-The Fox and the Wolf-
-Chapter two: Accelerando-
Sasuke was fit to scream by the time his party and he had reached the village hiding in the leaves; Konoha. It had taken a month and a half of foot travel and a week on a train to accomplish this, spent in the company of a horde of absolute idiots. They had chatted for weeks and weeks about inconsequential things Sasuke could truly care less for, always inquiring his opinion and attempting to carry him into conversation. But Sasuke did not converse with those lowlier then him, what would it prove but to empower them to believe they were something more then they were? He felt a sort of liberation the day he stepped into the forest that encased the village—he was half a step closer to dropping their companionship and retreating back into his self-inflicted solitude.
They had situated their camp deep in the dim woods and camouflaged it to seem like a typical band of gypsy salesmen. The only difference being the pack of weapons that could be seen jutting slightly out of one of the tents. Sasuke had addressed his lovely companions, and then desperate to escape, ventured out to inspect the village. But a man from his party, one whose name Sasuke had never cared to learn, called out to him.
“Oy! Sasuke ,sir,” The boy said, lifting his head up from his languid lounging position against a rock. “I was walking around in there and I heard something in the trees. From the sound of their scuttling, I think it was a human male.”
Surely Konoha isn’t guarded, Sasuke wondered. He sighed, feeling his beloved privacy slide through his fingers and slip off into the draft, eluding him once again.
“Then I suggest we take a walk together.”
And so, followed by half-a-dozen morons, Sasuke marched forward into the myriad trees, halting when he too heard the echo of a body scurrying in a tree. His hand slowly sank to his belt where a kunai waited to be thrown. The dank air, caught in the thick foliage, congealed in their throats as they remained still to evaluate their enemy. For some unusual reason, Sasuke felt abnormally tense. A dash of uncertainty slinked down his spine. What is this feeling?
“Sir—” Another nameless man murmured. “I think it’s just a kid climbing trees.”
A strap seemed to loosen around Sasuke’s air pipe and his hand left his weapon. He still felt slightly off. What is this odd sensation?
“We’ll stay outside the village tonight.” He declared, recognizing it was too dark to really venture into the territory. “Tomorrow we’ll begin our search. Sleep in stealth until dawn. Understood?”
He watched as they rapidly darted off, deciding that he would conceal himself and wait for the person to come down so he could obtain a proper look. The previous feeling had unsettled the young leader, and he wished to see who could provoke such awareness in anyone.
But before he could select a proper hiding spot, Sasuke unexpectedly felt something considerably larger then an acorn plummeting from the sky. Being trained to measure the differences in air current, he generally knew when to step out of the way if something heavy was preparing to land on his head—but, in one unusual moment of hesitation, he felt that current of improbability—as if a winding snake was looping through his veins—and he froze. With a thump, the mass collapsed on top of him and he descended unceremoniously to the ground beneath it.
When he opened his eyes he immediately snapped them shut again for an unsightly orange heap overwhelmed his vision. Without forewarning, the bright blob shifted and groaned, and Sasuke grudgingly looked up. Splayed on top of him was a petite boy about his age with cluttered blonde hair, wearing an intense-look-at-me orange shirt. Sasuke’s first reaction was to lug him off, but he halted himself when the boy opened his eyes. Blinking curiously down at him were two dazzling topaz jewels that seemed to be traced by innocent, careless fingers. Sasuke was compelled to act satisfactorily; he couldn’t compromise the mission. Besides, he reassured himself, I have to gain the village’s trust to pilfer their communal secret.
So, instead of heaving the kid off contemptibly, he grinned and stated, “This is a highly debatable position.”
The boy’s eyes widened comically and he bolted up, bandying an accusing finger in Sasuke’s face.
“Who the hell are you?” The boy bellowed, in one of the most strident voices that had ever reached Sasuke’s tender ears. The loveliness of the boy’s eyes diminished drastically as his amiable smile fell. His acting skills were exceptional, for he had to learn to deceive the most probing of eyes, but he felt them shedding off of him like rotten skin. He stood up, dusting the dry leaves off his shorts in doing so.
