A/N: Hello, everyone. I know, I know. I have so much else on my plate that I shouldn't be publishing another story but I swear to you that this is only two chapters long. I was actually writing this last year when Japan's tsunami happened. But I never finished it. So in the one-year anniversary to that tragic event, I dedicate this story to that. And I will finish this by tomorrow. Just right now, enjoy this first chapter and let the feelings it expresses sink in.
I do NOT OWN ANY of the Naruto characters. Nor do I own the story. How I wish I did and rewrite it but no. I really wish I could though. I'm upset at Itachi and Sasuke….Anyway! Thank you for enjoying my other stories and taking the time to read this one. Thank you and please enjoy!
Never Lose Hope
"Now that the tsunami has passed, it doesn't mean that the problems in Kirigakure are over just yet. There is still the devastation left behind by the destructive wave. Kirigakure is known to have tsunami cases and are always well prepared for such events to occur but this giant wave was the second biggest wave to have hit the village. Nearly ten years ago,-"
But before the reported could fully start her story, a pale hand with the controls in his grip shuts it off.
"Thanks."
Looking down at the couch, Uchiha Sasuke looks at his best friend and his adoptive brother, Uzumaki Naruto still staring at the TV screen with dead azure eyes. Those eyes that usually hold so much life in them have turn cold and emotionless when that story came up. The young Uchiha understands the reason for that expression. He has the same look but unlike his usual happy friend, he always looks like that.
"I didn't want to hear it anymore than you," the Uchiha tells him, before tossing the controls to the other end of the couch from where the blonde is. Then he turns around and walks away. "Get up. It's dinner time."
"Right," Naruto sighs before lifting himself up and following his friend.
Things became silent between them after that. They didn't say a word as they approach the dining table and start eating their meals: Naruto pork ramen with extra garnishes and Sasuke left over pizza with mariana sauce. Though no matter how hungry they were before, they just lost their appetites after seeing that brief news cast.
"Has it really been ten years?" the spiky hair blonde seventeen year old finally asks softly as he was swirling the noodles in the ramen daichi(soup base). All that does is cause a sigh to escape the raven hair's lips.
"Naruto, don't. I wanna eat."
That last part was a lie but the teenager finally lifts up his pizza, after being untouched for a good ten minutes, and takes a bite out of it just to prove the lie. Naruto knows that his friend lied to him but yet again, he should have known better than to have brought it up. He knows how taboo that time was, for both of them. And so, he finally stops playing and starts eating himself before his noodles get any soggy than they already are. At least the food is still warm enough to eat.
It's truly been ten years for them.
Ten years since the worst tsunami to have ever hit Kirigakure, their homeland.
Ten years since they left in order to survive.
Ten years since they stayed together after they lost everything.
Ten years since they've been separated from their most important person.
K-Knock, k-k-knock
Hearing the sound of the front door knocking, both teenagers tear their attention away from their food and to the door. With a knock like that, they already know who it is.
"Naruto, go answer the door," Sasuke orders, going back to his pizza. The blonde glares at him for a moment before lifting himself from the table and doing as he's told. It's useless to try and argue with the guy now, especially in the kind of mood he's in. If Naruto has any desire for life at all, then the best course of action is to listen.
On the other side of the door, it's exactly who the two teenagers expected it to would be. Hyuuga Hinata; a sweet girl who has been their friend every since they came to Konoha and who works with them at the Rescue Medical Ward they volunteer at. But what's curious about her is how she looks in front of Naruto. She looks like she just ran a mile just to get here; even though they know she had the night shift tonight and the Medical Ward is only a few blocks away from Naruto's and Sasuke's apartment. She's panting, she's heaving, her face is damp from sweat, and some strands of her long midnight hair are stuck to the side of her face. What on earth could have happened for her to look like this?
"Hinata? What's wrong? Are you okay? Did something happened?"
Did a weirdo try to approach her on her way home or something? Or does Naruto or Sasuke have to work the night shift as well? But that last one is highly doubtful. Naruto may be the scatter brain but there's no way Sasuke would forget when him or Naruto have to help. So why is she here?
"N…N….Naruto-kun!" she was able to call out, even though her voice sounded like she gasped out his name.
Out of consideration for her, the teenage blonde tells her, "Easy, easy there, Hinata. Take your time."
But she exclaims to him with her soft but strong breathless voice, "Naruto-kun, tomorrow when the next groups of people come flying in Kirigakure, your brother is coming!"
