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The Hunting Ground	By : Ljiljana Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1010 -:- 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
- 1
- 2
- 3
I would first
like to thank Dolphina23 for the beta work; she was my muse and my mentor for
this chapter, reminding me along the way that you guys have no power to read my
mind, and that there are such things as place descriptions.

Warning: I am
well aware that the little on the sealing techniques we were given by Kishi is not really compatible with what I have here. I
took some information from manga, some from anime and
the rest � no shame in it � I simply made up to serve my purposes.

Chapter Two

When the time for
going to the police station and meeting Hinata came, Sasuke already had couple
of furniture pieces reduced into fragments.�
Fortunately, his rage was not completely mindless, so the scroll on the
table he was bent over for most of the night was still intact. He should have
been able to do this; he�d had almost eighteen hours, time he robbed off the
investigation that was now his responsibility. But he was now at the same place
he had been just before midnight when he found the scroll, with a sleepless, fruitless night behind him and a day of
socializing in front of him.

There was nothing
for it, though. He had to go because he said he would � and being late was not
one of the habits he had picked up from Kakashi. There was nothing more to be
done about this, even if his curiosity was tickled.

At six o�clock in
the morning, Konoha was only slightly less hot then at noon the previous day or
noon on any other day in the last few months. The distant buzz of water
sprinklers made it clear that a large portion of civilians were out of bed,
trying to use that small relief to weed and water their plants. It took Sasuke
only couple of minutes to get in front of the police station.

Hinata and Sakura
were both already there, even though he had told Sakura she wouldn�t be needed.
As things are, neither would Hinata, but that was beside the point. Catching
something in his expression, Sakura scowled and snapped instead of greeting
him.

�We don�t know
anything more about those traps now than we did yesterday. I might as well be
here if someone gets hurt.�

Sasuke, of
course, ignored her and climbed the stairs past the two of them. Just because
she didn�t know anything more than she did yesterday, she shouldn�t presume he
didn�t know anything more either.

�Good
morning to you, too, asshole.�

Naruto�s voice
actually startled him, but Sasuke managed not to flinch. Where did he come
from? Sasuke focused on Naruto�s chakra, but there was nothing there at all.

�Where did you
learn that?� He asked. Complete concealment was impossible; at least, not to
this extent � to look at someone and not feel their presence at all, even
though you know they�re there.

Naruto grinned.
�Sasuke, are you asking for tips?�

That
little idiot.

Sasuke was
regretting he spoke aloud at all and he was defiantly not asking for tips; if Naruto had found a way to conceal his
chakra completely, than Sasuke could do it, too. He turned away from the face
brightly lit with the morning sun and the grin fading into a real smile and
moved toward the entrance.

�Wait, Sasuke,
you can�t just�� The words were promptly cut off by the door closing behind him
with a satisfying bang. Like he would just walk in if there was a danger. What
kind of moron did Sakura think he was?

He hadn�t managed
two steps before the door opened again, and this time, Sasuke could feel
Naruto�s chakra buzzing and wavering around him, filling in the wide hall with
a rich, heady atmosphere. Whatever he was doing to hide it was obviously not
manageable in a situation where Naruto had to actually use it. Still, it would
be invaluable for stealth missions.

�What are you
doing?� Naruto demanded. �Did you even hear everything we told you about the
traps?�

�Were you
listening when I told you that there�s probably something among my father�s
things?�

Naruto�s steps
grew less careful at those words. The entrance door opened once more, and
Sasuke could hear Naruto telling the girls he thought it was safe and they
could come in. Opening into a large cavernous area that looked to have been
used as a central office, Sasuke headed in the direction the blueprints had
told him the basement was. Toward the far right corner near the rear of the
room, Sasuke found it. There was no door to the basement, only a wide stairwell
leading down.

When the three of
them caught up with him, Sasuke had already started sealing off the opening. Once
he was done, Naruto spoke first.

�We would like to
know what is going on.� There was more command in his words than Sasuke had
ever heard him using � with the justification to do so, anyway.