“Most civilized people apologize after falling all over someone.” Sasuke confirmed crisply, feeling his pleasantness sour.
A bright blush dusted the boy’s cheeks. “Shut up! If you hadn’t of been sneaking around in the forest like a dumb thief then maybe you wouldn’t have distracted me and made me fall!”
Sasuke sighed, fighting to keep his tongue in check. He couldn’t endanger his mission, so he instead adorned a friendly face and smiled. “My apologies, then.” He finished brushing himself off and stood up completely erect. He discovered he was about a head and a half taller then the boy.
Runt…
“Liar!” spouted the blonde boy audaciously. Sasuke felt the small tether his patience was teetering on ripping. Stepping forward boldly, he held out his hand and offered a grin he felt was so saccharine it might melt off.
“I’m Niro.” Sasuke fibbed flawlessly. The boy simply stared dumbly at the proposed hand. The fine tether snapped.
“Typically, civilized people also greet each other by shaking hands, less they be considered rude and incompetent.”
The boy stole a cautious step back. “You’re one of those assholes from the water country trying to take us over, aren’t you? Don’t lie! I heard you and your cronies!”
Sasuke’s eyes narrowed slightly, his hand retreating to his side. The boy was terribly, terribly dumb, but more attentive then he would’ve liked. He silently prayed the rest of the village was as idiotic as he.
“No, no, no,” Sasuke reassured him lightly, his grin widening with synthetic mirth. “I’m with a group of salesmen—we’re here searching for unusual items and business.”
Sasuke enjoyed watching the emotions that washed over the boy’s face. First, his eyes widened with astonishment, then ogled him skeptically, and then finally narrowed in anger. He had to admit, the boy was adorably childish. Sasuke felt an amalgamation of queer sensations of resentment and desire at the naivety. He had never had a chance at a childhood—he had been bound by his parent’s death to grow up quickly so he could face Itachi with an un-tremulous eye. He had been obliged to hurl his innocence away to learn the dark splotches of life that had been previously veiled. Gawking at the blue-eyed boy in front of him—the scowling symbol of everything he had shed to be reborn more formidable, he found himself, truthfully, wanting to be near it again—enveloped in it’s serene white cover.
“Liar!” The boy cried again, waving his finger once more.
“What is your name?” Sasuke asked softly, stepping forward involuntarily, as if controlled by another force entirely. The boy’s glare eased as he stumbled backwards to affirm the space between them.
“Naruto,” The boy declared defensively, his eyes expanding, composing two rippling blue ponds.
“Well, Naruto.” Sasuke purred, raiding the space in between them swiftly. Naruto jumped slightly and backed straight into the tree he had previously plunged from.
“Perhaps you could show me around, hm?”
“Hell no!” shouted Naruto. Sasuke wondered by the boy felt the need to scream every reply. Must be a disorder, he mused in his muddled mind.
“Why not?” The young leader inquired, halting inches away from the blonde boy. He could see Naruto’s sun drenched skin, which was completely flawless save the three curious markings on either side of his cheeks. He could also feel Naruto’s labored breath dissipating against his neck and it sent a stream of chills down his spine. His hands and arms seemed to be bandaged in white linen and were currently balled with the effort of thinking himself out of his present situation. Suddenly, Sasuke felt a tepid ribbon curl around his stomach—he felt transiently un-hungry—whole—complete.
“Because…” Naruto stated softly, turning his head away from the extreme closeness.
“Because…” repeated Sasuke.
“Because you’re a damn bastard!”