As soon as she said that, not only did Naruto's blue eyes go wide, his face blanked out of any emotion besides shock, and both his brain and his voice just left his body, Sasuke drops the crust of his pizza on his plate. It just slipped right out of his fingers. Hinata was expecting the expression on Naruto's face and she waited patiently for him to say anything about her words. She didn't care how long she waited. She knows that the words are a great deal of shock for him since he hasn't seen his brother in ten years.
Naruto's heart is pounding in his chest. Practically ready to burst out of his ribcage and do a dance of joy after he gets over the body paralyzing, mind blanking shock. All of a sudden, his entire body is shaking; as if every fast heartbeat sends ripples throughout his body. It took him a really long time to find his voice again but when he did, all he could say was, "R…Really…?" His voice may have been small when he spoke but the desperation and need for truth were in there. Hinata quickly nodded.
"Y-Yes!...His name was on the list. He's not a wounded citizen so he won't be sent to the ward."
But all Naruto is able to progress from her words is, "He…He's alive? My brother's alive?" His voice got stronger that time. As he waits for Hinata to open her sweet, innocent mouth again to say the words he hope for, Sasuke stands up from the table.
Hinata answers, "Yes. Uzumaki Kyuubi-kun is alive."
Then a smile forms on the blonde's face.
"Oh my god!" He hugs Hinata and lifts her up from the ground so he could twirl her around in circles. Her face instantly blew up red from embarrassment of him hugging her. She's not used to this kind of stuff but at the moment, who the heck cares? Naruto laughs in his joy and there are tears starting to peak out from the corner of his eyes.
He just couldn't believe it. After ten years of waiting…ten years of not knowing…ten years of wondering, his brother is alive and he's coming to Konoha. Yes, ten years is a long time but Naruto was seven when he left his homeland. He was far too young to do anything about going back to Kirigakure and actually looking. He was left to wait and wait for every disappointing news that his brother was yet to be found; physically. There have been days when Naruto lost hope and actually thought his brother was lost forever but after hearing this, it was like years of tears and pain are finally being paid off for this one moment. Real life has been brought back into his eyes and is now pumping through his veins like an adrenalin rush.
But after a couple of turns, Naruto's laughter stops, his smile disappears, and realization quickly replaces the happiness on his face. He just remembered that he wasn't the only one waiting.
Quickly, the blonde puts down the cherry red flushed raven hair girl and with his hands on her arms and his azure eyes staring directly into her pale white ones, he quickly asks, "Is there anyone else, Hinata? Were there any Uchihas on that list as well?"
Hinata only had a moment to progress the fact that he just asked her a desperate question but she didn't have a moment more to remember and answer. Sasuke appears behind Naruto, breaks the grip he has on her and shoves him back into the apartment before slamming the door right in Hinata's face. Then he walks away back to his food on the table. Naruto looks back and forth between the closed door and his adoptive brother; the shock and disbelief clearly visible on his face.
"The hell, Sasuke?" the blonde screams before quickly opening the door and kindly telling Hinata, "Hold that thought, Hinata." Then he slams the door on her and turns to the teenage Uchiha as he picks up his plate of food and tosses the remains in the trash. "What on earth is wrong with you? You don't just slam the door into people's faces like that!"
"You did."
As he washes his dishes, Naruto is left there standing for a moment in realization of what he just did. Sasuke's got him there.
"That's not the point, teme!" Naruto yells after quickly recovering. "What the hell is your problem?"
"What is my problem?" Sasuke asks, repeating the blonde's words. There he drops his plate in the sink, turns off the water, and turns around to face his brother and he answers, "What's my problem is you asking useless questions like that! 'Were there any Uchihas on the list?' Give me a goddamn freakin break! The Uchihas are extinct! End of story!" After he said that, he intended to turn around and walk away to his room but Naruto caught his shoulder when he only turned his back to him.
"Sasuke!"
The Uchiha turns around and knocks Naruto's hand off his shoulder in reaction when he grabbed him but the blonde quickly tells him, "They are not extinct! You're just saying that because for the past ten years, every time someone tells you that they found a relative, they found a body. Some you never even met before!"
"And how many members of my family have been found dead? Twenty? Fifty? My family is dead so drop it!"
"You don't know that because there's one body that they haven't found yet!"
"And they never will because he was washed away by that tsunami!"
