The Sound of Dreams

68

Naruto shifted and snuggled into warmth pressing against his side. Even as he slowly rose to consciousness, he could smell Sasuke's scent surrounding him as well as the smell of their recent lovemaking and could even faintly hear the strong beat of the other boy's heart.

This was how he wanted to awaken every day; his lover within his arms, ready for him to turn slightly and kiss that wonderful, albeit at times sarcastic mouth. He was debating on whether to go and get cleaned up in the newly repaired bathroom since he still felt relatively sticky underneath the tail or to wake Sasuke up and get even stickier when he heard the tempo of his lover's heart pick up.

Curiously, he turned his head to get a better look at his friend, wondering if he was rousing or if he was just dreaming. The flickering movements beneath the pale, black fringed lids led him to believe the latter. Sasuke's body started to twitch slightly right before there was a sudden surge of chakra. The eye motions increased exponentially as the twitches became spasms.

Naruto was about to shake Sasuke awake when his nose picked up the smell of copper and he saw two tear-like trails of blood start sliding from the closed eyes. Panicking, he sat up and shook Sasuke's shoulders, trying to wake him up out of whatever fit or nightmare he was having.

                                                                                                  *

Neji frowned as he shifted at his post. Something was tingling in the back of his mind, making him uneasy. He was about to activate his Byakugan once more to check on Naruto and Sasuke (and hopefully not have his retinas burned out by more images of them having sex) when his radio activated.


"The farmer's coming down to the hen house. Get the chicken away from the fox," came the urgent message.


Neji immediately turned and opened the door, intent on getting Sasuke back to his own room no matter what kind of activities they were engaged in before Tsunade made it downstairs.

He wasn't prepared for the sight of Sasuke seizing on the futon with Naruto holding him, calling out his name frantically.


Without hesitating, he tapped his radio. "Get Tsunade –sama down here now!"


Neji then rushed to Naruto's side, completely ignoring the fact that both teens were naked as the day they were born. Although he did direct Naruto down to Sasuke's legs.


"Hold him down," he said calmly, but firmly.


He put a hand on either shoulder and held Sasuke down while Naruto straddled the long, pale legs and grabbed a wrist in each hand. The boys were able to feel the muscles clenching and jumping under Sasuke's skin as they tried to keep him in place. After the dark head thrashed side to side a few times, Neji scooted forward enough to place a knee on either side, trapping Sasuke's skull in between.

Neji didn't bother asking what had happened since he had next to no medical knowledge and knew that any explanation that Naruto would give him would have little meaning. Instead, he waited the two agonizingly long minutes that it took the Hokage to rush to their room. By then, the convulsions were lessening in severity.

Tsunade took in the scene with one look, a scowl breaking out on her face. She would chew the boys out later however, there were more important things that needed her attention.

She swept into the room, vaguely aware that Hinata and Shino had prevented Togimeishu's entry by calmly stepping in front of him. She motioned Neji out of her way and knelt in his place. Placing her hands on either side of Sasuke's head, her hands glowed green as the healing chakra delved into his cranium.

If this time was like the last, then the spasms should end soon. However, she was not entirely sure what was causing them. She knew that bloodline limits took a lot of chakra when used and she could detect the residue of the large amount that had just been in Uchiha's eyes.


She turned her head and looked over at the door. "Togimeishu," she practically ordered.


The two ninjas stepped aside and let the older man through. He quickly came over and Tsunade surrendered her place to him. "I'm sure you've studied bloodlines extensively for your previous employer," she said as she shot the man a slight frown. "Maybe you can diagnose the problem more thoroughly."


Not taking offence at her tone, the doctor placed his hands gently at Sasuke's temples. The familiar glow surrounded them as his face took on a look of concentration.


"What exactly was he doing when this started?" he murmured.


"He was asleep," Naruto answered from his perch on Sasuke's thighs. He had let go of the other's wrists by now and was watching the two medic-nins intently. "His eyes were moving and I thought he was dreaming. Then he started twitching and then went into full-out convulsions."


"His eyes have changed since I dealt with them," Togimeishu stated with a slight frown of confusion.


"His bloodline advanced within his eyes while his eyes were in Naruto," Tsunade informed him.


The doctor's brow lifted. "That's unusual," he commented. He looked up at Naruto and then motioned him forward.


Without thinking, the blond leaned towards the doctor, unwittingly pressing himself more intimately against Sasuke until Tsunade cleared her throat with a faint blush on her cheeks. "Get some clothes on, you damn brat!" she growled.


Naruto didn't move as Togimeishu reached for his face, but he did shoot her a grin before flipping two of his tails around to cover them a bit more modestly.


