Naruto was done.
Done with Uchihas, done with ninjas, done with magic and creepiness...
He just wanted to go home and take a long shower, and watch stupid tv shows until his brain jammed. "NARUTO!"
He felt it, like a wave of mind-numbing pain, as something broke in half and snapped in two. A moment of coldness told him it was Sasuke.
What the hell?
Itachi was standing over him, breathing hard, eyes fixated on his face. Did he have something on his face? Why was Itachi standing over him?
He groaned, forcing himself up from the ground. His insides felt like they were moving on their own accord, and his head felt like it was going to explode. Or implode. Was it possible for a combination of both?
"Are you alright?" Itachi asked, and Naruto realized.
It wasn't him.
It was Sasuke.
"Yeah, Yeah I'm fine. We need to get to Sasuke though...and quickly!" He pulled himself up and Itachi grinned. "I've already taken care of that. We're here."
Naruto was stunned. They had been fighting random ninjas the whole way here. He wasn't even kidding. Those people had the whole costume and the skillz and everything! How did Itachi...
"Don't worry about it. Now, here's my plan-"
"Is Sasuke inside?"
"Yes, but-"
"Okay, leave this to me, Sasuke's cooler brother!" Naruto grinned and pushed the large door open.
......
Awkward eye-contact ensued among three people. Not counting an unconscious Sasuke strapped down to a dentist chair.
"What do you think you're doing?" Naruto asked, quietly.
They looked panicky. "This isn't what you think it is!" A snake-like dude wailed in protest, and then a moment later the other person (Naruto identified him as Pain) punched him in the face.
"Are you retarded?"
"Oh, wait. I forgot, I'm not in prison anymore...THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, NARUTO UZUMAKII!!!" He cackled loudly and Naruto gasped. Of course.
They were going to....
Clean Sasuke's teeth?!?!?!??!??!
"I swear if you think they're dentists, I will shove that chair up your ass and send you to space." Itachi whispered behind him, in the darkness beyond the light of the room.
WHAT WERE THEY?!??!?!
Naruto was panicking. So they weren't dentists? Why did they have those lab coats? Why else would there be sharp objects next to Sasuke? Why else would he be in a patient's chair?
"I can feel the confusion from here, Orochimaru. Would you care to explain? It's really anticlimactic if he doesn't even get what happens."
Orochimaru sighed, then rolled his eyes and hissed. "Alright, blondie. Your boyfriend here is now ours. He has agreed to be a part of our...experiments. He has contributed his body for science. For one sole purpose."
He stopped for empathize. "He will avenge his family by killing his enemy, Itachi Uchiha."
"...Haha. I like, totally don't know if you know this, but like, did you know, like, they may be like totally related? Lol #wakeup." Naruto gushed and they stared at him blankly.
"....Yes. We know." They said in unison.
Holy shit what the fuck
"What? Itachi did NOTHING!" Naruto defended, and behind him a certain person was awfully silent. The silence was full of guilt.
They were looking at him like he was stupid. Incapable of understanding.
"I trust that whatever the reasons were, whatever happened, that if Itachi did do those things, however immoral they seem, they must have-..."
He couldn't continue. Images of his own parents, images of bloody bathtubs filled his mind, and he couldn't continue.
Why would anyone do those things? No explanation was enough.
No one had a reason valid enough to take away his parents. Anyone's parents.
"...Naruto. We know what happened that night when your parents died." Pain said, voice softer. "If you want to know as well, all you have to do is join Sasuke."
How would they know? Why would they know?
"Naruto, don't listen to them. Focus on getting Sasuke out, I will explain everything-" Itachi began whispering behind Naruto but Naruto interrupted him.
"Did you kill Sasuke's parents?" He asked, voice void of emotion, and heard a heavy sigh.
"Yes. I did."
===============
Sasuke woke to something he thought he'd never see.
Naruto was sitting next to him, eyes dull while on the floor, tied up and bloody, was Itachi Uchiha.
"What...Naruto how-"
"Shhhhh...It's okay. We're taking care of it." Naruto caressed him softly, and Sasuke felt a shudder up his spine. What the hell?
"Naruto, are you alright? You seem a little-"
"I've never been more resolute. Your brother is one hell of a killer."
