Naruto fic: Killed A Man In A Far-Away Land
THIS IS IN PLACE OF MY REACTION POST TO CHAPTER 443 - STOP THE HEARTBREAK, KISHI!
Title: “Killed A Man In A Far-Away Land”
Author: Shaitanah
Rating: PG
Timeline: post-443
Summary: Now that the battle is over, Naruto can let himself cry. Maybe if he doesn’t move, this moment won’t go away. [Sasuke&Naruto gen-ish; Spoilers for the latest chapters!] Please R&R!
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Title from I Really Want You by James Blunt. Quote taken from Naruto Chapter 309.
A/N: Yo! Missed me? XD My hiatus isn’t over, but this little piece of insanity crept into my brain after I read the new chapter and watched the new OP/ED of Shippuuden and demanded release. I’m pretty disappointed with the manga these days, but somehow Naruto in the latest chapter nearly made me cry. This piece will most assuredly be rendered AU by the next chapter, though.
KILLED A MAN IN A FAR-AWAY LAND
“You’re an idiot.”
“I know.”
Crammed pieces of paper are scattered all over the floor. Naruto sinks between those heaps, unable to keep on his legs. Tears well up in his eyes. Oh no, not that, not now.
Incredulous, “You’re crying!”
“I’m not!”
“You are! You’re even more of an idiot than I thought.”
Naruto shakes his head fiercely. Tears splatter all over his cheeks. He tries to wipe them off with his frayed sleeve, but they keep coming. He is vaguely aware that he is still in the enemy lair, that freaky paper tree, and he is crying for Konoha, and for Jiraiya, and for Hinata, and for Pain and the blue-haired paper-woman, and for himself, and for his friend who watches him now with the same grave, emotionless eyes as always. He’s here. Right in front of him.
Naruto can’t even bring himself to feel happy.
“So,” he murmurs, “why are you here?”
“I came to destroy Konoha. But I guess I’m late to the party.”
Naruto holds his breath, too shocked to react. Him too!? A low sound gurgles in his throat, and suddenly, he is laughing and crying at the same time, hysterical. His vision is blurry. He blinks a few times, trying to see past the tears that cling stubbornly to his eyelashes.
He struggles to get up. The paper around him is damp and feels like a swamp. Sasuke grasps him by the shoulder and forces him to rise. In turn, Naruto’s fingers constrict around Sasuke’s shoulder.
“I haven’t thought about you for ages,” he says.
“That’s very… mature of you.”
“I won’t let you hurt anyone.”
A smirk. “Everyone’s already been hurt.”
Naruto swings forth, lips moving tiredly against Sasuke’s ear.
“Then why are you here?”
Sasuke pulls away. Surveys him with dark, unblinking eyes.
“Madara wants me to-. He’s under the impression that you’ll follow me.”
Naruto chuckles. For the Fox then. Yet another way to get their hands on it.
“I can’t go Nine-Tails,” he informs matter-of-factly. “I have a defence mechanism.”
…which he isn’t sure will work again. He is tempted to try when he faces Madara, if only to meet that person within him one more time. But he won’t tell Sasuke that. After all, Sasuke never tells him his secrets. Like what it is with the Akatsuki cloak and doing Madara’s bidding. He doesn’t even want to ask about it. He feels sick, and the red clouds threaten to engulf him.
“Good for you.”
Naruto forces himself to look away from the big bloody cloud imprinted over the Akatsuki cloak - and into Uchiha’s eyes. Still black. Where the hell is the Sharingan? Sasuke looks very tired.
“I tried to tell him,” Naruto draws out. “Tried to explain to him that he was just being used by someone else. By Madara.” Sasuke’s gaze flicks curiously towards Naruto. “He didn’t listen, though.”
Sasuke shrugs. That’s hardly surprising, the gesture says. Now let’s go.
They walk out of the paper tree. Sasuke forms the seals and sets the tree on fire. Flaccid paper burns lifelessly, soundlessly. With it, burns the last - real - Pain.
“He killed Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto says quietly, to himself rather than to Sasuke, because he needs to make himself believe it was absolutely necessary. You kill that which you can’t remake. He tried to remake Pain - and failed. He didn’t seem to be as good at it as before. First he couldn’t reform Sasuke, now Pain. “And Ero-sennin. And Hinata. And other people too, I s’pose.”
Sasuke glances briefly at him. Naruto feels stupid. The guy killed everyone - and he tried to talk to him. Sasuke turns to face him, one hand lying firmly on the hilt of his sword.
“Do we fight or are you coming quietly?”
Naruto cocks his head. Leans against a tree. Closes his eyes for a moment.
“Tomorrow, ‘kay? ‘M sleepy…”
* * *
He opens his eyes a minute later, but it is already dark in the forest. It is the same forest, and he briefly wonders, upon seeing Sasuke’s still frame near him, why Sasuke hasn’t taken him to Madara while he was in no shape to resist.
“She’s alive.” Sasuke’s voice is expressionless; he isn’t even looking at Naruto. “Hinata. She didn’t die.”
