I kept going, so this is it. I just hope I didn't miss anything that needs wrapred up.

A.N. Warning - This chapter contains violence and mild yaoi. Italics stands for emphasis, someone's thoughts, or a demon speaking.

Enjoy!

Chapter 24: Freedom

The explosion rocked the cliff side and the surrounding area, causing trees to fall, buildings to crumble, and men to lose their lives for rushing into its center. A large cloud of smoke and debris engulfed the Osamu force who had just lost a dozen men. Takahiro coughed into his fist, shouting orders to find where the Konoha shinobi had disappeared to. By the way their bodies went up in smoke meant they were kage bunshin, but the question was: when did they swap with the real versions? The killing intent they had aimed at him had felt real, and the way that Uchiha's eyes had flashed maliciously for a second -

Takahiro growled upon realisation. Had they been trapped in a genjutsu while they swapped with clones? It was possible, the sharingan was famed for such jutsu, all it took was to look the holder in the eye, or in a master's case, directing the opponent's vision to another part of the body like the hand. The injured man scowled and made sure his guard was surrounding him properly. It was insulting to have to be babysat when he was a prideful shinobi, but their esteemed Leader had only given him minimal healing, saying it was his punishment for trying to kill the Uchiha when he was originally needed alive. The man should have told him that before he set off for the mission. He was just told to lay a trap to get the half-breed to follow them. Oh well, he got to torture the bastard, so it eased his suffering. The memory of the Konoha shinobi's killing intent suddenly made him shiver. He wasn't out of this mess until they were all dead, the demon stone destroyed, and their Leader in control of the bijuu's power.

Coughing again, and mentally cursing for the pain this caused, Takahiro ordered a soldier to dissipate the cloud of dust with a wind jutsu. It was too dangerous not being able to see the enemy, and they could be anywhere with that little disappearing act they pulled.

Two of his underlings stood back to back and went through the same hand signs. Before they could name their technique or even take a breath, their throats were sliced by kunai thrown from an unknown source. Takahiro stared in surprise for a moment, wondering if the enemy was already within their ranks. 'Wait, they have those pale eyed Hyuuga freaks. They can probably see through this.'

"Get out of this cloud!" he barked, and surrounded by his guard, he hobbled in the direction opposite of the cliff edge, following the scouts.

No sooner had they taken ten steps when the ground beneath them vanished like it wasn't even there. Takahiro only just managed to catch himself before he fell and staggered back. If he had taken one more step he would have been a goner, just like the five men ahead of him. Their screams cut off abruptly, and he was sure they were dead. He swore out loud. Another genjutsu. These Konoha shinobi were cowards, hiding behind illusions and traps. But he couldn't help but get the feeling he was being played with. First the two soldiers he ordered to clear the smoke were killed, not even five meters from him, and then the illusion was dropped before he plummeted towards his death. He scoffed. Did the Uchiha want revenge for his torture? Wanted the pleasure of taking his life with his own hands? 'As if we would lose here, now that we're so close.'

He turned to his men, who had weapons drawn and held protectively before them. "If they want a fight we'll give them one. We'll make them suffer slowly for resisting us and our Leader."

One of his remaining guard turned to him with a frown, even though most men grinned darkly. "Sir, we were told to kill them outright, this will -".

"Are you questioning my orders, soldier?" Takahiro growled. The man looked like he wanted to debate, but backed down with a mumbled "No sir". He nodded approvingly. "Good, replace the men lost to guard me."

As the man did as he was told, Takahiro searched the area with his cold gaze as visibility improved slowly thanks to the wind. His eyes widened when he saw three of his underlings bodies charred by fire or lightning near the outskirts of the field. Others had noticed too and were staring at the corpses with a mixture of anger and nervousness.

While their attention was on the bodies, the Konoha shinobi struck.

