Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Forced Fate ❯ Convergence Part I ( Chapter 12 )

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Disclaimer: Being the property and creation of Kishimoto Masashi, the manga, anime, and name Naruto are not mine. I own none of the characters or their names mentioned in this story. All credit goes to Masashi, because without him this story would not exist.

 

Chapter Eleven: Convergence Part I

Naruto wasn't able to sleep. Hell, he hadn't been able to do much of anything since that special night with Sakura-chan. All he could think about was the touch of her lips, the feel of her skin… He grinned like an idiot remembering her moans and sighs, but just as quickly he frowned remembering her strange words yesterday.

'Naruto please… I'm begging you. Just leave me alone. Go find Hinata. She's heartbroken over you dating me. She's a sweet girl; open up your eyes and see her. You'd be good for each other. Just forget about me.'

He scowled in confusion. 'What the hell is up with her anyway?'

'I'll talk to you tomorrow Naruto. I know you don't understand, but I can't talk to you about it right now. Please… just give me some time.'

"Grph" The derisive snort brought him from his musings. "What?" He spat angrily at the caged girl.

"The idiotic looks that keep crossing your face." She drawled arrogantly. She'd been watching him for about an hour, and in that time a kaleidoscope of expressions crossed his face: Fat-lipped pouting, childish scowling, silly grins, painful thinking, but what she'd seen the most of was a sort of infatuated-puppy dog smile. It was all actually quite amusing. He scowled at her. "Like I care what you think." He growled. She laughed… hard. This was going to be fun. She was great at reading people, and this guy would bite at anything. "You aren't the sharpest shuriken in the tool belt are ya?" She asked, her eyes gleaming with mirth.

Naruto grit his teeth and tightened his hands into fists. Why did everyone call him stupid? She watched his anger spike at her small comment. 'So easy.' "Sensitive shit aren't ya? If a few comments are all it takes to send you off the edge then…" She let her comment hang in the air unfinished, wanting to see how he'd respond. She'd sounded nonchalant, but her words implied he was a crybaby.

Naruto saw her eyes twinkle with amusement. 'Bitch was enjoying this.' A little voice deep inside Naruto's head told him the proper response would be no response, or better yet, a smile and a laugh to let her know her comments weren't really affecting him. But that sensible voice was buried very deep, and was quickly drowned out by a more prominent louder voice. "Then what?" He asked in what he thought was a venomous voice, but actually sounded petulant.

The female nin mentally smiled. This blonde guy entertained the shit out of her. He was so easy to bait, and he wore his emotions openly. She'd never seen anything like him. "You're not really a ninja are you?" She asked, looking very serious, like she stumbled on something that was supposed to be a secret.

He was trying to ignore her. She was purposely trying to aggravate him, so he should just not react to her, but he could feel his temper rising, and soon it was going to blow. He tamped down the loud mouth boy that was not too subtly suggesting he kick her ass, and held his silence. This time he wouldn't bite. He refused. He wasn't going to give her what she wanted, even though he practically had to chew your tongue off to accomplish it. He glanced at her arrogantly smirking face. He really wanted to give in and yell at her, or smack her, or knock her upside the head, or…

Sensing his resistance, she threw out another comment. "I wouldn't have teased had I known you were a regular town's boy that couldn't handle it. I'd thought you were a Konoha ninja." Bitch had the audacity to actually look sorry. Tayuya watched the blonde's eyebrow twitch in irritation and barely restrained rage. She only knew he was angry because she could feel it rolling off him in waves. Were she to judge by looks alone she'd think he was pouting. Maybe he was doing both. His eyes were narrowed, arms crossed over his chest, bottom lip sticking out… She laughed out loud… again.

"Wha- huhuhu." Naruto had started to scream what, but quickly disguised it as a cough, or tried to. He grew silent, and after shooting a few more pokes, which he ignored, she grew silent too.

