It's been a long time since Naruto had taken the time to look up at the sky. It was exceptionally blue today. The birds seemed happy too, since their beautiful songs graced his ears. He couldn't remember when there were peaceful times such as this one.
Oh, he remembers now.
When all of his friends were here in Konoha, smiling with childish ignorance. Even Sasuke smiled a few times. He would never forget that. Never. Maybe now, after everything that has happened, those times can repeat themselves.
"Naruto." The blonde man turned around at the sound of his name and saw his sensei, Kakashi, standing behind him. He was wearing his normal get up, his mask covering the lower half of his face.
"Ah, Kakashi-sensei. Good to see you. I thought you might have fallen off the edge of the planet." Naruto greeted with a slight chuckle. The white-haired man nodded.
"I have somewhere to take you, Naruto. Tsunade and I have been meaning to do this for a while, but we never had a chance because of the war. Follow me, will you?" Kakashi asked as he turned around.
"Ah, wait! Where we going?" Naruto called after him as they jumped over rooftops over the village.
"Tsunade wants to assign you one last mission as Hokage." Kakashi said, as he continued to lead Naruto.
"One last mission? Sounds great!" Naruto cheered as he followed his sensei.
The afternoon breeze was definitely something Sasuke missed. As he sat on the porch of his newly remodeled home, he reminisced about the days where something like the wind could mean so much.
He set his tea down beside and looked over at the forest just beyond the fence of his property.
"How long are you going to spy on me?" He said calmly, closing eyes. After a few moments, a head popped out of the blushes. The man walked over to his old teammate, his sharp teeth shining in the sun.
"Sasuke, it's been too long." The man said with a huge grin. Sasuke looked at him and sighed.
"I would have never expected to see you here, Suigetsu." The dark-eyed man said coolly, picking up his cup to take a sip of tea.
"Ah, me neither. I wouldn't have expected to see you here either, since you were so hell bent on destroying this very village." Suigetsu said as he took a seat beside Sasuke.
"Things have changed." He replied in a monotone voice.
"That's an understatement. Just tell me one thing Sasuke. What the hell happened that changed your mind?" Sasuke didn't respond for a few minutes, letting the breeze flow around him, blowing his hair gently. He took one last gulp of his tea before answering.
"It's a long story." He sighed, closing his eyes. "Let's just say the feeling of losing someone you cherished, whether in the past or present, is painful; more excruciating than even death. I didn't want to feel that ever again."
"Ah, so Itachi really did convince you, didn't he? I figured as much." Suigetsu said, looking at the blue sky.
"Not necessarily. I already had doubts earlier, but he just confirmed them. Nothing more."
"So does that mean Team Taka is officially disbanded?" Suigetsu asked, sadness in his tone. Sasuke forgot how irritating this man could be.
"Suigetsu…Team Taka was disbanded ages ago, before the war even started." Sasuke said, trying not to sound irritated.
"Really? How come I didn't know about it? Gosh Sasuke, you need to work on your communication skills. You're not a very good leader." Suigetsu was waiting for some smart response, but there was none. He looked back at the mysterious man and was puzzled at the smile on his face.
"I know…there's someone else who is a much better leader than me." Sasuke said. He stood up, adjusting his shirt and pants. "Now I must be on my way now. I can't be late to Naruto's ceremony. He wouldn't appreciate if I wasn't there to witness the happiest moment of his life."
"Hey, Sakura, doesn't Naruto seem…mature?" A young blonde woman asked her best friend. The rosette smiled, as she looked onstage.
"Yeah…that orange coat would look childish on anyone else, but on Naruto…he looks great; like a true leader." Sakura said as she clapped along with everyone else in the room.
"Ah, perhaps you like him Sakura? What ever happened to Sasuke? If you don't want him, I'll take him!" The woman said, bouncing with glee.
"And ruin your perfect relationship with Shika? I doubt you would ever do that, Ino." Sakura said, shaking her head with a small smile.
"Ah, you caught me." Ino said, laughing lightly. All of a sudden she composed herself, smoothing out her shirt. "Why don't I leave you two alone?" Ino ran off leaving Sakura shocked.
