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Hot Sand	By : promise2003 Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Gaara/Naruto Views: 3051 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- 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
- 16
- 17
- 18
edit-Dec 14th

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Hot Sand
by Lemon Drops
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Chapter 17: The Curse Seal

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The walk back to town was awkwardly quiet, many things being
left unspoken between them. Both men
advanced sluggishly, almost as if they wanted to stop�wanted to say more. There was nothing left between them from that time which they shared so long ago,
it was only a passing moment in which Sasuke had ruined the entirety of his
remaining days, that was all it was. The heavy,
silent air was torture to the young Uchiha.

Naruto, I wish I could
make you understand.

�Bastard, why in the hell didn�t you tell me?� Naruto
gritted through angry teeth as he pulled to a sudden stop. �I know
you knew. So why?�

What could Sasuke say?
There were no words to describe the idiocy which he had succumbed to,
deciding back then his feelings were irrelevant simply because he wasn�t
gay. Those were days when Sasuke hid his
feelings for Naruto back in the furthest recesses of his mind.

�Sasuke, really, I want an answer,� Naruto told his friend.

Because
I am even more of an idiot than you. When it comes down to it, I�m
not the genius, I�m the stupid one.

�I didn�t want to admit that I was�� Sasuke didn�t let his
words go any further.

�So this was because you were afraid of what people would
say�what they would think! Sasuke, I
honestly could have handled that back then, because I know how difficult it is
to come out and tell your friends the person you love is another man. It is hard, damn near impossible, and no
matter how many people are understanding and supportive about it, there is
always one or two that never look at you the same way. But fuck, Sasuke, I can�t handle it when you
admit that you still love me now! You
can�t love me anymore!� Naruto was
irate, his blue eyes radiating fury, aiming it in the direction of the Konohan jonin standing next to him, doing nothing to quell
the multitudes of resentment he held toward Sasuke.

�I loved you, you stupid bastard, I LOVED YOU! I loved and pined and hurt and cried over
your sorry ass. The worst part is when I�m
finally happy again, that is the
moment you decide to return my feelings.
I loved you, but right now�no�I don�t know what this feeling is, but it
certainly isn�t love.�

�I didn�t want you to know, but you asked, and it just�shit,
Naruto, it hurt. I just had to let you
know,� Sasuke said, not at all fighting back the tears he had tried to hold in
earlier.

Uchiha Sasuke didn�t shed tears, never because of remorse,
or guilt, or even sadness, but he was crying as he tried to explain to his
angry friend. More tears, falling
heavily, and then Sasuke realized they were there. The raven-haired man was finished, screw
Naruto, Uchihas didn�t cry, and Sasuke would be
damned if he would allow the blond to witness his breakdown. Being human didn�t factor into Sasuke�s mind,
he only wanted to get away from the situation which caused this unbelievable
pain.

Naruto watched as Sasuke sprinted off. The Hokage grumbled, he should let the stupid
bastard go, but something inside Naruto told him to follow. Naruto swore it was Kyuubi chuckling, but
brushed the thought away, seeing as he had pushed the demon so far down and
away from himself that he hadn�t heard from the fox for at least five years.

Run, go after him�you hurt him.

And Naruto did, sprinting right behind Sasuke, but not to
give Sasuke what he wanted, no�so Naruto could literally beat some sense into
that birdbrain�s head.

Sasuke felt Naruto�s chakra tailing him, the familiar surge
of power which no other ninja possessed.
Not Gaara, not Kakashi, not Orochimaru, nor even Itachi had chakra like
this, it was distinctively and wholly Naruto�s.
�Dammit Naruto, leave me the hell alone!�

Naruto was yards away, then feet, then inches, and finally a
clamber of hands and fists sent flying to the ground. Sasuke grimaced at pain in his shoulder as he
looked up at the blond man standing above him.

�Do not disobey a direct order from the Hokage,� Naruto�s
displeased frown bearing down on Sasuke as the blond crossed his arms in
frustration at the man beneath him.

�What order is that?� Sasuke hissed, �Don�t love you,
because I don�t think even a Hokage should have say over another person�s
heart, so just leave me the hell alone.�

�Gladly, but only when you return to town, you are not
running off again,� was the raspy
whisper laced with annoyance.

