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Endless Night	By : Cepheus Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1302 -:- 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
- 2
- 3
- 4
Edited: 04�12�2008
Note: thanks to all the people who reviewed and shared
their opinion for the sequel. I have yet to choose what I can do, but of course
there is more than just these two choices
Cepheus: you
get a new chapter now :)
��
Rating: M
Summary:
(ItaNaru) During a fight, Kyuubi�s chakra leaks out and causes a warp. Now
Naruto and Itachi are both stuck into the past. The only way to go back
forwards� is to work with each other.
Warnings: yaoi, boy x boy relationship,
angsty, torture, and such. Mental as well. Flames will be used to warm up food.
Disclaimer: Not own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does.

�Talking�
�Thinking�
�Flashbacks,
memories, dreams�
��
Endless Night
Chapter 02: Pain

When the two were together, they
would speak.
At first, their conversation had no
meaning, talking just to fill the silence, both not used in sharing so much of
their personal space, of their time, with someone else� but that changed, too.
Talking made them feel less alone,
but both found out how they could learn how to listen to the other, and how
they could talk of important things instead of just babbling, and settled down
with that.
The days passed by slowly, with
Naruto training, and Jiraiya observing, or often disappearing to peep at women
or gather more notes for his books.
There was no method in either of
their daily activities, but after the first few weeks, where Naruto bitched at
Jiraiya for always coming late at night, and Jiraiya scolded Naruto for working
himself to death every day, both agreed to mellow their own actions.
So, Naruto would train since early morning,
but would stop to prepare food for himself during lunchtime, and when sunset
came, he would lit up the fire and wait for his teacher to come back; Jiraiya
would disappear during daytime more often than not, but accepted to always
return early in the evening, so he could eat dinner with his student.
Living in the woods most of the
time, Naruto ended up recognizing the familiar noises of the forest �leaves
shuffling in the wind, birds chirping in the trees, the crushing sound of the
fallen leaves under his feet as he passed by.
And the smells typical of the forest
�he�d always loved that.
At night, the sounds of the fire
crackling, the shadows twisting from the light of the flames as the two ate
dinner, comfortably, made Naruto smile.
It was soothing, relaxing �not
having to be ignored by villagers, not having to put up a cheerful exterior�
but just rest, and receive attention�
He liked to talk, too. Jiraiya could
be an idiot most of the time, but he treated Naruto as an adult, despite
calling him gaki when in a bad mood.
He liked to talk; Jiraiya was the
only one that considered him like an adult, even though in his worst moods he
would revert on calling him a gaki.
Naruto finally realised that the man
he called Ero�sennin wasn�t just a perverted writer with too much time in his
hands.
At the same time, after spending
time together, Jiraiya himself came to appreciate Naruto�s company as well,
matching old memories with new, fresh ones.
And the two would speak, Jiraiya
telling stories of his youth, of his own team, and of when he took one as a
teacher, of his students and of how blue eyes similar to Naruto�s had once lit
up with mischief, and Naruto would relieve his own heart by telling his sensei
about his life, his worries, and his determination to bring Sasuke back.
It was comforting to both, but
mostly to Naruto, who felt this was just like having a family. The family he
had always hoped to have one day.
Until on night, after dinner, when
Jiraiya had initiated a new conversation with words that had broken that warm
appearance. �It�s almost time to head back� he had said, puffing a cloud of
thick, white smoke from his mouth. His eyes were a notch darker, and his
knuckles white by gripping his pipe.
Naruto�s shoulders tensed, but he
forced a smile on his face.
�I know� he replied quietly.
That night, for the first time in
almost three years, they didn�t speak further.
��
�Shit� how�?� Naruto had no words to express the whirling emotions
inside him, and closed his mouth, gritting his teeth.
His feet took him back to the window, and he glanced out again, unable
to take his eyes away from the sight, his hands tightened into fists.
Sasuke was still there �well, young Sasuke was.
Too young.
His senses roared inside him, yelling the same word over and over, but
this time he agreed with them �this was wrong. Indeed.
