Disclaimer: i do not own Naruto.
Always there for you
It had been over a month since the failed Sasuke retrieval mission. An agonizing month in the plain white hospital room. He was so sick of it, those walls were suffocating him. He knew he still needed recovery as his injury was nearly fatal, but really, he felt like running away from the place.
He closed his eyes in irritation and turned away from the ceiling with a small huff. As if it was mocking him. His eyes landed on the crystal vase with flowers in it.
Violets.
Heh, Hinata-sama must have been here again.
His heart warmed slightly at the thought of his cousin. He was glad she had forgiven him. The small bedside table was filled with cards as well. His fan club. He resisted the urge to chuck them all to the closest garbage bin, but his hands felt stiff and heavy. He returned to glaring.
Tenten and Gai visited daily, Lee had joined them a few days later in those visits, after getting checked out himself.
Hinata also visited, but it was mostly when he was asleep. This made him think she was still a bit afraid of him. He knew that this fear would stay for a while. After all, it takes time for psychological wounds to heal. She was used to him despising and hating her.
Hiashi-sama also came a few times.
He truly appreciated those visits. Even when Kiba and Chouji had entered his room in the dead of night one day, to eat some snacks, it had been fun. Not that he would ever admit it out loud, even under torture.
When he had first regained consciousness after the operation, Shikamaru Nara had visited.
The chuunin had given him a brief explanation about the conditions of the others. He was glad that Akimichi Chouji was fine, as his case was just as difficult as his.
Only Uzumaki Naruto handn't woken up yet.
For some reason this made his heart clench in sickening worry. But his facial expression was schooled to look cold and apathetic. What had the Uchiha done to her to make her stay in a come for so long? He had noticed that she healed very fast, so why wasn't it happening now?
Now, a month was over, and he still hadn't seen the blonde girl.
A few days ago, the Hokage's apprentice, Shizune told him that the girl had finally awoken. Relief had filled him, but it was replaced with bitterness soon. Deep inside he wanted her to come se him too, in fact, from the very beginning he wanted only her to visit. It was wrong, unacceptable. Such behavior was looked down upon in the clan. He was letting his emotions slip.
And only that girl could do it.
Just like she was the one to beat him. Her, a total failure, with eyes better then his.
He smiled.
What if..she didn't want to see him? After all the things he had said to her, it would only be normal for any girl.
But Uzumaki Naruto wasn't normal by all means.
He raised himself slightly and activated his Byakugan. His chakra was almost completely restored by now.
The corridor was deserted and Tsunade wasn't in the building. That was the most important factor.
He smirked, kicking of the white sheets.
He was going to take a leaf out of Uzumaki's book. If she wasn't coming to see him, then he was going to go see her.
And it was purely out of worry for his fellow comrade. Nothing more. Of course not. And it had absolutely nothing to do with the weird fluttering somewhere in his navel.
She had woken up 2 days ago. Sakura's and Kakashi-sensei's heads had swam into view as she had adjusted her eyes.
Both of them were smiling, though Sakura..there was something else in the smile.
Naruto couldn't look in their eyes. She had failed. Sasuke was gone. She felt nothing, like all her emotions had gone numb. All she could do was stare at her bandaged hands.
But then, the pinkette spoke.
"Don't worry Naruto, next time, we will bring him back together, just wait for me, I will catch up..and then.."
The blonde was looking at her with teary eyes, barely believing what she was hearing. Kakashi had patted them on the head.
But she was broken. He had broken her.
She put on her mask.
The goofy, aloof one.
It was so much easier.
And today, after one last checkup, Tsunade had allowed her to leave. She had fled the hospital.
Her body was still tired and not entirely healed, part of which was because she was mentally blocking it, refusing to let it heal. Even the fox couldn't do much in the situation. Naruto was unconsciously giving herself a reminder. As tough the star shaped scar above her heart wasn't enough.
She hit the wooden stamp, tearing the tender skin on her knuckles. Blood oozed from the wound, going down her wide orange sleeve. She ignored it. Her brain didn't register any pain. She just kept punching and kicking with everything she had.
To bring him back.
She was too weak.
That night, a hole appeared in her heart, sucking all her life out, leaving only a dull shell.
He wanted to kill me.
He called me his best friend.
His first friend.
His sister…
Family.
