Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto then I would be really really rich, so although I wished I owned Naruto, all I own is this little story here… a.k.a. I'm broke…
Terror washed through Sasuke, as he huddled against the wall, his hand in Naruto's, as the two of them stared in horror at the door. Sakura ran towards them, from down the hall, and huddled against Naruto, joining the frightened. The front door shook, as someone outside beat against it, yelling, frightening the three teens. "Leave us alone!", Sasuke yelled.
The stranger was about to come through the door, and Sasuke ran towards it, locking the padlock just in time. But the lock got stuck, and Sasuke had to unlock it and relock it in a flash, his heart pounding like crazy. He looked over at the others, as he leaned his back against the door. The stranger began beating at the windows again, as Sasuke ran back to his friends, holding onto them for dear life.
Naruto became brave, and he went to the door, and opened it, to face the stranger. "Naruto, no!", Sasuke yelled, angry at his best friend.
The stranger grabbed Naruto by his hand, before looking over at Sasuke and Sakura, his face covered by a black fog, unable to be seen. He dragged Naruto away, the door slamming shut, as Sakura suddenly disappeared.
Itachi suddenly appeared, and Sasuke threw his arms around his brothers neck, hugging him for dear life. Sasuke then separated from his brother and went down the hall, gathering up all of his stuff. He packed his stuff away, as Itachi moved throughout the apartment, helping him to pack. Once all of their stuff was packed away, Itachi turned to Sasuke who walked in the room, carrying a hair dryer, which he packed away in a box.
"Alright, I have to work. We'll leave when I get back", Itachi said, as he suddenly appeared in a work uniform.
"No! Why can't we go now?", Sasuke pleaded.
"Because I have to go work. What's your problem, little brother?", Itachi asked.
"I just wanna leave! Let's just go!", Sasuke demanded, his eyes tearing up.
Sasuke jerked awake, his eyes snapping open, as he stared at the wall next to his bed. The sun shone through his open window, highlighting his raven hair, coloring it a blue black. He slept over his covers in the black shorts, shirtless. His duck butt styled hair was sticking up, even more than usual, along with his long bangs.
The wall seemed pretty interesting, as Sasuke stared at it, trying to make sense of the weird dream. Who was the stranger? Why did he take Naruto of all people? Sasuke had a funny feeling in him that partly wished that it had been him who the stranger would have taken, instead. But that thought didn't really make sense to him. Why would he want to go with the stranger? You could make it out to be that he would have wanted to save Naruto, but it didn't really feel that way… Especially, lately with how scornful he had been feeling towards the Kyuubi vessel… But he didn't really want to think about that. He was tired of thinking about that.
And why was Itachi in his dream? Sure, now that his brother was dead he regretted his hatred towards his brother, but that didn't mean he should have warm, fuzzy, brotherly dreams about him.
Sasuke sighed, pushing the dream to the back of his mind, as he mentally prepared for another agonizing day of training with his team. After Itachi's death Sasuke had abandoned Orochimaru and Sound, to rejoin his old team. After a year in custody, two years of house arrest, and hours of community service, he was free to roam Konoha again. It was now four years after he had rejoined Konoha, and now twenty years old. He was back training with his old team, and things were partially the same as they had been.
His old team members had barely changed, yet they had changed so much. Sakura had long lost her old, fangirl crush on him, and was currently dating Lee. She was well on her way to becoming the next Tsunade, and had even started joining Tsunade in her drinking games. But although she was stronger and tougher, she had grown a little more softer side for others, especially Naruto. During their fight to bring Sasuke back, Sakura had stopped bullying Naruto, and had practically adopted him as her brother. The two had tried dating once a few years back, but it hadn't lasted long.
Naruto had matured some, but he still maintained his immature blond self. His pranks had quieted down, but you could still see one every once in awhile. He was taller than Sasuke now, and still paraded around in his favorite orange jumpsuit. After failing with his relationship with Sakura, he had given up on her and went on a sort of relationship journey. He went out Hinata, before finding out that he preferred the boys and went out with Neji. After a long time with Neji, Naruto had a short thing with Shino and was currently single, just hanging around. He went away nearly every year with Naruto, and came back with the craziest stories that left Konoha laughing for weeks.
