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Walking Corpse	By : suomynonakun Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 7267 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- 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
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Sasuke stood nearby as Sakura gently wrapped Naruto's arm. Blood began seeping through the white bandages as soon as she wrapped them, but there was nothing else to be done.
Those who had known Naruto stood around anxiously, not too close, but not very far from him either. Emotions and questions were flashing through their minds as they watched him lying on the ground, struggling for breath. It amazed them, now that the young man's mask was down, that they hadn't recognized him before. He looked almost the same but older. His face was more defined and the marks on his cheeks were somehow wider, but everything else remained the same, right down to the blue eyes and tan skin.
The ninja who hadn't known Naruto, and therefore had hated or feared him, stayed at a distance from him, despite his weakened appearance. Those who weren't wounded helped other medical nins move the injured and dead.
"Naruto, you need to get back to Konoha as quickly as possible," Sakura told him when the arm was bandaged. Naruto's eyes were closed, but she knew he was awake. "I don't have the ingredients to create a antidote."
Blue eyes opened to peer thoughtfully at her. "What happens if it's left untreated?"
Sakura looked down at him in confusion. "You'll die," she said.
"Does it happen quickly?" he asked between breaths.
She didn't understand why he was asking such a question and looked at Sasuke in confusion. Did Naruto want to die? Sasuke saw her expression and made to move towards them, but Naruto raised his voice slightly, saying, "This is a conversation between my doctor and I, Sasuke."
The dark haired man froze, before crossing his arms and turning his head away with a "Humph."
The rest of the friends looked on in confusion.
"Well, Sakura-chan?"
"Naruto, I don't understand-"
"Just answer me," Naruto said, with a serious tone she'd never heard from him before.
Sakura studied him for a moment before complying. "The snake venom has three phases. The first is what you are in; it causes paralysis. It is slowing down your heart and lungs, which is why you are having trouble breathing. To be honest, I don't know how you're still conscious. The snake usually eats its prey before this stage is over, but humans have discovered that if the venom remains in the system for more than a couple of hours the poison begins to react to the blood, giving a person the sensation of being burnt from the inside. Shinobi often use it for torture."
Naruto remained quiet, waiting for her to continue.
"This can continue for hours before the person dies. I'm sure Tsunade-sama will be able to make the antidote, so if we can just find a way to get you back quickly-"
"I'd rather just stay here," Naruto said, closing his eyes again.
"But Naruto!" Sakura said.
"Like hell you are," another voice said.
Naruto didn't open his eyes. "Sasuke, I told you to stay out of this."
Sasuke may not have been close enough to hear the conversation, but another advantage the Sharingan gave him was it made it very easy to read lips.
"Sakura," Sasuke said. "See if Jiraiya can get Gama Bunta to give Naruto a ride back to Konoha."
Naruto growled, opening his eyes to glare at Sasuke who was standing above him. "This isn't your decision to make, Uchiha." The sentence lacked much force behind it though, for Naruto was still struggling for air.
Sakura hesitated, but Sasuke glared at her and she quickly stood and went to Jiraiya, leaving the two men alone.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing, dobe?" Sasuke asked when she left.
"Nothing that should come as a surprise to you," Naruto wheezed.
Sasuke kneeled next to him, placing his weight on his heels. "I'm not going to let you use me as an excuse to kill yourself."
"I'm not using you as an excuse, I'm using the large snake bite in my arm."
"You only got bitten because you pushed me out of the way."
"Would you please drop the self loathing thing? It's extremely annoying. This is my life, Sasuke. If I want to risk it by keeping you from being eaten, that's my decision. And if I'd rather stay here with you than rush back to Konoha on the chance that Tsunade can heal me, that's also my decision."
Sasuke was quiet for a moment, listening to Naruto's unsteady breaths. Finally he spoke softly, "And if our positions were reversed and I was the one opting to stay with you rather than go back, what would you do?"
Naruto sighed. "Send you back kicking and screaming."