Kakashi grinned as he saw the ANBU group go into action without hesitation the moment they were signaled. Neji had only just spotted them and he had come up with a plan to switch with the kage bunshins he made after Sasuke laid cover. After a very, very quick briefing of what happened, the ANBU in charge barked out orders to his men and the rest of the Konoha shinobi followed suit, splitting up into groups to plan their attack. Turning to the leader, the lazy jounin stuffed his hands in his pockets before strolling in the direction his team had gone.

"You couldn't have come at a better time, Yamato."

The revealed ANBU groaned and slipped off his mask, attaching it to his hip instead. "You know, you're not supposed to say my name when I'm in uniform, even if it's just a code name."

"Ne, don't be silly. Everyone already knew who you were so it doesn't matter," Kakashi replied, flipping his hand in a dismissive motion.

Yamato rolled his eyes and pulled a kunai form his waist pouch. "Those are the rules, Kakashi."

"You're no fun," came the amused reply as the silver haired main walked away.

The younger man sighed as he tied an explosive note to his weapon. Joining the ANBU he had been paired with for the next assault, he replaced his mask onto his face as they slipped into position so they could force their enemies in one direction, away from the invisible gas that fed on their chakra. They had to move the fight far enough away from that area so if they had to fall back they wouldn't be infected once again. He faintly heard the sound of chirping birds as either Kakashi or Sasuke took down another few men, picking them off from the shadows to install fear and nervousness in their opponents. Stationed behind the Osamu, Yamato gave a nod to his partner who used a soft, low level wind jutsu to blow away the cloud left over from the explosion. He watched with a small smile as their enemy stared in surprise at the corpses, looking shaken and unsure.

Running through hand signs, Yamato flared his chakra once to signal the start of their counter attack and released his jutsu. Spiked trees and branches burst from the ground from the back of the Osamu's group, impaling some immediately, or slamming into others as they curved into a horizontal position and took a few more men down. The wood came to a standstill and left a natural barrier to stop their opponents from retreating, and limiting the direction they had left to escape in.

As part of a second wave, half of the Konoha shinobi who covered the Osamu's flank let loose a barrage of kunai and shuriken, accompanied by explosives. Yamato could just about make out the voice of who appeared to be their leader, ordering his men to fall back into a better location and dashing in the direction he wanted them to. With the amount of people they had taken out so far, the Osamu's number had been reduced to about half, and now with the two groups of ANBU he brought, the odds were now even. Despite the enemy going for quantity over quality, there may still be some powerful people here and they couldn't take chances.

Clicking on his radio, he and his partner swung around the soldiers and joined up with another two ANBU before heading for the other Konoha shinobi. "Target approaching, ready phase three."

Yamato got two clicks over his headset, signaling the order was received. With a gesture to his men, they fell into position and readied their weapons.

The dark haired raven side stepped a sword stroke and plunged his own blade into his enemies chest. The body jerked before he kicked it away and flicked the blood off his weapon before returning it to its place on his back. Running through hand signs, his sharingan whirled as he breathed out a giant ball of fire. The attack caught one soldier's side as he tried to dodge, only for the fire to burn away hidden wire that let loose a trap full of kunai. Taking down the injured man as well as his partner, Sasuke moved on to engage another fighter.

The Osamu had been led here by the ANBU, where the Konoha twelve and Gai's team set up traps to limit the number of people they would have to fight. They needed to conserve chakra as much as possible, especially Sasuke as he had to save it for the sealing. As another body fell, the Uchiha glanced about to see everyone fighting, mostly one on one now the numbers were more or less equaled. Frowning when he saw a few of the Osamu congressing, he signaled Sakura and Kakashi and made to intercept the group. His eyes lit up slightly when he saw the men were protecting his former torturer, Takahiro.

His team swung around to their flank and attacked with force. He heard the crunch of bone right before a body flew through the air and slammed into a tree, denting the thick trunk. Another soldier fell to Kakashi's lightning blade as Sasuke let his own lightning chakra overrun his body and ram into the man he was holding onto. The soldier shuddered, mouth open in a silent scream until his throat was cut by the raven's kunai. His obsidian eyes landed on the terrified Takahiro as he staggered backwards, holding a hand over his shoulder which was already bleeding profusely. When the man saw him, he flinched and glanced about for an escape route in a panicked manner.

