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teamwork 3 chapter 7 -- end
I still have to put all the bits I wrote into proper order and I haven't decided yet how best to do that. But at least now I have everything and it's just a matter of shifting things around and writing the connecting bits. Piece of cake! (now that i've said this of course it means something will happen so i'm stuck until february >_>;;)
the part that comes before this.
And, the author note that'll be posted on ffnet with the chapter...
... now if only I could make myself believe it. *fret fret*
plz loev me. T^T
"Stubborn," Sasuke whispered. Maybe he would even survive. Sasuke wiped his hands on his pants and got back up. "Let's move him against that rock to get him out of the open, and then I'll go find Naruto."
They worked in silence. It was quickly done, though, the boy moved as smoothly as possible and a quick Katon to light the fire. Sasuke finished setting up traps with his leftover wire and straightened up.
Sakura was rubbing her stomach discreetly, like she didn't want him to notice.
"Sakura?"
She caught the direction of his gaze and shrugged, looking back down at the redhead kid to avoid his eyes. "It's nothing, just reverse-backlash. I had so much chakra shoved at me for so long and then it just went poof. It feels a little weird."
Sasuke stared at her for a second, not sure he was convinced. "Huh."
She laughed suddenly, dry and humorless. "It's funny. I was so afraid Naruto would become too foxlike. I wasn't scared of Kyuubi at all -- I mean, he was even helpful with the seal, and he would never hurt the mother of his offspring, right? Heh. Heheh."
Sasuke's fingers curled into a fist. He stayed silent for a few seconds, no words coming to his mind -- none that would have been welcome right now. Sakura let out a long, shaky sigh, and watched the brunette girl come back with an armful of branches. Sasuke glanced at the younger kunoichi and then back at his teammate.
"You gonna be okay?" he asked quietly, before the girl came in range.
"...Yeah. Just -- Naruto left before I could talk to him and --"
"I'll talk to him," he assured her.
He wanted to assure her of other things. That it was over now. That things would be okay, they'd just forget and go on. He'd never been an optimist, and he wasn't a hypocrite either, so he didn't.
"We'll be back soon," he added, because that he could promise, even if he had to propel Naruto along via a kick combo to his ass.
If the kid's teammates hadn't been there, watching, he might have convinced himself to touch her shoulder or her hair before he left -- not because he wanted to, he didn't want to touch anyone after this clusterfuck of failures and dead people. But because maybe it would help her, and if it helped her it would be worth forcing himself.
This time around he wasn't sure that his simple presence would be enough to make Sakura's world right again. The root of this was Naruto.
He went back to the river, found their camp again.
Naruto wasn't there. Sasuke felt a spike of -- some feeling he didn't want to think about. He snatched up his pack, Naruto's jacket, abandoned on the bank, and kept moving. He'd come back for the rest afterward. If some other team was laying in wait -- if they'd caught Naruto by surprise... Unlikely, but he didn't have a clue what state Naruto was in.
He went up the river, because the trees and lush grass quickly disappeared once out of the canyon and Naruto would probably want to keep to familiar surroundings.
For a second as he saw the body draped limply over that rock he thought Naruto might be dead too, ambushed and left where he'd fallen. But no, that couldn't happen. Just couldn't. He picked up a rock and threw it; it hit Naruto's perch with a loud crack.
Naruto startled. Good. Something in Sasuke's stomach unclenched. Even though he should have been aware of his presence sooner.
Naruto didn't turn around to check who was there. Not good.
"Naruto." Sasuke's voice came out curt more than weary. He didn't know whether Naruto could tell who was behind him, but that was no reason to keep his back on him that way. It was either as if Naruto wanted to ignore him or wanted to be captured, and either one was unacceptable.
He hadn't felt anything much for a little while, but now he was starting to feel angry.
"Get up," he ordered, voice harsh.
Naruto's shoulders stiffened.
"You left Sakura alone, exhausted, saddled with a bunch of kids. And you're not even getting supplies?"
"... Sasuke, leave off."
"Let me think -- no." Sasuke dropped his things on the bank, walked up the river's surface, and kicked water at Naruto's bare back. It didn't make a big difference to how wet Naruto was; his hair wasn't even half dry and his pants soaked through.
Naruto whirled around so fast Sasuke jumped back into a fighting crouch without thought. His teammate's eyes were Kyuubi-red still, thick fangs in his mouth, cheeks barred with spreading whisker marks.
There was rage in his eyes. Fear, too.
A challenge, in the tilt of his chin.
Sasuke gave an unimpressed snort and forced his burst of temper down. "... Get a hold of yourself, for fuck's sake."
Naruto stared at him for a few seconds, balanced on the balls of his feet like he was thinking of pouncing anyway, but the dryness and lack of fear in Sasuke's voice tipped the balance. He relaxed slowly -- very slowly, still on edge.
