Chapter Thirteen

Kakashi stood in front of his Team, staring down at their young faces, Sakura's awash with apprehension Sasuke's with poorly veiled anticipation, and he couldn't see Naruto's face because he was staring down at the cobbled ground.

"As you've no doubt noticed, there are several different groups of foreign ninja in the village," Sakura nodded in affirmation. "It is because there is a Chunin Exam coming up in three days. After careful consideration, I've decided to enter you all in the Exam." Sasuke was fighting a grin while Naruto's shoulders sagged visibly. Kakashi produced the three Exam registration papers and handed them to the three genin. "I want each of you to consider whether you are ready to take the Exam. Spend the next three days deciding, then turn in your papers at the Academy...or don't. It really is an individual decision." He waved and popped away, sure that all three would enter and at least one of them would be forced against their will.

He'd have to talk to Sasuke about that, because it was abundantly clear that Naruto didn't want to be a ninja, and reluctant ninja were dead ninja. He didn't want that to happen to any of his students.

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Sasuke's pen flew over the packet with a flurry that revealed what his face wasn't. Naruto watched from across the table as Nabeshin leaned over Sasuke's shoulder, peering down at the papers, eyes silent and thoughtful. A bang from the living room made him jump, and he glanced up to see one of his clones holding a broken lamp, its face flushed with embarrassment as it rushed past him. He didn't know what it had done to break the object, but he would once it dissipated. Everything it had done, thought,or felt would come to him. The clone quickly placed the broken lamp into the trash bin and rushed back into the living room. Naruto watched as Nabeshin lifted his head, eyes following the clone as it exited the kitchen. Then he turned and looked at him, black eyes quickly averting themselves when they connected with his own. The ghost turned and went into the living room.

"You haven't filled yours out," he looked up to see that Sasuke was staring at him. Naruto looked down at the papers, feeling dread course through him.

Doitdoitdoitdoitdoit, They urged, causing pain to lance through him. Sasuke got up from his seat and moved to stand over him, the pen still in his hand. "Go on, we're not going to go through this. Just sign it." He grabbed his hand, placed the pen in it, flipped to the last page and pressed the pen on the last final line of signature.

DOITDOITDOITDOIT, They were louder now. Naruto blinked rapidly as he began to sign the paper. The moment he finished, Sasuke snatched the papers away and went back to his seat, carefully filling out the rest of the paperwork, trying to match his writing with his own.

"Ha! I thought so!" A voice exclaimed from the living room, causing Sasuke to jump, pulling out his kunai and turning to the kitchen doorway.

A clone appeared in the doorway, thin face split into a wide grin, bruised blue eyes sparkling. It's hood was pulled back, hair hanging around its face and back. Everything about the clone was instantly wrong.

"What the hell?" Sasuke murmured, and the clone turned to him, grinning.

"It worked!" it exclaimed, and a red puff of smoke came from its mouth. Naruto paled, slipping out of his seat and backing away. What had he done?

"Who are you?" Sasuke demanded, face going stiff.

"It's me! Nabeshin!" Sasuke's lips parted in surprise as he lowered his kunai. Naruto felt bile rise in his throat. "I've been thinking the last few weeks, that I might be able to possess these clones that Naruto makes." He lifted his hands to his face and wiggled the bony fingers in delight. "And it worked!" All the while rusted smoke puffed out of his mouth with each word. "I can feel again."

Sasuke's face went from wary alarm to intense fascination, and he stepped over to the clone, looking him up and down. "I hadn't thought of this..."

"But I've been thinking of it for weeks now," Nabeshin looked smug as the other clone appeared behind him, miserable blue eyes focused sharply on the possessed clone. It made a quick move, about to hit the Nabeshin possessed clone, but he moved out of the way and followed with a quick counter strike, kicking the clone squarely in the chest. The clone was knocked back, immediately bursting into smoky chakra.

