"Argh…" A grunt of pain left the blonde's mouth as he opened his eyes only to find a blinding white ceiling above him. After a few seconds of readjusting to the colour, or lack off, he studied the room around him only to find that everywhere he looked he saw white; white walls, white beds, white linens, white chairs, everything, except for the wooden door and the scene which played outside of the window.
He immediately recognised where was and wasn't too surprised either, after all, he had been here often enough and this was like his second home. He once again found himself in the hospital in Konoha.
He sat up and winced as his back ached but there was a deeper and sharper pain coming from his stomach area. He looked down only to find bandages covering the area, which were, surprisingly, white. Suddenly, flashbacks entered his mind of what had happened before he woke here.
He had been fighting with Sasuke, trying to get him to come back to Konoha. He had noticed how much stronger Sasuke had gotten over the past few years since he left. He himself was also much stronger and the two had had a pretty much even fight, none of them gaining the upper hand. But of course, Naruto had refused to use the power of the Kyuubi. He hadn't tapped into that power in a long time, he had learnt to rely on himself, and therefore he didn't need to use the demon's chakra.
Sasuke and Naruto had fought for the umpteenth time, and the result was the same as it has always been. The two had been knocked out by the other.
During their fight, Sasuke had gotten another Chidori into Naruto; right into his stomach which would explain why Naruto felt a pain there earlier. Naruto had also gotten a Rasengan on Sasuke, which hit his left hip, but Sasuke had kept on fighting, with the curse seal helping him to recover and ignore the pain from his injured hip. Naruto also had his injuries helped by the Kyuubi's healing.
But Naruto had failed. He had failed again and it was beginning to get to him and he was beginning to lose hope, hope of ever getting the bastard back.
Don't know what's going on
Don't know what went wrong
Feels like a hundred years I
Still can't believe you're gone
So I'll stay up all night
With these bloodshot eyes
While these walls surround me with the story of our life
He had trained and trained and worked his butt off, literally sometimes with the help of a few Katon jutsus, but still, he couldn't get Sasuke back, he still wasn't strong enough. He had given up all of his time and energy just to get Sasuke back but he just couldn't do it. He let out a long and tired sigh.
He looked towards the door again to see if anyone was there and was glad in some ways that there wasn't anyone there, he needed some alone time to think to himself.
Now that he thought about it, a lot of his life had been filled with alone time, and even more so when he had been training.
He let out an amused snort.
It had been easier to focus without the Uchiha around, he was more able to use his time better. Now that he thought about it, when he was younger on the original team seven, he had spent way too much time arguing with the Uchiha, time which could have been spent much wiser.
He wasn't quite sure who's fault that was, be he figured it was both of theirs, as Sasuke had always felt the need to put in his own five cents, all of them spent of putting down Naruto. Now, he himself could have just ignored those comments but he didn't.
If anything, Sasuke had been a bother, but it had been good to be acknowledged, he just didn't acknowledge him the way that he wanted to be.
I feel so much better
Now that you're gone forever
I tell myself that I don't miss you at all
I'm not lying, denying that I feel so much better now
That you're gone forever
It was dawned on Naruto that Sasuke had no intentions whatsoever of coming back to Konoha and would even go as far as killing Naruto. Now, Naruto would risk his life for his precious people but Sasuke was going way too far. Was 'he' even worth it? Could he still be considered a precious person to Naruto anymore?
Sasuke had never treated Naruto right, except for the one time on their first high ranked mission in the Land of the Waves, but even then it wasn't on purpose as Sasuke had clearly said that his body had just moved and that he himself had had no intentions of protecting Naruto like that.
Sasuke had always belittled Naruto, it was never to much effort for the stoic Uchiha to do that.
