Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ A Beautiful Occurrence ❯ Please Tell Me This is a Sick,Sick Lie ( Chapter 2 )

Edited by Obscure Omen.

Disclaimer: Naruto is © to Kishimoto, a Japanese mangaka.

A SasuNaru story. A slow kind.

Chapter 2: Please tell me this is a sick, sick lie.

Consciousness finally decided to revisit the body lying on the bed. If somebody looked closely, they would be able to see the fingers were starting to twitch and the breathing becoming faster. However, for some reason, the owner of the body—a yellow-haired boy with whisker marks on both cheeks—seemed reluctant to open his eyes.

Okay, that was a lie. Actually, he was afraid to open his eyes. The memories from the time he opened them to find Sasuke hovering over him still brought an unsettling feeling in him. He definitely, definitely didn't want anything similar to happen ever again. Especially right now, when he felt stiff all over from sleeping for too long—just moving his fingers took too much effort, which left him totally vulnerable to an attack.

Just remembering about the incident with Sasuke made him feel betrayed, angry, embarrassed, and many more undefined feeling clouding in his head but generally, he felt confused on why that—that kind of thing happened to him at the first place.

Was it because Sasuke had really gone mad and could not tell a girl from a boy anymore? Because Naruto definitely did not look like a girl.

Nuh-uh.

Or—or was it because for all these years, Sasuke had been deprived from sexual activities, so he became sexually frustrated and—and suddenly in the middle of the battle he felt excited and proceed to—to, er... do that to anything that had legs in his close proximity, who conveniently happened to be Naruto at that particular time?

…

Nahhhh, that sounded a little bit far-fetched. Even the rumor about the octopus tree was more plausible than that. (1)

Why, do you ask?

It was simply because Sasuke was asexual. He would never get sexually frustrated to begin with.

Okay, fine, Naruto admitted he didn't know for sure if Sasuke was really asexual or not, but think about this:

If a lot of girls threw themselves at a boy and confessed their undying love to said boy, (“boy” here meaning a healthy, teenaged boy), it's bound to yield some reaction, right? Like a nose-bleed or something, right?

Wrong. At least, in Sasuke case it was. He was as unaffected as ever. That, Naruto could surely say, was just not normal.

Also, Naruto was pretty confident that Sasuke didn't swing the other way (God forbid!) either. This was mainly because he never saw Sasuke with other males except for himself, Kakashi-sensei, and maybe occasionally Iruka-sensei, if he felt less emo than usual. Sure, he had some kind of interaction with a few others, but that was only for something like sparring or giving them death glares. Nothing more.

So, no. Naruto did not think Sasuke was, er… homosexual. All in all, it was safe to say that Sasuke was asexual.

Which led to his first assumption: Sasuke really had gone nuts.

Poor Sasuke, Naruto empathized. He somehow had foreseen that the day Sasuke went nuts would come. Those death glares, evil smirks, and the non-stop brooding were the dead giveaways; it just a matter of time until he would really lose it.

But still, why Naruto? There were some other people at the battle scene at that moment. Naruto knew that Sasuke's team was nearby. Heck, he heard them talking to each other even in his semi-conscious state. Sasuke could have just picked them instead of him.

“If you weren't such a dobe, you'd understand what I'm doing.”

Naruto remembered Sasuke said something like that.

Is it because I'm a dobe?

… The hell? That didn't make any sense. At all.

Being a dobe equals getting harassed? No freaking way. Was this his sick way of pulling a joke? If that was the case, Sasuke better be ready to attend his own funeral, because Naruto was sure as hell not going to just let him get out of this alive.

Or was it because he was trying to imply something from that? Something that Naruto should know about… Something taught in class, perhaps? When he said `doing' he must have meant, er—how had Iruka-sensei put it? Ahhh… intercourse—the intercourse. Then should he ask Iruka-sensei about it? He vaguely remembered his sensei explaining to him about intercourse—or, in another easy term, like “the birds and the bees,” which, by the way, always involved good boys and good girls and love. Honestly, he really didn't understand most of what Iruka-sensei was trying to say, but at least he knew enough that it was between a boy and girl.

But—but what had happened between him and Sasuke was far from that birds and the bees story. Maybe there's actually a—a freaking bird and a bird story! Should he ask Iruka-sensei about that, then? Maybe sensei made a mistake when he taught that to the class and there was a bird and bird story after all.