"What are you talking about?"
"You saw. You knew what happened. It's okay to let it out. I have. Do you see him?"
"Naruto, you're not making any sense. Why are we still here? Where's the snake and Pain?" Itachi was actually unconscious, limp on the floor. What exactly did Naruto do?
"Naruto...what did you see?" Sasuke asked, quietly. Naruto stayed silent.
"Naruto. Answer me?" Sasuke's voice cracked and Naruto looked at him, really looked at him. "I don't know why, but I love you, Sasuke. I'll go with you on whatever road you decide to take."
Sasuke's breath caught, and he blinked away a sudden rush of tears. "How much did you see?"
"He saw everything." A voice came from below, a familiar voice as recognizable as his own. Itachi tried moving, but grunted in pain. "Your boyfriend here really has a beast within him. I couldn't even tell what happened."
"I'll give you one chance to explain yourself before I end you." Naruto said and Sasuke pushed him away. "This isn't about you!" Naruto looked stunned, then his eyes softened.
"I...you're right." Naruto stepped away, and looked around the place. Sasuke took a deep breath. "Itachi, they somehow took me back to when you massacred our family, and I saw everything. Why did you do it?"
Itachi looked at him, really looked at him, and saw that the innocent was gone. The respect and love that was always in his eyes had snuffed out, leaving a trace of what was still there, barely presentable yet still there...
"I cannot tell you." He said, and saw the last flicker of hope leave Sasuke's eyes.
It was for the best. He needed someone to hate, someone to motivate him, force him to achieve higher than anyone else. Itachi had seen the spark of vengeance in him ever since the massacre, and knew it would turn into an inferno with a single spark. Provided that it was big enough.
"...why? You do things for a reason, Itachi. I know what I'm feeling is exactly what you want me to feel...and there must be a reason why you want me to hate you, want me to kill you. What is your motive?" Sasuke asked instead, looking into Itachi's eyes.
With a start, he realized Sasuke was almost crying.
"I have no motive. I simply wanted to know how it felt to keep you alive, and now that I know, I'm satisfied with what I've reaped. You're weak, Sasuke. Weaker than me, and you'll never be able to reach me." Itachi smirked, looking into the flames starting in Sasuke's heart.
"What the hell, Itachi?" Naruto bursted out, and walked quickly back to them. "What the hell are you doing? You love Sasuke more than your own life, so why the fuck are you creating this hell for him?" He grabbed the front of Itachi's shirt, and Itachi glared at him.
"This isn't your affair, Naruto. Stay out of it." Itachi hissed.
"Sasuke's as much as mine as he is yours. You'll have to compromise there." Naruto replied just as fervently and Sasuke felt a warmth blossom in his heart. Heat flushed to his face.
"I hated my family. I hated our clan. It was a cult. A terrible one. I couldn't stand it anymore-" Sasuke looked at Itachi, and saw that it was a lie.
His mind supplied him with the helpful picture of Itachi killing their parents, and he shook his head. "I don't believe you."
"Why are you trying to hard to change my words?" Itachi asked, as Naruto get go of his shirt. Both of them looked at Sasuke.
Sasuke shook his head. "There is no way you wouldn't have done all of that without a reason. I want to know your reasoning, and then I want to take the best course of action. I will decide for myself after I hear all of the facts." Everyone had been playing him, using his short temper as a fuse, but he saw it.
He recognized his weakness.
And it was all thanks to Naruto.
*Flashback*
"Sasuke's the stupidest person I've ever met. Why does he get all the girls?" Sasuke heard an annoyingly loud voice yell, and he peered around the corner, wondering who he would beat up that day.
"Dude, you're the stupid one, going around yelling about some dude you've never talked to. If you really cared so much about him getting all the girls why don't you fix yourself up and try to get some for yourself?" It was Kiba, talking sense for once to Naruto Uzumakii.
Sasuke felt his heart speed up. Naruto Uzumakii. He had recently moved to this private school, and Sasuke had recognized him immediately. Those whisker marks would not appear on any other person.
He had a crush on him in kindergarten. When their parents were still alive. He often heard about Naruto and his funny self when his mother was on the phone with another lady, probably Naruto's parents.