Still... not normal. Not right.
Which meant Sasuke couldn't get angry at him either. He'd been calm and steady for Sakura; easy, cradled in the functioning numbness that came from seeing death, from still having to salvage things. He wouldn't have minded blowing off steam on Naruto. But Naruto needed him steady as well, and that was... unsettling, unexpected, but something he couldn't fumble even so.
"Better?" he asked.
Naruto let out a long, shuddering breath and made a conscious effort to unclench his white-knuckled hands. "...Mrgh."
"Naruto." Sasuke paused, weighing his words. They didn't have time for Naruto to have a little breakdown in private. They didn't have time for comfort. Sasuke sucked at it anyway. But being too harsh would have the opposite effect. "... Tell me what's going on."
Naruto's shoulder and arm twitched and his upper lip curled briefly in disdainful irritation. He closed his eyes, still red.
"Status, shinobi," Sasuke demanded, quiet but unrelenting.
"Fuck you, leave me alone," Naruto said, but it came with a groan, more of a plea than a real insult. Sasuke swallowed another flicker of unease. Wrong, wrong.
"You know I can't do that."
Naruto slumped on the spot, sat on the rock with a bone-jarring thump, head and shoulders bowed in what looked like defeat. "Sasuke, just--"
"I'm not leaving," he countered preemptively.
Naruto sighed and started massaging his temples.
"My head hurts," he admitted quietly. "And I'm not. I don't. I..." A deep, bracing breath. "I'm not thinking right."
Sasuke bit his tongue on a 'As if you ever do.' He couldn't have faked the right level of teasing dryness right now.
"I'm so angry," Naruto whispered. "I'm so angry."
He didn't look angry right now. Closer to terrified. Sasuke told himself to relax his jaw before he broke a tooth.
"Alright," he said; it was inane but he didn't have a clue what else to say to that. He told himself to just accept it and move on. "What do you need to keep it under control?"
Naruto flicked a startled look at him through his bangs. "What?"
"The anger. If you could get rid of it, you would. So it's not possible. Alright. But obviously you can control it." He spread his arms a little in demonstration; Naruto hadn't attacked him after all.
"I don't -- " Bewildered, Naruto shook his head. Shuddered, fists clenching and releasing.
"What do you need?"
There was a long moment of silence.
"...No challenges. None at all."
Sasuke gave a cautious nod. "That's... going to be interesting, but alright."
Naruto let out a short burst of laughter and tilted up his head. His eyes were a muddy, intermediate color -- an ugly bruise-purple, still more red than blue. The pupils were thin cat-slices.
"What else?"
Naruto looked away. "... I don't think I can... stay close. So I'll just... I'll take perimeter watch. Okay?"
Sasuke considered it. Someone had to do it, and he didn't think Naruto would want to be too close to the kids and Sakura yet. Anyway, night was falling fast -- he checked the sky. No, evening was pretty much there, the sun had come down almost a hour ago. He hadn't noticed he was losing colors because even when his sharingan wasn't activated his pupils still adapted well, giving him details and movements in stark clarity. But they needed to bunk down for the night. Might as well allow Naruto to calm down by doing something useful that wouldn't let him feel crowded.
"That works. Let's go pick up our things and move the camp."
He caught a scowl on Naruto's face at his words, but the blond inhaled slowly and forced himself to relax. Too much like an order, then? Damn but this was going to get frustrating. He erased a frown from his face and waited for Naruto to move first, to give a signal. He watched the blond unfold, climb to his feet.
They stared at each other for a second, before Sasuke made himself break eye contact and look over Naruto's shoulder. He should have looked down at his feet to seem properly submissive but his every instinct rebelled against that.
"This is just wrong," he commented dryly.
"Heh. Yeah." A pause; Naruto tilted his head, faintly disconcerted. "I don't think I'm gonna like it much in the long run. I want... I want to fight you. It's not -- it's too easy if I don't have to fight you."
"But it wouldn't help if we fought now," Sasuke observed. Naruto let out a strange laugh.
"No. It really wouldn't. I'd eat your face, and then I'd probably rape you. I wish to god I was joking."
"Missing a face might get problematic," Sasuke replied blandly, refusing to be impressed. It was obvious Naruto was hoping he'd be scared off and give him space. As if. "On the other hand, girls would stop sighing after me in the street."
Naruto muttered under his breath, more normal-grumpy than half out of his skin with nerves for a short moment. "Ass."
"Yeah, I guess I'd still have that going for me."
He startled Naruto into laughing, a real laugh this time around.