Sandaime still alive. The Uchiha living in the clan district. And Itachi
at his side�
And it was no Genjutsu.
Naruto shifted his hands to his chest and concentrated on his chakra
again; whatever place he was in, it didn�t matter �he had to try.
The same rotten feeling washed over him, making his stomach contract in
pain and disgust but he ignored it, and expelled a small wave of chakra, just
as he�d been taught to �but there was no change. The young Sasuke didn�t even
waver.
This was no Genjutsu.
�Why is your chakra unstable?� Itachi turned his cold eyes towards him
with an inquisitive look, making him feel even more uneasy.
Naruto gulped down his nausea and coughed. After two attempts at
speaking, with the bile coming up, he managed to rasp out something, his eyes
still on Sasuke.
�Jiraiya messed up with the seal�.
Sasuke� there were clear hints of what he would become in the future,
but Naruto could see something this younger Sasuke had that the older one lost
�a childish innocence, and his smile.
The Sasuke he knew had never smiled the way this young one did when one
of his kunai connected with the target.
That darkness that his eyes had acquired when his family had disappeared
was not there.
The same eyes, the same hair, and yet, this was a Sasuke Naruto had
never known.
Wrong. So wrong.
A nightmare he could not wake from�
Blue eyes widened.
He was trapped. Trapped in the past, with only one person at his side, a
person he could not trust, and he had no idea on how to go back.
He broke out of his trance and backed away from the window as if the
pane burned, the same moment young Sasuke�s eyes snapped upwards, shielding
them from the rain with one hand.
�No! No!�
Itachi was fast, his hand coming to cover Naruto�s mouth as more
hysterical sounds came out of it, muffling them so no one could hear �he hadn�t
had enough time to place more than a chakra�suppressing jutsu on the room, so
they still could be heard at this time.
The blond cried out again and again, trying to free himself from the
older shinobi�s grip, spinning and twisting wildly, nailing at Itachi�s arms,
but again the older shinobi was faster; he blocked Naruto�s back against his
body, and leaned forwards until Naruto�s forehead touched the wall, his hand
unmoving from the younger teen�s lips.
Naruto desperately clawed at Itachi�s arms and at the wall in shock,
eyes wide, but the man did not let go.
�Calm down� Itachi hissed softly. �You don�t want anyone to want to
wander here�.
Tears started to pool in the blond�s eyes again as he shut them tightly,
biting down on Itachi�s hand, but he finally fell limp in his grip, too tired
to fight anymore, the cries and yells dying out after a few seconds.
He couldn�t be in the past. It couldn�t be true.
Blocked, unable to go back �having to face everything again�
Itachi did not even flinch as blood seeped through his fingers from the
cuts Naruto inflicted with his teeth; his eyes were still cold as he
meticulously took note of Naruto�s body trembling against his own. Finally,
when he felt the young teen�s heartbeat slow down from its frantic pace, he
slowly let go of Naruto�s frame, taking away his hand as well.
Naruto fell down on the floor, sobbing quietly, but more calm than
before. This was his third attack of panic since he woke up before, and he was
left with no energy whatsoever.
How? How could they be in the past?!
�I suggest you to keep a better control over your emotions, Naruto�kun, I
do not want every Uchiha in the compound to run here to see what caused such
ruckus� Itachi stated coolly.
Naruto choked on his breath, coughing and refusing to give in to the
nausea he felt; Uchiha. Itachi spoke as if�
As if they were in the Uchiha
compound.
In the past, and in the Uchiha district at the same time.
With the clan still alive.
With Sandaime still alive.
With a young Sasuke not yet looking around in hatred, nursing nothing
but a desire for revenge.
They were in the past.
�Is it� it is Kyuubi then?! Is it him the cause of this?� he asked, his
voice shaking like his hands. He gasped for air, chocking on another attack of
nausea.
For a moment he allowed the name of the demon to linger in the air,
unsettled by having used it loudly; with Jiraiya, Tsunade, and everyone, he had
barely used the demon�s name, as the every person that knew about it had often
referred to the fox without actually using its name, as if speaking about a
taboo, even Jiraiya, and Naruto had picked up on it.
