Power
"FINALLY!"
Startled, Sasuke sat up as the fox demon's euphoric exclamation tore him from his sleep.
"What the-?"
He turned his head back and forth, trying to figure out what had happened. Still dazed, it was difficult for the blind to get a hold of the situation.
"Sasuke, look, I finally got my third tail!", was the excited answer of the fox, who darted through the house.
Sasuke, on the other hand, raised only an eyebrow. How was he supposed to see it and what was he supposed to do with this information? Third tail? He didn‘t understand it.
"Sasuke now look - .. oh."
Taken aback by his own stupidity, the fox stopped. He had completely forgotten that he was talking to a blind man. Not to mention to a blind person who could not know why this event was so special either.
Slowly he approached the blind, knelt by his side on his bedding to guide his hand.
"Feel it," he whispered to him, letting his friend's fingers stroke his fur.
Sasuke was still confused. Well, Naruto was a fox demon. Surely he possessed a tail or several?
The question was literally written on Sasuke's forehead.
"The third tail means that I am no longer a child. I can now use my powers properly and increase my power. Fox demons can grow up to nine tails. "
"That means you're a full-fledged demon now?"
"Hehe yes ... kind of."
Naruto was proud. He felt powerful. Now he would be able to defend himself if he was to be hunted again. No, he would be able to defend both of them. Himself and Sasuke.
He had not expected the side effects of his entry into the adult world.
Purring, he leaned against his friend, as Sasuke began to scratch him lost in thought.
It was a strange feeling.
Beside him sat a full-grown fox demon. A demon slowly nestling against him, eventually sinking into his lap to be stroked and cuddled as if he were a domesticated pet.
"That means I can protect us now and catch all the fish you want," Naruto hummed and stroked one of the tails over the back of the Uchiha.
"I want to see that," the blind man replied dryly, almost mocking, and the demon looked up, eyeing him with his ocean blue eyes.
See?
His hand moved up into the blind man's face, his fingers sliding gently over the young man's cheek.
"Say ... Sasuke. Since when…"
"For a very long time."
The Uchiha put a hand on his friend's, leaning slightly into his palm. He had expected the question for a while now.
"You want to know what the last thing I saw was, right?"
Naruto was silent. He had a dark foreboding feeling that he should not have asked this question, but Sasuke just shook his head slightly.
"It was the death of my family."
A stinging pain ran through the chest of the fox demon as he heard these words.
It was only a fraction of what Sasuke must feel.
“Everything was completely normal that evening. We sat together and had dinner when suddenly, fire broke out. The bells were ringing, everybody rushed into the open and my brother held my hand, ran with me through the fire, which couldn’t even be extinguished by the snow of the mountains. Black flames that couldn‘t be stopped by anything. "
The blinds chest felt tight as he saw the pictures in his mind's eye. As clear as they were that night.
"A white fox demon stepped through the bloody snow where my clan's corpses were burned to ashes in its flames, and my brother threw himself before me; the demon ripped his heart out with its fangs and crushed it in front of my eyes."
There was a pause and the eyes of the blind man filled with tears. He did not understand it. He had no chance to understand. Never.
"She looked down on me and hesitated. Her tails lashed to the floor beside me and finally she spoke. I would carry the burden of those who had taken everything from her. "
The Uchiha swallowed and wiped his eyes.
"She burned the pictures of that night into my eyes and took every chance from me to see anything else ever again. For twelve years now, I‘ve seen nothing but the suffering of that night and despite all this time I have no answer to why. "
Instinctively, the fox demon sat up and pulled the black-haired man close to him, put his arms around his quivering body, which suddenly seemed to freeze in motion.
"Stop it.", whispered the fox softly and felt his own stomach tightened.
Sasuke was silent. He was confused. Confused about Naruto's actions and his own feelings. He should have been more careful. He should never have revealed that much and yet, he believed he could say with certainty that Naruto was different. He was not one of those demons who were thirsting for power.
"I ... promise, I'll find answers and ..."
Slowly, the blond leaned his head against his friend's.
"... a way to break this curse."
◊◊◊
Silently, the blonde watched his friend, who was already preparing something to eat for them. Very much for his own delight, Naruto had managed to catch a whole deer for them. At first, the Uchiha had complained how they were supposed to eat and store all of this meat, but there was more than enough room in the demon's stomach for this problem to be solved. Also, he had now mastered the art of shapeshifting and could hide his tail and ears. Though, he preferred to be himself near Sasuke.
