FicWad

The Slave of Sound
Chapter 11

For a moment, Naruto was frozen in his tracks, staring at that young, tantalizingly familiar face that was looking into his own with such heartbroken determination.

“Naruto-niisan?” Konohamaru stammered, unable to believe he was so close to his own most precious person at long last.

A vague thought flickered through the blonde’s mind like quicksilver. He’s grown so tall. And then he blinked, and that door slammed shut inside once more, closing off a glimpse of the summer bright happiness of yore.

No, he could not linger here. Not here, not with this… person. His master would not be pleased if he were to find out. No. Sunshine was not permitted in his life, even the dim recollection of the past. He would be punished.

He gave Konohamaru a faint bemused smile, and stepped silently around him.

Konohamaru swallowed back a bitter surge of disappointment, but was not deterred. No, he’d been prepared to expect such a reaction. And though it was his aim to break through the veneer of obedience Naruto wore like a cloak, he had to be cautious. There was no way he was going to be the cause of any more suffering for the one person the boy loved with all his might and main.

He knew that Naruto was not in any danger from Kabuto… Gaara and Hinata would see to it that the vilest creature on the face of the planet would never hurt Naruto again. And Sakura was likewise with the Otokage, so that for a few precious moments, Konohamaru could try and coax the vague blonde into a vitally important conversation. Konohamaru would do what he could to shine a ray of hope into a life that had been so devoid of any light for so long.

“Tsunade-sama misses you,” he spoke up in a wavering voice.

For a moment, that door so deep in Naruto’s psyche was wide open again, blazing with warmth and the memory of a beautiful if artificially youthful face sprang into his mind. Burgundy eyes looked into his heart for a moment, and Naruto thought he would weep. Baa-chan!

He stilled in his tracks to struggle with that treacherous door.

“Jiraiya-sensei has told me so many stories of your travels together,” Konohamaru went on, voice strengthening to see Naruto still once more, even if his back was to the boy now. “Konoha misses you. We want you to come home.”

Ero-sennin… home… ! Naruto shivered.

“They put your name on the memorial stone, you know. When they thought you were dead. They inscribed you as a hero. The council even went so far as to install an eternal flame. To commemorate the death of the Light of Konoha. You wouldn’t believe who came to honor you. Tazuna, Inari and Tsunami came. They missed you so much. Ranmaru and Karashi came too. Unfortunately, Karashi’s grandmother died a couple of years before. Sumaru was there, and so was Hokuta. They got married less than a year later, and they named their firstborn son after you. Shibuki was there and he inscribed the Waterfall symbol by your name, as an honorary member. Lady Yuki came too. She cried so hard. Everyone was there. Everyone was crying. They miss you so much.”

When Naruto still did not move, Konohamaru skipped forward to round the stricken blonde, and look earnestly into his face. “But I never believed that you were dead. Not you. I always hoped. I’ve been waiting. We’ve all been waiting. We’ve come to take you home.” This last was whispered softly, lest unfriendly ears overhear.

“Stop,” Naruto said in a strangled voice. “No more.”

“Didn’t you hear me, Naruto-niisan? You’re coming home with us. You will never have to come back here again. You can come home, and heal. We are all waiting for you.”

Tears sparkled in those hopeless blue eyes, and Konohamaru’s heart clenched. “Why are you doing this to me?” Naruto whispered, smote to his core.

“Because we will save you. I will save you! You will come home, and everything will be as it was. You’ll see!” Konohamaru’s youthful ignorance couldn’t conceive of anything else. Naruto had to come home and laugh and smile as he used to. “Come home! You have to come home and live and love and be our light again. But you wont be alone, because now there were so many others willing to shine for you. Let us be your light too!”

Suddenly, Naruto’s spirit, so long vanquished, surged to the fore. Eyes blazed with passion and rage, and his whole form trembled from head to foot. Then the light went out like a snuffed candle, and Naruto smiled sadly, reaching out to lightly touch his young friend’s cheek one last time.

“Konohamaru, you don’t understand. It’s impossible. There’s nothing left for me. Not in Konoha, and not here. I’m… not who I used to be. Go back to Konoha. Forget about me. Or if you must, go to the memorial stone, and mourn for the Naruto you knew and loved, because that man died a long time ago.”

And before he let this bewitching morsel of his past tempt him any further, Naruto ran down the hall as if all the hounds of hell were after him, leaving a young boy standing there forlornly, with tears in his grieving eyes.

“You’re wrong, Naruto-niisan,” Konohamaru vowed softly. “I will save you. I will be your light.”