"Yeah... I guess it is pretty nice," he agreed, almost normal. But he kept chuckling longer than he should have, breathless and slightly tinged with hysteria. "I guess it is. ... But if you try to use it on other people I'll -- I... I'd be pissed."
Kyuubi was still too close to Naruto's mind, Sasuke noted. He'd planned to say something else. More graphic. With more threats. Sasuke nodded soberly. "I wasn't planning on it," he promised, voice quiet. "I've got a boyfriend already."
He smirked a little bit when Naruto's head jerked around at the epithet.
"He's the possessive type, apparently," he said dryly.
They stared at each other for a few seconds. Sasuke only broke eye contact when Naruto's slightly too wide, slightly too wet eyes started to narrow into a bothered stare. There, no more challenge.
"... Damn straight he is." Naruto stepped up to him slowly and bumped his fist against his shoulder in a pretend-punch that wouldn't have moved a civilian in high heels. Sasuke was neither. At this point it was almost closer to a caress.
This was getting embarrassingly sappy. But playing on Naruto's gentler side was the only way Sasuke really saw to counter the way his wilder feelings echoed off Kyuubi's.
This was probably as good as Naruto's mindset was going to get for a good long while, with his chakra still out of whack.
"We should go back to the camp," he said, sticking his hands in his pockets and gazing at the scenery around them so he wouldn't have to really acknowledge Naruto's expression again. It was too embarrassing to see him with no mask on.
"Alright, alright."
They started walking down the river, Sasuke scanning the surroundings for threats, though he kept his body language relaxed and his hands tucked away. Naruto slunk along like a predator vaguely thinking about maybe going for dinner. That was much better than him actively looking around for prey; Sasuke still made a note to look for snacks to shove at him.
He tried to think of an innocuous topic of conversation to keep Naruto distracted, but could find nothing. The only things he was wondering about were Sakura and the half-dead kid and he wasn't going to bring them up.
"Man, I'm so ready to get the fuck off this island," Naruto grumbled, kicking at the surface of the water. "I hate this place."
Sasuke grunted his agreement. "Still need more tokens though. I'm not coming back in six months."
Naruto flinched and looked away. Sasuke berated himself. Yeah, bring up tokens and more teams to kill for them while you're at it. Stupid.
"... Weren't the jounin-sensei supposed to carry some around?" Naruto said after a slightly too long pause.
Sasuke was willing to ignore that in the name of keeping the conversation looking casual. He stepped on the bank. Their camp wasn't too far from there, just after this bend in the river.
"Yeah, but I haven't seen one of them for hours." He couldn't keep his irritation out of his voice. "What the hell is up with that anyway? They should have come running."
"Oh, they'll be around soon enough," said an amused voice, "but we do have a few minutes."
Sasuke froze in his tracks. At his side Naruto had gone stiff with shock. He could feel demon chakra spike against his skin.
A tall, broad-shouldered man stood in the middle of their abandoned camp.
He had a huge sword effortlessly propped up on one shoulder. On the other shoulder was slung a limp body.
That wasn't what Sasuke zeroed in on first, though. It was dark and colors were hard to see, but he knew his skin was slate blue and the clouds on his cloak arterial red.
They came as a pair. It was all Sasuke could think of. They came as a pair.
Itachi.
"Gaara," Naruto choked out.
"It's shameful how little security the hidden villages keep around their demon bearers nowadays, wouldn't you say?"
Kisame took a step forward, distracting Sasuke from the suddenly suspiciously empty space all around them.
"I don't suppose you'll come quietly," he said, and smiled, all teeth bared.
the part that comes before this.
And, the author note that'll be posted on ffnet with the chapter...
-The reason this is so late:
I had a major dilemma over the plot thread this chapter kicks off.
The event at the end was always planned, from way back when I came up with the idea of writing the chuunin test in the first place. I was super excited about it, and in how many interesting ways it would impact Team Seven, and I came up with off-screen background and actions and chronology, and fallout for it, and plot threads that tie into Teamwork 4&5 (yes, I did really plan this far. x.x)...
And then I realized, aw hell, this might not come as a "OH MY GOD D:" but as a "...oh, please."
Because yeah, it might be seen as random and just enough over the top to break suspension of disbelief, just enough to be too much. So I felt really bothered about the possibility, and tried and tried to find plot to replace that event, but no matter what I came up with and how many of my friends tried to help, it didn't give the same results and it broke my poor little heart to have to cut out everything else I'd planned as a result of it. And to be frank... it's a lot more fun for me this way, no matter how likely it is or isn't.
I might lose readers over it (though if I haven't lost you even though I made you wait so long, then I'm not too scared. XD :lovelove: ) but in the end I have to remember something: I write fanfic because I want to have fun with the characters I love (and put them through hell, because I'm evil and it makes me laugh). I'm not trying to sell this as a novel, so maybe I can relax my standards of likelihood a tiny bit and stop putting pressure on myself. And hey, who knows, maybe I'll pull it off. I won't know if I can pull it off if I don't even try, so here it is. I'm trying this. But even if it doesn't work for all of you guys, at least I'm having fun again.
