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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
- 4
- 5
- 6
Chapter Five

Once Naruto woke up completely, he became annoying. There should
be a limitation to the number of things a person can say during one single
morning, though a limitation was not something Sasuke thought would stop
Naruto. He had tried to tune it out, but the only result he got was Naruto
realizing it and repeating everything he said � now with the occasional very
loud �Are you listening?� shouts.

It felt good to listen to him in a way, of course. Maybe it was
just excitement from the opportunity to go on a trip that was not official
Hokage business, but Naruto acted in a way he hadn�t in a very, very long time.
He seemed happy. It was something Sasuke almost missed, back when they were
trying to be the team Kakashi wanted them to be.

The trees that were surrounding Konoha were brown high in the
branches, burned up in the ruthless summer sun. Even the grass, deep in shadow,
was faintly yellow on the edges. But as they moved north, the healthy green was
back, making the leaves a more useful veil and bringing a light breeze with its
appearance. It was much easier to breathe � and not just because the air was
not as stifled and dry out here.

As the day drifted away, so did Naruto�s mood. They stopped just
before a little clearing for lunch.�
Naruto ate off his feet and then proceeded to walk between the trees,
kicking things on his way and mumbling.

It didn�t take long until Sasuke gave up on resting and reattached
his backpack. Naruto stepped back next to him without hesitation, eager to
move, and they continued north without exchanging a word.

Early in the evening, they set up a simple camp under the lush
branches of an oak, without the fire. With only the two of them, with enough
food packed and a warm night like this one, there was no need to draw any
unwanted attention. Even Naruto sat down, this time, leaning on the jagged and rough
bark of a tree facing west where the last beams of sunlight were violently
orange between the outlines of twigs and the blue sky.

They were sitting quietly for a little while. When the dark was
thick enough to be called night, Naruto asked, startlingly loud after the
silence, �Why aren�t you asking about it?�

�About what?�

Naruto huffed, annoyed. �About why you�re getting
all those crappy missions! I know it�s bothering you, so why aren�t you
asking about it?�

It was a good question. But Sasuke knew the answer.

�Would you tell me if I asked?�

�Of course not,� Naruto said; it was the most obvious thing in
the world and he had enough sense in him to snort in amusement after voicing it.
�But you�re supposed to ask anyway.�

In the gap between Naruto�s statement and Sasuke�s answer, the wind
had picked up the pace, bringing welcomed freshness with it.

�Because I know why.�

�Oh. Did Sakura tell you?� Naruto�s question came out a little
embarrassed and oddly quiet.

�No.�

�How do you know then?�

�It�s obvious.�

There was nothing in response. Not a word, not a movement and
Sasuke was fairly certain Naruto had also stopped breathing.�

�It is?� He prompted finally.

Sasuke couldn�t see what was so mortifying in it, unless he was
wrong and Naruto had a completely different set of reasons. No time like right
now to check.

�Because you�re still upset with me.�

�Heh,� Naruto said. Sasuke couldn�t see him, but he was certain
there was a huge relieved grin on his face. So he was wrong, and Naruto�s behavior in the last couple of days made a
little bit more sense. He had other reasons. �I am - I mean, I�m still upset. You
attacked Konoha. It was pretty bad, I almost died.�

How
many times? That was probably not the smartest thing to ask, but Sasuke
wondered if Naruto was keeping some kind of record. It was interesting how he
almost died at Sasuke�s hands or because of his own decisions many times but
was upset over the only occurrence that was not personal. But even if he was
telling the truth about being upset over Sasuke endangering Konoha, it was
obvious that it was not the only reason keeping him grounded.

�But,� Naruto added, more a statement then a question. �You
wouldn�t do that now, right?�

Sasuke refused to answer. Even now, almost seven years after
everything, he would remember the helpless anger and blinding pain with such clarity,
in such vivid colors on some nights that the entire affair with Akatsuki would make
sense again for several hours � sometimes even for several days. Saying �no�
was not something that would help, but confirming it would be a lie.

�I know you wouldn�t,� Naruto added after a moment. The
certainty in the statement made Sasuke want to hit him. As if he couldn�t deny
it, not without wasting the chance to possibly hear some explanations, Sasuke
said the best next thing.

