FicWad

Sorry guys for making you wait so long. This chapter was one of the harder ones to write and I have severe writer's block.


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Chapter 9 (Personalities and Orders)

He knew it would happen but it was still disconcerting to experience the sensation of falling upwards as Sasuke returned from his mind-space. The youngest Uchiha released the jutsu connecting him to the injured fox and it didn't surprise him one bit when tiredness swept through him as his body ached from exhaustion. In addition to the mind jutsu consuming a large amount of chakra during contact, Sasuke had not given his chakra levels time to replenish after reduced them to half strength during training. Truthfully, if Sasuke kept going at this rate he'd kill himself from chakra depletion by the end of the week.

The teenaged shinobi carefully shifted from his position to lie down, not bothering to wriggle under the top blanket. His lithe body instinctively curled around the fox now situated near his stomach and delicately draped an arm over the animal in what could be called a protective gesture. Had Sasuke been less tired a small smirk might have made it through the boy's mask, but as it was he had no energy. It was totally unexpected to discover that the wild fox he had decided on a whim to nurse back to health was actually his ex-team mate and once best friend in disguise.

Sasuke didn't know whether it was fate or just weird coincidence the boy was once again in the position of saving Naruto's life. The orange animal sprawled by his side shifted in its' sleep, moving into the warmth provided by the human. Now that the nuke-nin knew who he was dealing with, he wasn't going to waste this chance to play with the blonde's mind. He wouldn't go about it maliciously, those thoughts rested only with Uchiha-sama and Orochimaru's games, ones he hoped to be rid of forever once his revenge was achieved. This was a chance to let Sasu-kun to have a share in the spotlight he so often had to hide from. It had been a long time since Sasuke had the opportunity to just be himself.

Well as close as he could be considering the other two personalities he was keeping in his head. The brunette had not gone insane. He was quite aware of how and when the identities of Uchiha-sama and Sasu-kun had come into being. And, always an Uchiha, Sasuke had his reasons. It was all he could do to protect his true self.

He was not ignorant of the Uchiha clan's secrets. He had seen the scrolls under the temple; had read them one more time by firelight before he prepared to leave for his current teacher. The blood carrying the sharingan really was a cursed blood to have. Not everyone in the clan was able to activate it and was probably the only thing that had let them live in prosperity for so long.

Sasuke knew the knowledge of power the snake sannin so desperately coveted was hidden deeply within the clan's hidden vaults. In Orochimaru's eagerness to have the legendary sharingan within his clutches he discounted the fact the thirteen-year-old just might have information he could use to further his own demented goals. The boy was almost glad the old shinobi overlooked that when he first arrived because he was certain Orochimaru would have been able to manipulate anything from him. Now the old man couldn't get Sasuke to lift a finger unless the sharingan-wielder wanted to.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely. The young shinobi would not make the same mistakes as those who came before.

Uchiha-sama was the product of much conditioning. He was the avenger for his family, the tool and body for Orochimaru, was the side of Sasuke that had the ability to kill without remorse. Uchiha-sama was the coldness and hatred made manifest. That side, that personality was the part that developed the detachment and disregard which came with the prolonged use of the sharingan. Uchiha-sama was a true shinobi by definition, for he lacked the emotions said to hinder.

It was this personality everyone associated with Oto feared - and apparently, now the nine-tailed demon hated - in the sannin's next vessel. Most who meet Sasuke when he's not in one of his apathetic moods never encounter Uchiha-sama as he could leak the other's malevolent aura at will and never more than necessary to bring them into subservience. The only times Uchiha-sama was allowed to usurp his body was while dealing with the more despicable shinobi who had power the avenger could not ignore.

To every extreme there must be an opposite, balance is a crucial factor in life. This was where many people failed in their search for true power.

Sasu-kun was the remnants of the innocent boy who didn't want to die as all his relatives had and whose simple nature was just another side of the shinobi called Uchiha Sasuke. The child sheltered the more benevolent emotions to rival Uchiha-sama's negativity. It was another protection, to leave his prominent personality as neutral ground and void of intense emotion.

If Sasuke was honest with himself, Sasu-kun was also the embodiment of the child he wished he could have continued to be. The day he woke up in the hospital all those years ago and every day after it, Sasuke had to face the harsh reality of being without family, without a member of the clan making him laugh or watching him in the streets of the Uchiha district. He had bottled up and hidden the last of his innocence behind mental walls before blindly throwing himself headlong into training and catering to vengeance.

Sasuke was brought back from ruminating about his two created personalities when fingers brushed against something cool and definitely not fur. The pale shinobi was idly amused at the fact that his hand had been stroking the fox next to him on its own violation. The pads of his fingers traced over the surface of the interruption and along the smoothed edges of a flat sphere. What sparked his interest though was the spiralling pattern engraved on the sides and the textured feel of metal. Dexterous digits followed the curl of line to the top, finding it attached to a length of sturdy cord. This no doubt was the source of that abnormal chakra hanging around Naruto's neck the sharingan had spotted earlier.

The nuke-nin left an examination of the charm for now as he couldn't keep his eyelids from drooping any longer. He'd check it tomorrow as well as how he was going to treat the fox who was incidentally his ex-best friend. His thoughts drifted and slowly eased into unconsciousness.

*

Naruto woke up to feelings of contentment caused by the warm hand gliding along his body. A quiet huff of a sigh left him as he leaned into the gentle touch. They trailed up further along his ruff and scraped over the spiral charm where they paused. The appendages seemed to finger the item absentmindedly while the pusedo-fox secretly missed the long, soothing rub of Sasuke's hand. The other remained in a lethargic state so Naruto assumed the brunette was not in a suspicious mood, which was very unlike the pale ninja he knew.

The motion stilled, and from the depth and length of Sasuke's soft exhalations, the blonde believed the dark haired boy well and truly caught in an exhausted sleep. As much as he didn't want to disturb the comfortable peace settled around them, Naruto had a pressing need to get outside this cave. Nature was calling.

Trying his hardest not to wake the Uchiha the speckled fox squirmed from beneath the warm arm draped across his midsection. When the nuke-nin continued to nap Naruto gingerly walked towards the exit with what would have been a triumphant grin were he in human form. The bandages irritated the chuunin no end, the body heat being trapped effectively inside the heavy cotton so sweat formed patchily under his thick pelt.

On his journey into the bushes closet to the cavern Naruto noted that the opening was only a crack in the base of the cliff face. The vegetation was quite dense in this area and the blonde shinobi was impressed, well since he knew he wouldn't have found such a good location for a secret hideout. The transformed human supposed the cover and source of water - he could smell the tang of it nearby - was why Sasuke made camp here.

Naruto made sure he staggered into a thornless mass of leaves and then relieved himself.

The chuunin was reminded harshly his was still seriously injured when pain shot through his flank when he accidentally pulled the wound. Naruto was surprised that his ex-team-mate had rudimentary healing skills, if he could go by what he'd seen so far, for Sasuke had never been inclined towards anything but strength before. Although the blonde supposed the Uchiha realised basic first-aid wouldn't be enough to survive while working towards his ambition.

He was thankful nonetheless for whatever Sasuke did to neutralise the poison that had laced those weapons. It seemed to be working fairly quickly, not as fast as he was used to but at least he wasn't incapacitated. Somehow the demon's chakra wasn't able to negate the substance and was now only able to slowly heal the inflicted wound. Due to the limitation, Naruto guessed it would take a few days longer than normal to recover. Three days at worst, he hoped.

A hard breeze rustled the underbrush, bringing with it scents and echoes from the north. Naruto sniffed deeply when he noticed familiar scents riding the wind, turning his head to where it was coming from, over there beyond the scrubby tree that looked - funnily enough - like Gaara's gourd. He set off as quick as the gash allowed without aggravating it. The blonde didn't want to be gone from Sasuke's side for too long, he worried what the boy would do should he find the kitsune missing.

The spiralled metal nestled against his throat steadily warmed against his pelt, indicating one of its brothers was nearby and activated. It took the better part of five minutes but Naruto eventually discovered the scroll and paired charm. The teen could also smell the lingering differences between Kakashi and Ginookami and was betting the older man was covertly laughing at his predicament. The blonde would have liked to release the henge - even just for a little while - but with the current state of his chakra levels there was no way he would be able to perform the technique again before he returned to the sleeping Uchiha.

With care Naruto dug at the partially buried scroll, flipping it out of the hole with a paw. The fox-disguised-blonde hooked a single claw through the loose bow holding the paper closed and to which the charm was hanging off. A rough nudge of a black nose forced the scroll to unravel across the ground and Naruto positioned himself where he could read in comfort.

The young shinobi couldn't help but roll his eyes at the almost cheery attitude conveyed by the missive. Kakashi really didn't have a sense of propriety at times. At least Naruto knew his superior wasn't worried that Sasuke would turn around and murder the orange fox all of a sudden. Essentially Hatake had assigned him a simple side-mission while the man waltzed back to their home country's border to report and then come back for the injured chuunin. Honestly really easy, all he had to do was avoid being discovered by a sharingan-wielding genius boy who used to be his team-mate. See simple.

Naruto shook his white-speckled furry head in resignation while shifting about, loosely re-rolling the scroll back into the hollow. The next part the blonde felt would be one of the things he would never get used to when in fox-form, using his hind legs to shove dirt over the thing. Once he was sure no one would notice the upturned earth and start investigating, Naruto took off for the cave he would call home for the next few days.

Several emotions clashed inside his heart whenever the young shinobi thought about his new mission or of the person involved. Uchiha Sasuke would be the one healing him, the one feeding him, the one tending to his needs and constantly in his presence, all without knowing who it really was. The young shinobi was really - really - happy to see his friend again, glad to be basking in the way Sasuke could some times make him genuinely calm and other times so furious. There was no one else who had as much control over Naruto's emotions as the dark-haired nuke-nin did, nor would the jinchuuriki let anyone else have it.

The fox crossed the cliff's threshold much sooner than he expected to, but he secretly suspected his musing and anticipation to be near Sasuke again had blocked out most of the journey. Silence met sensitive ears when he reached the cavern, barring the faint padding of his feet against the compacted earth. For a moment Naruto panicked that the other boy was lifeless until he limped close enough to perceive the shallow rise and fall of chest.

The blonde chuunin would have scowled had he the facial features to while briefly overcome with self-irritation as it hadn't occurred to his brain that Sasuke would have new habits along with new abilities. He did wonder, as he sneaked back under the Uchiha's arm, whether it was ingrained in the pale shinobi's muscle memory to appear sleeping lightly despite exhaustion. Within such close proximity Naruto was able to notice just how low Sasuke seemed to be on chakra, like the boy was training himself to death which the chuunin figured was probably close to the truth if he knew the Uchiha.

The elbow of the arm tucked by the human's head was angled conveniently enough so the blonde could lay his head on it. The lean muscle was unexpectedly soft and Naruto inched up to lay back flush against the 'v' made by torso and arm. Sasuke stirred in his slumber but did not do more than tighten his hold over the medium-sized animal into a light yet secure embrace. The kitsune mentally chuckled at the thought that the icy bastard Sasuke was a potential intimate cuddler before returning to sleep.

. . . T B C . . .


And that's how Uchiha-sama and Sasu-kun came to be. Any comments/questions/ideas?

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