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The Canalized River	By : susanna Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 944 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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
- 14
- 15
- 16
A/N
at the end of the chapter

Chapter
Fifteen: Interesting News

Naruto
looked up and tried to remember what had happened. He and his team
had met two members of Akatsuki, a man and a woman, but had not taken
them seriously as they were vastly outnumbered and as they did not
attack them anyway.

They
had just talked, that is, the man had been talking: “Who'd have
thought it! A bunch of Leaf Ninja at this place! What kind of wind
has blown you thus far away from your tree?”

They
had not answered of course.

“It's
the wrong direction, you know. That is, if you are still looking for
Uchiha Sasuke. He has turned South to meet his brother. Or have you
finally seen reason and given up on him?”

“We'll
never give up!” Naruto had shouted. “We have interrupted
our search, that's all!”

“Ah,
the nine-tail's jinchuuriki is with you. What a pleasant surprise. We
would not have thought that you would still allow him to leave
Konoha. .. Still hoping that Sasuke will return to Konoha and be your
friend again? Stop dreaming! He's an Uchiha, born to rule, not to
serve. At his brother's side, and at the side of our leader, who
wields the power of Uchiha Madara, he will control the bijuus and
dominate the world.”

“He
will never join you! He will return!” Naruto had shouted, and
after this he did not remember
anything. He did not know what had happened to the Akatsuki
members, he did not know of the actions of his own team, he did not
know how he had got back to the inn where they were staying and where
Sakura was now tending to his wounds.

He
supported himself on his arms.

“What
happened?” he asked.

“We
met Akatsuki. They taunted you, and you lost control, growing tails
more quickly than one could watch. Neither Kakashi nor Yamato dared
to intervene. In the end you had six of them and were hardly
recognizable.”

Naruto
knew that he should feel ashamed and sorry for this, but he did not
feel anything: It was as if he was all numb and paralyzed inside.
Some thoughts were floating at the surface of his mind: Don't let the
kyuubi take over, it's dangerous for you, it's dangerous for your
companions, but they did not touch his soul. His soul felt dark and
empty.

Sakura
misunderstood the expression on his face. “You are probably
still tired”, she said.

He
shook his head. “Tell me what has happened, then I will sleep.”

“Yamato
got the kyuubi under control. Then we collected you and took you to a
safe place.”

He
felt that something was missing in this story. Why had Yamato
suddenly been able to get the kyuubi under control?

“What
happened to the Akatsuki members?” he finally asked.

“They
got away.”

Still
the story did not seem to be complete. Why did they escape? Why did
they have to escape? Why had they abandoned their attempt to capture
him?

He
remembered how at their recent encounter Itachi had suddenly decided
not to capture him immediately, but had turned his attention to
something more important. Maybe something similar had happened
again.

“You should be more careful with the kyuubi”,
Sakura said.

She
could not resist, Naruto thought. Why did she not just leave it? He
did not need her to tell him not to use the kyuubi's power.

“You
know that it hurts you. You think that you can afford any injuries,
because the kyuubi will heal them, but you cannot. Your cells can
only regenerate four thousand times during your life, and if you use
the kyuubi's chakra to regenerate them more often, you will grow old
prematurely and die early.”

“I
thought you would like me a bit more mature”, he said.

He
saw her arm twitch, but she did not punch him.

Naruto
realized that her concern made him only feel annoyed, nothing more.
All happiness that she cared for him had gone: Her concern for him,
her love for him were of the wrong kind: As if he was a child and she
was his mother, and a strict, not very tender mother in the bargain.

When
he dreamt about having had a mother, she was very different from
Sakura. She cared for him, yes, and she was concerned for him when he
was in danger, and she would tell him off if he did something stupid
– but she would be happy when he was happy, she would be proud
of his skills, and she would understand how important Sasuke was to
him and that sometimes he just could not control himself.

“I'm
not the only one who's worried”, Sakura said. “Kakashi
wants to talk to you as soon as you feel better.”

