Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ A New Vessel ❯ Dominant Counterparts ( Chapter 10 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Title: A New Vessel

Author: Dragon Dung

Beta: Riki

Pairings: Naruto x Sasuke/Sasuke x Naruto

Warning: Alternate Universe, yaoi, general OOC…

Disclaimer: See first Chapter.

-A ha. This is not beta'd at all yet, so forgive any mistakes. I'm sure Riki'll kill me for posting first! ^^"

And I also wanted to say that I luff Neji! Honest! I'm not a Neji basher or anything...

Good news is that it's a pretty long chapter compared to the others! If you want even longer chapters, you'll have to tell me in a review though, I've been pretty starved on reviews for the last few chapters. How can I improve with no feedback? Come on everyone!


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Chapter 10: Dominant Counterparts

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A week. An entire week zoomed past Sasuke's head and he had yet to make any progress with Naruto. Twenty-five percent of the problem was focused around his gallery. What should have been one of the proudest moments of the Uchiha's life were spent wondering about the blonde's whereabouts. Which led to the other seventy-five percent of the problem. Naruto might as well could have dropped off the face of the planet because Sasuke could not get a hold of him. He was about to vent out his frustration on a blank canvas in the supply room in the back of the gallery when he caught sight of two vaguely familiar faces...rather, two vaguely familiar hairstyles.

"Hey Sasuke!" Sakura greeted as she approached the artist, Ino right behind her.

"Sakura was right, your artwork's impressive," Ino commented. "In a creepy and depressing way."

Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly in response. He was surprised to see any of Naruto's friends stopping by to see his work if Naruto refused to even reveal himself to him. "How's Naruto doing?"

Sakura's head snapped towards him so fast, he was surprised that he didn't hear a resounding crack at the movement. "You're asking us? But, we swore that he's been with you all this time."

Sasuke frowned. Why would Naruto be in seclusion from his friends as well? "I haven't seen him for a while now."

Ino and Sakura looked at each other, completely puzzled. When Naruto stopped replying to his texts and messages, the girls had assumed that it was because he was too 'busy' with his boyfriend. If he wasn't with Sasuke, then where the hell had he been during the week?

"The last I heard of Naruto, he had begged and pleaded his boss to get the week off until Jiraiya finally conceded," Sakura thought aloud.

"And you have no idea as to where he would have gone during all this time?" Sasuke asked carefully. "Other than assuming that he was with me?" Sasuke had stopped by Naruto's apartment day after day and during different hours of the day with no luck.

"Ah," Ino snapped her fingers as the thought occurred to her. "If anyone would know, it'd be Gaara. He keeps secrets with him to the grave-"

"How do I get a hold of Gaara? Could you give me his number?" Sasuke interrupted, handing Ino his cell phone, jumping at the first lead he's had all week.

Ino pulled out her own phone and deftly transferred Gaara's number into Sasuke's. "All done." She handed back Sasuke's phone.

"Thanks," he told them quickly before making his way out of the gallery.

"You so owe us one!" Sakura called out at his retreating back. She shook her head in disbelief. That guy really needed to keep better tabs on his own boyfriend. "So, what do you think, Ino?"

"Hmm," Ino put a finger to her mouth for a moment before they both came to the same conclusion. "Fight, probably."


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"Then, Pearl stepped all over Silver's claws just to get to the other side faster. I don't know whether to write that he was lazy or cruel to his fellow birds." Lee recounted to Gaara.

The two friends were walking back to Lee's house from their daily visit to the zoo. Lee was fascinated with endangered species. He believed that everything deserved a fighting chance to live. Though Gaara wasn't anywhere near as fervent as Lee, he had slowly begun to understand why it was all so important to his black-eyed friend. The peace was broken by the sounds coming from Gaara's cell.

Gaara pulled out the phone and stared at the unknown number on it, wondering if he should answer it or not. He looked towards his right to find Lee being thoroughly and conveniently distracted by a few squirrels. Gaara shut his eyes and unfolded his phone. He was surprised to hear the voice that came from the other end. How the hell did that guy come across his number?

"Gaara, it's Sasuke."

Gaara's eyes narrowed at the different possibilities of where this conversation would go. None of those possibilities worked in Sasuke's favor. "What is it?"

There was a pause on the other end until Sasuke figured out the right words to use. "I seem to have misplaced my boyfriend. He was too livid to see the whole picture of what I was trying to do and demanded that I not follow him. To respect his wishes, I went against my own judgment and let him go."

Gaara covered his eyes with his free hand. He had a feeling it would be something like that. "What is the reason for your call?"

"If anyone would know where Naruto could be, Sakura and Ino said that you would." Sasuke explained.

Gaara thought of the possibilities of where Naruto would go if he didn't want to see Sasuke, Ino, OR Sakura. "You're not going to like this..."

"...what aren't I going to like?"

"There's a very good chance that he's gone to hide out at Neji's," Gaara concluded.

"..."

"You have no idea where Neji lives," Gaara frowned.

"..."