"I bet you would like a glorified death, but unfortunately for you, I have more important things to be doing," Sasuke said in a cold tone. He feinted to the left before dashing to the man's right side. With a flick of his wrist, the kunai imbedded itself into Takahiro's neck. There was a surprised look on his face as he raised a hand to clutch at the wound. He left out a gurgling cry as he fell to the floor, trying to find his killer only to see the Uchiha had already moved on. His already damaged body jerked before succumbing to death.

Sasuke felt a little satisfaction at the man's fall, but it came to an end when he realised the last guard was a little better than the others. He felt the soldiers sword nick his arm before he finally drew his own blade, beginning a deadly dance. He kept the scowl off his face when he found his opponent was actually quite talented with the weapon, and going by the grin on his face, the guy thought that he was superior to the Uchiha. The raven scoffed as they slashed and stabbed away at each other until they came to a deadlock, blades locked in a battle of strength. His opponents grin slid of his face at the triumphant look in Sasuke's eyes, and after channeling his chakra through the blade, the man was electrocuted by thousands of jolts. The raven rolled his shoulders and shook off the after affects as the charred body fell to the floor with a thud.

Before he could look for another soldier, a loud demonic wail echoed in the air and made the fighters pause, shivering at the painful cry. Sasuke had been keeping track of the bijuu fight, noting they were down to two.

"Go! We can handle the rest!" an ANBU captain yelled as a thin tree sprouted from the ground and encircled a soldier, snapping the body in multiple places before returning to the earth. The Uchiha nodded and signaled the rest of his team to follow him. The two of them would be enough to guard him as he did the sealing, and the cliff wasn't that far from the position, so help could be called in within minutes. A few Osamu soldiers attempted to stop them, only to be intercepted by Gai's team with wishes of youthful luck. Sasuke couldn't help but feel something was off from the intense energy he felt from where the bijuu were fighting.

When Sasuke, Kakashi and Sakura arrived at the cliff edge, they stared out in something akin to disgust as the giant fox sunk it's teeth and claw into the other bijuu's neck, viciously ripping at the area until the being shuddered and fazed into light. The glowing soul joined the others in the sky as the last beast panted, it's eyes searching for more enemies.

Then suddenly, it was looking right at them.

Sasuke stood frozen in a mixture of horror and fear as the fox's red gaze held him in place. Demonic chakra washed over him, but it was less familiar, more... evil. The great creature turned and made it's way towards the cliff where they were standing, but no one could move, either because of shock or the belief that this was still Naruto. Deep down, so deep, the raven's mind knew these were not the eyes of his lover, and his heart clenched at the thought. The fox's golden fur was drenched in blood, a heavy but healing wound on it's neck and hind leg. Sasuke frowned when he seemed to see it's coat darken to more of a rusty gold, getting closer to Kyuubi's red. Was it possible that Kyuubi had somehow survived last year? That he was simple buried so thoroughly that even he couldn't sense it? Or was it something else?

Surprise overcame his emotions as the approaching bijuu suddenly stopped and growled in pain. A part of it's back seemed to catch fire and burned away to reveal the muscle beneath. The fox looked up at the eight black souls hovering and fighting together in the air. It bared it's teeth and moved towards them even faster. Time was running out.

Sasuke knew he had to seal the demons any minute now, but the other bijuu had been stripped down to their bare soul by being defeated by another, so how was Naruto meant to join them? Dread filled him. Did they have to fight him? No, Naruto would have told them that, it was too important. The way another patch of fur and flesh burned off made him realise the fox's body was decaying, but at a slower rate. He clasped a hand around the demon stone in his pocket, but didn't pull it out. He still didn't know how to activate the damn thing, or what to do with it to make it work.