�If you don�t think I would harm Konoha, then why go to such
lengths to keep me out of any official Konoha business?�

�What? I�m not!� Naruto exclaimed and moved over to sit on a
part of the root above the ground that was between them.� �I just wa . . . I
need you to stay in the village, that�s all.�

It felt awkward at this point, not to say anything, so Sasuke
said, �Hn.�

Naruto rested his head on the palm of hand, leaning even closer.
�And we are trying to have you in the committee �we were trying from the start,
you know. It�s not easy. And Sakura is telling you all about that, so you have
nothing to complain about.�

Naruto knows Sakura is coming after most of the meetings and telling
him about them? �That was a surprise. The
meetings were closed to the public; it was a violation of the law for Sakura to
even tell him she was in a meeting, not to mention what the meeting was about.

�So you know about that.�

Naruto blinked, like he couldn�t understand why he wouldn�t
know. �Well � yeah. And it wouldn�t hurt you to say more then �hn� here and
there, you know. The best Sakura can do with that is to tell me �Well, judging
by the annoyed way he �hned� this time, either he doesn�t like the idea, or me standing on that particular
place.� And that�s not much.�

�You mean,� Sasuke asked slowly, so Naruto didn�t miss the
significance of it. �Not only do you know Sakura is telling me about them, but
she also reports about it back to you?�

�Not officially. But she comes to me after and we talk about it
� we thought you figured out we were doing it on purpose a long time ago.� He hadn�t.
He thought Sakura was trying to fill in the awkward silence. Sure, she
sometimes talked about herself and her plans, her work, poisons, general
politics and her patients, but Sasuke was sure she was talking about meetings
when she had nothing else to say at the moment.

�I thought,� he said, and Naruto leaned closer to hear, it was
that low. �That she was doing her job badly. That she was being indiscreet.�

�Sasuke? You
sound angry.�

He wasn�t angry, just confused a little. How did he manage to
miscalculate them to such degree?

�You were asking for help?� He asked for confirmation.

Naruto backed away, both physically and verbally. �No. We just
didn�t want to exclude you.�

�After four years of making very sure I could never be included
again, no matter what I did?�

Naruto leaned sideways until his shoulder was against the trunk,
looking uncomfortable. �Things changed.�

Yeah, things certainly had changed. Was that all that Naruto
needed, some time away? Maybe Kakashi dying had some influence on his change of
heart. And with the way a moderate amount of people in Konoha still thought of
him as the Kyuubi vessel, and with almost the entire village seeing Sasuke as a
traitor, keeping apart was
understandable, not just something he was saying to himself.

Stop
that. It is just an excuse. It is not a secret Sasuke was lonely, and
he was trying to find excuses for it. He tried to refocus on Naruto, and found
him talking.

��not so much help like your help personally, but I bet you know
all kinds of things about clans that Sakura and I don�t. I asked Neji, but he
tells me only what he�s not happy about, and that is not enough. They are all
secretive about it.�

Without thinking, Sasuke answered, �Those things are clan�s
private business.�

Naruto stiffened, sitting straighter.

�Right,� he retorted, in very much the same manner he did when
he talked to Sakura about curriculums. �But if they are making blood sacrifices
� or brand marks into children that could kill them on a thought � I want to
know about it. I am not asking for anything unreasonable.�

He wasn�t asking for anything unreasonable, but it roared
through Sasuke�s blood anyway. Clan business was to be private, he had been
taught once. Knowing about it was a privileged, being included was being
acknowledged as a part of it, a part of the family.� Clan secrets were more important then
anything else � missions in the name of Konoha, the lives of your teammates.
Considering where this kind of approach led his own clan, his own family, his brother, Sasuke shouldn�t have had a problem
with sharing the little he knew about the functioning of clans with Naruto.

��No,� was all he managed.
Obviously, he had a problem with it anyway.