It was strange, to call to the demon openly like this.
But the situation was far from normal, besides, Naruto didn�t really
care. Itachi knew about the Kyuubi, probably the most out of any other person
other than Jiraiya.
Besides, he was stuck. No way to go back to the future, and with the
worst person ever �Itachi could take the Kyuubi from him and there would be no
one to stop him.
Or he could go to Naruto�s younger version (because there was one, just like there was a young
Sasuke� a young Naruto that was still surviving his childhood) and take him
away years before anyone could even care.
He felt suddenly nauseous and disgusted entirely for another reason.
Itachi�s dark, piercing eyes stared down at the blond still trembling
form, and realised quickly what was going through the vessel�s mind, so he
straightened up.
�I have no intention of changing the past, even if slightly. The
repercussions on our present, the future, would be unknown. So I won�t use this
opportunity to extract Kyuubi from your body. At this time there is no
Akatsuki, either. I will not interfere �and I will make sure you do not either,
Naruto�kun�.
There was a clear threat in his tone, and Naruto nodded fervently.
The meaning of his words was clear and Naruto felt his shoulders relax;
it was true, there would be nothing to gain in changing the future without
knowing what would happen.
Maybe he could not trust Itachi in any other matter, but surely the
Uchiha wanted to go back to their time just as much as him. Somehow, they had
to. Both of them. They were in the same situation, both trapped where they
didn�t belong �they had to cooperate.
Naruto knew it wouldn�t be easy, but it was the only solution.
Itachi stared down at the teen as he opened his mouth to speak; a second
later, without warning, a searing pain shot through Naruto�s frame coming from
his stomach and quickly spread in his body, reaching his head with the strength
of a spear.
Naruto doubled over, feeling something inside him twist and clench over
and over, and not even a moment later something hot burned its way up his
throat, exploding out.
He kneeled over, throwing up blood all over the floor.
The disgusting, metallic taste of blood, his own blood, filled his
senses, blocking out everything else, except the pain �it was overwhelming,
consuming him like a fire as he continued throwing up, his internal organs
twitching.
Naruto�s sight blurred away in a series of blinding white spots as he
vainly tried to fill his lungs with air, but every small gasp of breath made
them constrict as more blood came up, until he started chocking on the crimson
liquid, falling limply on the floor, coughing desperately.
His coughing turned into gurgling as he spit out more blood, dizzy and
pained, but air wasn�t coming. Dark started seeping at the edge of his eyes�
Far too gone to notice anything going on around him Naruto failed to
feel Itachi press one hand against his back, and also didn�t notice the other
hand reach forwards, slipping under his shirt and coming into contact with his
burning seal.
Something was wrong and Itachi now was sure of it; he could feel waves
of burning heat scorch his fingers as he firmly kept his hand on the Kyuubi�s
seal, singeing the skin around it; Itachi gritted his teeth and concentrated
his attention on feeling Naruto�s chakra.
He didn�t have too much time �Naruto was slowly suffocating on his own
blood. He had to understand what was wrong as soon as possible.
A soft green glow slowly appeared around Itachi�s fingers as he tried a
simple healing jutsu on the younger shinobi, but his eyes narrowed as Naruto
did not stop gurgling blood; his blue eyes were widened in pain, and if Itachi
didn�t act soon, he�d go into asphyxia and shock.
For a second Itachi found himself at a loss. His healing jutsu appeared
to be useless on Naruto, so it meant Kyuubi�s chakra was interfering somehow.
The demon wouldn�t accept any human technique.
A droplet of sweat slid down his eyebrow as Itachi applied more chakra,
the green intensifying and deepening as he did so; after a moment he tentatively
shifted his hand away from the burning seal and he could feel his jutsu finally
working, as if the thick layer of heat had somehow prevented it from having any
effect.
Naruto coughed hard again, his lungs burning now that the bleeding had
stopped and he could finally inhale fresh air, and slumped down on the floor,
exhausted.
