Everyone was thankful when the mission was over. Naruto especially, working two days straight without any sleep was definitely not his idea of fun.
Although, the long, dreary mission did have its purpose. His thoughts were postponed momentarily.
But now, as he sat in the significant giant tree, deep in the forest of Konoha, he could think of nothing but.
He was glad of at least one thing, he was alone. No one could see his face, which he was sure was anything but presentable- well, only if he wanted to keep the image that everything was 'fine.'
But even through his slight relief, being alone, right now, in this place, wasn't too comforting. Anyone else would've thought that it was a peaceful place, where one could relax, collect one's thoughts. A beautiful place...where being alone was hardly a problem. This wasn't the case for him.
Being alone hurt. It hurt more than he could say, more than the stray tears could tell, more than his face could project. No one but him could understand why it hurt so much.
He was tired, but he could not sleep. His eyes felt heavy, but they would not close. He was exhausted, and yet there was no rest to be found on this day.
He was irritated with himself. After all, why would he come here? Why would he even have the shadow of a thought about this? But here he was, sitting up in the damn tree. He didn't have any expectations, or...he shouldn't have any. But somewhere there was a tiny, slim hope, and that irritated him.
Of all the broken promises, why would one more matter? It was probably forgotten, being such a trivial thing...or a seemingly trivial thing. It meant a lot to Naruto then, and it meant more now.
But such empty words, that were called 'promises' meant nothing. They were worthless, and Naruto tried to tell himself this to lessen the horrendous pain.
The blond-haired boy sighed to himself. He was dwelling too much on this. He was being stupid, in his pathetic musings and the fact that he had even came to the damn tree.
He was stupid, and he felt like screaming and hitting something. It would be better off if he could be just as forgetting, just as detached, just as emotionless.
Naruto shook his head vigorously.
He had to stop this. He had to stop thinking, he had to go home.
Naruto stood up on the branch, and just as he was about to jump down he lost his balance. He hit the ground with a thud. He weakly pushed himself to his knees and leaned against the trunk.
" Damn it!" He must've been focused with his thought for a long time, because now it was getting dark. He could hardly see the pink petals surrounding him in the grass.
His body ached from the fall, and even worse, his heart clenched painfully, and at the moment it crumpled to tiny splinters, because with the sudden wave of memories and emotions, his heart became hard as lead.
He had expected to win at least once. It was embarrassing and aggravating.
" So, you've lost each time."
" Hey! Some of those ended in a duel!" the tan boy shouted. Losing his temper, he'd challenged his rival to some sparring, which he proclaimed he'd win without fail, and of course he was proven wrong.
The other merely smirked. They fell silent until Naruto yet out a breath of appreciation.
" This is beautiful," he breathed, gazing at the falling petals, colored a brilliant pink. They floated down from the tree above them, fluttering in the breeze. The blond of the two had a smile plastered on his face as the petals scattered all around them.
" We'll come back next year, so I can beat you again, usuratonkachi."
" Fine! We'll come back, but this time I'll beat you! It's a promise."
A smirk made it's way to thin lips. He nodded somewhat. " It's a promise."
Naruto couldn't take it as he sat at the trunk of the sakura tree. A familiar scene played out - missing what made the moment truly beautiful- as the petals blew around him, surrounding him. The tears welled up in his eyes. Soon he was sobbing, cursing himself and-
" Damn you Sasuke!" he yelled through his sobbing. " Damn...you..."
Turning on his heels, having stayed long enough, he closed his eyes. Letting out a sigh as he heard his name being repeated over and over. The sheer emotion backed into each syllable was almost unbearable.
" I'm sorry...I couldn't keep this promise," Sasuke whispered to the winds.
This was a spur of the moment. What did ya'll think? Hope it wasn't too confusing or anything like that. Sigh. Poor Naruto and Sasuke. Their relationship is such a tear-jerker! Well, review please!!