Kakashi was practically the same, except for a few differences. Of course he still hid his face from the world, except one visible eye. He still read that same Icha Icha book, even though it amazed his students how he could still be reading it after all of these years. At age thirty-two the man was still, surprisingly, unwed, his love life a complete mystery to all, just as much as his face. Kakashi held a special place in the raven-haired Uchiha's heart now. At first he had tried to deny it, but now he just accepted it. Uchiha Sasuke was in love with Hatake Kakashi, and Sasuke had been aware of it for over a year now. For actually how long he had been in love with the man was unclear to him, though.
That very same love was what Sasuke had been agonizing over for past year, making team meetings and missions unbearable. Especially when Sasuke had decided to give up on Kakashi, upon finding how buddy buddy Naruto and Kakashi had been lately, sending poor Sasuke into depression.
Sasuke groaned, as he rubbed his forehead, sitting up in bed. God, like sucked… He got out of bed, and took a shower. Once out of the shower, he fished a clean shirt and clean pair of black shirts out of his closet, and he dressed, before taming his hair - or at least taming it as it usually was. Sasuke grabbed his weapons pouch, and put it on. He grabbed some breakfast from his kitchen, before leaving the house.
Sasuke walked through Konoha, on his way towards the bridge, as he thought off in his own little world, as he crossed his arms. He groaned mentally… If there were any Gods up in the sky then they would cancel his meeting with his team. Sasuke neared the bridge, and he stopped suddenly, as he stared at it in hesitation. He had the sudden overwhelming feeling to run away. Sasuke stood there for a few minutes just staring at the bridge, trying to decide whether to run or not. He groaned, rubbing his forehead, as he bit viciously at his lip. Sasuke looked at the bridge again, before sighing his mind already made.
Sasuke turned away from the bridge, ready to run away, before he heard a voice he really didn't wanna hear right now. "Hey, Teme!", Naruto yelled, cheerfully.
"Hn", Sasuke muttered, as he looked up. Naruto ran up to him, and stopped, his arms behind his head.
"Whatcha doin', Teme?", Naruto asked. Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the nickname Naruto always christened him.
"Going home", Sasuke mumbled, passing Naruto.
"No way! You never miss a meeting!", Naruto exclaimed, his eyes wide in shock.
"Well, I am now", Sasuke said, shortly, as he continued walking.
Naruto suddenly ran up, and began walking backwards in front of Sasuke, annoying the raven further. "What's up? You aren't sick are you!?", Naruto asked, worriedly. He forced Sasuke to stop walking, by jumping forward, and putting his hand on Sasuke's forehead.
"What are you doing, Dobe?", Sasuke asked, his eye twitching.
"Checking your temperature, Teme. Seriously! And you call me the dobe!", Naruto laughed.
Sasuke growled, and slapped Naruto's hand away, while pushing Naruto out of his way. He crossed his arms, as he began walking away again. He didn't want to deal with Naruto's… 'Narutoness' today. It was pathetic enough that he was willing to miss a meeting just to avoid Kakashi and the others. "Teme! Don't think you're going to get rid of me just like that!", Naruto yelled, as he ran after Sasuke. Sasuke looked back at him, glancing from his peripheral vision, before he took off in a run, away from his best friend.
Sasuke jumped onto a roof of a building, and began running over the roof's of Konoha, trying to get away from the blond baka, before he committed homicide. He didn't really think him killing Naruto would sit very well with the village. Maybe in his dreams, but in real life he was out of luck. He figured that out after Itachi betrayed him.
Sasuke was broken out of his thoughts when he done a very un-Uchiha like move, tripped over a roof tile, and fell off a house. Luckily, he managed to catch himself in a tree, but it was enough for Naruto to catch up with him, as Naruto landed on the tree branch in front of him, and began yelling at him. "What's your problem, Teme! I was only trying to help you!", Naruto yelled, balling his fists together, "You didn't have to run away from me! Are you sure nothing crawled up your ass and died!?"