For countless minutes the only noises in the room were Naruto�s wracked
coughs, followed by his heavy breathing, his body far too weak to move, not
even an inch.
Naruto could barely think, but was glad that the pain had stopped. His
whole body hurt and tingled, and all in all he felt like shit.
The fuzzy figure at his side (Itachi, a part of his tired mind supplied)
was kneeling next to him, hands pressed against his bare skin, and were
inserting huge quantities of healing chakra inside his coils, one on his
stomach, the other on his back, also supporting him so he wouldn�t fall face
down on the sickening pool of blood.
After a while a hand moved away only to return, pressing something small
and round�shaped against his unresisting lips. He had no strength to refuse it
so he swallowed weakly, mildly recognising the taste as a blood�replenishing
pill.
Then everything turned dark, and he fell in a dreamless, exhausted
sleep.
He could feel a hot hand press against his cold lips something small and
round, and he vaguely through about resisting but he had no strength to do it,
so he weakly swallowed, mildly recognizing a blood�replenishing pill before
everything turned dark.
��
Itachi glanced in silence at the sleeping teen he had carefully placed
on the futon, then his eyes returned to the window again; the rain outside had
subsided, but his little brother (the
irony would have caused anyone else to smirk, but he wasn�t anyone else)
had given up on his training, probably going back home before night approached.
This was an unexpected situation, and Itachi himself was out of ideas on
what to do; he was stuck in a place (and
in a time) he�d never wanted to see again, with the most unlikely person
ever, and the thought brought a scowl on his otherwise emotionless face.
The dark haired shinobi forced his eyes back in the room, his gaze
lingering on the spot where Naruto�s blood had been (he had cleaned everything after
the teen had fainted); the blonde was sick, heavily sick, and the cause was
probably Kyuubi. The Jinchuuriki had admitted something about Jiraiya and �a
messed up seal�, so he�d probably need to get a closer look at it later on.
But at the moment he needed to have a look around; he had scouted
throughout the whole village ever since he woke up from the enormous chakra
explosion, and had searched for the perfect place to hide in so that he could
understand what to do now.
It was almost ironic, that he�d decided to settle in that room, but he didn�t laugh �Itachi
didn�t want to think too much about it; he�d been away from this part of the
village since the massacre and to be back in this situation wasn�t helping.
Still, he had every right to use this room as he pleased �at that
thought, his lips curled up in a snarl that vaguely resembled a smirk.
After his scouting he had searched the borders of the village, a
sneaking suspicion that Naruto could be there as well, stuck just as him, and
he had been right. Both of them had been sent to the past somehow.
Itachi closed his eyes, trying to recall any information that could be
useful; there was something about Kitsune youkai being able to shift through
time, but the notion was a fleeting memory he had no grasp onto. He had never
been interested in such myths, and had started paying attention only lately,
due to his mission with Kyuubi.
At his side Naruto shifted in his sleep, moaning in pain, brows furrowed
as he brought his hands up to his stomach, clutching at it. Itachi gazed at him
for a moment, eyes emotionless.
Naruto looked anything but pacific as he slept �he was pale, sign he had
lost quite a lot of blood. Hadn�t Itachi had some blood�replenishing pills with
him, the blond would have probably collapsed.
As it was now, the Uchiha knew they needed to work together; if the
cause of their time travelling really was Kyuubi, then they needed the demon�s
chakra to go back �but if Naruto and Kyuubi were sick, there was no moving
until they were healthy again.
Itachi did not want a repeat of this trouble by going even more
backwards in time.
Black eyes fixed on the sleeping teen again, something flickering in the
dark orbs before vanishing away.
They were� similar, in a way.
Naruto and� him.
Itachi sharply looked away, not liking where his mind was taking him.
He�d been observing Naruto again, eyes trailing down the teen�s
features, and now that Itachi noticed his own actions, he promptly returned his
stare to the window. He would have to leave the sleeping teen alone whilst
scouting, he hoped it�d be ok.
It felt degrading. Itachi felt like he had to take care of a baby. The
Jinchuuriki was not a baby, he had clearly showed he could take care of
himself, but� the Uchiha didn�t want the other to do something stupid if he
were to wake up and find himself alone.