Now things are coming clear
And I don't need you here
And in this world around me
I'm glad you disappeared
So I'll stay out all night
Get drunk and fuck and fight
Until the morning comes I'll
Forget about our life
Naruto smiled to himself. Things had been much better for him ever since Sasuke had betrayed the village and left to go and follow that ero-hebi-teme. Without the two on the same team, they couldn't ignore Naruto so that they could praise Sasuke. More villagers began to hate him less an even the council was somewhat better, though they still didn't think too highly of him but it was a start, I mean, they had previously wanted him to be executed but now they mostly left him be.
Kakashi-sensei had been training both him and Sakura a lot as well. He had figured out that the council had made him train Sasuke more instead of the other two members of the team, along with making him not tell anyone else about it. He had been forgiven and had been able to make up for it.
Sakura had been very understanding and had been there for him, along with helping him when asked or sometimes she did it on her own. She sometimes helped to heal him when he had been too low on chakra and over exhausted. The two were now close friends. He still asked her out from time to time, but both of them knew that he only did it to make things seem more normal, more like the 'old days'.
So all in all, now that Sasuke wasn't here, things had actually improved a lot for the hyperactive ninja.
I feel so much better
Now that you're gone forever
I tell myself that I don't miss you at all
I'm not lying, denying that I feel so much better now
That you're gone forever
However, it also made him realise that he had wasted too much on Sasuke. Ever since the Valley of the End, where they had had their first real fight, too much had been spent of the raven haired ninja.
He scrunched up a handful of the sheets covering him, but quickly released them as pain erupted from his bruised knuckles.
Pain…
Sasuke had caused a lot of pain to everyone. He had hurt so many people; physically, mentally and worst of all, emotionally. He probably didn't even realise it which made Naruto even more angry, though he refrained from clenching his hands together. Sasuke was always so oblivious to everyone around him, and he probably always would be.
But, Naruto should have listened to Sasuke, when he said that he should just go back and leave him alone. He had been right, it would have been so much easier for everyone. But it was too late to change that, but he could make it right now.
First time you screamed at me
I should have made you leave
I should have known it could be so much better
I hope you're missing me
I hope I've made you see
That I'm gone forever
Naruto would be out of Sasuke's life now, whether he liked it or not, though he probably couldn't care less knowing him. Sasuke had said that he didn't need anyone, which was clearly wrong, as he proved it by simply following Orochimaru.
"Tch… 'On my own' bullshit, that's what…" He said to himself, letting out a snort whilst he was at it.
Sasuke did need people and that was a fact. Naruto, however, didn't. He had grown up without anyone, so he knew. But that did not mean that he didn't want people, which he did. He had always yearned for their acknowledgment and now that he had it he was content, though he still had a dream to fulfill.
And now it's coming clear
That I don't need you here
And in this world around me
I'm glad you disappeared
He was gone. Sasuke was gone and Naruto was… happy.
I feel so much better
Now that you're gone forever
I tell myself that I don't miss you at all
I'm not lying, denying that I feel so much better now
That you're gone forever
And now you're gone forever
And now you're gone forever
"He's gone… He's gone!" Naruto shouted as he began to laugh out loud. He heard footsteps outside his door but he carried on laughing, even when the door opened and when the pink-haired kunoichi, known as Sakura, came into the room with a confused look on her face.
"What are you laughing at Naruto?" She asked, some worry evident noticeable in her voice but still Naruto continued to laugh. She placed a hand on his forehead but found that his temperature was normal, for him anyway as his was always a bit higher then anyone else's due to the demon sealed inside of him, afterall, it was the demon of fire.
"Are you okay Naruto?" She asked again with the same worried expression.
Naruto's laughing quieted down a bit until he only had a wide grin on his face. "I'm fine Sakura… Great even."
"What's gotten into you Naruto, you're acting weirder then usual."
"Nothing's gotten into me, but things are sure looking up for me now… I was too blind to see that before…"
Yep, that's it… I really love this song, it's by one of my fave bands.
This song called Gone Forever by Three Days Grace
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…
And just to make this clear, if anyone got the impression that I don't like Sasuke, though I don't think that is very likely, that's not true as I really don't hate him...
Until Next Time...