"Shut up, Dobe", Sasuke growled at him. He grabbed Naruto's shirt by the collar, and lifted Naruto up, before throwing him out of the tree.
Sasuke jumped up onto the roof of the house he had fallen off of, before running away again. "Teme!", he heard Naruto yell, before a gust of air fell against Sasuke. He quickly jumped to the side as Naruto, kunai in hand, rushed past him, missing him. Sasuke smirked, and punched Naruto in the stomach, when he turned to hit Sasuke again.
Naruto growled, showing off his elongated canines, as he charged towards Sasuke, and punched him in the face, the two of them falling off the house together, and landing on the street. Both jumped up, facing each other, challengingly. Sasuke nose began bleeding, and Naruto was a little out of breath from Sasuke's punch, but both were willing to continue the fight, rivals and best friends as always.
Sasuke whipped a few kunai out of his pouch, throwing two at Naruto, which he skillfully dodged, before Sasuke charged at him, with another kunai. Sasuke slashed at Naruto, who continued dodging him, before Sasuke managed to cut him on his arm, tearing a little into his orange jumpsuit. Naruto jumped away, and formed the hand signs for Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Ten copies of Naruto appeared, and jumped at Sasuke, who threw his kunai at one, popping it, before fighting with his hands with the others, popping them all.
Sasuke turned to face Naruto, all of his clones gone, only to find Naruto gone. Not a second later, Sasuke found his face meeting the ground, his hands behind his back, and a foot he wanted to burn on his back, holding him down. "Wow, Sasuke! You're really off today, aren't you!", Naruto said, amazed.
Sasuke growled, as he struggled under Naruto's hold, before giving up, with a sigh. "Honestly, Dobe. Why do you always have to make my life hell?", he asked, solemnly.
"What do you mean, Sasuke?", Naruto asked, his eyes wide, worried.
"You always make it so damn hard for me. Why can't you just leave me alone?", Sasuke asked, annoyed, since his other point didn't come across.
"Cause you're my friend!", Naruto declared, proudly, before he sighed, looking sad, "Besides, we've already went down this road when you left us… I don't want you to leave us again"
Sasuke looked sideways, up at Naruto, before sighing as he looked down at the ground, which wasn't hard seeing it was right there. "I'm not gonna leave again, Dobe. I've told you a million times. Why would I leave, when my one mission in life is over?", Sasuke reasoned.
"Oh… yeah", Naruto said, awkwardly. He let go of Sasuke, and plumped down onto the ground next to his raven-haired friend, looking serious. Sasuke rubbed his forehead, as he sat up. "Hey, Sasuke", Naruto said, his tone as serious as he looked.
"What is it?", Sasuke asked, as he blew his bangs out of his eyes and looked at Naruto.
"Well, I was just wonderin', now that Itachi's dead, what are you gonna do? I mean, that was your mission in life, after all", Naruto wondered.
Sasuke frowned, as he looked up at the sky, the clouds changing into memories of the past. He used to look to the past, to change his future and kill Itachi, but now that his brother was dead… all he thought about was the future. He so desperately wanted to revive his clan, but a small part of him didn't want to. Plus, there was the whole him loving Kakashi thing that would undoubtedly make it difficult. He sighed, and rubbed his forehead some more. "I guess… I just want to live", Sasuke said, honestly.
Sasuke stared up at the sky for another thoughtful moment, before he looked at Naruto, who had previously been staring at him, apparently. Naruto blushed and squeaked, before he jumped up, offering his hand to Sasuke. "We should get to the bridge before Sakura calls the old hag, worried about us", Naruto joked. Sasuke smiled at his friend and gave him his hand, as Naruto helped him up. It may have been Sasuke's imagination, but he could have sworn that Naruto caressed his palm, before letting go of it, but Sasuke dismissed the thought. Sasuke crossed his arms, scowling, as he followed Naruto back to the bridge. He couldn't believe that Naruto had ruined his plans… again. The fucking gods hated him.