The doctor frowned and shook his head with some perplexity. "It's almost like it never happened," he mumbled to himself.


Tsunade didn't bother to inform him of Naruto's amazing powers of regeneration. She still didn't know if she could fully trust him yet and the less knowledge he had, the better.

Naruto felt Sasuke stirring underneath him as the doctor turned his concentration back onto his patient. As the dark eyes flickered open, they took in the two medic-nins that were hovering over him and then the blond menace that was straddling his nude waist. He reacted without thinking.


Blushing bright red, he shoved the young man off of his lap with a hissed, "Get off me, dobe!"


"Hold still," Togimeishu said sharply.


"Dammit, bastard!" Naruto cursed as he righted himself on the floor. "We're just trying to help you, you prick."


Tsunade glared at both of them before flipping the edge of a sheet over Sasuke's pelvis. "Shut up, both of you," she ordered as Sasuke opened his mouth.


"Do you remember anything after you went to sleep?" Togimeishu asked Sasuke as he continued his examination.


Sasuke, whose cheeks had dimmed to a light pink, suddenly paled. "I was dreaming. Remembering."


"Unpleasant memories I take it?" Togimeishu commented in a low, even tone.


"They weren't mine," Sasuke said, trying to hold still as the doctor continued to stare down at him and into his eyes. "They're from..." he trailed off, looking over at Naruto.


"Orochimaru?" Togimeishu hazarded


"No," Sasuke said with a slight shake of his head. "But they are from when Naruto had my eyes."


"Can you activate your Sharingan for me? At the level you had it originally?"


Sasuke's graphite eyes brightened to crimson, the three tomoes resting peacefully in his gaze. The doctor nodded as his hand continued to glow the eerie green light that accompanied healing chakra.


"Now I want you to take it to the next level," he instructed.


At first, nothing happened, but then Sasuke got a look of intense concentration on his face and the marks in his eyes started to change. He suddenly bit his lip as his hand clenched in the sheet. Blood began to well in his eyes as a spasm swept over his body.


"That's enough, let it go," the doctor said quickly.


The eyes shifted back to their normal dark hue. Sasuke shuddered a few more times before his body once more came back under his control.


"What's happening to him?" Naruto demanded. He had to repress the sudden urge to crawl over and scoop Sasuke close to him and away from the people hovering over him.


"Well, my best guess would be that while his eyes have developed a higher level of power, his optic nerves have yet to catch up. The chakra needed to activate his bloodline overloads the centres of his brain that control his vision as well as build pressure up within the optic nerves themselves," the doctor informed him calmly.


"What the hell does that mean?" Naruto asked in both anger and concern.


"It means," Tsunade spoke up, "that he can't use the Mangekyou. It's too dangerous."


"And if I do?" Sasuke asked as he sat up and turned to face the two medic-nins.


"Well, you will either burn out the centres in your brain that control your bloodline limit, rendering it useless," Togimeishu answered. "Or, you will build up too much pressure in your eyes from the excessive amount of chakra and rupture your eyes, effectively blinding you."


There was a long moment of silence as Sasuke absorbed the prognosis.


"The best thing you can do is not use the technique until you yourself learn it," the doctor added.


Sasuke's eyes immediately flickered over to Naruto before he vowed a mental 'Never,' in his mind. Then another thought occurred to him. 'Kakashi.'


He nodded once to Togimeishu to acknowledge his understanding of the statement.

Tsunade got to her feet and put her hands on her hips. Now that the emergency was over, there was something else to address.


"You," she said looking at Sasuke, "get your clothes on so that you can be escorted back to your room."


She ignored the scowl she got in return.


"You," she said, turning her attention to Naruto, "get cleaned up and then get some clothes on. Neji, Hinata and I are going to be working on your problem for now. Ren has been brought to the village but he is currently unconscious and unable to give us more information concerning what he did to you. I've sent someone to Sound, but I don't know what kind of response we will receive."


"Is he okay?" Naruto asked worriedly. The old man had been trying to do his best for Sound and Naruto personally thought he was an interesting old coot. It would be a shame if something permanent had befallen the elder shinobi.


"I don't know," Tsunade answered. "There were traces of the same type of jutsu that seems to have been used on you, but we don't know for what purpose. And unfortunately, we don't have time to wait around for him to wake up. We need to reverse what we can as quickly as possible."


A shiver of unease ran up Naruto's spine. "Is there a problem I should know about?" he asked slowly.


After seeing the glance directed at him by the Hokage, Togimeishu stood up. "I think I will wait for you in the hallway," he announced before he took his leave.