Again?
Sasuke realized, that idiot thinks I�m
running off again?

Naruto shifted a bit and reached into his pocket to pull out
a handkerchief. After finding the folded
square of fabric, the Hokage crouched just a bit and blotted a trail of blood
that was dripping from Sasuke�s scalp.
The pressure of Naruto�s fingers on his skin made Sasuke gasp lightly, trying to forget the flood of emotions he was
attempting to sort through from that fleeting moment alone. Naruto pulled away, refolded the square so a
fresh bit of cloth was exposed and dabbed at Sasuke�s tearstained cheeks,
causing Sasuke to swat at Naruto this time.
There was only so much the Uchiha could take of Naruto�s proximity
before it overwhelmed him.

�I wouldn�t leave Naruto, I just�I wanted to get away, not
forever, just for a few hours.�

�Yeah, and your plans always go so damn well, remind me
again why I should believe that?�

�Because you�re my friend,� Sasuke snapped back.

Naruto eyed him skeptically, �Hm,
right�actions speak louder than words, Sasuke, really I can�t believe��

Naruto never had a chance to finish his sentence, because
the sound of something zipping through the air interrupted the Leaf-nins as two shuriken embedded themselves
into the distracted Hokage�s back.

�Naruto!� Sasuke yelled, wasting no
time as he leapt to his feet, knocking away and helping Naruto to dodge the
rest of the incoming metal objects as they whizzed by. Naruto groaned and slumped onto Sasuke�s
side, he was hit badly. The raven-haired
man scooped up the Hokage and made a break for it. Usually Sasuke would have stayed and fought,
but Naruto was injured fairly severely.

It was just Shuriken,
only a damn shuriken! Sasuke�s mind screamed, until he looked down and saw
the bubbling around the wound, the one that had gone clean through from
Naruto�s back to his chest.

�Oh fuck,� Sasuke whispered as he noted the acidic poison
eating away at Naruto�s chest. These
were no ordinary shuriken, no, they were probably poison tipped and chakra
laced. If Naruto didn�t see a medic soon
he would die. If Sasuke would have
performed his duty, if he had just forgotten his own selfish feelings for one
moment, then his friend wouldn�t be in this predicament�Naruto wouldn�t be
dying.

A line of rogue ninja sprouted from the forest, Sasuke
changed direction to avoid them, but they were prepared for that as Sasuke
triggered an elaborate, well-placed trap.
Something exploded and Naruto�s limp body went flying. Sasuke cried out as shuriken and kunai flew
at him, cutting and slicing the Uchiha�s skin.
At least none of the weapons which hit Sasuke were laced with the same
poison which had downed Naruto. Sasuke
was only minorly injured by the booby trap, until a
large battle axe flew at him, nearly taking off Sasuke�s arm. The gash from the axe spurted blood as Sasuke
moved away. Leaping to a nearby tree,
Sasuke tried to come up with a plan of attack.
He was safe, thoroughly injured, but safe. The same couldn�t be said for Naruto.

A rogue ninja, one who was formerly an underling of Orochimaru�s after Sasuke left, grinned evilly as the he
made a flurry of seals which caused the Earth crumble around Naruto. The Hokage was unconscious, and as the ground
broke into tiny pieces beneath the blond, there was nothing stopping Naruto
from plummeting into the crevasse the rogue-nin had created. It wasn�t just around Naruto though, because
the trees and grass sunk beneath Sasuke as well. The line of ninja scattered, suddenly there
was nothing between Naruto and his death, for the rogue-nin had created a chasm
which was several miles long, and at least a mile wide. Sasuke had no idea how deep it was, but
seeing the power of the ninja who was obviously graced
with an earth affinity, left Sasuke fearing for Naruto�s life.

Naruto disappeared, his body dropping into the darkness, far
away from Sasuke.