What was the fun if all he was going to do was pout? It was her turn to sulk now. Her entertainment had been ruined, her game foiled. 'Damn it' She hoped Kabuto secured Sasuke by now, so they could hurry up and bust her ass out of here. She had acted as a decoy, distracting the Konoha ninja so he could more safely enter the village. Between Orochimaru's spies, the cursed seal, and their investigation, they had tracked Sasuke to the Leaf. They knew he was here, and Kabuto was going to escort him home.

Naruto kept staring at the musical note on her forehead protector. He wanted to know, wanted to ask, but he was kind of afraid to hear the answers. 'Sasuke…' Most likely she wouldn't answer anyway. Perhaps he could work some clue out of her, work his way up to finding out about Sasuke.

"What?" She snapped. She'd been trying to mind her own business and get lost in her thoughts, but those big blue eyes kept staring at her. They were constantly on her, and it was starting to bother her.

"You work for Orochimaru?" She raised her eyebrows at him; her look silently asking if he was extremely mentally deficient. "Do you work for the Hokage?" She shot back at him.

'Okay. Stupid question.' "Do you have one of those- Naruto waved his hand around his neck. "-cursed seal things?" His voice and manner were all conversational. There was nothing petulant or deceitful in his mannerism or his voice. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Why did he all of a sudden want to talk? His voice was soft, casual conversation like, and he seemed genuinely interested in her. It was a bit unsettling, like he was going to turn all mister nice guy or something. Nice guys made her nervous.

She studied his face, noticing some strange sort of light in his eyes. He seemed excited, like a child waiting up to see Santa. He was looking at her so intently, like her answer was important in some way. She didn't know how it could be. If she had a cursed seal it shouldn't mean anything to him. Not to excite him anyway. It's not like the answer would benefit Konoha, or hurt her or Orochimaru any. She looked away from him, hugging her knees. He was making her very uncomfortable.

"You don't have to be ashamed. And you don't have to answer. But I bet you do have one." She heard a change in his voice, heard him shift his position. He sounded concerned he'd upset her. 'What the hell is up with this guy?' She risked a quick peak at him. He was hugging his knees, sort of rocking back and forth. His eyes were glazed as if in deep thought, or memory. "My friend was attacked by Orochimaru, given a cursed seal." His eyes were dulled with reminiscence, as if a painful memory was currently haunting him. She waited for more information, but none was forthcoming.

"Okay. I'm listening." Her voice was wary. He seemed so harmless. She didn't like that. No ninja should seem harmless. He was idiotic, overly emotional, overly trusting… He was everything a ninja shouldn't be, and yet he was a ninja. Why? He had to have some sort of talent somewhere.

"What more is there to say? Orochimaru wanted him; Orochimaru got him." Yeah it sounded simple and clean cut, but his voice was filled with regret and sorrow. It didn't sound like he viewed it in such a detached manner. Profound sadness radiated from him, and she actually felt kind of bad for picking on him. 'Strange.' There were very few things in life she felt sorry for. That was a luxury she'd lost a long time ago. But for some reason this idiot blond had an effect on her.

"Yes." The answer flew from her mouth before she could even consider not answering. Perhaps there was more to this Konoha nin that she was willing to see. Bastard looked at her and smiled then. It wasn't a cocky smile, or even a false smile. It was real. She blushed feeling incredibly uncomfortable. She'd never encountered anyone that was genuinely nice before. He was genuinely nice. There wasn't a false thing about him. She'd looked, and couldn't find anything. He was exactly as he seemed.

For some reason Tayuya imagined what he'd be like as a Sound nin. She pictured a withering flower, a dried up stream, a caged bird… It would kill him. He wasn't cut out for that type of life.

"Do you know many other Sound nins?" He asked, encouraged by her simple, no maliciousness attached answer.

"…"

"Okay, that was another stupid question. Is there a ninja there named Uchiha Sasuke?" He asked.

So that's what this was about… Sasuke. Once again Tayuya studied him a moment. His posture had straightened, and he had this sitting-on-the-edge-of-his-seat patience about him as he stared at her with hopeful eyes waiting for the answer. It reminded her of a puppy, panting and wagging its tail as it waited for a table scrap.