�Yeah,� Naruto said after a moment, standing up. �I thought so.
Of course, that was not the only thing you could help us with, just the most
problematic one. I saw you a couple of times��

Sasuke looked up when Naruto stopped speaking, even though he
wasn�t listening carefully. Half bathed in the faint moonlight and half still
under the thick shadow of the oak with Sasuke, Naruto was now a whole step
away, looking like a small kid, as if he was expecting a parent to yell at him.
What happened? What did he do?

�Um, can I hope you�ll forget that last bit?� Naruto asked, with
his arm half way up to his neck. He was trying to break the habit, the signs
were obvious.

�No,� Sasuke answered. What last bit? What was it that he had said;
something about how he had seen Sasuke � something.
What could that be? Maybe something about the alley down near the Hattori clan
ruins? But no, Naruto had made it no secret, knowing about the boys.

�Well, I�m not sorry,� Naruto snapped, not happy with the answer
he got. �And I�ll take the first shift all the way over there. You sleep.�

It was getting late. Not wanting to ask and knowing Naruto
wouldn�t talk now anyway, Sasuke made himself
comfortable between two root strips. He fell asleep still wondering about
Naruto�s peculiar behavior. �
- *
  * * * * *
What woke him was his own name, sounding as if it was whispered
inside his head. �Sasuke?� The voice was familiar, but
Sasuke had no time to think. He found the handle of his sword next to his hand,
where it always was, grabbed it upside down and moved it up through the small
space that was left between him and the attackers� body. The slash would have
been perfect, all the way across the imposter�s abdomen, if he hadn�t moved
just in time to avoid it. He�s good,
Sasuke thought, moving his hand along the handle until he had it right.

�You bastard!� The
same voice said, and Sasuke recognized it this time along with hair bright from
moonlight and angry blue eyes. �I was just trying to wake you up!�

Naruto. It was
alright. No one was sneaking at night into his room, not for a sample of his
blood, not because the night was stormy and not because of anything else. It
was just Naruto.

Sasuke picked up the sheath from where it was left on the
ground.� �You hid your chakra completely.� How did you expect me to know it was you?�

�Are you deaf and blind now?!� Naruto demanded. �Who else could it
have been? Even if someone came, it would be me waking you up � that is why I
was on guard!�

�Right,� Sasuke said, letting the mockery show clearly how much
he trusted Naruto�s guarding. Naruto threw him an annoyed look, but failed to
take the bait.

�Come on, I want you to see something.� He said, and jumped
right up, not waiting for any sort of confirmation. Sasuke, already completely
awake from the surge of adrenalin, followed. �After just a couple of miles, he could feel
it. There was a rather large party of people in the direction they were heading
for.

In the last hundred steps or so, Naruto climbed higher into the
treetops, so they would have a better view once they reached the clearing. They
stopped on the branch where Naruto had one clone already crouching; he was
dissolved before Naruto and Sasuke even landed firmly next to him.

Down on the clearing that was actually a meadow, there was a
large camp.

�Do you see cages? They are animal traders.�

Naruto was right, between several large tents there were cages
with animals in it. An older man was sitting outside in front of the fire,
everything else was quiet.

�What about it?�

�They are not supposed to be anywhere inside the Fire country. I
made sure they were banned from it, and I want them out,� Naruto said, angrier then Sasuke had seen him in a really
long time. These people had done something to upset him.

�You are wasting my time. They are just civilians.�

�They,� Naruto hissed; it was so easy to make him talk without
actually asking for information. �Hunt animals and sell them to the highest
buyer. We were the highest buyer for rabbits and some types of rodents until
recently. Then we became the highest buyer for some types of apes as well.�

�So what? They
overcharged you?�

�No. I just want them away.� Sasuke waited. Naruto glared down
at the camp for a minute before adding. �The apes were for Sakura. She bought
them for her experiments.�

The realization hit. Sakura�s only private experiments were
poisons, a dangerous hobby. This was not feeling sorry for the animals. This
was about making sure Sakura couldn�t get her hands on the test subjects,
because if she can�t test the products, she can�t make them. The price on her
head for her knowledge about poisons was already very high; Naruto was trying
to protect her.

�They can give information about her, if they met her personally,�
Sasuke warned.