At the bridge, Sakura, who was standing in the middle of it, turned and smiled at the two of them. "Hi, Naruto! Hi, Sasuke!", she said, as she ran up to Naruto. Sakura whispered in Naruto's ear, who glanced nervously at Sasuke, as she done so. Sasuke ignored them though, and went over to the bridge's rail, to lean on it.
The hardest part of his day was over now - or one the hardest parts. Deciding whether or not to actually show always challenged him, as his head and heart battled ruthlessly against each other. Once he was at the bridge, his decision made, all he ever had to deal with after that was everything Kakashi related. Day after day he spent in hell, at the team meetings and on missions. Being around Kakashi and knowing that he would never him was just as worse as him dying. Sasuke favored the former though, relishing in the fact that he could at least see Kakashi.
Sasuke and his teammates waited around for the usual few hours, all of them once again wondering why in the hell did they ever come at the time Kakashi said, knowing he wouldn't be along for a very long time. At one point, Naruto growled, from where he sat on the bridge. "you think he could show up early for once", he grumbled.
"Shut up, Dobe", Sasuke snapped at him. Having to wait around for Kakashi, was making him edgy. He didn't Naruto's incessant whining.
Naruto whined, and suddenly became silent. Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows when Naruto didn't argue with him. He turned his head and examined Naruto, who very obviously looked away from Sasuke. Sasuke blinked his eyes, as Naruto sat quietly, radiating an angel-like aura. Sasuke looked around, looking for any other signs of the apocalypse, before looking at his friend again, raising his eyebrows. He then looked at Sakura, who was glancing from him to Naruto, this mischievous glint in her eye. Sasuke mentally sighed, giving up on trying to figure out what was going on.
Thirty minutes later, the familiar poof of Kakashi appearing, was heard. Sasuke purposefully looked down at the bridge, as he turned around, to lean back on the bridge's rail. "You're late!", Naruto and Sakura promptly yelled at their elder.
"I was on my way here, when I noticed a strange rabbit. So I followed him down a hole, where -", Kakashi said, waving his usual, useless tale.
"Liar!", Naruto and Sakura both yelled.
Sasuke tuned out for a minute, as he just listened to the sound of Kakashi's voice. It always seemed to calm him in a way that used to grate on his nerves. Now it just tortured him, with one of the man's many beauties. "Teme! Wake up!", Naruto yelled, in his face.
Sasuke blinked, before he looked up at Naruto, who was now standing in front of him. "Hn?", he asked.
"Teme! Stay out of the clouds!", Naruto yelled at him.
Sasuke glared at him, scowling. "Just tell me what you want, Dobe", he said, as calmly as he could.
"He wants you to join the team, Sasuke", Kakashi said, lazily, "because, in case you haven't noticed, we're ready to start training"
Kakashi's voice sent delicious shivers down Sasuke's spine, as he forced himself to remain calm. He looked from Naruto to Sakura, glancing at them, before he crossed his arms and walked off the bridge, completely ignoring Kakashi. He walked to the training grounds, as Naruto and Sakura walked on either side of him. Sasuke was burning to acknowledge Kakashi, who was walking behind the three of them, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.
At the training grounds, Sasuke stopped and pointed his eyes at the ground, as he looked at his teammates from the corner of his eye. Naruto stopped, next to Sakura, as the two of them turned to look at Kakashi. Sasuke turned his head a little, to fully look at Kakashi out of the corner of his eye. The pervert had his face hidden behind his favorite copy of Icha Icha Paradise, as he stopped walking, before he snapped his book shut and put it away in his weapons pouch. Sasuke watched his movements, memorizing everything. Kakashi looked up, his visible eye flickering over his teammates, before they landed on Sasuke. Sasuke quickly looked away, blushing, his heart pounding like crazy.
"So, what are we doing today, Sensei!", Naruto asked, enthusiastically.
"I'm not your sensei anymore, Naruto", Kakashi said, lazily.
"I know. But your so old it's hard not to call you Sensei, Sensei!", Naruto said.