She contemplated what she should say to him. If she should even say anything to him. She couldn't see where answering was compromising the Sound or helping Konoha, but at the same time she was a captured nin, an enemy; wasn't it some sort of unwritten law that she wasn't supposed to answer their questions? Of course this guy obviously wasn't an interrogator. She smirked imagining him laughing the answer from someone or talking them to death.

She watched Naruto's posture fall. He slumped in the small wooden chair perched outside her cell, hanging his head, and looking more crestfallen than anyone had a right to. She must have taken too long to answer, so he thought she wasn't going to. For some reason it pleased her knowing that the power to make him smile or frown lay within her grasp. She felt so in control, and never mind that she was the prisoner. She'd never had the power to do much of anything before. Not of her own free will anyway. Well… except… that, with Sasuke. She may have blushed a little with that last thought.

"I know him." She sighed, and Naruto's head whipped to face her wide-eyed before he became ecstatic, bouncing in his chair with childlike glee. She smiled as an incredibly foreign feeling welled up inside her and she felt… happy. She felt happy. Real happiness. "I know him well." She threw out hopefully, mentally wishing this would please him, as if her happiness hung on his approval.

"Is he doing well? Is he strong? Is he taller than me now? Has he mentioned me? Is he fat? It'd be real great if he were fat." He imagined Sakura's face when a fat Sasuke showed up alongside Naruto's buff form. Wouldn't that just piss the Uchiha off. "Is he okay? Is Orochimaru mean to him?" The questions just flew from his mouth; one right after the other, spoken so fast not one of them was decipherable.

"What's your name?" She asked, interrupting his blabber.

"Uzamaki Naruto. Future Hokage of Konoha." She raised her eyebrows at that. A big dream not likely to come true, but she no longer felt like making fun of him so she just nodded. "Well Uzamaki. He's about six foot tall, lean, muscular, and he's incredibly strong." She watched his big blue eyes, hoping to see them glisten with pleasure, hoping her answer gave him a little bit of happiness. Though why he cared so much about the cold Uchiha was a mystery nagging at her mind.

Naruto soaked it all in, his face looking for all the world like he'd just been given an extremely precious gift. "So he isn't fat huh?" She laughed at that. 'No, he definitely wasn't fat.' "What was he to you?" She asked, curious at how close the two must have been. She didn't think the Uchiha would have had anyone close to him. This much already was a surprise.

"He's like a brother to me, my best friend." The sadness rolled off him, and Tayuya wondered if there was something about Sasuke she'd missed. Sure, she was close to him, in a way, but this, with Naruto, seemed… different, stronger. It certainly didn't seem like a relationship the Uchiha was capable of. She noted the pain in his voice, and didn't miss how he kept referring to Sasuke as still in the living. As far as she knew, Konoha considered him dead.

Kakashi and his loyal dogs had searched for Sasuke's body for weeks on end, unable to find one. Kakashi had considered that encouraging until further talks with the Sand siblings had revealed just exactly what poison they'd used, and how much of it they'd hit his ex-student with. He could see no possible way Sasuke could have survived.

"Would it surprise you to hear he's dead?" Kakashi asked, his voice neutral. He watched her face closely for any sort of reaction. He wondered if she'd be upset by the news. He wanted to see if Sasuke had meant anything to any of them. Wondered, if at the end, his student had anyone or anything that cared about him? "Killed by our Sand allies over a month ago." His face didn't show how much saying those words had hurt, but he'd felt them keenly. Voicing Sasuke's death aloud had somehow solidified his student's fate in his mind, brought to life the thoughts that had silently been eating him from the inside out. He didn't want this manipulative bitch to see his pain; it wasn't for her to see anyway. It was too close to him, too personal.