Somewhere in his lower extremities, Sasuke felt an immediate pain and Naruto took the frenzied moment to duck away and sprint off. The little bitch had kicked him in the shins, but it did not upset him as much as the sudden hole in his stomach. He felt as if an icy depression had erupted in his belly and it was leisurely sucking all his organs into its abyssal depths. Watching Naruto’s vibrant orange shirt fly away in the dying, gold sunlight, he was overcome with an awful sadness. It was like he was watching powerlessly as his childhood eluded him again—and he was left to the callous hands of the night.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
For the next week, life churned on with its standard rusted cogs. Naruto mostly stayed out of the forest, alarmed he would run into the bizarre man again. Wasn’t it Niro? He couldn’t really remember what the man’s name had been, only that not a drop of truth had dripped from his lips that night. He’s up to something…
However, his mind could not free the image of Niro, for Naruto had never seen someone so—foreign. Fair skin and raven hair were characteristics typically found in the extreme western regions which were miles and miles away and seemed to only exist inside of storybooks. His eyes had been such a reflective dark brown that they had manifested the appearance of two glimmering holes that blinked. Even as strange as they were, they still seemed a tad familiar. Laced around the edges of those midnight orbs was a terrible loneliness Naruto knew from the mirror he peered into everyday. That still didn’t change his impression of the queer foreigner and so he had taken to diving into alleys when he would see Niro casually strolling down the street, surrounded by his cronies. One day, however, he wasn’t quite quick enough.
“Naruto?” A painfully familiar voice resonated from behind him making him jump wildly. He reluctantly turned around and faced those black eyes glinting with a suppressed smirk. Niro seemed like the type of man who couldn’t genuinely smile; the two times he’d seen him crack a grin, they had seem more like condescending sneers, as if he was always seven steps higher then Naruto. He emitted another lofty leer now and Naruto became so irked that he just wanted to take his foot and shove it so far up his—
“Just the man I needed.” Niro stated his smirk extending. Naruto felt as if he was staring into the face of a sardonic wolf. “No longer bandaged I see.”
Naruto crossed his healed arms and scowled. “They’re better, but I have to go—”
“Come with me. I need an escort to go to the east side of the village and into the forest.”
“Hell no!”
Niro tsked. “I’ve just visited with your village head Ms. Tsunade and she recommended you to help me scout out two rare articles I’d like: a golden tea kettle that pours poison tea and a rare herb found only in your forest.”
“Why would I do anything that hag says? She’s not my mother! She only ‘recommended’ me cause she knows I’ll hate it.”
“Well,” Niro began, his eyes glinting peculiarly. “She told me she would give you something good in return for your adequate compliance.”
Naruto’s irritation ceased abruptly. Something good could mean a number of things: a free bowl of ramen, two bowls ramen, maybe even three bowls of ramen…But it could also mean her delivering the obscure secret behind his vacant memory of that night; the reason why he was so tired now, and why his arms didn’t heal as fast as they should’ve—and why the villagers harbored an intense fear of his company.
“Fine,” Naruto growled, cursing Tsunade desperately. He began to amble away, attempting to keep a precautionary 5 ft between him, Niro, and his mindless, voiceless goons.
“Asshole…” he murmured.
Huffing, he reluctantly marched them where they fancied; He waited outside impatiently kicking rocks as they traveled from house to house inquiring, he supposed, about the dreaded poison tea pot. They seemed to be having trouble locating it for they arose from the final house looking weary and peeved.
“Any luck?” Naruto interrogated cheerfully, an impish grin flickering on his lips. He knew full well they hadn’t had a bead of fortune from the expression engrained on their face. Nothing strange or exotic existed inside Konoha.
Niro’s eyes constricted into a slight glare, but his lips retained their simper. “Well, let’s try and make this day slightly valuable by searching the forest next.”
Naruto sighed and punted a rock furiously, straight into a window. A portly woman with a large fleshy blob for a nose emerged from the window’s remnants, bandying an ominous looking ladle. He bolted with the others striding swiftly behind him.