�Naruto!� Sasuke shouted, realizing
that he too had missed his opportunity to escape the hole in which he was now
falling into. They were both going to
die, because there was nothing to grasp onto, nothing�unless. The curse seal, long forgotten, and something
which Sasuke was almost sure didn�t work any longer. If I can force it into its second stage�

By activating the second stage of the curse seal, Sasuke
would be graced with a horrid disfiguration, but as awful as it was, it gave
him wings. Wings which
could fly�wings which could save both him and
Naruto. He had to try. Focusing his chakra on the spot where
Orochimaru had bitten him so many years ago, Sasuke felt it stir
as the seal started to work. Leathery
skin and white hair were the first changes, but it wasn�t enough as Sasuke
realized he was still rapidly descending to the bottom of the crevasse. The Uchiha was unsure of its true depth, but
something told him that the ground was approaching quickly. The seal, it was damaged,
unconnected, not useable�Sasuke could feel it.

NO! Dammit!
I have to save Naruto! Sasuke screamed inside his head. Sasuke could die, because his life wasn�t really
worth all that much these days anyway, but Naruto couldn�t perish, he meant too
much to the world�too much to Sasuke.
One more push, just a bit more�

The searing pain of ripping skin breaking open coursed
through Sasuke�s body, reaping havoc on his nerves, but he had done it. Giant hand shaped wings sprouted from
Sasuke�s back, giving the Konohan jonin the ability
he so greatly desired. Sasuke didn�t
waste time as he covered the distance to where Naruto should be, grateful when
he crashed into a limp body, clutching it furiously as Sasuke tried to fly out
of the ravine.

Sasuke was broken.

�Naruto!� Sasuke cried as clung to
his friend, knowing there was no strength or control left to take them out of
this dark chasm. They were going to drop,
and the only thing Sasuke could do was slow their descent. Ungracefully, the two men glided to the
bottom of the darkness and crashed onto the rocky ground.

If Naruto doesn�t get
medical attention he�ll die! Sasuke�s mind screamed, but the transformation
of Sasuke�s body was already dripping away, reverting back to a form which
could do little to get the two men out of their predicament. Sasuke picked up Naruto�s limp body and
started making his way to the side of the deep cavern, tripping and stumbling
as he went. Using the curse seal had
drained nearly all his energy, Sasuke would die as well if he tried to exert
chakra in any way, he could feel it in his bones.

�Naruto, I�m so sorry,� Sasuke murmured as he collapsed,
Naruto still in his arms. �I am so
sorry.�

If Sasuke couldn�t get them out, he knew he had to tend
Naruto�s wounds. Sasuke prayed he could
stop the poison�s progression long enough for someone to find them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ground trembled as a small quake rippled through the
village. Glasses and mugs shook, several
dropping to the floor of the bar from the vibrations. Gaara and Kankuro eyed each other warily and
Sai drew out a kunai, watching carefully for an attack.

None came.

�That wasn�t natural,� were the low words of Kankuro, �Did
you feel the chakra too?�

The puppet-nin�s brother nodded,
dropping his drink and leaving the bar, Kankuro and Sai at his heels. Kakashi was already standing outside the
tents, surveying the area.

�Where�s Naruto?� Gaara asked, his
voice laced with unhidden concern.

Kakashi looked at the former Kazekage, �He�s supposed to be
with Sakura, she was guarding him when I went to sleep.�

Lee, Neji, and their teams were standing outside the Konoha
tent. Lee called out to Kakashi, �He�s
not in here, neither is Sakura.�

Kankuro grumbled, �Dammit�I can feel her chakra, but not
Naruto�s�

Gaara watched Kankuro hurry over to the Sand tent, going
inside to fetch the woman with familiar chakra, bringing her outside as she was
still in a half-asleep daze.

�Where�s Naruto?� Gaara yelled, running over to the
kunoichi, almost ready to come to blows with Sakura since she was apparently
supposed to be guarding his fianc�. The
sleeping jutsu, which Naruto had put her under, was still
plaguing the woman as she fell in and out of consciousness. Gaara shook her furiously, only stopping when
Kankuro pushed him back and threatened his little brother with bodily harm.

