For: insteadofdeath
From: cozuzumaki
Title: Valley of Hearts
Rating: M
Summary: n/a
Warnings: n/a
A/N: I hope you like this, dear! I tried my hardest to follow your requests, and it was really fun to write. <33
Mod note: Reminder for the author/artist of this submission, please do not reply to comments signed in, if you want to reply anon commenting is enabled.
“You three, let’s split up. We’ll cover more ground that way.” Yamato, a shinobi of the hidden leaf village, commanded as he adjusted the forehead protector framing his face. The three shinobi he addressed merely nodded and in an instant had separated.
Naruto, a blonde youth of seventeen, could not fathom the point of this mission. He understood that gaining intelligence was an invaluable responsibility for a ninja such as himself, and that would be fine if the intel they sought wasn’t regarding some old woman’s lost scroll. Surely a first year genin squad for this mission would have sufficed.
Fortunately, Naruto and the rest of Team Kakashi were required to scan outside the village, which always proved to offer some excitement for the energetic adolescent.
“Eh!” Naruto stopped in his tracks. He looked around, behind him were the trees he had been traveling across, which came as no surprise. In front of him was the border separating the Land of Fire from the Land of Sound, his thoughts had distracted him and now he had traveled too far. He thought back to the first time he had seen the same scenery that confronted him currently, his eyes saddened.
The Valley of the End. He sighed, and sat down momentarily. I wonder what he would be doing now? Naruto bemused himself with such thoughts for a couple of minutes, entertaining his mind with a variety of outcomes for his former teammate. Does he remember me? Has hatred really consumed him? Is he even alive? He is, after all, believed to be dead. Naruto removed all negative thoughts from his mind, the latter especially. Of course he’s alive, and he’ll remain so until I have my way with the jerk! With said thoughts banished from his mind, he stood up and pumped his fist in the air. Just you wait, Sasuke.
--
Elsewhere, in the outskirts of the hidden mist village, a fit young man's endurance was being pushed to its limits. The raven haired male was panting for breath as he smeared the blood from his bottom lip across his cheek. He was running, or so trying; he had been for the past five hours. Why was he fleeing? He didn't even know; all he knew was that he was required to maintain possession of the small scroll that sat idly in his pocket, and he was unable to do so with the chase initiated by his enemies. He wanted to kill them all but was advised differently from his higher up, Madara Uchiha, not to as any collision with the opposing forces could disrupt the peace of the surrounding hidden villages and provoke an all out, unnecessary battle.
Wait a second, since when have I been one to take orders from someone? I'm not anyone's, especially not Madara's, obedient little dog. With those thoughts corrupting his mind the male ceased his running, his thoughts overpowering him. He felt foolish to have obeyed the commands of the former mentioned.
He heard shuffling around him, and the rustling of tree leaves. Stealth was a ninja necessity, unfortunately it appeared that his opponents either did not know who he was, or had underestimated him. Did they not realise that he, Sasuke Uchiha, had surpassed the limits of the Sharengan? That no ninja alive could escape the vision of his eyes? Ha, how naïve, he smirked to himself. Within the following two seconds in his left hand he held three shuriken, whilst in his right was two kunai. Pathetic, he mused. These weapons were not his own, merely what his enemy had used as an attempt to distract him. Too bad he had caught them. He knew the attack was going to come from above so naturally, he dodged and in the process saw two masked ninja clumsily crash onto the tree branch he was once on.
“Only two? Where are the rest of you hiding?” Sasuke questioned, provocatively. In response to his question, another two enemies launched themselves at the Uchiha. Sasuke sighed as he focused chakra to both palms, fusing it with his lightning element and delivered two ear shattering chidoris to his opponents; rendering them unable and unworthy of a fight.
He prepared himself to take on the remaining masked enemies, but was interrupted from doing so as he felt suction on his left arm, eventually leading to his whole body. Before he knew it, he was being warped through space and time. He felt his body floating as it rocketed through the eternal whiteness by which he was surrounded.
“Now, now Sasuke. Didn't I tell you not to involve yourself or the scroll in battle?” Sasuke couldn't see anyone, but he was far too familiar with that voice as it echoed through his ears.
“Madara,” he growled. “Where do you plan on taking me, just put me back!”
“Nonsense Sasuke. I'm taking you to a place where you won't engage in physical contact until I'm ready to receive the scroll. Which I trust you still possess?”
“No shit.” He replied, sarcasm evident in his tone. He was going to have to re-assess his relationship with the other Uchiha.
At that moment his ears started to ring, a noisy whoosh like sound rented his senses as he felt his body squeezing through an agonizingly tight hole, his vision was distraught, and oxygen seemed scarce. With a loud crack, a sense of relief washed over the male, as his body was no longer undergoing torment. This relief was short lived as, without warning, had found himself falling but surrounded by colour, and once again, struggling for air.
