Light our Shadows

Ch 9: Fucking Finally

It killed Sasuke to run so slow. Everything in him was telling him to sprint to kid Naruto's side. Save him, don't let him die alone, scoop him up and bring him home, keep him safe at all costs. The only problem was that he was currently at the mercy of the normal tracking speed of Kakashi's hounds. Though his Sensei was fast, he wasn't Sasuke fast. Sasuke was the fastest ninja alive. That was back in their time. So to him Kakashi, Itachi, all the damned dogs, everyone was moving like one of Gai's tortoise's which only worsened his desire to pick up Pakkun and do the running for the little guy. But Kakashi's hound would not react well to that he was sure.

He knew he needed to be patient. Could hear a voice in his head telling him not to be so hasty. They would find Mini Naru, probably worse for wear, but they'd find him. The dogs were working fast as they could. Snapping at them would only distract them from their task. He'd once dared to yell at Shino's bugs one time when he thought they were lagging on a recon mission. Somehow Sasuke knew a single dog bite would be worse than the thousand bug bites he'd gotten then.

Fear gripped him even still. Ever since he saw the shoe he couldn't shake free of its hold on him. He felt like a small child once more. The same little boy who'd stayed out too late training only to find his family dead when he came home. He was getting that same feeling he had the night of the massacre. Racing towards Naruto's younger self like heading towards his pitch black house. He tried to tell himself that it was all in his head. That there wouldn't be anyone lying in wait, that he wouldn't be rushing to the sight of a dead body of his loved one placed face down in a bloody puddle, but it was useless. The dark thoughts consumed him. Naruto was his light. Without him...fuck what would he even do?

They reached a meadow. It was a beautiful spot. It wasn't hard for Sasuke to imagine his husbands younger self coming this way. Perhaps some croaking frogs had caught his attention by the stream or some of the bright flowers. Maybe little Naru even thought it would be a nice soft place to hunker down for the night. He watched the dogs sniff around and frowned when they started circling the place. Sasuke instantly likened the dogs to vultures in his head. He hated his brain. That was not the mental image he needed right now.

"Are they confused?" Itachi wondered, looking to Kakashi. "Why are they circling?"

"Naruto's a bouncing ball of energy." Sasuke decided to take a wild guess. "Specially as a kid. He probably ran circles round this place trying to catch fireflies in his hands." The mental image it conjured was adorable. He could picture it so crisp and clear, it was almost enough to make himself smile, but he didn't fool himself with that explanation. This was bad. Kakashi's dogs were walking back up to them with hanging heads.

"Sorry boss." Pakkun sat down. His head barely poked through the tall grass. He moved it aside with his paws. "His scent stops here."

"Stops?" Sasuke tilted his head. How the fuck could it just stop? His head swiveled to Kakashi.  "They lost his scent?"

"There are a lot of scents around here with the flowers. Nature's perfume. Hide's scents pretty good this time of year." Kakashi put his hands up in a settle down gesture. "It doesn't mean this search is over. Don't worry. We'll find it again."

Don't worry. What a cruel joke that was. How could he do anything but worry? Naruto's kid self was missing dammnit. There were clear signs of him being injured. He wasn't going to be calm until he was in his arms, alive and safe. It was non negotiable. Sasuke had never hated flowers more. Which was saying something considering how many bouquets he still to this day got from all too eager fangirls.

He started doing hand signs for a fire jutsu. If the flowers were the problem he would just burn them away. The perfume'll burn up and-

"You'll cause a forest fire, Sasuke." Itachi slapped his hand before Sasuke could finish the signs. His brother damn near lost his life from Sasuke's glare alone. Itachi sent one right back. "Don't be stupid."