Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. Thank you very much.

But we're gonna start by
Drinking old cheap bottles of wine,
Shit talking up all night,
Saying things we haven't for a while
A while, yeah,
We're smiling but we're close to tears,
Even after all these years,
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time.

~The Script

...

"I'm home…"

Naruto immediately searched for the switch in the dark the moment he opened the door of his house, locking it back as soon as he managed to enter.

He looked around for a moment, and only silence greeted him back.

It's been 4 years since he started living in this place, but he's still not that used to everything.

He sighed as soon as he managed to open the light. Everyone's asking him how he manages to live in this place alone. Everything's old, made out of wood, and reeks of dampness.

He frowned as he took off his shoes.

They just don't know the importance of this house.

Sakura has been a pest these past few years. Nagging, even forcing him to look for a new house. But this house is already enough for him. It's big, sturdy, quiet, another sigh. Well, yes, it is old, but it's a good place for his Anbus to guard.

Yes, it's quite annoying sometimes to feel movements outside of your house. But he can't help it. Shikamaru allowed him to live here only with the condition of allowing himself to have some guards. After all, this place is a bit far from the village's population. No one would be able to get to him immediately if ever something would happen.

Sighs.

He never imagined that being a Hokage can rob him off his freedom. It's a pain in the ass.

He slowly walked down the hallway, flipping each and every switch inside the rooms that he pass by. Hinata once told him that it's a good luck sign for spirits.

Naruto chuckled a bit every time he remembers her face the day that he decided to live in here.

"Spirits would... umm feel welcomed… L-L-Like someone's... umm waiting for them, i-if you'd d-do that…"

Even though she's already married to Kiba, she still acts so shy in front of him. Guess old habits die hard.

He just wish that she's right. Because he's dying to see one.

After turning all the switches on, he trudge towards the bathroom's direction.

This has been a habit for him too. He had to take a cold bath first or else he won't be able to sleep well.

He took off his robe, and clothes then stood under the spray of cold water. It's freezing cold, yes. But he just can't stand warm liquids anymore.

He used to like warm baths before. He even used to be a regular at the local hot spring. But after the Great War that leads him to becoming the sixth, and the youngest Hokage, after all the things that happened during that time, he can't just stand the feeling of something warm on his skin.

It… It pains him.

Liquids just have to be boiling hot, or freezing cold for him to stand it.

Cold. Like now.

He continued washing his body without any emotions on his face. Like his mind is currently in a very faraway place. He then dried his body, fetching some old shirts and pants from a nearby cabinet, then heads down towards the kitchen.

He grabbed two instant noodles from a shelf, poured hot water on both with a frown, then slowly walked towards the dining room with the cups.

This is the part of the house that he hates the most.

There are four chairs around the table. Indicating that there used to be four people living in this house.

He sat on one of it. Placing the cup in front of him, and the other to the seat in front of him.

That cup is for whomever that wished to dine with him.

Since he became the Hokage, Sakura would always force him to eat something before he leaves the tower for the night, but after he arrives home, he would always eat a cup of noodles before going to bed. He's been doing this ever since he moved in that house.

He'll leave the other cup there over night, then in the morning he'll find it untouched. He'll try to taste it, then immediately throw up because it's lukewarm.

After he finished his meal, he would head back to the kitchen, throw the used cup to the nearest bin, and then brush his teeth in front of the sink.

All of this things he did with a face devoid of emotion.

Like his face is now taking rest from all of those smiling all day.

Being a Hokage is really hard. You had to hide all of your feelings, all of your pain from everyone.

Sometimes he would feel envious of Sai. Well, at least Sai gets to wear a mask. But him, he can't.

After brushing his teeth, he took his time walking towards the stairs that leads him to the second floor, where the rooms are located.

There are three rooms here, the master's bedroom and the room in front of it which he never entered unless he had to clean it, and the room next to the master's bedroom which he uses. The door of this room is decorated with some toy kunais and shurikens. Indicating that this used to be the room of a child.

The wooded floor squeaks as we walk on it, his friends are always annoyed because of it, because it tells him that someone's out there, and they can't catch him off guard because of it.

Like this house is protecting him from everyone. That's making him feel nice.

He stopped in front of his room.

He sighed before he grabbed the knob, slowly turning it, and pushing the door open.

He looked around.

Well, what is he expecting? Of course it's empty.

He sighed as he entered without even opening the light, closing the door lightly before he allowed himself to fall on the bed.

He watched the ceiling for a few minutes. Hell, it could even be a lot.

Then he turned to his side before curling himself into a fetal position grabbing a pillow then hugging it tightly.

He sighed, burying his face on the pillow muffling his silent sobs.

It's been years but this pillow still smells like him.

Tears started to fall, and the pillow immediately absorbed it.

He inhaled sharply, before whispering his name like a prayer before he sleeps.

"… Sasuke…"

…

XXXOOOXXX

…

The only thing that I know is that… I'm not dead, yet.

But my body is somewhere that I couldn't find.

I've been floating around for years.

Watching everyone run around doing their chores, and do stupid things.

I can now finally understand why Naruto enjoys doing these kind of things.

It's very amusing.

Like how Rocklee does his best to court Sakura, but end up heart-broken just before the day ends.

Or how Sakura nags Naruto to stop being lazy and just do his job, of course Shikamaru is there to stop her if things gets worst.

Or how Sai would try and seduce Naruto after finding out his sexual orientation.

Yes, Sai is gay, but he's not that kind of gay.

He's just not that interested to women even though Ino already showed herself to him, literally.

There's just no effect.

So he thought that maybe he's gay after reading a book about homosexuals.

He promised himself that he would dedicate himself to Naruto no matter what, hence, the daily dose of seductions.

At first, I felt threatened, I don't know why, I just did. But seeing how Naruto manages to avoid his tactics makes me feel proud.

Yes, that Usuratonkachi finally managed to be more matured.

Tenten and Shino got engaged two years ago, following Kiba and Hinata's matrimony.

To tell you the truth, I don't understand why do they need to get married at the very young age. But I guess, that's just how the world goes.

Chouji is now the head of their family after his father died during the Great War. Well, there's not that much to talk about. He's still the same. Still fat.

They're all fun to watch. After all, floating all day around Konoha would be very boring without them.

But there's a person that makes me feel so heart-broken whenever I would watch him.

It's Naruto.

After the war, and when everything's finally back to normal, he was appointed to be the next Hokage by Tsunade-san.

The sixth, and the youngest Hokage.

And his first wish as the Hokage, is to open the Uchiha compound.

At first I didn't understand why. I mean, why open that cursed place once again? No one would ever wish to live in a place where everyone that used to live there was butchered in just one night.

And I'm not the only one who's thinking about the same thing because everyone is against that decision too.

So he changed his decision.

The Uchiha compound would be opened only to those who wished to enter it.

And that he would now live in one of the houses there.

That just made me chuckle.

He's really crazy.

And so, he moved in there immediately.

But what shocked me more, is that the house that he chose, is my house.

Well, I'll admit it. I have this tiny idea where he'd want to stay in that compound.

But I never imagined that he'd really do it.

At first, it was okay. He seemed so normal. But soon, he developed a strange kind of habit.

And it pains me to watch him hurt himself like that.

Many times, I tried to talk to him. Shout at him, nag him like what Sakura does.

But he can't hear me.

Maybe what Obito said during that time is right.

I would just end up always hurting him. Betraying him, punishing him, even though he didn't do anything wrong.

I can't do anything to stop his sufferings, but at the same time, I know that I'm the only one who can make it stop.

I know.

Because he would always call my name before he goes to sleep.

It's the most painful sound that I ever heard.

But I'd rather be there and listen to it forever, than be away from him.

So I would always sit there beside him, touch his hair, his hands as he trembles, trying to hide his cries.

And would always whisper him that It's okay.

That I'm here even though he can't hear me.

That I'll always be with him forever. And that I won't leave him even if it kills me.

Then he would stop, and calm himself down.

Then he would say something that never fails to surprise me.

He would always say "Thank you" right before he falls asleep.

I thought he could hear me. I was really surprised when he first did that.

But through the years of watching him, I know now that he can't.

It's sad, yes. Sad that the only person that I value the most now can't hear or see me. But it's still okay.

Because I know that he feels the same, not being able to hear me, or see me, like I'm alive and moving that is.

So I would always lay down there beside him, and watch him sleep.

Sighs.

Tomorrow, Rocklee's planning to surprise Sakura by wearing a suit and a tie.

I wonder what Sakura's reaction would be.

Chuckles.

I'm sure that it would be fun to watch.

…

XXXXOOOXXXX

…

It was a very boring day.

I enjoyed watching Rocklee's little performance this morning, but after that, there's just nothing else to do.

Shikamaru's busy with paper works, most of the Jounins are out on a mission, so basically, there's nothing much to do.

I wonder where Naruto and Sakura are…

…

Sakura called me after lunch, she said it's very important that I go to the Konoha Hospital right away.

She said that there's something that I need to see.

Shit, how I wish that it's a good one.

I immediately asked Shikamaru to stand in for me if ever.

It's good to have someone like him as my second-in-command.

Because he understands.

…

I saw him jump out of the Hokage's office. It's not allowed to do that unless there's an emergency.

So I got curious. I flew towards him and followed him.

"Oi, usuratonkachi, where are you going?"

No answer.

I just shrugged as I followed him breeze around the village.

…

I pushed the door of the hospital, quite strong I must say, making me earn a few looks from the patients inside.