Tayuya's face was expressionless. It gave nothing away. No sadness or anger, no happiness… nothing, but her eyes bore into his, as if she were searching him for the same thing he was searching for in her. Irrationally, Kakashi wanted to hurt her, strangle her. The Sound had taken Sasuke from him. Sasuke had been his to guide and protect, his to shape and teach, and dammit he'd gotten pretty close to the dark haired boy. Sasuke had been nothing to the Sound, her reaction, or lack thereof confirmed it. He'd meant nothing to them, not like he'd been to him, and to Naruto and Sakura. Now he was gone. Why did they have to take him?

He met the girl's analytical stare, but showed her no emotion. He was feeling pretty distraught, but first and foremost he was a ninja of Konoha; and ninja of Konoha didn't show emotions. Regardless of his lack of expression, the girl seemed to sense something within him.

"Your allies killed him? That must have disrupted the friendship between your countries." Kakashi narrowed his eyes at her accusation, not missing the thick sarcasm that laced her voice. She was accusing Konoha as being part of his death. But then it was true wasn't it? Konoha had been part of his death. The hokage herself had ordered it. In fact they were the primary blame. Had Tsunade not ordered it the Sand wouldn't have went after him.

"He hated Konoha ya know. I can see why. You're a bunch of hypocrites. You're going to blame his death on Orochimaru. If he wouldn't have stolen Sasuke away he'd still be alive right? Blah. Blah. Blah." Her voice was low, monotone. She was still using her schooled expressionless face and voice.

"It's true though isn't it?" Kakashi asked. "I wonder what part you had in leading him away?" The copy ninja also kept his face and voice schooled to indifference.

Something about that statement rubbed her the wrong way. The silver haired ninja didn't know it, but she had been a bit part in leading him away. "Again with the accusations. You ordered his death, not me, and now you're wondering if I'm upset? Look in the mirror! I didn't kill him. I was his teammate!" She spat, rather annoyed with the venom that laced her voice. Sasuke wasn't dead. She knew he wasn't dead, so why was she letting this man bait her?

The truth of those words pissed him off, and he smacked her… hard, sending her sprawling to the floor. He'd known about the order to capture or kill Sasuke. He'd known and he allowed it. He was even going to take his own team out to carry out the mission, on the Hokage's orders of course, but like any good ninja he was preparing to succeed, and the guilt of that weighed on him. Tayuya got to her knees, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. She smiled, and spit at him. "And what was he to you Kakashi?" He didn't miss the way she emphasized his name. It was a tactic to let him know she knew exactly what he'd been to Sasuke.

He'd thrown her in a cell and left. He'd deal with her another time, and next time he wouldn't be so friendly.

Tayuya studied his face, his big blue eyes. He was sad, there was no hiding it; not that he was capable anyway, but there was a certain gleam of happiness in his bright blue orbs. 'He's like a brother to me, my best friend.' Sasuke really was important to him. Her small piece of news was like a great gift to him, but the reality of his best friend being so far away was weighing on him.

This was new territory for her, wanting to take someone's pain away. She couldn't let him know about Sasuke's "death"; she didn't want to lie to him. Sure, Konoha thought he was dead, but she knew he wasn't. "He's okay ya know. He goes on missions just like you do. We have teammates just like you do."

He gave her a weak smile. "Our Hokage would die for us. Orochimaru would have all of you sacrifice yourselves for him. In hands like those who could be okay?" Tayuya was speechless, suddenly the fun idiotic blonde was wise and somber. "But you would sacrifice yourself for your Hokage wouldn't you?" She reasoned. He looked at her with pitying eyes. She didn't understand. How sad. "Of course I would, but I'd sacrifice for her because she'd sacrifice for me. I'd happily die for my village, but not for someone else's selfish cause. For a village like that I'd rather not be a ninja." And that was that, her life put into perspective in a few simple sentences. Is that what he thought of them? Of her?