They could hear Sakura returning. "Gama Bunta says he can get you back to Konoha in a few hours," she said, nervously awaiting Naruto's reaction.
"Well, since that freak of a frog is more stubborn than Sasuke it looks like I don't have any choice in the matter," Naruto said in a cheerful manner that varied greatly from the serious tone he'd been using with Sasuke only moments before.
"Disrespectful brat!" Gama Bunta boomed, extending his tongue to gently pick him up.
"Sasuke," Naruto said, before it pulled him up. "I'm sorry." Then he was whisked away and laid on the top of Gama Bunta's head.
Sorry for what? Sasuke began to get worried, was Naruto planning something?
"I'm coming with you," Jiraiya said, glaring up at the frog as if daring him to say no. Gama Bunta was not the only one who cared for Naruto as a son.
The frog nodded and Jiraiya leapt to his head.
Sasuke took a step forward, considering going with them. Naruto's last words left him extremely uneasy. He paused, feeling a gentle hand on his shoulder. Turning his head he saw Kakashi standing behind him. "Sasuke," he said, with a nod in the direction of Chouji and Ino who were watching what was going on, but kneeling next to an unconscious Shikamaru. "With Shikamaru recovering we need you here."
Sasuke hesitated, looking up at the frog, then back to the leaderless shinobi.
Kakashi was right; he had a duty to the troops. Gama Bunta set off at a high speed and soon he was out of sight. Sasuke watched them go, regretting his decision almost immediately.
~*~*~
Tsunade may not have looked it, but she was getting too old for this.
When Jiraiya arrived on Gama Bunta, a writhing Naruto in his arms, she had sprung into action, doing her best to ignore the tightening in her chest they carried Naruto to a hospital room.
She'd lost too many people and grimly vowed Naruto would not be added to that list.
The young man was obviously in severe pain. His eyes were clenched tightly and his teeth ground together in an attempt to keep himself from screaming. Tsunade was surprised he was able to remain conscious.
As soon as Jiraiya explained what had happened Tsunade recognized the snake venom. A lethal poison used mostly for torture. It would figure Orochimaru would have access to such a substance.
The cure for it had only recently been discovered, and fortunately Tsunade had all the ingredients needed to make it.
As she injected it into Naruto's arm, she couldn't help but think about how close she had come to having to announce his death. Again. Another hour and there would have been nothing she could have done.
Thinking about that now would do her no good, though. She glanced at Naruto, whose face was angled towards the right so he couldn't see what she was doing. He was extremely quiet and she could only assume he was focusing all of his energy on hiding any indication of being in pain.
He had refused to allow her to give him any type of drug before she preformed surgery on his wounded arm. He did not want to risk losing consciousness again. Tsunade could only imagine what it felt like to have her poking around in his arm with her metal instruments with nothing to dull the pain.
She was impressed though. Naruto managed to remain absolutely still for her.
He surprised her when he suddenly spoke, but he'd at least had the intelligence to wait until she had paused her work to ask Shizune for a different instrument.
"Will this take long to heal, Tsunade-baba?" he asked, staring blankly at the white tile wall. The operating room was so boring. It had the dull sterile feel one expected from a hospital and it was doing nothing to distract him from what she was doing to his arm.
Tsunade peered at him over her white surgeon's mask. "For a normal person I'd say a month or so, but with your unique healing capabilities-probably less than a week." She began probing into his arm again with what looked like a large pair of tweezers. Carefully, she searched for the tiny fragments of bone that had been shattered.
"I'm leaving after the surgery," Naruto said resolutely. He'd only stayed for the surgery because Tsunade had warned him that without it his arm would become useless.
"What?" Tsunade said, her chocolate eyes looking up from his arm and at his face, which remained averted. "Can't you at least wait a day? Give yourself a chance to start healing."
"No, I need to go as soon as possible," Naruto said firmly. Kyuubi was closer now, his presence buzzing constantly in his mind, an unpleasant reminder of why he'd left in the first place.