... now if only I could make myself believe it. *fret fret*
plz loev me. T^T
"Stubborn," Sasuke whispered. Maybe he would even survive. Sasuke wiped his hands on his pants and got back up. "Let's move him against that rock to get him out of the open, and then I'll go find Naruto."
They worked in silence. It was quickly done, though, the boy moved as smoothly as possible and a quick Katon to light the fire. Sasuke finished setting up traps with his leftover wire and straightened up.
Sakura was rubbing her stomach discreetly, like she didn't want him to notice.
"Sakura?"
She caught the direction of his gaze and shrugged, looking back down at the redhead kid to avoid his eyes. "It's nothing, just reverse-backlash. I had so much chakra shoved at me for so long and then it just went poof. It feels a little weird."
Sasuke stared at her for a second, not sure he was convinced. "Huh."
She laughed suddenly, dry and humorless. "It's funny. I was so afraid Naruto would become too foxlike. I wasn't scared of Kyuubi at all -- I mean, he was even helpful with the seal, and he would never hurt the mother of his offspring, right? Heh. Heheh."
Sasuke's fingers curled into a fist. He stayed silent for a few seconds, no words coming to his mind -- none that would have been welcome right now. Sakura let out a long, shaky sigh, and watched the brunette girl come back with an armful of branches. Sasuke glanced at the younger kunoichi and then back at his teammate.
"You gonna be okay?" he asked quietly, before the girl came in range.
"...Yeah. Just -- Naruto left before I could talk to him and --"
"I'll talk to him," he assured her.
He wanted to assure her of other things. That it was over now. That things would be okay, they'd just forget and go on. He'd never been an optimist, and he wasn't a hypocrite either, so he didn't.
"We'll be back soon," he added, because that he could promise, even if he had to propel Naruto along via a kick combo to his ass.
If the kid's teammates hadn't been there, watching, he might have convinced himself to touch her shoulder or her hair before he left -- not because he wanted to, he didn't want to touch anyone after this clusterfuck of failures and dead people. But because maybe it would help her, and if it helped her it would be worth forcing himself.
This time around he wasn't sure that his simple presence would be enough to make Sakura's world right again. The root of this was Naruto.
He went back to the river, found their camp again.
Naruto wasn't there. Sasuke felt a spike of -- some feeling he didn't want to think about. He snatched up his pack, Naruto's jacket, abandoned on the bank, and kept moving. He'd come back for the rest afterward. If some other team was laying in wait -- if they'd caught Naruto by surprise... Unlikely, but he didn't have a clue what state Naruto was in.
He went up the river, because the trees and lush grass quickly disappeared once out of the canyon and Naruto would probably want to keep to familiar surroundings.
For a second as he saw the body draped limply over that rock he thought Naruto might be dead too, ambushed and left where he'd fallen. But no, that couldn't happen. Just couldn't. He picked up a rock and threw it; it hit Naruto's perch with a loud crack.
Naruto startled. Good. Something in Sasuke's stomach unclenched. Even though he should have been aware of his presence sooner.
Naruto didn't turn around to check who was there. Not good.
"Naruto." Sasuke's voice came out curt more than weary. He didn't know whether Naruto could tell who was behind him, but that was no reason to keep his back on him that way. It was either as if Naruto wanted to ignore him or wanted to be captured, and either one was unacceptable.
He hadn't felt anything much for a little while, but now he was starting to feel angry.
"Get up," he ordered, voice harsh.
Naruto's shoulders stiffened.
"You left Sakura alone, exhausted, saddled with a bunch of kids. And you're not even getting supplies?"
"... Sasuke, leave off."
"Let me think -- no." Sasuke dropped his things on the bank, walked up the river's surface, and kicked water at Naruto's bare back. It didn't make a big difference to how wet Naruto was; his hair wasn't even half dry and his pants soaked through.
Naruto whirled around so fast Sasuke jumped back into a fighting crouch without thought. His teammate's eyes were Kyuubi-red still, thick fangs in his mouth, cheeks barred with spreading whisker marks.
There was rage in his eyes. Fear, too.
A challenge, in the tilt of his chin.
Sasuke gave an unimpressed snort and forced his burst of temper down. "... Get a hold of yourself, for fuck's sake."
Naruto stared at him for a few seconds, balanced on the balls of his feet like he was thinking of pouncing anyway, but the dryness and lack of fear in Sasuke's voice tipped the balance. He relaxed slowly -- very slowly, still on edge.
Still... not normal. Not right.
Which meant Sasuke couldn't get angry at him either. He'd been calm and steady for Sakura; easy, cradled in the functioning numbness that came from seeing death, from still having to salvage things. He wouldn't have minded blowing off steam on Naruto. But Naruto needed him steady as well, and that was... unsettling, unexpected, but something he couldn't fumble even so.
"Better?" he asked.
Naruto let out a long, shuddering breath and made a conscious effort to unclench his white-knuckled hands. "...Mrgh."
"Naruto." Sasuke paused, weighing his words. They didn't have time for Naruto to have a little breakdown in private. They didn't have time for comfort. Sasuke sucked at it anyway. But being too harsh would have the opposite effect. "... Tell me what's going on."
Naruto's shoulder and arm twitched and his upper lip curled briefly in disdainful irritation. He closed his eyes, still red.
"Status, shinobi," Sasuke demanded, quiet but unrelenting.
"Fuck you, leave me alone," Naruto said, but it came with a groan, more of a plea than a real insult. Sasuke swallowed another flicker of unease. Wrong, wrong.
"You know I can't do that."
Naruto slumped on the spot, sat on the rock with a bone-jarring thump, head and shoulders bowed in what looked like defeat. "Sasuke, just--"
"I'm not leaving," he countered preemptively.
Naruto sighed and started massaging his temples.
"My head hurts," he admitted quietly. "And I'm not. I don't. I..." A deep, bracing breath. "I'm not thinking right."
Sasuke bit his tongue on a 'As if you ever do.' He couldn't have faked the right level of teasing dryness right now.
"I'm so angry," Naruto whispered. "I'm so angry."
He didn't look angry right now. Closer to terrified. Sasuke told himself to relax his jaw before he broke a tooth.
"Alright," he said; it was inane but he didn't have a clue what else to say to that. He told himself to just accept it and move on. "What do you need to keep it under control?"
Naruto flicked a startled look at him through his bangs. "What?"
"The anger. If you could get rid of it, you would. So it's not possible. Alright. But obviously you can control it." He spread his arms a little in demonstration; Naruto hadn't attacked him after all.
"I don't -- " Bewildered, Naruto shook his head. Shuddered, fists clenching and releasing.
"What do you need?"
There was a long moment of silence.
"...No challenges. None at all."
Sasuke gave a cautious nod. "That's... going to be interesting, but alright."
Naruto let out a short burst of laughter and tilted up his head. His eyes were a muddy, intermediate color -- an ugly bruise-purple, still more red than blue. The pupils were thin cat-slices.
"What else?"
Naruto looked away. "... I don't think I can... stay close. So I'll just... I'll take perimeter watch. Okay?"
Sasuke considered it. Someone had to do it, and he didn't think Naruto would want to be too close to the kids and Sakura yet. Anyway, night was falling fast -- he checked the sky. No, evening was pretty much there, the sun had come down almost a hour ago. He hadn't noticed he was losing colors because even when his sharingan wasn't activated his pupils still adapted well, giving him details and movements in stark clarity. But they needed to bunk down for the night. Might as well allow Naruto to calm down by doing something useful that wouldn't let him feel crowded.
"That works. Let's go pick up our things and move the camp."
He caught a scowl on Naruto's face at his words, but the blond inhaled slowly and forced himself to relax. Too much like an order, then? Damn but this was going to get frustrating. He erased a frown from his face and waited for Naruto to move first, to give a signal. He watched the blond unfold, climb to his feet.
They stared at each other for a second, before Sasuke made himself break eye contact and look over Naruto's shoulder. He should have looked down at his feet to seem properly submissive but his every instinct rebelled against that.
"This is just wrong," he commented dryly.
"Heh. Yeah." A pause; Naruto tilted his head, faintly disconcerted. "I don't think I'm gonna like it much in the long run. I want... I want to fight you. It's not -- it's too easy if I don't have to fight you."
"But it wouldn't help if we fought now," Sasuke observed. Naruto let out a strange laugh.
"No. It really wouldn't. I'd eat your face, and then I'd probably rape you. I wish to god I was joking."
"Missing a face might get problematic," Sasuke replied blandly, refusing to be impressed. It was obvious Naruto was hoping he'd be scared off and give him space. As if. "On the other hand, girls would stop sighing after me in the street."
Naruto muttered under his breath, more normal-grumpy than half out of his skin with nerves for a short moment. "Ass."
"Yeah, I guess I'd still have that going for me."
He startled Naruto into laughing, a real laugh this time around.
"Yeah... I guess it is pretty nice," he agreed, almost normal. But he kept chuckling longer than he should have, breathless and slightly tinged with hysteria. "I guess it is. ... But if you try to use it on other people I'll -- I... I'd be pissed."
