Fox Magic 16: Possession (Part 1)
Naruto gave Gaara a solemn nod of acknowledgement as they reached the door to Naruto’s shared quarters. A Sand ninja in black was posting guard down the hallway, and although the woman wasn’t overtly watching the pair, both demons knew they were being observed. Naruto fought down the urge to clasp Gaara’s arm in a proper farewell, smiling wryly.
“Thanks for the tour.”
Gaara’s pale blue eyes held a touch of warmth that belied the stoic expression on his face. He tipped his head minutely. “You are welcome.”
After a moment more of staring at each other, Gaara briefly coiled his golden chakra around Naruto’s feet, squeezed them, and released him. His lips tightened as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he merely turned and made his way down the hallway. Naruto watched him go, his chest tight with the desire to grab the other demon, hold him close, and snarl at anyone who tried to separate them again. He’d already gone several hundred years without his blood brother. Unconsciously, Naruto’s fists clenched.
With any luck, they wouldn’t be separated for much longer. Taking a deep breath, Naruto unfurled his fingers and turned towards the door. Sasuke’s my last hope, he mused somberly as he reached for the handle. If I can’t get him to free me, there won’t exactly be more chances coming my way.
He opened the door and stepped into the darkened room, glancing at the Uchiha heir, who was lounging on the bed and staring at the ceiling. Naruto quietly closed the door behind him as he contemplated the other man. Sasuke, for all his bluster, was still an enigma to the fox demon. Even if the enslavement band didn’t force Naruto’s throat to magically lock up if he even considered discussing his freedom with Sasuke, he wasn’t entirely sure that he’d want to bring it up. Quite honestly, he had no idea how Sasuke would react to the idea of freeing the demon. He’d been surprisingly forbearing thus far, certainly more so than any of Naruto’s former masters, but would the man go so far as to release him if he were given the chance?
With a suppressed frown, Naruto walked over to the bed and sat heavily, bouncing the other man. He forced an unrepentant grin at the glare he received in return.
Would Sasuke want to walk away if he had the chance? he wondered suddenly. For some reason, the thought unsettled him. Sure, Sasuke had complained a lot when Naruto had been released-and quite a bit since then, come to think of it-but they were definitely past that level of antagonism, right? Sasuke seemed to enjoy worrying about him, and Naruto certainly enjoyed his company, so even if Sasuke managed to get his act together and release the demon from his enslavement, the younger man wouldn’t just write him off, right?
The image of Sasuke walking away from him, dismissing him, burned a little hole in his gut. Despite himself, he frowned. The hell I’ll let him get away with that when this is all over.
“I take it your little reunion went well?” Sasuke’s dry voice cut into Naruto’s ruminations. When Naruto glanced over at him, he realized that the other man had sat up and folded his arms, and that Sasuke had been staring at him for some time.
Naruto smiled weakly. “Yeah, it went fine. We’ve…” His chest tightened again, but he shook off the feeling. “We’ve missed each other.”
“Mm,” Sasuke hummed noncommittally, eyeing Naruto suspiciously. “I’m sure you did.”
Naruto’s eyebrows furrowed briefly at the other man’s tone. “What? Is there something wrong with that?”
Sasuke’s dark eyes studied him in the moonlight, his face partially hidden by shadows. After a moment, he seemed to come to some conclusion, and his shoulders relaxed.
“No, there’s nothing wrong with that, so long as it doesn’t give away our cover,” Sasuke returned pointedly.
Naruto winced. “I tried to make up for that.”
“By flirting with the daughter of the Kazekage.”
“Hey, I was staring at his supposed son first, right? It made sense at the time,” he protested.
Sasuke snorted, rising to his feet and wandering over to the window. “And I’m sure that the fact that she’s pretty had nothing to do with it,” he stated sarcastically.
“She’s a man-eater. She’d have my balls for breakfast.” The very idea made him shudder theatrically. “Not my type, thank you very much.”
When Sasuke’s head swung around in surprise, Naruto found his own lips pursing into a pout.
“What?” he asked defensively.
Sasuke stared at him in mock-shock. “You actually have a type? Or rather, a not-type?”