He explained
despite wishing he could simply ignore Naruto�s command. �The traps can be only
triggered if someone tries to go to the basement. It is safe everywhere else in
the building.�

�Oh.� Sakura
said, obviously revisiting what had happened to those two ANBU yesterday in her
mind. �What�s down there?�

�I don�t know.�
Sasuke answered, which was the complete truth, though it cost him some effort
to say it. �There is a sealed door at the end of a corridor jutting out from the
bottom of the stairwell, but that is where the hallway is cut off on the
blueprints.�

�We should go and
see.� Naruto said, with a bright and curious look in his eyes, as he was ready
to have an exciting adventure after all the paper work. Maybe it was the lack
of sleep, but Sasuke found himself annoyed enough to
grit his teeth on that.

�I have no more
time to waste on this. Whatever is out there, it can wait.�

Hinata cleared
her throat to make everyone present pay attention to her, and catching Sasuke�s
eye, said, �The funeral of that little girl is today at noon. We should go.�

To show sympathy
and commitment to the case, no doubt; Sasuke wanted to tell her no, that there
was no point in that, but Hinata continued.�
�We could talk to her parents after. They were the ones who saw her
last.�

That would be
good, they could do that. Then, going to the funeral wouldn�t be a complete
waste of time. Sasuke gave her a nod, to acknowledge that they would do as she
suggested. Naruto burst out laughing.

�Hinata, if we
knew you could make him do whatever you want like that, we�d have adopted you
into our team years ago, probably before he ran off.�

Sakura snickered
as well, like there actually was a reason to laugh over that. She straightened
her face soon enough, though. �Well, you have time until noon. Tell us about
that sealed door?�

They walked into
a room adjacent to the stairwell where there were dusty chairs still set around
a table. This had probably been a conference room or perhaps used for police interviews
of witnesses. Sasuke knew from the blueprints the second floor housed all the
interrogation rooms and separate offices for detectives of higher rank than the
patrol officers relegated to the central office.

He took the
scroll he wanted from his pouch, and opened it. The surface of the table was
also covered in a thick layer of dirt, but he had to uncoil the technique for
the drowning of the seal somewhere. Sasuke turned to the girls � not really
expecting them to conjure up rugs from thin air just because they were girls,
but if anyone knew where to find something�

His train of
thought was cut off by a light wind from his right, where Naruto was standing.
The door was closed and the windows too, so it wasn�t the draft. Sasuke half
turned and saw Naruto with his right palm open, facing the table, and had just
enough time to cover his mouth and nose with the edge of his collar before a
pocket-sized hurricane swept all the dust from the scratched and scarred
surface. The wood was so clean you could see the shine of what was left of the
paint; all the dust was lingering around them in the air. Sakura turned to open
the door again, and Hinata to the window, both coughing.

Sasuke,
glaring at Naruto, hissed, �Idiot!�

Naruto, who was
scratching his neck in a painfully familiar manner with a sheepish grin on his
face, narrowed his eyes to give Sasuke a dirty look in turn. He straightened
his shoulders and raised both of his hands. Sasuke added a bit of his chakra
into his movement and was behind the opened door when a hurricane that most
definitely couldn�t fit in a pocket swapped all the dust and a big portion of
old blank paper through the opened window, along with a desk-lamp.

When it was over
and Sasuke looked at the three of them, Naruto was wearing a big satisfied grin
and the girls a hairstyle that wasn�t likely to become trendy or practical any
time soon. When what happened started to sink into their minds, they both
turned to look at Naruto, Hinata with wide eyes and Sakura with a glare that
would have garnered a place with Akatsuki. If Sasuke was eight, he would have
laughed; the panic in Naruto eyes was fun to watch.

�You . . . ,�
Sakura started, but Naruto cut in.

�Sorry! I didn�t
mean to ruin your hair! You�re still pretty!� When Sakura just narrowed her
eyes further, he added, softening his voice to a whisper, �Sakura�chan?�

Sasuke felt his
jaw clench, and had to make an effort to not scowl at them. Damn him! Why
couldn�t he do what everyone else would do in his place, play on his title? She
would have to back off, and as a friend, she knew he didn�t mean it anyway. Why
did Naruto have to take them all back to childhood with that stupid honorific?