"But if my brother is alive then Itachi-"
As soon as he said that name, Sasuke grabs the collar of his shirt and slams him to the wall. Hinata, who can hear everything that's going on from the other side of the door, gasps and jumps from the sound of something banging against the wall. She can imagine Sasuke holding Naruto against it in a death grip with the promise of excruciating pain shown in his onyx eyes; or crimson red eyes since they have the tendency to change color when he gets upset. That's what makes his unspoken threat so terrifying than his spoken one. But as Naruto is left to look into those eyes, he tries to look at him with no fear but no matter how long he's lived with the guy, the Uchiha can be one very frightening demon.
"If you don't shut that damn mouth of yours, I'll shut it for you! Now you listen to me, usuratonkachi. My brother is dead! He's been dead for ten years and they will never find his body! I've already given up that they ever will so stop pestering me about it! Just go pick up your own damn brother in the morning and never mention my brother's name again! Live a happy and joyful life with your family and leave me the fuckin hell alone!" Then with that, he slams Naruto against the wall again before dropping him and storming off. Naruto was still stunned by his eyes to try and stop him. The angry raven marches off to his room and slams the door before locking it behind him. Instead of feeling anger or irritation towards him, all there is on the blonde's face is pure sadness and sympathy.
"Sasuke…"
On the other side of Sasuke's bedroom door, the teenager didn't go to his bed to kick a counter and then sit on his bed with his fingers through his hair and his eyes leaning against the palm of his hands. It would have been understandable if he did but he didn't. He couldn't make it to his bed. He leans against the door and he stares up at the ceiling with the anger wiped off his face. In fact, there's hardly any emotion on his face right now.
Because he's remembering that day.
Ten years ago, Kirigakure…
"Itachi, hurry up!" Kyuubi screamed at his friend. Waiting at the doors of the thirty story building, the thirteen year old Uzumaki stands alone at the glass door, ready to let the doors automatically close once his best friend and his little brother get inside. The only problem is every second it takes for them to get here, the water keeps rising up at least an inch every time and who knows when these doors are going to suddenly closed rather someone is in the way or not.
Uchiha Itachi is at least three buildings away from Kyuubi and the Uchiha's little brother is clinging onto his leg for dear life. To the seven year old boy, the water is already above his knees. The freezing ocean water has soak his shoes and socks to the point it feels as though they're going to slip right off his little feet if he keeps moving. Half of his short khaki pants is sticking to his scrawny legs and parts of his long black sleeves are damp from the water. He's shivering and his eyes are shining with tears of fear and confusion. He pulls on his older brother's sleeve and calls, "Nii-san, where is mother and father?"
The older Uchiha was watching the current to when it wouldn't be so rough so the little child at his side could reach Kyuubi without hurting himself when he heard his little brother's little voice. When he looked down at the boy after hearing that question, his surprised expression was the first thing the boy saw before sorrow and guilt took over. It was only for a moment but Sasuke was confused when he saw it. His older brother then kneeled before him and with his hands on the boy's shoulder, he answers, "I don't know, otouto, but I swear to you that we are going to find them. Just right now, you have to be strong for me and for them, alright?" His hands even smooth their way up to Sasuke's cheeks, caressing them assuringly.
Now Sasuke may have been a child then but from that one expression he saw, he could tell that his big brother believed their parents to already be dead more than he believed they might still be alive. But like him, Itachi wasn't sure himself which way it was.
But before the boy could respond to him, the doors Kyuubi was standing in between to keep open started to automatically close. When the dark blonde notice, instantly he faced one door, leaned his back against the one behind him and used his hands and one foot to keep the two doors apart. He tries to keep the doors to stay open but they're strong. They push against him as he does against them. He grunted from the strength of technology before he yells out, "UCHIHA! HURRY YOUR ASS UP!"
Itachi and Sasuke look up towards him and the older of the two instantly reacts as soon as he sees Kyuubi's position. Forget waiting and watching when some huge object like a vending machine or car wouldn't come flowing by, Itachi picks Sasuke up and runs. The boy clings onto his older brother and keeps his eyes shut, extremely terrified out of his mind. Yes, Kirigakure is known for its tsunamis but in all of Sasuke's life, there was never one as bad as this one. There was never a tsunami that was big enough to reach the center of the city where he lived.
Itachi runs all the way to the doors and he puts Sasuke down. "Go inside, Sasuke," he tells the boy.
Getting the wrong idea and letting his feelings control his mind, Sasuke quickly asks, "What about you? Nii-san, you're not going to leave me, right?"
Before the older Uchiha could answer, Kyuubi yells, "Just get inside, Sasuke!"
"I'll be right behind you. Go!" Without another word wasted, Itachi turns Sasuke around and pushes him inside from under Kyuubi's one risen leg that's used to keep the door open.
However when the boy was pushed in, he wasn't watching out for his feet. As he was going by, his foot caught Kyuubi's ankle and he pulled. With the force of the water, it was easy for Kyuubi to lose his standing and trip. He lost his grip on the door and was falling forward towards Itachi. When the doors closed, they might slam on his neck or his chest. Itachi couldn't have that and to save his friend, he pushes Kyuubi back inside the building and yanks his own hand away before the door closed on him. Kyuubi landed on Sasuke in the water but instantly got off the boy before he could drown.
"You alright?" Kyuubi asks as the little Uchiha coughs the water he accidently swallowed when he went under.
Instead of answering, the boy asks, "Where's nii-san?"
Kyuubi sharply turns back to the door and he sees his best friend on the other side of them. He quickly gets up and tries to force them open but to no success. Itachi sees this and he knows that neither his friend nor their little brothers would have enough time to get to the top if they stay down here. On the top of this building is a helicopter that will take them to safety. If they stay here helping him, they won't make it.
"Just go, Kyuubi!" Itachi yells at him from the other side. Both Sasuke's and Kyuubi's eyes widen when he said that.
"What are you? Crazy?" the orange blonde asks, still trying to open the doors.
"You're not going to have enough time! Just take Sasuke and go!"
"Nii-san!"
Both teenagers look down at the voice and they see Sasuke at the glass doors as well and he's pounding on them. "You have to come with us! I'm not leaving without you!"
So much pain and so much angst appeared on the Uchiha's face when he heard his little brother say this. For the moment, he ignores Kyuubi and kneels down in front of his little brother again but now with a glass door standing between them. Witnessing this, Kyuubi realizes that this is going to be Itachi's last good bye to his little brother. It's too late for him now.
"Sasuke, I need you to listen to me," Itachi starts, remaining firm and serious like the older brother that he is. "Go with Kyuubi to the helicopter and stay with him."
"No!" Sasuke screams, now with tears burning his eyes and leaking out from the corner. "I'm not going without you! You have to come with us! You have to!"
But all the older Uchiha does is smile with eyes so full of love and adoration for him. This widens Sasuke's eyes even more and for his heart to pound in his heart. No, no, no! This can't happen!
"Be good, otouto."
Then right before the boy's eyes, a vending machine comes with the swift current and hits Itachi away from Sasuke's view. Both Kyuubi and the younger Uchiha didn't see that coming and they are left in greater shock as their best friend or brother is washed away in the current with every other loose machines or contraptions flouting in the water. The last thing any of them could see of the Uchiha before he completely disappeared from their view was his hand reaching up before it sink down into the water, along with the rest of his body that has already gone under.
"NII-SAN!" Sasuke pushes himself up from the ground and tried running to the other side as if trying to run to his brother's aid and save him. But Kyuubi instantly wrap his arms around the smaller, now sobbing child and hold him back. "No, nii-san!"
"Sasuke, it's too late! We need to get to the helicopter!"
"No! No! Nii-san! NII-SAN!"
"Come on! Hurry up before the plane is full!"
With his hand grasping his little brother, Kyuubi pulls Naruto with him towards the giant plane that will fly itself and all of its passengers to Konoha. With every second that goes by, the plane is just filling up with so many people all at once. In one moment, ten people would be onboard. From how it looks, there are five plans that could carry thousands of people away from Kirigakure but there are millions of people here, wanting to get on to save their lives. The Uzumaki brothers were fortunate and were close to one of the planes before too many people arrived on it. However right when they stop at the entrance and Kyuubi was going to turn around and pick his little seven year old brother up to put him inside, he notices that there is one thing missing.
"Where is Sasuke?" he asks in a panic.
As if just noticing as well, little Naruto turned around frantically and replied to his brother, "He was right beside me! Teme! Where are you?"
