Washed Away [OPEN]

[guillotineofgod]

Characters: Anybody washed into the desert by the flood, a shitload of Kishin Eggs.
Location: The desert and ruins surrounding Death City.
Rating: R, in anticipation of swearing in terror.
Time: Sept 14 and onwards, for the duration of the monsoon.
Format: Action or Prose
Description: Whether by accident or in the interest of having fun, more than a few

Comments

[Naruto & Sasuke] [CLOSED]

[blindingrevenge]

The impact forced the breath from Sasuke's lungs, and he gasped, wet for the downpour of rain and the splash that surged up from beneath him. Somehow, though, the landing wasn't as harsh as he'd expected it would be. One black eye cracked open, just in time to hear Naruto gasp a breath against his ear. It was only then that Sasuke realized just what had happened when he fell. He'd slipped going towards the boy, that surge of water had been too much for his legs to handle. It never would have been a problem in his own world, but here it had been too much. Naruto had jumped after him, caught him in the air

[ninetailedderp]

He wasn't thinking.

It was an easy conclusion to draw with Naruto, and more often than not it was spot on. It simply wasn't in his nature to be the type to stop- consider, reconsider, debate and then chose a course of action. He was a tangle of movement at all times, impulsive and intuitive and maybe, he figured- maybe there wasn't anything wrong with that. Because if he hadn't been, then Sasuke probably would have- Well. He wouldn't have had nearly as nice of a landing

[blindingrevenge]

Naruto's fingers were still curled into the fabric of his shirt at his waist, vice like in their grip, and though Sasuke could feel the drumming of his own heart in his ears from adrenalin, from the encounter with the ground, he knew it could have been worse. It would have been worse, though maybe not abnormal for him. He'd taken a beating, fallen from great heights before. But Naruto wasn't moving, and for one heart stopping moment Sasuke's mind reeled from the memory of when he thought he'd killed his friend. Before the emotion could rise into something more pervasive, though, Naruto's mouth opened and he sucked in a wet lungful of air

[ninetailedderp]

There were words coming out of Sasuke's mouth. He couldn't make them out and while Naruto could discern the blurry shape of his friend's lips, the movement and what was probably a scowl on his features- he just couldn't hear the sound. There was nothing. Nothing against the overwhelming, indescribable scraping pain against his skull. And then the shaking began.

Naruto's vision swam.
Eyes squeezed shut just to keep from rolling back in his head and the angry sky behind Sasuke's equally angry expression, were eclipsed by nothingness. The ground, thats what he could think of. The ground was hard, and cold- like the rain that kept pelting his face, skin too long numb to even register the chill. The worst of it, however, wasn't any of that, wasn't even Sasuke's weight bearing down mercilessly on broken ribs and lungs that shuddered whenever they wouldn't heave.

The worst of it was- Naruto couldn't bring himself to move.

[blindingrevenge]

Seconds ticked by and even with his shout all but in Naruto's face, there was no discernible reaction. That agonized crease on the boy's face didn't change, and then he started trembling. Dark eyes widened, and alongside that swell of anger he felt a surge that made his stomach twist nauseously. This idiot could handle almost anything. Hell, he'd fought against Gaara and still dragged himself across the dirt without hands. It meant there was something seriously wrong, and that was a pain in the ass. His gaze searched Naruto's face before lowering. They'd learned this in their classes, assessing the damage. Sasuke was no healer, but at least he could get a gist of what he would be dealing with while dragging this idiot's body back up to the city

[ninetailedderp]

It happened without warning- the sudden displacement of the weight on his chest, and as soon as Sasuke had moved, his body violently recoiled. A half arch at the base of his spine as air filled his burning lungs and it left him in a wet cough. Weight pivoted forward, at least as much as he was able to, and the pain that spiked through his senses was forgotten for the unstoppable wracking in his chest. The hand that had lifted to his mouth on reflex, returned to the dirt flecked with blood

[blindingrevenge]

"You're the one who jumped," Sasuke snapped back, waspishly but in some way relieved he was at least moving, hand sliding off of Naruto's damp chest and out of his jacket. His gaze turned back to what looked like a waterfall coming down off the the city, and he scoffed softly. How were they ever going to get back up there? They'd have to find a place that was relatively dry, and then there was the added complication of what state Naruto's body was in. Their best bet would be just to find shelter and wait for the storm to lessen. Something of this strength surely couldn't last too long. He hoped

[ninetailedderp]

"I didn't jump-" Another cough, clenched fist wiping at the edge of his mouth. "I saved your ass'ttebayo." The usual declaration, in all it's indignant glory, instead left him as little more than a coughed mutter. His movements were slowed, and while Sasuke was already planning where they could go and charting a course of action, the weight in his bones was all Naruto could think about. He'd fallen off of plenty of things before and had his ass kicked more times than he could count- even in Shibusen, and when his hands shook, lodged themselves in the mud as he forced his body to it's feet- Naruto couldn't say he didn't see this coming.

But with Sasuke pushing in to bear his weight, Naruto still felt like his arm was going to fall off. His chin lifted, gaze narrowed in an attempt to squint against the sheets of rain overhead until he spotted the vague shape of what were probably buildings a short way off. "There-" his head bobbed, a nod in the direction Sasuke already intended to take them, an affirmation of the plan.

