Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Duality ❯ The Totally Awesome Hot Springs Special ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter Five: The Totally Awesome Hot-Springs Special!

It was hours later when Sekai’s solitude was disturbed once more. He was incredibly relieved to hear a now-familiar hyperactive young man shouting, “Aniki! Aniki!” He hadn’t moved an inch from when Sasuke had departed, wishing only to sleep, feeling incredibly drained. Also, the floor was cold and it felt good against the bruise on his cheek.

Sekai smiled at the sound of his brother’s voice. Naruto’s safe. Thank goodness…

He only looked up when he heard the sound of the barred doors opening. Even then, he barely had the strength to lift his head from the ground.

Naruto rushed in once the guards had opened the door, sliding to the floor on his knees beside Sekai. “Aniki, Yume’s safe! You can tell everybody the truth now! Everything’s okay!”

The older boy blinked up at him sleepily before forcing a smile. “That’s good, Naruto-nii. Though you shouldn’t have put yourself in danger like that for me.” He was glad to hear that Yume was safe, but he thought he should at least scold Naruto a little bit. Big brothers were supposed to be responsible for their younger siblings.

Naruto’s excitement was dampened, seeing how tired Sekai looked. “Aniki, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Just tired,” Sekai murmured, attempting to push off the floor. His arms were shaky and his progress was very slow.

Sasuke entered the cell then, moving around the Uzumaki siblings. “There are wards on the cell in case he tried anything. They’re draining his charka.” When he had first returned, he had been imprisoned in a set up similar to this. Kakashi had had to carry him out.

“What?!” Naruto was aghast. “But he wouldn’t try anything!”

Sasuke bent down and pulled Sekai up by his shoulders. “He’ll be better once he’s rested and out of here.”

Naruto took the hint and nodded, helping Sasuke get Sekai to his feet. He pulled one of Sekai’s arms around his shoulders and practically carried him out.

Later they were standing in the Hokage’s office, along with Sakura (the real one), Kakashi, Sai, and Yume. Kiba had left already with Akamaru, having been properly chastised by Tsunade for his rash actions like the rest of them. Sakura had healed Sekai’s cheek kindly as the boy finally confessed that Kain had forced him into taking the research, using Yume as leverage. Sekai was still leaning heavily against his little brother but gradually began to recover. Yume stood close on his other side, a protective presence despite her small stature, as she explained what had happened to her after the two of them had separated.

“I was getting a ride with this group of traveling gypsies. They were supposed to come straight to Konoha when they decided to make a detour without telling me. Anyway, that was when Kain caught up with us. He took me to Saburo-kun’s place. I’m not sure what happened to the gypsies.”

Sekai smiled a little. “I can’t believe Saburo is helping him. Their last fight was really bad…”

“Yes, Saburo-san seemed to be upset with Kain for some reason,” Sai noted from their fight earlier.

“It was about me,” Sekai explained. “Saburo is the true heir to Kain’s abilities. The fact that Kain took me as an apprentice as well was insulting to him. He feels that Kain thinks he’s not good enough and brought me as a replacement. They had a huge fight over it and Saburo left. Not that he was around much anyway—they’re always fighting about something. Truthfully, I think Saburo disliked Kain’s training as much as I did… In fact, he never ever showed hate toward me. He was always very kind to Yume and I, like an older brother, and he tried to stick up for us sometimes.” Even though oftentimes Sekai did not know what to make of Saburo, a part of him admired the older man, even now.

“The team I sent to the cottage has already returned,” Tsunade told them. “The entire clearing was in flames.”

“What?!” Naruto gasped in surprise.

Kakashi nodded. “To cover their tracks. Let me guess—there also wasn’t a trail left behind to follow?”

“No. Not even the ink odor which Sai figured out. That wind technique dispersed the smell.” The Fifth’s stern gaze turned to Sekai. “You were protecting your friend, so I can’t fault you for not telling us the truth about what you did. However, this doesn’t mean you’re free to do as you please. We will continue to watch you.”

Sekai’s expression was downcast, a self-deprecating smile on his lips. “Of course, Tsunade-sama.”

Tsunade smiled then, surprising him. “I don’t mean it like that. Kain will be after you and we protect our own.”

Naruto grinned at his brother’s startled expression. “Yeah! You belong with us, Aniki. I won’t let that bastard take you away ever again.”

“Naruto-nii…” Sekai smiled happily and pressed his cheek against Naruto’s. There were no words for the gratitude he felt at that moment. He would finally get his wish. I won this round, Kain. They trust me now. You can’t ever take that away from me.