Kyuubi was still too close to Naruto's mind, Sasuke noted. He'd planned to say something else. More graphic. With more threats. Sasuke nodded soberly. "I wasn't planning on it," he promised, voice quiet. "I've got a boyfriend already."
He smirked a little bit when Naruto's head jerked around at the epithet.
"He's the possessive type, apparently," he said dryly.
They stared at each other for a few seconds. Sasuke only broke eye contact when Naruto's slightly too wide, slightly too wet eyes started to narrow into a bothered stare. There, no more challenge.
"... Damn straight he is." Naruto stepped up to him slowly and bumped his fist against his shoulder in a pretend-punch that wouldn't have moved a civilian in high heels. Sasuke was neither. At this point it was almost closer to a caress.
This was getting embarrassingly sappy. But playing on Naruto's gentler side was the only way Sasuke really saw to counter the way his wilder feelings echoed off Kyuubi's.
This was probably as good as Naruto's mindset was going to get for a good long while, with his chakra still out of whack.
"We should go back to the camp," he said, sticking his hands in his pockets and gazing at the scenery around them so he wouldn't have to really acknowledge Naruto's expression again. It was too embarrassing to see him with no mask on.
"Alright, alright."
They started walking down the river, Sasuke scanning the surroundings for threats, though he kept his body language relaxed and his hands tucked away. Naruto slunk along like a predator vaguely thinking about maybe going for dinner. That was much better than him actively looking around for prey; Sasuke still made a note to look for snacks to shove at him.
He tried to think of an innocuous topic of conversation to keep Naruto distracted, but could find nothing. The only things he was wondering about were Sakura and the half-dead kid and he wasn't going to bring them up.
"Man, I'm so ready to get the fuck off this island," Naruto grumbled, kicking at the surface of the water. "I hate this place."
Sasuke grunted his agreement. "Still need more tokens though. I'm not coming back in six months."
Naruto flinched and looked away. Sasuke berated himself. Yeah, bring up tokens and more teams to kill for them while you're at it. Stupid.
"... Weren't the jounin-sensei supposed to carry some around?" Naruto said after a slightly too long pause.
Sasuke was willing to ignore that in the name of keeping the conversation looking casual. He stepped on the bank. Their camp wasn't too far from there, just after this bend in the river.
"Yeah, but I haven't seen one of them for hours." He couldn't keep his irritation out of his voice. "What the hell is up with that anyway? They should have come running."
"Oh, they'll be around soon enough," said an amused voice, "but we do have a few minutes."
Sasuke froze in his tracks. At his side Naruto had gone stiff with shock. He could feel demon chakra spike against his skin.
A tall, broad-shouldered man stood in the middle of their abandoned camp.
He had a huge sword effortlessly propped up on one shoulder. On the other shoulder was slung a limp body.
That wasn't what Sasuke zeroed in on first, though. It was dark and colors were hard to see, but he knew his skin was slate blue and the clouds on his cloak arterial red.
They came as a pair. It was all Sasuke could think of. They came as a pair.
Itachi.
"Gaara," Naruto choked out.
"It's shameful how little security the hidden villages keep around their demon bearers nowadays, wouldn't you say?"
Kisame took a step forward, distracting Sasuke from the suddenly suspiciously empty space all around them.
"I don't suppose you'll come quietly," he said, and smiled, all teeth bared.
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...
Okay, pulling myself together a little to say that I really like the awkwardness of Naruto and Sasuke when they can't fall back into their habitual challenge behavior and are forced to be sincere. (I also really like how Sasuke is skating riiiiiight up to the edge of tripping Naruto's challenge detector, and the way Naruto seems comforted by this, as if an actually submissive Sasuke would just be the last straw that breaks his entire world.)
Also, who the hell cares if Akatsuki members seem to come out of nowhere? They do that in canon all the time! Especially Itachi, just when Sasuke least needs him around! Besides, this is such a gut punch (not to mention a very logical explanation for why no jounin interrupted earlier), that I don't think anyone would really notice any implausibility if you didn't point it out by apologizing for it.
*pets the story lovingly*
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I'm starting to hope that maybe I worried too much and in that case I'll probably trim the author notes a lot. It's so much more
evilfun like that anyway, but I'm having such a hard time shoving my inner editor out of the door. x___xstory: *is petted* *prrrrrr*
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(Anonymous) 2009-12-13 12:04 am (UTC)(link)… I don't think it breaks suspicion of disbelief. At least, not to the extent that it bothers me (although I admit to thinking "this feels somehow obvious"). It makes sense for them to be there, given the presence of at least two jinchūriki. And, given the chaotic nature of the chuunin exams, it makes sense for them to go after Naruto because security would be more lax just to make the test challenging.