[blindingrevenge]

"I would've been fine," Sasuke growled back, hoisting Naruto closer to his side before half limping towards the dark shapes not so far off. Better than Naruto landing hard on his back with the extra weight of another person. It might have been hypocritical of Sasuke to get upset about it, hell he'd probably have done the same thing in one situation or another, but some of Naruto's movements had been sluggish enough during their fight. Nothing any normal person would have noticed, but nobody knew how the Uzumaki fought better than his rival

[ninetailedderp]

It wasn't the first time they'd relied on each other like this, or that one of them would need to rest the near entirety of their weight on their partner. He might have expected less than this, or at the very least a hint of confusion between them, for how long it had been since they'd last functioned as some semblance of the team they'd once been. But there wasn't. Just simple acceptance and on both their parts, and effortless execution.

Effortless, but not harmonious.

No sooner had Sasuke's voice picked up however, than Naruto whirled on him. There plenty of things he could tolerate, and plenty of things he'd allowed to be thrown on him, but Naruto refused to be misunderstood and like hell he was going to let some stupid fall keep him from making that clear. It just added insult to injury. "I know I don't have my chakra!" He bellowed, arm sliding back from the other's shoulders to stand on his own two feet and he trembling that started then- was anger, not pain. Rain be damned, he wasn't yelling to be heard over the storm, he

[blindingrevenge]

The vehemence in his tone, not his pulling away, was what made Sasuke stop and really look at Naruto. It was easy to hear him, with the decibel of his voice, over the rain- and even if he hadn't, he probably could have understood just from the look on his face, the shake in his fists that Sasuke had become all too familiar with. Not pain, but determination. He'd heard a speech similar to this once before, something about being friends and how regardless of what bonds Naruto did or did not understand, Sasuke was still important to him

[ninetailedderp]

His mouth open, rebuttal at the ready. In truth he'd maybe only half processed the words that finally came out of Sasuke's mouth, head already full of a dozen replies he was more than able to imagine. To anticipate. He was used to being made light of, and really, Naruto couldn't say he'd been expecting anything to follow his declaration. His friend... His friend had done far worse than leave him empty handed, if it were going to come down to it, and even with the expressions that flickered briefly across the other's face, Naruto still didn't ask the boy for anything in return

[blindingrevenge]

Cold fingers unwrapped from Naruto's wrist, and while their conversation- if you could call it that- wasn't wholly forgotten, Sasuke's attention was fully on what had to be a kishin. They picked the worst times to come out, didn't they? And while it made sense, considering just what they were, it was still a giant pain in the ass. Neither of them were in any shape to be fighting.

But, really, they'd done it before. They could do it again. Sasuke's hands curled into fists and he took a step forward, just in front of Naruto. He didn't say anything, but he was fully prepared to take this thing on by himself if Naruto's body was in too rough of shape. Of course, he also knew Naruto would never let that happen, whether it be pride or his tendency towards martyrdom.

They didn't have much time to think, though, because it had spotted them as soon as they had spotted it, and reflexively Sasuke's left arm morphed into the long black fabric of his blindfold. "Don't get cocky," He growled at the creature.

[ninetailedderp]

Of course they were going to be attacked. Why wouldn't they be? He felt Sasuke moving to stand between him and the witch very nearly before he saw him- and instead of adamantly recoiling- of insisting that the other move out of the way, Naruto stayed put. He was headstrong and that was for certain, intent on throwing himself into the fight just as much as he imagined Sasuke would, but Naruto knew it was important to stay exactly where he was. Not for the sake of protection, and not out of weakness- but because doing so meant an acceptance of their partnership, however temporary it might be.

His own fingers curled into fists at his sides, stance widening a fraction, even as Sasuke's arm collapsed into black fabric. "Hey," he began, voice low and gaze narrowed- focused on the creature ahead of them. "You won't be as strong like that."

[blindingrevenge]

"Last time we tried that it didn't work," Sasuke snapped back through the hiss of the rain, more annoyed than anything else. If they couldn't resonate then how the hell would they get out of this? Kishin were stupidly persistent. Gritting his teeth he cracked the fabric, drawing the attention of the beast before leaping sideways, out of the way of it's beserker swing, effectively separating from Naruto- forcing it to be torn between two targets to buy himself time.

They needed to figure something out, and quick-- but really, there wasn't not much he could do on his own. Restrain it, sure, but kill it? No. And Naruto couldn't do it on his own. So he looked up, passed the kishin turning towards him slowly with some kind of unholy growl, and met Naruto's blue eyes through the fall of the rain.

Failed resonation or not, there was really only one thing they could do.

[ninetailedderp]

As far as Naruto was concerned, the memory of their last attempt- if it could even be called that, was all but forgotten with their present circumstances. It wouldn't be the first time that he'd somehow managed to figure things out in the middle of a serious battle, and it probably wouldn't be the last. His gaze cut to Sasuke, even as he moved, and the intention was clear on his face. Maybe they hadn't really tried resonating before, and maybe the last time they'd touched it had backlashed drastically but- Naruto had no intention of dying here.

He ran forward, barreling in the kishin's direction. Maybe he'd like to think things were a little different now. Or that maybe because there was no other option, they'd figure it out. Maybe he understood just a little bit more- maybe they both did.

Without so much as a sideways glance Naruto's arm reached out, and he felt the fabric respond immediately. Almost as immediately as the fire that lanced up his arm.

Or, maybe they were totally screwed.