Tears sprang from her eyes, she still didn't notice. Her eyes were unfocused, staring into the distance, flashes of the fight engraved in her mind.
Chidori verses Rasengan
Valley of the End.
Was fate playing with our destinies?
She would have snorted at herself. Fate. She never believed in it, so why now..
Why did it feel..like giving up?
Sasuke…could she bring him back?
She was a drop-out, an outcast, the dead-last.
She was an idiot.
Her foot stumbled and she fell on the ground, no longer having the power to lift herself. She smelled fresh grass. Konoha..
She dully noted hurried footsteps.
She felt warm, slightly bigger hands then her own lift her up. They circled around her. She found herself pressed to a strong chest. The hands were tracing circles on her back.
So calming.
Somewhere at the back of her brain, she noticed that she was shaking uncontrollably. Sobs were racking her body. The spot her head was resting on was slowly getting wetter.
She couldn't stop. The tears, they just came without her permission.
A voice…
"Shh…its all going to be allright.."
It was so calming. She couldn't help but trust it. The sweetness and at the same time, power it gave of gave her a sense of protection. Something she had encountered only once in her life. And that was with Kakashi, or Inu, as he used to go by that codename.
She heard rushed, uncontrolled mumbling, it held so much anguish and pain.
The new voice was an octave higher.
She choked back a gasp, recognizing it.
This was her own voice.
"H..he tried to kill me, he swore to kill me, and, and he said I was his best friend.."
She closed her eyes in shame. This was so unlike her. The person who the voice and the hands belonged to..must be laughing now.
Instead, she felt the arms tighten around her.
"He..shoved a chidori through my chest..without hesitation…and..i..i could have injured him, ra..rasengan was ready..but..i couldn't..if it want for the damned fox, I wouldn't be alive now..i am just weak.."
"an idiot, a dropout..a failure…N-Neji was right…"
She never meant to whisper out loud the last part. But it hurt so much, she didn't care. For all she knew, maybe it was one of the demon haters, waiting for the right moment to strike.
She would embrace death anyway.
The hands loosened slightly.
Here it comes…
But instead, she felt one of the hands going under her knees, the other firmly on her back.
She was lifted up, carefully, almost tenderly.
"No..I wasn't. You just don't understand, Naruto."
She felt his voice vibrate from his chest.
Her face was still hidden in it, and now that she knew who was the owner of the calming voice, she wanted to hide. So pathetic.
She felt him start to move. Her hair had stuck to her cheeks from the half dry tear stains.
She was still silently crying.
And of all people, Neji had to be the one to see her like this.
Her heart constructed tightly. She gripped his shirt almost desperately.
"You are not an idiot. Nor are you weak. Nor are you a failure. Sasuke's heart saw nothing but revenge. It was a path he chose for himself. You, as his teammate, must have known it much better. He believed there was nothing else ahead except for revenge."
He stopped walking and carefully lowered himself, sitting on the wet earth near the lake. Naruto felt herself being turned around.
Her eyes were still closed. She was too scared to open them.
What was happening now, it was so confusing. And surreal. What if this was a dream?
She felt her back leaning on his chest. He took her throbbing injured hand into his own, inspecting it.
She felt something warm tickle down her arm.
"People decide their paths themselves. It was his choice."
The words felt like a stab in the black hole of nothingness. She felt him slowly remove her jacket.
Cold night air hit her bare shoulders. Her black sleeveless shirt she usually wore underneath was sticking to her body.
Cold sweat. And blood.
"But..let me tell you some examples. These are things I heard, as I witnessed only one of them.", he murmured, his face close to hers. His long hair tickled her exposed neck and cheek.
He took her hands again. Her skin was burning. She felt it hit cold water. His thumb gently cleaned the half dried blood.
Her insides chilled.
"There was a boy..who used to think of himself as a tool, to be used and thrown away, he had chosen that path himself."
The other hand joined its twin in gently washing the smaller pair of hands, which had momentarily frozen.
"But, a girl he met made him see the truth. The boy died with a smile on his face."
He took out her hands from the lake and cupping his palms, poured some water on the long slash on her right arm, cleaning it of all the dirt, grime and blood.
"There was a man, who was a cold bloodied killer. They called him a demon. He had believed he had no feelings except hunger for power, and money. But a girl made him see that feelings weren't that bad. She made him understand that shinobi weren't coldhearted tools, but beings who had heart. The man died protecting his only precious person, his family."
