© Syi-hime

When You're Gone

Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto.

Warning : SasuNaru, possible OOCness, poor writing and clichés.

A/N : This is a one-shot. Hope you'll like it. Enjoy!

The sky was clear that night and the ever so beautiful moon hanged marvelously in the limitless sky, filling and lighting up every corner of the area with its magnificent glowing radiant light. One scrawny blonde ninja was seen sitting by himself on the green grass, all alone. His long legs drawn together closed to his firm chest with his lean arms bracing his legs. His silky blond hair swayed a little – almost hypnotizing- by the breezy wind, cooling his handsome face and messing his unruly hair even more. His once chubby cheeks and the baby fat was now gone, now replaced with a much handsome look and a firm jaw. He looked more mature than whom he used to be back then.

Uzumaki Naruto sighed. He crouched a little, shifting his body to a much comfortable position and placing his chin on top of his knees.

Sighing, he frowned a little, staring ahead at the perfect sphere shape of the moon reflected on the surface of the calm lake beyond him. It was very peaceful. This is exactly what he needed, some peace to calm the storm in his raging and tempestuous heart.

" Ne, Sasuke. It sure is beautiful tonight. Don't you think so?" A low voice pierced through the area, completely disrupting whatever silence it once had. If anyone was around, they might have a slight surprise at the voice Naruto was using. It sounded so pained – way too different than the voice people of Konoha or whomever had met him was familiar with, the loud and obnoxious voice – yet it sounded so…serene.

Naruto lifted up his face and looked around the area. He had found this amazing place one time after a grueling mission and it really mesmerized him. He fell in love with it at the first sight and had been there ever since, at every chance he had. It was like his own private sanctuary. No one know of this area, strangely, and even if they did, they didn't seem to give a damn about it or maybe they were just too busy minding their own business to even notice this amazing place.

Naruto was glad and thankful, though for their ignorance – ignorance is bliss, they say – for now he had the place all to himself. A smile came up to him, not the foxy smile he was famous for, but the rarest heartfelt smile that he saved for one special person….who wasn't here. Not in Konoha, at least.

His smile faltered at the thought and his heart felt like it was squeezed tightly by unforgiving hands that he almost choked.

Shaking his head, he lowered his knees and straightened his body lying flat on his back on the soft green grass.

" Sasuke, I wonder how you're doing over there. Could it be you're still awake, staring at the same sky I'm staring at? I wish you are here, though…then we can enjoy the beauty together. It's not strange or weird. I assure you, all of us Rookie 9 did it before…looking at the sky at nighttime, I mean. It was fun!"

Lifting both hands up high in the air, he cupped the feature of the moon by his hands. A surge of joy and prideful ness filled his entire being at such achievement, despite his obvious childish antic.

" Look,Sasuke! The moon is so full tonight and it's huge! It is as if I can hold and cup it in my hands!"

Naruto chuckled and he felt as if he could hear Sasuke chuckling beside him as well. If Sasuke was here, he knew that Sasuke would just swat his hands away and called him names, particularly Dobe and probably chuckle or snort – since Sasuke laughing seemed almost impossible – at his child-like behaviour.

Pulling his hand down and back behind his head, he laid down comfortably. Usually, he would fall asleep minutes after he arrived at the place, but not tonight…

" Sasuke, how are you getting on? Everyone here is getting stronger day by day, particularly everyone in Rookie 9. You remember Shikamaru? He's a Chuunin, now. I think you know that he was the only one out of us that passed the Chuunin exam. So, he is kinda busy most of the time, what with the Chuunin exam task to handle and deal with; he even had to be Temari's escort! They're dating, I tell you! Believe it-ttebayo! But of course, they don't admit it…heh,that lazy Shika..."

Strands of blond hair fell on his forehead, one long bangs almost covering his left azure eye. He swiftly raised one hand pushing the bangs away before tucking his hand back under his head.

"….and I'm sure you remember Neji. You still do, don't you? Hoho, he's going to be furious if you forget him. I know how both of you always regard each other…'Hyuuga'..'Uchiha'. Man, that's so lame. You both sure are socially inept. By the way, Neji has grown a lot. Not just physically, though I must tell you he looks much better than before, handsomer, so to say. He has developed some kickass jutsu too! But, of course I'm way much handsomer than him now and my jutsus are more kickass than his…."