He led them into the forest on the west side, where he had had his initial encounter with the raven haired man pacing behind him. Naruto found it odd that he and his buddies didn’t speak; they all seemed to contain giant elongated sticks up their rectums. He had seen half a dozen that night in the tree but today, only three escorted him: A seemingly lazy man with a ponytail; a severe looking man with white eyes; and a man who came across as a wild dog with bold red markings etched on his face. Naruto was relieved of their company when he reached a clearing with a diminutive mountain of jagged rocks to which he hobbled up and sat a top.
“We’re in the middle of the forest.” He said, swinging his legs back and forth. “Hurry up and find what you’re looking for—I’m hungry.”
They searched the woods for about an hour as best as he could tell; he knew his grumbling tummy had thought it had been years. When he felt as if his stomach had finally shriveled up into a bean, they returned and circled at the base of the small rocky heap.
“We’ll meet back at camp in an hour, understood?” Naruto heard Niro insist firmly. They bowed their head respectively and disappeared into the trees. He couldn’t believe those people would take that—Niro seemed more like a general then a jolly salesman.
“How’s the view from up there?” The foreigner yelled up to him. Naruto chose to ignore him. Maybe he’ll go away. Instead, he slowly began to ascend the rocks with an effortless grace Naruto was forced to note. He missed the small pebbles that made the clumsy blonde slip and slid over the larger rocks craftily. He soon settled on the same rock as Naruto, too close for his liking.
“How long have you lived here?” Niro inquired after a few ticks of silence. Naruto’s initial planned reply was to be “none of your business, ass-face,” but having someone so close that wasn’t deathly terrified of his companionship was actually kind of –nice. It even made him feel slightly warm, like the trees and the animals did.
“All my life.”
“With your parents?”
“Nope. They’re dead.” Naruto chirped casually. He could tell Niro was taken back by his indifference. It’s not like I ever met them or anything…
“Then who was it that bandaged your arms the other night?” Questioned Niro, gazing at him curiously.
“Tsunade.” Naruto felt his face scrunch up in dislike. “The village leader, you know. Sometimes she thinks she has to do things for me because the village is mean a lot, but she shouldn’t—I heal fast.”
“I’m sorry.” Niro said so softly, his words were almost engulfed by the cool draft.
“About what?”
“Your parents. I understand.” Naruto felt almost displaced by Niro’s deep tenor that reverberated somewhere in chest. Those scarce words seemed to be the only truth the foreigner had divulged since Naruto and he had met. They sat together, wordlessly curled into shadows warped by the scarlet hands of the sunset. After the sun had retreated into the soil and a lavender blanket veiled the sky, Niro stirred.
“I should be leaving.” The haughty man affirmed cordially, clapping his hand over Naruto’s to signify his departure. The tepid touch flung fire through his veins. Not many people touched Naruto if they could help it, so even the slightest skin contact made him feel unbearably warm. He waited patiently for Niro’s hand to lift, but it didn’t. Prepared to cuss him out quite raucously, he turned his head to the raven haired man, opened his mouth to liberate a curse, but stopped. Niro’s wan face contrasted brilliantly with the night sky—his face seemed to be the moon itself, radiating softly with an unearthly astonishment. Thin, sturdy fingers on his hand gently traced the only scar Naruto had ever acquired. His insides were ablaze with the touch and the fiery sensation, almost overwhelmingly so. He abruptly snatched his hand away, gaping quizzically at the strange, getting stranger, man.
“Naruto…”He uttered quietly, his dark eyes shining with some foreign emotion Naruto could not discern. “How did you attain that scar?”
“This one? I don’t really remember.” Naruto fibbed, examining the turgid, glossy line that cut across his hand. “I was really, really little and I—” Naruto felt his insides contract. “I just dunno.”
Niro’s bright white face cracked its typical mocking grin, or smirk—only it seemed wider and more earnest this time.
“Naruto, I believe I’ll need your help again tonight.”
“What?” Naruto cried. “Hell no! You blackmailed me the first time.”
“No, Tsunade said she’d give you something—”
“I don’t care!” Naruto huffed. “She already owes me. I’m hungry and tired and I’ve escorted your dumbass enough.”
