Sasuke and Naruto
This was certainly not how Kiba had expected to find Sasuke. Actually, he didn’t think anybody would expect this of Sasuke.
When Kiba first spotted the dark haired ninja, he was a mangled mess on the forest floor. His limbs were sprawled every which way, and he laid face first to the ground. It was gruesome in every aspect; the sight, the atmosphere, and most importantly the smell. The reek of Sasuke's blood was near unavoidable; it filled every crevice of the small clearing, its stench was a clear indicator at what had occurred.
Kiba’s heart skipped a beat, or two. “Sasuke?!” he called out, his voice a mixture of disbelief and shock. He took a step forward, his sharp eyes scanning the surrounding area. The usual crisp air of the forest was thick with tension, and the underbrush was unnervingly still. Not a bird sang, not a leaf rustled. Only the distant hum of chakra in the air told Kiba something had gone terribly wrong.
He crouched next to the Uchiha, reaching out to touch his shoulder, but hesitated for a moment. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Sasuke like this—vulnerable, exposed, completely at the mercy of the forest. He came quickly to the conclusion that this was the first time that he had ever been so powerless.
Slowly, he turned Sasuke onto his back. The Uchiha’s face was pale, his lips tinged with the faintest shade of purple, and there were bruises—dark, angry bruises— that littered the skin that was exposed. The raven haired boy suffered from a horribly misshapen nose and enough cuts and bruises to win him a spot in the emergency room back at the village. His eyes were closed, but Kiba could tell the chakra that still clung to Sasuke’s skin was chaotic, wild, like the remnants of a battle that had ended far too badly.
Kiba cursed under his breath. This wasn’t right. Sasuke was strong, strong and powerful. Too strong to end up like this. He had a reputation for taking on missions that would send most other ninjas running, and doing a damned good job on said missions. Whatever had happened here, it wasn't a random attack. Someone—or rather something—had done this to him.
“Sasuke, hey!” Kiba said louder, shaking him slightly. “Wake up!”
The Uchiha’s eyelids fluttered, opening just barely past a squint, and a low groan escaped his lips. His body twitched as though his mind was trying to fight through the fog of unconsciousness. For a split second, Kiba thought he saw a flash of the old Sasuke—the sharp, and calculating eyes, alongside the all too confident sneer. But the moment passed too quickly, leaving Kiba with only a cold shiver of dread crawling down his spine. Something had shifted. He knelt closer, holding Sasuke’s head carefully. “Come on, man. What the hell happened to you?”
Whatever consciousness Sasuke had at the moment slipped quickly. Kiba was left with a very injured, very unconscious Uchiha; and he had no idea what the hell to do.
Kiba’s fingers gripped Sasuke’s shoulders as if he could somehow will the Uchiha to regain his strength. But the more he stared at Sasuke’s battered form, the more the sinking feeling in his gut intensified. There was a kind of… darkness hanging in the air, and Kiba could feel it, creeping closer. Kiba’s breath hitched, his sharp senses picking up something he hadn’t noticed before: a faint, lingering pulse of chakra—wild and erratic—saturated the ground beneath them. It wasn’t from Sasuke. Kiba was sure of that. This chakra felt older, more primal. A chill ran down his spine. His eyes darted to the treeline, but the dense foliage revealed nothing, or nothing useful at the very least. Still, the sense of being watched, of being hunted, gnawed at him.
“Sasuke,” Kiba murmured, as if speaking the name could bring him back to full consciousness. He gave the Uchiha a shake, trying to rouse him once again. “Come on, stay with me. You’re not doing this to me today, Uchiha.”
Kiba cursed again, louder this time, frustration bubbling in his chest. He wanted answers, and he wanted them fast.
The trip back to the leaf village proceeded in utter silence. Even when each member of the team had finished their report to Lady Tsunade, they continued to stay silent about what had happened. It wasn’t until Sakura had nearly shoved a fist down Kiba’s throat that the assembled team had spoken.
Both Choji and Ino were convinced to tag alongside Sakura once the news of their teammates arriving back from their mission had spread. The village had been on edge since the moment the gates had opened to reveal Kiba, Shikamaru, the Hyugas, and a severely injured Sasuke, it was Sasuke’s condition that had everyone talking. No one had expected him to come back in such a state—least of all Sakura, who had looked like she might kill Kiba on the spot when she saw the team with neither of her team members in pursuit of them.
