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Walking Corpse	By : suomynonakun Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 7267 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 12
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- 14
Sakura smiled across the table at Lee, who was in the midst of telling her a story about a recent mission with Gai, complete with flailing arms and large facial expressions.
Years ago, Lee�s�excitable personality embarrassed her, especially when they were in small public spaces like the restaurant they were currently eating at. Somehow though, Lee had grown on her to the point that she found his behavior endearing. He was like an innocent little kid and his big happy grins were contagious.
Besides everyone who knew Gai understood the young man�s unrestrained exuberance and few people in the village thought twice anymore when either green clad man went off on a loud tangent about the beauty of youth and self-respect.
Sakura giggled as a waitress ducked under one of Lee�s grander arm motions and continued on her trek to the table next to them as if nothing had happened.
Suddenly Lee became even more excited and Sakura found herself wondering why she was surprised that that could happen.
�Shikamaru!� the dark haired jounin called, waving frantically. �Kiba!�
Sakura turned to see that not only were Shikamaru and Kiba standing by the door but both their former genin teams were with them. She smiled sadly. It was nice that they still did things together. With Naruto�s �death� and Sasuke�s desire to sulk alone in the Uchiha compound, Team Seven hadn�t done anything as a whole since they were twelve.
The teams wandered over to them and Lee asked a passing waiter if they could place a few tables together. Sakura took a drink and nearly spit it out when she saw that teams Ten and Eight were not alone.
There stood Naruto, looking odd with his red hair, smiling as he looked around the restaurant, and next to him was Sasuke, hands shoved in pockets and staring ahead with his usual scowl.
�Naruto!� she said, standing up and giving the surprised man a hug. Sasuke had found him then. She was glad.
�Hi, Sasuke,� she said, knowing better than to try and hug him, instead placing her hand on his arm and giving it a gentle squeeze.
He nodded at her.
Team Seven was whole again.
Naruto found that he actually had fun. He had been expecting an uncomfortable reunion consisting of a barrage of questions that he didn�t want to answer. Instead they ate and laughed and talked about everything and nothing at all. His friends pulled him back into the group as if the previous ten years hadn�t happened.
Sasuke didn�t join in with much of the happy banter but, although he didn�t look it, watching Naruto�s bright smile as he caught up with everyone made his heart warm. Of course the conversation they had had on Mt. Hokage was still fresh on his mind, but it was hard to worry about it when Naruto looked so happy.
Naruto suddenly felt eyes on him. He looked around the restaurant, ignoring the odd stares or, on occasion, glares that were being sent his way. His gaze finally met with a set of warm brown eyes. A man stood near the door, thick brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and a green chuunin vest over his clothes. He was watching Naruto intensely, biting on his bottom lip.
The chatter at the table faded as Naruto stood and they all looked to him in confusion. He ignored them, walking over to the chuunin by the door and standing in front of him.
�Iruka-sensei,� Naruto said, unsure of what else to say.
Iruka didn�t answer right away and Naruto nervously played with the edge of his shirt. Suddenly the pony tailed man grabbed Naruto and pulled him into a tight hug.
�I heard some villagers saying they saw you here and�� Iruka paused, taking a shaky breath. �Tsunade-sama said you were dead all those years ago�but I couldn�t help it. I had to come see.�
Naruto hugged Iruka back. He had missed Iruka so intensely when he had first left that his heart ached every time he thought about the gentle chuunin. He was the only thing close to family that Naruto had had and he had known that if anyone in Konoha would be affected by his apparent death it would be him. And to hurt him like that had pained Naruto.
�How have you been?� Naruto asked when Iruka let him go.
Iruka let out a noise that seemed to be a cross between a laugh and a sob. �Okay,� he answered quietly.
Sasuke and the others discreetly watched the reunion between teacher and student. Naruto and Iruka spoke for a few moments before the former blonde walked back to the table. �I�m going to go to Iruka-sensei�s house for a little while,� he told them, although the explanation was more for Sasuke. �I�m glad I got to see you all once�again.�
Sasuke caught the hesitation in Naruto�s sentence and he glared at him, knowing what he had almost said. More.