*************

Greviously disturbed in spirit, Sasuke made straight for his chambers, forgetting the duties he’d been bent on before Sakura’s disastrous interruption. Right now, the Uchiha was stumbling on unsteady ground. Everything he’d believed in was threatened. Everything he’d done to date… could he have been so wrong?

But no. He was Uchiha Sasuke. He was a genius. He was strong, and true. He could not have done something so… wrong. Though he’d stolen Naruto upon a whim, the entire journey back to Sound had been fraught with deep thought. He’d planned everything so carefully since he’d laid his hand upon Naruto’s arm to perform the transportation jutsu. He’d been so careful, both before they arrived at their destination, and throughout his actions afterwards. No. He’d thought everything out. Sakura was being a bitch, trying to undermine his determination. Trying to make Sasuke out to be the villain while practically canonizing Naruto.

Che!

Naruto had brought this all upon himself. Naruto had made the decision that fateful day to turn away Sasuke’s advances. Naruto had denied him!

As soon as he gained the sanctuary of his rooms, he closed the bedroom door and leaned against it, almost panting in his mental turmoil. Thus it took him almost a full second to realize he wasn’t alone.

Naruto lay curled up on the bed they shared every night, and he was crying. Weeping soft choking sobs of hopelessness, of grief and pain.

For a moment, Sasuke couldn’t move. The only time Naruto ever cried now was when he was being physically abused. The digs and slurs Sasuke and Kabuto heaped on his head never brought even so much as a flicker of reaction for years now. No, the only time Naruto cried was when body, heart and soul were hurting so badly he couldn’t hold it in anymore.

And yet, Sasuke could see no injuries on the small and voluptuous body that he hadn’t put there himself. There was no fresh scents of blood or sex, only the faint tang of salve DeKrisso used on the younger man whenever he managed to save Naruto from Kabuto, as he did yesterday. So why was Naruto crying now?

Sasuke continued to lean against the door and observe his slave. For a moment he wondered if Naruto ever cried so brokenly and he just hadn’t known.

But no… Naruto wasn’t one to linger when there was something to do. Though so many things were forbidden to the slave, he’d found things that weren’t, and had always kept himself busy when he was not needed by his master.

There was DeKrisso, who’d been a slave for so long that no one could remember who’d originally enslaved him; he’d been passed from master to mistress and back again so many times, it was as if he’d been born a slave. Hell, for all Sasuke knew, he had been. If anyone knew about the ancient wizened old man, it would be Naruto. The blonde had always been considerate of the old slave, even in the early days when he was hurting so badly himself.

And there were Naruto’s other… charities. The few times that the blonde slave had exerted the undeniable power that being the de facto consort of the Otokage possessed.

There were no orphans in Sound. Because, as Sasuke had been told by his girls, Naruto had claimed it takes a village to raise a child, and so had ensured that those unfortunate children that had no parents, no succor from the harshness of life, were well cared for here. He’d seen his dobe doling out fresh food from the kitchens to the street urchins himself. Of course, the blonde had been aided and abetted by the domestic staff in all his endeavors. Naruto was even more beloved by all and sundry in Sound than he had been in Konoha. The great hall in the old wing had been refitted to house dozens of beds so those young hands and tired bodies would have somewhere warm and snug to sleep. And he’d found the most sympathetic slaves and even a couple of nobles to pass through frequently and make sure each and every one of those lonely children had enough to eat, had things to play with, and people to love them. There was never any shortages of orphans in the surrounding countryside. Times were dangerous, and people died, leaving loved ones behind, often children. The faces in those beds changed frequently, as rescued children found homes and families to love them as they had been denied.

Sasuke thought of this now, and one hand rose to clench his own shirt. Naruto had provided for the children so that they didn’t have to experience the childhood the blonde had. Naruto couldn’t bear to see hopeless young eyes and scrawny undernourished bodies like his own had been. Privately, Sasuke was convinced that was the reason Naruto had never really had much of a growth spurt… he’d been abused and neglected since the cradle, and his body showed it. Likewise, the blonde had made sure the children had the toys he’d been denied, the books and puzzles and games he’d never had the chance to play with… and was still denied.

And the doubt began gnawing at Sasuke’s mind once more. Did Naruto really deserve what his best friend and most precious person had given him? Sure, the blonde had rejected his advances that first day at Sound, but did that justify the years of torment and pain he’d been allotted? Look at how good the dobe had always been; how concerned for the welfare of others, the happiness of others. He was generosity personified, kind and gentle when he was allowed to be, and strong and forceful and deadly when required. Yes, Naruto had been a person worthy of admiration and respect. When would Sasuke finally be done punishing him for not wanting the Uchiha as much as Sasuke had wanted him?