"SASUKE!"
I ran as fast as I could to catch him but he was still ten steps ahead of me. It was the same back then. Sasuke was always the better one. I always saw myself as the inferior one when it came to him. His abilities were far beyond mine and I felt as if I couldn't change that.
When we fought back then at the valley, the power of the fox still wasn't enough to stop him. I had poured my heart out to him, dug deeper into open wounds. Even though I did, Sasuke refused to stay. What did I have to offer? All I had was our friendship. It was a bond I wished to cherish but sadly the one I had it with wanted to sever it.
My heart sank every time Sakura, Kakashi sensei and I were this close to getting him back. We were dedicated in our mission. After a brutal failure our three man cell was given a new member. Sai. He was arrogant. He never understood the feelings Sakura and I had for our lost teammate. I only felt hate towards him until that day when team 7 was reunited.
Our sensei had been replaced momentarily by a man going by the name of Yamato. He was assigned to the team just as Sai was. Sakura and I both had our doubts of the two but it wasn't our place to argue. Lady Tsunade had appointed us a mission which was tied to a fight Sakura and Lady Chiyo was involved in. Sasori of the red sand offered the information after he was defeated by the pair and Lady Tsunade had appointed us the mission.
The basics of the mission were to gather enough Intel on Orochimaru as we could and head back to the village. However the initial plan had faltered. Sasori had given information about a certain person working for Orochimaru as his spy. We were there to capture that spy and bring him back. Captain Yamato had used wood style ninjutsu to turn himself into Sasori of the red sand. It was full proof until the spy revealed himself.
Kabuto. He had been with us in the Chunin exam. However his intent had been sketchy. Sakura, Sai and myself had made sure to stay as far as possible from Captain Yamato and the spy but close enough to offer assistance if any. While Kabuto conversed with our squad leader, someone we least expected showed up. Orochimaru. He had followed Kabuto but with the information we were given we all assumed Kabuto was still under Sasori's jutsu.
Sadly it was revealed that Orochimaru had long removed the jutsu and Kabuto was freely working under him. We were alerted after that Kabuto's intention was to exterminate Sasori but that plan had also faltered. Quite soon Kabuto had figured out that Sasori had been killed, by who, he never bothered to question. We were still hiding until Orochimaru spoke to our Captain.
"Why don't you signal to your three baby rats to come out?" he said looking in our direction.
He had known all along but had chosen to remain silent until now. At the signal, Sakura, Sai and I jumped out of the thick trees and joined our squad leader on the bridge. Orochimaru and Kabuto had looked a tad bit surprise at my presence but nothing else. As the conversation continued, Orochimaru had seen it fit to bring up the one topic that was sensitive to me. Sasuke.
With my anger building, the nine-tailed fox's chakra had taken over and it had quickly turned into a dangerous fight. Sakura had gotten hurt and the bridge was damaged in the process. Sai had disappeared along with Orochimaru and Kabuto. When I thought that all was lost, Captain Yamato pointed out that he had planted a seed in our meal at the spa. Tracking.
We followed the signal and to our surprise we had found Orochimaru's hideout where we assumed Sasuke was kept. I felt giddy and overly excited. We were finally going to see our friend again I thought. Entering the hideout, it was seen to be a tedious task to find Sasuke. There were millions of rooms and we had no idea which one contained him.
Captain Yamato decided on splitting up. Sakura and himself, Sai and myself. We ran to each room. Opened doors upon doors but nothing. Was Sasuke really here? Why couldn't we find him? I felt tears run down my cheeks. The pain in my heart had increased and I felt like I couldn't breathe. My legs were getting weak and my eyes wary. Darkness.
"Finally awake?" Sai had said to me. I had passed out from exhaustion and he had carried me to rest on the wall opposite to where I had passed out. I looked down and felt my eyes well up with new tears. Why was this happening? The new tears were just about to spill when Sai's voice rose above the silence.
"You remind me of him." He said with a smile. I remembered the smile. It wasn't like his usual ones. It was a genuine smile. He continued to talk then he suddenly went silent. I was confused and a little worried but then he snapped out of it and began digging in his bag.
"I remember now." He said excitedly and pulled out his picture book. I remembered thinking what was he talking about?" I watched Sai paint a picture that moment. It was the final picture to complete the book.
"Who is he?" I asked looking over the picture. Sai hadn't answered. His eyes were closed and he was still smiling.
"He's my brother." His brother? I thought in confusion.