Like deciding to leave the room without a henge.
And Itachi had a sinking feeling Naruto would indeed get into trouble.
��
Naruto blinked tiredly, glad there was no bright light to hurt his eyes
as he opened them; there was a slight tug coming from his stomach, but
thankfully he felt no pain �at least for the present moment.
Taking a shaky breath Naruto shifted his head to look around, and
noticed he was laying on a futon, the sheets cool against his heated skin;
groaning faintly, he tried to remember what had happened and then cursed quite
loudly.
He�d been throwing up blood.
The taste still lingered in his mouth, unpleasantly, and he gulped down,
grimacing in disgust. This was all Jiraiya�s fault. He was going to kick him to
the next world when he got back to his own time�
Naruto curled up on himself, too comfortable in his position to actually
think about moving from the futon, and saw that the window was now half closed,
even though he could still somewhat see outside �it was dark, probably night
time.
But� what hour?
How long had he slept?
His blue eyes widened as he noticed the person still sitting next to the
window, shocked at the sight; Itachi had taken away his Akatsuki cloak, thus
showing his shinobi outfit underneath, an attire similar to the one Jounin
wore.
The missing�nin had a different look like this, and the only thing that
reminded Naruto that the other was an S�class criminal was the slashed
hitai�ate he had on his forehead.
It was� different. Itachi looked a normal person, he didn�t even have
his Sharingan on just like before� Naruto would have been fooled if he didn�t
know who he was, and if he didn�t resemble Sasuke so much.
Untouchable, at the same time, as if he lived in a completely different
reality.
Actually, the two were kind of similar, indeed, the blond found himself
thinking. Silent, clipped, brooding, even, handsome, and had the same aura
around them �as if both had lost something important.
Naruto frowned.
Itachi hadn�t lost anything, so why did he get this feeling from him? He
didn�t really want to know, and he didn�t care about it either �Naruto had
wanted a family far too long to want to forgive someone who had murdered his
own just for selfish reasons.
And yet �the older man had nothing of the dark, intimidating aura Naruto
had seen in their previous encounters. It looked like Itachi was just as
confused as he himself was, and that calmed the teen down somewhat. Even though
Itachi was a genius, in this dire situation he was just the same as him, and it
meant they were even�
Naruto blinked, unsure of what he�d been thinking.
It wasn�t really the truth, Itachi was still stronger and smarter than
he was �and yet, Naruto knew he could work with the older shinobi.
Maybe Itachi had killed his whole family, and hurt Sasuke� but� still,
there was no way out of this. It wouldn�t be that bad, would it? They could
work it out, if this older Uchiha was anything like his younger brother.
Sasuke would kill him if he ever knew the blond had compared the two
brothers together. At this thought, Naruto smiled a bit.
Finally shifting up to a sitting position, the blond Jinchuuriki held
Itachi�s gaze as it shifted on him, meeting charcoal eyes without flinching;
had it been the Sharingan he wouldn�t have dared doing this, but they were on
the same side now. He had to believe in this, at least.
�Hn� Itachi narrowed his eyes for a moment as Naruto smile widened
slightly. Same reaction he�d have had from the younger brother, indeed.
The Uchiha turned his eyes back outside, his position tense, and Naruto
realised with a start that he was probably doing a shift to make sure no one
could find them; he felt suddenly embarrassed, because even though he had his
reasons for sleeping soundly (loss of blood, pain and lack of strength) he
still was failing at his nindo.
Even then, Naruto knew that Itachi was a missing�nin, and yet� they were equals in this. There was no
excuse.
�Hey� he mumbled, not really knowing how to address the older shinobi.
It was a strange situation, indeed, and to speak this� normally with a former
enemy confused him. �I��
�What is it?� Itachi�s voice was not harsh, but it wasn�t nice either.
It was� guarded.
�I can do a shift now� he replied; eyes burning with determination, he
tried to stand up, only to fall back down with a gasp as his legs gave up under
his weight.