Still, what was he going to say if Iruka-sensei asked him about the details? Tell him the truth? No way in hell. It would be too embarrassing, just like—like running around the village naked in broad daylight for everyone to see. He'd rather be stabbed through the chest with a blunt sword—wait, he had been through that!—than tell the exact, entire truth to Iruka-sensei.

Nuh-uh. Never going to happen.

So, yeah, that brought him back to square one, which meant he still had no freaking idea why. Furthermore, his head was beginning to hurt with all this thinking and analyzing. This was obviously not his element. He was a ninja, damnit! Not a scientist, or professor, or some kind of brainy dude. Ninjas don't think; they fight.

Well, not really. They did think, but not about deep shit like this. Ninjas were supposed to think about strategies, weapons, form of attack, etc—which was exactly why he should stop thinking now and forgot all about it.

Yeah, just forget about this, right?

If he didn't tell, nobody was gonna know anyway, right?

Like, it never happened, right?

He should just seal his lips. Tight.

No one would know, nothing was going to happen, end of story.

Satisfied with that, Naruto heaved a sigh of relief. Now, Naruto could relax. Problem solved. After making up his mind, reluctantly, he tried opening his eyes. It stung a little, just like when you swim in the ocean and the salty water gets into your eyes. Naruto blinked his eyes to wipe away the stinginess and finally opened them.

All he could see was pitch black.

Oh no! Not again!

Sasuke?

His breath hitched.

God, no! Not him again.

Okay, okay. Don't panic.

Naruto blinked his eyes some more, trying to adjust his eyes to the darkness. With the help of the moonlight that managed to shine through the slits of the open curtain, he barely made the outline of the room he rested in.

Ticking off the list in his head, he began to relax again.

No hair or fur? Check!

No pale skin? Check!

No ugly purple bow? Check!

Alright, not Sasuke.

Naruto heaved a sigh of relief for the second time. He was safe. After the panic subsided, he was sure of that now—the antiseptic smell confirmed it. He was in a hospital. But which hospital, he couldn't guess. Well, he didn't care about that right now. All that mattered now was that he was safe and comfy and sleepy, and, all in all, he just wanted to shut his eyes. He couldn't see anything properly anyway, since it was still dark. Also, he knew better than to move hastily after waking up from a long sleep; his stiff limbs would hurt like hell. Thus, giving into the sweet calling of la-la land, he went back to sleep again.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

The next morning, Naruto woke up with sunshine shining directly onto his face, which forced him to squint his eyes. While cursing profusely at the person who drew the curtain, he turned to lie on his side, trying in vain to avoid the blinding sun and continue to sleep some more. He was totally oblivious to a presence next to him.

Until…

Pack

“Ouch! Hey what the he…Tsunade baa-chan! What was that for?! What are you doing here, anyway?”

“Good morning to you too, brat. I work here, remember?”

“Heh heh… I forgot. Guess you are still a doctor, huh? What happened to the Hokage's duties? You're trying to skip work again, aren'tcha?”

“Whatever, brat. How are you this morning? You have been unconscious for almost three days. Any discomfort? Dizziness?”

“Three days? I'm fine, I guess. Nothing to worry about. Just feeling a bit stiff is all. I'm the great Uzumaki Naruto, tebbayo! I can take anything. Sooooo, did ja bring me any ramen? I'm starving, you know.”

Naruto grinned while trying to imitate a starving person, an act which Tsunade totally wouldn't have bought if not for his stomach grumbling right that moment.

Tsunade smiled—only Naruto could pull off something silly like that. She had actually been really worried about that boy. But seeing Naruto like this, he obviously had returned back to his normal self. Moreover, when she checked his vital signs and looked for any injuries that might have been inflicted on the blond boy, she found none. But what had puzzled her was that even though Naruto didn't have a severe injury, he still wouldn't wake up from his sleep. Expecting something terrible might have happened to Naruto that even she, the legendary healer herself couldn't detect, she couldn't help but be worried. After all, Naruto was like a brother to her—albeit his status as a rude, obnoxious, loud, and head-ache inducing individual. She loved him all the same.

Deeming Naruto was healthy enough, she announced,

“You can get your own ramen when you are discharged. You are discharged by the way.”

“Yatta! Ramen! Ramen!”

“Wait, not so fast.”

Naruto gulped.