Everyone said their goodbyes, resisting the urge to ask him to stay and explain himself.
Naruto was gone a few moments later and they sat quietly for a bit until a familiar voice interrupted their thoughts with a, �Yo.�
Kakashi stood behind Sasuke and he had appeared so suddenly that they had to wonder if he had just teleported in.
�Sasuke,� the silver haired jounin said. �The Hokage wants to see you.�
Sasuke nodded and stood, exiting the restaurant without bothering to say goodbye.
�Bye!� Kiba called at his retreating back, adding, �You jerk,� when he was certain the Uchiha was out of hearing range.
~*~*~
When he left Iruka�s it had grown dark. Naruto had spent hours just talking with the older man, reminiscing, catching up. When Iruka had asked why he left Naruto had told him, only because he could never feel right if the chuunin did not know the truth.
He decided to take a walk around Konoha because, honestly, he had no idea what to do next. He needed to talk to Sasuke again. If for no other reason than to say goodbye. If Sasuke couldn�t kill him then he would do it himself. There wasn�t much time left for him to argue about it. But he needed to see Sasuke one more time. Just once more.
Naruto found himself at the edge of the training grounds and he was about to leave when he felt a familiar presence. Naruto dodged the shuriken that had flown from behind him with ease and a smile.
Now this brought back memories. He turned, catching the kunai that was heading for his face.
�You can do better than that, pervert,� he said, flipping the kunai in his hand for a better grip and raising it to defend himself as Jiraiya appeared from the branches of one of the surrounding trees, slashing at him with another kunai. Metal clashed with metal.
For the three years he had trained with Jiraiya this was how they had sparred. The sannin let him do most of the training on his own but he would randomly attack Naruto when the boy had seemed off guard. After years of this Naruto was rarely ever taken by surprise.
Naruto ducked a punch and kicked out his legs, trying to sweep Jiraiya�s legs out from under him. The Sannin leapt into the air avoiding the hit.
�You lost control again,� Jiraiya said, landing back on the ground and not even pausing before sending another kunai at Naruto, who calmly sidestepped.
�There�s not much control left to lose,� Naruto told him honestly.
They stood across from one another, neither saying anything for a few long moments. Jiraiya seemed to be avoiding his eyes. Finally, Naruto spoke. �This isn�t going to be just another spar, is it?� It was more of a statement that a question.
Jiraiya slowly shook his head. �It was either me or a bunch of Anbu,� he told his former student, raising his eyes to steadily meet the blue eyed gaze.
�I�m glad it�s you,� Naruto said. �But you�re going to have to do better than you just were.� He dropped into a ready stance. �There�s only one person I�ll let kill me without a fight and it�s not you.�
Jiraiya silently observed the younger man. He had thought that he could do this, but now that he was here, standing across from his former student�his determination wavered.
Naruto saw the hesitation. �Don�t let emotions into this Ero-sennin. This is just mission.�
Jiraiya took a deep breath and nodded. �Okay, kid. You ready?�
�Always.�
As Jiraiya attacked, Naruto realized he had a severe disadvantage. All of his weapons were somewhere in the rubble that was Sasuke�s house. He only had the kunai he had caught earlier to fight with and any jutsus he could manage. The five part seal, however, made his chakra control shaky at best.
Jiraiya seemed to be testing his skills, attacking only with taijutsu.
Speed-wise, Naruto had the upper hand. He was easily able to dodge the kicks and punches thrown at him.
Realizing he could do nothing close range, Jiraiya leapt away, putting some distance between them. He pulled out six kunai, holding them between his fingers. He needed to slow Naruto down. If he could make even one or two of these hit�he began to feel nauseous.
Naruto�s words came back to him. �This is just a mission.� Naruto understood. He didn�t blame him.