He moved to washing the other hand.
"There was a boy, who had believed that his existence was only for killing. Being betrayed once by the person who he thought had loved him, he had decided on his fate. It was to kill. He made himself the monster everyone thought him to be. But a girl, having the same burden, beat some sense into him, making him realize the true power, that is called love. She made him realize he still had people who cared for him. All he needed was to change. The girl helped him in this change. She helped him reunite with his siblings."
Naruto was shivering by now. Was it he cold air and the icy water? Or where it the words he was saying?
A wet hand gently whipped the tear stains from her face. She still refused to open her eyes.
The dull pain was slowly dissolving. The shell was cracking. Did she dare believe it that the old her was back?
"And then..there was a boy, who believed everything was fated, and those weaker then him were destined to be failures."
Her eyes slowly opened, adjusting to the twilight. She was facing the lake. It looked so serene and calm. The wind was blowing softly, like a song that played inside her heart at this moment. She looked down. His arms were around her, shielding her from the cold protectively. Her feet were folded under her.
Something awoke inside of her, like a match in a world of darkness.
"But then, he met this girl. She seemed like an idiot to him, who boasted things that were never meant to be. But in the end, he got his ass handled to him by her.."
As a small smile appeared on her face, she already knew.
Uzumaki Naruto, the one who never gave up on her word…was coming back.
"She made him see the truth, made him realize how wrong he was. She made fate sound laughable. And she saved him from his darkness. She may not know, it but the boy had already told her that she has better yes then him. She has a weird power, you know, even I cant comprehend it. Her charisma, everything about her screams 'determination'. She has a friend, one who is too stubborn to see. But is that a reason to give up?"
He put his chin on her shoulder, and looked sideways at her. She stared right back, the small smile still stuck to her face.
"No. she never gives up. And one trouble some teme knows that. She had promised, and she will never go back on her word. After all, what kind of a future hokage will she be, if she drowned herself in guilt and gave up after the first try.."
Her smile had fully returned by now. A chuckle escaped her captor.
She was back.
"Naruto, never intentionally hurt yourself again.", the tone was demanding and accusing. The blonde shrugged.
"I was training…", she suggested lamely and looked away."Neji..what are you doing here…didn't you hate me?"
"Hate is such a strong word. I didn't hate you even when I just met you. You had just annoyed me back then."
Naruto turned around as much as her aching body would let her. She needed to see his face.
He was looking at her with unreadable eyes.
She gave a dry, forced chuckle.
"Yeah, I annoy people a lot. I am surprised you didn't leave me yet. You know I am like Gaara.."
She flinched at her own words. Of all the people, she didn't want Neji hating her for her tenant.
"I do know of the kyuubi no kitsune being sealed in you. I had done a small investigation after I saw you use it in the exam. Why would that be a reason for me to leave you here alone when you clearly need someone to be there for you? Though, I would understand it if you wished it was someone other then me. "
"Neji..you don't think I am a demon?"
Her widened eyes made something in him snap. His placed a palm over her stomach and smiled.
"The kunai and the scroll are different things, just like you are the fox"
Her eyes teared up again.
Hugging her close to his heart again, he sighed.
"I..am glad you are here, Neji,", he heard a muffled whisper.
He pulled back, looking straight in her eye.
"There was a girl, who annoyed me to hell when we first met. Her eyes, her hair, her loud, boisterous voice full of energy, it annoyed me. Do you know the reason?"
She shook her head slowly. His and sneaked behind her back, stealing a stray sun-kissed lock and running his fingers over it.
"Because I couldn't get her out my mind…"
Naruto's eyes widened.
"And she seemed to hate me from the very beginning, that made me angry. I wanted to do everything in order for her to focus on me.."
"You got your ass kicked for that, dattebayo," her smirk made him chuckle as he hugged her.
His hand repeated the soothing motions on her back.
"It was the first time for me to ever be so interested in any girl. It was later that I finally understood why, when I accepted it. My heart had already chosen for me when we first met"
His eyes softened as he gazed at the small blonde in his arms. Her chest was raising up and down evenly, slowly. Her eyes were closed. She was sleeping with a small smile on her face.
"I fell in love with her."
i had wanted to write a bit more, but this felt like a good ending. hope you guys enjoy.