Naruto’s pout got worse as a wave of indignation rose up within him. “Of course I have a not-type. What do you think I am, exactly? The local harlot?”
Sasuke smirked. “If the shoe fits.”
“Hey!” Naruto rose to his feet and jabbed a finger in Sasuke’s direction. “I’m a flirt, not a harlot, thank you very much.”
“You nearly slept with Hayako,” Sasuke pointed out.
Well, that was true. Frowning, Naruto glared at Sasuke’s feet. “It’s been a long time, she was pretty, and I liked her. That doesn’t mean I’ll have sex with anything that crosses the street.”
“Hn.” Sasuke turned his back to the window and leaned against it, folding his arms. He gave Naruto a once-over that left the demon with the offensive impression that Sasuke wasn’t buying it, but before Naruto could stand up for his virtue, the Uchiha heir changed the subject. “I noticed that you didn’t change the Kazekage’s mind over these missions.”
That brought Naruto up short. “Well, he’s the leader of a foreign country, a man and a people that I know next to nothing about,” he replied, eyebrows furrowed. “I wasn’t going to tamper with his head without discussing it with you first.”
Sasuke exhaled and nodded his head approvingly. “I’m glad you didn’t. The Kazekage isn’t known for changing his mind on a whim. You’d have alerted everyone to the fact that something was going on.”
Sasuke approved of something he did. That was a first. “Doesn’t adding missions count as a whim?” At the time, Naruto had wondered why Sasuke didn’t object.
The Uchiha heir waved his hand dismissively. “That’s a trick they all play. He’s sending me on a test mission to see if I live up to my reputation.”
Naruto frowned. “How can you be so sure?”
Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Because this isn’t my first ride, you know. I’ve been through these power games before. The Kazekage’s going to test me with something faintly challenging, and when I blow through it, he’ll give me the details for the real one.”
My, he’s awfully cocky. Naruto stared at him. “Is that legal?”
Sasuke shrugged. “Not particularly, but he knows that Konoha’s been backed into a corner. Getting here early seems to have put time on his side, too.”
“Ah.” So if we’d gotten here on time or late, he could’ve bitched us out about not taking him seriously, and getting here early is an “inconvenience” that lets him send Sasuke out on an extra mission without eating up scheduled time. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Shaking his head, Naruto clapped his hands together. “So! How are we getting around this one? Am I joining you as a fox or what?”
Sasuke frowned. “You can’t.”
The demon blinked. “What?”
“You can’t come with me. It’s a test, remember?”
“But…” Concerned, Naruto moved to stand beside him at the window. “You and Tsunade-baa-chan said that Sand’s probably setting you up with all this. You’ll be going into the mission with hostile ninjas around you!”
Sasuke glared at him defiantly. “So?”
Incredulous, Naruto returned, “So it’ll be dangerous! Even if it’s just a test, they could surround you and take you out or something! What if you get hurt?”
Sasuke lifted his chin condescendingly. “Naruto, in case you’ve forgotten, I’m an incredibly gifted ninja. I doubt that anything Sand has to offer can take me down, seeing as how I had to beat most of them personally to get my Jounin ranking. I’ll be fine.”
“But!” Naruto fought the urge to pace. He hadn’t argued with the Kazekage because he’d assumed that Sasuke would find a way to take him along. Sasuke was actually going to leave him behind? He was going into battle with hostile ninjas all around him without any support whatsoever?? “What if they catch you off guard? Anything could happen out there!”
Sasuke stared at him for a moment before, horribly, starting to laugh. “Are you worried about me?”
“What? No! I just…” Naruto trailed off. Well, crap. He was worried. “I just don’t want you going out there alone,” he muttered petulantly.
Sasuke patted him on the shoulder, but Naruto shrugged his hand off with a scowl. “I’m a big boy. I don’t need you to babysit me,” the brunet crooned mockingly. “I promise I won’t go out and get myself killed.”
Naruto narrowed his eyes. “You’re being awfully cocky, you know. It wasn’t that long ago that you were asking me for new techniques.”
Sasuke glared at him. “That was for Itachi.”
