Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Duality ❯ Rany Day Man ( Chapter 14 )

Chapter Fourteen: Rainy Day Man

Ever since I can remember

Just like a brother you've been strong and true

Always been the one to see me through

- Rainy Day Man, Sailor Moon (English vocal)

“Report!” The Fifth Hokage’s eyes did not stray from the violet shape that enveloped a good seventy-five percent of the village she had sworn to protect. It was a square-shaped holy barrier, made to keep those inside trapped and everyone else out.

“Among the sixty-five people inside, we believe Kakashi and the others are among them,” the ANBU reported.

“But is it Kain?” Tsunade demanded.

“We do not know, Hokage-sama,” the ANBU admitted.

“Well find out!”

“Ye… Yes!” The masked shinobi quickly vanished.

Tsunade gazed at the barrier hard. No one had been able to break inside.

“Yo!” said a familiar voice behind her, and for once, Tsunade was relieved to hear it.

“Jiraiya.”

Her old teammate came to stand beside her. “Looks like we’re having some problems, princess,” Jiraiya remarked mildly.

“Oh, well, you know,” Tsunade answered testily. “There’s this guy trying to kill your student.”

Jiraiya looked skyward. “Who hasn’t tried to kill Naruto?”

Tsunade found herself smirking at that. “Any ideas?”

This amused the hermit. “You’re asking for help?”

“Jiraiya…”

Jiraiya held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay! Well, I think it can be managed, if we work together. What do you say, for old time’s sake?”

Tsunade nodded. “Let’s do it.”

Naruto was in there. She didn’t have a choice.

-

Naruto and Sasuke emerged on the scene just as the fighting began. They watched as their sensei dodged streams of fire that the long-haired man called forth from his talismans.

“Stay back, you two,” Kakashi ordered, able to tell the teens had arrived without looking. “I’ll handle this.”

“Oh?” Saburo looked amused. “That’s very Samurai, for a ninja.”

“Ninja are capable of honor.”

“Oh, I know.” Kakashi watched as Saburo gathered more talismans to him, the papers peeling off his skin and floating in the air around him. He could feel the man’s chakra building as he did so. “You see, I have heard Yume’s stories about you as well. She was very good at remembering all of your techniques and abilities.”

Kakashi tensed. It hadn’t occurred to him that Yume had been that thorough in her retellings. “Is that so?”

Saburo nodded with a gleam in his eyes. “I know why you’re called Copy Ninja Kakashi. Sharingan Kakashi. How long have you been using your eye? Ten, twenty minutes? That’s not nearly long enough to drain you of strength though. And I really don’t have the time at my leisure.

“Still, I know how it works. You’re able to read your enemy’s moves and copy them, Kakashi-san. But, I wonder…” Saburo titled his head, a look of childish curiosity on his face. “Can you read the moves of someone who isn’t a shinobi? Someone who doesn’t use jutsu?”

“I can’t copy talismans, no,” Kakashi answered.

“Perhaps you’ll have to use that lightning jutsu you taught the boy.” Saburo glanced at Sasuke. “A lot of good that did you, eh? In the end, he didn’t listen to a word you said, and you passed down your one original technique to him. That must have been disappointing…”

Sasuke’s teeth clenched at the jibe, but it was Naruto who responded.

“Shut up, you long-haired, prissy bastard!”

Saburo blinked comically. “… Prissy?”

“Sasuke’s way stronger than you!” Naruto went on angrily. “We’re not disappointed in him at all!”

Sasuke stared at his lover along with Kakashi and Saburo. There he goes, shooting off his mouth again and saying dumb things… Still, it was rather touching. Even if it was with a close friend like Jiraiya, Naruto couldn’t stand people saying a bad word against him.

Naruto continued. “So what if he joined Orochimaru? He could have killed me when we fought the last time, but he didn’t! He helped us defeat that bastard Orochimaru! So… So…”

Kakashi smiled at his students. I guess they’re kind of cute like this too… “You’re right, Naruto. We’re not disappointed in Sasuke. We’re just glad he’s back.”