�I took care of that. Only the contact guy knew her,� Naruto
answered. �I just want to scare them away, because official sanctioning is
apparently not enough. Some fire could help.�

Sasuke stood up from the crouch. Naruto had killed someone to protect Sakura. The thought ringed
falsely in his mind, but there was no doubt about it being the truth. Still,
Naruto killing a civilian in cold blood was not something Sasuke thought he would
ever hear and it felt wrong.

�Just scare them.� Naruto repeated, apparently convinced Sasuke
was deaf after all.

Sasuke answered, �I remember,� and moved.

�Naruto was keeping up
smoothly, so they entered the clearing together, side by side. It had been a
long time since Sasuke needed to actually do the hand seals to form a jutsu, but he could almost hear the
combination in his head � rat, horse,
dragon, ox, tiger. As always, his mouth felt oiled
and his saliva was thick with bitterness right before he halted a little to
direct the flames to the top of the biggest tent.

Naruto was ahead now, making his way directly to the old man in
front of the fire that was standing up; Sasuke could see he remembered to form
a disguise despite his anger. A couple of shurikens
hit the log the man was sitting on � but he kept staring at Naruto approaching
in a frozen awe - and then Naruto was close enough to lean in and say
something.

Whatever it was that he had said worked. The man was on his ass,
backing up and trying to scream. The chaos erupted after that, and frankly,
after all the endless months of wanting action, Sasuke should have been
thankful for this chance to get rid of some stress.� But he felt quite content standing where he
could see everything and watching Naruto dance his little private battle.

Sasuke had to turn the sharingan
on just to follow his movements, but he saw it when Naruto jumped around the
man to the left, then high to catch a flame in his wind and then racing with it
to the next tent. �Not stopping to see
fire blossom where he left it, Naruto cut through the material on the side of
the most extravagant tent with the airwave made by the single move of his hand.

There was nothing to watch once Naruto disappeared inside of it,
so Sasuke turned to the cages with animals. Screams that filled the open space
between the trees made him want to roll his eyes at those people. If they
wanted them dead � or even hurt � they would not start by alarming them with fire,
wasn�t that the most obvious thing in the world?

�Hey kid!� A voice interrupted him while he was breaking the
third lock to let the animals out. Sasuke looked in that direction � it was a
dog. �Aren�t you one of Kakashi�s?�

�Yes,� Sasuke answered, because even after of all these years of
trying to make a name for himself that would connect him to no one
automatically, he very much felt like �one of Kakashi�s�. �What are you doing
here?�

He couldn�t remember the name of the dog, but the mutt was familiar.

�Catching fleas from this bunch,� The dog said. �You think you
could be helpful and remove this cute little necklace from my neck?�

Sasuke had heard of it, of course. Some cities � even in the
Fire country, although it was illegal here � were paying very good prices for
ninja animals. They were a spectacle in the zoo gardens, kids loved talking
animals. �The necklace was for blocking
ninjutsu.

Sasuke broke the chain on the dog�s cage first, but the necklace
was a little harder than that. The thing was solid and it seemed to suck in all
the chakra in the area, not only out of
the one on whose neck it was tied around. In the end, Sasuke had to use the tip
of a kunai to unscrew it, which took
an awfully long time and all he got in turn was a vague �good, good kid� before
the dog un-summoned itself.

By the time he managed to free all the animals, the entire camp
was in chaos. The fire was everywhere, and not many people. Sasuke looked
around so he could warn Naruto to be careful not to cause a forest fire, and
that was when he felt it, a shadow behind him and something flying. It was easy
to move aside for the object to miss him, so Sasuke moved without a hurry,
eager to turn around and see who was silly enough to attempt fighting back.

But the object failed to hit the cages in front of him. Sasuke
felt it hit his shoulder on its way back, but the pain only came after a couple
of moments, when he was already standing in front of the mad throng behind him.
One carefully aimed hit was enough to put him out. No reason to upset Naruto,
right? Sasuke picked up the whip
that had a steel ball woven into the pommel.

A whip was a
horrible choice for a weapon, of course. This man must be an animal trainer or
something like that. Sasuke left the whip next to the man on the ground and
went to find Naruto. The place was completely empty by now, all the people
probably running for their lives through the woods, so as soon as they made
sure all the fire was out, Sasuke and Naruto returned to their little camp.