While looking at
Sakura�s softening expression, Sasuke almost missed the figure moving on his
right. He glanced at Hinata and she gave him a tight smile.

�What is that?�
She asked nodding at the scroll still in Sasuke�s hands, sounding genuinely
curious about it, but still loud enough to break the little moment Naruto and
Sakura had shared. Sasuke�s respect for the girl grew quite a bit on the subtle
way she reminded them they were in a hurry - and not alone.

Sasuke uncoiled
the scroll and laid it on the table. Everyone else gathered around it, and now
the four of them were looking down on a complicated seal Sasuke had copied from
the original scroll he found the pervious night. The unusual symbol in the
middle was surrounded with so many clauses, you had to squint to read them;
even those that were clear and familiar.

�What�s that?�
Naruto asked, leaning curiously over the table.

Hokage or not, he
always managed to ask the stupidest questions.

�A seal,� Sasuke
answered, making Sakura roll her eyes at him from the left.

�I know that.� Naruto grunted, sounding as if he
was struggling to act offended. �What�s the symbol in the middle?�

�I�ve never seen
it before.� Sakura said, tracing the curves and letters on the scroll. The thin
hope Sasuke had been clinging that she could help with it wore off. He took a
quick look at Hinata, but she was scowling lightly in confusion.

�I don�t know.�
As it wasn�t actually the first time he�d had to say the words, Sasuke knew the
sky would not fall down on him, but it was hard anyway. Naruto let out a small,
gleeful sound still looking down. Sakura raised an eyebrow in question.

�According to my
father�s notebook, this is the seal on the door at the end of the hallway. I
can�t even recognize all the clauses but,� Sasuke let his index finger trace
the thin markings very similar to those that once surrounded the curse mark he
had on his neck. �It means there is nothing good in there.�

�How do you know
that?� Naruto asked sharply.

Even though
Sasuke knew that many people got through their lives without an actual need to
use the evil sealing technique, and that Naruto of all people not knowing it
was not all that odd, he was still irritated. Even if they could have avoided
the subject, because of Naruto�s ignorance, they had to go back into their
childhood once again.

Finger still on
the ink, Sasuke said: �I saw it first when Kakashi sealed off the curse seal
Orochimaru gave me.� Naruto flinched, and Sasuke took some morbid pleasure in
it. �Those particular markings,� he added, showing what looked like tiny ink
smudges from the distance, �Are standard clause on the seals designed to hold
evil trapped.�

�Standard
clause,� Naruto murmured, leaning lower to look better, until he was so close
across the table Sasuke had to straighten so their heads wouldn�t collide.

�Well, it�s a
forbidden technique. Konoha allows it to be used only by a jounin.�
Sakura explained. When Naruto slowly lifted his head and gave her a very
serious and maybe even a bit of a dark look, she bit into her lip.

�Oh, there it is
again.� Naruto said slowly, as if the words were a bottle of poison on his
tongue and he had to be careful not to break it. �Another useful thing we don�t
teach our children. We do teach them to seal the explosives into the paper to
make bombs, though.�

�Well, what would
children do with a technique like that one? If they had a cause for doing it,
they could always go to someone with a higher rank.�

Sasuke could see
the fault in her reasoning and Naruto didn�t miss it as well.

�Then why didn�t
we go to someone higher ranked to fix Sasuke?� Fix him? Sasuke was not
fond of the way that sounded. He was not a broken toy and the fucking sealing
was not supposed to fix him anyway, it was supposed to make sure
he didn�t break someone�s arms again, or someone�s head, next time he got
angry. �We were actually there when he got his cursed seal. Knowing this
would have saved you from seeing him break some random guy�s arms.�

Of course, Sakura
knew she was fighting a lost cause. She, as smart as she was, never knew how to
defend something she did not believe in. That did not stop her trying anyway.

�We were on an
exam, in a controlled environment. I don�t think Sasuke would have let us do it
anyway.�

Sasuke thought that
he would have. He let Kakashi, didn�t he? And that was much later, when the
black, painful fog and all the maleficent nightmares the damned thing had drawn
out of him had lifted. He would have let them try anything, if there was even
the slightest chance it would have taken the pain and the dread away.