--
Naruto stood tall atop the statuesque head of Sarutobi Senju, he had just finished scanning the Valley of the End for any traces of information concerning his mission. With a nod of accomplishment he took one last glance at the serene, and ever so silent, valley. It truly was captivating, and emitted an aura of balance. The blonde nin engulfed a lung full of air, adamant that this place served no knowledge relevant to his mission and started to set off.
He was, however, interrupted by what sounded like splashing. He turned his attention to the still valley of water - he had heard correctly. Below him he noticed the disturbed water, ripples of small waves being dispatched from the point of disturbance. Naruto watched on curiously, waiting for whatever had made the splash to re-emerge.
Every second that passed that was absent of any presence within the water made Naruto grow increasingly anxious. Eventually to the state where he could no longer stand the tension. He ripped off his vivid orange jacket and cast it aside, and with all the strength he could muster he leaped off of Sarutobi's head and allowed gravity to do its job. He could feel the cold air gushing past his face and through his hair, he took one last deep breath and with a noisy thud he crashed into the water - head first.
Naruto's sinuses ached, the high drop had taken its toll. He could care less, he prioritised the other's life before his own; reckless and selfless that's how he functioned.
Underwater he opened his eyes, it was hazy but he was able to differentiate between the various shapes, sizes and colours of the marine life.
Deeper he swam, longing desperately for air. He could feel his lungs caving in, or so he imagined. A sense of relief swept over him as he felt something smooth brush against his arm, and in one swift movement he grabbed the source of the touch and kicked forcefully up to the water's surface.
Naruto was quick to resurface and from doing so he immediately gasped for air, he sent chakra to his lower regions to keep him afloat the water. The air was polluted with coughing and spluttering from a second person, Naruto softened his grip on who/whatever he was holding. He turned around and suddenly his grip tightened. The fierce/piercing stare, the raven hair - it was all too familiar, a feeling of nostalgia overwhelmed Naruto.
“S-sasuke?” the blonde stuttered, completely bewildered. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, simultaneously shaking his arm out of Naruto's unintentional death grip.
“Naruto, eh?” Sasuke smirked inwardly, in front of him he had been presented with the perfect opportunity to get back at Madara. “What brings you here?”
Naruto was clearly struggling to come to terms with Sasuke's sudden and unexpected presence, Sasuke had been suspected dead for so long! He surprised himself with the coherent response he was able to form.
“I'm on a mission - but that's not important! Why did you suddenly crash into the water? Why is your lip bleeding? And how, how are you still alive!?”
“I'm here because,” Sasuke hesitated, unsure of how to respond. “I'm here on work.” He ignored the other questions, he wasn't in the mood to go into details and decided that the response he gave would suffice as he wiped his scarred lip.
Naruto's mind was bursting with questions, he opted to remain silent as they left the water. After all, now that Sasuke was here he didn't want to chase him away, and in all honesty the surrounding circumstances had been deemed irrelevant in Naruto's eyes. He was just delighted to see the stray nin again.
After the fourth ninja war, which had reached its completion about a year ago, Sasuke’s name had been cleared - he was no longer regarded as a threat. All the villages had assumed he was dead after he had sacrificed himself to stop Kabuto whom had turned on Madara. What ever Sasuke had done was affective, and resulted in Madara ceasing battle and fleeing; enabling the success of all the villages involved. The Akatsuki organisation had even disbanded, of course the few members that still exist remained loyal to Madara.
Naruto knew that once word got around that Sasuke was currently alive that he would not be excused from his threat status, even if Naruto didn't perceive him to be. Sasuke was just lost, like he had once been.
Once Naruto found himself to be on firm land he let out a gasp, not due to the sensation of stepping on hard earth, but because of a different sensation inhabiting his crotch.
“What the fuck, Sasuke?” Naruto looked down to see that his once teammate was groping his lower regions. Naruto backed away from the touch, which had left his below rather excited and seeking relief, and he looked up to see thin pale lips form a mischievous smirk.
“Naruto..” Sasuke began as he stepped forward, closing the distance between them. Naruto gulped, his heart was racing, but why? Their close proximity brought a nervous blush to Naruto's cheeks. Sasuke stretched his arm out and reached for Naruto's hair.
“Even if it's just for now.. Be mine, Naruto.” Sasuke, as if to prove he was serious grasped the side of Naruto's head and clashed their lips together.
Naruto's initial reaction was slow, but he kissed back. He couldn't help it, his head was swarming with mixed emotions - some he had never even experienced.
As they continued to kiss, Sasuke ran his hand through Naruto's unkempt hair. To call this kiss passionate would be an understatement, this kiss was filled with so much more. Words that could never, and had never, been spoken between the two were being said now, their kissing made that evident.
Lust. Naruto had always thought he understood such a term up until now, but being with Sasuke like this had proved him wrong. The whole concept of lust seemed lost in his mind, of those moments if he had been asked to define lust he would have answered with 'Sasuke'.
Their lips separated as they greedily consumed the warm air. Their foreheads were pressed together, their breaths mingled. The two were silent, too caught up in the moment to attend to any other matters.