A small smile breaks out upon Naruto’s lips. Good. That’s very good. Very scary because he will have to talk to her now, talk about the things she said and how he isn’t sure what to feel; but alive is good in any case.
“Why are you with them?” Naruto asks after a short, uncomfortable pause.
“They make it easier for me to reach my goals.”
“Why do you want to destroy Konoha?”
“Because Konoha destroyed me.”
Naruto pulls himself up, holds his hand out.
“Stay.”
Sasuke frowns slightly. Long, bluish shadows fall across his face. He looks ethereal. Naruto blinks his eyes, wondering if all of that is just one long, tormenting dream.
“Stay with me. Now.”
Sasuke looks surprised. Just barely. Not angry or annoyed; he doesn’t call him a moron; he just looks… surprised. He holds out his hand to meet Naruto’s; his fingers brush Naruto’s fingers.
Quiet, “I don’t care what happens to you. I don’t care what happens to them. I don’t even care what happens to me as long as I have my vengeance.”
He sounds insecure, echoing his own words of long ago. As long as I can have my revenge, I couldn’t care less what happens to me, or the whole world for that matter.
“But then…” Naruto hesitates. “You’ve already had it, haven’t you? Itachi…”
An abrupt loud sound disturbing the stillness of the forest. Sasuke laughing quietly, as if in amusement.
“Itachi… yeah…”
Naruto doesn’t understand. But he doesn’t ask to explain either. No point in that. Instead, he winds two of his fingers around two of Sasuke’s fingers, a tentative touch, electrifying and soothing at the same time. He smiles faintly. Just a tug of a smile at the corner of his mouth. He wants to pass this smile over to Sasuke, but it takes more effort.
He thinks of where Sasuke has been, what he has been up to these past months. It’s the first time he thinks about him properly, like he used to. He flashes back to the previous day and remembers himself standing in the middle of the lair, bloodied and bruised, staring at the passage where a familiar form has just appeared.
Sasuke…
As the memory sharpens in his mind, getting clearer and clearer, Naruto’s grip on Sasuke’s fingers tightens. Neither of the two moves. One of them has to go back to the village; the other, back to his confederates; neither of them is sure he wants that.
“The world sucks,” Naruto mutters. He learnt that yesterday.
“It does.”
Naruto stays quiet for a minute, taking in the feeling of Sasuke’s hand halfway in his.
“I’ll change that.”
For a moment it seems Sasuke has smiled.
“I’m sure you will.”
Still, they don’t move.
April 10, 2009
*~*~*
On a related note: I've been listening to James Blunt a lot today, and I found a few songs that are scarily Naruto-compliant))) Especially Cry. It's NaruSasu, people!
james_blunt_-_cry.mp3
Title: “Killed A Man In A Far-Away Land”
Author: Shaitanah
Rating: PG
Timeline: post-443
Summary: Now that the battle is over, Naruto can let himself cry. Maybe if he doesn’t move, this moment won’t go away. [Sasuke&Naruto gen-ish; Spoilers for the latest chapters!] Please R&R!
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Title from I Really Want You by James Blunt. Quote taken from Naruto Chapter 309.
A/N: Yo! Missed me? XD My hiatus isn’t over, but this little piece of insanity crept into my brain after I read the new chapter and watched the new OP/ED of Shippuuden and demanded release. I’m pretty disappointed with the manga these days, but somehow Naruto in the latest chapter nearly made me cry. This piece will most assuredly be rendered AU by the next chapter, though.
KILLED A MAN IN A FAR-AWAY LAND
“You’re an idiot.”
“I know.”
Crammed pieces of paper are scattered all over the floor. Naruto sinks between those heaps, unable to keep on his legs. Tears well up in his eyes. Oh no, not that, not now.
Incredulous, “You’re crying!”
“I’m not!”
“You are! You’re even more of an idiot than I thought.”
Naruto shakes his head fiercely. Tears splatter all over his cheeks. He tries to wipe them off with his frayed sleeve, but they keep coming. He is vaguely aware that he is still in the enemy lair, that freaky paper tree, and he is crying for Konoha, and for Jiraiya, and for Hinata, and for Pain and the blue-haired paper-woman, and for himself, and for his friend who watches him now with the same grave, emotionless eyes as always. He’s here. Right in front of him.
Naruto can’t even bring himself to feel happy.
“So,” he murmurs, “why are you here?”
“I came to destroy Konoha. But I guess I’m late to the party.”
Naruto holds his breath, too shocked to react. Him too!? A low sound gurgles in his throat, and suddenly, he is laughing and crying at the same time, hysterical. His vision is blurry. He blinks a few times, trying to see past the tears that cling stubbornly to his eyelashes.
He struggles to get up. The paper around him is damp and feels like a swamp. Sasuke grasps him by the shoulder and forces him to rise. In turn, Naruto’s fingers constrict around Sasuke’s shoulder.
“I haven’t thought about you for ages,” he says.
“That’s very… mature of you.”
“I won’t let you hurt anyone.”
A smirk. “Everyone’s already been hurt.”
Naruto swings forth, lips moving tiredly against Sasuke’s ear.
“Then why are you here?”
