A/N: Hello! This is my first romance fic but the pairing is Naruto and Sasuke. This is just a prologue to start off the fic, the chapters will be a lot longer! This is based from episode 138 of Naruto Shippuden and up so there may be some spoilers if you haven't watched beyond this point but it doesn't follow much of the anime so there won't be many :) Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Prologue
Day One
He couldn't help his body from falling forward. Before he could comprehend what was happening, his back collided with the wet stone beneath him. Despite the aching pain that consumed his entire form, nothing could compare to the enigmatic ache in his chest. Using the last of his strength, he turned his head to his right to see his older brother lying next to him, lifeless. Sasuke's dark orbs narrowed at the sight of Itachi as a ghost of a smile lingered on his lips.
Too tired to stay awake, he allowed his eyes to shut and his guard to fall. He had one goal in life and it had been completed - to avenge the Uchiha clan and kill Itachi, at the cost of his life if it came to it. He successfully completed his own goal and yet there was something gnawing at his chest, something that made his stomach turn but for the life of him, couldn't quite place it with anything.
He knew Madara was out there somewhere and the thought of that made a pang of anger shoot through his being. Yet, this thought didn't place well with the feeling in his chest. Silence ensued over him as he gave in to the darkness around him, only listening to the pitter pattering of rain meeting the same ground he and his brother lay on. It seemed oddly fitful to him that his end should be with Itachi, the last of the Uchiha clan would die together.
"Sasuke!"
Dark orbs sprung open and his brows furrowed in confusion. "Who's there?" He wondered nonchalantly, avoiding the ache shooting through his body.
"Sasuke!"
The raven haired boy twitched as he recognised the voice belonging to Naruto Uzumaki. His eyes narrowed as the world around him started to spin. At the sound of his old rivals voice, he realised something very important, something that stopped the nagging ache in his chest. The raven haired boy realised he wasn't ready to die. "Naruto" Sasuke's thoughts had travelled into places that he never dared to go since he left Konoha. Memories that made him weaken his resolve to follow Itachi in the past flooded into the forefront his mind.
He could hear Naruto's voice echo in his mind as it has many times before since he left the village, rustling the persistent niggling of nostalgia. "I swear, I'm going to bring you back to Konoha" he'd say. Sasuke allowed a subtle smile to grace his porcelain features although anyone who didn't know him wouldn't even know it were there.
Itachi had been Sasukes one goal and now he had completed his one life's mission. In that moment, he resigned himself over to the warming thought of going back to Konoha. An image of Naruto flashed through his minds eye as he fell deeper into the darkness consuming his consciousness. He felt a shadow loom over him as two warm hands tightly clasped his shoulders desperately.
"Sasuke…!?"
The raven haired boy felt Naruto's warmth envelop him. He was too weak to deny it but he didn't expect himself to embrace it either as he comfortably slipped into a deep sleep.
"You get away from Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed as he hovered over the passed out boy's form.
Kakashi and the others briskly caught up to the nine tails jinchuuriki as they caught sight of Tobi sitting atop of a large bit of stone above Sasuke and Itachi. Sakura rushed to the blondes side as she started preforming medical ninjutsu on the passed out Uchiha.
"He's in bad shape" she concluded grimly, brows furrowing in worry.
"Zetsu isn't here yet" Tobi thought indifferently as his Sharingan locked contact with Naruto's turbulent blue orbs.
"I won't let you take him!" Naruto cried as two shadow clones appeared behind the masked man with a blue ball of chakra heading straight toward him. "Rasengan!"
Tobi paid no attention to the blonde, with little to no effort he dodged Naruto's attack as the two clones went straight through his body and headed toward Kakashi and the others. Blue orbs widened as his clones disappeared and the rasengan dispersed into fragments of chakra dissipating into the atmosphere.
"What sort of power is that?" Kakashi wondered as his Sharingan focused on the masked man in front of him. "How did he get here so quickly?" Sensing an unfamiliar chakra signature, Kakashi looked to Tobi's right to see a large venus fly trap rise from the ground. "Zetsu. He's in the Akatsuki book Kabuto gave us."
Tobi shot the black and white form a subtle glare "you're too slow Zetsu" he voiced, seemingly nonchalant. "The Jinchuuriki" he began as his gaze settled back on Naruto "is in the way, I can't retrieve Sasuke without getting a solid hold on him but he's in the way."
"What do you plan to do?" Zetsu inquired.
"For now, we retrieve Itachi's body. Sasuke will come later." With that, Tobi swiftly appeared beside Itachi's body before Naruto's eyes could follow.
"What are you doing!?" Naruto exclaimed.
"Following the boss's orders!" Tobi responded in his quirky tone. "Now if you'd only get off Sasuke…"
"Not gonna happen!" barked Naruto as he formed two more shadow clones that briskly ran at the masked man.
His clones had taken the front and the back of Tobi, one had aimed a kick to the back while the other had delivered a punch to his face but they had narrowly missed the masked shinobi.
"Well, it never hurt to ask!" Tobi mocked as he threw Itachi over his shoulder and jumped to Zetsus side.
Kakashi took one step forward as he saw the masked shinobi disappear and Zetsu sunk into the stone beneath them. "He took Itachi's body" he remarked as he diverted his attention to his three students. Despite losing the older Uchiha's body, he couldn't help but marvel at the sight of his former team reunited. "At least we didn't lose Sasuke again" he sighed to himself as he watched Naruto holding the raven haired boy up for Sakura to heal.