Sasuke merely glared at the pointed look directed at him. "I'm not leaving," he announced determinedly. "If it concerns Naruto, then it concerns me."


Naruto grinned at the statement and reached out to touch his lover. A warning glance shot down his good intentions however as he plainly read the 'Not now,' message imbued within it. He had to remind himself not to feel the small sting of hurt because he knew that Sasuke wasn't demonstrative, especially around people with which he wasn't comfortable. He reigned in his own tendency to be touchy-feely and faced Tsunade.


"Just tell us what is going on, baa-chan" he said plainly.


Tsunade's brow twitched at the name, but she let it slip for the moment. "I think getting you back to normal is a high priority so we can try to keep this from becoming common knowledge. There are enough prejudices against you as it is; they don't need a reason to have more."


"What has the council decided to do?" Sasuke asked suddenly.


Tsunade hesitated. She had wanted to wait until the formal sentencing; she hadn't wanted to be the one to have to tell them. However, looking at the two young faces turned up to look at her, she decided that she would rather they go in there prepared.


"Get cleaned up and dressed," she sighed. "I will be back shortly. We'll talk then."


The Hokage walked out the door, shutting it behind her, leaving the two of them alone.

Naruto fidgeted a moment, his tails starting to swish around in agitation. He paused a moment, then crawled over to Sasuke and into his lap, wrapping his furry additions around them.

Now that they were alone, Sasuke didn't hesitate to hold Naruto against him. Naruto put an arm across Sasuke's back and then leaned his head on his shoulder.


"She didn't look like it was good news," Naruto whispered against the pale skin of the other teen's neck.


"I won't let anything happen to you," Sasuke vowed darkly. "We'll leave if it sounds too bad."


"Where will we go, Sasuke?" Naruto asked despondently. "And how will we get out of this place? I can't even cross the threshold with the seals activated." He made a vague gesture to encompass the room.


"We've already spent time out on our own, Naruto, you know we can make it as well as I do," Sasuke pointed out, slightly irritated at how it seemed Naruto was ready to give in. "And I will figure a way around the seals. They won't be able to stop me when I'm fully healed. When we are at full power, nobody will be able to stop us from leaving. We'll get Hiroki and leave this place. We'll find somewhere to make a new home."


Naruto took a deep breath and nodded. He didn't want to leave Konoha, but he would do it without hesitation if it was the only way to protect his mate. He had finally found something that was more important than any childhood dream he'd had and he would fight to protect it with all his heart.


"Come on, usuratonkachi," Sasuke said with a nudge to Naruto's back. "We haven't even heard the verdict yet. Let's get a shower and get ready."


Naruto sighed but untangled himself from the dark-haired boy with an obvious lack of enthusiasm. He knew baa-chan better than Sasuke did and if the woman looked so glum, then the news wasn't going to be good.

He padded over to the repaired shower and turned on the water, listening to Sasuke gather up their clothes behind him.


"There's some clean clothes over here," Naruto told him as he bent to pull out a couple of pairs of loose grey sweats and plain white t-shirts from a small corner shelf.


"Are there towels in here?" Sasuke asked as he stepped up behind Naruto.


"Yeah," Naruto murmured as he reached down to the next shelf and pulled out a few towels.


Sasuke stuck his hand in the water to test the temperature, then gently caught Naruto's arm and pulled him with him underneath the spray. He watched as the red-streaked hair flattened under the warm water and the tails started to become beaded with moisture. He had to admit that it was strange to see Naruto with the animalistic features, but it wasn't a major concern to him. His feelings for the other young man had never been completely about his looks and he could easily overlook the changes.

He personally thought it was kind of exciting in a strange way. It was a physical manifestation of the power that lay within the dobe and Sasuke had always found power attractive, but he also knew that Naruto must hate it. The blond had strove so long and so hard to get people to acknowledge him for who he was and not for what he was, that it would be impossible for him to accept his own changes graciously.


As if he had somehow been able to read his thoughts, Naruto spoke up. "If we leave, how will we fix this?" he asked, gesturing to himself.


"Well, they can't keep Ren here forever and there are other members of the Fuuma clan in Sound. We will just have to go back there and hope someone can reverse the changes," Sasuke said thoughtfully. "They have offered to hide us before. I am sure they would do so again."


"They would look for us there," Naruto said with a shake of his head. "They knew we were there before and would look there again."


"Then we would just have to make sure we aren't found," Sasuke said simply.


Naruto gave him a small smile. "You always make things sound easy."


Sasuke returned the smile and gently nuzzled his lips against Naruto's cheek. "Not really, but sometimes you make things more complicated by being emotional."


Naruto gave him a slight shrug. "That's just the way I am."


"I know," Sasuke reassured him. "And yet I'm still here."


Naruto's mouth dropped open a split second from offended surprise before he punched Sasuke in the shoulder. "Ass!" he said indignantly.


Sasuke gave a light chuckle even as he rubbed the sore spot on his shoulder. He lifted his hands up and threaded them through the wet blond locks. "Whatever happens, we'll be together. That's what matters."


Naruto leaned forward and gently kissed those pink, tempting lips in front of him. Sasuke's grip tightened slightly as he tilted his head, deepening the kiss. He managed to dodge his tongue around the fangs nimbly as their tongues played together slowly. Naruto's hands slid down to grip his buttocks and pull him in tight.

Sasuke moaned before pulling back slightly, dropping his hands to Naruto's shoulders. Naruto gazed at him with a hazy expression, his pupils dilated outwards.


"Think we have time for a quicky?" the blond asked huskily.


Sasuke's eyebrow quirked although there was a certain look of longing in his eyes. "I doubt it," he answered. "She said she would be back shortly. I really don't want to be in the middle of something when the Hokage walks in."


Naruto sighed and kissed the other teen again, he was starting to moan and become more forceful when Sasuke once again pulled away. Expecting his dark-eyed lover to start getting them ready, he was surprised when Sasuke slowly sank down to his knees in front of him.

Sasuke reached out and gently gripped Naruto's semi-hard manhood at the base and leaned forward. Keeping his eyes open and locked on the ones above since Naruto's body blocked the spray from the shower; he teasingly slid his lips slowly around the hardening flesh.


"Sasuke," Naruto moaned breathily.


The sound of his name said with such desire sent a shiver through the pale shinobi and it was all he could do not to let out a groan of his own as he took Naruto deeper into his mouth. His tongue licked along the thick vein running along the underside of the thick cock and his hand came up to squeeze the tightening sac.

His unoccupied hand moved up to run sensually against the blazing seal on Naruto's stomach, earning another groan from the man above him, before he reached to grab the blond's wrist. Letting go once Naruto's hand was tangled into his hair, he grabbed those tanned hips with both hands and began to urge his lover to move in his mouth.

Catching on quickly, Naruto readjusted his hand until he was gripping Sasuke's hair and the base of his head and smoothly pushing and pulling his erection in and out of the other man's mouth. His breath hitched as Sasuke groaned around his flesh before reaching down between his own pale thighs to pleasure himself.

Naruto knew it wouldn't take long. The sight of those beautiful lips moving on his cock, the sight of the pale hand quickly stroking the hardness nested within the dark curls was enough to cause him to start panting.

Even though Sasuke's lips were sealed around him, he could feel the other man's tongue dancing around him, could feel the tightness every time he brushed the back of his lover's throat, he could feel the suction pulling on him. They were all working to drive him quickly over the edge.

Sasuke could feel the twitches of muscle within his thighs and buttocks, urging him to thrust into his hand as his completion rapidly approached. Naruto had leaned forward slightly to brace his hand on the wall and it caused his necklace to sway and bounce. The shower water ran down the cord to drip onto Sasuke's face and hand as Naruto started fucking his mouth faster.


Sasuke began to utter quiet noises in his throat, letting Naruto know that he was close. "Look at me," he demanded softly.


Sasuke's dark eyes snapped upwards, meeting the darkened sapphire of his lover's and he felt the familiar rush. Naruto simultaneously yanked Sasuke's head back and pulled out at the last possible moment, letting his orgasm rip through him and splash onto his lover's face and chest as his pleasured cries echoed in the shower stall.

As the first hot ribbon of cum struck his face, Sasuke's eyes squeezed shut as his teeth clenched over a guttural moan. His hips jerked forward as his seed spilt from his body and onto the tiled floor before being washed down the drain.

After a moment or so spent panting, Sasuke sensed Naruto dropping down in front of him.


"Sorry," the blond said thickly. "It's just that after the first time you sucked me, I wanted my cum across your face again. It looks just as fucking hot now as it did then."


Sasuke lifted his right eyelid, the one not covered in creamy body fluids, to lazily look into Naruto's blue eyes. "Either clean me off or move so I can get to the water," he ordered muzzily. The endorphins in his body made it hard for him to be truly upset about anything at the moment.


Just as last time, Naruto leaned forward and began to bathe Sasuke's face with his tongue. This time, however, the brunet couldn't help but notice that the appendage in question was rougher feeling than before. Apparently, it hadn't been his imagination when the dobe had kissed him. His mind then informed him with a certain amount of lazy eroticism that he had better hurry up and get a blow job from his mate before they reversed that little change.

Naruto leaned back, looking over Sasuke's face to make sure he hadn't missed anything before moving out of the way of the spray. The water soaked Sasuke once more, rinsing the remaining residue off of his chest. Naruto helped him to his feet where they then began washing each other down, their movements becoming more hurried as they realized that they might not have much time left.



Tsunade walked back into the sealed room to an oddly domestic scene. The two boys were sitting, fully dressed on the stripped-down futon. Sasuke was behind Naruto, calmly combing out his hair with his fingers as Naruto carefully dried one of his tails with a white towel.


Sasuke glanced up at her. "Hokage-sama," he said, though while not completely respectful, he was neutral enough. "Do you happen to have a spare hair tie?"


Tsunade felt her lips twitch towards a smile that she quickly suppressed. She reached into one of her jacket pockets and pulled out an extra band. She kept one on hand since she was forever breaking one for some reason or another. Of course, it had nothing to do with her hair tangling up when she fell asleep on her desk.

She stepped over and handed Sasuke the hair tie, who took it with a murmured thanks. They all waited a moment while he deftly twisted the tie around Naruto's hair and then the two boys turned to face her.

She knelt down on the floor, ready to spring up at a moment's notice. She had also left the door unlocked in case she needed the assistance of the others. She didn't think things would go that far, but she was unsure how they would react to her news.


"The council has decided that it cannot let the two of you back into the shinobi ranks without some form of punishment and penance for your actions," she started. Both sets of eyes were locked onto hers and, for once, Naruto didn't interrupt.


"Uzumaki Naruto, while your actions were foolhardy and reckless, your heart, at least, was in the right place. You will not be allowed to take the Chuunin Exams for a year-"


"What?!" the teen predictably screeched.


Tsunade gave him a quelling look that temporarily stemmed the tide of his indignation. "You will not be allowed to leave the village without a jounin escort for a year. The only time you will be allowed to leave is whenever you are assigned missions with Team Kakashi and then only if the mission is dire enough to require your presence. When you are not on a mission with your team, you will perform D-rank missions as a form of community service. You will only be paid half the normal fee for any D-rank missions you do." She took a breath before adding. "If, after a year has passed and Akatsuki has not been eliminated as a threat, you will remain within the village under these restrictions, minus the reduced pay, until such a time as it is deemed that they are no longer a threat."


"But-!"


"No, buts!" she cut in angrily. She wasn't mad at him naturally, but rather at the council. However, this was hard enough without his theatrics. "Just be glad that Hyuuga Hiashi has refused to place his family's seal upon you and be glad that you are able to leave these walls at all."


Naruto got the distinct impression that she wasn't talking about the walls of the village.


The Hokage turned her attention to Sasuke. "Uchiha Sasuke, you willingly abandoned your village and joined the ranks of an enemy village with a known missing-nin from Konoha." She paused to let that sink in, but the brat merely sat there, calm and poised. "However, it is also known that Orochimaru's cursed seal does affect the mind to some extent. You were young, foolish and had been swayed by him. The other crime that you are held responsible for is the attempt to kill a certain ninja of Konoha on two separate occasions."


She paused, almost as if daring him to protest that he had been controlled to a degree by the snake or the fact that he had tried to kill Naruto. When he said nothing, she continued.


"It is also noted that it was your intervention that prevented a surprise attack on Konoha and that you did, indeed, help rescue the same shinobi of Konoha that you had previously attacked and were a part of the battle that resulted in Orochimaru's demise." There was a flicker of sadness in her gaze before it cleared once more.


"You will undergo a psychological evaluation by Ibiki to see if you are truly loyal to Konoha. You will not be allowed to leave the village without a jounin escort ever. Your curse seal will be sealed away until it can be removed. If it activates through deliberate provocation, your chakra will be sealed until the above condition is met.


"For the first year of your return to Konoha, you will be assigned D-rank missions as well as other community services as determined by me. After the first year, depending on Ibiki's evaluations and the council's decree, you will be allowed to take the Chuunin Exam. However, you will never be allowed a higher rank.


She watched as the tension began mounting within Sasuke and knew that it wasn't quite over yet.


"Lastly, the council has determined that you will replace what your brother had taken away. You will be seventeen very shortly and are considered to be an adult by our standards. As such, by age twenty, you will be required to have married and by age twenty-one, you will be required to have had a blood heir."


She saw both young men freeze at the last proclamation and the Sharingan appeared in Sasuke's eyes, spinning wildly.