He also knew he needed to leave before everyone returned. Assuming they remained at the village for the night and headed home this morning he guessed that they wouldn't be back until the next day. When Gama Bunta had brought him in yesterday Tsunade had given him the antidote and refused to operate on his arm until the morning, to give him a chance to rest. Not that he actually slept, but it had given him a chance to think.
Everyone knew now and he did not have the desire nor the strength to handle the questions that would undoubtedly be thrown his way.
Then of course there was his biggest problem.
Sasuke.
He knew, without a doubt, that the dark haired Anbu would not let him leave, especially not after what had happened before the attack.
The memory of Sasuke's lips against his had not left him, and whenever Naruto thought about it, a warmth he had never felt before flowed through him. At the same time however, he couldn't help but regret what had happened.
It had been a mistake in the heat of the moment, one he couldn't afford to make again.
There was a reason ninja so rarely befriended one another. A reason ninja so rarely fall in love. Too many dangers in such actions. Caring about others could be used by the enemy as a weakness. Orochimaru had done it. If he had sent the snake directly at Naruto, he would have dodged. But by sending him at Sasuke, he had ensured that Naruto would take the hit. Feelings for another impairs judgment and distracts on a battlefield.
Naruto had to distance himself from Sasuke for both their sakes.
He had no particular attachment to his own life. He would gladly give it for Sasuke. He would not, however, allow himself to become Sasuke's weakness.
He wasn't good enough for Sasuke; he had nothing to offer him. Naruto had been spiraling out of control for years and he would not let Sasuke throw away his life for a hopeless cause such as his own. The path Naruto walked held only one certainty that he could see: death.
This was why he needed to be gone before Sasuke returned. Gone, and far enough that the Anbu couldn't pursue him. Because Sasuke wouldn't listen to reason, and Sasuke was the only one who could weaken his resolve.
Naruto wasn't sure he'd be able to leave if Sasuke begged him to stay. Every time he'd tried so far it hadn't worked. Despite his fear for his friends' lives he had stayed when Sasuke had asked him too. He'd had the chance to run, but couldn't bring himself to take it.
Of all his fears, the power that the dark haired man held over him was what frightened him most.
~*~*~
Shikamaru was tired.
Not the normal tired that accompanied a long day, or the kind of tired he always seemed to feel whenever he had to deal with something troublesome. Shikamaru was weary, and, despite the fact he'd just now floated back to consciousness, he could feel exhaustion threatening to claim him already.
As a man who went out of his way to ensure that he didn't exert himself unless absolutely necessary, the effort it required to open his eyes almost didn't seem worth it; however, even in his half awake state he could sense the presence of many people.
It took him several blinks to clear his vision and a few more moments to understand where he was. The feel of the soft mattress under him reminded him he was in his room in the hotel, and from there memories began to resurface.
He'd used all of his chakra when holding the Kagemane no jutsu on Kyuubi. The moment the shadow connected with Naruto he felt the intense power trying to break free. It had knocked him to all fours immediately. After his jutsu broke he'd blacked out, and he only vaguely remembered speaking to Chouji and Ino somewhere between the battlefield and his room. They'd told him Naruto's condition and that he was already headed back to Konoha with Jiraiya.
"Is he going to be okay, Sakura?" Shikamaru heard a female voice ask. Ino. Pink hair suddenly filled his vision as Sakura leaned over him, checking on him.
"He'll be fine, he just used up all of his chakra," she replied. Startled green eyes met tired brown ones. "You're awake," Sakura said in surprise, looking down at him.
"Let me see!" Ino said, and Sakura was suddenly pulled from his line of vision to be replaced with a scowling blonde. Shikamaru blinked. He knew that look, but he had no idea what he'd done to piss her off this time.
"Why didn't you tell us?" she said.