Naruto's eyes blinked rapidly as the clones information began to run through his head. He had done the laundry, made Sasuke's bed, wiped down the extra rooms, scrubbed their floors. He had watched as the ghost walked up behind the unsuspecting clone and stepped into him. Had watched the clone twitch and shudder before settling into an unfamiliar stance and expression. He had felt angry at this intrusion of the other clone and had watched him move toward the kitchen. He decided to destroy the other clone. He moved to hit it, free it from the unwanted intruder, but he was hit instead. He was surprised and angry. He was...

Naruto's eyes opened, focusing on Sasuke and the Nabeshin clone, who was glaring at the spot where the other clone had been.

"What the hell was that about?" the Nabeshin clone grumbled, scratching his head. Sasuke eyes him, then glanced back at Naruto, who lowered his hood, smoothing it down.

"This has possibilities," he breathed.

"Indeed it does, my young relative," Nabeshin agreed in Naruto's cracked voice. Naruto flinched.

"I wonder if you can possess people like the Yamanaka's" Sasuke wondered aloud, and the clone shook his head.

"Nope. Tried it when you guys were gone- didn't work."

"How do you feel?" Sasuke inquired curiously.

The Nabeshin clone stared at his hands, then grinned up at Sasuke. "Alive. I feel so alive, and there's such a rush going through me. It's probably Naruto's chakra," he looked over at him but quickly averted his eyes.

"What's that stuff coming out of your mouth?"

Nabeshin blinked, looking at the rust colored puffs coming from his mouth, then shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe its something that happens when I possess a clone."

Naruto's eyes narrowed while They whispered in anticipation.

Sasuke leaned against the kitchen counter, dark eyes surveying the Nabeshin possessed clone. "Do you think you can use the chakra in that clone for any jutsu?"

The unnatural elation in the clones face drained away, replaced by uncertainty. "I'm...I'm not sure. This clone has only the minimum amount of chakra required to perform menial tasks. I could lose it if I try anything." The prospect of losing a material body after not having one for so long was apparently daunting for the ghost. But Sasuke wave his worries away as trivial.

"It's just a clone; Naruto can make you more. Try a simple henge- turn into how you used to look."

The clone hesitated, pale brows furrowed in anxiety before he performed the jutsu. His form popped, for a second he was the height of a man with dark, but then the cloned popped. Naruto choked on his own scream as information hit him, things that did not belong to him.

He was walking in the compound along with other Uchiha- he recognized several- even knew their names. He was talking to Fukaku with many others. They were planning the rebellion. He was excited, they had been wrongly blamed. He was sick of being a scapegoat for a village that rightly belonged to them. He was at the infirmary, his girlfriend was pregnant. He was startled but happy. His child would thrive in a new era of the Uchiha. He heard someone cry out, he smelled blood, he turned and pulled out his katana. Sharingan eyes met his own, far more advanced, then pain burning across his chest. He blew a katon at him, but he wavered away. A genjutsu- he was trapped the moment their eyes connected. A blow to his head, no pain then, only falling to the ground. He saw his girlfriend in the hallway where he lay, she was four months along, she was staring in horror as the traitor approached. He could not move, could not feel the blood on his face. Could not cry out when her head fell to the linoleum. And the traitor moved on without stopping. He felt nothing...he...

"Owowowow," someone was whispering, and Naruto's mouth was full of blood and something solid, and once his eyes stopped rolling they focused on Sasuke's pale face. The Uchiha was leaning over him, face twisted in a pained grimace, and Naruto realized that he was lying on the floor with Sasuke's fingers in his mouth. He immediately spat them out, turning over on his stomach and crawling under the table. Sasuke's blood dribbled down his chin and he inadvertently swallowed it all. Their malicious delight curled through him above Sasuke's whispered curses. The Uchiha rummaged around the kitchen before crouching down in front of the table, peering at him. His index and middle finger were wrapped in bandages.

"You were having a seizure...I think. I thought you were going to swallow your tongue. I heard that happened..once."

Naruto wiped his face, still tasting Sasuke's blood in his mouth. Nabeshin's transparent legs approached the table, and he leaned down, peering at him with his dark eyes and exposed brain.