The approaching bijuu seemed to shimmer momentarily before being engulfed by chakra and flashing over to a point behind them. They whipped around in surprise, and Sasuke didn't blame them when his friends held their weapons at the ready. The chakra glow shrunk before fading and the fox stepped out, albeit, at a much smaller size, even if it still towered over them like a two story building. Once again those red eyes made him freeze as panic tried to worm its way into his mind. His hand clenched around the stone and for a moment, he felt a foreign chakra spike around him.

He had no time to wonder what that was about as the fox's head snapped towards him with a growl, it's gaze searching over his body and giving him the chills. It moved forward again and this time the shinobi stepped back with it, away from it. It snarled as it stilled and another flame burned away at it's chest.

"Give me the stone!" it snapped suddenly, making him flinch at the loud noise, and the way it tempted him to do as he was told. What could Naruto possibly want with the stone after making sure the raven was the one who had it when the time came? Why was he acting this way in the first place; what made him lust for blood the way he did now? Where was Naruto under all of that?

When Sasuke didn't respond to the command, the fox slammed a tail into the ground behind it's strong frame and the ground groaned, knocking the shinobi off their feet at the strength of such a simple move.

"Listen to me, you pathetic human. Give me that stone and I might just let you live!"

Sasuke's eyes widened as he pushed himself to his knees. Naruto would never threaten their lives like that, even if his demon half would degrade his human side. 'What the hell happened to him?!'

"Now you listen here, Naruto. Snap out of it already! You know Sasuke-kun needs that!" Sakura bravely shouted before the Uchiha could even open his mouth.

The demon before them snapped back, as if in disbelief. Either at what Sakura had said, or the fact that someone had defied it.

Then it laughed.

A shiver ran through all those present. It was a mocking sound, hinted with the promise of pain as it's patience slowly ran out. "So he can trap me with those other blundering fools, forced to fight for an eternity?" It snorted and the gust of wind created stole Sasuke's breath from his lungs.

His chest hurt painfully if what the fox said was true. Naruto said he needed to be sealed with the others to win this long battle, and that he could be unsealed individually at a later date, but he said nothing of this. It was just like the stories of the shinigami's stomach; the price those had to pay for summoning the god and using his power. All the past Hokages were trapped inside, surrounded by constant battle and never having a moments peace. And now he had to do that to Naruto? He would only wish such a thing upon his greatest enemies, and that was pushing it.

The raven stood and shuffled forward a step. " Naruto, listen to me -".

"Do not tell me what to do, you impudent brat! And don't use such a human name for me, I am the King of the Bijuu."

Sasuke fought the instinct to snap and argue like he normally would when Naruto was being stubborn. Instead, he struggled to speak calmly. "But you are human."

The fox seemed surprised at first, and then thoughtful. It looked confused for a moment before a light came to it's eyes, and a disgusted expression came to its face. "That is the past, I have no binds to such a weak race. Now I won't ask again, hand it over."

The comment of no binds stung. It sounded so similar to the way he himself talked when he wanted power from that snake.

"You say a part of you is no longer human, but if that was true you would have killed us by now and simply taken what you wanted!"

For a split second, those dangerous eyes flashed blue before they darkened even more. "So be it!"

The fox bent forward and opened it's maw, teeth bared. The Uchiha stared in shock as a tinge of betrayal filtered into his heart as a ball of flame spun into creation from within the creature's mouth. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe. He watched, transfixed, as the demon took a deep breath, preparing to incinerate them. He felt his hand twitch, and realised at some point his fingers had grasped the stone within his trouser pocket yet again. He faintly remembered Naruto's words before he started his battle, and the way the stone effected the other Jinchuuriki in the past. Pulling the dark object out, he held it tightly in his palm in front of his body and hoped his reasoning was right.

The second he activated his sharingan, the fox gave a shattering gasp as it's body jerked ever so slightly. It's mouth slid closed as the attack withered and died out, suddenly drained of its energy. The strange power Sasuke felt from the stone abruptly increased and he could feel it pulling the bijuu in.