"Of course not." Gaara looked for Lee again. Lee was pretending to be immersed counting all the leaves of a nearby tree. He felt a drop of water fall on the top of his head and he slowly glanced up at the gathering clouds. "Do you know where the zoo is?"


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At first, Sasuke didn't know why Gaara asked him to pick him up instead of just telling him Neji's address. But, as he neared the area around the zoo, rain started to drizzle on his windshield. He slowed his car down to a complete stop, Gaara and Lee quickly got themselves inside as a loud crackling thud of lightning went off somewhere in the distance. Gaara took the passenger seat and Lee sat in the back.

Gaara immediately pilfered around the compartment's of Sasuke's car to emerge with a notepad and a pen. "I'm drawing you a map showing you exactly how to get to Neji's, but you have to drop off Lee and me first-"

"Why don't you stay in the car with him and show him exactly where it is after I'm dropped off?" Lee asked from the back seat.

Gaara gave Lee an exasperated look, hoping above hope that his friend wouldn't press the matter. Gaara knew that he didn't want to be involved at all in whatever "discussions" that were about to take place at Neji's home. All that he wanted to do was to be indoors, in peace, and far, far away from chaos where he would undoubtedly be tempted to kill everyone for some tranquility.

"The map will be fine," Sasuke mumbled. He didn't get himself lost easily, not even in areas that he had never visited before.

A couple of lights and a turn later, Sasuke delivered Gaara and Lee to their doorstep. He barely paused long enough to thank them for their help before driving off far too fast for his own good in the rain.

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Naruto wasn't aware of the rain, thunder, or flashing lightning beyond his window. He was too busy venting to Hinata about his predicament. The long-haired girl looked at him sadly with her big, lilac eyes.

"And get this," Naruto fumed. "I've been having these dreams for a good while and I STILL vaguely know what happened. I bet that asshole knows the whole fucking thing from beginning to end, but he just couldn't bother to tell me all the details."

Hinata lowered her head slightly, holding a curled hand towards her mouth in order not to do something rude like giggling in the middle of Naruto's rant. Her expression made it seem like she was worried rather than holding back laughter, which was something she was grateful for. She understood that Naruto felt betrayed, and overly angry, but that was only because he cared so much about owning Sasuke's full attention...something that was so very difficult for everyone in their group, seeing how they all shared their bodies with a past life's spirit. Of course, there were those that coped better than others, Hinata included. But, it was true that she felt bad for Naruto having such a hard time.

"You both need a good, long talk," she suggested softly with a secretive smile on her face.

Naruto forgot to be angry for a moment when he saw Hinata's contagious smile. He couldn't believe how much better he felt after venting only a little to Hinata in comparison to her cousin. Neji had just constantly fed Naruto's anger by throwing in his two cents here and there, causing Naruto to remain fuming for an entire week. He knew he was quick to anger sometimes, but hanging on to this grudge all week was not healthy. His revelation didn't quite reach full circle when he saw Hinata tilt her head to the side to look out the window curiously. Naruto followed her line of vision. When he realized that he was staring at Sasuke's silver car, he cursed.

"Hmph," Naruto sighed. He didn't know whether to run down to him or whether to climb out the window the minute that bastard entered through the front door. His indecision caused him to stay put where he stood. That was, until he heard a couple of thuds and the sound of things breaking from downstairs. Anxious, he dashed towards the sound of the noise only to stop in the middle of the staircase at the scene that stood before him. Neji and Sasuke were beating the crap out of each other. Naruto carefully walked forward, noticing the very tilted frames hanging on the wall and the delicate furniture at the entrance with all the things they once held thrown across the floor.

Sasuke and Neji's fight had migrated to the front balcony. From there, they rolled down and somehow landed themselves on the grass on the side of the pavement, in front of the railing leading up to the balcony. They didn't care that the cold rain was pouring down on them or that the grass below made their limbs slip now and again. Naruto could only look on in shock as Sasuke managed to pin Neji facedown, a knee on his back and a hand pulling his long hair back painfully. Naruto finally snapped out of his shock when Sasuke shoved Neji's face roughly unto the wet grass beneath them.

"Sasuke! What do you think you're doing!" Naruto cried as he approached Sasuke from behind, disregarding the heavy rain. Sasuke had managed to rub Neji's face unto the grass three more times before Naruto pulled him away, hooking his arms under and in front of his shoulders. "Sasuke! Stop!"

Sasuke thrashed against Naruto's grip, absolutely livid. His fury settled down as soon as he saw the worried Hinata kneeling next to her cousin to survey the damage despite the rain that fell all around them. He breathed once, twice...and then he registered the tight grip that Naruto had him in. "Let go. I'm not going to attack him again." Not unless he says or does something to deserve it again, he added mentally. "Naruto..." Sasuke turned around to see Naruto standing perfectly straight, his eyes aflame with many emotions, fury being mostly dominant.

"Let me take you home," Sasuke pleaded. "Please."