Sasuke pulls away. Surveys him with dark, unblinking eyes.
“Madara wants me to-. He’s under the impression that you’ll follow me.”
Naruto chuckles. For the Fox then. Yet another way to get their hands on it.
“I can’t go Nine-Tails,” he informs matter-of-factly. “I have a defence mechanism.”
…which he isn’t sure will work again. He is tempted to try when he faces Madara, if only to meet that person within him one more time. But he won’t tell Sasuke that. After all, Sasuke never tells him his secrets. Like what it is with the Akatsuki cloak and doing Madara’s bidding. He doesn’t even want to ask about it. He feels sick, and the red clouds threaten to engulf him.
“Good for you.”
Naruto forces himself to look away from the big bloody cloud imprinted over the Akatsuki cloak - and into Uchiha’s eyes. Still black. Where the hell is the Sharingan? Sasuke looks very tired.
“I tried to tell him,” Naruto draws out. “Tried to explain to him that he was just being used by someone else. By Madara.” Sasuke’s gaze flicks curiously towards Naruto. “He didn’t listen, though.”
Sasuke shrugs. That’s hardly surprising, the gesture says. Now let’s go.
They walk out of the paper tree. Sasuke forms the seals and sets the tree on fire. Flaccid paper burns lifelessly, soundlessly. With it, burns the last - real - Pain.
“He killed Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto says quietly, to himself rather than to Sasuke, because he needs to make himself believe it was absolutely necessary. You kill that which you can’t remake. He tried to remake Pain - and failed. He didn’t seem to be as good at it as before. First he couldn’t reform Sasuke, now Pain. “And Ero-sennin. And Hinata. And other people too, I s’pose.”
Sasuke glances briefly at him. Naruto feels stupid. The guy killed everyone - and he tried to talk to him. Sasuke turns to face him, one hand lying firmly on the hilt of his sword.
“Do we fight or are you coming quietly?”
Naruto cocks his head. Leans against a tree. Closes his eyes for a moment.
“Tomorrow, ‘kay? ‘M sleepy…”
* * *
He opens his eyes a minute later, but it is already dark in the forest. It is the same forest, and he briefly wonders, upon seeing Sasuke’s still frame near him, why Sasuke hasn’t taken him to Madara while he was in no shape to resist.
“She’s alive.” Sasuke’s voice is expressionless; he isn’t even looking at Naruto. “Hinata. She didn’t die.”
A small smile breaks out upon Naruto’s lips. Good. That’s very good. Very scary because he will have to talk to her now, talk about the things she said and how he isn’t sure what to feel; but alive is good in any case.
“Why are you with them?” Naruto asks after a short, uncomfortable pause.
“They make it easier for me to reach my goals.”
“Why do you want to destroy Konoha?”
“Because Konoha destroyed me.”
Naruto pulls himself up, holds his hand out.
“Stay.”
Sasuke frowns slightly. Long, bluish shadows fall across his face. He looks ethereal. Naruto blinks his eyes, wondering if all of that is just one long, tormenting dream.
“Stay with me. Now.”
Sasuke looks surprised. Just barely. Not angry or annoyed; he doesn’t call him a moron; he just looks… surprised. He holds out his hand to meet Naruto’s; his fingers brush Naruto’s fingers.
Quiet, “I don’t care what happens to you. I don’t care what happens to them. I don’t even care what happens to me as long as I have my vengeance.”
He sounds insecure, echoing his own words of long ago. As long as I can have my revenge, I couldn’t care less what happens to me, or the whole world for that matter.
“But then…” Naruto hesitates. “You’ve already had it, haven’t you? Itachi…”
An abrupt loud sound disturbing the stillness of the forest. Sasuke laughing quietly, as if in amusement.
“Itachi… yeah…”
Naruto doesn’t understand. But he doesn’t ask to explain either. No point in that. Instead, he winds two of his fingers around two of Sasuke’s fingers, a tentative touch, electrifying and soothing at the same time. He smiles faintly. Just a tug of a smile at the corner of his mouth. He wants to pass this smile over to Sasuke, but it takes more effort.
He thinks of where Sasuke has been, what he has been up to these past months. It’s the first time he thinks about him properly, like he used to. He flashes back to the previous day and remembers himself standing in the middle of the lair, bloodied and bruised, staring at the passage where a familiar form has just appeared.
Sasuke…
As the memory sharpens in his mind, getting clearer and clearer, Naruto’s grip on Sasuke’s fingers tightens. Neither of the two moves. One of them has to go back to the village; the other, back to his confederates; neither of them is sure he wants that.
“The world sucks,” Naruto mutters. He learnt that yesterday.
“It does.”
Naruto stays quiet for a minute, taking in the feeling of Sasuke’s hand halfway in his.
“I’ll change that.”
For a moment it seems Sasuke has smiled.
“I’m sure you will.”
Still, they don’t move.
April 10, 2009
*~*~*
On a related note: I've been listening to James Blunt a lot today, and I found a few songs that are scarily Naruto-compliant))) Especially Cry. It's NaruSasu, people!
james_blunt_-_cry.mp3