Had Naruto been looking up at this moment, he would have been surprised
to see a flicker of amusement in the dark orbs looking at him, but the glimpse
was gone when he did look up.
�Rest� Itachi replied coolly. �You won�t be of any use as you are�.
�No!� Naruto cried out, stubbornly. �I am not useless� there was a flash of hurt in his eyes at Itachi�s
words, but it wasn�t because of Itachi�s dismissal �it was because Jiraiya
often did the same at first, not trusting him with anything, and so did Kakashi
when they had still been on the same team.
Underestimated because he didn�t act as maturely as Sasuke, as Sakura
(even though she hadn�t, really)� as anyone else. Naruto vowed to be strong so
to not be underestimated anymore.
�Interesting reaction� Itachi murmured, a smirk tugging at his lips.
�It�s true! I can do my part in this� Naruto made Itachi look back at
him with these words. �I won�t allow you to handle this on your own �both of us
are stuck here, so both of us will work equally to get back to our time, no
matter what! Even if we have to work together, we will do it!� blue eyes
narrowed down.
Naruto now knew what to feel �they were not a Konoha nin and an Akatsuki
member anymore. They were just a couple of shinobi who fell prey of the same
problem. Their pasts and background meant nothing in this situation; it was
dangerous, Naruto wasn�t stupid enough not to notice it� and they had to keep
in shape in case anything happened� and that meant Naruto would do his share,
and allow Itachi to rest as well.
Itachi slowly shook his head. He could not really understand this blond
Genin at all. He had potential, even ignoring Kyuubi�s influence, but he wasted
himself by staying in Konoha. Not to mention his attitude.
Was it truly how he was, or was it a mask?
Such a familiar speech pattern, though. This kind of idealistic crap of
his� it would take the blond teen straight to his death. Just like�
�Naruto�kun, learn your own limits� he found himself replying, before
dismissing the matter entirely, proceeding to ignore the blond.
He mildly wondered why he�d even bothered speaking, considering the teen
would be dead at Akatsuki�s hands anyway.
Naruto blinked in equal surprise �he hadn�t been expecting Itachi to say
that.
There was a moment of silence that suited the older shinobi just fine,
but Naruto found it oppressing. He felt like he was missing something, and he
didn�t like it.
�What� what would that mean?� he asked, pouting in anger.
And yet, Naruto found it hard not to smile. This felt indeed out of
reality �here he was, in the same room as an famed nuke�nin, and they were�
arguing. Well, he was.
Maybe, when back to his time, he�d have a good laugh thinking back at
all this mess.
Maybe.
Eventually.
Itachi turned his head to look at him again, mildly annoyed, and yet, he
felt vaguely amused. Usually he would ignore any kind of provocation (he had
enough practice with Kisame) but there was nothing else to do, so he decided to
indulge in a conversation.
Sometimes he did that with Kisame as well.
�Your ideals are useless for a shinobi� he stated. �As long as you keep
thinking this, you will never get truly strong�.
Naruto�s smile was gone and he was left spluttering. �What? I�m going to
grow stronger, just watch me, Itachi�
he hissed the name with a mocking tone. �And my beliefs make me what I am,
after all �I will never betray them�.
�Konoha hates you� the raven haired shinobi replied then. �It will never
allow you to reach the position you seem to want so much. If you become strong,
they will fear you. If you get weak, they will call you useless. If you
hesitate, you will be killed, if you have no hesitation they will call you
monster twice as much. And if you become the shinobi you want to be, they will
kill you �because you will be a threat to them�.
Each word stung more than Naruto thought it to be possible. He shook his
head, denying them. He did indeed love Konoha. But he was sure, completely
sure, that they would one day respect him.
Tsunade already cared for him, and so did Jiraiya and Iruka, despite
everything. And his friends, too.
It didn�t matter if they also thought Naruto would never gain the trust
he wanted from the villagers and shinobi �because Naruto trusted himself.
He had changed. He would change more. And grow stronger. And everyone
would notice him. And accept him.
