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Innocence From Ashes
Chapter 18


Sasuke was standing at the window of the master bedroom, staring out over the city. High enough to see over the district’s tall walls, he watched the twinkling lights of Konoha, and ruminated over current events.

The whole of his life, from the day he first drew breath, to his bloody death at Kyuubi’s claws and fangs, to his rebirth to today; all was crystal clear to him. Even things most people had long ago forgotten; the savory taste of peaches mashed up by his mother when he was finally old enough to eat more than breast milk; the mishap he suffered the first day he went without a diaper… everything.

To Sasuke’s thinking, the span of a life, no matter how long or short, was filled with seasons of light and dark; the good times and the bad. His childhood as the youngest Uchiha had been light with patches of darkness. Sound had been the unmitigated pitch of the blackest night. The few days since then had been so bright that it was almost blinding to look back on. Bright enough to represent a slice of heaven.

Restlessly, he turned and padded naked and barefoot to the great bed in which lay his still sleeping mate. It had been over twelve hours, and Naruto had yet to wake. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he stared down at the man that meant more to him than his own life.

The heady innocence of the last few days was gone forever. Neither of them would ever be that wholesome, that innocent again. Because, things were different now.

Not only was his mate the dreaded Nine Tailed Demon Lord now, but, like Sasuke, he remembered every second of his lives. Naruto remembered his crushingly lonely and always hungry childhood, his uncomfortable adolescence, and the unparalleled hell of his life with Sasuke in Sound.

What was eight days of sweet love and tender passion compared to all that?

When he woke, when those unsurpassingly beautiful eyes opened once more, what would be in them when he looked at his mate, his Sasuke? Would Naruto still want to be his lover, his mate? Would the blonde still want him as his champion, his guardian? Would he want anything to do with him at all?

Sasuke had tasted fear and despair many times in his first illspent life. When his parents had died at Itachi’s hands, the years he spent as Orochimaru’s heir and plaything, the last days of Naruto’s short and brutal life. Each epoch of his life had been terrible, unendurable, and each successive one had been worse and harder to bear. And now, here he was again. And this time, the idea that Naruto would wake, and could turn away from him brought him the greatest pain and sorrow conceivable.

He could sit and bemoan his fate, but he was, after all, an Uchiha. The last tarnished member of a clan that had once been the apple of Konoha’s eyes. He had once been the apple of Konoha’s eyes, the crown prince. Now, he was a traitor, a demon, a murderer. How the mighty have fallen. It filled him with bitterness.

For in the unimaginable possibility that Naruto would still love him, still want him, how could he stay? How could he remain at the blond lord’s side, when he had a history of nothing but tainted arrogance and selfish egocentricity? Naruto had suffered because of it, time and again, until he had died of it.

But how could he leave? Naruto was everything to him; lover, mate, friend and lord. How could he turn away now? He owed the blonde everything, from the clothes on his back, to the air in his lungs, to the love that enabled him to continue living. How could he leave?

Whatever Naruto decided upon waking, Sasuke would abide. If the fox wanted him gone from his life, so he would go, but only far enough to give Naruto the peace he would require, never far enough away that he would not be on hand to guard him.

It was, after all, the only reason Kyuubi had brought him back; for Naruto.

And so, it was time for him to step aside, to break his own heart for the man that had done so for him time and again.

Already, he had made preparations for such. For how could Naruto be content with the status quo, now that he remembered everything? Years of torture and rape, mental and physical abuse. How could the blonde overlook that on top of everything else?

Kyuubi, naturally, told him he was a fool if he thought that, an idiot to even consider such a reaction from Naruto.

After all, whatever powers that be had made and meant Naruto and Sasuke for each other, and Kyuubi himself had strengthened that bond in his reformation of the pair. The great fox had simply made a few adjustments that an apparently all powerful entity had over looked.

Kyuubi was, of course, unabashedly pleased with himself for this.

A reluctant smile tugged on Sasuke’s lips as he thought of this. Kyuubi, as diminished in power and ranking as he was, was still as egotistical as ever.

Carefully, Sasuke took a lax tanned hand in his own, and gently kissed each finger. He pressed that hand to his cheek, the prickle of tears at the back of his nose, and wondered for how much longer he would have the privilege of touching Naruto.

Fingers slowly tightened on his, and Sasuke looked over the hand to the face looking up at his, enormous blue eyes watching him silently.

The blonde made no move to rescue his hand, or speak. He simply gazed with unfathomable eyes into his own. And Sasuke’s mind scrambled over itself in an attempt to read them. Stay or go? Kiss or release? Beg or apologize? Pack or make love? He was frozen with indecision.

And then, Naruto smiled, that blazing sincere smile, all tooth and flashing eyes.

”Idiot,“ he said softly.

Sasuke blinked, that being the very last thing he expected from Naruto’s mouth.

“I would think,” Naruto continued, that smile never faltering, “that you would have figured out by now that I never give up. I hunted you to the ends of the earth before, and I can do it again.”

“Dobe…” he choked out, remorse and love in his voice.

“Yeah, but I’m your dobe.”

“As I’m your teme,” Sasuke’s voice was shaky.

And then Naruto was in his arms, and they were both crying. Crying for all the pain and suffering and misunderstandings of the past, crying for the bigotry and cruelty in the world that would never pass, crying in gratitude that they had each other, and a love that would never fade or die.

Lips met and clung, fingers twined together, bodies pressed close. It was too heart wrenching for passion to rear its ever present head. Right now, it was a reaffirmation of all that they were to each other. Lovers. Friends. Mates. Companions. The be all and end all of each other’s lives. They clung and squirmed and tickled and stroked. They kissed and licked and nibbled and bit. They explored each other’s bodies, from the ends of their hair to the tips of their toes. They laughed and sighed, whispered and cried. And without penetration, without intercourse, they came together. Soft and gentle climaxes that wrung their hearts with sweetness. Lovemaking in its purest form.

Afterwards, they held each other tightly, breathing in sync, hearts beating as one.

“Told you, you were being stupid…” Kyuubi padded noiselessly into the bedroom. With a hop, skip and a jump, he joined them on the bed, snuggling down between them, paws and tongue working once more.

Though they were men now, his fox and his wolf instead of his kit and his cub, he was loath to let it all go; the comforting, the cleaning, all the things a fox did for his babies. It was too soon; he wasn’t ready to let go of them just yet. Even if they were now ready to fly without him.

Kyuubi was sure his heart was breaking at the thought.

Naruto and Sasuke chuckled at his words, and allowed him his parental rights. They could no more conceive of a life without their Chichiue than he could of one without them. They were content with their lives as they were.

Sort of.

“So, Kit, what will you do now?” Kyuubi asked softly when all the licking and cooing was done.

Naruto furrowed his brow. “I don’t know. It’s good to be home again, but…”

“You can’t see it as you once did,” Kyuubi finished for him sagely. “They mean to make your their king. It’s something you used to want so very much.”

Sasuke remained silent. As much as he wanted to take his golden fox back into the woods and live as they used to, this was Naruto’s choice. Later on he could argue or agree, once the blonde had voiced his decision.

“Hokage,” Naruto mused. “You’re right. It was once my most driven dream. Once. Even before I died, that had changed. And it’s tempting, I’ll admit. Very tempting.”

There was a loud clattering deeper into the manor, and the faint sound of Sakura swearing a blue streak.

“The girls are here, cleaning up the place,” Sasuke offered quietly. He hated all the coming and going. No one wanted him here, only Naruto. And Sasuke just wanted to be alone with his mate. His chichiue was an exception, of course.

Naruto’s eyes lit up. The girls! Which meant the guys couldn’t be far behind. Though he’d met most of them after his rebirth, he hadn’t known them then. It was time to greet his most precious people once more.

“Really? Let’s go see them!” He leapt from the bed, and galloped to the door.

“Uh, dobe?” Sasuke interrupted, amusement and chagrin threading through his voice.

“What? Come on, teme! It’s been forever!” Naruto whined.

“Yeah, yeah,” Sasuke didn’t bother mentioning that the people that wanted himself around were few and far between here. “But don’t you think you should get dressed? I know you’ve kinda gotten used to gallivanting around naked lately, but still…”

“Oh, heheh, yeah.” Sheepishly, Naruto scratched his head, and then dove into the armoire. To his surprise it was stuffed full of clothes that would fit both him and Sasuke.

“The humans are anxious to make a good impression on you now,” Kyuubi said tranquilly, his paws crossed one over the other before him. “Things have been flowing in since we arrived. Foolish little humans,” the fox continued in a grumble. “As if anything of that sort would make up for a lifetime of neglect.” He ended with a haughty sniff.

Naruto was touched, both by Kyuubi’s truthful sentiments, and the gestures from a city that once completely ignored him. Rooting around he gave a cry of happiness to find several glaringly orange garments.

”Tch…” Was all Sasuke said.

“But…” Naruto began mournfully, “the emblems are all wrong.”

The clothes that fit Sasuke were emblazoned with the Uchiha fan, naturally, as those for him sported his trademark spiral.

“What’s wrong with them?” Sasuke asked quietly. Somehow, the notion that Naruto might want to don the fan was rather unsettling. The Uchiha clan had been sliding into evil and corruption for some time, and it was not a fitting symbol for Naruto, whatever the pure blonde’s status.

Naruto looked thoughtful, then a shining claw extended from his pointer finger, and he touched the back of the orange shirt.

Like ink bleeding through parchment, the seal that once lay on his belly grew quickly, the Uzumaki spiral a part of it naturally, then four uchiwas appeared in a cloverleaf pattern. Elaborate, elegant, and Naruto was immensely satisfied with it.

Naruto held it up. “What do you think, teme?”

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “Whatever, dobe.”

And Sasuke too was satisfied. Mixing all three seemed somehow appropriate. After all, now Sasuke had a chance to redeem his family name. And he would do it with Naruto and Kyuubi at his side. It was fitting the three of them form a new clan, and new life.

Kyuubi nodded. He thought on how fine a man his kit was growing into. Kindness and compassion, naturally, something the boy had always possessed in abundance. But now, he was displaying wisdom, something the fox had once despaired of ever happening.

But Naruto was ever doing the unexpected, accomplishing the extraordinary. He made a most fitting heir indeed.

Kyuubi was pleased.