Admittedly, it would be nice if there was a way to set this up more before hand (which you may have done and which I simply forgot). Still, it is an entertaining plot twist that promises much, much further entertainment. I can't really complain.
Important bit: thank you for the fic update!
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(although I admit to thinking "this feels somehow obvious").
Ahhh. Obvious how?
I admit the foreshadowing was sparse, but a lot of that is because I'm staying close to team seven and they'd have no reason to see it coming since they're isolated on the island. I didn't know where to slip it in, apart from Sasuke's rather heavy-handed "where are the jounin senseiiii". .___.;
I could/should have figured stuff out for the earlier chapters though. I mean, Kakashi brought up Akatsuki way back when they were just arriving on the island, but that was way too little and too long ago.
Thank you for the comment. :)
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(Anonymous) - 2009-12-13 13:40 (UTC) - Expand(no subject)
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. . . Is Itachi evil in this?
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♥
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Well, I have no idea what you're worried about. Even knowing you were going to do that didn't eliminate the chillbump effect or the feeling of elevator-tummy. Also, edenfalling is right, it's so canon for things to happen this way. And by that, I don't mean that it was expected and boring and you could see it coming from a mile away, because it wasn't, and in a spoiler free world I could say that with a straight face. ^^;
Seriously, it was all, like, Itachi, "Gaara," @_@ Ooh snap. I'm not too proud to admit I made little grabbing motions at the monitor to try to save
himthem. You're evil.♥♥♥♥
Pillar-of-Support!Sasuke is ^________^
Sasuke trying to be submissive is D8, ...*__*, XD, >D
Also, Naruto being all 'Dude, this is messed up' about it is XD.
--"No. It really wouldn't. I'd eat your face, and then I'd probably rape you. I wish to god I was joking."
Love how Sasuke downplays the whole cannibalism and graphic betrayal issues. He makes funny! Cute, flirty funny. It is love.
XD Jealous Naruto is jealous. ♥
So, in conclusion,
damn you and your cliffhangering black heartthank you.More plz?
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♥ I should just stop spoiling you. Yep! From now on, you're going cold turkey on spoilers. U.U
Love how Sasuke downplays the whole cannibalism and graphic betrayal issues.
*snerk* Sasuke is thinking "you can't rape when there's consent, stupid." But he knows he's kinda messed up about how far he'd be willing to consent and it would disturb Naruto anyway, so ...
yesyes, writing now ^_____^
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...Aaaaand bitching fight with Kisame and Itachi will be epic also. Mostly I prefer emotional mind fuckery though.
Please can you promise me at least one of those things? U__U
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Don't worry about the emotional fuckery content, it's probably going to be even worse than the ass-kicking. >:3
... after that I really owe them some downtime. XD;
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And don't worry about not commenting, with all the places I lurk in I'm not about to cast stones at anyone XD But thank you for saying it now. ^__^
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i fucking hate you for that cliffhanger bb omg. Also: MOOD WHIPLASH MUCH.
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Thank you~~~~
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as;lkjdf ;laskj dflkj
*whimper*
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>:3
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I really think this fits the Narutoverse very well, that ending. I mean, how many times has Kishi dropped some sort of bomb like that? Not exactly like this one but you know, one thing sort of done and then another thing pops up.
I like it. I really like that you put it like that. Everything sort of comes together and all the evil laughter you did when we asked why no one was going to help or sense it, etc makes perfect sense now, you evil gal you :P
I approve 8Db
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haha, yeah, but kishimoto is sometimes poked fun at for his clumsy plots, so i'm not sure that's reassuring... XDDD Nah, kidding. XD
*indulges in a little bit more evil laughter* *just a tiny bit*
*lovesquishes* thank you, hon~
lissiel still not having an LJ anymore.
(Anonymous) 2009-12-13 06:06 am (UTC)(link)What happens neeeeeext?
Re: lissiel still not having an LJ anymore.
Woohoo! WIN. *^o^*
I'm really happy you like the way the plot is going. I'm kinda afraid some people will be all "first kyuubi and now itachi? the hell D:" but after this clusterfuck I'm giving them some downtime.
... well. Eventually. >__>;;;
*plots really fluffy sidefic to soothe people*
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AAAAAUUGGHH!!! *flail!
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HAHAHAHA.
muahahaha.
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Oh my, that was just so... *.*
Sasuke admitting Naru is his boyfriend, lol, so cute! And Naruto's reaction *squees!*
And lol, the Kisame turn of events looks like it might be interesting. Hmmm... Itachi XD
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Heh, it's not the first time Sasuke uses the boyfriend label, but yeah, it's pretty rare when he mentions it out loud.
Huhuhuhuhu. >D
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(Gahd^#$FBsdvg, <3)
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Hmm...