"No!" the demon roared, the burning over it's body increasing tenfold. Snarling, it turned towards Sasuke. "Listen, and listen well human. If you intend to bring me back, a single flicker of doubt of who I really am will damn you."

Sasuke could only make the briefest of confused nods before the fox reared back in pain, its agonising howl piercing into his core. It started to glow, and particles of energy began to filter up into the sky. Glancing up, the Uchiha was surprised to find the other orbs had gotten closer. With a blast of wind, the fox's soul joined its brethren. There was a shockwave that blasted out from the beings, knocking the breath from his body and forcing him to lift his arm and cover his face as he held onto the ground with chakra. Remembering his lover's instructions, Sasuke lifted the demon stone level with his sharingan gaze before pouring his chakra into the device. Like a dam that had been broken, his chakra suddenly gushed into the object, being pulled in rather than him pushing it. His body shook ever so slightly as the torrent of energy left him locked in place, and for a moment, he thought at the rate he was going he was going to die of chakra exhaustion.

Then all at once, it stopped, and the raven staggered forward as if his strings had been cut, right in time for the bijuu's souls to converge on his position. His teammates shouted out in warning but yet again, he couldn't move. He gave a yelp when the stone started to heat and burn his hands as the bijuu were sealed. He desperately wanted to drop the object and sooth his damaged skin, but knew if he did the result would be very, very bad. He grit his teeth and shut his eyes as the energy around him started to swirl and glow, being sucked in to the stone in his grasp. The chakra and killing intent emitted from the bijuu suddenly changed, becoming lighter and purer. Random colours started to flash around him, and if he weren't in the center of the vortex, he guessed it would make a nice light show.

The energy started to thin out, and Sasuke felt another tug on his chakra. He flinched when nothing else happened before directing it to the stone and imagining closing a door and locking it. His chakra dropped to dangerous levels just as the energy cut off in a flash, leaving the area frightfully silent and still. A second later, an explosion echoed from the direction of the main temple.

Sasuke gasped in breaths of air greedily before collapsing to one knee, the stone clasped tightly in one hand. He didn't hear Sakura's worried call, her voice dulled to a simple murmur. He hadn't felt this exhausted in a long time, not just because of his diminished chakra and stamina, but his mind felt heavy and cloudy and all he wanted to do was sleep. Black dots swam across his vision and his world tilted and swirled. Abruptly, he felt a warm hand on his forehead and blinked at the pink blur in front of him. A cooling sensation swept through him as things slowly came into focus, his dizziness calming from the green glow of whatever medical jutsu was being used on him. Sakura pushed something into his hand and he frowned blankly as he tried to understand what she was saying.

"... -ake it, it's a soldier pill... take the edge off the... get away from here... buildings and foundations are collapsing...".

At that last input, Sasuke grunted urgently and grasped his teammates shoulder almost blindly, ignoring the pain it caused to his hand. "We didn't finish... translating yet... Naruto said -".

"Yamato-taicho and Shikamaru are taking care of it.. something about stabilising the area if he can't read it in time. Come on, we have to move," Sakura replied, just as the earth beneath them gave a thundering tremor.

'That certainly didn't sound good', he thought as she hooked a hand under his arm and hauled him to his feet. He knocked back the pill and swallowed it with a grimace, carefully tucking the demon stone into the inside pocket of his vest and zipping it shut.

Slowly, they started to jog back to where the others were with the kunoichi holding him steadily. She started to say something else, but Sasuke was too busy trying to move in a straight line and breathing evenly. He could feel the urgency in the air as the group moved away from the ruins and the cliffs, some moving overhead in the trees, and others on the ground. He had to narrow his eyes to concentrate as they came upon one of the ruins that seemed to sway dangerously, or that could just be his failing vision. A sudden earthquake made the group falter and struggle to keep their balance, but the raven pushed on, cursing silently when he realised he was starting to slow.