Tsunade watched the two brothers, a warmth filling her chest at the sight. Naruto was right again it seems… Just like with Sasuke. “It would be most helpful if you could give us some ideas about Kain’s next step as well.”

“Well,” began Yume slowly, “Kain-sama did seem very interested in killing Naruto.”

Sekai gaped at her, dread filling his gut. “Did he say why?”

“To make you grieve, I suppose.”

The boy bit his lip worriedly. “Or to finally get what he couldn’t so long ago. He wanted to kill our dad. And he knows how powerful Naruto is now, what with perfecting the technique that our father failed to. Maybe he thinks fighting Naruto would be getting that great final battle he’s always craved.”

Tsunade sat back in her seat as she caught on to what he was saying. “So he might try to lure Naruto away from the village like he tried to do with your father, when he kidnapped you.”

“If so, the entire village is at risk!” Sakura pointed out, alarmed. “Everyone knows Naruto would do anything to protect Konoha!”

“No,” Sasuke said, “he’s too calculating for something that simple. He’ll target the people Naruto cares about the most. Us.”

You, Sekai thought, but did not say it.

Then again, Sasuke was so obvious. Kain might actually prefer an easier, though still precious, target.

Still, right now was not the time to get into Sasuke’s importance to Naruto. That was something they needed to figure out for themselves.

“You also might want to send word to Gaara,” he said instead. “Kain knows that Naruto has a strong connection to him as well.”

“Alright,” Tsunade spoke, making her decision. “None of you are to be alone at any time. Remain in pairs or in groups of your choosing. Further missions for Team Kakashi will be temporarily cancelled until further notice. Your first priority is to remain safe.”

Sasuke glanced at Sekai darkly. “The deviant needs training in something other than his talismans. Kain knows all of his moves. At the moment, he’s the easiest target with the strongest connection to Naruto.”

Sekai scratched the back of his head nervously. “Heh, that’s true…”

Kakashi smiled. “Well, Sasuke-kun, since you suggested it, does that mean you want to take charge of his training?”

“What? No!” Sasuke wanted as little to do with the freak as possible.

Naruto glared at him nastily, his irritation over his friend’s dislike of his brother returning. “I’ll do it!”

“I don’t see why we all can’t help,” Sakura tried to intervene, not wanting the two of them to get into another fight.

Sekai was flushing. “It’s really not that big of a deal…”

“Idiot,” Sasuke snapped at him, “if you can’t defend yourself then what’s the point? We might as well throw you back into that cell.”

“No way!” Naruto objected.

“Now, now,” Kakashi said gently. “Let’s discuss this later. We’ve all had a long day, so how about we go relax at the hot springs?”

Sekai’s eyes widened and he stared at Kakashi with a peculiar expression. “… Hot springs?”

“Yes.”

The grin that formed on Sekai’s face could only be described as manic, and the sound he emitted was very strange. It sounded like an odd, happy squeak.

“Pervert,” Yume proclaimed, calmly glaring in his general direction.

Sekai just squeaked again.

-

“BANZAI!”

Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sai all winced, expecting the shouter to come jumping into the water, splashing them liberally, but nothing happened.

Naruto grinned at them cheekily from the water’s edge. “Gotcha.”

Kakashi sagged in relief. Sai smiled and laughed softly, accepting the joke. Sasuke glared sourly.

“Idiot,” he said.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sasuke before letting his towel drop.

Sasuke turned away quickly, his face aflame, but it was too late—in that peek he’d seen enough to nearly make his mind explode in excitement. The last time he had seen Naruto naked was the last time they’d gone to the hot springs together—when they were thirteen. He’s grown up a LOT since then…

Naruto slipped into the water and sat down close to Sasuke. His eyes kept straying to the burn on the boy’s neck, the remnants of Sasuke’s curse mark. When Orochimaru had died the power of his curse had faded with him, but at the moment of his death it had burned the skin, forever leaving an imprint of what had been there. Sasuke said he did not miss the extra power, since it had only been overriding his own chakra, taxing his body and shortening his lifespan whenever he used it. Still, the reminder was there, and Naruto tried to make his gaze stay focused on Sasuke’s dark eyes instead. “Hey, you okay? Your face is all red.”

“I—It’s the water,” Sasuke lied quickly, not meeting those wide blue eyes.

Naruto sitting so close did not help matters either. It was far too tempting to reach out and touch the tanned skin he so desired. The knowledge that they weren’t alone kept his body at bay though.

“Eh?” Naruto didn’t think the water was that warm, but he shrugged it off as Sasuke just acting weird. He turned back toward the changing room. “Aniki, hurry up!”

“Coming!” called Sekai cheerfully and no sooner than he said it he was walking outside to join them—not bothering to keep covered up either. His towel was slung over his shoulder, putting his lithe body on display. Sekai grinned cheekily at all of them and waved as he sat his towel down beside Naruto’s. “Sorry, I was tying up my hair.” He pointed to the little pony tail holding his short locks away from his face. (He’d also had had to remove his talismans, which he’d gotten back after his release.)

Kakashi carefully did not look, knowing it would only encourage him. Sasuke rolled his eyes, not at all impressed. Naruto blushed. Sai studied him rather openly before turning to Naruto.

“His penis is bigger than yours.”

“What?!” Naruto gaped at him, affronted. “Stop it with the penis stuff! And don’t stare at my brother!”

Sai was confused. “Why not? I don’t think he minds…”

Sekai giggled as he slipped into the water, joining the other four men in their semi-circle surrounded by rocks. “Don’t worry, Sai-kun, I don’t.” He winked at the confused boy playfully.

Sai looked back at Naruto. “See?”

Naruto blushed more, not really knowing what to say to that.

“Oh, Sai-kun!” Sekai spoke cheerfully and animatedly. “I noticed in the changing room—you have really nice feet! I bet you take good care of them. They’re super cute.”

Sai had never really thought about his feet before, so he couldn’t say for sure if he took good care of them or not. “I’ve heard that you can tell the size of a man’s penis by his shoe size,” he offered, since it was slightly related to the subject.

Sekai blinked at him slowly. “… I like you.”

Sai was confused again. I wonder why he said that…I was just making interesting conversation, like that book said. Perhaps it’s working?

Sekai smiled at him goofily and slithered closer to him to talk some more. “You know, they say the same thing about hands too.”

“And noses,” Sai added, smiling back politely.

“Oh right!”

“I wonder if any of that is really true…”

Sekai giggled. “I hope not, my feet aren’t very long.” He held his up to emphasis his point.

Sai frowned at the foot thoughtfully. “They look about average for someone your age…”

“Sure, if they’re stunted at growth.”

“Even so, your feet look very nice as well,” Sai added, because he’d learned from Sakura that giving compliments was good. Besides, in this case, it happened to be true.

Sekai grinned widely again. “Thank you, Sai-kun.”

“Especially your toes.”

Sekai blushed, though happily. “You think so?”

Sai nodded. “Do you not believe me?”

“Oh, no, that’s not it at all,” Sekai reassured. “I’m just not used to so many compliments in quick succession.”

Sai thought about that. “Is that why you act so audaciously, in order to get compliments?”

Sekai blushed. “Ah, well… I suppose so.” He giggled lightly. “Though I don’t get them anyway—most people just think I’m strange.”

“Hmm. Well, your behavior is rather strange, but it’s still nice to me,” Sai told him truthfully. He had been thinking it since their conversation the night before. Sekai seemed kind of sad, as if he had suffered a lot, but he found reasons to remain cheerful. To someone who had been taught to be emotionless and did not have many reasons to be truly cheerful, Sai thought that was rather remarkable.

Sekai beamed, incredibly pleased. No one had ever said anything like that to him before. “Thank you. I think you’re nice too.”

Sai blinked, not having expected that. “Really?”

“Do you not believe me?” Sekai repeated his earlier statement teasingly.

“Ah, well, that is… I am not used to compliments either.”

Sekai giggled. “We’ll give each other compliments from now on, then maybe we’ll both get more used to it.”

“That sounds good. I think it’s safe to say—given the dialogue—that we’re friends now, right?” Sai asked before smiling.

Sekai smiled back widely, figuratively soaring with happiness. Becoming friends with these people was something he’d wanted very much. “I’d like that a lot.”

Kakashi smiled at the two from beneath his mask, their cheerfulness almost contagious. Glancing at the other two boys, he saw Naruto was smiling happily at the two, glad that his brother was making friends with his friends.

Sasuke however seemed not to be paying any attention at all. He sat in the water very stiffly and there was a troubled crease between his brows. Something was obviously making him nervous, but the older ninja could not figure out what it could be.

“Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi asked softly, “are you alright?”

This interrupted Sai and Sekai’s conversation and everyone turned to look at Sasuke. For a moment, just a moment, the Uchiha appeared to panic at the attention, but just as quickly the expression was gone. It was like watching someone shut the blinds to a window—once more his expression was emotionless.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Sasuke asked, raising a fine eyebrow at his teacher.

Naruto was already concerned though. “Is the water still bothering you?”

Sasuke’s light flush returned unbidden. “Ah, no…”

Naruto leaned closer, putting his face within scant inches of his friend’s. “Are you sure?”

Sasuke swallowed and covered up his nervousness with a scowl. “Yes.”

Naruto pouted. Sasuke was doing it again; he shutting him out! “You don’t need to get snappy, I’m just concerned… I mean, we’re friends, I’m allowed to be concerned about you, right?”

“You don’t need to be. There’s nothing wrong with me,” Sasuke told him, not very reassuring as he tried to lean away from Naruto’s face. The other boy was close and his body heat was much warmer than the water. Had it only been a few hours ago when he’d been allowed to be held close to that body? He wanted to have that closeness back, and more. Sasuke craved it with his entire being.

But Naruto did not want that. He just wanted them to be friends. Brothers even.

Naruto leaning so closely was just too cruel.

“Naruto-nii,” said Sekai, leaning across the water and touching his brother’s shoulder, gently pulling him away. “Sasuke’s fine, really. He’s not the type that appreciates being coddled. All he needs is space.”

Naruto blinked at his brother before nodded slowly. “Okay.”

Sekai smiled.

Sasuke eyed the two of them before sighing quietly, willing his body to relax. He glared at Sekai. I suppose I owe him a little for that one…

Then Sekai winked and Sasuke knew then that he somehow knew his secret. His glare hardened. Don’t you dare tell him!

“Nice night we’re having,” Sekai proclaimed, sitting back next to Sai and looking up at the stars.

“I agree,” said Sai, and their nonsensical conversation picked up once more.

-

On the girls’ side of the hot springs, Yume and Sakura were sharing tea peacefully.

“You’re really eighteen?!” Sakura gasped, unbelieving. It couldn’t be true—Yume was so small, like a young child!

The sightless girl smiled, not at all surprised she wasn’t believed. “I get that reaction a lot.”

“I would imagine so…”

-

It was well after dark when Saburo returned to where he had left Kain. He’d had to cover up his tracks more effectively—and damn it, how had the old man let down his guard enough to let a bunch of ninja kids follow him anyway?!

Saburo sighed and swung the large wooden door shut behind him, locking it, and heading over to where Kain was still lying down. Without a word he kneeled down beside the man’s feet and rolled up his pant leg to get at the wound.

“Saburo dear.”

“Don’t talk,” said the younger man blandly. “I might miss up on this stitching and poke an artery.” He said it in a way that proclaimed he wouldn’t be too heartbroken if he did.

Kain ignored the warning. “Tell me this isn’t a monastery.”

“This isn’t a monastery,” Saburo said, mock obedient.

“You bastard.”

“Stop complaining. The place is all burned up and falling apart anyway. No monks, no prayer beads, no intact statues of Buddha—just you, me, and some rats. Oh, and my sake, but you can’t have any. I had to burn my house down because of you, after all.” After all this was over, that was going to be the sorest part. He’d been rather fond of that house.

“I notice that you saved the sake though.”

“Naturally. As if I’d sacrifice that for your sorry ass.”

“Do I really want a drunken asshole stitching my wounds? Ow!” Kain winced as the needle dug into his skin particularly painfully.

Saburo grinned in the near-darkness. “Sorry. I told you not to talk.”

“Damn it, light more candles at least!”

“Do I tell you how to do your job?”

“Constantly.”

Saburo ignored that. “Fuck, this is pretty bad. Yume-chan got you good.”

“Will I live?” Kain asked mildly.

“You’ve lost a lot of blood. Getting your revenge on Sekai-kun will have to wait for now. Also, this isn’t going to heal properly.” Saburo smirked nastily. “You’ll be walking around with a really creepy limp for the rest of your life, you old pervert.”

Kain smirked back. “That’s just like you to enjoy my pain.”

“Naturally.”

“I remember when you used to enjoy my pleasure too,” Kain hazarded.

Saburo snorted. He finished stitching and then bandaging the leg before pulling out the sake bottle again. “If you think you’re gonna get into my pants again after making me burn down my house, you’d better think again—or this time I’ll cut it off.”

Kain just chuckled. “You keep saying that. I notice you haven’t done it yet.”

“Laziness. It’ll be my downfall.”

“Speaking of, you could have lent me a hand with those kids.”

“What, the big bad scary Kain-sama needs help with killing widdle kiddies?” Saburo snorted again and took a long drink. “Fuck you, old man. I’ve got enough blood on my hands because of you.”

Kain did not argue that point. “Then why help me at all?”

Saburo glared into the dark night. “I don’t know.”

Neither spoke again until morning.

TBC. A new day in Konoha brings new challenges for Sekai as Kakashi decides to begin his training as a ninja.