�I believe in myself� he stated, quietly. �I will never renounce�. �And I�ll show them. How I don�t have any
grudge for their hate, how I still care��
Itachi stared at him, composed, and Naruto smirked. �I will be loved
�they will understand�.
Every trace of amusement was gone from Itachi�s eyes the more Naruto
spoke, the more his tone turned serious and determined.
Same words, same meaning.
A different person speaking and yet, the goals were the same, the
conviction was the same �as the same was the person to whom they had spoken to.
Naruto didn�t care (just like that
other person hadn�t cared either) if he was fighting against something
bigger than him.
It didn�t matter if there was no way out �if his potential was wasted by
his environment� making it hard for it to blossom.
If their potential would
disappear. Would be underestimated.
If they would never reach
their full potential�
Because that stupid ideals of theirs would never waver. In the end, one
had indeed died, and his dreams had died with him.
Naruto was just another one that would soon die and not be saved.
Even with the same optimistic eyes, even with that same determination.
Itachi had seen it happen to that person
already, and he was watching it all over again.
It would� never stop.
Itachi was destined to see this happen, willing or not, despite having
left the village already to follow his own goals. To search for a greater
power, ignoring what he left behind.
He had abandoned a place that had hindered him in many ways, trying to
forget what the past meant, what the past had caused him, and all his skills in
the end had only served him to be isolated.
They had the same beliefs, indeed, but had
never had the strength. But Itachi had
the power.
And yet�
Itachi stared at the blond for a long time, so much it made him fidget
under his stare. He didn�t speak anymore, just watched him.
And yet, Itachi found himself wondering, for the first time since he
left Konoha, if power without a belief was indeed worth it.
Naruto lost all his determination under the scrutiny of the older
shinobi, and looked away. Their strange conversation had turned to the worst,
it seemed. The blond had been sure he�d seen amusement in Itachi�s eyes, but
that had disappeared sharply after Naruto�s statement, and now the man was just
staring at him.
It made him feel uneasy. That look� Naruto couldn�t decipher that look
and yet he understood the message Itachi had wanted him to see with his
previous words.
�It didn�t get you anywhere�.
His boasting off about his dream of being Hokage� his decision to be a
different ninja compared to everyone else� his determination�
Yes, he won some of his battles. Yes, he gathered a few people that he
loved more than he loved himself.
But Sasuke had rejected his friendship and his offer and had gone off to
some perverted snake. And the Hyuuga were still divided in two branches, even
though Hiashi had changed his own ideas.
He would never waver in his beliefs, but he�d been going at it in the
wrong way. Instead of shouting of strength he had yet to possess, he should
have worked at it by showing that he had what it took to back up his words.
There were many things Naruto chose to ignore, because it was easier to
pretend, this way. It was easier to say he�d be stronger, but before he left
with Jiraiya, he had done nothing at all, even messily learning a jutsu with
mere determination.
If he had learned all of his jutsu better, he could have backed up
Sasuke during his fight with Haku back in Nami, and maybe the older teen
wouldn�t have died. He could have stopped him; he would have had more strength
to face Gaara properly and stop him quicker.
He could have shown Iruka his determination without having to steal the
Scroll he�d learned his Kage Bunshin jutsu from.
So many things he�d overlooked.
So many things he could have done better in his past, without making a
fool of himself.
But he did grow up �he was
stronger than before, and he would
grow even stronger.
He had closed his eyes and pretended with himself, too. Because he
wanted to still hope, because hope helped him cope.
Hope that everyone would understand. Hope he could make the difference.
�You are not invincible, Naruto� you
cannot save everyone�.
Jiraiya�s words echoed in the teen�s mind with a bitter edge. Yes, he
could not save everyone. Just like he had not been able to save that baby that
could have been like him, had her village allowed her to live. But he had not
been there at the time. He had wished to, but there had been nothing he could
have done to save the Yonbi.
He was not stupid, but�
He wished he was. With all his heart.
Because a stupid person could go on his life without fearing any
repercussion. Because a stupid person could keep running straight, not worrying
for others to stop him or change his mind.
Because a stupid person could ignore reality.