"Naruto!" Sakura addressed the young blonde as soon as they got to Konoha's gates. "Take Sasuke to the medical ward immediately! I'm going to tell Lady Tsunade about Sasuke's condition." Wasting no time, the pink haired kunoichi leapt toward the Hokage's headquarters, disappearing within a few short seconds.
Naruto watched her go before nodding once and turning on his heel to run to Akamaru, who carefully balanced the passed out shinobi on his back. "Don't worry about filling out the mission report for now, Naruto" Kakashi started "stay with Sasuke and await further instruction from the Hokage."
Naruto confidently smiled at his former sensei as he gently hoisted Sasuke over his back "you got it Kakashi sensei." With that, the blonde briskly rushed to the hospital, leaving only a few leaves behind him.
The silver haired shinobi turned to the rest of his team "I'll go to Lady Tsunade now to give her details and pick up the report papers. Until I get them, all of you can go home and get some rest. After all, the mission was a success."
After receiving a detailed mission overview from Sakura and Kakashi, Tsunade rushed to the hospital to meet Naruto. The blonde woman stood over Sasuke in his hospital room as she lifted a glowing green palm over his forehead. Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi anxiously waited on the other side of the bed as they watched the unconscious raven haired boy twitch occasionally as Tsunade examined him. A few minutes into his examination she inhaled deeply and exhaled through her nose.
"Well?! Is Sasuke gonna be okay!?" Naruto asked taking one step closer, earning an irritated look from Sakura.
"Yes" she confirmed sternly "he took some serious damage in his fight with Itachi but he'll live. Sakura," She addressed the younger kunoichi "you did well" she subtly praised as her student returned her compliment with a smile.
"All right!" Naruto exclaimed "good work Sakura! So when will Sasuke be up?" he eagerly questioned.
"Yeah!" Sakura joined, her excitement getting the better of her "will he be able to be up and about soon?"
Kakashi exchanged a glance with the Hokage before she averted her gaze back to Sasuke, hardening her features.
"Naruto, Sakura…" her voice was stern "don't forget that Sasuke was a missing nin." She looked up to see the two shinobi's faces drop in disappointment. "He has betrayed the leaf village and there will be no exception for Sasuke. It's not just the case of 'when will Sasuke be up' it's what we choose to do with him when he is up."
"What!?" Naruto took a step forward, wanting to rebuttal or say something in Sasuke's defence but he knew she was right. Some had thought of Sasuke has a criminal and therefore have to repent. "But this is Sasuke we're talking about! He would never do anything to hurt the village! Come on Granny Tsunade, you've got to do something."
Sakura looked to Tsunade, not wanting to speak out for or against Naruto. She also knew the blonde woman was right but couldn't help but side with Naruto.
"It's not that easy Naruto!" The blonde woman spat, losing her temper "If it were as easy as just snapping my fingers, I'd decide Sasuke's fate myself but the village elders always need a say in missing nin cases!" Tsunade lifted her thumb to rest on her bottom lip as she furrowed her brows. Thinking of the village elders had made her blood boil, she didn't want to judge the young Uchiha too harshly but the matter was almost out of her hands. She looked up to see the young blonde staring defiantly into her hazel orbs as her features softened.
"I'll see what I can do, Naruto" she spoke softly as she noticed the young blondes eyes widen "but don't take that as a promise. ANBU guards will be placed inside and outside of Sasuke's hospital room until he makes a full recovery. He should wake up in a week at most but until then, he is only granted visitors when accompanied by the ANBU."
Naruto's blue orbs fell to Sasuke's sleeping form as he smiled. He understood the complications of bringing Sasuke back to the village and a part of him always knew he wouldn't be granted a pardon so easily but he was willing to do anything it took to protect his old friend. "Thank you" Naruto said just above a whisper "you won't regret it."
Tsunade sighed as they fell into a comfortable silence. After a few minutes the blonde woman spoke "alright, it's time to let Sasuke get some rest by himself. You can come back tomorrow if you'd like, ANBU are already stationed to patrol his room." She turned to leave as Kakashi and Sakura followed her out. Before shutting the hospital door, she saw Naruto hadn't budged from his spot. "Naruto?"
"Just give me a few more minutes" Naruto's tone was unchanging since the last time he spoke.
Sakura and Kakashi exchanged a glance as the older woman stared at the young blonde for a moment. Time had come and gone so quickly and before she knew it, she wasn't staring at the snot nosed Genin she met so long ago. She was staring at a young man who trained for three years to acquire the strength to bring his best friend back. A few minutes was the least she could grant him.
"Just make it quick" she agreed before closing the door behind her.
An hour had passed since Tsunade and the others had left Naruto alone with Sasuke. The young blonde dragged a chair to sit beside the raven haired boy and sat down slowly, feeling the ache in his knees as it was the first time he had sat down after fighting, running and standing for the past few hours.
The young blonde hesitantly reached over Sasuke's bed and lightly stroked the side of the raven haired boys cheek for a moment. "You're finally here" Naruto said barely audible "we finally brought you home, Sasuke." He allowed his fingers to linger over Sasuke's warm cheek for a moment before leaning back into his chair, feeling oddly tired all of a sudden.
Naruto thought back to the last time he felt this content, most of the time, it was with Sasuke. It was so familiar, Naruto couldn't help but smile. He folded his arms across the side of the hospital bed and rested his head on them until he blissfully drifted into one of the most peaceful sleeps he's had in awhile.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the prologue of this fic! Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading :)