A/N: It feels weird switching from the Bleach fandom back to the Naruto fandom, but this little idea has been bugging me so I have to get this down no matter what.
This fic assumes that Naruto never found out about Itachi's purpose, and that Sasuke only killed Itachi and bzzzz end of story.
No warnings, because the SasuNaru is just so light it's not even worth mentioning. You probably can't even consider this SasuNaru, which explains why it's not categorized as "romance". ;D
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Blue Sky
Aozora
青空
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Neji had been observing the blond man before him.
The Byakugan user sighed as he watched the blond haired hokage slacking off as usual in his office, reading erotic mangas instead of doing the necessary paperwork.
"Hokage-sama," Neji spoke, trying to get the attention of the blond, "I'm afraid those papers cannot wait any longer; we need your approval."
"Eh~", Naruto replied, setting his Icha Icha Manga down. "I thought I signed one whole stack of it two days back! Why is there another one? Have you guys been secretly making copies just to make me sit in the office?" Naruto narrowed his eyes at Neji suspiciously.
The Hyuuga only frowned deeper and continued, "No, we would not cause you any more trouble. However, it is necessary to get these done." Neji looked expectantly at Naruto, hoping that the blond would get the documents done soon. Really, what is so difficult about picking up the brush and signing your name on it? He found Naruto's reasoning absolutely incredulous.
Finally convinced, Naruto sighed as he languidly picked up his brush, beginning to sign every sheet of paper while narrowing his eyes disgustedly at the documents known as 'paperwork'. Neji only watched silently as the stack of unfinished paperwork slowly grew shorter, and Naruto was done. Even though Naruto had always been grumpy about paperwork, and no one except Neji and Sakura were able to convince him to do it. The blond usually only started with it way over the deadlines issued.
"There you go!" Naruto said, sulking a little.
Neji smirked triumphantly, picking up the stack of completed paperwork. "See, hokage-sama, it's much easier if you finished it early. You get to do whatever you wish to. Now, if you'll ex-"
"Really?" Naruto cheered up almost immediately. "Then then, go with me to Ichiraku in awhile! Sakura is busy preparing for some medical lessons that she has to give tonight! Go with me, please?"
And Neji had always been weak to those puppy eyes that never changed.
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"It's time to dig in!" Naruto grinned as he picked his chopsticks up and slurped away at his noodles happily. "Nothing better than to have ramen after a day of hard work!"
Neji looked accusingly at Naruto and said, "When you didn't do much at all the whole day."
"Hey! I still signed those papers, didn't I? Cut me some slack! You know how I am towards work. I could go ahead and train for a whole day straight, but I can't standing holding a stupid brush. That doesn't make me any stronger."
And Neji just watched on as the blond slurped away at his noodles in content. He started wondering just when was it when he had begun to hang out so much with this man. Thinking back, he remembered the Chuunin exams when Naruto had won against him just because he was too sure of himself. Rather, he had subjected himself to fate and never thought of fighting back. He never considered the future and believed nothing was to happen unexpectedly. He believed his future was sealed. He was the one lacking in confidence.
But Naruto's determination showed him otherwise. The blue orbs that held the future – searching, seeking and never doubting – definitely surpassed his own eyes. And he thought he could see everything – he was wrong. Naruto's blue eyes seemed to hold a wider future, like an endless sky which held all possibilities, waiting for the holder to explore and materialize his dreams. The future and possibilities reflected in those eyes were like clouds that could take any form in the sky, floating and white and pure.
But as the years passed by, somehow this blue sky seemed to start greying. It started to lose its blue, azure color. They seemed to grow dimmer as if it was constantly approaching night time in his inner world. No matter how hard Naruto tried to hide it, Neji was sure he saw it. Perhaps it had been stress recently and even though the village loves him, some other villages were still wary of a Jinchuuriki becoming a leader of a village.
Or perhaps the root cause is Sasuke.
That man…is the taboo now. No one speaks of him or his name whenever Naruto's around…
Thinking back on what he told Naruto, he had wanted to slap himself for telling that. He remembered telling Naruto that no one could get Sasuke back, except the blond haired boy himself. No one could bring Sasuke out of the darkness except the blond haired boy himself.
Yet now, he realized yet again he had not been able to see beyond. He was yet again too sure of what he had believed to come true, but again it did not. He regretted ever saying those words, giving Naruto false hope. The desperation that Naruto had felt was something that he could never understand, but he still felt it all the same. Sasuke was not all the same as anyone else. Sasuke had been an exceptional case. The Uchiha's disappearance perhaps still continued to grey the blue sky of Naruto, marring its brilliant blue color.
Those blue eyes never deserved that.
"Hmm? Iff vere fumfing on my fafe?" Naruto mumbled with a mouthful of noodles in his mouth.
Neji shook his head and Naruto only continued to feast on his lunch.
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"Come again next time!" The owner of Ichiraku called out as they both left.
Naruto sighed in content as he patted his stomach. "Wah! I haven't had so much in so long!"
"You just had three bowls straight. I think you had better watch your health before you go on another ramen-spree like that…"
The sky began to darken as grey clumps of clouds started gathering, enveloping the sky. A few streaks of lightning and roars of thunder sent the timid children running towards their parents. Many of Konoha's citizens cleared the streets as it seemed like it would be a heavy downpour.