"Wait, Ino, where are you going?" She looked for her friend but couldn't locate her. She was jarred out of her search by someone clearing their throat behind her. She quickly turned around to see her old teammate standing alone, sporting a green vest. She looked at the man's pants and noticed an Uchiha clan symbol sewed on the hem of his right leg.
"Sasuke-kun…the vest suits you well." Sakura said, a bright red blush creeping over her face.
"Thanks, Sakura." Sasuke replied, a small smile present on his lips. "I see you've been doing well."
"Yeah…same to you. I didn't realize you could become a Chunin so fast. You are definitely a great shinobi…" Sakura trailed off, looking at her feet.
"Junin actually, but thanks." Sakura's eyes widened.
"Junin? Already?" Sakura exclaimed in shock. Sasuke sighed.
"Yes. It was all Naruto's idea. He tried to convince Tsunade ever since I came back for three weeks straight. Tsunade finally gave in, annoyed with Naruto's pestering." Sasuke laughed gently. "That man…"
"Remind me to thank Naruto later. I'm really glad you came back, Sasuke-kun." Gaining courage, she moved closer to the Uchiha, closing in on his personal space. 'It's now or never Sakura! This is your chance!' She looked up at Sasuke's eyes and leaned in to his face, but a finger placed against her lips stopped her.
"Sakura…you are a great woman. There is no denying that." Sasuke said as he removed his finger from her face, and hugged her gently. "A certain man convinced me that there is someone else who is more worthy of your love." Sakura smiled and leaned into the man's embrace.
"Somehow I knew this would happen. I was just hoping for that…slim chance." She said, closing her eyes. Sasuke smiled and continued.
"I'm sorry for everything I've done to you. You didn't deserve anything I did. You are a wonderful woman and a wonderful shinobi; and I know someone who will not only reciprocate your love, but return it ten-fold. And I think you know who that is." Sasuke pulled away from her and put his hand on the pinkette's shoulder. "Here's someone you need to thank." He walked away and left Sakura confused once again.
"Hey, Sakura-chan."
"Rejected twice? Oh, that's no good, Sakura." Ino said as her and her friend walked side by side in the village after Naruto's ceremony. Sakura laughed.
"It's not like I didn't know it was coming. Those two are the greatest men the world will ever have. There's no way I would end up with either of them." Sakura said.
"True, those two are amazing; not to mention they're best friends." Ino remarked. "No matter how much they fight or argue, they could never hate each other. Even when Sasuke left, he never hated Naruto. He just put up the façade."
"I agree. No matter how far apart they are, they'll always meet each other again." The rosette said, looking up at the now dark sky.
"Tsunade baa-chan! I have something to discuss with you!" Naruto said from his table. The woman was standing in front of him with an annoyed look on her face.
"What is it? I'm too old for this you know?" Tsunade said, irritated.
"I want to create my own ANBU team." Naruto said, his hands folded on his desk.
"That's a given." Tsunade replied.
"I want Sasuke in it." Tsunade sighed and headed out of Naruto's office.
"Why are you asking for my permission Naruto? I'm no longer the Hokage of this village." Tsunade paused and looked at the man. "You are."
"Sakura!" A voice called from behind the girl. Startled, she turned around to see a tall, dark haired man running towards him. She almost didn't recognize him in his outfit, but she say those big eyes and she smiled brightly.
"Lee-kun! So nice to see you." She said Rock Lee smiled as he smoothed out his now black shirt.
"Same here, Sakura. I've been meaning to talk to you for some time now." He said, clearly nervous.
"I know. Naruto told me." She said.
"Naruto? He told you? About…"
"Yes, now you wanted to take me out to dinner, didn't you? Let's not waste anytime!" The rosette smiled as she took his hand and ran off into the village.
"The reason you six shinobi is for one reason only. You six have displayed stellar skills over the years and I have known you. I trust every single one of you with my life, and I trust that you won't take this matter lightly." Naruto paused as he carefully looked at the six shinobi in front of him.
"Loyal, brave, cooperative, and strong. Kiba Inuzuka. All of these qualities describe you, and then some. With you, I give you, the mask of the dog." Naruto grabbed the carefully crafted mask from his deck and placed it over the face of a kneeling Kiba.
"I swear to fulfill my duties as a member of ANBU and protect your life no matter the cost, Hokage-sama." Kiba said, bowing his head. Naruto nodded and moved on to the next person in line.
"Patient, courageous, virtuous, and content. Hyuga Neji, there is no doubt in my mind that you are wise, and trustworthy. Along with said traits before, I present to you the mask of the grasshopper." He repeated the gesture with Kiba with the mask with green markings onto Neji.
"I put all of my faith and all of my strength with you, Hokage-sama." Neji said, also bowing.
Naruto went through three other members, giving them their respecting masks.
He gave Chouji the mask of the bear, to recognize his power and benevolence.
Shikamaru received the mask of the badger, for his strategy and independence.
Sai was given the mask of the snake, representing his patience and cunning attitude.
Lastly, Naruto stopped at his last recruit. The man was kneeling down, not looking to meet the Hokage's eyes. Naruto sighed and began his small speech.
"Power, energy, faith, intensity, bravery, excellent vision…" Kiba coughed at Naruto's remark to the last description. "…There are words that describe you that not even I can speak aloud. As Hokage, I can assign anyone a role in which I please." Naruto kept his eyes glued on the man. "Therefore, by assigning you the mask of the hawk, I also name you captain of this ANBU team. The rest of the team shall report to you. You will give me detailed reports on missions. You will be my right hand man. You will be the best shinobi I know you can be." Naruto grabbed the mask off of his table and placed it on the man's head. After doing so, he took a step back from the line of newly appointed ANBU members.
"Rise!" Naruto said in a forceful tone. All six members arose simultaneously, their faces covered in their masks.
"As of now you are all members of ANBU. This means that my life is in your hands, and yours are in mine. You are the six shinobi I trust in handling the most difficult missions I need to be assigned. My order is absolute. You are to follow no one's order but mine." Naruto paused before looking at each one of them. "You will not become soulless creatures. When a shinobi dies, enemy or ally, you will grieve. I want you to feel the pain of killing someone, because it is proof that you are alive. I want you to understand the meaning and weight of a single human life. If you cannot do so, I will immediately revoke your title. Do I have any objections?"
"No sir!" They all said at the same time. Naruto nodded.
"Then all is done. This ceremony is over." After a few seconds, Naruto's serious attitude completely vanished. His smile was the biggest yet. "Take off your masks, you dumb fools, and let's have a group hug!"
All men laughed as they removed their masks.
"Naruto-sama, no offence, but group hugs are a little…" Neji began.
"They're not cool at all." Kiba straightforwardly announced. The rest of the men laughed, along with Naruto.
"Yeah, yeah. All of you get out. Dinner tonight is on me. Sake and all." Naruto said, a wide grin plastered on his face. All of the men hooted as they put their masks out of sight and left the room in high spirits; all except one.
"Ah, why didn't you join them?" Naruto asked. The man walked forward, running a hand through his dark hair.
"Naruto…I know how much you want me to be acknowledged in Konoha since my return, but isn't this a little much? Everyone seems not to care anymore."
"Of course not! This is…me wanting to be by my right side at all times. I don't think you would enjoy teaching genin, now would you?" The Hokage said, amusement in his voice.
"One hundred percent true. I hate kids who aren't my own."
"Exactly why I made you ANBU. Look, Sasuke, you make think I'm being unfair to everyone else by making you captain because we're close friends. Before this meeting, I asked all of the five other men who they think is the most skilled, respected, and compassionate shinobi that they look up to. You know what they said? All of them, without hesitation, said your name. Uchiha Sasuke."
Sasuke was stunned. How could they have said that so quickly? He had only returned for a year now. He had done…terrible things; terrible things that he now regrets with his entire being, so why?
"Why? Well that's simple." Naruto grinned and looked outside his office window. "It's because you're our precious friend."