* * *

Naruto was grinning widely, looking like himself again, even as
he was cleaning and sorting the weapons he had used earlier. Maybe it was that he
had managed to blew off some steam, or he felt as if he had accomplished
something, but one way or another, his mood was almost as good is was that
morning � though he mercifully talked less.

A wolf howled somewhere in the distance, and then another
answered. The night was too late for it to be an announcement for adults'
departure to the hunt, so it most probably meant that a person or two from the
animal poacher�s camp became the prey. Naruto raised his chin and listened, but
he said nothing. Sasuke decided not to mention his observation. He was not
sleepy and if Naruto wanted to go and try to save someone, he would follow.

But what if it turns out he does know and he�s still smiling
happily anyway?�

�You weren�t very helpful.� Naruto said, though the words held
no accusation in them, just some simple curiosity.�

�If you need help with scaring a couple of civilians, then you
just might not be cut out for the role of the Hokage after all.�

Naruto, with his grin still firmly attached and undisturbed,
looked up. �It�s my turn to sleep. Don�t let the wolves eat me; Konohamaru is
just waiting to jump into my role.�

There�s a scary thought. Konohamaru as the Hokage would be� much
like Naruto is, only more enthusiastic, if you can wrap your mind around that. Not nearly as
good looking, though.

Sasuke, who was searching for a relatively comfortable place to
sit on until the morning � because Naruto took the small nest in the root of
the oak where he was sleeping on earlier �, frowned at the thought. If someone
had asked, made him think about it before, he would have realized that, yes;
that was the truth. Naruto was better looking then most people. He had a better
personality then most people, too. But it was a little unsettling to think
about it randomly like this, it felt like he was slowly being sucked in by
quicksand deeper and deeper, without a chance to get away.

It was only when Naruto lifted his eyes to look at Sasuke
quizzically when he realized he was staring down at him, studying and mapping
little details about the way Naruto�s hair looked abnormally light in such
darkness and how his hands moved with conscious steadiness that could be very
arousing when used in a proper way.�

�No way, I like it here.� Naruto said after a second of scowling
deeply, probably wondering why Sasuke was looking at him. �It�s comfortable and
I�m not moving.�

More for the sake of saying something, because he had made peace
with Naruto taking his setting as soon as he choose to clean his weapons there
when they came back, Sasuke protested, sharply: �Those are my things there.�

Naruto looked down at the backpack. �You don�t need them now.
You have your sword on you.�

Sasuke glared at the way Naruto spat the word out, but the sword
was undeniably more then enough for him. Naruto ignored him and, after
returning his equipment to his own bag, made himself even more comfortable with
his head on Sasuke�s backpack.

Soon, the moon was down behind the trees. Looking straight up at
the sky that was dark but still blue, you would not expect the ground to be black.
But they were deep in the woods, among old oaks in the heavy shadows, so
everything was dim and Naruto�s figure was nothing more then a lump.

Sasuke, as he failed to discover a better place for it, after trying
out a few, set against the same tree. A root strip between Naruto and him was
thicker then his thigh and covered in soft moss mats, but that was not separating
them enough for Sasuke to miss gently sleeping sounds Naruto was making. As
everything else, the way Naruto was sleeping changed with years. When they
twelve, Sasuke always had bruises when he had to share a tent or a room with
Naruto; nothing was spacey enough for Naruto to manage to turn in his sleep
without hitting something.� Sasuke was
hitting back, of course, but all he would manage was to wake Naruto up for long
enough to blink sleepily at him.

The lack of sometimes serious damage he was sure he had left
every time Naruto would overdo it was just one of the mysteries that came with
being close to him, in the same team. Sasuke had questions but he had never
asked them. More important things were then overflowing his mind at the time; no
time for bonding, no time to care. Besides, with only the general information
on Kyuubi that were no forbidden from mentioning in Konoha, only an idiot
wouldn�t have realized the connection if he put his mind to it.�

Later, under Kakashi, when mystery of the fast healing was long
solved, Naruto adopted a completely new sleeping behavior; he would turn to the
opposite side from Sasuke, lying as far away as he could, and kept all he had
with him between them. It was insulting, of course, but Sasuke was also
grateful because it gave him some sense of privacy, even if it was false. Too
many time under this or that ever watchful eye made him value solace.