Naruto grinned and posed with a thumbs-up. “Yeah, yeah!”

Sasuke looked back and forth between them, too astonished to speak. They’re such idiots… But they were wonderful idiots. His idiots.

Then, Saburo’s smile softened. “I can see now why Sekai believes in all of you so much.”

Naruto blinked. “Aniki?” Where was his brother anyway?

“Let’s see if that faith is unfounded.” The fighting started up again, this time with Saburo calling upon the power of lightning. Kakashi avoided every onslaught and was managing to get closer to the long-haired man.

“Why isn’t Kakashi-sensei using any jutsu?” Naruto asked, eyes intent on the match. He had never seen a talisman user fight before, not even Sekai, not really. Saburo was impressive; he called forth one attack after another with quick succession, his feet moving along the ground fluidly as if he were dancing.

“He doesn’t want to,” Sasuke said, darkly. “He’s holding back.”

Naruto looked at his lover worriedly. “But why?”

Sasuke shook his head. “I don’t know.”

At that moment, the last four members of their party arrived.

-

Tenten bent over, panting, as she returned to her teammates. Gai, Lee, and Neji were inspecting the kekkai keeping them from entering. They had just returned from the Sand Village today and discovered this.

“They think Kakashi’s team is inside!” the girl reported.

Neji nodded. “Like we thought. That Kain guy’s finally made his move.”

“Naruto-kun and the others will be alright,” Lee said with certainty, though there was worry in his round eyes.

“Of course! Kakashi is with them,” Gai said firmly.

“It’s shrinking,” Neji noted.

Lee blinked. “What is?”

“The barrier. It’s shrinking. The chakra currents are also becoming weaker.” Neji folded his arms over his chest. “The user must be conserving energy for some other purpose.”

Gai grinned. “Kakashi’s making him nervous.”

-

Sekai gasped as he took in the scene in front of him, coming to stop beside his little brother. “Saburo-kun…” So it was just you after all... His chest constricted painfully. Kain told you to do this, didn’t he?

Naruto studied his brother’s face and the worry clearly etched on his features. He cares about this guy, the ninja realized. Then he noticed what Sekai was wearing. “Aniki, why are you in a girl’s kimono?”

Sasuke sneered. “You look even more girly than usual, deviant.”

“Sasuke!” Naruto complained.

“I like it,” Sai said.

Sekai sniffed and looked at them all pleadingly. “Is this really the time to discuss my wardrobe?”

Sakura glared in their direction, raising her fist threateningly. “He’s right, this is serious!”

Naruto winced. “Sorry.”

-

“Why are you doing this?” Kakashi asked as they fought.

“I told you already,” Saburo responded. “This is all I have left!”

His family was dead, killed mysteriously in the night, probably by Kain himself. Kain had raised him and given him power. The greatest and most important figure in his life. It was either love or hate him, and Saburo had decided on both.

“It’s not too late,” the ninja said. “You’re not like him.”

“Not like him?” Saburo laughed strangely. “You don’t know me at all.”

Kakashi shook his head. “I don’t need to. I can read people well, and you’re not an evil person. You’re just caught up in something you think you can’t control.”

“What is the nature of evil? To destroy? To kill? I’ve done those things, and more, as my master’s student.” There was a cold, haunted look in Saburo’s eyes.

“You don’t have to do this!” Kakashi urged. Sasuke was right; he didn’t want to fight Saburo. Saburo was just a puppet of Kain’s, a plaything, a pawn. Kakashi could tell Saburo, in his heart, didn’t want to do this. “You can still change your fate.”

“Stop it! You’re wrong! It’s too late, much too late…”

Kakashi finally got into Saburo’s personal space, but his kunai was blocked by a sword the long-haired man called into life from his talismans.

“No!” the ninja cried angrily. “Don’t you see? That’s what he wants you to think! That’s how he controls you!”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Saburo spat. “I’m… I’m not like Sekai! I’m not strong enough to change my path!”