“And if there’s an ‘Itachi’ here in Sand?” Naruto shot back. He smirked smugly, bumping shoulders with Sasuke as he strolled past him towards the dresser. He picked up a small, cheap notepad and fiddled with it. “I think you should bring me along, just in case.”
Sasuke didn’t reply, but Naruto could practically feel the other man’s glare burning into his back. Grinning, he turned around.
Sasuke was no longer behind him. His chakra signature had disappeared.
“What the he-” Abruptly, a kunai whipped around him and pressed against his throat, making him catch his breath in surprise. A breath teased his right ear.
“I think I can manage,” Sasuke stated haughtily. Naruto slowly turned his head to stare at the other man.
Sasuke was actively cloaking his chakra with bits of Shukaku’s outwash and the natural chakra held by the earth. As far as Naruto’s senses-aside from sight, sound, and smell, of course-were concerned, Sasuke was fucking invisible. How the hell had he figured that out??
At Naruto’s flummoxed stare, Sasuke smirked and put his kunai away. “Someone did tell you that I’m a genius, right?” he questioned teasingly, accurately reading Naruto’s thoughts. “Trust me. I’ll be fine. I don’t need you out there.”
I don’t need you. The words struck Naruto hard, nearly knocking the wind out of him. The realization nearly made his head spin. Aside from the mess with Itachi, Sasuke didn’t need him. He’d been an incredibly accomplished ninja before Naruto’s release, and he’d continue to be one without any help from the fox demon. Naruto blinked hard, suddenly feeling the need to sit down. For the first time in his “career” as a genie, he wasn’t necessary. He might be the legendary Kyuubi no Kitsune to the rest of the world, but what was he to Sasuke? What use did he serve in his day-to-day life?
Would Sasuke walk away from me, given the chance? he wondered again, faintly. Maybe he would.
The thought shook him to the core.
Startled, but trying to hide it, Naruto folded his arms over his chest. The sudden glint of moonlight off his ring gave him pause, and he stared at it, wondering why it hadn’t occurred to him earlier. “What about the fact that I can’t be separated from you for too long? Are you going to leave me behind to suffer?”
Sasuke frowned, lowering his eyes to the metal band and reaching up to finger the crystal hung from his neck. “You’ve been able to withstand being separated from me for a few hours lately. I should feel it when the ring starts to hurt you, but I doubt the test mission will run too long.”
Naruto lifted his gaze, then asked in a subdued tone, “And if it does?”
Sasuke lifted a hand to his lips, rubbing them contemplatively. “I could just summon you, couldn’t I? Our bond should let me do that.” He nodded decisively. “If the ring gets too bad, I’ll make up some excuse and summon you to wherever I am.”
Naruto nodded slowly, too distracted to argue with him. “I’ll make sure to leave a double here and arrive as a fox.” In his distraction, he missed the considering look Sasuke gave him. After a moment of awkward silence, the brunet continued.
“At any rate, if you’re here, you can help me find out what Sand is actually planning. I doubt they’re prepared for a fox demon worming his way through their documents,” he offered casually.
Naruto blinked, then inhaled slowly. “You could do that yourself, if you wanted to.”
Sasuke shrugged. “That’s what you’re here for. You’re supposed to be my partner, after all.”
Partners. The word caused his tense shoulders to relax minutely, even though the demon’s stomach was still tightly clenched. He took a deep breath and nodded.
“I’ll do some digging while you’re gone.”
Sasuke made a low noise of acknowledgement, looking a little uncomfortable. He tipped his chin up and gave Naruto an arch look.
“Just try not to sleep with the staff, and don’t eat them out of house and home, will you?” he demanded sarcastically.
Naruto’s hackles rose instantly. “Hey! I already told you that I don’t really sleep around, and I don’t eat that much, you prick.”
Sasuke smirked. “And if they have tasty snacks in the pantry? Tasty, exotic snacks, I might add?”
Naruto paused. “Well, now that I think about it, I might need something to soothe the pain. Every moment that I’m not with my dear, cherished-”
Sasuke scowled. “Oh, shut up.”
“-Wonderful, desperately adored, raven-haired, dark-eyed beauty-”
“Naruto.”