Naruto wanted to refuse. That would have acting on his first impulse to send Sasuke away. He didn't want to stay angry forever, however. So, he nodded instead. The whole car ride there was so quiet and awkward that Naruto barely even acknowledged the fact that he was seated in the passenger seat of the Mercury Cougar. By the time he realized where he was seated, they had already arrived. Naruto dragged his feet up the stairs that lead to his apartment and searched his pockets until he found his keys. When he pulled them out, the keys were hooked on a thread inside his pocket and he fought with them for a moment, already frustrated beyond relief. Honestly, even something as simple as opening the door was becoming an awful chore. When he finally entered the apartment, he set a determined look on Sasuke. He was wet, dragged away from his hiding place, and in no real mood to compromise.

"I hate feeling so disoriented and blank after something that our angel counterparts did in our place," Naruto voiced his worries clearly. "And I find it disturbing that my own boyfriend could allow them so much freedom to do as they wanted with our bodies and without consent. I trusted you Sasuke." Sasuke moved to speak, but Naruto put a hand up. "Let me finish, bastard." When Sasuke closed his mouth, Naruto continued. "And, most importantly," he emphasized by jabbing Sasuke's shoulders with the last two words. "I am incredibly pissed off at the fact that someone else got to fuck you before we even had a chance to get that far in our own relationship. I mean, what the hell Sasuke! What the fucking hell?"

Sasuke struggled to keep a straight face. Out of all of his concerns, he was surprised that he was mostly jealous of his own past life's liberties. Then again, the reason the angel spirit had such liberties was because Sasuke allowed it in the hopes that the spirits would move on and leave them in peace. "My hopes were to let them get on with whatever unfinished business they have and stop haunting our dreams and our lives." Sasuke explained. "I honestly didn't think that you would find any fault in that seeing how you don't like feeling blank and disoriented whenever your angel counterpart takes over." He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I promise to go over things with you before I let anything like that happen again."

"Good," Naruto replied, his frown slowly vanishing, being replaced with a look of confusion. His voice shook a little as he asked, "Do you think they've finally moved on now?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I still feel the presence of mine in the back of my head." This time, Sasuke wasn't surprised to note that Naruto's stance shifted and the way he held himself changed.

"Perfect," Naruto's angel counterpart declared. "Could you let him out for a moment now? You don't know how difficult it is to surface in this body."

"I will after you answer a few of my questions," Sasuke countered. He would do things right this time. He wouldn't allow the angel spirits to do anything without Naruto's joint approval.

"I don't have time for your silly questions," AngelNaruto replied. "We can only surface for 20 minutes tops!"

"Either answer my questions or I don't let my counterpart out at all," Sasuke warned. When AngelNaruto scowled, Sasuke assumed that he had won the argument. "Why are the human souls different from the angel souls-?"

"Whoa, wait," AngelNaruto lifted his hands up. "Must you start with the difficult questions first? Hell if I knew why we're stuck like this in our reincarnation. It probably has something to do with the fact that we all came here as a cluster, you're going to have to ask Sas- uh, your angel counterpart about that."

"Alright," Sasuke agreed. "Do you have any idea why you and Naruto can't talk to each other like we can?"

"More questions to which I don't know the answer to," AngelNaruto sighed. "All I know is that there's a barrier around his spirit. It used to be nothing but a black bubble, but now it feels more like red fire."

"..." Sasuke let the new information sink in for a little bit. A black barrier? Red fire? Was there something else interfering with Naruto and his angel counterpart?

"Are we done with the questions already? Time's ticking," AngelNaruto whined.

"For now," Sasuke nodded. "As promised, I'll let my angel counterpart surface, but on one condition."

"Hey, you never said a damn thing about a condition!" AngelNaruto growled.

"You must promise to keep your hands to yourself until I figure out what Naruto's comfortable with and willing to allow you to do," Sasuke demanded.

"Fine," AngelNaruto snorted. "Just let me talk to him."

This time, Sasuke could feel the shift going on inside and outside. When he was pushed to the back of his own mind, he knew the change was complete. "Naruto?"

"Sasuke," AngelNaruto whispered. Completely forgetting about what Sasuke made him promise to do, he crossed the distance between them, slipping a leg between Sasuke's legs and cupping his chin before grinding against him. "Sasu-" His eyes widened when a hand covered his mouth and another pushed at his shoulder.

"I thought I told you that you had to keep your hands to yourself," Sasuke ground out. His body was heating up because of the proximity of Naruto's body, and if he hadn't surfaced faster, he would have had an awkward moment trying to cool another part of his body down. The moment AngelNaruto realized that Sasuke's human counterpart returned, he took a few steps back in shock. Sasuke studied the blonde's face until the shock melted away into confusion.

"I feel that blank feeling again," Naruto announced while rubbing his temples. "Did they do anything crazy?"

"No, I made sure they didn't do anything at all this time," Sasuke smirked.

"For real?" Naruto smiled at Sasuke's nod. "About damn time. So, we should go over the do's and don'ts before we're interrupted again..."

Sasuke couldn't agree more.



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TBC

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