Does she suspect something?

“Your chakra felt a little different than usual. Like… like it's mixed with someone else's chakra. Do you want to tell me something about that?”

“Well,” Naruto looked out the window, pretending to watch the activities outside to avoid Tsunade's gaze. She might know he hid something if he looked at her while explaining things. Tsunade was perceptive like that.

“I don't know. I was knocked out, you know. By the way, how did I get back here?” Naruto asked, trying to change the subject when something clicked in his mind and he suddenly sat up straight.

My teammates!

“How about the others? Where are they now? Are they alright?”

“Relax, Naruto. They are fine but still unconscious. You can visit them later. Now, I need you to tell me what happened. Every single detail.”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

By the afternoon, Naruto could be spotted eating bowls of ramen at Ichiraku's stand. However, a deep frown marred his tan face, which, under normal circumstances, was uncommon for the boy. He was eating ramen, after all, which, by Naruto's definition, was his elixir of life, cure of a thousand illnesses, and an ecstasy pill. This might sound exaggerated, but sadly those were true to him. So whoever paid attention would know something bad must have happened.

This was all because he was still in shock by the news delivered by Tsunade just now.

Itachi is dead.

Okay, he didn't know that and definitely didn't see that coming. The last thing he remembered about Itachi was that he tried to pin him down by throwing his body on him. He also recalled Itachi ordering Kisame to stab him with the sword. After that, all he could remember was a series of blurred memories. Nevertheless, at one point in his semi-consciousness, he swore he saw Sasuke advance to his brother's side to attack Itachi. Did that mean Sasuke was the one who killed him?

Tsunade asked him the exact same question just now, too. Naruto honestly didn't know how to answer that. Not that he didn't believe Sasuke could kill Itachi by himself; it was just that if Sasuke really had killed Itachi, then why had he abandoned them? Why didn't he help them back to Konoha, knowing fully well that if the rescue team arrived late, they might all be dead? Did he really want to severe ties with Konoha that badly? Didn't he plan to come back after killing Itachi?

Could we become a team again? Just like before?

Naruto became more depressed partly because he knew what that implied. Sasuke was not just a missing nin; he could be classified as S-class missing nin now, which meant one thing: if he didn't come back peacefully, the Hokage could declare a capture-and-kill order. Naruto definitely didn't want that. He wanted to bring Sasuke back alive. If not for his promise to Sakura-chan, then for his peace of mind. He just wanted his best friend back. It was as simple as that. Even though he was still angry at what Sasuke had done to him, it really didn't justify the hunter-nins to kill Sasuke, body mutated and unrecognizable beyond recognition, forever remembered as a traitor.

Naruto let out a tired sigh. It wouldn't do him any good moping around like this. He needed to do something to cool off his head, and what was a better thing to do than training to his heart's content? Already, he had somebody in mind as his spar partner. But first, he needed to go to Iruka-sensei's house and greet him. Only God knew how worried Iruka-sensei might be, and, if he was lucky, he might have ramen for dinner as well, courtesy of dear Iruka-sensei.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day, after visiting Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, and Sai at the hospital, Naruto headed toward a certain training ground where he was sure he could find his intended sparring partner. Sure enough, when he approached the training ground he could hear loud proclamations—loud proclamations filled with youthful spirit.

Take three guesses to who that was, and the first two don't count.

“Oi, Lee!” Lee turned to see Naruto jogging lightly to meet him. Upon arrival, Naruto continued, “Want to spar?”

Which was just a rhetorical question, really. Apart from Naruto, the only other person who couldn't refuse such an invitation was Lee.

“Of course, my youthful friend! It would be such a shame to refuse such a FRIENDLY and WONDERFUL offer!” was the anticipated reply.

In a heartbeat, they were already in a fighting stance, facing each other. Naruto felt a bubble of excitement build up in him. Sparring with Lee meant that both parties would only use taijutsu. Meaning hand-to-hand combat. Meaning real, physical combat. Meaning he got to hit something at last. His frustration that had been building since he woke up yesterday needed a release, and this was exactly what he needed to relieve it. With a combat cry, they both lunged at each other.

Unfortunately for Naruto, the spar didn't last long. Once Lee tried to hit Naruto's stomach, a red, angry chakra engulfed the blond boy, which subsequently put a pressure on the incoming Lee that sent him flying away a few meters away from Naruto. Thinking that was a normal move on Naruto's part, Lee recovered himself and started to attack again, only to be thrown away once again. However, this time his back met a tree trunk and rendered him immobile for a while because of the intense pain.