Forcing away unconsciousness, Sasuke didn't hear the warning cry before pain engulfed his body as he slipped into the welcoming darkness.

With a groan, the world slowly came back into focus. Immediately, Sasuke scowled at the hospital ceiling, wondering what had happened this time. His body hurt all over, healed, but still sore. His head was pounding, and he recognised the lazy way his chakra was moving about his body, signaling he had suffered from chakra exhaustion. He raised a hand and wiped his eyes clean of grit, grimacing when his hands came into contact wit his greasy hair. That told him he had been out for a few days at least. The clicking of the door drew his attention and he couldn't help but glare at the blonde woman that entered. Upon seeing him, there was a hint of a smug smile that threatened to appear on her face as she walked to the edge of his bed and picked up a clipboard.

"Finally awake I see," Tsunade said as she scribbled something. He was about to open his mouth to ask questions when she continued. "You've been out for five days, the last twenty-four hours were because of the drugs I administered when I took you into surgery to fix your leg -".

"My leg?" he questioned in surprise. Shifting his lower limbs, he realised his left leg was numb. A sliver of panic entered him, and the Hokage must have picked up on it from the way she hurriedly began speaking again.

"It was just a bad break, Sakura didn't want to risk doing the operation on the field when she realised bone fragments had cut into your muscles, but it'll be fine in no time. The drugs are subduing the remaining pain, so that's why you can't feel it." He breathed a sigh of relief before frowning, trying to remember just how this accident had happened. He glanced over at the woman and she caught his line of thought. That smug smile was back full force.

"A building fell on you."

For a moment, he continued to look at her, waiting for the truth, but slowly realised she wasn't joking. She looked too amused. His mouth opened and closed as he tried to digest what she had said. Seeing his confusion, she coughed, most likely covering a laugh, and gave an explanation.

"When you and the other teams were escaping, the ruins were collapsing and the grounds foundations were shifting because of the small earthquakes. Everyone else made it out with minor injuries and are mostly back in shape from the fights." Here she paused, tilting her head in mocking manner as she put down the clipboard and folded her arms. "I admit, I was slightly surprised. You defeated countless of the Osamu soldiers, withstood demonic killing intent, and sealed all nine bijuu without grave injury. Then while retreating to a safe location the last Uchiha was taken down by a falling rock."

Sasuke was glaring outright at this point. She shouldn't be that happy at his condition. Turning away from those mirthful eyes, the raven slowly recollected his memories. Suddenly realising he was wearing hospital clothes he looked around for his own belongings urgently.

"Where's the demon stone -".

"Right here, calm down," Tsunade replied, withdrawing the dark device from her robes. Sasuke relaxed upon seeing it, and gently pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"What about that hidden room with the instructions? We didn't finish translating -".

"Shikamaru has already finished it and has written them down. We've been preparing for the unsealing ritual since then, and have just been waiting for you to get back your health." He nodded, resisting the urge to glare at her again for the repeated interruptions.

"We should get started then," he said, remembering the fact that the longer Naruto was sealed in that stone, the longer he has to fight against the other bijuu non-stop. As he made to swing his legs off the bed, Tsunade held up a hand.

"First I want you to do some exercises to get your muscles working again, and to make sure there isn't anything that I missed. Then you're going to take a shower, and get something to eat," she commanded. When he went to complain, she gave him her own glare. "You may be almost physically fit, but the ritual will most likely tire you again so I want you to have enough energy without collapsing on me again."

Sasuke stubbornly stayed in place, instead, reclining on the head rest. He still had questions. "What about the other- I mean, former Jinchuuriki? Did they make it back okay?"

Tsunade nodded, calm once more. "Clean bills of health. They're back at the house they were staying in at your compound. They wanted to see you and Naruto again before they made any plans."

The raven grunted as he shifted into a more comfortable position. Hospital beds always felt lumpy and hard to him. He looked up as a thought came to him. "What happened to the Osamu leader? He wasn't at the battle."