“Having fun there, boys? Well it certainly looks like they are.” A loud voice called followed by a second, which sounded deep and croaky. The two, having their intimate moment interrupted, were quick to separate and turn to the source of the disruption.
“Aloe Vera!” Naruto shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the figure standing twenty feet away. He hoped he didn’t appear too flustered. The accused ignored the loud, blonde idiot and turned his attention to Sasuke.
“Sasuke, Madara requires your services immediately. He's requested that I deliver you to him.” The figure was none other than Zetsu, a former Akatsuki member. He was more fauna than he was human, his body was sheltered in what appeared to be similar to a Venus fly trap. His face was two colours, the right half white and the left half black, and he still sported the distinctive Akatsuki cloak - black with red clouds.
Sasuke sighed in response. “Fuck off, if he needs me so urgently then why doesn't he come get me himself?”
“Ah, he predicted you would ask that. He would collect you himself, except he figured that wouldn't go down well considering the events that led to your current presence here.”
Sasuke grunted to show that he had acknowledged Zetsu's words. He took a few moments to decide how to respond. “Well, delivery boy,” he started, sarcasm apparent in his tone, “tell Madara that I'm busy.” Sasuke glanced at Naruto, sending him a look of approval.
“You little shit! Show some respect!” Zetsu's darker half was furious, its voice cackled. It was a well known fact that had spread around the whole of the ninja world that Zetsu had a split personality, his darker half had an aggressive temperament as opposed to his lighter, more carefree half.
“Now, now, let's not get angry.” Zetsu appeared to be comforting himself, or at least his other half. A sinister expression painted his face. “This just means we'll have to take him by force.” The air filled with laughter, dark laughter from both of Zetsu's personalities.
Naruto readied himself, changing to an offensive stance. “Sasuke will go when he wants to!” The energetic ninja stated with such intensity that Zetsu ceased laughing, his expression bored.
“This doesn't concern you, foo-” Zetsu was cut short, a kunai was held to his neck.
“Doesn't concern me? You have got to be kidding. What is Sasuke to you, huh? Last time I checked, this doesn't concern you!” Naruto edged his kunai closer to his enemy's throat, allowing the blade to slightly pierce Zetsu's skin.
Zetsu snickered and held his arms up in resignation. “Oh no, what ever will I do?”
Sasuke watched on at the fascinating scene that was unfolding before his very own eyes. Naruto, what is his motivation? Why does he refuse to give up no matter what the circumstances may be? To Sasuke, Naruto was an intriguing person. He'd never met anyone like him, he was even envious of Naruto at the best of times (even if his pride as an Uchiha did forbid him from envying others).
Sasuke walked forward to meet up with the other two, their situation hadn't changed, Naruto continued to have the upper hand, however, it was blatantly obvious that Zetsu was merely toying with the other ninja.
Sasuke reached out to grab Naruto’s arm. Surprised, Naruto jumped at the touch.
“Naruto. This is my fight, don’t involve yourself.” Sasuke spoke calmly, and with a gentle tone that was unfamiliar to Naruto. He felt compelled to oblige, completely astonished he withdrew his kunai armed hand from Zetsu’s neck and stood there confused, totally lost for words.
As if on cue a strong surge of wind stormed through the air and with it swept Zetsu into the air. It was only a matter of seconds until the former Akatsuki member’s expression turned smug. It was as if he took comfort in floating in mid-air. Within the next few seconds, though, his body had completely disappeared.
“Madara, that’s really getting old.” Sasuke stated nonchalantly to nobody in particular.
--
Tall, dense trees lined the forest landscape. Zetsu could feel something firm beneath his rear-end. He was seated on a thick tree branch, he glanced up and a few feet away saw his orange masked leader, Madara Uchiha. He was watching something with immense curiosity, albeit Zetsu could not locate the antecedent of his leader’s interests.
He walked over to Madara, and chose to stand to the right of his leader. He still couldn’t see anything that could possible captivate his leader, just what was Madara seeing?
“Boss, what was all that about? As much as I appreciate your help, it wasn’t necessary. I could have taken them both.”
Madara hesitated, and without shifting his focus he replied, “You really think so? You’re not forgetting the top contributors of our most recent war, are you? Correct me if I’m mistaken, but Sasuke and that Uzumaki boy were quite valiant fighters, both so heavily relied upon by their sides and at the same time feared by their opposition.”
“Yes, but-“ Zetsu began, but was quickly interrupted.
“Zetsu, we both know you’re not a front-line fighter. You are required for more important business. That aside, I retrieved you for another reason.” Madara’s gaze finally shifted as he turned to Zetsu.
“Hold onto my shoulder.” Zetsu complied, and in doing so was greeted with bright, vivid swirls of red and black inhabiting his mind. The swirls started to calm, and in doing so two figures started to form in his mind, albeit fuzzy. A few seconds later the images in his mind were well focused. The two figures were none other than Sasuke and Naruto.
“Madara, what is this? Some form of genjutsu?” Zetsu questioned curiously, while watching the scene in his mind.
“Call it whatever you like but keep your eyes closed, otherwise the jutsu will not work on you. And pay attention. Sasuke is going to punish me.”
