Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Between A Rock And A Hard Place ❯ A Proper Price To Pay ( Chapter 11 )

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

Being that Sasuke was always the rational and open minded thinker of his group, it was unexpected when he suddenly turned on Gaara upon jumping to conclusions. Even if the red head was innocent of all the crimes he accused him of, Sasuke would not excuse the teen simply for trying to seduce or even trick Naruto, who was just too naive to see past the guy's conniving disguise. So he refused to give Gaara even a chance to speak before he ran right towards him, drawing his kunai. Naturally Gaara would have allowed the attack since his sand would protect him, but that would not be the case this time, especially when he was still in the water.

The calm teen quickly ducked beneath the water's surface as Sasuke came towards him. Such a careless attack lead by pure stupidity and illogical rage had caused Sasuke to fall right back in the water after missing. "Chill Uchiha." Gaara demanded, stepping back as Sasuke angrily burst up again. Gaara couldn't believe how immature Naruto's entire team was. He had at once thought Sasuke was the only sensible one on the team, but he had hastily reconsidered that thought since the boy was now trying to kill him over a misunderstanding.

Sasuke, as always, was too arrogant to hear any other words but his own. "I don't know what you are up to, but you aren't going to get away with it." Sasuke growled, launching countless blades toward his opponent. Of course rage had affected his accuracy so Gaara didn't have to do much dodging to stay out of harms way. Maybe if he let Sasuke tire himself out with all this throwing, he would finally be able to talk some sense into the idiot's thick skull.

Gaara backed away until he was safely on shore, but Sasuke instantly vanished before him, only to reappear near Naruto. Gaara inwardly cursed the Uchiha for his stubbornness. he was wasting time and energy on a worthless cause, and for what? To save Naruto from no danger at all? Naruto was safer in Gaara's hands, the red head would eagerly have to argue being that he was the only one ever around to help the blond out. "Look Uchiha, Naruto is fine. I wouldn't hurt him so get your mind out of the gutter!" Gaara retorted testily.

"What type of full do you take me for?" Sasuke lashed back. Gaara rolled his eyes as if asking 'do you really want me to answer that'. "I know good and well you didn't just call for Tsunade's help to save your village. You've been planning to get Naruto here, you crazy bastard! But why?!" Gaara had truly had enough of all this accusing and false accusations.

There was only one way to shut up an incompetent ninja. Drawing back to a spot on the ground where a lot of sand had gathered from the collapse, Gaara used Shukaku's chakra to control it. Forming a large fist, Gaara sent the limb headed straight for Sasuke, mindful of Naruto's motionless form near him. As expected Sasuke jumped out of the way, allowing the attack to collide with the back wall. Gaara smiled mildly at his success as the ceiling just above that back wall started to crumble down around Sasuke.

"Asshole! You want to bring this whole cave down?!" Sasuke yelled out, avoiding each rock as it crashed onto the ground where he had once been. His words had not yet been acknowledged before Gaara sent yet another carefully constructed fist of sand charging for the raven haired teen. Sasuke barely ducked out of the way, so it proven to be futile when more rumble started to fall. "Did you even hear a word I just said?!" Sasuke asked furiously, rolling across the ground out of the way from another bolder.

"Why Sasuke I thought it was pretty obvious? I don't give a damn about you or your insignificant warnings!" Gaara exclaimed with a smirk. Defiantly, Gaara only sent out more attacks in which Sasuke was accustomed to dodging, but the damage to the cave continued.

"Shit! Can't you see this place is coming down?!" Sasuke barked back impatiently.

"Well if you don't want that to happen, then stand still and let me hit you." Gaara concluded amusingly.

Growling in protest, Sasuke quickly came over to Naruto. "I will be doing no such thing!" He hurriedly scooped up the resting blond into his arms. With the structure of the cave carelessly coming down all around, this was not the safest of places for Naruto to be, especially when Sasuke’s entire goal was to protect the defenseless teen. "You idiot, you want to get us all killed?" Sasuke rashly said, though he knew the battle was entirely his fault. But being that he was an Uchiha, he would never put the blame on himself.

And simply having such a stubborn person before him, Gaara was not to willing to take down his defense in order to follow Sasuke's actions and jet. More importantly, he didn't appreciate Sasuke trying to steal away Naruto from him. "There should be a way out under there." Gaara finally explained, pointing back to the water where he had been only moments before. Though he did not want Sasuke making it out to safety, as long as the raven had his boyfriend, he had no other choice but to help him as well.

Sasuke was skeptical of Gaara's help, but there wasn't time enough to started fighting again. "Lead the way." Sasuke ordered. He'd be stupid if he went ahead without seeing Gaara make out for himself. For all he knew, Gaara would find a way to trap him and Naruto under water as soon as he headed over there. Not wanting to start further confrontation, Gaara grumpily obliged. He shuffled over to the side of the lake with Sasuke close on his tail.

