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This wasn’t the plan.
This wasn’t the plan – wasn’t the plan – wasn’t the plan –
All Sasuke’s ever had is a plan – a goal – a need that demanded to be filled, a pain in his ribs that screamed for blood –
And here he is, prepared to throw it all away for a fool best friend who doesn’t know when enough is enough, and Sasuke doesn’t know who he’s angrier at – himself or Naruto, who’s crouched bloody on the ground behind him, coughing viciously and too weak to stand on his own.
“Touch him,” Sasuke says, voice devoid of anything but deadly intent, “and I’ll kill you.”
The rogue looks taken aback, as if Sasuke’s fallen from the sky to interrupt his final victory over Konoha’s best – and perhaps he has, in some way. Perhaps the rogue has been so focused on Naruto that he’s forgotten to look for Sasuke.
It’s a mistake most people only make once, Sasuke thinks idly, brandishing his blade so that it glints sharply in the sun and raising an eyebrow when the rogue snarls. “I won’t warn you twice,” he says calmly.
When he looks up again, the rogue is gone.
Sasuke counts to five, uses his eyes to scan the area without turning his head – and then he spins, drops to his knees beside Naruto, and hauls him into his arms. “You fucking moron,” he mutters, yanking at Naruto’s clothes so that he can see the worst of the wounds.
Naruto laughs weakly. “Sorry, asshole. Got distracted. Thought he – thought I could talk him down, ya know?”
“No,” Sasuke lies, digging into his pack of supplies to find some herbs that he jams relentlessly into the deepest of the cuts, a rough, jagged edge thing that carves up Naruto’s chest. “Where’s that super healing now, usuratonkachi?”
“Kurama’s – kinda – pissed at me right now,” Naruto pants. “He – uh – well, I don’t think he’ll – let me die, but – suffering’s – totally on the menu.” He laughs again, but it turns into a cough, and the panic in Sasuke’s veins definitely hasn’t the gotten the message that Naruto’s life isn’t at risk.
He needs a distraction, and he focuses on what Naruto’s said. “Kurama?”
“Oh yeah. You’ve – uh – you’ve met? But I don’t think you knew his name. Nine-tails,” Naruto clarifies. His eyes roll back and then he’s gone, and Sasuke panics –
His eyes come back red. “The Uchiha,” Kurama growls, and Sasuke needs to calm the fuck down because how is he supposed to rip out the threat’s throat when he’s inside Naruto?
“Heal him,” he says instead, and he means it to be a threat, but his hands are too gentle on Naruto’s skin, and he knows Kurama feels it from the victory grin.
“I’ll do what I want,” Kurama says obstinately. “Why are you here, Uchiha? Don’t you want this fool dead?”
Sasuke swallows and doesn’t answer.
“Tell me or I keep him sleeping and bleeding,” Kurama barks, and Sasuke’s fear is still too close to the surface –
“He’s my fool,” he snaps, “to do with as I choose. Heal him and give him back.”
“You say that as if he’s yours to take,” Kurama says lazily, eyes sliding slowly over Sasuke’s face.
“He is,” Sasuke says before he can help himself. “Heal him or I’ll kill you both myself.”
His hand, though – his hand still presses herbs into the wound, and try as he might to pull off the bluff, Sasuke can’t stop. He can’t – so maybe he can’t outsmart this ancient, powerful being, and yes, he should be trying harder, but this is Naruto –
“I can yank you out of him,” Sasuke says when Kurama only raises a skeptical eyebrow. “I can destroy you and leave him alone.”
“And risk your precious friend? I very much doubt that.” Kurama sits up fully, brushing Sasuke’s hands from Naruto’s skin. “However, the pain is tiresome, and your friend gets loud when he realizes I’m hiding things from him, so…”
The cut closes, and Sasuke breathes.
Kurama eyes him sharply. “Do not mistake this for trust, Uchiha,” he growls. “You are a threat that will be dealt with in my time. For now, you…amuse. And I do not believe that you will hurt the idiot. If you think you can, you’ll deal with me.”
Sasuke jerks backward, mind reeling, but before he can scramble enough to respond, Kurama’s eyes close and Naruto’s open, blue and worried. “Sasuke! I’m so sorry, he can be such an ass sometimes – are you okay?! He wasn’t a jerk, was he?!”
He wasn’t a jerk, was he?!
Sasuke closes his eyes and counts to ten and reminds himself that Naruto’s an idiot.
And he’s safe.
“You,” he proclaims when he does open his eyes, “are a moron. You let the Nine-Tails take you over?! Just like that?!”
“Hey!” Naruto says indignantly. “Kurama and me are friends now! We get along! I trust him!”
“You remember there was a time not long ago when he wanted you dead!”
“Aren’t you supposed to want that now?” Naruto challenges, and they both go still.
Naruto breaks the silence first, shifting guiltily and looking down at his hands. “Sorry. I didn’t mean – sorry.”
Sasuke wants to say it doesn’t matter, but it does.
It does.
“I don’t want you dead,” he confesses, words raw and wrenched from his throat almost against his will. “Naruto. I don’t want any of this.”
It’s the most honest thing he’s ever said, maybe, but he’s never hated himself more.
Naruto doesn’t hesitate. Before Sasuke can second guess himself or pull away or leave entirely, Naruto has him in his arms, pressing his lips to Sasuke’s forehead. “I’ll find another way,” he whispers. “I promise. Somehow. I’m gonna do it, Sasuke. I’m gonna fix things. I’m gonna make it okay.”
Sasuke doesn’t believe him. He can’t believe him. It’s foolishness and dreams, but god, god, Naruto has changed more with less, and so he buries himself in his arms and for just a moment, pretends it’s enough.
Naruto holds him until Sasuke pulls away, and when Sasuke does to run, Naruto doesn’t stop him.
He lets him go.
Sasuke wonders which would have been worse – another horrible fight, or this, the leaving that feels like running away with no one to chase after him.
I’ll find another way, Naruto said.
Sasuke doesn’t believe him, and there’s little room in him for hope.
But the room he does have, he gives to this.