"Neji."
The Hyuuga directed his attention towards the blond, who suddenly sounded strangely serious.
"I'm gonna go somewhere for the moment. Wanna follow?"
Neji looked questioningly at the blond. Without saying anything further, the blond leaped and Neji followed.
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Neji observed his surroundings and realized where Naruto had taken him to: The Valley of the End.
The location where their fight took place and concluded in the rain…Neji frowned and wondered why Naruto had chosen to go on a day which would definitely rain. The blond would only catch a cold like that as he had been overworking quite a lot recently. Today was only an exception.
Naruto had taken a seat on the head of the First Hokage. "Sit down. Today…"
Naruto had paused and stared at the waterfall that continued to pour with power, watching the rippling of the water. "…Just a couple of years ago, the fight happened on this date…"
Today is…Neji looked into the eyes of Naruto for confirmation, and found that there was nothing. Naruto looked disoriented. He frowned and tried to think of a way to console the blond. After thinking over his words, he realized he couldn't say anything. There was nothing he could say.
Thunders above them in the dark sky roared again. Neji felt drops of rain slowly beginning to fall on him. He wanted to tell Naruto to just leave this place and return to the office to get warmer, but he realized he couldn't open his mouth. He had wanted to tell Naruto that it would be alright, but he knew it wouldn't.
The rain became heavier and he looked into the blond's eyes, now completely lost and dull, like a bottomless pit. Neji could only watch on as the blond stared at the continuously flowing waterfall, never once tearing his eyes away from it. And now, Naruto's eyes also began to resemble a waterfall, a never-ending stream of tears, just like the rain.
Against the loud 'pitter patter' of the rain, Naruto spoke up again. "I had wanted him to stay. I didn't want him to leave! I tried to get him back! He couldn't understand me – I couldn't understand him. What is going wrong?" Neji's hand twitched, moving to try to pat Naruto on the shoulder. But it seemed terribly inappropriate now. He retracted his hand again and allowed Naruto to continue. "I just don't get it! Revenge isn't everything! Revenge brings nothing. Wanting to seek revenge and killing others out of hatred never lets you feel happier! I learned that from the fight with Pain. Why can't he seem to understand this point?"
The two of them continued to sit there, allowing the rain to completely drench them. Neji fervently wished that the heavy rain would somehow wash away the traces of pain in his friend's heart, while Naruto just borrowed the opportunity to continue to allow his pent-up frustrations to leave. Neji only continued to watch on, helpless when it came to situations like this.
It had been about half an hour, and the rain finally died down. It was only barely drizzling when Naruto spoke up again, "Even though that's what it is…I think I'll still wait."
Neji looked up at Naruto, looking into the eyes of the blond. He couldn't tell anything from those pair of eyes now. He was fairly surprised at the response.
With a bitter smile, Naruto continued, "I'll still believe in that day when he'll make his way back, whether I force him back or not."
Neji frowned. The blond-haired man seemed different, all of a sudden. Perhaps his wish of the rain washing Naruto's fears and uncertainties away had come true?
"Why?" It was all that Neji could manage as the blond got up, stretching a little.
This time, with a huge grin, Naruto responded, turning towards the Hyuuga, "Because there's always a blue sky after every storm."
Bright sunlight peeked through the grey clouds, lighting up the area once again. The waters glistened as the light grew stronger and the grey clouds cleared, eventually making the area feel warmer. Like the sun, Naruto continued to grin brightly. "The blue sky is always there. And y'know Neji, sometimes we just have to let things out once in awhile. And you'll feel better after that!"
Perhaps Neji had been wrong all along.
After all, it wasn't that Naruto had been in despair. He had kept it within his heart so long it took all that he had to let it all out. This matter had been weighing down on him hard. Suppressive emotions that held a person back was not healthy, as Sakura had always told Naruto whenever she saw him stressed. Neji revelled at how well Sakura understood Naruto, but yet there was nothing she could really do about it either. In the end, they would all become bystanders as they watched Naruto.
"Hey, Neji! Let's go back to the office, or Sakura will get mad at me again!" The blond smiled as he made his way back towards the Hokage tower.
After all, the storm has been cleared – what remains is the clear blue sky that stretches endlessly.
This, Neji was sure of.
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A/N: I hope that made sense for you. There were just so many things I wanted to convey it became a little lumped together. So the following bit should clear things up a little:
I think this is sort of an irony with Naruto. He wants to bring Sasuke back, but is just unsure of how to. No one can help Naruto, like how Sakura just can't do anything to bring Sasuke back, but she believes he can. Yet Naruto himself falters because he can't do it either, at least not at this point. He falters and feels dejected because he wasn't able to bring Sasuke back after so long.
The very human aspect of Naruto is that he continues to believe, though his sight (into the uncertain future) may have been 'clouded', he still continues to believe that Sasuke may one day just return. That's the very admirable feature that Naruto has – he never stops believing and keeps trying. And like anyone else, people falter and obstacles are like a storm which brews, but after that, a blue sky will always emerge, because it has always been there all along. It's permanent. All that we need to do is to do our best and wait for the storm to clear, for there will always be a brighter, clear blue sky full of endless hopes waiting for you.