A Mind is A Terrible Thing to Lay Waste || lunamist » vonlane

Chapter 3

"Neji, Hinata, how is he?" Sakura asked, the hope in her voice palpable.

"He's still . . . N-Naruto is still t-there," Hinata stammered. But Neji only glared. Glared with all the hatred he harbored for Sasuke as he calmly stated,"I see you came".

But Sasuke barely heard the words as he stared at Naruto's twisted figure, the powerful chakra of the demon nearly stealing his breath away as he approached the boy. Ignoring everyone in the room, Sasuke reached out a hand, gently rubbing his fingers down the side of Naruto's face, finishing by tucking a golden blond strand of hair behind a pointed ear. Gods, Sasuke thought, his skin is on fire. "Naruto," Sasuke managed to choke out before remembering he wasn't alone in the room. "How long has he been like this?" Sasuke asked while staring down at the ever shifting seal tattooed across Naruto's abdomen.

"Since the battle," answered Kakashi.

Three days. Three days of battling that thing on your own. Sasuke closed his eyes, knowing what it was to be alone.

"Can you do it?" But not even the Hokage got an answer, at least, not a spoken one. Instead, everyone in the room watched as Sasuke climbed up onto the bed, straddling Naruto's body, ignoring the searing heat and chakra constantly bombarding his senses. Reaching forward, Sasuke placed his thumb and forefinger on either side of Naruto's eyelids. And then, he paused, looking up at Kakashi, he said, "No matter what happens, no one is to interfere." And before Kakashi could say a word in answer, Sasuke opened both his and Naruto's eyes. His own spinning black flashes through a bloody haze, staring down into crimson iris's, bleeding towards a thin black pupil.

"Neji, Hinata - keep up the Buyakagan," ordered the Hokage. Then, turning to Kakashi, she added, "At the slightest hint that he's failed . . . "

Kakashi only nodded. As long as it was possible, he'd do what Sasuke had asked. But there would come a point where the choice would no longer be his alone to make.

Sasuke had no idea what to expect. He'd gone into opponents minds before using the Sharingan, planting seeds of despair and destruction. Laying waste to their bodies through their minds. But never had he done anything like this. At first, he wasn't even sure he was where he wanted to be. Looking around, he found himself in a poorly lit, expansive room. Or, at least he thought it was a room. The floor was made of wooden slats, but they were worn and cracked and as he walked, there were several places where the floor simply disappeared, as if something heavy had crashed through it. Looking up, the ceiling was covered in thousands of pinpoint lights, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the night sky. But beyond that, on the distant horizon, there was a red haze. No, more like a glow. Something in the distance was on fire, but he had no idea how far away it was.

"I guess that's where I need to go," Sasuke said, but he'd no more than taken a single step when he was tackled from behind, sending him sprawling to the floor below. Every instinct in his body told him to fight, but then he heard it. A sound his soul had been both missing and craving for over three years. He'd know that giggling laughter anywhere. "Naruto?" Sasuke rolled over to find a very childlike Naruto sitting on his abdomen, a big, goofy grin plastered across his face. "Hah! I got you. Big, tough, Sasuke. I told you I was better!"

Gods, it was Naruto as a child. Small, obnoxious, hyperactive, Naruto. If he could have stopped time, that's exactly what Sasuke would have done. Simply to stare into that happy, naive face for the rest of eternity. Damn, but he'd missed him.

"What do you have to look so happy about, Jerk," Naruto pouted while staring down into Sasuke's spinning eyes. Happy? Sasuke thought. But, yeah, he was happy. Sitting up, Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the waist, immediately sending the boy into fits as he swung his arms wildly, "Hey, what do you think you're doing? Put me down!" Instantly, the scowl was back on Sasuke's face as he flatly stated, "I'd forgotten how annoying you can be."