Zetsu closed his eyes and watched the pair of boys talking to each other, they were completely unaware that they were being watched. What was the meaning of this? Sasuke was going to punish Madara? Zetsu could not fathom its relevance nor comprehend the situation.
--
“I’ve never understood you, Naruto.” Naruto’s head jerked up at the sound of his name.
“What’s not to understand?” Naruto probed. He rubbed the back of his head, it was a nervous gesture he had developed and perfectly honed over the years.
“You’re so.. tenacious? No. More than that. I can’t put a word to it, you’re simply indescribable.” Sasuke chuckled lightly, no matter how pathetic he thought he sounded he couldn’t avoid the simple truth.
Naruto grinned. Hearing such kind words from Sasuke, even if the raven-haired adolescent refused to admit it, was a pleasant surprise. “I guess I’m just irresistible, ne?” Naruto teased as he imitated a flirtatious schoolgirl. Sasuke laughed and couldn’t help but feel out of character, Naruto could be quite the comedian.
The blonde ninja cut the comedic act short, his face serious. “Sasuke. I’ll wait for you, you know. No matter how long it takes.”
Sasuke grabbed Naruto by his shirt and dumped him onto the nearby grass. And without saying a word straddled Naruto’s hips and attacked Naruto’s neck with ravenous kisses. “You’re,” -kiss- “too,” -kiss- “fucking,” -kiss- “perfect.”
Naruto melted under Sasuke’s touch. Everywhere the raven hair touched was filled with a burning sensation. The blonde sat up taking Sasuke with him, he placed his index finger under Sasuke’s chin and tilted the other’s face upwards. Naruto pressed their lips together and flung his arms around Sasuke’s neck. The other wrapped his arms around Naruto’s waist. Any hesitant, unsure voices that had previously filled his mind were quick to flee. Naruto knew this was right, it felt right. He was adamant that Sasuke felt the same. All that mattered was them, right now, together.
After a lot of kissing and feeling each other up, generally making out, the two stopped. They laid side by side one another and watched the clouds, despite the fact that their minds were too preoccupied with other thoughts. Sasuke turned on his side to Naruto and smirked, “Idiot.”
Naruto glanced back, laughed and retorted. “Bastard.”
“Continue waiting for me. I’ll be back in Konoha soon, but probably not for a friendly reason.”
“I know.” Was Naruto’s blunt, yet precise reply.
Sasuke stood up, and held his hand out to Naruto. Naruto grunted, mumbling something that sounded like ‘dickhead’ under his breath as he grabbed onto Sasuke’s hand and was pulled to his feet.
The two hugged, and Sasuke felt Naruto’s firm rear, but his hands were quickly swatted away by the blonde. “Horny bastard,” was Naruto’s weak reply. As their bodies separated Sasuke planted a peck to Naruto’s cheek.
“Check out your ass, idiot.” Sasuke deviously whispered into the blonde’s ear. Naruto sent a glare of disapproval Sasuke’s way, he was fully aware that he had a nice ass - he received compliments regarding it regularly.
Sasuke sighed and set off into the direction of the forest, he winked at Naruto and continued his exit. He deemed this trip a success, seeing the blonde’s face was a sweet reminder to continue breathing, and living.
As for Naruto, he thought about Sasuke’s last comments. Check out my ass? That raven-haired bastard really was a tease.
“Naruto! There you are!” The familiar voice caused Naruto to snap out of his concentration, he only just realised how hard he had been thinking. His brain hurt.
“Sakura, what’s up?” He replied slowly to the pink haired, medical ninja, who happened to be apart of his team, who stood in front of him.
“You moron! What do you mean ‘what’s up?’ Have you gathered any info on the missing scroll?”
Naruto gulped. He had completely forgotten about the mission.
“Wait, what’s that protruding from your bum pocket?”
Naruto felt his back pocket, Sakura was right, he pulled the strange object from his pocket and held it in front of Sakura and himself to examine.
“It’s the scroll! The old woman’s scroll! It’s red, green and has yellow swirls just like she described!” Naruto cheered.
“Wait, what does that say?” Sakura enquired. Naruto read what his teammate was pointing at. ‘A parting gift, from the one who loves you - and your ass.’
Naruto read the sentence over and over, Sasuke that fucker. He had this scroll the whole time! When did he have the time to write this message? Of course! When I was dealing with Zetsu… it all made sense now, ‘check out your ass’. That, that..
“BASTARD!”
Sakura looked on, completely amused. She had no idea why Naruto was freaking out, but it was apparent that he was dealing with some internal conflict. She wasn’t concerned, it didn’t seem serious, and instead she giggled away at his struggle.
--
“See Zetsu? Not only has Sasuke given away the ancient scroll I ordered him to protect, but he has also failed to refrain from physical contact.”
Madara received no response, he turned to Zetsu and was appalled at what he saw. Zetsu’s eyes looked as if they had been cremated.
“I’m. Scarred. For. Life.” Were his final words as he dropped, like a plank of wood, to his knees.