Apparently his parents never returned from a trip overseas. Sasuke laughed to himself, as fate had it his parents also 'left' forever.
His heart throbbed with hatred. Whoever killed his family...whoever created this life for him...he would pay with his life and all his family as well.
"Hey, you wanna go hang out later? I'm like super bored."
"We have an project due. Finals are in two weeks. I think you're the stupid one." Kiba brushed him off and Naruto pouted. "Awwww, pleeeeeaase! I promise it won't be like super boring and stuff, I'll bring over my video games!"
"They're mine in the first place. I've been wanting them back for awhile now, thank you for reminding me."
"Oh crap. Uh. Actually, I think Imma go...like now. Have a nice day!!!" Naruto sprinted off, and Kiba sighed to himself. Sasuke saw another person walk up to Kiba, Shikamaru, who yawned loudly and patted him on the back.
"Say goodbye to those video games forever, buddy. Naruto's never gonna give them back."
"You sound like you have experience." Kiba inquired and Shikamaru sighed. "Yeaaaaah. About that. He took my fluffy pillow the other day and I've never heard from him ever since."
"Uh dude, he gave it back to you yesterday..."
"...What."
"Yeah you were like passed out on top of the school roof during lunch like usual, and Naruto like stuffed it into that room you have keys to. He told me to not tell you about it, and said something about a surprise."
Sasuke wondered why he was still listening to this.
"Um. Lets go up there. I wanna see it."
"Alright."
They left, and Sasuke felt like he wasted his life.
The next day, there was something on Naruto's table.
Sasuke looked around, and saw no one in the classroom.
"Sasuke, dude, come over here like right now! We have a surprise for Naruto, stop walking around so slow!" A voice said from the back of class, and he saw everyone there, staring at him like he was prey.
"Uh...what."
"We told the girls to like leave cause like Naruto doesn't have any girlfriends, and we don't wanna raise his hopes, but like all his buddies are here. Join us."
"I feel like I'm getting acceptance into a cult I have no interest in."
"..." It seemed like fifty pairs of eyes stared into his soul.
"Ok. I'm coming."
Naruto showed up late, as usual, and they jumped up and screamed 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' right as he looked around, shrugged and sat down in his seat. Naruto screamed bloody murder and jumped fifty feet into the air.
Kiba explained to him that because he gave everyone a gift on their birthday, even if it was their own stuff returned with a gift card and a note, it was the best present ever.
The brightest smile lit up on Naruto's face, and Sasuke had to look away.
Wasn't he over him?
Damn those idiots. Damn it.
Naruto was so happy, and that made him happy.
After that, Sasuke avoided him. Knowing that Naruto was his weakness, and if they had a chance to become even friends, things would not end well for himself.
He became angry easier, and he pushed everyone away. At the same time, he noticed the blonde becoming as popular as him, but in a better way. Everything he did, Naruto became better at.
The worst part was that Naruto didn't even realize it.
Slowly, the crowd that hung around Sasuke grew smaller, and turned into fangirls, as Naruto gained more and more real friends that helped him mature and grow and have a life.
He realized then, that it was his attitude.
And he couldn't do anything about it.
And then one day, Naruto tripped over him in the worst class ever created by mankind (gym), and everything changed.
*End of Flashback*
Itachi looked about as stunned as Naruto whose hands hung limply by their sides, and really looked at Sasuke.
Sasuke knew he was mean. He knew he pushed people out of his life. And he knew his reasons.
He wanted to know why Itachi was doing the same, and why he killed everyone he loved.
They were brothers.
They knew each other better than anyone else.
It would always be that way.
Itachi looked away first, and stared off into the distance, at nothing in particular. Naruto seemed stunned, still, at the words Sasuke said, and Itachi began speaking.
"I had underestimated you, Sasuke. You have grown." Itachi said, and took a deep breath. "Perhaps history can be altered..." He muttered to himself and looked for a second, lost.
Itachi was going off-course. He was abandoning the plans he had created around himself, for tens of years. Why?
Sasuke looked into his eyes, and for a second, Itachi dared himself to hope. It seemed like a dream that would never happen, but if Sasuke really had matured so much, without his knowledge, it threw things off balance. It threw Itachi's plans into the dust.