“Well,” Niro asserted, his eyes glinting. “I’ll show you something special.”
Naruto’s eye brows furrowed. “What?” He grunted.
“A secret—I’ll show you something secret—something no one has ever seen before.” Disclosed the foreigner, his leer extending dangerously.
“What kind of secret?”
“I can’t tell. It’s a secret, remember?”
“But I’m hungry!” Naruto whined, rubbing his tummy miserably.
“Then meet me back here in two hours and I’ll go and get it.”
Naruto watched him skeptically and Niro seemed to notice, however his simper still remained tightly intact.
“…Is it really amazing?”
“Yes.”
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
“…Really, really amazing?”
“Yes!”
“Really, really, really---”
“Look!” Niro yelled, glowering at the blonde fiercely. “It’s simply grand. Meet me back here in two hours—not a minute later—and I’ll show you and then you can help me for only one second.”
After a few moments of contemplating, Naruto concluded he’d do it.
“Fine…”He grumbled.
What else do I have to do after I eat? He rationalized. Besides—I hate secrets. If I know it, it won’t be a secret anymore. And with a childish merriment, he leapt from his spot and descended the rocks, awkwardly slipping once or twice, but making it down in one piece. He looked up one more time to see Niro watching him closely with a jovial glint in his eye. He shook his head. What a weird ass.
-*-*-*-*-
After three hearty bowls of ramen, Naruto finally determined his stomach was adequately filled. He glanced to the clock on the wall which read sometime past ten a’ clock (he wasn’t to good reading the tiny minute hand). Sighing, he placed his bowl in the sink and seized his jacket from the back of the chair. It was time to meet Mr. Tight-ass and he reluctantly left his apartment and trekked the dim streets of Konoha. While everything on the west side of town closed at six, the east side seemed to activate at sunset. The roads were lit with pink and green paper lanterns and shady businesses opened their corrupt doors to hordes of costumers, unafraid of anyone reprimanding their dirty night deeds. Personally, Naruto was frightened to take a stroll into its bright avenues, for people usually stared at him with a strange flick in their eyes—not hate or fear; it seemed like some sort of odd greed. He didn’t like it at all; it made him chilled all over, as if ice was rolling down his back. So tonight, he chose the long quiet streets as opposed to the east side short cut.
When he reached the entrance to the forest, he halted suddenly. The outside seemed more eerie at night; the trees resembled tall, creepy monsters with spindly arms and wild hair. Mustering as much courage as he could find, Naruto swallowed hard and trotted into the alarming woods. Inside, he could hear the ghastly calls of feral beasts and the tree limbs seemed to snatch at his clothing. His bravery reserves drained out of him and he began to sprint desperately to the center clearing. When he finally arrived, he was thirty minutes later then he should’ve been; he got lost several times in the darkness.
“Hello?” He called timidly out to the seemingly barren clearing. The moon’s luminosity lit the empty space, casting bizarre shadows across the tiny rock mountain. He cleared his throat and tried again.
“Yo! Asshole! I’m here.”
This time, a rustling noise answered him. Expecting Niro’s smirking face to emerge from the murky depths, he wasn’t worried. But, the face that appeared was definitely not Niro’s.
“Hey, he’s here.” Naruto recognized the man from Niro’s goon group earlier today. His lazy eyes watched him intently, as if he was a mildly interesting display. Four other men appeared out of the shadowy foliage and began gazing at him in a similar manner.
“Where’s Niro?” He asked, slightly put off by the stares. A couple of their faces split a grin—No, they were leering, just like Niro.
“Niro? Well, he’s off right now, but were here to keep you company until he comes back. Why don’t you follow us?” A sinister man with a tidy beard conveyed, stepping forward and presenting his hand. Naruto instinctively took a pace back.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
The creepy man’s sneer fell unceremoniously, leaving him to simply glare.