... ...
HMMMMM...
...OKAY THAT DOES IT, NO MORE THINKING FOR FLOURITE_ROSES. I really really really can't decide if I want them to 'come quietly' or fight like fighting fighters. DDD: Either way looks terribly interesting. Also, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?!?!? IS ITACHI COMING OUT?!?! CLIFFHANGERS, URGH.
P.S. I love you. :D
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>:D
*feels loved yay* :333
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l;ksfejkfsda;kljfd;sljdfsjkl;f
♥
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Didn't see that coming you know, and I pride myself on being a teamwork fan ^^ not only a teamwork fangirl if that makes sense.
I was a bit confused by the previous bit in Sasuke's pov about the Team summons, seems to me that the flashback/flashforward dynamics could use a little more cues, and I am VERY UPSET by the healer death i_______i you are evil !
But we love it when you are evil just so you know ^^
Ah, this is no good, Naruto cannot stands another full!kyubii!mode right now and Sasuke is already exhausted. And Sakura needs help with the puppies u___u
I hope at least the puppyTeam won't be suicidal enough to go to the next step and hand over their token to Sakura when she's done patching up their mate.
And Sasuke!cat summoner would be lovely =D Goes well with your Sasu!Kitties pictures ^^
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I totally agree on the flashback confusion, I think i'm gonna have to cave in and just put everything back in chronological order. Booh. ;_; But it's just way too confusing otherwise. Blah, will figure something out.
...puppyTeam! That's the cutest name ever.
so much better than team Fodder. *looks guilty*XD now that i've foreshadowed so evilly I might as well come out and say it...the sasuke and kitty pics were done with one of his cat summons. I had silly antics on the brain when I tried to decide what the hell Sasuke could do with that type of summon and then bam! orange tigerkitty pops up being all young and silly and cuddly. Alright then. XD; Not sure any of that will make its way into Teamwork, but, now you know the secret behind the pics. XD ♥
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As others have mentioned, I pride myself as a "Teamwork" fan and also as a story teller; I can usually tell what the "twist" will be and where story plots are going...but I did not see that coming. Itachi and Kisame and Gaara? Well done! ;)
Also I agree that Akatsuki comes out of the woodwork in dramatastic style all the time a la canon, so...well done! ;)
*plots really fluffy sidefic to soothe people* <- ...really? *prods*
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Hohohohohohohohohoho. >:D I'm glad I surprised you, dear.
as for the sidefic, umm. I'd LOVE to... I just have NO CLUE what to write. XD;
*de-lurk*
(Anonymous) 2009-12-14 05:10 am (UTC)(link):DDDDD
*re-lurk*
<3
Re: *de-lurk*
WAT A TWEEST
I... I was going to go on about how I love Naruto and Sasuke's dominant/submissive vibes here because it pings me so hard but-
FFFFFFFF AKATSUKI. FFFFFFFFF KISAME.
which meansOMFFFFFFFFFFF ITACHI!!!!!!!! *major flailing of flail*I told you earlier that I was totally on an Itachi kick, and now this. I am so happy, so very happy. ;_______;
Especially since at this point in the naruto-verse timeline the kids are still, well, kids and the Akatsuki are waaaaaaaay out of their power-sphere. Though with Kyuubi kindofnotreally on their side the scales balance a little bit if the demon gets complete control of Naruto's body again.
I liked Gaara back when he was all badass and the latest manga has me not liking him so much soooo... I kinda did an 'ohwell' shrug at the fact that Kisame yoinked him. *feels a bit guilty*Squeeeeeeeeee, so is Itachi evil-evil, or fake-I'm-actually-just-looking-out-for-you-norly-evil? Mrrh, either way the possibilities for mind-fuckery are amazing. *_______*
...Also *cough*
They came as a pair. It was all Sasuke could think of. They came as a pair.
Ohgod I ship it.&hearts
Re: WAT A TWEEST
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥~~~~ Itachiiiii~~ guess where he iiiiis right noooow~~
*snerk* Poor Gaara. I have to admit I care for him only inasmuch as Naruto does. *is a bad asuka* *ponders whether naruto is broken enough yet* >.>
As for Itachi, HAH like I'm going to tell you. >D
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Wow. I was NOT expecting Kisame and Itachi to show up at the Chuunin exam... So they're one of the big problems - perhaps the biggest problem - that are alluded to in your summary of Teamwork 3! Gahhh this is so exciting!
Back to reviewing the rest of the chapter - these are some great Sasuke/Naruto interactions. I like how Sasuke's actually being a bit gentle with Naruto while still being firm. I feel bad for Naruto here, and he's so honest and it's heartbreaking how he feels.
Guh, what a good section.
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And Sasuke's boyfriend comments - squee.
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