Reluctant as Sasuke was to getting wet again, he followed after Gaara into the water as it became less shallow. He realized it would be impossible to carry Naruto like this if they were going completely under the water. So he quickly shifted the blond into one hand and switched him over onto his back. "You better be right." Sasuke insisted, pulling Naruto's arms around his neck so he wouldn't lose the blond along the way. Of course Gaara sneered both at Sasuke's rude comment and the way he held his boyfriend. Though Gaara was new to the whole protective concept, he knew of who to protect Naruto from, and that was most definitely the Uchiha.

"There is an under water trench down here, so it should lead to where ever the water ended up." Gaara explained as calmly as he could. Without further hesitation, Gaara sunk beneath the water and disappeared into its depths. Sasuke, after mocking the red head behind his back, held his breath and ducked under as well. Since Naruto was too out of it to hold his own breath, it would be best for them to hurry this up. Just below the surface a whole was new world. Minus the required marine life, the bottom of the pond resemble much of the ocean's floor. Everything was shaded with a deep color of navy blue as they swam over to the opening against the wall.

Luckily right after passing under it there was enough space to rise back up and take a breath. Sasuke anxiously popped back up, sputtering for air, only to find the rocky ceiling a few inches from his head. Gaara came back up as well and continued the trail. "Why are you helping us anyway?" Sasuke asked viciously as he glided after Gaara down the narrow tunnel. His voice echoed in the watery passageway, so there was no way Gaara could ignore this person he had been known to hate for so long.

"I'm helping Naruto, not you." Gaara corrected irritatingly. He never did like Sasuke, so to be stuck with him like this was a great strain on his patience. At a time he had thought Sasuke was a worthy adversary because his hatred for his brother was similar to Gaara's hatred for his village. But with time Gaara easily discovered Sasuke had more than hatred which powered him, and that was the love and support of his teammates as well as his friends. And for having that extra boost and weakness, Gaara could no longer respect the Uchiha as he once had.

Sasuke simply could not accept that as Gaara's only answer. "Why would you want to help Naruto?" His tone was cold and demeaning for the person he had thought to hate Naruto with all his heart, if he even had one. "Didn't Naruto defeat you during Konoha's invasion?" It made no sense to Sasuke. The only reason Gaara would have for trying to get on Naruto's good side was for he could trick or betray him, and that was something Sasuke couldn't accept.

Gaara didn't feel obliged to answer any of Sasuke's questions, but maybe giving him some insight will shut him up once and for all. "I don't expect you to comprehend any of my reasons for taking interest in your...friend." Gaara had hesitated. He wasn't even that sure Sasuke was a real friend to Naruto. If he was he surely didn't act like it, and that was saying something since Gaara knew so little about real friendships. "But I can at least tell you that Naruto is very important to me." Gaara informed nonchalantly. He was more than sure Naruto wouldn't approve in him telling Sasuke about their new relationship.

These simple words burned a hole into Sasuke's mind. 'Important to him?' Such simple words became perplexing and mind-boggling once said in this order by someone like Gaara. What would Gaara know about importance? Sasuke was resolute in his belief that Gaara intended to use Naruto probably for his abilities or even because of the nine tailed fox. It wouldn't be the first time someone wanted to take advantage of it. Instead of lashing out like he wanted to, Sasuke remained quiet. He would at least wait until they were out of here before flipping out on Gaara. Until then, it would use every ounce of his patience to hold him back.

Back in town the rest of the Konoha team was childishly living it up by battling for temporary titles. What did you expect when Gai was appointed to the same mission as Kakashi? Of course the enthusiastic adult had challenged Kakashi to another of their mini-battles in which they were expected to do outrageous task for another point on their total score. But as usual, all task thought up by Gai were occasionally won by Gai. This time would be no different seeing as how Gai demanded they perform five hundred, one-handed push ups after running around Suna three times.

Naturally during this competition Kakashi and Gai lost contact with both their students and their employers for their mission, so it was near sun down when Sasuke's clone finally spotted the two instructors. "Kakashi sensei!" The shadowy form called out, running closer to the two as they flopped their stomachs against the dusty ground before lifting up again. Kakashi resumed the test though he had taken an interest in the fact Sasuke's copy was standing before him rather than the real teen. "I need your help!" The look alike exclaimed. "Naruto is trapped in a cave!"

Despite how worried the form sounded, Kakashi was in no rush to response. "Is that so?" He asked indifferently. His visible eye curved upward as he spoke again, "I'm sure Sasuke would love to save Naruto all on his own." The older man teased, enjoying the evident blush on Sasuke's face.

"B-but..." The flustered clone hesitated. "He is trapped there too!" He quickly added.