Naruto trailed off, laughing to himself as his mind brought him back to the day he had returned to Konoha after training with the perverted hermit Jiraiya for almost 3 years. Neji had this surprise look on his face and his off-white eyes widened comically at the sight of Naruto. What Naruto didn't notice was – or maybe he did notice,but was too oblivious to it – the slight pink dusting the Hyuuga's cheeks. Neji was sparring with Hinata when Naruto bumped into them. Hinata was blushing red from face down to her neck back then.

"…..oh, and Hinata, she has improved too, it seems. But she still acts weird around me…like she would go very red at the mere sight of me...and fainted. I have no idea why. It's not like I carry an infectious disease around!" Naruto pouted."By the way,her teammate, Shino had gone as mysterious as ever. He can rival you, teme!..."

Somewhere in the deep forest of Konoha, one ninja who was busy concentrating on trying to catch a certain rare bug for a good five houres, sneezed. The bug happily flew away.

"…he has this cloak on covering almost his entire body except his eyes, and he expect me to remember him?! How can I manage to do that when the only part of him I can see is his face?!…and yeah, he still wears his sunglasses…Even at night! Haha, after years of trying to figure it out, I think I know why…maybe he wants to look cool. Maybe wearing sunglasses and acting mysterious is in now."

A grin marred Naruto's face. He felt good. It was as if he was really talking to Sasuke and it made him felt great inside. It was almost as if his heart had wings and they were fluttering excitedly. Geez, how much more soppy can I be?

"…and you know what,Sasuke, Akamaru…he has grown a lot. Like A LOT! He's very huge…no, he is humongous-ttebayo! He's so huge that he can't fit in in Kiba's shirt anymore; in fact Kiba is riding him! And Lee, you expect him to change too,don't you? Well, he did….if you don't count his fuzzy caterpillar-like eyebrows and his speech of eternal passion of youth that is.He still has a crush on Sakura-chan,though. Speaking of Sakura-chan, she's a……"

"Naruto? Are you in there?" Hakura Sakura was standing right on the doormat of Naruto's apartment, patiently knocking on his door repetitively. So far, she had been standing there for a full five minutes and yet there was no sign of huge holes on the apartment wall and the windows and the doors were perfectly as they were. So,yeah , Sakura had not lost her temper just yet.

Inwardly, she mused on how incredible it was - and how fortunate Naruto was - that she had yet to murder her friend in the sixteen years she had known the rambunctious, boisterous, obnoxiously loud blonde.

Channeling her chakra , she focused her mind to detect or trace any sign of Naruto's chakra inside the apartment. She was silently contemplating which special 'treatments' should she used on Naruto if she were to find him hiding inside the apartment and not answering the door. But, fortunately for Naruto and unfortunately for Sakura, she couldn't sense any sign of Naruto's chakra. Sighing - and mentally hitting herself for not tracing Naruto's chakra earlier on instead of wasting her time waiting for him - she walked away.

She was walking down the streets of Konoha with a frown marring her face when she bumped into Iruka-sensei. He had just finished his class at the Academy and was on his way towards Naruto's apartment direction.

"Hello, Iruka-sensei. Have you seen Naruto?"

"No, but I'm about to see him. I plan to take him out for some ramen tonight. Urm,if you don't mind me asking, why are you looking for him?" Umino Iruka, as polite as always, asked.

"Well, I had the day off today and I was planning to see him and maybe have dinner with him since I haven't seen him much lately and the last time I saw him was three weeks ago."

"Oh,.." Iruka smiled. " Well, he has been busy with mission lately. That's why. But, I heard he's coming home today."

Sakura, finally noticing the direction Iruka was heading too,asked, "Iruka-sensei, if you're going to Naruto's apartment, he's not there."

"…..Eh?"

"Yeah, I've went there just now. He isn't there. Oh well, sorry Iruka-sensei, but I've to go now. Tsunade-sama wont like it if I'm late."

Iruka faintly cringed at the thought of said Hokage on rampage. He could picture her slamming the Hokage table and effectively breaking the table's legs in two even with the slightest effort, as reported by some of the Peeping Toms squad amongst the ANBU guards.And to think ANBU never gossip. Iruka mentally sighed.

"You okay, Iruka-sensei?"

"…..Yeah,I'm fine." Inwardly, Iruka admired the courage and patience his former student have to endure such torture of a teacher. " Go ahead, and please don't tell Naruto 'bout my ramen treat. It's a surprise for him."

Sakura smiled understandingly. She nodded and bowed her head politely before she took off towards the Hokage Tower.

"…..a medic ninja now. She's awesome and you should have seen her treating Kankurou during the Akatsuki attack ...she was so cool! You're wrong if you think I'm saying this 'coz I like her. No, in fact, I'm over her."

A sad and pained expression filled Naruto's being.

" You know,Sasuke…the day the rescue team set off to rescue you, she had come around and asked me to save you. She cried a lot. I've never seen her like that. That was then I realized that she really like you a lot and sees only you ...and that I'd never stand a chance. Before I knew it, I've lost any interest I used to have in her. I'm not blaming you Sasuke... for hogging her attention all to yourself, ...to me Sakura is more like a sister now. I know it pained her to see you go – she told me she was there the night you left – and I share the pain too... It was very hard for both of us. The three of us had been together for so long, that it feels weird without you around. We...we really miss you, Sasuke…."

A single tear slipped down his cheek but he didn't make any move to rid of the tear. He continued staring at the beautiful sight of the sky littered with stars like a huge, endless jet-black satin skillfully decorated with designs of glitters and twinkles like that of a snow crystal that only bring out the beauty of the black-ness……so beautiful, so grand, so deep….much like Sasuke's eyes.

So pretty….

"You're really pretty, Sasuke…" Naruto chuckled. "Ice prince….hmm,that suits your looks and your personality." Sasuke would beat him senseless if he heard Naruto saying it.

"Ano sa, there's a new guy on our team who look a little bit like you. I wouldn't admit he looks a lot like you, since you are way hotter and handsomer than him, though of course I wouldn't say this in front of you, you arrogant bastard!!Oh, he's a bastard as well. Chouji didn't like him but after sometime and some elaborated explanation, they're getting along fine and so is Ino….he complimented her looks,thats why but that only made Sakura-chan even madder! Man, I don't understand girls."

As if he could hear Sasuke's voice somewhere in the background, grumbling that Naruto had not even introduce the name, Naruto mentally hit his head. Sometimes, his stupidity scared him.

" ahahaha, sorry. His name is Sai. He's a Konoha ninja too, just a little bit different than us. He's from Root, an organization similar to ANBU. He was the one protecting me when you drew your katana (sword) out at Orochimaru's hideout. Speaking of Orochimaru, what's with the ku ku ku ku anyway? He's way too weird…even for a villain.I hope you're doing fine over there…I know you can manage on your own, it's just that… I can't help myself from not worrying about you..."

I miss you so much…..

"I've been on a lot of mission with other teams since you left. Although it was nothing like when it was with you, but I got to meet a lot people from countries and villages I hadn't even know existed. Like when I went to Hidden Star Village, I met Sumaru. He's a lot like you - he lost his mother,only to find out later that she was still alive - and there's this ojii-chan that thinks of me as his child since I look a lot like him. I think ...I know now how you feel, but I still disagree with how you want to gain your power and avenge your clan."

My heart aches...it hurts a lot.

" I lost you too, Sasuke. You were right. I may not know how it feels to have a family and losing them. Heck, I don't even know my parents' names or how they look like! I don't even have a clan! But, you Sasuke…you teach me how it feels to have somebody, you teach me how to love, if anything you ever teach me or whatever it is you make me feel is equivalent to how it feels having a family, then I feel your lost too, Sasuke…when you leave me.. I don't know why you have to go to that snake bastard Orochimaru and risk yourself and your body for him. We can still grow stronger together. We can punch and kick the hell out of each other if you want to. We can fight so hard and tire ourselves out and..and..until we won't be able to get up the next day. I ...I...I really miss sparring with you. There's no one as excellent as you for a sparring partner. Back then, I was beyond surprise when Shikamaru told me you left. For a moment there, I felt like my world had stopped. I...felt so betrayed, Sasuke. My heart...it hurts a lot. I don't give a damn if the villagers hurt my feelings; they can do all they want for all I care, fuck them!!….but not you…you're my rival, you're my best friend, you're something…else…more special. I was almost insane the first couple of months after you left. Everything felt so meaningless, so….empty without you. My perfect façade that I've honed and mastered for years nearly broken and...and..there's this huge gaping hole inside my heart since you left. I felt so lost and so...lonely…even more so than before. Each night, I would sneak into your manor silently, inwardly praying and hoping that I would see you there sleeping peacefully, deep in slumber…that all that had happened was just a nightmare, was all a dream. It hurts …here, Sasuke.."