Title: Valley of Hearts
Rating: M
Summary: n/a
Warnings: n/a
A/N: I hope you like this, dear! I tried my hardest to follow your requests, and it was really fun to write. <33
Mod note: Reminder for the author/artist of this submission, please do not reply to comments signed in, if you want to reply anon commenting is enabled.
“You three, let’s split up. We’ll cover more ground that way.” Yamato, a shinobi of the hidden leaf village, commanded as he adjusted the forehead protector framing his face. The three shinobi he addressed merely nodded and in an instant had separated.
Naruto, a blonde youth of seventeen, could not fathom the point of this mission. He understood that gaining intelligence was an invaluable responsibility for a ninja such as himself, and that would be fine if the intel they sought wasn’t regarding some old woman’s lost scroll. Surely a first year genin squad for this mission would have sufficed.
Fortunately, Naruto and the rest of Team Kakashi were required to scan outside the village, which always proved to offer some excitement for the energetic adolescent.
“Eh!” Naruto stopped in his tracks. He looked around, behind him were the trees he had been traveling across, which came as no surprise. In front of him was the border separating the Land of Fire from the Land of Sound, his thoughts had distracted him and now he had traveled too far. He thought back to the first time he had seen the same scenery that confronted him currently, his eyes saddened.
The Valley of the End. He sighed, and sat down momentarily. I wonder what he would be doing now? Naruto bemused himself with such thoughts for a couple of minutes, entertaining his mind with a variety of outcomes for his former teammate. Does he remember me? Has hatred really consumed him? Is he even alive? He is, after all, believed to be dead. Naruto removed all negative thoughts from his mind, the latter especially. Of course he’s alive, and he’ll remain so until I have my way with the jerk! With said thoughts banished from his mind, he stood up and pumped his fist in the air. Just you wait, Sasuke.
--
Elsewhere, in the outskirts of the hidden mist village, a fit young man's endurance was being pushed to its limits. The raven haired male was panting for breath as he smeared the blood from his bottom lip across his cheek. He was running, or so trying; he had been for the past five hours. Why was he fleeing? He didn't even know; all he knew was that he was required to maintain possession of the small scroll that sat idly in his pocket, and he was unable to do so with the chase initiated by his enemies. He wanted to kill them all but was advised differently from his higher up, Madara Uchiha, not to as any collision with the opposing forces could disrupt the peace of the surrounding hidden villages and provoke an all out, unnecessary battle.
Wait a second, since when have I been one to take orders from someone? I'm not anyone's, especially not Madara's, obedient little dog. With those thoughts corrupting his mind the male ceased his running, his thoughts overpowering him. He felt foolish to have obeyed the commands of the former mentioned.
He heard shuffling around him, and the rustling of tree leaves. Stealth was a ninja necessity, unfortunately it appeared that his opponents either did not know who he was, or had underestimated him. Did they not realise that he, Sasuke Uchiha, had surpassed the limits of the Sharengan? That no ninja alive could escape the vision of his eyes? Ha, how naïve, he smirked to himself. Within the following two seconds in his left hand he held three shuriken, whilst in his right was two kunai. Pathetic, he mused. These weapons were not his own, merely what his enemy had used as an attempt to distract him. Too bad he had caught them. He knew the attack was going to come from above so naturally, he dodged and in the process saw two masked ninja clumsily crash onto the tree branch he was once on.
“Only two? Where are the rest of you hiding?” Sasuke questioned, provocatively. In response to his question, another two enemies launched themselves at the Uchiha. Sasuke sighed as he focused chakra to both palms, fusing it with his lightning element and delivered two ear shattering chidoris to his opponents; rendering them unable and unworthy of a fight.
He prepared himself to take on the remaining masked enemies, but was interrupted from doing so as he felt suction on his left arm, eventually leading to his whole body. Before he knew it, he was being warped through space and time. He felt his body floating as it rocketed through the eternal whiteness by which he was surrounded.
“Now, now Sasuke. Didn't I tell you not to involve yourself or the scroll in battle?” Sasuke couldn't see anyone, but he was far too familiar with that voice as it echoed through his ears.
“Madara,” he growled. “Where do you plan on taking me, just put me back!”
“Nonsense Sasuke. I'm taking you to a place where you won't engage in physical contact until I'm ready to receive the scroll. Which I trust you still possess?”
“No shit.” He replied, sarcasm evident in his tone. He was going to have to re-assess his relationship with the other Uchiha.
At that moment his ears started to ring, a noisy whoosh like sound rented his senses as he felt his body squeezing through an agonizingly tight hole, his vision was distraught, and oxygen seemed scarce. With a loud crack, a sense of relief washed over the male, as his body was no longer undergoing torment. This relief was short lived as, without warning, had found himself falling but surrounded by colour, and once again, struggling for air.
--
Naruto stood tall atop the statuesque head of Sarutobi Senju, he had just finished scanning the Valley of the End for any traces of information concerning his mission. With a nod of accomplishment he took one last glance at the serene, and ever so silent, valley. It truly was captivating, and emitted an aura of balance. The blonde nin engulfed a lung full of air, adamant that this place served no knowledge relevant to his mission and started to set off.
He was, however, interrupted by what sounded like splashing. He turned his attention to the still valley of water - he had heard correctly. Below him he noticed the disturbed water, ripples of small waves being dispatched from the point of disturbance. Naruto watched on curiously, waiting for whatever had made the splash to re-emerge.
Every second that passed that was absent of any presence within the water made Naruto grow increasingly anxious. Eventually to the state where he could no longer stand the tension. He ripped off his vivid orange jacket and cast it aside, and with all the strength he could muster he leaped off of Sarutobi's head and allowed gravity to do its job. He could feel the cold air gushing past his face and through his hair, he took one last deep breath and with a noisy thud he crashed into the water - head first.
Naruto's sinuses ached, the high drop had taken its toll. He could care less, he prioritised the other's life before his own; reckless and selfless that's how he functioned.
Underwater he opened his eyes, it was hazy but he was able to differentiate between the various shapes, sizes and colours of the marine life.
Deeper he swam, longing desperately for air. He could feel his lungs caving in, or so he imagined. A sense of relief swept over him as he felt something smooth brush against his arm, and in one swift movement he grabbed the source of the touch and kicked forcefully up to the water's surface.
Naruto was quick to resurface and from doing so he immediately gasped for air, he sent chakra to his lower regions to keep him afloat the water. The air was polluted with coughing and spluttering from a second person, Naruto softened his grip on who/whatever he was holding. He turned around and suddenly his grip tightened. The fierce/piercing stare, the raven hair - it was all too familiar, a feeling of nostalgia overwhelmed Naruto.
“S-sasuke?” the blonde stuttered, completely bewildered. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, simultaneously shaking his arm out of Naruto's unintentional death grip.
“Naruto, eh?” Sasuke smirked inwardly, in front of him he had been presented with the perfect opportunity to get back at Madara. “What brings you here?”
Naruto was clearly struggling to come to terms with Sasuke's sudden and unexpected presence, Sasuke had been suspected dead for so long! He surprised himself with the coherent response he was able to form.
“I'm on a mission - but that's not important! Why did you suddenly crash into the water? Why is your lip bleeding? And how, how are you still alive!?”
“I'm here because,” Sasuke hesitated, unsure of how to respond. “I'm here on work.” He ignored the other questions, he wasn't in the mood to go into details and decided that the response he gave would suffice as he wiped his scarred lip.
Naruto's mind was bursting with questions, he opted to remain silent as they left the water. After all, now that Sasuke was here he didn't want to chase him away, and in all honesty the surrounding circumstances had been deemed irrelevant in Naruto's eyes. He was just delighted to see the stray nin again.
After the fourth ninja war, which had reached its completion about a year ago, Sasuke’s name had been cleared - he was no longer regarded as a threat. All the villages had assumed he was dead after he had sacrificed himself to stop Kabuto whom had turned on Madara. What ever Sasuke had done was affective, and resulted in Madara ceasing battle and fleeing; enabling the success of all the villages involved. The Akatsuki organisation had even disbanded, of course the few members that still exist remained loyal to Madara.
Naruto knew that once word got around that Sasuke was currently alive that he would not be excused from his threat status, even if Naruto didn't perceive him to be. Sasuke was just lost, like he had once been.
Once Naruto found himself to be on firm land he let out a gasp, not due to the sensation of stepping on hard earth, but because of a different sensation inhabiting his crotch.
“What the fuck, Sasuke?” Naruto looked down to see that his once teammate was groping his lower regions. Naruto backed away from the touch, which had left his below rather excited and seeking relief, and he looked up to see thin pale lips form a mischievous smirk.
“Naruto..” Sasuke began as he stepped forward, closing the distance between them. Naruto gulped, his heart was racing, but why? Their close proximity brought a nervous blush to Naruto's cheeks. Sasuke stretched his arm out and reached for Naruto's hair.
“Even if it's just for now.. Be mine, Naruto.” Sasuke, as if to prove he was serious grasped the side of Naruto's head and clashed their lips together.
Naruto's initial reaction was slow, but he kissed back. He couldn't help it, his head was swarming with mixed emotions - some he had never even experienced.
As they continued to kiss, Sasuke ran his hand through Naruto's unkempt hair. To call this kiss passionate would be an understatement, this kiss was filled with so much more. Words that could never, and had never, been spoken between the two were being said now, their kissing made that evident.
Lust. Naruto had always thought he understood such a term up until now, but being with Sasuke like this had proved him wrong. The whole concept of lust seemed lost in his mind, of those moments if he had been asked to define lust he would have answered with 'Sasuke'.
Their lips separated as they greedily consumed the warm air. Their foreheads were pressed together, their breaths mingled. The two were silent, too caught up in the moment to attend to any other matters.
“Having fun there, boys? Well it certainly looks like they are.” A loud voice called followed by a second, which sounded deep and croaky. The two, having their intimate moment interrupted, were quick to separate and turn to the source of the disruption.