That was a long time ago, though. Now, Naruto�s presence was
welcome. Stupid or not, Sasuke was feeling lonely most of the time in the last
year. A lot of it was his own fault, but that only
made the hollowness more profound.�

But then, Naruto said it wasn�t entirely his choice, the
situation they were in. Although privately he had no wish to see Sasuke more
often, he was at least trying to include him in the new system, into the
choices he was making. The reasons are not even important; so what if Naruto
just wanted to make sure a thing like the one with the Uchiha clan could never
happen again? Sasuke wanted the same thing. So there certainly are some things
he is not alone in. And he has the means to help, or try to.

Deep inside, something scraped painfully in his stomach on the
very thought about talking about inner workings of clans. Sasuke had a rich
experience of ignoring things like that one though, so finally relaxed against
the rough bark of the oak.

He had made up his mind.

* * *
�
Naruto woke up on his own, before the sunrise crept into the
heavy shadows; bed made of soil and some grass had a way of making sure you get
just as much sleep as it was necessary. �Stretching, he yawned without covering his
mouth; some things never change.

�How many hours of sleep, per night, an average person
needs?�� Sasuke asked instead of wishing
him good morning.
�
Naruto blinked, confused. �Twelve?�

�Eight.� Sasuke corrected. �How many hours� genins get on their
missions?�

Naruto leaned forward, frown on his face, but apparently
realizing it was not a small talk. �Four. But Sakura said it�s not dangerous,
if it�s only for a several days or weeks until they can sleep normally again.
We talked about this when we were redoing schedules.�

Yes, Sakura said so. That was why Sasuke was talking about it
now, because back when she did, he thought anything he had to add would not
matter. Kakashi prolonged the sleeping period on six hours in his days. Naruto
was under a lot of pressure to change it back several months ago � but to his
credit, he did try to find out what�s the fuss before he gave up the battle for
another one he understood better.

��No, medically it�s not
dangerous. But after two or three days of only four hours of sleep, the
instincts become dull. The sleeping schedule was made that way because the lack
of proper sleep downgrades fear.�

�But�� Naruto worked so hard to think that through, it almost
made Sasuke smile. �That is good, right?�

�They are well trained and they can�t get out of the Academy
unless they are ready for the job, especially now. You know that.� Rules were
much stricter now then they were when they became genins, after all. Kakashi made sure of that, and Naruto kept them.
�So if a trained shinobi is afraid,
then he has a reason to be and acting on it could save his life. Blunting it is
messing with their instincts.�

�But why do that to the kids?�

Because the way things worked in the years of constant war and
power play that was not nearly as subtle as it is now, the children were
considered useful only if they could survive the first wave. No second chances.

�Natural selection. Only there
are such things as late bloomers.� When Naruto shot him an angry look, probably
for the taking the professional attitude instead of sympathy for the poor
children, Sasuke added: �That was what Kakashi thought about it.�

From the look on Naruto�s face, he couldn�t decide if he should
be angry he was played or pleased he now knows what that was about. �I knew
there must be something if he bothered with it. I knew it!�

Then he proceeded to grumble and swear while using the clear morning
dew on the nearby bush to wash the sleep of his face. Sasuke fully expected
some profound yelling at the next meeting of the committee and he was, for the
first time, truly sorry he won�t be able to attend it.

They gathered their belongings and were ready to even before the
sun came out.

�How much longer?� Naruto
asked, stretching his ankles in preparation for fast moving and tricky jumps in
dance brunches of Fire country�s infamous woods.

�Five hours at usual speed. But the woods on the other side of
the river are much thicker and bushy. We will have to take at least a part of
the way on foot.�

Naruto nodded his acceptance, though he still looked
preoccupied, so Sasuke wondered if he had heard a word of it. It didn�t matter
one way or another, so he led the way and Naruto followed.��

tbc

��
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The Hunting Ground