Shikamaru's normally quick mind sluggishly tried to understand her question but was coming up with nothing. Regretting the action the minute he took it, he pushed himself into a sitting position, raising an eyebrow when he saw how many people were crowed into his room. The original rookie nine, except for Sasuke and Naruto, and Gai's old team was present. He wasn't quite sure how they had all managed to fit into his room. They were all looking at him, waiting for an answer to the question he didn't understand.
"Tell you what?" he asked.
"Naruto. You knew he was alive and didn't tell us!" Ino said angrily.
"I knew something weird was going on," Kiba muttered from the chair near Shikamaru's bed. Sakura had managed to heal his leg, but it would be sore for a few days. Akamaru barked at his feet.
"Why didn't you tell us, Shikamaru?" Chouji asked. He didn't seem as angry as Ino or some of the others, the poor man just looked confused and upset at the idea of his best friend hiding something from him.
"He asked me not to," Shikamaru answered truthfully.
"Why wouldn't he want us to know?" Lee asked.
"I don't understand," Hinata said. She had never become any less soft spoken, so when she talked the group had learned to quiet down and listen, otherwise no one would hear what the young woman said. She looked tiny standing next to the tall figure of Shino. "Why has he been pretending to be dead?"
They were looking to Shikamaru for answers he didn't have. "You have to ask Naruto," he said.
"Don't give us that ask Naruto bullshit," Kiba snapped. "Tell us what you know."
Shikamaru could feel the exhaustion creeping through his body, and all he wanted to do was crawl under the blankets and sleep.
"That is all I know," he said. Why did everyone have to be so troublesome? "He hasn't told me anything about where he's been or why he left. When I asked he told me it was a long story and Sasuke looked ready to throw a kunai into me for even mentioning it. The only thing I can tell you is to go ask Sasuke-" at this Kiba snorted, "-who may or may not know, or wait until we get back and ask Naruto."
It seemed obvious that Shikamaru really didn't know any more that they did. He wouldn't deal with the trouble of saying so many words if he were lying.
"That is, of course, assuming he hasn't died," Sakura said, surprising them all. She was looking coolly at Shikamaru. "You should have at least told me," she said. "Don't you think that I had a right to know?"
"Sakura," he said. "It wasn't my decision. Even if I had wanted to go against Naruto's wishes, Tsunade-sama forbid me to tell anyone."
Sakura didn't appear mollified at his words, but she didn't say anything else.
"Tsunade?" Kiba said. "What is this, some huge conspiracy?"
Neji had been quietly standing near the door, his Anbu mask hanging from his hip. "Shikamaru, what was that red chakra? Your use of your jutsu this morning indicates that you knew what was going on."
Shikamaru sighed. Finally someone asks him a question that he can answer and it was yet another thing the Hokage had ordered him to never talk about.
"I'm sorry, but I can't discuss it with you," he said.
There was a murmur of discontent throughout the room.
"Definitely a conspiracy," Kiba said.
~*~*~
The journey back to Konoha was very slow and very tense. What was usually a day's walk would probably take almost two since they were slowed by the injured. Shikamaru observed the returning group with a sigh. The group of fifty had been reduced to thirty, almost half of which had been left injured.
They had waited a day before setting out for Konoha, giving both the injured and the healthy a chance to rest before the long walk.
After his inquisition, Shikamaru's friends had left, and he had taken advantage of the quiet, sleeping through the day and waking refreshed this morning.
His friends knew he knew more than he was telling, and because of this they were giving him the cold shoulder. At times during the walk he could feel a glare or two directed towards him. They wanted answers, but he was not the one who could give them. Even if he hadn't been ordered not to speak of Kyuubi he wouldn't have told them. It was Naruto's secret to divulge, no one else's.
Besides, he had more important things to worry about than getting the silent treatment.
Sasuke walked next to him, and for all the calm and poise he outwardly presented, Shikamaru could feel the tension rolling off him in waves.
Sasuke was too busy brooding to pay any attention to Shikamaru. Gama Bunta and Jiraiya had left midmorning yesterday. If they didn't get to Konoha in time, or Tsunade didn't have the ingredients she needed, Naruto was probably already dead. And it would be his fault. Again.