"Don't be mad," he pleaded. "You've got to understand how horrible it is to be stuck this way, disconnected from everything."

Naruto sent him a glare, and the ghost balked, disappearing from view. Now he knew why Nabeshin hung around the house-like infirmary. He crawled from under the table, seeing that Sasuke was back to filling out his application. Nabeshin was no where in sight, and after he scrubbed the kitchen floor, he quickly went to their room and to his pillow where he sat and mulled over his future.

He would be in the Chunin Exams- Sasuke was making sure of that- but the likelihood of them passing was slim. They would be up against other genin who no doubt had more experience and time on their side compared to what Team Seven had. Naruto rubbed a bruised elbow. But what if they did pass? He stopped rubbing. If they passed, they would be sent on separate missions...Sasuke wouldn't be able to force him out. Sasuke would be too busy trying to become a jounin, because unlike th Chunin Exams, Sasuke wouldn't need him or Sakura to enroll. Of course, Sasuke didn't know he needed the two of them to enroll in the Exams, that a three man Team was needed.

If they made it to chunin, Sasuke could do what he wanted, and Naruto could resign. A smile bloomed on his face even as his head began to pound and his nose began to bleed. He could resign, and Sasuke wouldn't need him then. He wiped the blood from his mouth and looked up as Sasuke came in. The Uchiha paused at the door when his eyes fell on him, then turned away. Moments later he returned with paper towels and crouched before him, pressing the towels against his nose and mouth and pushing his head back.

"You should wear black more, with all the blood spill on yourself." Naruto's vision blurred. He hadn't slept in a while, he feared to, but his body was at its limits- a fine tremble was already running through his body. "Is your brain hemorrhaging or something?" Sasuke sounded angry, but he couldn't hide the concern in his voice. "You can't be doing this at the Exam Naruto."

He was tipping over, felt Sasuke ease him gently on his side. He wanted to keep his eyes open, avoid what was coming to him...

The room darkened to black, a giant red claw-like hand reached from the darkness and grabbed him. Sasuke was gone. Naruto screeched as the the clawed hand gripped and carried him into the dark.

"We've been waiting for you," They boomed, and he was once again surrounded by multicolored eyes. "Do you think you can hide from us?" The clawed hand opened up, and he curled into a ball in its fast palm. "How dare you risk our lives like that." The palm rippled and something very close growled, causing Naruto to uncurl. He looked toward the edge of the palm where two smaller red eyes approached. Naruto sat up and edged toward the clawed fingers as the eyes moved closer. "We think you need a lesson in obedience," there was laughter in Their voices.

The moving red eyes belonged to a morphed creature unlike any he had ever seen. Its body was a red mass of human arms and legs, twisted at the joints that cracked as it moved. Its face seemed stuck between a fox and a human, morphing between the two, eyes widening and narrowing, ears elongating and shortening, mouth stretching, teeth grinding. It moved toward him in jerky movements.

"I-I did everything you wanted!" he rasped in terror. "I took Sasuke in, I joined the Academy!"

One of the many arms of the creature shot out and grabbed his ankle. Naruto yelped at the force of the grip as he was dragged forward.

"You can't hide your thoughts from us-they betray you."

"You must be disciplined," the creature hissed. Naruto kicked out with his free leg, catching the creature in the face twice, but doing no damage. He cried out, writhing as many of the limbs grabbed his and held him down, gripping his face in its hands. It held him still, turning red eyes onto his.

"Sasuke!" he screamed. "Sasuke!"

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Sasuke sat back on his bed, wondering if he should wipe Naruto's face, which was now very bloody and making a puddle around his face. He squeezed his throbbing bitten fingers, wondering if Naruto really was suffering from a brain hemorrhage. Did people die instantly from those, or was it a slow process? He frowned as Naruto's body began to tremble violently, making gurgling sounds in the back of his throat. Should he wake him up? He was reluctant to, Naruto hadn't slept in days, probably weeks, and he needed to get all the rest he could for the Chunin Exams.

"Sasuke," Naruto gasped wetly, his bloody face crumbling, eyes rolling under his lids. Sasuke stood up.