Kiba winced as Sakura’s hand landed firmly on his collarbone, the grip tight enough to remind him she wasn’t exactly in the mood for any of his explanations. He stood a little straighter, trying to maintain some semblance of confidence, but the weight of the day’s events was beginning to catch up with him. “Sakura,” he started, his voice hoarse and his hands wavering, “You’re squeezing me too hard. I get it, you’re upset.”
“I’m not upset,” she hissed, her face a mixture of anger and concern. “I’m furious.”
“Let it go, Sakura,” Neji interrupted, his voice low and steady. “We didn’t have a choice. Sasuke was barely breathing when Kiba found him. If he hadn’t acted fast—if he hadn’t brought him back…” He let the words hang in the air, unwilling to finish the sentence. No one outside of the assembled ninja had asked why Kiba had been out there in the first place, without any backup whatsoever.
Sakura’s hand dropped from his collarbone, but her expression softened ever so slightly, the anger in her eyes turning into something quieter, something more tragic. “What happened out there, Kiba?” she asked quietly, her voice laced with worry. “Why wasn’t anyone with him? He’s been acting strange lately. I thought he was going on a mission to find Naruto, but this—this is something else.”
Kiba rubbed his neck, straightening out the slightly bruised area, trying to find the right words, but it was Shikamaru who spoke next, his voice a low rumble as he joined them. “He’s not the only one, Sakura. Something feels off about all of this. The way the air felt when we brought him in… Even I’ve been around long enough to know that there’s something more going on here.”
Ino, standing a little further back, folded her arms tightly over her chest. “You think we’re dealing with more than just Sasuke being… well, Sasuke?” she asked, her brow furrowing. “Because it sounds like you guys are saying there's more to this mission. Something dangerous.”
Kiba met her gaze, his jaw tightening as he felt the weight of her words. She was right, of course. But what was he supposed to say? Yes Ino, we think that someone is deliberately staying back to keep us off of Naruto’s trail. Someone who almost got your little boyfriend a free rhinoplasty and an express ticket to heaven. Something told him that she wouldn’t be too pleased with that answer.
Shikamaru shifted his weight, his eyes narrowing. “There’s more to this than just Sasuke’s usual broodiness and weird decisions. This whole mission feels off.
The tension in the room thickened. Ino’s gaze flickered between the others, her expression turning more serious. “What do you mean? Are we talking about an ambush? A trap?”
“No,” Kiba said, his voice strained. “But they are doing an autopsy-type ordeal to find out whatever they can about who attacked Sasuke.”
“Lady Tsunade?”
“Lady Tsunade!?” Shizune ran across the halls in a manner that could only be described as frantic and erratic. She clutched a stack of inked papers, her grip so tight not a single one had dared to fall in the dark haired ladies pursuit of the hokage. “Lady Tsunade, you have to see this.” She had finally caught up to the blonde and was just now trying to regain her breath.
Shizune offered the stack of papers to the other, watching her weary eyes look over them with impressive speed. Tsunade’s brow furrowed as her eyes scanned the papers Shizune had thrust into her hands, the weight of the documents almost negligible compared to the mounting tension in the Hokage’s chest.
Shizune’s eyes were wide with a mixture of urgency and concern as she spoke, her words tumbling out quickly, “I’ve been going over the reports from the field team sent to track down Naruto and Sasuke. This… this isn't just a simple recon mission. Something is happening out there. Something we weren’t prepared for.” She paused for a moment, before blurting it out, “Naruto was the one to attack Sasuke.” Her words lingered in the air for a moment, the space between them suddenly became unbearable.
The weight of Shizune's words hit Tsunade like a punch to her gut. Her hand tightened around the stack of papers, but her gaze didn’t leave Shizune’s face. For a long beat, the room was silent, the only sound was the faint rustle of the documents in Tsunade’s grip.
“What did you say?” Tsunade’s voice was low, almost a growl, as she stared at Shizune, searching for any sign of misunderstanding. This couldn’t be right.
Shizune, her face pale, nodded quickly, her breath still shallow from her sprint down the halls. “I… I know it sounds impossible, but the field reports are clear. Naruto—Naruto—attacked Sasuke. And it wasn’t just a small skirmish. The autopsy team found Naruto's DNA in Sasuke's fingernails, he must have scratched him. But that wasn't even the blunt of it, there are incisions all down Sasuke’s arm that replicate the effects of the rasengan- which few other than Naruto know how to perform. There just isn't any other way to look at it.”
Tsunade’s heart sank. She could feel the blood draining from her face as her mind raced. The bond between Naruto and Sasuke had always been strained at the very best, but there was no way that Naruto would attack him out of the blue—not unless something was horribly wrong.