Author's Note: This story is a sequel fic for its predecessor, 'Of A Mother'. The title comes from Mona Van Duyn's poem. As always, I would love to hear what you think of the story. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Naruto and the other characters belong to Mr. Kishimoto Masashi.
A Small Excursion
by neonate
Morning came in the Konoha Village. The sun had risen for about an hour, but most of the inhabitants were still asleep. The rays of sunshine softly penetrated the cracked windows of one boy's apartment.
Uzumaki Naruto didn't know what hit him. It seemed that suddenly he could not move his neck. He was lying on his unkempt bed, wide awake, but didn't show any sign of getting out of it. When he tried to raise his head, the pain stung and his neurons went haywire. It felt like a part of his neck had become as heavy as lead. He could not turn his head to the sides.
What is happening to me?! He cried inwardly.
He tried again, and this time the pain subsided. He didn't feel such a sharp, stinging sensation anymore. In its place was an uncomfortable feeling of somebody tying his nerves into one giant knot. Rubbing the spot with his left hand, he found nothing suspicious. The skin felt normal. No bruise, no cut. He should know if there was any.
Rising from his bed, he saw the alarm clock on the floor.
Shit! I'm late!
Naruto rushed to get ready, brushing his teeth with one hand and donning his orange jumpsuit with another. He forwent the usual morning ritual of taking a bath and eating his breakfast ramen. All was forgotten, the only thing in his mind was to be at the bridge on time. It didn't matter that his jounin sensei was always irresponsibly late. He would not let Uchiha Sasuke have the pleasure of jeering at him, dammit!
He left his apartment without even caring to lock the door. Leaping over the rooftops, he hastily made his way to the bridge where they usually met in the morning. He grew aware of the uncomfortable sensation on the left side of his neck and tried to shrug it, but the feeling stayed.
Reaching the bridge, he saw the lone figure of his teammate/rival from above the trees. The boy was leaning casually on the railing and as always, he looked bored. Some people took his expression as one of coolness, but after spending some time with the said boy, Naruto knew better. Uchiha Sasuke wore that mask if he was thinking of nothing and everything. The only time that face of his would contort into an expression was when he's angry, mischievous, or afraid. But that would not be entirely true either.
He had seen something that most people would not think it was possible. It happened once, but Naruto couldn't forget. Nor did he really want to remember it as well. Something like that was best left unspoken.
He made the last jump from the tree, landed next to Sasuke gracefully like a cat, made a peace sign, and flashed his famous wide grin, "Sasuke! Just you wait, I'll beat you today!"
Naruto's trademark 'good morning' went ignored, but after a while, he got used to it. He didn't expect the other boy to reply anyway. The silence was deafening. It did not matter. It was normal.
Unconsciously he rubbed the spot on his neck, still trying to figure out what had gone wrong. He tried applying pressure to it, but somehow missed the spot. Hm, not quite right, he thought, not here either. Ack...almost, but didn't nail it.
He gave up. For a genin, Uzumaki Naruto had an especially advanced recuperative power thanks to the Nine-Tail-Fox spirit sealed inside him, and he was not a stranger to pain either. But he never felt this kind of sensation in his neck before. He could take bruises, cuts, or fractured bones and still smile afterwards. However this new awareness came from within and didn't go away like his disappearing cuts.
It didn't hurt, but he didn't like it either. It felt like somebody was standing on his neck and doing jumping jack on it.
Soon his attention was diverted from his thoughts when a cheerful voice greeted both of them.
"Ohayou, Sasuke-kun, Naruto!"
He turned around to see a bubbly, pink-haired kunoichi running lightly towards them. Her smile was infectious and Naruto forgot about his discomfort. Every morning he would fall in love all over again with this girl. The way her face lit up upon seeing the two of them was enough, although he knew that most of the time it was Sasuke whom the smile was intended for.
Today she seemed to be in a good mood. Haruno Sakura could be a bit too aggressive if she was in a less desirable state of mind. Naruto shuddered at the thought. He had first-hand experience of what could happen if she was provoked. Not pretty.
Unfortunately, most of the time the recipient of her temper was him. She told him he was annoying, but he could live with that. At least she didn't hate him, right? And lately she was much nicer. It had been a week, and not a single slap or punch from her.
The closest thing to a miracle.
"Ohayou, Sakura-chaan!" He added the cute twist at the end of his greeting and grinned.
She approached them and eyed the surrounding, "Ne, that pervert is late again, isn't he?"
"It seems so. There's nothing new in that," Naruto grumbled, "He'll make us wait an hour or two as always."
She smiled coyly and surprised even Sasuke when she said, "Then let's go someplace for an hour and be back before he comes."
Naruto gaped at her. He couldn't believe what he just heard. Sakura-chan playing the truant! He would never expect something like this came out from her mouth. Hell, she's the most intelligent genin in their year and the teachers just adored her. Perfect attendance records. Sparkling clean reputation. The model student.
Something in his face told her that he was in shock, so she continued, "Well, it's not like we're skipping the whole day. Just an hour and before he knows it we'll be back. He doesn't need to know that we went someplace. Besides, aren't you tired of doing nothing but wait for him?"
He nodded, but didn't trust himself to agree with her. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Sasuke fidget a little at the idea. A reaction from the ice wall himself. How interesting. He must've felt a bit intrigued as well.
To tell the truth, Naruto had never thought anything about the wait. He just did it. It was somewhat ironic that the first person to really voice the idea of escape from the boredom was Sakura, and not him, the seven-year-in-a-row title holder of Konoha's king of folly.
So he made up his mind. They had nothing to lose, anyway. It would be next to impossible if Kakashi-sensei suddenly decided to show up earlier. The three genins were now somewhat capable of approximating his arrival time after months under his tutelage. If they timed it right, they should have at least an hour to spend.