-

Saburo was there when Yume had her first vision of Uzumaki Naruto. The white-haired girl had run downstairs without assistance—it had been a long time since she had really needed one of them to lead her around the house—and had found Sekai in the kitchen with unerring accuracy.

“Sekai! I had a dream about a boy who looked just like you!” Yume cried.

The fifteen year old Sekai turned away from the stew Saburo had been showing him how to make, looking at his best friend with confusion. “A dream, or a Dream?”

“A Dream dream! A vision, I mean. I’m sure of it. He looked exactly like you, and his name was Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto.”

Saburo watched as Sekai’s large blue eyes widened in shock—and with something else. “N-Naruto? Are you sure?”

Yume nodded frantically. “I’m positive! Do you know who that is?”

Sekai gulped loudly, tears building in his eyes and a small smile stretching his lips. “Naruto… is my little brother. Naruto’s… alive,” he said slowly, as if tasting the reality of the words, from a past he’d believed lost forever. “Yume-chan, tell me everything you saw, please! I need to know everything!”

Yume gathered her thoughts quickly, surprised by the frantic edge in Sekai’s voice. “Well, Naruto-kun is a ninja-in-training in the Fire Country, though not extremely successful. He couldn’t pass the final exam the first time around and was really depressed over it… It seems he’s very lonely and only has one real friend, his teacher named Iruka…”

As they listened to the girl describe what she’d seen, Saburo saw something slowly growing in Sekai’s eyes from that day onward, something that had secretly worried Kain a great deal when he finally noticed it as well. With every new tale, Sekai fell more deeply in love with Naruto and his friends, and with that love came strength. A new purpose.

Hope.

Saburo saw that light and was envious of it, for it was something he could never have.

-

This wasn’t right. Sekai was sure of it. Saburo was fighting differently than usual, though he could not think immediately of what it was. His motions were as fluid and graceful as always, something Sekai himself had never quite managed to learn, and the elemental powers swirling around his body was customarily powerful.

Then he noticed it, in Saburo’s eyes, and a terrible fear burst into his heart.

He wants to die, Sekai realized.

“Sekai,” Sai spoke, trying to get his attention, but Sekai couldn’t look away from Saburo.

I… I have to stop this!

Before anyone could stop him, he leapt forward into the fray just as Saburo threw more fire in Kakashi’s direction.

“Saburo!” he cried tearfully, having to dodge the fire himself to get through.

The long-haired man blinked at the boy in surprise. “Sekai, what are you…?”

“Sekai, get back!” Kakashi shouted.

“Aniki!” Naruto tried to run after him but Sasuke caught his arm in an iron-like grip.

Saburo erected a wall of fire around himself, noticing the boy was heading straight toward him. “Get back, Sekai! This isn’t your fight!”

Sekai paused, but only for a second. “I… I won’t let you do this!” he yelled and burst through the flames.

“Aniki!!” Naruto cried again in fright, at the same time Sai shouted, “Sekai!” The ANBU looked like he was barely holding himself back.

“Idiot,” Sasuke and Yume murmured in unison, though neither was in the mood to notice.

-

“Again!” Kain urged.

“I can’t!” Sekai wailed tearfully.

Saburo watched from the sidelines, remembering a training session like this one from his own childhood. He felt himself sympathizing deeply with the little boy. Sekai was only seven years old…

“Feel the energy flow around you,” Kain said, not for the first time. He was frustrated with having to repeat himself. “Let yourself go. Don’t think about it, just feel it!”

“I can’t!” Sekai said again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! I can’t feel anything!”

Kain sighed and threw a Lightning talisman at Sekai. It was powered low and only gave the boy a light shock, but it was well enough to hurt and make his crying increase.

“I’ll keep doing that every time you refuse to listen to me. Now try again!”

Sekai would try, and fail. Kain would give him another shock. Sekai kept trying, because he had no other choice if he wanted the man to stop hurting him.

