Dusk Till Dawn

42

It didn't take long for Itachi to react and he was surprised at how naturally he fitted to Naruto's emotions, how good it felt and how much he could be of use. He left Sasuke, swooping down to Naruto and gently taking the sobbing form into his arms, shushing the Hokage and gently prising the still-warm corpse of their supposed mortal enemy. He didn't know what Naruto had seen but, whatever it was, to make Naruto like this in a simple touch...

It took a few moments before Naruto realised that there was someone else there besides Pein and finally released his adversary, clinging onto Itachi and burying his head into the muscular chest of the Uchiha. He didn't even spare a glance towards the younger brother, trusting that no one would leave the place as the shock held them all there, together.

"Naruto," Itachi whispered gently, eyes full of worry as he forced Naruto to look at him. Blue eyes were rimmed with red, puffy skin, and it pained Itachi to see Naruto in such pain. He made a promise, as close to one as a Shinobi could get, at least, that he would do everything in his power to keep Naruto from becoming like this ever again.

"What did he show you?"

The sobbing decreased as composure and the situation finally hit the blond and he pushed himself off of Itachi a little, standing up and clasping Itachi's hand as soon as they had done so.

"I asked him to show me where he was... he was dying, Itachi, and he didn't want to die. He looked so helpless, so pitiful that-"Naruto cut himself off, gaze hardening. Itachi realised that Naruto was returning to himself, or at least the state he became when he was in battle. They still had Sasuke - and the remnants of his blasted team - to deal with and Naruto would protect Konoha no matter what; personal feelings could be left to dwell over later.

"Sasuke," he said, slowly, as if calling to an animal that would bolt with any given second.

Wind crawled through the space where they stood, howling in Naruto's ears yet whispering around the two brothers. It was probably an effect of being wind-natured yet there was no one close to ask about this; Asuma, the only other prominent wind user, was dead, Jiraiya - who knew everything, or so it seemed - was dead, Tsunade probably wouldn't know as she was medically inclined and Kakashi... Kakashi's condition was debatable.

Together, due to the connection their fingers had made, Naruto and Itachi stepped forwards, just one step. Sasuke's eyes darted between them, finally resting on the hand joining them, and a half-snarl crossed his face, almost as if he had controlled his emotions before allowing them to be seen.

Which he probably had just done.

Sensing that escape on Sasuke's part was imminent, Naruto extracted his fingers from Itachi's hold, thankful that Itachi understood why. Sasuke was a delicate thread, too much nipping or pushing and he would snap.

Naruto could have used Hiraishin no Jutsu to secure Sasuke, he had just about enough left to hold him while Itachi backed him up, but he couldn't betray Sasuke's trust so easily, regardless to what had occurred in the past.

"You don't have to run." The words were careful, slow and honest. "Come back home, I can assure you that you'll have a smooth transition back into the village."

The words would be tempting but even Naruto knew, for all his optimism, that Sasuke wouldn't just jump on his offer. Instead, Naruto nodded and sighed heavily. He hated what he was about to do, but it was a necessity. He had to let Sasuke see that it was his choice, that no one was going to push him to what he wanted to do and that now, even though it had been needed, he wouldn't be manipulated anymore.

Slowly, as not to alert Sasuke's Shinobi instincts and coax him into leaving, Naruto tugged on the fabric clothing Itachi's arm, turning away with a pointed look at Sasuke.