"Hokage-sama, please refrain from using brute force inside the hospital…"

Ino's sarcastic voice greeted me.

I just nodded, then immediately ran towards the second floor.

…

I frowned as I watched him ran inside the hospital, sighing as I listened to Ino's small reminder to him.

I bet that that will never stick to his mind.

"Sorry 'bout that Ino…"

One thing that I like about being a ghost is that I can say whatever that I want without thinking about my image.

Like apologizing.

My real life self would never apologize to something like that, not even for someone else's sake.

Sighs.

I need to stop this new habit. Everyone's going to laugh if ever they would hear me.

I frowned as I flew towards the place where Naruto ran in to.

…

I turned the knob and pushed the heavy door open.

This is the restricted area of the hospital, only those patients that are in a very critical condition are settled here.

Normally they don't allow anyone here too.

But my case is different.

I'm a regular here, so no one would care even if I just burst in like this.

That familiar beeping sound greeted me.

Fuck, I hate that sound.

I clenched my fist as I slowly walked towards Sakura's side, nodding to her, which she answered with a nod too.

…

I never followed Naruto here.

I mean yes, I saw him head to this direction, but I just never followed him.

Now that I think about it, it was like, something's stopping me from following him before.

I entered the room with him and watched around.

There's a beeping sound. Probably from one of those machines around the room.

There's a bed beside the window, and Sakura is standing there, blocking my sight of whoever was laying in there.

I just watched as they nodded to each other, then the room was filled with silence as Sakura pushed a switch on a machine beside her.

…

"Is it safe?"

"Yes, his progress these past few months is remarkable, so he doesn't need this machine anymore."

I frowned and reached for his thin hand.

"You hear that Sasuke? You can now come back any time. Your body is now ready for you… So please…"

I sighed, trying to stop the sobs that are now building up inside my throat.

"…come back… Sasuke…"

…

I felt my eyes grew wide after hearing what he just said.

Flashbacks appeared right in front of my eyes.

I remember now.

We managed to defeat Obito, but Madara seeing that his plans were ruined ran towards Naruto's direction. And the First was not able to stop him.

Naruto already used all of his chakra for those nine rasengans to break Obito's shield, he was now very weak.

And he didn't noticed Madara appearing behind him.

I saw everything, because I was the one facing Madara's direction.

He's going to kill Naruto.

No.

He can't!

…

Sasuke suddenly pulled my robe, then he used himself to block whatever that is that suddenly appeared behind me.

My powers were so drained, I can't even think that much.

But my eyes grew wide as I saw Sasuke's back exploded.

His blood rained on me.

Warm, red liquid, on my face, arms, shirt, everywhere.

Shit.

"SASUKE!"

…

My eyesight started to blur.

It's painful. So painful.

I managed to grab his shoulders as I saw the First appeared behind him.

I'm not going down alone.

At least I'm going to die with a purpose.

I saved Konoha's next Hokage.

I watched the First slash Madara's head off from his neck without any hesitation.

At last, it's finished.

My eyes closed on their own, then I felt my body fell, only to be caught by those arms.

Those warm arms.

I tried to smile, but the pain is just too much for me.

It's getting hard to breath.

…

"Sasuke wake up! Sasuke hang it there! SAKURA! Get the fuck in here RIGHT NOW! Sasuke, Sakura's coming! Just get a grip bastard! DON'T DIE ON ME NOW ASSHOLE!"

I gathered all of my remaining chakra and channelled them all towards him. I need to at least stop his blood circulation.

Where's Sakura?! What's taking her so long?

"SAKURA! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!"

…

I gathered all of my remaining strength and clung my arm around Naruto's neck to pull him closer.

I can feel his tears on my face. He's such a cry baby.

"Y-You're n-noisy usura…t-tonkachi… D-Don't worry, I w-won't die. I-I promise…"

Are the last words that I told him before darkness engulfed me.

…

XXXOOOXXX

…

Naruto's eyes grew wide as he felt Sasuke's fingers moved.

He immediately looked at Sakura's direction, who's also as puzzled as him. Maybe she saw Sasuke's fingers moved.

"Sasuke? Can you hear me?"

He leaned towards Sasuke, brushing his hair out of his face. Looking for some signs that he does can hear him,

And tears immediately flooded his eyes as he watch Sasuke's face frowned.

"U-Usura..tonkatchi…"

He croaked as he slowly opened his eyes.

"…you're s-so noisy…"

Naruto wiped his eyes using his free hand. Smiling like an idiot before hugging Sasuke tightly.

Sakura is crying silently as she watched both of his teammates, which Sasuke answered with a nod.

"Welcome back bastard."

He heard Naruto murmured after a few seconds.

He smiled.

It's nice to hear those words again.

Yes, he's back, and he won't go anywhere anymore.

"Hnn. Tadaima."

...

Thank you for reading!

Please give me your feed backs.