At last, Kain huffed and turned away, back into the direction of their home. “Useless piece of trash…”

Saburo watched him go, drinking silently from his bottle of sake. When their master disappeared into the trees, losing sight of them, Saburo walked over to the crying child and knelt beside him.

Sekai flinched and scrambled away from him. “Stay away!”

“Kai-chan, it’s me.” Saburo smiled gently and held out his hand for the boy to see, as if he were a frightened animal.

“Saburo…” Sekai sniffed tearfully. “Why’s he so mean to me?”

Saburo glared over his shoulder, in the direction Kain had gone. “Oh, he just hasn’t had sex in a few months. I think it’s getting to him.”

“Sex? What’s that?”

Saburo laughed softly. “I’ll explain it to you later.” He crawled forward, slowly so as not to startle the boy, and titled his face upward. He leaned down and wiped the tears away before gently kissing Sekai’s nose. “You can grow stronger, Kai-chan. I did it.”

“Kain-sama said I was useless,” Sekai reminded, sniveling.

“Well then, prove him wrong. I did; so can you.”

Sekai blinked. “Really?”

Saburo nodded. “Really really. A thousand reallys.”

Slowly, Sekai began to smile. “O-Okay… I will.”

Saburo smiled back. “That’s a good boy. Now, let’s get you cleaned up so Yume-chan doesn’t know how bad it was this time…”

-

Sekai burst threw the flames onto the other side, a little scorched but unscathed for the most part. He was also dripping wet.

He reflexively activated the water talismans around his body, shielding himself, Saburo realized. He’s never been able to do that before. It’s a high-level ability… He took a step backward. “Sekai…”

“Please, stop!” Sekai jumped, unheeding the fact that Saburo still had a sword in his hand and could raise it to defend himself. But instead of attacking him, Sekai wrapped his arms around the man’s waist and held on tight.

Shocked, the fire shield around them evaporated. Saburo stared down at the boy in wonder.

“Please, Saburo, stop!” Sekai cried, openly sobbing now. “Please… Please, nii-chan.”

Saburo gaped at the title. Sekai had never called him that before. “Kai-chan,” he protested, inadvertently using the nickname he’d had for Sekai when he was little.

“I know you don’t like me very much,” Sekai spoke, his face pressed against the cloth of Saburo’s robes. “But please, you have to stop.”

Slowly, almost afraid, Saburo sat his hand atop the boy’s thick hair. “I don’t hate you, Kai-chan. I never did.” Then he realized why Sekai would think that. “I didn’t really leave because of you. Kain was just pissing me off more than usual…” It had been unfair of him to use Sekai as an excuse, claiming that Kain was using Sekai as a replacement. Saburo had known perfectly well that their master was using Sekai even more than he was using Saburo.

“I love you, nii-chan. You’ve always looked out for me. Please, don’t leave me.” Sekai looked up at him desperately. “You can stay here. Everyone will forgive you. You can have a normal life here with us. It’ll be okay, I promise.”

“Kai-chan…”

“Please, Saburo. Please, nii-chan. I… I can’t watch you die.”

Saburo winced. He had never known Sekai cared this deeply for him. He had never realized just how much he cared for Sekai in turn. The boy was important to him. Sekai was his brother in torment. They suffered from the same pain and hardships inflicted by Kain.

He had only been thinking of himself, not about what Sekai would feel watching him die. The blond had such a tender heart, he should have realized…

But…

Gently, Saburo brushed Sekai’s tears away and kissed him on the nose. “You look really good in this,” he said, motioning to the kimono.

Sekai’s eyes widened. “Saburo…”

Saburo smiled. “I’m sorry, Kai-chan. I hope one day you can forgive me.” With that, he slammed his fist hard into Sekai’s jaw, sending the boy flying away.

Please forgive me… because I can’t forgive myself.

-

“ANIKI!” Naruto raced forward to his brother, but Sai beat him there, catching the talisman user in midair.