�He and I were talking,� Sakura yawned, trying hard to think
of what happened, but it was all fuzzy.
�The seals�he did a jutsu, a sleeping jutsu. He was asking
about Sasuke.�

Frantically Gaara once again grabbed onto Sakura, fear
showing in his aqua eyes, �And where is Sasuke?�

�In the forest, he needed time to think.�

Kakashi helped Kankuro pull Gaara away from Sakura, and
pointed in the direction of the quake�s epicenter, �Over that way?�

Sakura nodded, still completely confused as Kankuro hugged
her and began performing hand-seals to remove the sleeping jutsu
which was still obviously plaguing his girlfriend. When the puppet-nin was done, a more alert
and wary Sakura replaced the disjointed woman who had been standing before the
group only seconds earlier.

Gaara grabbed his gourd and started racing toward the forest,
stopped by both Kakashi and Sai. �I�m
sorry Kazekage,� Sai told the former Sand leader, not even bothering to correct
the title. �You must stay here.�

Sand enveloped Sai.
�I will never leave Naruto
alone if he is in danger. We promised to
protect one another, so do not tell me what I can and cannot do,� Gaara hissed.

No one argued as the Suna ninja headed into the forest. Neji and Lee forced their genin to remain in
camp to protect it, along with the Sand genin and their jonin sensei. Kyoko waved off Kankuro as the puppet-nin
gathered his two puppets and prepared for battle. �Give them hell,� Kankuro�s old academy
teacher told him with a smile, �We�ll hold down the fort here.�

Kankuro nodded and raced after the other jonin. Gaara, Kankuro and Sakura in one group (Sai
carefully tailing them and acting as Gaara�s personal protector) and Neji, Rock
Lee, and Kakashi in the other. The two
teams of ninja flew flawlessly through the snow covered mountains, until they
came across something which made their jaws drop. A chasm in the ground, which hadn�t been
there the previous day, made its giant spans known, looking as though half the
country side had fallen away in the quake�s wake.

�What in the hell happened?� Kankuro asked, shaking as he
already knew. This was the work of foul
play and ninja who commanded elemental properties.

Gaara�s eyes narrowed, �Find Naruto,� he ordered the other
ninja, �Find him now.�

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sasuke�s body shook and trembled as he tried to clean Naruto�s
wounds, only now realizing that between the holes in his back that were ripped
open by the transformation and the axe wound, he had lost quite a lot of
blood. Though Sasuke was woozy, he
tended exclusively to the Hokage, who was lying on the ground beside him. Sweat dripped profusely from Naruto, making
him look dangerously pale. Even if the
only light that illuminated the blond man was from a dying standard issue
flare, which had been inside one of Sasuke�s vest pockets, the Uchiha could
still see that Naruto wasn�t doing well.
The fading flare, which burned a few feet away from the two of them,
gave Sasuke just enough light to wash away much of the poison, and to even
remove the shuriken without much effort.

It didn�t help. The poison
was already in Naruto�s blood stream, and Sasuke�s shoulders shook as he saw
the pain in Naruto�s nearly unconscious face, letting uneasy tears fall from
his exhausted ebony eyes. Screw his
pride, he was tired of hiding his feelings, so if he cried over this, then so
be it. Naruto was going to die, and
there was nothing Sasuke could do.
Furthermore, it was his fault entirely.
The reason his friend (the man he loved) would perish, was because he
was foolish and stupid.

Sasuke gripped Naruto�s collar, and whispered, �Please don�t
leave me Naruto, please. You can�t die.�

Naruto struggled beneath him, waking for a moment and
groaning in agony, �I�m not going to die, teme, so
quit your bellyaching.
And what�s with the crying? I
guess you always were a whiny little bitch.�

Normally Sasuke would be furious at his friend, but instead
reacted by hugging Naruto, glad that he was alive and awake.

�Fuck, Sasuke, that hurts, let me go,� Naruto panted, trying
his hardest to remain conscious, but waves of darkness kept washing over
him.

Sasuke loosened the fierce grip which he had on his friend,
and then pulled away completely. �I
can�t get us out of here,� he told Naruto, �I don�t have any more chakra. I used it all when��

Naruto waited, but Sasuke didn�t finish. The Uchiha turned around to pick up his water
canteen, soaking a rag to rinse Naruto�s wounds again. The injured blond man noted the streams of
blood and torn fabric on Sasuke�s back.

