Comfort, Difference & Pride
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor do I own it's characters. (Seriously, Kishimoto can keep them... *doesn't want Manga!Sasuke*) I make no money with this.
Author's Note: I'm so glad I actually have this story finished and lying around waiting to be posted, because I just made the 'mistake' of reading the manga chapters around the fight at the Valley of the End. (I was more of an anime watcher around that time.) And do you know what happened? I (hopefully momentarily) ruined my beloved NaruSasuNaru pairing for myself.*shocked beyond believe* Unbelievable, isn't it!?
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Part 14 - Comfort
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Naruto was having troubles breathing. It was like his lungs simply refused to fill with air, so every time he inhaled, it ended in a ragged pant.
The Kyuubi was still there, raging just beneath the surface, barely controlled by the seal on his stomach. It was enough to make his head spin, red tinging his vision. His hands were shaking, his whole body on the verge of giving in.
‘Just a little longer,’ he told himself. ‘ It’ll go away soon!’
“Getting better?” Sasuke asked from behind him, voice calm and quiet, but Naruto felt his uncertainty in every minuscule shift of his posture.
“Yeah,” he gasped and really, who would believe him if he sounded like he was about to pass out?
“Hn,” was Sasuke’s monosyllable reply and then, he added, “Moron,” as if he’d just remembered it had to be said.
Naruto laughed breathlessly. Sometimes, a single word from Sasuke was worth more than a thousand hugs from someone else.
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Part 15 - Difference
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Sasuke knew that his eyes didn’t betray many of his emotions. But whenever he was angry or hurt – or turned on, for that matter – they would turn sharingan red, which was Naruto’s nice way of saying they took the color of warm blood. He hated red.
Naruto’s eyes, on the other hand, were incredibly expressive, mostly because he didn’t put as much effort into hiding his emotions – along with the fact that they even existed – as Sasuke did. When it came to guessing Naruto’s mood, all one had to do was look at his eyes and they would tell a story.
He’d seen just about everything in those eyes – from happiness to hurt to anger to hatred – and he was not proud of the fact that he had probably caused most of those emotions to show in Naruto’s eyes at least once.
Naruto’s eyes were a beautiful shade of blue, almost brighter than Konoha’s summer sky, and though Sasuke was pretty sure it shouldn’t be possible, he suspected them to change color in accordance with Naruto’s mood. It also took a lot more to make Naruto’s eyes redden and even when they did, there was one big difference to Sasuke’s eyes.
Naruto’s eyes didn’t turn crimson. Naruto’s eyes took the color of fire – hot and wild and untamed fire. Those times, he loved red.
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Part 16 - Pride
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One of the most significant differences between Sasuke and Naruto was that by now, everyone knew of the demon Naruto carried inside of him. They knew of the Kyuubi and its power – its importance. And they feared it, even though they had learned not to fear Naruto.
Only very few people could tell that Sasuke, too, was carrying such a demon.
It didn’t have a physical form (though Sasuke could feel its claws just perfectly well at times) and it didn’t change his appearance when it broke free (though Sasuke hoped he wasn’t always scowling this much). But it was there nevertheless, whispering to him all the time.
It was there when Naruto was having fun and Sasuke wanted nothing more than to just join him, telling him, “Remember who you are! You’re an Uchiha!” – it was there when he fought Naruto and knew that he was nearing his limits, hissing “Remember who he is! You can’t lose to someone like that!” – it was there when Naruto was looming over him, all panted breaths and hot kisses, screeching “Have you lost your mind?! How can you submit to him?!”
It was just there, a dark, angry presence at the back of his mind. It was breaking him down, yet keeping him upright at the same time – because Uchiha didn’t break down. They were better than that. He was better than that.
It was a two-faced thing and Sasuke just didn’t know how to fight it, was afraid of losing its power. And sometimes he was convinced that Naruto’s was the easier opponent. At least the moron didn’t have to fight against himself.