"Naruto?" Was he already awake?

"Sasuke," the blond choked, and he moved over to him and grasped a thin shoulder.

"Hey," he shook his shoulders and the blonds eyes shot open. Naruto was up and trying to crawl his way into the corner.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he whispered desperately from behind his arms. Sasuke sat back on his bed and waited. Constant nose bleeds couldn't be healthier, no matter how one looked at it, be he could imagine taking Naruto to a doctor. Ten minutes later, the blond seemed to have calmed down enough to lower his arms, darting weary eyes about the room, then simply slumping there, flesh not covered by blood a pasty white.

Sasuke sighed and went to get a bucket and towel to soak up the puddle of blood.

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By the next day Naruto was as close to normal as Sasuke could remember, except he was paler than ever, and he and his two clones worked the house with a renewed vigor that- that is until one started to twitch violently and stopped scrubbing the kitchen floor.

"Nabeshin, I presume," Sasuke commented over a bowl of rice. The clone took a deep breath and made the signs of a henge. He poofed, and in the clones place was a tall dark haired man with dark eyes and the usual Uchiha complexion. Sasuke had seen him before. He dropped his sticks and stared at him in shock. It was a relative of his, an Uchiha, alive, looking at him.

Nabeshin grimaced, running a hand through his now black hair as he pulled out Naruto's chair and sat in it. "out of the two clones, this one had a little more juice in it, but I won't be able to do much else."

Sasuke couldn't do much but stare.

"Listen Sasuke, there's something important that I need to tell you, something no one else will, not even Naruto."

"What?" Sasuke straightened in his seat, the shock lifting.

Nabeshin glanced at the newspaper windows darkly and rubbed his face. "I suppose you were too young to be aware of the trouble we Uchiha's were in."

"What trouble?" he was breaking out into a sweat. Nabeshin leaned back in the seat, tapping a finger against the kitchen table.

"I won't get too deep into it- don't want to overwhelm you with too much information. But let me say that the Uchiha were being blamed for many unfortunate things happening in Konoha, especially the Kyuubi attack.."

"What?! I thought that the Kyuubi was considered a natural occurrence caused by human war, death, and violence."

Nabeshin shrugged. "That was never proven to be a complete fact. Whether it was true or not, we were blamed, gathered up, and sent here, to the Uchiha compound, which you have come so dearly to love."

It was a cold sweat now, and he couldn't bother to wipe his brow.

"It became increasingly clear, that this village we helped establish was plotting our annihilation. So your father and many of the other Uchiha elders began to device a rebellion."

Sasuke felt the blood drain from his face- Nabeshin apparently saw it too.

"We were not going to lay down and die, Sasuke. And apparently none of us had to. Your brother no doubt did this village's dirty work. He had no true loyalty to the Uchiha's, a shame really."

"But...he said it was to test his limits..." That's what Itachi had told him, when he had begged for a reason. Nabeshin raised a brow.

"Did he? Huh...It curious that the only one he left alive was you... But what matters Sasuke, is that this village had betrayed everyone you love, taken you whole life from you, and pretended to have nothing to do with it." Nabeshin's face seemed distorted around the reddish smoke. If he said anything more, Sasuke heard nothing beyond the pounding in his ears. Sweat beaded down his temples and he felt both hot and cold.

The whole village was against him- them? How many of the other clans knew this- how many of his classmates had known this? Was the whole village in on it? Kakashi-sensei? Iruka-sensei? Naruto? He turned to see the blond at his side, face pale, eyes flitting nervously about, seeming unable to focus on anything in particular. Just standing there, too close.

His heart steadied. Naruto wouldn't know anything about that kind of stuff- he had been holed up in his apartment for years. He rubbed his shaking hands and stared at Nabeshin, who was staring back.

"I suppose that's what my father meant, by avenging the clan." he missed Naruto's flinch. "But that makes this whole village my enemy, doesn't it?"