“Niro will be back shortly, if you’ll just—”
“No, damnit. It’s cold and I’m tired and if he isn’t going to tell me his stupid secret now, I’m leaving.” He turned to stalk away, but his arm was seized. Glancing around, he was shocked to be staring straight into two completely colorless eyes.
“You can’t leave.” He declared, his steel grip tightening almost painfully.
“Like hell I can!” Naruto spouted, retching his arm violently from the man’s hold. Surprisingly, it swung free and he took advantage of the puzzling moment to dash into the trees, in direction of Konoha.
Naruto wasn’t the fastest of runners, but he definitely wasn’t the village turtle either. He tore through the trees at a startling speed, the dead leaves whipping up about him like snapping fish. He didn’t know exactly why he had started running; something about those people made his innards ice over and he felt an overwhelming need to hurry back to the village, where he would be miserable but completely safe.
Suddenly, on either sides of him, he saw the men from the clearing darting beside him. Naruto was in awe at their perfect strides and their faces vacant of any measure of discomfort. They seemed perfectly natural running, like a gang of animals pursuing their prey.
“Catch him!” He heard them cry.
“Grab the kid!”
One or two leaped at him, stretching out in the air like a cat, but Naruto ducked behind a tree before he could be caught. He was getting closer to the village and with it, the sudden pungent scent of burning wood. He sped up.
When he exited the forest, he was almost blown off his feet by a searing hot wind. All of Konoha it seemed was on fire. Every building in Naruto’s line of view was dominated by thrashing red flames, the orange embers soaring through the air like fiery snowflakes. His knees became shaky and weak, and he fell unto them, overwhelmed by the image of his life on fire.
“Terrible isn’t it?” A deep tenor resounded from behind him. He glanced around and found Niro to be watching the fire with poignant, wistful eyes. “One third of your village will burn alive tonight.” Naruto’s eyes widened as his heart thudded mightily in his chest. Niro walked forward and squatted next to him, closely.
“ Mother’s will loose daughters, husbands will loose wives, sister’s will loose brothers, children will loose parents …All of them will cease to exist and become small poison memories in the veins of those left behind.”
“Wh-Why?” Naruto choked, his vision becoming foggy with tears. All thoughts escaped him—Each one seemed to leak out his ears before he could comprehend it.
“Because my brother has a dream.” The foreigner alleged listlessly, his voice frighteningly detached. He shifted closer to Naruto, putting his lips unto his ear. Naruto was too overwhelmed with the heat of the fire to acknowledge the touch. Niro whispered slowly into his tender ear.
“Tonight, the memory of you will burn in this place and I will take you away.”
Suddenly, a terrible surge of panic materialized in his chest, and he jolted up and began to run away. He had to get away—He had too—he didn’t want to die, not yet—not yet.
But strapping arms snatched him from behind and held him steady. He trashed frantically—he didn’t want to die. He didn’t want to die!
“Shhh,” The unnatural sugary voice purred the sibilance in his ear. “It’s going to be okay. I won’t let you go. Shhhhhh. ”
Naruto found himself abnormally weak all of a sudden, and he felt himself being lowered to the ground. Is this death? Another rush of terror flooded him, but he could not accumulate the strength to lash out anymore. He registered scarcely in his hazy mind that his head was in Niro’s lap. He looked up, directly into the treacherous foreigner’s eyes. They looked—scarlet—florid as the flames flickering behind him. He watched fuzzily as they seemed to swirl.
He was dying; he had to be, but it simply felt as if he was falling asleep. He stared past Niro’s pallid face, at the fire blazing liberally behind him. His world was burning away; his vision was becoming cloudy. He blinked groggily and shifted his vision back to Niro.
His eyes were burning him—burning him alive with their terrible heat. Burning, burning, burning.
“Shhh, I won’t let you go.”
Naruto’s eyes finally closed.
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Chapter notes: This is one long-ass chapter. The end is choppy and creepy for a reason. Sasuke's fake name Niro means talentless samauri or something or other. Enjoy perlease and review! ^^ I just sneezed all over the keyboard, ew.