Naruto felt a strange sensation again. He wanted Sasuke close to him. He wanted to be near him. He could not imagine his life without this young man anymore, and yet he wanted to be even closer. Amongst demons, feelings were only distinguished into desire, fun and thirst for knowledge. But when he was watching his human like that, he did not really know where his strange emotion was coming from.
The night was clear and the full moon shone its light through the narrow window, while the crackling of the fire under the cauldron and the smell of cooked meat filled the room. Naruto didn’t pay attention to any of this. There was only one smell for him. His smell. As if in a trance, the demon watched every movement of the human, felt a desire rising inside him, which he hadn‘t felt ever before. Desire that he could barely suppress.
His gaze wandered over the human’s body, his blue eyes fixed on the face of his friend.
Slowly, almost silently, he stalked up to the blind man, unable to resist the urge anymore. He tore the human off his feet and to the ground, leaning over him.
"Ah-Naruto what-?", The Uchiha asked in surprise, felt the demon's nose rub along his neck.
"I don‘t know," the blond growled, humming at the smell in his nose.
"You smell so good."
Playfully he ran his nose along the soft skin of his friend, giving him the goosebumps.
"W-what's that supposed to mean, you don‘t know?"
"Sasuke ..."
Barely audible whispers, close and hot on his ear, made his body tremble. Almost lovingly the demon buried his head in the neck of his friend, his long nails running over the thin fabric of his kimono.
"N..Naruto s-stop this…nonsense ...!"
The fox grunted. Nonsense? His feelings weren’t nonsense. He wanted to be close to him. He was just about to crawl into him, sinking the teeth in his neck, and yet it was not hunger that drove him.
A soft gasp escaped Sasuke's lips as the blonde slid his tongue over his skin, tugging at the back of his neck with his teeth and pressing against him, pinning him to the floor.
"Hah..ah..Na..Narut..o ... stop ...!"
"I can‘t." The demon whispered excited, pressing their bodies together and starting to suck on his skin. He wanted him. Now. He should be his. His alone.
"I SAID NO!", Sasuke yelled again and dragged the demon off himself with some difficulty,
The kimono slipped off his shoulder, revealing the small marks the fox had just inflicted on him.
But his resistance only set off the hunting instinct of the demon.
Lust sparkling in his eyes, he looked at his work, licked his sharp canines, and straightened himself up a bit.
"I ... want you.", He breathed dark and commanding and approached the Uchiha again.
"I said stop!"
Sasuke didn‘t understand what was going on. What had gotten into the demon? Had he lost his mind?
He took the wooden ladl out of the pot and raised it in front of his friend.
"I’m warning you. Sit down ... and drop it or I'll hit you on the head! "
Confused, the fox demon blinked when he heard this threat. Sit? Down?
He laughed. Did he look like a trained lapdog?
He gripped the ladle and pushed it aside.
"I do not think so. You will do what I want and right now ... I want you ... "
Who did Sasuke think he was? He was a human. A simple human and he, Naruto, was a demon. Sasuke had to obey him.
After all, the demons were above humans.
But before the Blond saw it coming, Sasuke had given hm a smack with the ladle.
"I will do what?! You are insane!"
"OUCH!", The fox just moaned and touched his head.
"Did you just hit me …with the ladle? Seriously?!"
"I warned you!"
"YOU warned me? You have to obey!! "
"Obey to what?!"
"To my will!"
The blond spoke full of conviction. He was right. Sasuke had to submit to him.
"You’re crazy. You cn’t possibly believe this. "
The blind man up outraged and straightened his clothes.
"Go and find somebody else to play your games with."
"But ...!", The blonde stretched out his hand, wanted to pull the Uchiha back down. One more hit with the ladle, this time his fingers.
Taken aback, he looked at the blind man, shocked to be treated like that by somebody inferior to him.
"You can‘t do that, Sasuke! You must- ..."
"I need to die one day and nothing else. Keep it together or I'll kick you out ... and dare to bite me again. "
"But but ...!"
He couldn‘t just undermine him ?!
"No, and certainly not like that."
Sasukes heart was in his throat. He didn’t know how he found the strength to face down a grown demon, who made it very clear what he desired. But the Uchiha remembered the rituals of his clan, the stories and legends about the demons. He knew what had gotten into the fox demon. These demons were a symbol of fertility for a reason. Worshiped but also hunted by those who feared their influence.
"Sasukeee ...", the fox wailed again, creeping closer to his friend again but raised his hands innocently. He did not want to hurt him. He wanted love. To love him and be loved, physical closeness, lust and passion.
"I know my name and the answer is no."
He would advise Naruto to stick his head in the snow, if it were still there. Unfortunately, it was spring.