Worried for Lee's condition, Naruto ran towards Lee, hoping upon hope that Lee was not critically injured—the chakra burst that sent him flying just now was quite strong. He himself was confused about why that had happened. As far as he knew, he didn't even try to tap his own chakra reserves, let alone the Kyuubi's. Something pricked dangerously in Naruto's mind.

What is the Kyuubi up to now?

After reassuring Naruto that he was safe (“I am full of youth; this small thing can't beat me! Don't worry, Naruto-kun”), Lee asked to proceed with their sparring, but Naruto declined. Sensing that something was not right, he excused himself (“Sorry, I forgot to feed my cat”) and ran towards his usual training ground. Looking around to make sure that he was alone, Naruto began to train by himself. After the incident with Lee just now, he came to the conclusion that avoiding people would be the best course of action for now, mostly because he didn't even understand the situation himself. Another reason was because he just didn't want to think about what had just happened. Because he knew, even if he thought about it, he would never get the answer anyway. That fox demon wouldn't tell him anything, either.

Stupid fox.

And train by himself he did until he was so exhausted that he fell asleep on the training ground. Not long after that, he felt his body getting wet and jolted awake just to find that he was facing the fox demon. Naruto immediately sprang to his feet and stepped back a few paces from the gate constraining the demon.

“What do you want, stupid fox?”

His voice sounded hollow even to his own ears. The fox demon only grinned at him, showing his sharp, big teeth. Naruto felt a shudder run through his body.

“Don't be rude, brat. Or I won't tell you anything.”

“What do you mean? Wait, is this about the chakra burst just now? What are you up to, you ancient, stupid fox? Don't you dare try anything stupid!”

The Kyuubi bristled. This guy had to have guts to talk to him like that. If only he could reach his paws to that small neck and snap it in two. That would show that brat his place.

“That was to protect the cub.”

“Huh? Excuse me?”

“That was to pro…”

“I heard what you just said. What do you mean by that? Are saying you're pregnant, stupid fox?”

“…..” That was the demon fox.

“……” Naruto retaliated.

“Dumb, aren't you? You are right about the pregnancy, but wrong about it being me.”

“Hey, are you trying to tell me the impossible? Don't make a joke; it's not even funny! That's just humanly impossible!”

Naruto could feel panic rising in him.

No, no. This is not happening… Somehow, I know that giant fox doesn't lie. He wouldn't waste his breath sprouting lies like this. That's just not it. Which means it's telling the truth.

“Listen to yourself, human. It is humanly impossible, but I'm a Demon Lord. Don't underestimate my power. I might not control what happens outside this body, but inside I can still exercise my power.”

The Demon Lord paused, waiting for his container's reaction. After a few minutes of seeing Naruto just standing there dumbfounded, he continued,

“It was a natural instinct. A survival instinct.”

“Huh?” came the ever-clever reply from Naruto.

“We almost died at that time. I almost died. It's a natural instinct to preserve your lineage before you die. I can't just ignore such a strong instinct.”

Speechless, Naruto just continued standing there. His mind was in turmoil. He didn't want to accept this. No man in their right mind could accept this.

“No!” he suddenly screamed, “I can't accept this! This is absurd!”

“Look, you insolent brat. If you don't want it, just kill it. It doesn't concern me. Now, be one.”

Naruto was startled awake, sweat drenching his clothes and his breaths coming fast. Looking around himself, he noticed that he was back at the spot where he felt asleep before the meeting with Kyuubi, only now it was getting darker. Night at the training ground could be chilling, but that did nothing to soothe the boy. His mind was still preoccupied with the Kyuubi's parting statement:

“If you don't want it, just kill it.”

Feeling like the whole world's burdens had crashed onto his shoulders, Naruto buried his head in his hands. After some brooding in silence, he tilted his head to the sky and softly whispered, "Someone please tell me this is just a sick, sick joke."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi everyone. Thanks for reading. I just want to stress, this is a really slow SasuNaru. Yeah, cause you see, Sasuke and Naruto do not like each other. Really, they don't. Seriously. There will be a long way before love will come into the equation.

1- There is this almost believable article in the internet about a tree that grow octopus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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