�Teme, do no tell me you
reactivated that damn curse seal!� Naruto tried to shout, but it came out as
little more than a frustrated murmur.

�It was the only way.�

�Yeah, and Tsunade�� Naruto coughed and choked, sputtering
as pain wracked his body. Softly he
continued, �Tsunade said that using it now might kill you.�

�Well, if I hadn�t we both
would have been dead, so I had to try.�

Naruto was quiet, and Sasuke realized that he was
unconscious again, his breathing unsteady and pulse both erratic and weak.

�Stay with me,� Sasuke told his friend as he gripped
Naruto�s shoulder and wiped the Hokage�s face with the damp rag. �Please stay with me.�

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaara straddled a nearly dead man,
both arms and legs of the rogue-nin had been crushed in Gaara�s Desert Coffin
technique. Now sand had actually crept
into the ninja�s open wounds, lacing itself around every vital organ in the
man�s body. One by one Gaara was ripping
them to shreds, causing immense pain as he interrogated the man. Kankuro was worried, Gaara hadn�t acted in such
a way since before Shukaku was removed, but they needed to know what this man
knew. The rogue-nin who Gaara was seated
on happened to be the leader of the ninja the Konohan
and Sand force had just brought down, the one�s clearly responsible for the quake. Gaara hadn�t reacted horribly until the man,
who he was now torturing, admitted to killing the Hokage (or trying to).

�Where is he?� Gaara hissed.
�What happened to the Hokage?�

The man struggled as sand internally ripped a kidney to
shreds.

�Where is Naruto?�

Finally the dying rouge-nin spoke, �I�m sure he�s dead, and
you�ll find his body at the bottom of the chasm. He fell in it, that other ninja too.�

Gaara had no more use for the man beneath him, therefore
mercifully gave him death. Kakashi and
Kankuro shared worried looks, knowing Gaara was dangerous and unstable at the
moment. If Naruto really was�if Naruto
was gone it wouldn�t be safe for any of them to be around the former Kazekage. Unfortunately, none of them could disarm the
emotionally unsound man either, or sway him to let them continue the search
without his help.

Kakashi sighed, he knew this was a bad idea, but it was
probably their only option to get to Naruto quickly if the Hokage was still
alive, �Gaara, your sand can take you to the bottom of the gorge, correct?�

The sand-nin nodded.

�How many others can you take?�

Gaara thought, if he were to move quickly and have to be able to bring Naruto and
the Hokage�s friend back up safely there was definitely a limit to the number
of people he could bring with him. Lower
chakra reserves than the days when he housed Shukaku could be blamed, but there
was nothing he could do about that now.

�One, if I have to bring Naruto and the Uchiha back up,� he
said worriedly.

The rest of the group eyed the one person that was the
likely candidate. Naruto would need
medical attention, and though Gaara himself was completely dangerous, Sakura
knew what she had to do. There was no
discussion on the matter, but as she started to move to where Gaara was a hand
stopped her.

Kankuro squeezed Sakura�s fingers, and his eyes spelled out
just how much he worried about sending his girlfriend away with his psychotic
little brother. �Be careful,� the
puppet-nin warned.

�I will,� she told him, forcing Kankuro to release her hand
as sand formed beneath Sakura as she and Gaara descended into the dark depths
of the cavern.

Kakashi watched them go, wincing. Though everyone was focused on Naruto, there
was another ninja he was more worried about.
Kakashi couldn�t handle having another man whom he cared about this much
to be just another name engraved upon a marble memorial stone.

Sasuke�please be alive, Kakashi wished with every fiber of his
being, I need you to be alive.

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END OF CHAPTER
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End of Chapter A/N�s: See�Kakashi loves Sasuke, hee-hee. Now if only those two would admit that to
each other everyone could be happy.
Happy endings are as wonderful as fluffy bunnies, and I like fluffy
bunnies (even if they try to bite me sometimes, stupid bunnies). Once again, I am making no sense, so I shall
only bid you all farewell (well at least until chapter 18). See you next chapter!
- 16
- 17
- 18
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