"Apparently he was killed long before the ANBU team got there. The main temple, where he had started the ritual to collect the demons, had collapsed entirely. Neji went back and saw his body buried under all the debris, but there was also signs of an explosion. We've theorised the sealing stone he was using blew up, because of all the residue chakra in the area."

"Wait, are you saying if I hadn't sealed the demons first I would have blown up instead?"

The Hokage shrugged and did nothing to hide her grin. "Maybe."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest, glancing out the window, temporarily lost in thought. "What does the unsealing ritual contain? What exactly has everyone been doing?"

Tsunade took a deep breath before taking a seat in a chair beside his bed. "After Shikamaru got the rest of the writings for us, we found out there is an actual seal diagram that has to be used to draw out a single demon, and each is different depending on what beast you want to call. Jiraiya has already drawn the seal in one of the rooms down the hall. He's also put up a few other seals and wards in case things go wrong -" she said, ignoring his defiant glare. "One ward will suppress demonic energy and return whatever is called out to the stone. Another is a set of shields and barriers so demonic energy doesn't suddenly surround the hospital. Things like that. Kakashi will help out with it, seeing as he has more experience with seals than I do, and I'll be on standby for medical purposes. You yourself has to do the ritual, doing something similar to what you did to seal the bijuu in the first place. I'll bring you Shikamaru's notes once you've exercised and showered so you can be prepared."

With a nod, Sasuke looked over to his leader. "The sooner the better then, huh?"

She smiled and gestured for him to stand, already going through stretches she wanted him to do.

"Uh, not to worry anyone, but what if he's unsealed in his demon form?" Kakashi said as he lazily rubbed his cheek.

While Jiraiya and Tsunade glanced at each other with unease, Sasuke paused before slowly continuing to the main seal array. "That won't happen." Kakashi raised a skeptic eyebrow but nodded, taking his place at one of the wards in the room, Jiraiya mimicking the action in the opposite corner.

The raven hobbled into his place, standing at the peak of one of the seals intricate arches. He was a little surprised to recognise some of the symbols on the floor, remembering seeing them briefly in that hidden room in the ruins. He balanced his crutch under one arm, still annoyed after finding it difficult to walk without support. He glanced over his shoulder and received two nods before lifting the demon stone in front of him. Taking a deep breath, he stared down at the dark stone, watching as the light caught one of its many sides and reflected them. Activating his sharingan, he stared hard at the stone, trying to pick up that familiar chakra that constantly merged and changed with all the others contained within. Slowly forcing his chakra into the device, he felt that tug that signaled he had unlocked the stone. His body shuddered at the onslaught of demonic energy and heard Jiraiya curse behind him, most likely getting ready to activate the defensive ward.

Sasuke concentrated on his task, focusing his mind on finding Naruto's familiar chakra. Minutes started to tick by and sweat trickled down his forehead, his own chakra slowly but surely draining. He sucked in a breath at catching a distinct energy and immediately directed it to the seal he stood over. Remembering the fox's words, Sasuke made sure to picture who it was he was unsealing. At first, when he lay in the hospital bed trying to figure out what the beast had said, he simply thought of Naruto in general; his sun kissed hair, tanned skin, bright blue eyes, all the scars covering his body, his traits and quirks, his personality, his shinobi abilities, his history, things he liked and disliked... and yet, none of that seemed to fit. At that point, he had thought it was enough; all the things he had thought of applied to Naruto. It took a while to realise he thought of Naruto in separate ways; the Naruto before the Kyuubi accident, and the Naruto after it.

It was then he figured out what the fox had meant. 'If you intend to bring me back, a single flicker of doubt of who I really am will damn you.'