Sasuke growled, mentally, angry at how Naruto was insulting his love. "Don't be such a baka, Dobe. Just because he has silver hair, doesn't mean he's old. It just means he's unique", Sasuke said, not able to stop himself, as he, in his own way, complimented Kakashi.
"Why, thank you… Sasuke", Kakashi said. Sasuke turned his head a little to the side, something in Kakashi's voice making his heart flutter a little.
Naruto whined, and suddenly flung himself on Sasuke, hugging him from behind, his arms tightly wrapped around Sasuke's neck. "Sasuke! Why can't you say such nice things about me! We're friends!", he whined.
Sasuke glared, as he tried to get Naruto off of him. "Get off me, Dobe", he growled. He heard Sakura giggled, and looked over his and Naruto's shoulders, to glare at her. He was about to glare at her to help him, when he felt a hand on his hair. Sasuke looked up at his hair, and saw a gloved hand. His heart clenched tightly, as he realized who the hand belonged to. Kakashi chuckled, as he leaned down close to Sasuke's face, forcing Sasuke to look up at him. "Naruto can't help it Sasuke. You look so cuddly and cute", Kakashi told him.
Sasuke blushed like a strawberry, before realizing exactly what he had said. He glared murder at the ground. "I'm not cute", Sasuke said, venomously. Gods how he hated the word 'cute'. No matter how many people told him that he was cute, he was dead set on the 'fact' that he was not cut. (Which we all know is such a lie, even if he denies it). He heard Kakashi chuckle more, before he moved away.
Sasuke paid attention this time, as Kakashi spoke, although he kept his eyes on the ground. "Before we train, I should let you know that we have a mission tomorrow. We will be traveling to Suna, to give a message to the Kazekage", Kakashi told them.
"Why can't the old hag just send the message some other way?", Naruto asked, whining, as he pulled on Sasuke's neck. Sasuke growled, as he suddenly remembered that Naruto was clutching onto him like a parasite. He pushed Naruto off of him, and crossed his arms, glaring at a spot a few feet away from Kakashi's feet.
"Because, Naruto, the Kazekage specifically asked us to deliver it", Kakashi said, lazily, and Sasuke saw out of the corner of his eye, that his fingers twitched a little. That was usually the sign when Kakashi was growing bored, and itched to bury himself in his perverted book, again.
"That's because Gaara trusts Naruto so much, and believes in him", Sakura said, matter of fact, her voice fond.
Of course, Gaara believed and trusted Naruto. He had for years, and now after everything Gaara had been through, Sasuke could see the love that shone through his eyes when he gazed upon Naruto. Naruto, being as oblivious as he was never saw anything, and thought all of the attention that Gaara doted upon him was purely out of friendship. Sasuke snorted mentally. As if anything Gaara done was purely for 'friendship'… right.
"Anyways, I'll stop by the Hokage's office and retrieve the mission and meet all of you at the gates, early in the morning, alright?", Kakashi asked, his voice light and cheery.
Sasuke rolled his eyes, as he heard his other teammates growl. "Like you'll actually be there in the morning!", Sakura and Naruto both yelled at him.
"Whatever could mean?", Kakashi asked, innocently, or at least half of his voice did. Sasuke could hear the half of his voice sound mischievous. He just loved playing with the other two so much, well that's what he used to think. Now the jealous tremors in Sasuke growled at him that it was Naruto he just loved playing with. He, without meaning to, actually growled in real life.
"Uhh, Sasuke? Are you okay?", Sakura asked, cautiously.
Sasuke looked up at his teammates, effectively avoiding Kakashi's face, as he glared at them. "I'm fine. Can we just start training, already?", he asked, annoyed.
Hello, all who ready! If you liked this chapter of my first multi-chaptered fic, please review! It'll help my fragile ego, and make me feel better about writing. You don't have to though! So don't feel pressured! Anyways, not really sure how many chapters I'm going to shell out on this, but there are going to be a few. The next chapter will be from Kakashi's view, then back to Sasu-Chan's view. So, all who read and review, ENJOY!!! Aishiteru!