He infused chakra into the kunai before spinning and sending them flying at Naruto at speeds even he couldn�t completely dodge. He watched in surprise as the red haired man made no move to dodge the kunai, instead standing impassively with his arms crossed, eerily similar to another red haired demon vessel that Jiraiya knew.
The kunai hit, but instead of slicing into Naruto they bounced harmlessly off him, as if his skin were solid.
When the threat was gone Naruto quickly released the chakra shield. It had taken an extreme amount of concentration to do something that had over the years become second nature. His chakra was more unstable now that he had tapped into it and he wasn�t certain how much more he would be able to use.
Jiraiya didn�t let the surprise of Naruto�s blocking the kunai distract him for long, instead opting to attempt a jutsu. He had to slow Naruto down or he would never be able to do what he had to. His fingers flew into familiar seals and with a call of, �Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!� Jiraiya curled his hand around his mouth, controlling the flames that he was spitting out into a large fireball.
Naruto almost didn�t dodge. He hadn�t needed to dodge fire techniques since he was almost eighteen. But then he remembered that Kyuubi�s chakra was sealed and it would not be able to absorb the flames as it normally did. With quick hand seals he called out, �Kage Bunshin no jutsu!� and ten clones appeared before him, taking the hit instead.
Naruto almost lost his balance. His chakra felt as though it was bouncing around inside his body. The sensation was making him dizzy and he could not get enough control over his chakra to use it again.
Jiraiya didn�t pause long after the fire attack, throwing several kunai, knowing that they wouldn�t hit, but hoping to distract Naruto long enough to give him a chance to use another jutsu.
He stopped in surprise when the kunai didn�t bounce harmlessly from his student. One sank deep into his right thigh, another into his shoulder and one slammed into his stomach.
Naruto grunted, stumbling backwards at the impact. His back hit a tree and he found himself leaning against the trunk, no longer able to hold himself up. Naruto slid down the tree, sitting calmly at the base. His left leg was bent, allowing him to rest his arm on the knee and Jiraiya would have thought he was just relaxing under a tree if he couldn�t see the three kunai sticking out of him.
Jiraiya moved closer, his feeling as if someone had taken hold of his heart and begun squeezing it. He stood a few feet away from Naruto with a painful look of regret etched onto his features.
�Can you do it with one hit, Ero-sennin?� Naruto asked tiredly, blue eyes looking up at him through red bangs.
�Yeah, kid,� Jiraiya said softly. He raised a kunai. �I�m sorry, Naruto.�
�You�re doing me a favor, believe me,� Naruto said, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the trunk behind him.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Jiraiya threw the kunai, aiming for the young man�s heart.
Naruto heard the kunai leave his sensei�s hand and he braced himself for the impact that never came.
He opened his eyes and lifted his head, blinking at the back of navy blue clad legs. The kunai that was meant for his heart was clenched tightly in a shaking fist.
Jiraiya remained where he was, calmly meeting Sasuke�s blazing gaze. The Sharingan had stained Sasuke�s eyes red and the three dots surrounded his pupils were spinning dangerously.
�What are you doing?� he asked Jiraiya, his voice sounding like a growl.
�Carrying out a mission,� Jiraiya returned, not allowing the relief he had felt when Sasuke caught the kunai show through his calm facade.
�A mission?� Sasuke hissed. Rage was radiating from him. Wishing dearly he had his katana to slice the sannin in half, Sasuke prepared to launch himself at Jiraiya. He didn�t care if he was one of the legendary three. He was going to kill him.
�Sasuke, stop.�
Naruto�s voice was soft and the words came out as more of a choked groan. Recognizing the pain laced in Naruto�s voice Sasuke quickly turned, forgetting Jiraiya entirely.
Naruto had somehow pushed himself into a standing position and was leaning heavily on the tree for support. He had pulled the kunai from his body and now blood was flowing down his arm from the shoulder wound, small streams of red culminating at his fingertips and dripping like rain onto the grass. There was a growing dark stain from the stomach wound on the navy blue shirt and, although his black pants hid the extent of the leg wound from view, Sasuke could see blood trailing down Naruto�s ankle.