Feeling his chakra being pulled into the stone, Sasuke thought of all the times he had spent with Naruto; simple everyday things to training to messing around in his fox form. As the stone began to burn in his hands once more, he prepared himself for the pain, only to find there was none. He watched in anticipation, fascinated by the glowing energy emitting from the stone as it grew and gathered over the seal, slowly taking shape. He cut off his chakra, locking the stone again, and deactivated his sharingan. He was right, it did make a good light show.

When the glow died down, the seal on the floor absorbed by the light, there stood his blonde lover. His head was bowed, his body slumped and tired looking. The blonde took a deep breath, and all at once, his head snapped up, crazed eyes latching onto the closest person in the room that could be seen as a threat, a low growl rumbling from his throat as his muscles tensed.

Sasuke just managed to let go of his crutch as Naruto slammed into him, wild and violent like an animal. They slammed into the floor and slid a ways from the force of impact. Sasuke ignored the pain the jarring motion brought to his leg and gasped in a breath. Clawed hands wrapped around his throat, but didn't strangle him outright, as if he wanted something else. When Kakashi and Jiraiya went to move the shaking blonde off of him, he held up a hand and stopped them. Slowly, he met the crazed eyes of his lover and kept an emotionless mask on his face, despite flinching mentally at the way blue flickered to red and back again constantly. Or how despite Naruto was crouched over him, knees either side of his ribs, he looked ready to flee at a moments notice, like a scared animal kept caged for too long. He was in a panic, that was obvious, and he didn't seem to recognise anything right now, and Sasuke needed to remind him of who he was. He refused to think he had failed in bringing him back properly.

The fox had said not to let any doubt enter his mind when he did so, and he didn't. Naruto was part demon, and nothing could change that. It was simple who he was. If he had thought of only bringing back the human part it probably would have killed the blonde. It would be the same if he would of thought of only bringing the demon half back. They were both a piece of him.

Slowly, so not to startle him, Sasuke raised a hand and slid it softly over Naruto's hip. The wild blonde glanced at his arm before growling warningly. But Sasuke was never one to take orders, so he slipped his fingers under the tattered shirt his lover had worn the day he was sealed, and felt his way over to the blonde's stomach.

On the other side of the room, Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "I don't think this is the time to be a pervert, as entertaining as it is."

Tsunade glared at her old teammate and the man withered slightly.

Sasuke ignored the others in the room as he calmly ran his fingers over the taunt muscles of the blonde's abdomen, right over the area which once held his seal. Naruto had tightened his grip on his neck until Sasuke filtered his chakra through their connection. The blonde stilled, and tilted his head almost curiously, as if recognising the gesture. Sasuke fought the smile that tugged at his lips and spiked his chakra to get the blonde to meet his eyes.

Once those flickering eyes met his, he pulled them both into Naruto's soul.

Suddenly surrounded by empty corridors, the raven couldn't help but compare it to the sewers that were once here, filled with water and a dark atmosphere. Now the only things present were the pipes that represented Naruto's chakra coils. Finding himself alone, and healed of his leg injury, he followed his feet towards the one place the blonde would be. Kyuubi's former jail was now an empty room. A replica of the seal was burned into the floor, surrounded by blast marks as if a fight had taken place, and the cage itself was no where to be seen. Naruto sat at the center of the seal, knees pulled up to his face, arms wrapped around them and his head hanging, hiding his features from view. Making his way over calmly, he crossed over the seal and crouched before the still figure. What he saw made him smile and sigh in relief. It was what he thought might happen.

Naruto was asleep.

He had pulled his consciousness deep within his soul to keep it from breaking after being sealed and forced to fight constantly. What was left was his primal instincts for survival, and they were enough to get him by. Lifting a hand to run through the silky golden locks, he spoke softly.

"It's time to wake up."

His lover flinched, as if being pulled from a nightmare, and drowsily lifted his head. Bright blue eyes stared at him, confusion dominating them before they came into focus, and they lit up in recognition. A tired smile came to the tanned, whiskered face.

"Sasuke?"

"Yeah, it's me. Welcome home, Naruto."

The End

Thanks for reading and please review!

KCT