If he hadn't frozen up he may have been able to dodge the snake. If he had at least tried, Naruto wouldn't have had to push him out of the way.
Sasuke heaved a frustrated sigh. At this pace they were still almost a day's walk away from Konoha.
"Sasuke," Shikamaru said, casting a glance at him. "You should go on ahead."
The fox mask turned to him quickly.
"Tsunade-sama should be informed of the battle and prepared to treat our wounded," Shikamaru said, a hardly noticeable sly gleam in his eyes. He hadn't forgotten that Jiraiya was already at Konoha, and fully capable of informing Tsunade.
Sasuke could have kissed him. Shikamaru was giving him an excuse to get back to Konoha as quickly as he could.
Without another word Sasuke took off immediately. At full speed he could be back in Konoha in a few hours.
~*~*~
The sun had set several hours before and the soft light of the crescent moon shone gently over the group of shinobi. They had stopped earlier in a small clearing of forest that they could all comfortably sleep in.
They were close to Konoha now, and those who often ventured from the village had begun to recognize their surroundings. Still, they were far enough away that Shikamaru had opted to allow them all to rest for the night, and the remaining few hours could be walked in the morning.
Most of the shinobi were sleeping, save the few who were on guard duty.
Kakashi sat high in a tree, leaning against the thick trunk and scanning the forest from his vantage point while absently twirling a kunai between his fingers. He wasn't officially on guard duty, but sleep would not come easily tonight.
Naruto's sudden and secretive return was preying on his mind, as was his earlier struggle with the Kyuubi. He couldn't help but wonder if the two were related somehow. There were so many unanswered questions and until he returned to Konoha there was no one to answer them.
An angry presence suddenly entered his senses, but, for all the emotion it gave off, Kakashi could tell it held no harmful intent, so he calmly continued twirling his kunai.
Sakura suddenly walked into his line of sight and would have looked like she was taking a normal walk if she wasn't moving sideways up the tree, gravity pulling her long hair towards the ground. Stepping onto the large tree branch he occupied, she took a seat.
He kept up his usual nonchalance because he could tell it was comforting to the woman. So many things had changed so quickly that it was nice to know that some things remained constant.
"Tell me you didn't know, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said, staring down at the shinobi fifty feet below them.
"About Naruto?" he asked. "No, Sakura, I had no idea."
"How is he still alive? Why didn't he tell us?" Her tone became angry. "Why would he go to Sasuke? Sasuke killed-almost killed him!"
Kakashi had always wondered if Sakura had kept her word. Tsunade had told him that in the heat of battle Sakura had told Orochimaru, whom she had thought was Sasuke, that she would never forgive him for Naruto's death. Afterward everyone understood that it hadn't actually been Sasuke who killed Naruto, but they all recognized that Sasuke's decisions had ultimately led to the young man's death.
Obviously, no matter how civil Sakura was to her former teammate, she had held to her vow.
Kakashi didn't know how to answer her. He had no idea what had transpired between Naruto and Sasuke in their first and second fights. "Maybe Sasuke simply found out like Shikamaru. Or maybe what Naruto really needed wasn't a friend, but a little friendly competition," he suggested.
Sakura sighed, letting her dangling legs sway back and forth. "He'd better be all right," she said solemnly. Then, as if trying to lighten her own mood, she added, "Because I'm going to give him an earful when we get back!" She raised her fist and her eyes flashed.
Kakashi's visible eye curved into a smile, pleased to see his former student more like her old self. Although, he'd feel bad for Naruto when she got to him. Something told him the younger man was in for quite a few lumps on the head.

A/N: Some amazing artists have sent me fanart based on my story. Check it out here, they are awesome:
This one is by Zhe Merquise
http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/dazdnconfusd730/NarutofromWalkingCorpse.JPG
And this one is from Sisco
http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/dazdnconfusd730/Naruto_from_WC.JPG
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Walking Corpse