Sasuke went to him quickly, placing Naruto�s good arm around his shoulder and wrapping an arm gently around his waist.
�How long will it take for Kyuubi to heal you?� he asked, wondering if he should find a medic nin.
�Kyuubi�s chakra is sealed right now,� Naruto told him. �He can�t heal me.�
�What?� Sasuke asked. He had been unconscious when Gaara had woken Naruto up, but no one had told him anything about a sealing.
�Gaara put a five point seal on him,� Jiraiya explained.
Sasuke nodded, thoughtful. �Then�doesn�t that solve the problem?� he asked, looking at Naruto, who shook his head.
�The seal messes with my chakra as well,� he said. �I only used it twice tonight and it�s bouncing all over my body. When the two chakras can�t mix they become unstable. The seal is only temporary.�
Sasuke sighed.
Naruto suddenly leaned more heavily on him and Sasuke realized he was having more trouble supporting himself.
�I need to get you to a medical nin,� Sasuke said. He glared at Jiraiya as if daring him to try and stop him.
�Sasuke,� Naruto said. �Maybe you should just let�� He didn�t get to finish his sentence as Sasuke reached down and scooped him into his arms. Carefully adjusting Naruto so as not to jar his wounds he began heading towards the village.
Naruto sighed, his breath ghosting over Sasuke�s skin. He adjusted his head so it snuggled into the crook of the dark haired man�s neck.
Sasuke decided on his destination fairly quickly. Normally he would have taken Naruto directly to the Hokage, but her obvious involvement in Jiraiya�s actions ruled her out immediately.
He had known the minute he had entered her office that something wasn�t right. She looked tired and sad�qualities he had never seen in her in the many years he had known her.
�Sasuke,� she had said, clutching her necklace in her fist. �I�ve arranged for you to stay at the inn in light of what happened last night.�
�There�s no need Hokage-sama. I can stay in one of the other Uchiha residences.� After all he lived in an entire deserted community. There were plenty of empty houses. �Naruto can continue staying with me as well,� he said, to show her that he didn�t blame him.
The sudden tensing of her shoulders made him pause, looking at her suspiciously.
�Ah�yes,� she said. �I�m sure he�ll like that.�
The tone of her voice set off warning bells in his mind.
She�d dismissed him and he�d immediately gone to find Naruto. It had taken a long time to figure out where Iruka lived and when he had finally gotten there the chunnin had informed him that Naruto had left.
Sasuke�s heart pounded when he realized that if he had been a second later�
He kicked on the door he had arrived at rather than knocking, as his hands were full. There was no answer and he adjusted Naruto�s weight before kicking again. Naruto�s silence would have frightened him if he couldn�t feel the other man�s soft breaths on his neck. He wondered momentarily if he had fallen asleep, but a glimpse of blue irises told him otherwise.
�Hai, hai! I�m coming!� came a voice from inside.
The door opened and Sakura stared at them in shock. �What did you do to him?� she hissed at Sasuke, taking in the blood running down Naruto�s shoulder.
Sasuke almost dropped Naruto in surprise at the vehemence in her voice. She had never spoken to him like that.
�Sakura-chan,� Naruto said quietly, his breath tickling Sasuke�s skin as he spoke. �Sasuke didn�t do it.�
Sakura heaved a sigh and stepped aside, ushering Sasuke into her house. �Put him on the couch,� she said before disappearing into another room.
Sakura�s house was neat, but Sasuke hadn�t expected anything different from the pink haired woman. He walked past the foyer and into her living room, surprised at the soft yellows and peach colors that decorated the room. For some reason he had imagined everything in Sakura�s house would be pink.
Sasuke gently laid Naruto onto the couch, kneeling next to him and brushing a few strands of red hair from his forehead. Naruto had closed his eyes but his uneven breaths told him that he was not sleeping.
Sakura reappeared, medical supplies in her arms. Dumping the supplies by the floor near the couch she shooed Sasuke out of the way and set to work. She used a pair of scissors to cut Naruto�s shirt off, giving her access to two of the injuries.