“-I will need to console myself with tasty foodstuffs. Or sex,” he added, a bitter note entering his previously teasing tone, “whichever comes more easily.”
Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Don’t be a baby. I’m sure you’ll be fine without me for a few hours, and the gods know I’ll be fine without you for that long.” With that, he began pulling off his shirt, clearly preparing for bed.
Naruto felt a little sting from that barb, but he tried to let it go. As he pulled off his own shirt and started on his pants, he tossed out, “I give you an hour, tops, before you start missing me.”
Sasuke snorted, stripping down to his boxers, although he pulled out a kunai and slipped it under his pillow. “I didn’t know I was that much of a masochist.”
“Are you kidding me? Name me one thing about you that doesn’t scream masochist.”
Sasuke paused, then glared at him. “Fuck you.”
Naruto grinned. “That’s what I thought.” He leapt onto the bed and opened his arms wide. “C’mere, snuggle bunny! I need to get my quota in now before you leave me for other men.”
Sasuke groaned, slipping into the cool bed. He moved close to Naruto’s side, but he ignored the waiting arms and turned his back on the other man.
“Why do I put up with you?” Sasuke muttered.
Naruto’s smile faded. Lowering his arms, he pressed up against Sasuke’s back and curled his left arm over the other man’s waist. He rested his face against Sasuke’s surprisingly soft hair and sighed.
“You tell me, Sasuke,” he replied quietly. “You tell me.”
* * *
Tsunade felt a horrific headache blooming behind her eyes at the news from Hyuuga Neji. Her mouth practically burned for a stiff drink.
“You’re positive that it was the Akatsuki?” she questioned wearily. The man nodded sharply. She exhaled, reaching up with a hand to rub at the bridge of her nose. “Fan-fucking-tastic.”
Neji gazed at her contemplatively. “If I may, Hokage-sama, I would like to point out that the Akatsuki’s presence at the location of the legendary battle with Kyuubi no Kitsune does lend some credence to our theory.”
A stiff drink, and some hearty gambling as a chaser. That’s what she needed. “With Uchiha Itachi’s presence immediately before the fox showed up, I’d say we’ve got more than just a little proof. Dammit to hell!” Abruptly, Tsunade slammed her hands down on her desk. “I’ve got Sand itching to go to war, Sound stirring up trouble, the Akatsuki lurking within my borders, and a legendary demon wandering around under my flag!” Leaping to her feet, the woman stormed over to the wall, glared at it, and put her fist through it with a sudden, sickening crunch. Behind her, Neji suppressed a flinch. “I never should’ve taken that old bastard’s advice and taken on this fucking job!!”
Neji wisely remained quiet as Tsunade’s rage subsided into some furious mutterings. She wrenched her arm free of the wall and began to pace within the boundaries of her office. His pale eyes tracked her cautiously.
Warily, he ventured, “Kakashi-san and the Anbu are ready to depart. Are you going to tell them to wait?” The fact that he had returned empty-handed weighed heavily upon the air between them.
Tsunade paused in her pacing, inhaled sharply, and straightened her shoulders with a huff. “No. They’re already days behind those idiots.” Marching to her desk, she slammed her finger down on the intercom button. “Shizune! Tell Kakashi and the Anbu accompanying him to leave immediately, and tell them I may be sending something after them.”
“Yes, Hokage-sama.”
Tsunade glared at the intercom for a moment longer. Only one thing I can do, then. She lifted her eyes, focusing on the man in front of her. “Hyuuga, I want you to gather up Nara Shikamaru, Aburame Shino, and anyone else you think will be qualified for stealth. I need you to monitor the Akatsuki, and for the love of god, don’t get caught, and don’t take them on. I need to know exactly how many of them are here, and what they’re up to.”
Neji bowed his head. “Understood, Hokage-sama.”
“I’ll leave you to it, then,” she stated in a low voice, her eyes taking on a determined glint. She brushed past him and swept out of her office, earning an odd look from the Jounin. As she walked, she brought her fists up before her chest and began cracking her knuckles.
Time to pay the Uchiha household a little visit.
* * *
(Part 2)