“Aloe Vera!” Naruto shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the figure standing twenty feet away. He hoped he didn’t appear too flustered. The accused ignored the loud, blonde idiot and turned his attention to Sasuke.
“Sasuke, Madara requires your services immediately. He's requested that I deliver you to him.” The figure was none other than Zetsu, a former Akatsuki member. He was more fauna than he was human, his body was sheltered in what appeared to be similar to a Venus fly trap. His face was two colours, the right half white and the left half black, and he still sported the distinctive Akatsuki cloak - black with red clouds.
Sasuke sighed in response. “Fuck off, if he needs me so urgently then why doesn't he come get me himself?”
“Ah, he predicted you would ask that. He would collect you himself, except he figured that wouldn't go down well considering the events that led to your current presence here.”
Sasuke grunted to show that he had acknowledged Zetsu's words. He took a few moments to decide how to respond. “Well, delivery boy,” he started, sarcasm apparent in his tone, “tell Madara that I'm busy.” Sasuke glanced at Naruto, sending him a look of approval.
“You little shit! Show some respect!” Zetsu's darker half was furious, its voice cackled. It was a well known fact that had spread around the whole of the ninja world that Zetsu had a split personality, his darker half had an aggressive temperament as opposed to his lighter, more carefree half.
“Now, now, let's not get angry.” Zetsu appeared to be comforting himself, or at least his other half. A sinister expression painted his face. “This just means we'll have to take him by force.” The air filled with laughter, dark laughter from both of Zetsu's personalities.
Naruto readied himself, changing to an offensive stance. “Sasuke will go when he wants to!” The energetic ninja stated with such intensity that Zetsu ceased laughing, his expression bored.
“This doesn't concern you, foo-” Zetsu was cut short, a kunai was held to his neck.
“Doesn't concern me? You have got to be kidding. What is Sasuke to you, huh? Last time I checked, this doesn't concern you!” Naruto edged his kunai closer to his enemy's throat, allowing the blade to slightly pierce Zetsu's skin.
Zetsu snickered and held his arms up in resignation. “Oh no, what ever will I do?”
Sasuke watched on at the fascinating scene that was unfolding before his very own eyes. Naruto, what is his motivation? Why does he refuse to give up no matter what the circumstances may be? To Sasuke, Naruto was an intriguing person. He'd never met anyone like him, he was even envious of Naruto at the best of times (even if his pride as an Uchiha did forbid him from envying others).
Sasuke walked forward to meet up with the other two, their situation hadn't changed, Naruto continued to have the upper hand, however, it was blatantly obvious that Zetsu was merely toying with the other ninja.
Sasuke reached out to grab Naruto’s arm. Surprised, Naruto jumped at the touch.
“Naruto. This is my fight, don’t involve yourself.” Sasuke spoke calmly, and with a gentle tone that was unfamiliar to Naruto. He felt compelled to oblige, completely astonished he withdrew his kunai armed hand from Zetsu’s neck and stood there confused, totally lost for words.
As if on cue a strong surge of wind stormed through the air and with it swept Zetsu into the air. It was only a matter of seconds until the former Akatsuki member’s expression turned smug. It was as if he took comfort in floating in mid-air. Within the next few seconds, though, his body had completely disappeared.
“Madara, that’s really getting old.” Sasuke stated nonchalantly to nobody in particular.
--
Tall, dense trees lined the forest landscape. Zetsu could feel something firm beneath his rear-end. He was seated on a thick tree branch, he glanced up and a few feet away saw his orange masked leader, Madara Uchiha. He was watching something with immense curiosity, albeit Zetsu could not locate the antecedent of his leader’s interests.
He walked over to Madara, and chose to stand to the right of his leader. He still couldn’t see anything that could possible captivate his leader, just what was Madara seeing?
“Boss, what was all that about? As much as I appreciate your help, it wasn’t necessary. I could have taken them both.”
Madara hesitated, and without shifting his focus he replied, “You really think so? You’re not forgetting the top contributors of our most recent war, are you? Correct me if I’m mistaken, but Sasuke and that Uzumaki boy were quite valiant fighters, both so heavily relied upon by their sides and at the same time feared by their opposition.”
“Yes, but-“ Zetsu began, but was quickly interrupted.
“Zetsu, we both know you’re not a front-line fighter. You are required for more important business. That aside, I retrieved you for another reason.” Madara’s gaze finally shifted as he turned to Zetsu.
“Hold onto my shoulder.” Zetsu complied, and in doing so was greeted with bright, vivid swirls of red and black inhabiting his mind. The swirls started to calm, and in doing so two figures started to form in his mind, albeit fuzzy. A few seconds later the images in his mind were well focused. The two figures were none other than Sasuke and Naruto.
“Madara, what is this? Some form of genjutsu?” Zetsu questioned curiously, while watching the scene in his mind.
“Call it whatever you like but keep your eyes closed, otherwise the jutsu will not work on you. And pay attention. Sasuke is going to punish me.”