We had talked a bit more before Captain Yamato and Sakura joined in. The four of us continued searching until Sai had disappeared yet again. He had found Sasuke. Oddly enough Sai had left his back pack behind and Captain Yamato had found something very interesting. "A bingo book." He stated showing us all the people printed in it. Many were crossed out meaning only one thing; assassinated.
Sakura was upset. I to had become upset but for the same reason as Sakura. The only person Sai had yet to exterminate, was Sasuke. Had he betrayed us? No. He wouldn't after the talk we had. My head reeled and the only thing I could think about was finding Sai before he got to Sasuke. We kept running until we heard a blast. It was loud and rocked the entire hideout.
Sakura was the first to run. I watched her come to a stop and just stare mindlessly at the sky. What was she looking at? Annoyed with just standing there I willed my feet to run into the light.
"Naruto."
My heart stopped beating and my body stopped moving. I was frozen for what seemed like ages. Sas…u…ke? I thought and turned towards the blinding light. There he was standing in all glory. His raven hair blowing past his pale face. Sasuke hadn't changed aside from his height and body structure. His eyes had remained the same. That icy stare peering into your soul. It had been so long and all I felt like doing was running to him with open arms. I wanted to say something but I couldn't muster any strength to. I wanted to run but my feet said otherwise.
In a blink of an eye my best friend was beside me. His arm over my shoulder and his breath so close to my neck. I wanted to move, to hold him and truly feel him next to me. I wanted to yell I LOVE YOU SASUKE! I wanted to tell him so many things but I couldn't. I was too stunned and afraid. I could feel the comfortable air around us. It was like old times. Did he also love me back? Did he miss me as much as I missed him?
I bowed my head until my forehead touched the soft fabric of his sleeve. I could tell he was startled but he made no move against my actions. My hands moved up and grasped onto his arm currently over my shoulder. By this time I could feel his eyes on me. Was he glaring or watching me with sympathy? I squeezed my eyes and cried into his sleeve. I could feel the spot where my tears soaked get wider. Stop crying! I told myself but I only cried harder.
I continued crying until Sasuke's fisted my clothes. He moved closer to me and wrapped his other hand around me.
"Sas-u-ke…"
My body was pulled extremely close to his. I could feel the heat from him as his arms circled around me protectively. My body moved on its own, wrapping my arms around his waist and crying into his shoulder.
"Naruto I…" he started and buried his face into the side of my neck. One of his hands fisted into my hair while the other moved down to my waist, squeezing firmly causing me to wrench in pain.
"Sasuke…" I tried pulling away but he would have none of that. Sasuke kept my body flushed against his and continued to breathe against my neck sending goose bumps all over my body.
"Naruto?" I heard Captain Yamato call from somewhere behind us. His voice alerting me that we had a mission. I was caught up and only wanted to stay like this forever. Sasuke's hold on me tightened and his lips pressed lightly on my neck.
"Sasuke I-"
"I love you Naruto!" My eyes widened and my jaw went slack. What did he just say?
I used all the strength I could until I was able to break free from Sasuke's hold. I gazed into softened eyes and felt like I was going to break down. My hands reached out but fell short when Sasuke's lips turned into a frown. I had hurt him.
"Sasuke…I have to…" I couldn't find it in myself to complete the sentence. I could tell Sasuke knew what exactly what I was going to say but instead he choose to remain silent. I watched his eyes dart to the other three behind me before he stepped closer and grabbed my jacket.
"I'm sorry Naruto but…not yet." With that he crashed his lips onto mines and drove his Katana into my right shoulder. I screamed into the kiss but made no move otherwise. I could hear a big commotion behind me but for all it was worth I only concentrated on the lips currently devouring mines. The kiss lasted for an eternity in my mind until he finally broke away alerting me of just how painful the wound was.
"AHH!" I yelled and held onto my right shoulder feeling the blood run down my sleeve. I bit my lip to keep from screaming again and focused on the brunette before me. His eyes never leaving mines as he jumped back to his initial spot.
I squeezed my shoulder even more and squinted at Sasuke's figure in the sunlight. There was a puff of smoke and two other figures appeared beside him. Orochimaru and Kabuto. I studied Sasuke's face and I could of sworn he shed a tear. Before my suspicions could be clarified, the three disappeared leaving behind no trail as to their new location.
"Sasuke…" I mouthed and dropped to my knees. I loosened the grip on my wound and cried once more muttering the words 'I love you' over and over again.