"Yes," Nabeshin leaned forward and rested his head on his hand. "But don't be too hasty Sasuke. Do nothing until I tell you. There is...there is someone powerful who may return to help you. But not now, you aren't nearly strong enough. You don't even have you mangekyou yet."

'What is that?" He felt calmer now, less ready to burst, and it wasn't because of Nabeshin's words, but because Naruto was clearly standing by him in an attempt to comfort him, or else he would be in their room. His world may be crashing down around him, but Naruto was a constant.

"I'll show you everything later, but learning the mangekyou will take much time. Right now, you've got a Chunin Exam to worry about."

The Chunin Exam...he had nearly forgotten that. Suddenly Nabeshin's clone popped, beside him Naruto staggered and crashed into the kitchen counter, gripping the edges to keep himself upright. Strangely enough, he saw Naruto's blue eyes flash red several times like a beacon light before he seemed to get a grip on himself. He looked at him, miserable blue eyes waiting. What now, Sasuke? They seemed to say.

"Come on, we need to make some traps for the Exam."

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Late that evening, Sasuke left Naruto briefly to gather some sedatives he knew had been left behind at the infirmary, chilled by the brown stains that smeared the dirty halls and rooms. The people of Konoha may have removed the bodies, but the stains remained. He found a broken cabinet full of sleeping pills and took them. It was obvious Naruto was plagued by nightmares and was getting little sleep; his hands constantly shook, a sign of exhaustion. Clearly what he needed was a full day of uninterrupted sleep.

"Take these," he told the blond, who was finishing up a pile of exploding tags. Naruto stared at the three pills, face turning gray at the sight of them. "It's not poison," Sasuke assured, rolling his eyes. "You need to get some real sleep. This'll put you out for hours and won't dream or have nightmares. I'm sure of it."

Naruto wrung his fingers nervously before taking the pills and downing them with the glass of water. Satisfied, Sasuke began to gather the exploding tags and sort them. Tomorrow he would take their katanas to the nearest blacksmith and get them sharpened, along with all their kunai. He glanced back at Naruto ten minutes later to see the blond out cold, bent over with his face in the carpet, unmoving.

"Finally," he muttered, turning the blond on his side and covering his with an extra blanket. He too then went to bed, staring at the newspapered window, picking out random words and alternately dwelling on what his relative had told him. Soon he too fell asleep.

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In the doorway Nabeshin stood, watching the third living Uchiha rest, hope rising with him, and fading as he looked at the other lying in the corner. He didn't know how Sasuke tolerated looking Naruto in the eyes, those large round beacons of red light that threatened to suck him in and devour him. Nabeshin shuddered. Clearly Sasuke saw something different, something weak and controllable. Sasuke hadn't seen the demonic face Naruto had given him from under the table.

Nabeshin moved from the room and headed down the stairs, coming across Fukaku's wife, who moved down the hall, mouth wide open in a silent howl.

"What's the matter with you?" he asked as he passed her, not bothering to wait for a reply as he approached a door. Drifting through, he entered a dark room, immediately spotting Uchiha Fukaku sitting in front of a table. The former leader of the Uchiha looked at him.

"You," he said in a familiar, cold voice.

"Me," Nabeshin smiled. "Uchiha resurrected."

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"Heyyyy. Sakuuura."

Sakura sighed and stuck her head out of her window, seeing Ino and her Team below.

"What?" she called, feeling exasperation. She'd been meditating for the last hour and a half, centering her chakra.

"Geez! No 'Hey Ino, how've you been?'" The blond shook her head. "You're becoming more like Sasuke-kun every time I see you."

"I'm leaving," Shikamaru informed dully, and turned to go, except that Ino grabbed his shirt without bothering to look at him.

"Hey Sakura, are you going to be in the Exam? You know about that, right?"

Sakura glanced back at the papers on her dresser. She hadn't even hesitated to sign them- this Exam would be her moment to shine, to prove that she was worthy of their notice.

"Yeah, we're going. You too, right?"

Ino grinned. "Yep. See you there, yeah?"

Sakura nodded, watching them walk away. She then shut the window and sat back onto her bed. Things were going to be different.