�Who did this?� Sakura asked, gently wiping the blood away from the stomach wound.
�Jiraiya,� Sasuke said when Naruto offered no answer.
�What? Why?� Sakura said, looking between them.
Naruto finally spoke. �Because it�s something that needs to be done.�
�No it isn�t,� Sasuke said angrily.
�Yes it is, Sasuke,� Naruto snapped. �Jiraiya and Tsunade recognize it. Use your eyes for something other than the Sharingan!�
�Forget it,� Sakura said, interrupting what looked like the start of a rather heated argument. �I�m sorry I asked.� She placed her hands over the now cleaned stomach wound, and Naruto shivered at the cool feel of her palm on his heated skin. Then the point of contact began to warm as she used her chakra to heal him.
Sasuke and Naruto remained silent as she did the same for the other two wounds. Thankfully the pants Kyuubi had put on the night before were loose enough that the leg could be rolled up, saving both Naruto and Sakura any embarrassment.
As Sakura was finishing the leg wound there was a pop and a puff of smoke and she backed away with a startled scream as a large frog appeared on Naruto�s chest. Naruto blinked at the orange face that appeared in his vision.
Gamakichi looked around, stopping in surprise when his gaze fell on Sasuke. �I thought you left Konoha, kid,� he said to Naruto.
�Long story,� Naruto said with a sigh. He sat up and the frog remained exactly where he was, using chakra to stick to Naruto and giving the impression that Naruto had a strange orange growth on his chest.
�Well, this actually works out well for you,� Gamakichi said. �Akatsuki is on the move. They are heading for Konoha as we speak.�
�What?� Sakura said in shock.
Gamakichi turned to look at her. �I remember you,� he said thoughtfully. �You�re the kid�s old love.� Gamakichi looked from her to Sasuke and grinned his toothless grin. �Wow, that�s uncomfortable. Old love and new��
�You have no idea how important it is to your health that you do not finish that sentence,� Naruto said, glaring down at the frog.
Sakura looked between Sasuke and Naruto in confusion.
Naruto ignored the subject entirely. �How far is Akatsuki?�
�They should be here by daybreak,� Gamakichi informed him.
�We need to inform Tsunade-sama,� Sakura said, gathering her medical supplies and standing.
Naruto nodded, standing as well.
�You�re actually going to go to her?� Sasuke said, staring hard at Naruto.
Naruto rolled his eyes. �Relax. She�s not going to reach out and strangle me to death with you there watching her like a hawk.�
�Naruto, she ordered you killed,� Sasuke said.
Sakura�s jaw dropped. Not only had Jiraiya been the one to do it, Tsunade had ordered it?
�Sasuke, I�m not getting into this argument with you again. You and I both know why she did it and as much as you don�t want to admit it you know that she�s only looking out for the good of the village�as am I.� Naruto paused before meeting his dark eyes sadly. �If you truly meant what you said about protecting Konoha for me than you would see why it has to be this way.�
Sasuke looked away, the pleading look in Naruto�s eyes making his heart ache.
Sakura stood quietly to the side, recognizing that this conversation had nothing to do with her. Even Gamakichi, although he remained attached to Naruto�s chest, stayed quiet.
Sasuke finally looked up. �Let�s go warn Tsunade about Akatsuki.�
~*~*~
A/N: In the home stretch. Not many chapters left.
Quick responses:
Lady Shinigami: Your review came at the craziest time, for not an hour before I had begun writing the scene with Iruka in it because I had the same feeling that you did. Even if he�s not a major part of the story he�s a major part of Naruto�s life and I couldn�t leave him out.
Winter: I hadn�t read that fic before, and while there are some similarities in the dialogue, I can assure you they are purely coincidence. Thank you for giving me the link though; it was an enjoyable read.
To everyone else: Thanks so much for your support and I�m sincerely happy that you�re enjoying this.
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Walking Corpse