She
left him so that he could get some sleep and recover. Just when he
was falling asleep, however, in that strange country between
awakedness and sleep, he met the kyuubi again.

It
had happened rather often these last days, and he had wondered
whether this new closeness with the demon-fox had made it easier for
it to take control. He had a bit of a bad conscience about it, as he
had never tried to stop these encounters, and sometimes he had even
initiated them himself.

Never
had his intention been to ask the kyuubi for power. Mostly he had
just wanted to talk.

This
time however it had clearly been the kyuubi that wanted to talk to
him: Naruto felt as if he had been called. This did not prevent him
of course from telling the kyuubi what he had to tell it.

“You!”
he said. “What was that this afternoon? Why did you come out?”

“That's
an easy question”, the kyuubi answered. “I wanted to come
out.”

“But
I did not want you to come out!”

“Then
you should have hindered me. I follow my wishes, not yours.”

“So
whenever I lose control, you make use of the opportunity.”

“Indeed:
Fear, anger, hatred: Whenever you are overwhelmed by your emotions, I
will take over.”

“But
you hurt me! If you come out too often and burn me, I will grow old
prematurely and die early!”

“And
I will be free again.”

“Won't
you die with me?”

“Die?
Me? I'm an immortal demon. My only fear is to be caged again.”

“Don't
you care for me at all?”

“I
do – but I long for freedom as well. Can't you understand it?”

Naruto
did not answer, so the kyuubi continued:

“I
have called you because there's something important to tell you. It
will be interesting news for you.”

The
kyuubi paused, increasing the suspense.

“Well?”

“The
Uchiha boy was at the site of the fight.”

“Then
why did I not notice him?”

“You
happened to be out of control and not noticing anything.”

“So
what was he doing there?”

“Watching.”

Watching
– Naruto's feelings were all in confusion. Sasuke had been
there, he had been near him, only some hundred metres away. He felt
excited and frustrated at the same time that Sasuke had been within
reach and he had not even noticed. But the bastard had just been
watching.

“Why
do you tell me this?” He asked the kyuubi. “Do you take
pleasure in hurting me?”

“I
thought that you might want to know”, the kyuubi replied. “I
thought it might be interesting to you that he was near and that you
have a chance to find him, if you make use of the opportunity.”

“And
what is that to you? Do you want me to fight him?”

“And
if I did?”

“Sasuke
has the power to subdue and control you: why do you want me to meet
him?”

“Sasuke or Yamato – it does not really
matter to me. Actually I prefer Sasuke. He still has a heart.”

“Why's
this important to you? Yamato wants to keep you in check, Sasuke
might want to use you. Where is the difference?”

“Sasuke
cannot use me. He has the power to subdue me, but not to use me.
There's only one person who can use me.”

“That
Akatsuki guy who has got into possession of the power of Uchiha
Madara...”

“No,
actually not. He can summon me, but he cannot control me, so he can't
make use of me when he's on his own.”

“I
still don't understand why you prefer Sasuke to Yamato.”

“Sasuke
cannot use me, but neither can he be used. He still has his own
heart.”

The
kyuubi left him, and Naruto fell asleep, and when he woke up again,
he found some food on his nightstand. Hinata stood next to him.

“Kakashi
wants to talk to you”, she reminded him.

“Sakura
has already told me”, Naruto answered.

He
ate, and when he had finished, he could not put it off any longer.
When he entered Kakashi's room, he saw that Yamato was waiting for
him as well. He remembered the kyuubi's words: Sasuke still has his
heart. Maybe the demon had lied to him, he thought. Yamato has always
been loyal to Konoha after all.

It
was Yamato who opened the discussion: “We need to talk, Naruto.
I am sure you know why.”

Naruto
could not bring himself to answer. He did not want to appear ashamed
of what had happened, not after being told off like this. But neither
had he the courage to rebel openly, and so he just nodded.

“We
thought that you knew better than to use the kyuubi's chakra”,
Yamato continued.