�Maybe one in a
thousand genins would have had enough chakra to seal the evil of the
cursed seal. This conversation is pointless,� Sasuke said, wanting to end the
discussion. Perhaps it was not really pointless, but as he could not say
anything and expect for Naruto to listen, he wanted them to stop, save it for
later.

�I had enough
chakra for it.� Naruto returned, challenge in his eyes. What did he want, to hear Sasuke say how much of a moron he was, again? Well,
that was easy enough.

�What use is that
when you don�t know the first thing about sealing? One messed up clause and I
would have ended up dead.�

�I know about
sealing.� Naruto said, his hand probably unconsciously curling in his shirt,
over his stomach. �This is much simpler than my seal, I could have learned it
if I had had a chance. I could have helped you.�

Right; only he
couldn�t, and it was not his job to do it anyway. Not that Sasuke believed for
one minute Naruto would take that kind of explanation as good enough for
anything. He had to say something, because holding Naruto�s gaze full of guilt
across the table was a bit too much to handle in silence. Somebody needs to
make him understand he can�t save the entire world before he dies from worry
and too much thinking about what could have been.

�Maybe, but you
were also unconscious at the time and Sakura was alone; if she knew the sealing
at the time and was desperate enough to try, she would have been the one to end
up dead. As I said, you need a lot of chakra to make this kind of sealing.�

Naruto huffed in
annoyance. �There must be a way to make sure the kids were taught according to
their talents, not age or whatever.�

Sure, there is.
Make the talented ones stay after class to have special lessons and the least
talented to work under the supervision of a teacher on their problematic
points, Sasuke wanted to say. He didn�t, because Naruto had his committee to
discuss those kinds of things with him. If Naruto wanted Sasuke�s opinion, he
would have asked for it.

Obviously in an
effort to change the subject, Sakura asked, �So, do you recognize anything
else? There are a few other standard clauses, but I don�t see anything else
that is familiar.�

Naruto snapped
out of his daydreaming about making the world a better place, or whatever a
proper Hokage is supposed to be daydreaming about when he was deep in thought.
�How many of those clause things are there?� He demanded, making them all blink
and stare at him.

After a moment,
Hinata cleared her throat.

�You learn
sealing techniques by memorizing the shape of a seal, am I right?� Of
course she was right, that is how they taught them in the academy. Naruto
probably had the opportunity to discover a better way, but he obviously never
did, as he confirmed by answering Hinata�s question with a nod. �It is easier
to learn what every part of the seal means, because they often appear more than
once.�

Naruto just
frowned. It was actually � not quite embarrassing, but . . . unbecoming, for a
Hokage not to know something so basic. Sasuke could see where such a gap could
come from, of course; it was because it was so basic. Itachi was the one
who explained it to him, many months before� well, before. Hinata probably also
learned at home. Sakura was a bookworm; it was not a surprise she knew it as
well, despite coming from a civilian family. But Naruto was alone and, as long
as he knew how to do a required sealing technique, he had no one to question
how he learned it or whether or not he knew why things were they way
they were.

�The central
part,� Sakura started in lecturing tone, �is the subject of the sealing. It
could be the thing we are sealing, or the area where the sealing happens �
depending on what we are trying to accomplish. It�s a base, something to link
the intention and all the conditions.� She then pointed at segments positioned
almost symmetrically around the base.� �Each
of those groups of marks is a clause to determine specifics of the sealing �
more information on the type of sealing, on what is being sealed, from where
the chakra for preserving the seal will be drawn; things like that. They are
standard. Most of the time, we simply combine them to serve out whatever
purpose we require.�

Naruto formed a
little �o� with his mouth. Sakura smiled in satisfaction.