"I had no one, and no where to go. I was weak and could barely survive. I certainly couldn't take care of myself." Her voice was low and sad. "Orochimaru took me in, gave me a home, trained me, gave me purpose." She laughed, a light wistful chuckle. "I was one of his elite ya know. He trusted me to guard him. Me, Tayuya, homeless street urchin, now considered strong enough and competent enough to guard someone like him." She shook her head smiling. "I don't love him. I do my duty by him, but I don't love him. I respect him, and I'm grateful for what he's done for me. Without him I most likely would have died way too young, alone in the streets. So… he has my life and my loyalty. I owe him that much."

Naruto just stared at her. He saw the logic of what she was saying, somewhat. He understood her sense of duty; it was much like Haku's, but Haku loved his master. She didn't. Was her loyalty that strong? "But he's bad." Naruto responded.

"To who Naruto? You? Konoha? Probably. But he's done good things too. You should see how strong your friend is." She smirked rather arrogantly. Were it anyone but Naruto, they'd have caught something in her eyes when she talked about Sasuke, but it was Naruto, and he didn't really pay attention to that.

"Would you tell me about him when I come back?" He asked, and she looked up at him rather surprised. He was leaving? She'd gotten used to his presence, and suddenly the thought of not having him around made her panic. If he could create such a bond in only a few hours he was dangerous indeed. "You're a dangerous guy Uzamaki." She breathed out, rather awed at the change he'd invoked in her in such a short span of time. "When will you come back?" She tried not to sound hopeful, which should have been an easy thing with her training, but somehow she got the feeling she failed.

"I have a friend, one who loves Sasuke just as much as I do. I want her to hear about him too." Oooh. Noble, honest, trustworthy, caring… Where was this guy from? "Sure Uzamaki, you can bring her." 'Her? Loves Sasuke as much as him?' She didn't like the sound of that!

"I won't be long." He waved, taking off. Tayuya groaned as a strange looking boy in a green jumpsuit flipped into the room, struck an odd pose, and introduced himself as Konoha's beautiful something beast, or something like that. He shot her a wink and a smile, gave her a thumbs up and smiled friendly as he promised to kick her ass should she try anything. So this was Naruto's replacement. She hadn't thought they could get any weirder. She'd been wrong. 'What in the hell kind of place is this Konoha? Didn't they have any frightening ninja?' Kakashi popped into her mind. She shut up.

Gaara sat in his borrowed Konoha room, staring out the window at the gray atmosphere. Not that he could make out details of the outside world anyway. It was near impossible to see through the heavy fog that had settled over the Leaf Village.

There'd been nothing but fog the entire morning, not that that was an odd thing, but something about it felt… wrong. He'd watched the fog roll in, and he'd probably stare out the window as it left. He'd been extremely restless the past two days, ever since he'd come back into Konoha. The feeling that something was wrong had been pounding at him from the inside out, and this fog only strengthened that feeling.

He didn't claim to possess the stellar insight of the Byakuugan or the Sharingan, but he knew beyond a doubt something was not quite right. And he couldn't shake the feeling that it had something to do with Uchiha Sasuke.

He agreed with everyone's assessment that the Uchiha couldn't have survived the poison attack. He'd gone over scenario after scenario of ways in which the dark haired male may have survived, but none seemed plausible. His brother's poison was incredibly potent, and Sasuke was so far from civilization when he'd been exposed. Hell, the closest place was Konoha, and only the hokage would have enough power to heal him, and most likely even she would not have been able to save him. 'Then where is his body?'

It bothered the redhead immensely that no body had been found. It wasn't in his possession, and by the relentless way Kakashi searched day and night he knew it wasn't in Konoha's either. His relentless staring out the window happened shortly after he learned a spy from the village of Sound had been captured. They were looking for Sasuke too. 'So who has the body?'

There was something he was missing. Something that was sitting right in front of him, only he was too blind to see it. Something that was within his reach if only he'd reach out and grab it. He stared out the window, wracking his mind, desperately trying to pull the puzzle pieces together, and he knew that time was important here. If he were to figure this out it needed to be soon.

 

* Convergence Part II: 04/03/06

A/N : Had to move up my Tayuya part, and move back my Sasuke part. Look for Sasu/Saku stuff in part II.