He had to plan, and quickly.
But wouldn't it better if he just said it? Explained it all? Told Sasuke the truth?
What would happen to Sasuke then?
What would happen to him then?
Naruto looked at him, and gave a rare smile. "Itachi, I have never seen Sasuke so resolute. No one's destiny is completely planned. Sometimes things happen for a reason. People change."
Itachi sighed.
"Sasuke. I have swore an oath that prevents me from telling you everything. I belong in two groups associated with government and crime."
Sasuke didn't look as surprised as Naruto, but they both shared some degree of shock.
"In this city, our family controlled the police force. Our politics were raw, hard and to the point. Not many people liked it. We were isolated, and given our own compound to restrain us. Many of us had the ability you and I now have, and that in itself was unnatural and a threat."
"Many of us felt it was time to rebel, but I did not share the sentiment. The people in this city would have no idea the corruption and chaos that would bloom. I was assigned by the city to spy on my family, and my family versa. I had to choose between four million lives to a hundred."
"I had been assigned a duty, but I didn't complete it. I could not kill you. You were too young, and my brother, and you did not deserve any of it." Itachi looked away, and Sasuke thought that he was a bit stunned.
Sasuke was stunned.
How the hell would...why the hell would...the city? The government? Corruption?
"Naruto, your parents were getting too powerful. They owned the two biggest companies in our city, and your family was the only other family with ability similar to us. I am also in a terrorist group. You have met some members. They have abilities beyond the normal, and...I'm sorry." Itachi looked away, and Naruto's face turned from shock to more shock. Anger began to fuel, and Sasuke interrupted him.
"I will avenge whoever did this to my family. I will kill them with my bare hands."
Itachi looked at him, and saw a different kind of expression on his face.
Sasuke was determined, and calm. It was frightening. It was refreshing. It was something he had only hoped of seeing. In his wildest dreams. He had never expected this happen.
It was as if in a million alternative universes, Sasuke would have killed him, but this one was the one in a million. In this one, he decided to change his destiny.
Naruto looked enraged, but barely controlled.
"I'll follow you. No matter what you choose, Sasuke."
"Itachi, I want to join your organizations. I will work my way up, and find out what they did to you, to me, to Naruto and my family, and I will kill everyone responsible."
"...Uh. About that..." Naruto started, and laughed. Sasuke looked at him.
"The reason Orochimaru and Pain gave us permission to be alone..."
Itachi sighed. "Yes, Naruto decided for you that both of you will be joining Orochimaru's lab for experimentation, for the glorious sake of science."
"Naruto how fucking stupid is your brain?"
"Dude I was like...angry, okay?"
"You are so lame."
Itachi looked at them beckering, really looked, and felt as if he was seeing something beautiful. Which was pretty stupid, considering who those people were, but he felt as if finally everything was coming together. This wasn't what he planned, but it was a lot better than that.
"Naruto, I need you to distract Orochimaru and Pain when they come back, pretend like you're still angry and ready to go, and Sasuke, make a show that you're going to kill me. Convince them to take me somewhere alone so you can have a few last words with me and end it all. Naruto, in my pocket there are three syringes. You have 1.5 chance with each person to numb them and force them to sleep. If it doesn't work, we'll come back and get you. Naruto, go ahead and do the signal. Look mad."
Naruto and Sasuke both nodded, and Naruto looked up to the camera that was recording their every move, and hoped it didn't record sound as well. He walked over to Sasuke and kissed him.
The doors opened, and they spurred into action.
-----------------------------------------------------
That's it.
It's the end.
Finally, Jesus Christ it took like fifty billion years and I've lost most of my readers, but hell yeah! I finished something!!!!
There will be a epilogue following, and if really, I'm like super stupid or something, I'll start on a sequel. It'll feature them in their twenties, doing secret agent crap. If you guys ever want to read from me again.
Alright, thanks for coming, and treading this road.
I will be publishing a copy of this story *with all copyrights removed and the plot fixed and everything* online on Amazon, and as a hard copy. If you're ever interested in owning something super crappy, comment and stuff.
I LOVE ALL OF YOU GUYS
-Erika Evangeline ;)