Zetsu closed his eyes and watched the pair of boys talking to each other, they were completely unaware that they were being watched. What was the meaning of this? Sasuke was going to punish Madara? Zetsu could not fathom its relevance nor comprehend the situation.
--
“I’ve never understood you, Naruto.” Naruto’s head jerked up at the sound of his name.
“What’s not to understand?” Naruto probed. He rubbed the back of his head, it was a nervous gesture he had developed and perfectly honed over the years.
“You’re so.. tenacious? No. More than that. I can’t put a word to it, you’re simply indescribable.” Sasuke chuckled lightly, no matter how pathetic he thought he sounded he couldn’t avoid the simple truth.
Naruto grinned. Hearing such kind words from Sasuke, even if the raven-haired adolescent refused to admit it, was a pleasant surprise. “I guess I’m just irresistible, ne?” Naruto teased as he imitated a flirtatious schoolgirl. Sasuke laughed and couldn’t help but feel out of character, Naruto could be quite the comedian.
The blonde ninja cut the comedic act short, his face serious. “Sasuke. I’ll wait for you, you know. No matter how long it takes.”
Sasuke grabbed Naruto by his shirt and dumped him onto the nearby grass. And without saying a word straddled Naruto’s hips and attacked Naruto’s neck with ravenous kisses. “You’re,” -kiss- “too,” -kiss- “fucking,” -kiss- “perfect.”
Naruto melted under Sasuke’s touch. Everywhere the raven hair touched was filled with a burning sensation. The blonde sat up taking Sasuke with him, he placed his index finger under Sasuke’s chin and tilted the other’s face upwards. Naruto pressed their lips together and flung his arms around Sasuke’s neck. The other wrapped his arms around Naruto’s waist. Any hesitant, unsure voices that had previously filled his mind were quick to flee. Naruto knew this was right, it felt right. He was adamant that Sasuke felt the same. All that mattered was them, right now, together.
After a lot of kissing and feeling each other up, generally making out, the two stopped. They laid side by side one another and watched the clouds, despite the fact that their minds were too preoccupied with other thoughts. Sasuke turned on his side to Naruto and smirked, “Idiot.”
Naruto glanced back, laughed and retorted. “Bastard.”
“Continue waiting for me. I’ll be back in Konoha soon, but probably not for a friendly reason.”
“I know.” Was Naruto’s blunt, yet precise reply.
Sasuke stood up, and held his hand out to Naruto. Naruto grunted, mumbling something that sounded like ‘dickhead’ under his breath as he grabbed onto Sasuke’s hand and was pulled to his feet.
The two hugged, and Sasuke felt Naruto’s firm rear, but his hands were quickly swatted away by the blonde. “Horny bastard,” was Naruto’s weak reply. As their bodies separated Sasuke planted a peck to Naruto’s cheek.
“Check out your ass, idiot.” Sasuke deviously whispered into the blonde’s ear. Naruto sent a glare of disapproval Sasuke’s way, he was fully aware that he had a nice ass - he received compliments regarding it regularly.
Sasuke sighed and set off into the direction of the forest, he winked at Naruto and continued his exit. He deemed this trip a success, seeing the blonde’s face was a sweet reminder to continue breathing, and living.
As for Naruto, he thought about Sasuke’s last comments. Check out my ass? That raven-haired bastard really was a tease.
“Naruto! There you are!” The familiar voice caused Naruto to snap out of his concentration, he only just realised how hard he had been thinking. His brain hurt.
“Sakura, what’s up?” He replied slowly to the pink haired, medical ninja, who happened to be apart of his team, who stood in front of him.
“You moron! What do you mean ‘what’s up?’ Have you gathered any info on the missing scroll?”
Naruto gulped. He had completely forgotten about the mission.
“Wait, what’s that protruding from your bum pocket?”
Naruto felt his back pocket, Sakura was right, he pulled the strange object from his pocket and held it in front of Sakura and himself to examine.
“It’s the scroll! The old woman’s scroll! It’s red, green and has yellow swirls just like she described!” Naruto cheered.
“Wait, what does that say?” Sakura enquired. Naruto read what his teammate was pointing at. ‘A parting gift, from the one who loves you - and your ass.’
Naruto read the sentence over and over, Sasuke that fucker. He had this scroll the whole time! When did he have the time to write this message? Of course! When I was dealing with Zetsu… it all made sense now, ‘check out your ass’. That, that..
“BASTARD!”
Sakura looked on, completely amused. She had no idea why Naruto was freaking out, but it was apparent that he was dealing with some internal conflict. She wasn’t concerned, it didn’t seem serious, and instead she giggled away at his struggle.
--
“See Zetsu? Not only has Sasuke given away the ancient scroll I ordered him to protect, but he has also failed to refrain from physical contact.”
Madara received no response, he turned to Zetsu and was appalled at what he saw. Zetsu’s eyes looked as if they had been cremated.
“I’m. Scarred. For. Life.” Were his final words as he dropped, like a plank of wood, to his knees.