"Okay," he finally said, "I do get tired waiting for Kakashi-sensei sometimes."
Sakura leapt happily and her expression made Naruto's heart do a little dance. He turned to see whether the Uchiha would agree with him or not, and was faced with a blank stare. Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly and acted as if he didn't hear a thing they just said.
Somehow this lack of camaraderie from the other boy angered Naruto. He did not understand how Sasuke could be so dispassionate. This was a chance for the three of them to do something together, just because they wanted to, not because they were in a mission under Kakashi-sensei's watch.
He didn't particularly like or hate Uchiha Sasuke, but sometimes his attitude got into his nerves.
And speaking about nerves, his neck grew considerably more tense if that was possible. Naruto tried to rub the tension off, but he just couldn't do it right.
Sakura, who was pretty much immune to any form of Sasuke's rejection, slid to his side and asked gently, "Ne, Sasuke-kun. Do you want to come with Naruto and me?"
In the past few days, she was less chirpy and less expressive around him, as if she was thinking of something behind her guarded, smiling face. She even had gone to the point where she stopped asking him on a date. This was the first time in a week she tried to coax him into doing something.
The Uchiha boy was also not his usual self lately. He kept his mask and aloofness, but at certain times it seemed that he was daydreaming. The crack in his poised, stoic feature came from his eyes. Sakura noticed that they would soften a bit, as if he was remembering something nostalgic.
So there she was, waiting for his answer. If he would just say yes, then maybe they had hope into becoming real friends. When she thought of it, the closest thing she had for a friend was Yamanaka Ino, and that girl was in another team. The next one would be...Naruto. Yes, as much as she tried to deny it, that Uzumaki Naruto sure did get into her system. She felt somewhat more comfortable with him than with her crush, Sasuke.
Sasuke's mouth moved a little, forming a word and suddenly clasped shut again. He turned his head away and ignored her.
She blinked. That was a good sign. Instead of the usual, direct refusal, Sasuke-kun was actually thinking about it!
Bracing herself she said, "I take that as a 'yes', Sasuke-kun."
He eyed her incredulously as if she was abysmally stupid. If he had done this staring on her long time ago, she might burst into tears. But things had changed and she gained a bit self-confidence. So she didn't back out and hold his eyes steadily.
"You didn't say 'no' either," she countered.
They kept glaring at each other until Sasuke decided that she was as obnoxious as Uzumaki Naruto and that they belonged together, but for once he could not ignore his teammate. Though disguised as an offer, it was really a request for him to join them. He knew that she wanted him to come for the obvious reasons, and usually he would flatly reject any kind of approach, but not today. She was more serious about this question than any others she'd ever asked him and if somehow he decided to bail out, she would never ask him again. Never, unlike her date invitations which used to come in bundles.
This question was not for her sake alone. It was for their's.
Understanding this, though reluctantly, he nodded.
Naruto's jaw dropped.
Sakura let out a relief laugh and said, "That wasn't so bad, was it, Sasuke-kun?"
"Hn."
She sighed and thought, He is going to make it as difficult as it can be.
This idea for a little fun didn't come spontaneously into her mind. She had been thinking about it for a week. They were okay as a team, but she wanted more than just teammates from these guys. If it was possible, why couldn't they be friends?
She wasn't stupid. The situation was not as convenient as she would like it to be. For unknown reasons, Naruto had a crush on her, and she on Sasuke.
His attitude towards her was humiliating at best, but she didn't know why she endured every one of his rebuttals. Maybe because she had destroyed the last streak of shame she had when she killed her long friendship with Ino. Maybe because deep down she hoped he would look at her, not through her. There was a lot of maybe, but it didn't matter anymore. For now, she just wanted him to be a friend.
"So, Sakura-chan. Where are we going?" Naruto asked.
"Hm, what about the hill near the river? I was thinking of having a picnic there."
"Picnic? But we don't bring anything to eat!" he exclaimed, looking scandalous at the thought of picnicking without any food.
"Ah, wait here," she said and walked to the bush behind her. Sakura grabbed a cloth-covered basket hidden in the thick bush and presented it to the two boys, smugness apparent.
"Ooh! You're prepared!" Naruto said, eyes bulging at the size of the basket. His brain quickly estimated how much food the large basket could hold, and how much his share would be. Reaching a conclusion, he smiled widely. "Perfect."
"Naruto, sometimes you scared me," Sakura replied, shaking her head. Naruto took over the basket from her hands, and tried to peer inside. He hadn't had breakfast, after all.
"You planned this, didn't you?" For the first time, the Uchiha boy broke his silence.
"Why, yes, Sasuke-kun," the kunoichi smiled, "I even have tomatoes thrown in."
He snorted, but she knew he was pleasantly surprised. When the blonde boy tried to open the basket, Sasuke squarely smacked him on the back of his head.
"Let's go. We shouldn't waste any time here," he commanded.
Naruto grunted and scowled at Sasuke.
Sakura smiled and took back the basket from Naruto's clutch, but she noticed how the boy rubbed the back of his neck gingerly.
"What's wrong?"
"Hm? Nothing... I guess," he replied.
"Your neck's bothering you?" she, ever perceptive, asked.
"Yeah," Naruto answered sheepishly.
"Let me take a look at it." She began to finger the spot, but Sasuke's impatient sigh stopped her.
"You're spoiling him, Sakura," he said, "Are we going or not?"
"Yes, of course." She was happy that Sasuke seemed to be quite taken with the idea of picnic, and he was right, they should not waste anymore time if they wanted to have fun. The trio started walking, and when Sasuke was ahead of the group, Sakura turned to Naruto and whispered, "Later,okay?"
The boy was surprised, but then he nodded and grinned conspiratorially.
"Hai."