�The stronger the
sealing is, the more chakra you need. Using it is like signing a contract with
nature; if you do everything right, in a correct order and according to the
requirements, then nature will respect your binding. Of course, new sealing
techniques are invented all the time. You invent them by determining one or
more new clauses.�

Sasuke felt
obligated to add on what was being said, in case the subject came up again and
also because showing he knew things his entire life that Naruto would never
learn was always fun. �Not everyone uses the same symbols as Konoha, but they
are mostly similar.� This drew the curious attention of everyone, even the
girls, to him, so Sasuke explained. �Sometimes, in times of peace, as a sign of
trust and proof of honorable intentions was required to cement alliances. So,
leaders would exchange information. Sealing techniques were often offered
first, because, before the bijuu,
they hadn�t had much influence on the balance of power. In the years since,
techniques changed and evolved, so even though most of the sealing techniques
look comparable, they are not even close.�

�So, no one from
another village could read what�s on my seal?� Naruto asked, turning his
bright, curious eyes to Sasuke.

It was pointless,
because Sasuke had already said as much, but he answered anyway. �No. Not
unless they made a special effort to get their hands on our secrets.�

�And you? Can you
read it?� Naruto asked, including this time Sakura and Hinata.

Hinata blushed
looking down at her hands. Sasuke hoped it was not because she was thinking
about the place Naruto bore the seal and the opportunity she could use to see
it because that, despite barely knowing her, was unsettling. She probably knew
Naruto�s sealing and what each clause meant by heart, just like Sakura and Sasuke did.

After a couple of
seconds of Naruto trying to read the answer directly from their heads using
nothing but the pure power of will and some glaring, Sasuke elucidated.

�The swirl in the
middle might be a reference to your name, or the type of chakra you wield �
though that is not very likely. It is a symbol that fits you, at any case, so
it was well chosen.�

Naruto nodded to
say he understood and prompted him to continue, curious and impatient.

�What about the
clauses?�

�Some are new, as
the sealing was invented for that purpose. A lot of it is dealing with specifics
of the pact with the being that acted as a catalyst in the process, so it is a
bit unclear.� It was not that unclear, but now that Naruto knew that
Yodaime was his father, it was probably not the best thing to mention how his
soul was trapped forever in the belly of a Death God as payment for such a
powerful technique; messing with the flow of nature always had its
consequences. Sasuke continued without a pause so Naruto would hopefully not
pick up on his lack of complete honesty. �The necessary fuel for the seal is
coming from Kyuubi�s chakra, which is a good solution, as there is nothing but
the thing�s chakra sealed. If, for some reason, there was no fuel any longer
for keeping the seal active, it would not matter anyway.�

Naruto nodded
again. Sasuke had to wonder does he actually understand anything it was being
said, or he�s just nodding them forward to end the lecture faster.

�There is also a
clause to determine a way of breaking the seal, and specifics on the sealed
object and details to support your identity.� And one that dealt with actual
using of the beast�s chakra that Sasuke was still unclear on.

�What sort of
details? The color of my eyes?�

�No, it marks you
by your given name, the only heir of the Namikaze family and the son of the
sealer.�

For one second
there was nothing, no reaction, and then Naruto�s chakra burst into life,
stifling the atmosphere in the room with a sinister edge. He was in the mood
for a fight, and Sasuke had to squeeze his hand shut to keep from reaching for
his sword.

�Are you saying,�
Naruto asked, leaning forward and keeping his eyes on Sasuke�s, in a voice so
quiet that the low buzzing of his chakra would easily overpower it if the three
people in the room with him were not listening so carefully, �that if only I
had taken some time to research the sealing, I could have known the truth about
my family years ago?�

Tell him no, Sasuke�s brain advised him through the
haziness of resisting the pull of the possible fight and the intensity of
Naruto�s eyes. Tell him old Sarutobi would
have never allowed it. Tell him it�s not his fault, none of it. Tell him
anything, just not�

�Yes.� Sasuke
said.

The window behind
them opened with such force it burst out of its frame from the power of the
chakra-infused wind. But, around the table where the four of them were still
standing around the scroll, there was barely enough shifting of the air to move
Sasuke�s bangs from his eyes. Then, Naruto�s gaze finally fell, leaving nothing
but the slowly retreating thrill of power behind it, and he quickly walked out,
tossing over his shoulder, �I�ll see you at the funeral then.�

Sasuke smoothly
avoided Sakura�s charged hit without any hard feelings and allowed Hinata to
change the subject onto the currently active political changes in the Fire
country.
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The Hunting Ground