Raising one hand shakily to his heart, Naruto sobbed inconsolably. He was sitting on the grass again with arms bracing him, as if protecting himself from any danger future was threatening him with. He rocked himself back and forth, over and over again, trying to calm himself like a crying baby to a mother's sweet lullaby.

" Sasuke, I know you want to be stronger than Itachi and I can tell you're getting stronger. You were stronger than before at Orochimaru's hideout. When you appeared in a flash in front of me with your one arm slung across my shoulder,I...I was shocked and I had to resist the urge from embracing you. When you slipped into my mind and suppress Kyuubi's chakra with your hands, you amazed me. When you struck your Chidori Nagashi on me, it broke my heart into tiny little pieces. I knew it from the moment I saw you, you're getting stronger. But I'd rather you getting stronger together with me…..When you said my name; your voice made my heart trembled. I...I can't believe how much I miss your slightly husky and almost unbearably sweet voice. I can't believe I'm saying this, but...but I...I miss having you around. I miss to hear you calling me names, insulting me and just pissing me off. I miss to hear...Dobe,this,,...dobe,that...I wish you're here, Sasuke…."

The blonde ninja was still crying heartily and his body jerked once in a while. His sobbing penetrated the silence of the night. He was so deep in his emotional turbulence that he didn't realize the presence of a company…or some companies.

Soft fur tickled his nape and ears as he felt a strong and warm body wrapped itself around him protectively. Naruto jerked from his position, ninja instinct finally kicking in, only a tad too late.

But he relaxed when he realized the identity of his company. One wet tongue licked his left cheek and one on the other cheek, licking his tear-stained cheeks. Another bundle of soft fur tickled his ankles as the baby fox played around with his legs. Crossing his legs, Naruto calmed himself down and picked the baby fox up and let it nestled in his lap all the while caressing the soft red-orange fur. Another two slightly bigger foxes leaned on his side, softly purring. Eyes softening, he smiled at the sight, chuckling lightly.

" Sasuke…meet my friends. On my right is Kaoru-chan and on the left is Haruka-chan, behind my back is their mother Kin-chan. I named her Kin coz her fur is very pretty and golden…aint she pretty?" Naruto smiled. "...and finally this cute little baby fox is Suki-chan. I was going to name him Sasuke or Suke-chan coz he reminds me a lot of you…but Suki sounds great too, it means beloved. You can change his name if you want to. I think the others are sleeping. I found them on the second week I was here. They're really nice and warm. I feel like I have a family every time I'm with them. Usually Kin-chan would let me sleep on her soft belly. It feels so nice that I'd sleep right away." Naruto laughed lightly, stroking his fingers under one of Suki-chan's foxy ears. "Someday, I'll introduce them to you when you're finally home. Oh, even Ichiraku has some new ramen flavours! I've been saving them for the day you arrive home….let's eat it together! My treat!"

Getting up to his feet, Naruto carefully picked the adorable sleeping Suki-chan into his arms. He walked a few feet over to the nearby cave where he first found the foxes and ushered the foxes back into the cave. Thanks to Kyuubi, he managed to understand a little bit about the foxes despite the lack of communication. Sometimes, words are not essentially necessary. Action speaks louder than words, they say.

Satisfied with himself, Naruto walked out of the cave opening and cast one last fleeting look towards the silent moon. It remains dark and mysterious yet beautiful in its glory….so much like Sasuke.

"Ne, Sasuke….It's late and I really have to go, but I'll come again tomorrow night. So, wait for me…for I've always wait for you."

Good night, Sasuke…

Naruto smiled again. It was that smile. The smile that he gave to only Sasuke. The smile that he saved for years for Sasuke. The smile that he wished to show to only Sasuke. For Sasuke's eyes only. Naruto walked out of the area with that rare smile etched on his face – feeling the weariness fading away from his groggy body – with a single silent thought running through his dazed mind..

I miss you,Sasuke.

End of When You're Gone.

A/N: Again, I hope you enjoy it and please,please review. I know a lot of you read it and not review. Please review.It wont hurt you. Motivate me! XD.