“I
do know. I did not do it intentionally. It simply happened.”

“We
thought so”, Kakashi answered. “Still it should not even
happen accidentally.”

“Actually
I am not really sure what's worse”, Yamato added, “that
it happened accidentally, or if you had used it on purpose. Because
if you have used it on purpose, you can promise that it won't happen
again, but if you cannot control it, you can't guarantee for
anything.”

“It
won't happen again! I will see to it.”

“You
could have seen to it today.”

“This
will not get us any further”, Kakashi intervened. “Naruto,
do you know why this has happened?”

“Yes.
They spoke badly of Sasuke.”

“Sasuke
again”, Yamato said. “You should have learnt by now that
this is your weak point and that you have to be on your guard
whenever he is mentioned.”

Naruto
did not answer. He was on his guard now.

“Maybe
it will help you if you realize that people deliberately use this
weak point of yours to make you angry”, Kakashi said.

“He
is not my weak point”, Naruto replied. “He is my
strongest point.” He wondered whether the two Jounin were
trying to make him angry.

“I
think that you should try not to think too much about him”,
Kakashi said. “He has deserted Konoha, he does not plan to
return, he is probably not even thinking of you. You have never meant
as much to him as he has meant to you. The sooner you face it, the
sooner you will be able to turn your heart to real friends.”

Naruto's
heart froze because of course he saw the common sense in Kakashi's
words.

“As
it is now”, Kakashi continued, “anyone can provoke you
telling you this or that about Sasuke, and you won't be able to
remain calm, not knowing the truth yourself. You cannot reply calmly:
I know better – you will just get angry, and then the kyuubi
takes over.”

It
took Narauto all his strength to remain calm when he answered to
these words. “But I do know – deep in my heart.”

“Anyway”,
Yamato said. “The most important point now is the kyuubi.
Kakashi and I have discussed the matter and come to the conclusion
that we will give you another chance. Next time it gets loose, you
will have to return to Konoha where there is a place to keep the
kyuubi and its chakra safe.”

“What
do you mean?”

“It's
been created a long time ago, as the kyuubi has served Konoha from
the time when it was founded. Sometimes it got out of control, and
then it had to be confined to keep it in check.”

Naruto
tried to figure out the true meaning of that sentence.

“So
try and be more careful, so that you don't get angry or excited, and,
most important, forget Sasuke, so that people cannot provoke you any
more by saying his name – then you may remain free.”

“I
have heard that the First himself, who was the kyuubi's first
jinchuuriki, turned crazy after some time”, Naruto said and it
took him all his strength to keep his voice from breaking.

“It's
not your fault”, Kakashi said. “Nor is it ours. It's your
fate.”

“But
why me?” Naruto said.

“No
one knows”, Yamato answered. “Maybe you just happened to
be there. Maybe your parents were dead, or not there, and could not
protest.”

They
would have protested if they had been there, Naruto thought.

“The
Yondaime did his best”, Kakashi said. “He separated the
dark chakra from the light chakra and only gave you the light half.
You don't have to deal with the entire kyuubi.”

So
what, Naruto thought. One half is enough to drive me completely
crazy.

“I
have often thought about it”, Kakashi continued. “Your
optimism, your perseverance, the way you care for everyone: Maybe
it's the blessings of the light half. Keep to it, and you will be
loved, so that your fate will be less hard.”

A/N:
As I said, I wrote the story before the recent revelations in the
manga and made up my own theory about how and by whom the kyuubi can
be controlled.

(I
am still busy thinking about the newest manga chapter (386), that has
restored my faith in Kishimoto: when it comes to plotting and
surprises and deep-down connection, his ideas are much better than
anything I could ever come up with.)

Halskr:
Thanks for your compliments to my fight scene! Sorry that I don't
tell too much about it from Naruto's point of view.

Spoon:
Thanks for your comment! does
not say more in order not to spoil her own story
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The Canalized River