Not only was Kyuubi extremely worried about the younger Uchiha's disappearance, he was also starting to get a bit irritated. He knows that Sasuke wouldn't let someone just kidnap him or run him over without voicing it out so that means that the boy deliberately stopped himself somewhere and is standing somewhere. What also irritated the dark orange head was the fact that he lost the younger Uchiha after just being entrusted with him from his best friend. After Itachi was swept away from the current, Kyuubi had to carry the struggling Uchiha boy up the stairs to the roof of the building and make it to the helicopter where Naruto was already inside and practically pleaded the driver not to leave without his brother and his best friend. Sasuke kept screaming for Itachi the entire time and only when they finally arrived at the airport did he stop. Now he's gone and made a disappearance.
Similar to what happened at the building with the helicopter, Kyuubi kneeled to his brother and turned him around as Naruto was still calling for his best friend. "Naruto, listen to me. I need you to get inside the plane and wait for me and Sasuke, okay? I'm going to go look for him and tell the driver not to leave without us."
"Just like last time?"
"Yes. Just like last time." Pulling the boy close for one more hug, Kyuubi holds the little boy desperately in his arms. They are the last of their family and now they will have to part for a brief moment once again. After watching Sasuke lose his older brother, who knows what will happen? It was like watching Itachi get swept away opened Kyuubi's eyes to the possibilities of any kind of dreadful thing happening. For all he knew, this might be the last time he'll be able to hold Naruto like this. Despite knowing this, he can't let that stop him. He'll look for Sasuke, drag that little butt to the plane, and get on it so he could keep his promise to Itachi and take care of them both. It's his obligation as an older brother and a friend.
After hugging Naruto for a good moment, giving the boy a brief chance to hug him back, Kyuubi picked him up and put him inside the plane before running off to go find that little raven head. Naruto watched from inside the plane, kneeling besides the far end of the door to get out of other people's way and have a good view of his older brother running off into the crowd trying to move in the opposite direction.
Running through that crowd was like a fish trying to swim upstream when the current was going in the opposite direction. Kyuubi had to shove and push so many people, yell at the top of his lungs, and frantically look around as if the entire airport was on fire. The tsunami may not have reached the airport yet but with the reports everyone has received, the tsunami will come. Which is why everyone is so desperate to get on those planes. Otherwise, there might not be any safe places for them to be until the tsunami had run its course. This truly is the worst tsunami Kirigakure has ever encountered.
After at least five minutes, or maybe longer since it felt that way thanks to Kyuubi's anxiety, the older Uzumaki finally found the Uchiha boy standing by himself with his head low, his shoulders slump, and his little fists gripping the hem of his shirt. Found him but Kyuubi is more annoyed than relieve to find him.
"Sasuke! What the hell are you doing?" he asked, approaching the boy before he's kneeling before the child. Pointing to the plane he just left Naruto on, he yells, "We need to get on that plane now before it gets filled up. We need to go, NOW!"
"No!" Sasuke yelled back. "I'm not going anywhere! Nii-san is still here and I'm not leaving his body behind."
It would have been a lie if Kyuubi claimed he wasn't surprised by the boy's words. Soon, that surprise became that of sorrow and grief. Against his better nature, he tries to be calm as he says, "Sasuke, listen to me. We need to get on that plane now before it leaves. We need to get out of here before the tsunami reaches this spot."
"No! I'm not leaving nii-san behind! I wanna die so I could join him and our parents in heaven. What's the point of anything if nii-san isn't here with me anymore?"
Trying to be nice didn't last long. Kyuubi is fully annoyed. "Sasuke, I want you to listen to me, alright! If that tsunami comes here, then you will be in mortal danger. Your brother wouldn't want that!" Sasuke eyes widen when he heard that and his head snaps back up to the dark orange blonde. Kyuubi grasped the boy's arms and told him right in the eye, "I believe Itachi is alive. I know that it may not look like he survived but I truly believe he is still out there. Your brother is too stubborn to let death take him away from you. He cares about you and he will fight to stay alive and see you again. But until then, the first thing we have to do is keep you alive and out of harm's way. Do you think he would want you to stay here if it means endangering your life? I'm as hell know that he wouldn't! Now you can either come with me to the plane willingly or I'll just have to drag you to it myself!"
Without another word, Kyuubi grabs Sasuke's hand and pulls the stunned child with him as he runs back to the plane. When the two of them arrive, they see and hear Naruto pleading a man with his hand on a latch near the door while another with the same uniform as the one Naruto is talking to is keeping all of the other people back.
"But you can't! My brother and my friend are still out there! You can't close the door now!"