Sai cradled Sekai possessively and inspected the wound. The blond’s lip was bleeding and his eyes were closed. “He’ll be alright,” he told Naruto. “He’s just unconscious.”

“Let me see him,” Sakura urged and knelt down in order to heal the wound.

Naruto sighed, relieved, before standing, anger filling his entire being. He stepped toward Saburo.

Sasuke grabbed his arm again. “No. Kakashi said he would handle this.”

“Fuck that!” Naruto yelled at him. “Did you see what he just did?!”

“Yes, I did, and that’s exactly why you shouldn’t fight him!” Sasuke yelled back. “You’re not thinking clearly!”

“I’m thinking clearly enough to kill him!”

“But Sekai wouldn’t want you to do that!” Sasuke knew it was hypocritical to tell Naruto not to seek out vengeance when he himself had made it his lifelong purpose. But Naruto was different than him. Sasuke had promised to protect him, and if that included protecting the blond from himself, then so be it.

Naruto blinked. That was the first time Sasuke had ever said his brother’s name. Usually he just insulted him. It deflated his anger immediately when he realized Sasuke was right. Sekai wouldn’t want him to get revenge for him. He’d done what he did because he cared for Saburo.

Naruto turned back to the combatants. “Kakashi-sensei, kick his ass!!”

Kakashi paid him no mind, furious as well. Sekai may have been kind of annoying sometimes, but he was a part of their group now, and Kakashi had wanted to protect all of them.

He had the Raikiri crackling in his hand without a second thought.

Saburo smiled at the sight of Kakashi moving for him with the intent to kill. At last, it’s over…

He closed his eyes and didn’t move.

Kakashi noticed.

Instead of attacking with the Raikiri, he jumped behind Saburo, pinned his arms, and slammed the long-haired man into the ground.

Saburo struggled, but Kakashi held firm. “It’s over,” the Jounin announced.

“No!” Saburo tried to pry his arms loose. “Kakashi-san, please, finish it!”

“What are you running away from?!” Kakashi demanded angrily.

“Please…” he begged.

“You still have things to be grateful for too! Why do you want to throw them away?”

“I have nothing!”

Kakashi punched him, then grabbed Saburo by the collar and looked him dead in the eye with his Sharingan. “Yes, you do! Don’t you understand why Sekai tried to stop you? He tried to get you to see that you’re wrong! He and Yume care about you!”

Saburo closed his eyes against his tears. “No…”

“That’s why you hurt him, right? You couldn’t take the fact that someone cared about you, not because of what you could do for them, but just for who you are!”

“We do care about you, Saburo-kun,” Yume spoke up from the sidelines. “You’re our beloved big brother. You’ve always been there for us when we needed someone to stick up for us. Now, let us stick up for you. Let us take care of you now.”

Saburo looked at the blind girl. “Yume-chan…”

Yume smiled. “It’s not too late to change. I know you want redemption, in your heart. You want to be free. But the only one who can free you from your chains is yourself.”

“I can’t… I’m not strong enough…”

“Oh? That’s not the Saburo-kun I know.” Yume shook her head. “The Saburo-kun I know is strong enough to talk back to Kain-sama without fear of retribution. He is unafraid to be kind to Sekai and I. He ran away from Kain once. He may have returned, but he made the choice. You can make it again, Saburo-kun. This time, it can be forever. You can believe in Naruto-kun and the others too. It’s okay.”

“I can’t…”

“Prove Kain wrong, Saburo,” Kakashi said, more gently.

Saburo glanced at him, noticing the ninja’s anger had gone.

Kakashi smiled. “It’s okay. It’ll be okay. I promise.”

Slowly, Saburo shut his eyes. He sagged against the earth and cried silently.

Kakashi remained on top of him, offering a solid, comforting presence for the talisman user.

The maze deteriorated around them as Jiraiya and Tsunade finally managed to break through it. Shinobi rushed in, only to find the excitement already over.

TBC. God, that was emotionally draining to write. Give me some love!