Ignore that he was indeed weak, that he needed to rest, that he had no
reason to show his strong side. That he could be weak once in a while, and
stop.
Naruto curled up on the futon, deep in thought. He was not stupid.
And just like back then, near that tomb he had wanted to forget so hard,
he fell silent, not wanting to speak anymore.
Not wanting to claim a shift for himself anymore, Naruto turned his back
towards Itachi, and brought the blankets up to his head, trying to fall asleep.
He was tired, and speaking with Itachi (even though it had been quite the short
conversation) had drained more energy than he thought it to be possible.
Maybe because speaking with an enemy made him sound more like a person and less like� the enemy.
Naruto sighed, as inevitably his mind put the pieces together.
He�d always thought that by doing things as a shinobi he would always be
on the right side, fighting against the �bad guys�. But thanks to Jiraiya
taking him to his trip he had realised many things were not as he�d previously
thought.
The enemy of one day could turn an ally for the next mission. That was
how a shinobi�s life was. Naruto knew what this meant, but had ignored this as
well, in his attempts to close his eyes to everything.
Haku had been an enemy of his during the mission to Nami, but Naruto had
thought of him as a friend moments before he�d died. It could be this way once
again.
But if that was the truth, then it meant the enemies in his missions
were doing the exact thing he was. It meant they were just doing as they were
told, like Naruto. Missions had nothing to do with personal beliefs, as a
shinobi was paid to aid whoever recruited them, no matter how evil that person
could be.
And yet, Naruto had wanted to try and place part of his heart and his
beliefs in what he did. Being a shinobi was truly different than his biased,
childish ideal. And yet, this was the life he�d chosen for himself, and oddly
enough, no matter what, he truly liked it.
This situation was exactly that �a former enemy had to work at his side.
They had to agree no matter what their personal opinion was.
Naruto sighed deeply, trying to keep silent. He was having trouble
falling asleep despite his tiredness.
His brain was filled with thoughts, memories, and most of all,
hesitation.
Was Itachi speaking the truth?
Were his emotions hindering him in a way? He�d been running away from
reality, so had he to open his eyes and turn into an emotionless shinobi?
Still, he found himself shaking his head. No. he wouldn�t want power
that made him emotionless like Itachi was. The same need for power that made
Sasuke leave as well. Naruto wouldn�t want this kind of power, if it made him
reject his beliefs.
He would grow stronger on his own, but he would stop running from the
truth.
Smiling at this thought, he shifted around, spying at the still figure
of Itachi in the opposite corner of the room; he had a sight vaguely sharper
than normal, so he could still see the silhouette of the man, unmoving, and his
smile wavered.
Itachi would not hurt him in the means of taking Kyuubi out (at least
until the two returned to their time) but he had hurt him in a different way
altogether, making him question his own life� and that had helped him at the
same time.
Being honest to himself would be hard, Naruto knew this, and yet he had
to thank the man �he taught Naruto an important lesson in less than a day�
Naruto would do anything to be different. He would grow strong and still not
lose his heart, nor his soul.
He would not turn into Itachi.
A sudden, unexpected question cleared his confusion. Would people like
Itachi still have something important to them? Just like Zabuza had, but
decided to deny until near death? Naruto didn�t know the answer to that.
And since the two brothers were so similar, the younger Uchiha�s face
appeared in his mind, together with a different question.
Did Sasuke still consider their friendship important?
Naruto did not know the answer to that, either.
He closed his eyes and allowed sleep to claim him, barely aware of dark,
cold eyes flickering in his direction in the dark.
��
Cepheus: so,
what did you think of this chapter? Was it satisfying?
Don�t worry about Itachi�s words,
you will eventually understand later on in the fic. Both Itachi and Naruto have
a lot to face :D

Glossary: (to those that are not
familiar with Japanese)
Gaki �
brat.
Kitsune � fox.
Youkai � demon.
Kumo �
Cloud.
Raikage � Kumo�s version of Konoha�s Hokage. Each of the five hidden villages
has a Kage.
- 2
- 3
- 4
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Endless Night