"I'm sorry, kid," the man told him. "We can't accept any more people or we'll be too heavy to leave. They'll just have to go on the other planes."
"But none of them are going to Konohagakure! We can't leave them!"
When Kyuubi heard that, he at first couldn't believe it but then he did everything without thinking. He stop to pick Sasuke up and he run even faster to the plane. Because of his swiftness, he was able to run pass through all of those men in uniform to at the very least toss Sasuke inside. Naruto and that man saw Sasuke flying in and they hear, "Another sixty pounds isn't going to kill you. Just take him and go!"
Naruto became horrified when he heard his brother say that as Sasuke is in shock because now things are beginning to sound like how they did when Itachi was taken away from him. Turning around, he was just in time to see Naruto rush to the edge and yell to Kyuubi, "No, Kyuubi-nii! Come with us, please!"
"If I go with you, I will put your life in danger, Naruto. What kind of big brother would I be if I let that happen?" He said that last part with his famous smug grin on his face. He's trying to brave and show off to his little brother but to Naruto, he's just being stupid.
"You idiot! Get inside!" he screams, more desperate than anything right now. But Kyuubi doesn't make a move. He only grins at the boy.
One of the other men in uniform enter the plane and told his comrade, "We have to leave now! Close the doors!" Nodding in understanding, the man Naruto was pleading to earlier pulls down on the lever and the door begins to lift itself up and close. When he heard it move, Naruto gasped and then tried to run to his brother.
"Kyuubi-nii!"
Seeing him running, Sasuke quickly gets up and rushes to Naruto much quicker and grabs the boy – doing the same thing Kyuubi did to him when Itachi was taken away from him. Naruto struggles and screams even more, "No! Let me go! Kyuubi-nii! Onii-san!"
Hearing that, it just made the grin wider into the smile and the last thing both boys head Kyuubi say to them before the doors shut was, "Be good, both of you! And watch out for each other! Itachi and I will come and find you soon! I promise!"
Then the doors shut and that became the last time either one of them have seen the older Uzumaki every again.
"No! Onii-san! ONII-SAN!"
Naruto's screams echo in the young Uchiha's mind over and over as that last memory played in his head. That memory soon began to fade itself out and not to long after it did, Sasuke's legs weaken and his back slides against the door before collapsing on the ground. His face still only looks up at the ceiling but by the time he's on the floor, silent tears have already rolled down his face – dripping down his chin and endlessly falling.
"Nii-san…" his voice sounded broken when he spoke out that name.
All of it, he blames it all on himself. If his foot didn't cause Kyuubi to trip back then, then Itachi wouldn't have been left outside and if Sasuke didn't stop in a suffocating crowd and cause Kyuubi to look for him, then they both would have been on that plane and arrive in Konoha together with Konoha. It was all his fault, Sasuke thought. If he wasn't such a stubborn child…If he was more careful…It he wasn't such a burden to them… So many 'if's but none of it could be able to change the past. Not that it would matter much anyway. Kyuubi would be coming tomorrow and him and Naruto would he happily reunited. Those two would be together after a decade of worry, false hopes, and shaken spirits. They will have their happily ever after but while they do, Sasuke would be left alone with his guilt and shame. It's what he deserves after all. For what he's done. All of this pain wouldn't have happened if it weren't for him.
At least, that's what he believes.
On the other side of his room door, Naruto is talking to Hinata at the open front door and the blonde asks, "Are you sure?"
Sadly, Hinata nods. "I'm sorry but I only saw the list at a glance. I wasn't handed the list and all I saw was Uzumaki Kyuubi. I didn't see an Uchiha Itachi or any Uchihas."
Naruto looks down at the ground when he heard that disappointing news. His older brother promised him that the two of them, Itachi and him, would come back for them. But it's only him. Sasuke's brother is still missing. Or is he really dead with his remains somewhere in the ocean?
"Thank you, Hinata. Go home and get some rest."
The shy, sweet girl asks him, "Is Sasuke-kun going to be alright?" The defeated frown on Naruto's face didn't seem assuring in the least.
"I don't know."
I'm pretty sure that some of that tragic stuff wouldn't likely happen but I heard it was a time of dreaded separation so I was trying to think of something as tragic as I can. But how was it? Bad? Good? It was disrespectful? Let me know. One more chapter and this will be on my very small list of completed stuff. Till tomorrow!