Kakashi's grin only widened at the thought. He could think of several things Sasuke could do during his free time with Naruto. Trapped in an uninhabited place like a cave was sure to give them the privacy they needed to clear up their friendship and perhaps strengthen it in new ways. "I suppose I should step in then before Sasuke wares poor Naruto out." He mocked amusingly, causing a stronger blush to take hold of the clone. Kakashi rose up on his feet. "Sorry Gai, I'll have to take a rain check." With that said, Kakashi eagerly vanished in a puff of air.

"Looks like you actually know what you are doing." Sasuke replied smugly. A small smile appeared across his lips as he stared ahead. It seemed Gaara did know of some way out of the cave after half an hour more of searching. It was rather upsetting though because night had fallen and they were all pruney from the great swim. And with Naruto having been asleep or what Sasuke still thought was unconsciousness, the journey had been a quite, and surprisingly calm one. However, that did not foretell the future for the way back to the village, which they had no clue where.

Gaara gave a tolerable 'hn' as he practically slopped over to the water's bank. It was an unlikely outcome that they would end up somewhere in a rather lush and prosperous forest in the middle of a desert. But as all deserts, they had even one oasis for the light hearted. They were certainly lucky for having found one so close to night. The evenings in deserts were not the kindness of places to be when countless sand storms swept over your sleeping form and temperatures dropped drastically and suddenly. "We'll have to reach Suna tomorrow; the trek is too dangerous at night."

Sasuke would unfortunately have to agree. He did not want a repeat of their voyage to Suna. Who knew what type of ruthless bandits were waiting behind every rock within the shadows of the night? Sasuke waddled onto the firm land and haphazardly slopped Naruto off of his back and onto the ground, still the blond remained still and quiet. "Are you sure you didn't do anything to him?" Sasuke asked skeptically. he knew Naruto was a deep sleeper, but this was ridiculous. Couldn't he feel when his entire body was submerged under water, or hear the bickering between his two heroes? Sasuke wouldn't put it past Naruto if he really hadn't.

"He's just exhausted from hunger." Gaara answered quickly. Spotting a couple of palm trees near by, Gaara hurriedly gathered its fallen branches as wood for a fire. Once preparing them in a protected circle, Sasuke had politely lit the stack with one of his fire balls. Gaara supposed Sasuke was useful for something. As Sasuke dragged Naruto over to the warm flame, Gaara couldn't help but notice the nourishing gaze in the Uchiha's eyes. Though he had only condemned Sasuke this entire time for his nature in abandoning Naruto, he couldn't entirely convince himself that Sasuke didn't care at all for Naruto. It was obvious simply by the fact Sasuke came all this way to find Naruto and intended to bring him back safe and sound.

Gaara grunted as he cupped his knees against his chest. Once again he was soaked, but this time without the comfort of his clothing. He would admit it was stupid of him to leave both his and Naruto's clothes behind. Now they were probably buried beneath the rumble of the cave walls. His eyes fell longing on the resting blond laying beside Sasuke. The gentle flames danced enchantingly across Naruto's tanned face and shadowed against every delectable curve of his near naked form. Such a beautiful creature, he thought, and he was one to be blessed by his presence. Gaara was both lucky and cursed.

"I use to think he was just a nuisance..." Sasuke mumbled, breaking the intense silence between them. Gaara's jade orbs slowly lifted from Naruto and stared at Sasuke, who distantly glared at the fire with his legs and arms crossed firmly. "He is always getting into trouble and he can be so absentminded some times." Sasuke growled softly. "Yet..." His eyes and voice softened at that small word. "He baffles and amuses me. How he manages to remain so innocent in times like these, I will never understand. But I admire him for his strength and charisma. In a way...I am captivated by every aspect that makes Naruto who he is."

The small crackling of the fire and the far off howling of the coyotes were the only sounds audible for a moment after Sasuke's confession. Though Gaara had said and done nothing to give the appearance of anger or peace, the simple shine in his eyes as he locked with Sasuke in a fierce stare, spoke of a mutual agreement between them. Gaara could perfectly understand all of Sasuke's discoveries, and though he did not like to know he had competition, he could accept Sasuke as an equal suitor for Naruto's affection.

"It's only been a few months since I first met Naruto. But everyday since then I am reminded of him in everything I do. I wonder if I had done something right according to his standards of a good deed. Is how I am helping my people the way he would go about trying to save his? We are alike, but there are great differences between us. I hate to think that he conquered what I could not so many years ago. The pain and the confusion I go through now...were mere hills he has already crossed. I feel I am nothing but his student. While he has so much to teach me, I can never return the favor." Gaara frowned solemnly. "There is only one thing I have to offer him, but is that even enough?" He asked himself rather than Sasuke. His pale hand lightly laid over his chest. 'Are these feelings I have...enough?'

To Be Continued...

A/N: Sorry this chapter ended up a little shorter than the rest. I just thought it was a good stopping point. So what did you think? I wanted Sasuke and Gaara to at least acknowledge each other for what they feel for Naruto. Too bad Naruto is still asleep and can't hear a word they are saying, lol. Well I'll update soon!